Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

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 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Physics /Yearly Plan

1.1 What is Physics? 5.1 Work

1.2 Measurements in Experiments
5.2 Energy
1.3 The language of Physics
2.1 Displacement and velocity 5.3 Conservation of Energy
2.2 Acceleration 5.4 Power
2.3 Falling Objects
6.1 Momentum and Impulse
4.1 Changes in motion
6.2 Conservation of momentum
4.2 Newton’s First Law
4.3 Newton’s Second & Third Law 6.3 Elastic and Inelastic Collision
4.4 Everyday Forces 8.1 Fluid Mechanics

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Learning Intention:
Students will identify action-reaction pairs.

Success Criteria: I can

1. Define Newton’s 3rd Law.
2. Differentiate between action and reaction forces.
3. Apply Newton’s 3rd Law to explain the motion of
objects in various scenarios.

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Newton's Third Law could also be

applied to the UAE's commitment to

environmental sustainability. Any

action taken to preserve natural

resources or reduce carbon emissions

might be met with positive reactions in

the form of a healthier environment,

while neglecting such actions could

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

NEWTON’S 3RD LAW

LITERACY
ACTION REACTION FORCE

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

What do you think?

• If a net force acts on an object, what type of motion will

be observed?
– Why?
• How would this motion be affected by the amount of
force?
• Are there any other factors that might affect this motion?

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

What do you think?

• Two football players, Alex and Jason, collide head-on.

They have the same mass and the same speed before
the collision. How does the force on Alex compare to the
force on Jason? Why do you think so?
– Sketch each player as a stick figure.
– Place a velocity vector above each player.
– Draw the force vector on each and label it (i.e. FJA is
the force of Jason on Alex).

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

What do you think?

• Suppose Alex has twice the mass of Jason. How would

the forces compare?
– Why do you think so?
– Sketch as before.
• Suppose Alex has twice the mass and Jason is at rest.
How would the forces compare?
– Why do you think so?
– Sketch as before.

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Newton’s Third Law

Click below to watch the Visual Concept.

Visual Concept

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Newton’s Third Law

• Forces always exist in pairs.

– You push down on the chair, the chair
pushes up on you
– Called the action force and reaction force
– Occur simultaneously so either force is the
action force

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Newton’s Third Law

• For every action force there is an equal and opposite reaction

force.
• The forces act on different objects.
– Therefore, they do not balance or cancel each other.
– The motion of each object depends on the net force on that object.

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Hammer Striking a Nail

• What are the action/reaction pairs for a
hammer striking a nail into wood?
– Force of hammer on nail = force of nail on
hammer
– Force of wood on nail = force of nail on
wood

• Which of the action/reaction forces above

act on the nail?
– Force of hammer on nail (downward)
– Force of wood on nail (upward)

• Does the nail move? If so, how?

– Fhammer-on-nail > Fwood-on-nail so the nail
accelerates downward

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Hammer Striking a Nail

• What forces act on the hammer?
– Force of nail on hammer (upward)
– Force of hand on hammer (downward)
• Does the hammer move? If so, how?
– Fnail-on-hammer > Fhand-on-hammer so the hammer
accelerates upward or slows down
• The hammer and nail accelerate in opposite
directions.

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 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Action-Reaction: A Book on a Desk

Action Force Reaction Force

• The desk pushes up on • The book pushes down

the book. on the desk.
• Earth pulls down on the • The book pulls up on
book (force of gravity). Earth.

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 Chapter 4
Action-Reaction: A Falling Book
Action
• Earth pulls down on the
book (force of gravity).
• What is the result of the
action force (if this is the
only force on the book)?
– Unbalanced force
produces an acceleration
of -9.81 m/s2.
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Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law
Reaction
• The book pulls up on
Earth.
• What is the result of the
reaction force?
• Unbalanced force produces
a very small upward
acceleration (because the
mass of Earth is so large).
 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Exit Ticket

Gravity and Rocks - the force due to gravity is twice as

great on a 2 kg rock as it is on a 1 kg rock. Why

doesn’t the 2 kg rock have a greater free-fall

acceleration?
 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Exit Ticket

Gravity and Rocks - the force due to gravity is twice as

great on a 2 kg rock as it is on a 1 kg rock. Why doesn’t the

2 kg rock have a greater free-fall acceleration?

Answer: A greater force acts on the heavier rock, but the

heavier rock also has greater mass, so the acceleration is the

 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Exit Ticket

Leaking Truck - A truck loaded with sand accelerates

at 0.5 m/s2 on the highway. If the driving force on the

truck remains constant, what happens to the truck’s

acceleration if sand leaks at a constant rate from a hole

in the truck bed?

 Chapter 4 Section 3 Newton’s 3rd Law

Exit Ticket

Leaking Truck - A truck loaded with sand accelerates at 0.5

m/s2 on the highway. If the driving force on the truck

remains constant, what happens to the truck’s acceleration if

sand leaks at a constant rate from a hole in the truck bed?

Answer: The acceleration will increase as the mass