Exploring Newton's 3rd Law: Father-Daughter Skating

[tim_mannire]

Homework Statement

A father and his seven year old daughter are facing each other on ice skates. With their hands they push away from each other. Compare the magnitude of the forces they each experience and comment on the acceleration of each of them.

Homework Equations

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The Attempt at a Solution

Newtons third law??

 

[Doc Al]

Newtons third law??

Yes, that should help you answer the first part. Consider Newton's 2nd law to answer the second.

What do those laws state?

 

[Moetasim]

Yes, Newton's Third Law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this scenario, the father and daughter are exerting equal and opposite forces on each other when they push away from each other. This means that the magnitude of the forces they experience is the same, but in opposite directions.

In terms of acceleration, both the father and daughter will experience the same magnitude of acceleration, but in opposite directions. This is because the force applied on each of them is equal, but their masses are different. According to Newton's Second Law (F=ma), the acceleration is directly proportional to the force and inversely proportional to the mass. Therefore, the daughter, who has a smaller mass, will experience a greater acceleration than the father.

Overall, this experiment demonstrates the principle of action and reaction, as well as the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration as described by Newton's Laws of Motion.