When the apple was at rest upon a level table, we found the Normal Force to be equal in magntude and opposite in direction to the Weight Force. Are these two forces 3rd law pairs? Why or why not?



Answer :

Answer:

Yes

Explanation:

Newton's 3rd Law

The law states that for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction.

Identifying the Law's Application

Drawing a Free Body Diagram (FBD) of the apple, we see that the Normal force given by the table points upward, whereas the apple's weight or gravitational force points towards the ground or downward.

Recalling balanced forces, we know that an object that's not moving at a constant speed or is at rest means all forces acting upon the object cancel out or balanced.

Here, the apple has two forces acting on it and it's not moving as the problem describes to us, this means that both the apple's weight must have the same magnitude as the normal force, thus they are a 3rd law pair.

The normal force and the weight force acting on an apple resting on a table are not third law pairs because both forces act on the same object. Third law pairs, such as the force between the table and the apple, involve two interacting objects. Both forces are necessary to explain why the apple remains stationary.

When an apple is at rest on a level table, it experiences two forces: the gravitational force (or weight) pulling it downward and the normal force exerted by the table pushing it upward. These forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction, resulting in a net force of zero, which explains why the apple remains stationary.

According to Newton's third law of motion, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. For the normal force and the weight force to be a third law pair, they must act on different objects. In this case, the normal force is exerted by the table on the apple, and the weight force is the Earth's gravitational pull on the apple. Therefore, these forces do not form a third law pair because both forces act on the same object: the apple.

A true third law pair involves two interacting objects. For example, the normal force exerted by the table on the apple and the force exerted by the apple on the table are third law pairs. These forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction but act on different objects.

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