Which law describes the interaction where one body pushes on another and experiences an equal and opposite response?

Which law describes the interaction where one body pushes on another and experiences an equal and opposite response?

• A. The Law of Inertia
• B. Newton's Third Law of Motion
• C. Newton's Second Law of Motion
• D. Law of Universal Gravitation

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that forces come in pairs that act on two objects. When one body pushes on another, the second body pushes back on the first with the same magnitude but in the opposite direction. These action-reaction forces occur at the same time and on different objects, so they don’t cancel each other out. This is why you feel a push back when you push against a wall, and why a swimmer moves forward by pushing water backward—the water’s push on the swimmer is equal in size and opposite in direction to the swimmer’s push on the water. Newton's Third Law of Motion captures this exactly.

The main idea is that forces come in pairs that act on two objects. When one body pushes on another, the second body pushes back on the first with the same magnitude but in the opposite direction. These action-reaction forces occur at the same time and on different objects, so they don’t cancel each other out. This is why you feel a push back when you push against a wall, and why a swimmer moves forward by pushing water backward—the water’s push on the swimmer is equal in size and opposite in direction to the swimmer’s push on the water. Newton's Third Law of Motion captures this exactly.