Newton’s Third Law

You have been using Newton’s First and Second Laws of Motion in your studies of balanced and unbalanced forces. Now you have come to the point where you need to explore Newton’s Third Law of Motion.

When objects interact, each exerts a force on the other for a period of time, providing an impulse that changes the momentum of each object.  What is the nature of this interaction? What can you say about the forces? Newton’s Third Law will clarify key questions.

Essential Question:

• When two objects interact, what is the relationship between the magnitudes of the forces that each exerts on the other?