ThePokedNoob
over 4 years ago
According to Newton's third law of motion, whenever two objects interact, they exert equal and opposite forces on each other.
This is often worded as 'every action has an equal and opposite reaction'. However, it is important to remember that the two forces:
act on two different objects
are of the same type (eg both contact forces)
Examples of force pairs
Newton's third law can be applied to examples of equilibrium situations.
A cat sits on the ground
There are contact gravitational forces between Earth and the cat:
the cat pulls the Earth up
the Earth pulls the cat down
These forces are equal in size and opposite in direction.
Pushing a pram
There are contact forces between the person and the pram:
the person pushes the pram forwards
the pram pushes the person backwards
These forces are equal in size and opposite in direction.
Car tire on a road
There are contact forces between the tire and the road:
the tire pushes the road backwards
the road pushes the tire forwards
These forces are equal in size and opposite in direction.
A satellite in Earth orbit
There are non-contact gravitational forces between Earth and the satellite:
the Earth pulls the satellite
the satellite pulls Earth