Contents
Key Stage 4
Meaning
Newton's Third Law states that "For every action force there is a reaction force with an equal magnitude but acting in the opposite direction".
About Newton's Third Law
- The two forces referred to in Newton's Third Law are on separate objects which are interacting.
- When an object "A" exerts a force (action force) on object "B" then object "B" will exert a force (reaction force) on object "A". These two forces will be equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
- The terms "action force" and "reaction force" may be misleading as they simply refer to which object the observer was interested in first, eg Did the ball hit the head or did the head hit the ball?
References
AQA
- Newton’s Third Law, pages 116-117, GCSE Physics; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA
- Newton’s Third Law, pages 169, 170, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy; Physics, CGP, AQA
- Newton’s Third Law, pages 201, 202, GCSE Physics; The Complete 9-1 Course for AQA, CGP, AQA
- Newton’s Third Law, pages 203, 213, GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA
- Newton’s third law, pages 51, 65, GCSE Physics; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA
Edexcel
- Newton’s Third Law, pages 152, 154, GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
- Newton’s Third Law, pages 19, 21, GCSE Physics; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
- Newton’s Third Law, pages 22-23, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Newton’s Third Law, pages 306-307, GCSE Combined Science, Pearson Edexcel
- Newton’s Third Law, pages 42, 43, GCSE Physics, CGP, Edexcel
- Newton’s Third Law; momentum, page 47, GCSE Physics, CGP, Edexcel