Shouldn't force pairs equal in magnitude cancel each other?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around Newton's Third Law of Motion and the implications of action-reaction force pairs. The original poster expresses confusion about how forces can lead to motion if they cancel each other out, indicating a conceptual challenge in understanding the law.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the nature of force pairs, questioning how they interact and whether they can cancel each other. There is an emphasis on the need to clarify the context in which these forces act, particularly regarding free body diagrams.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the original poster's question, with some providing clarifications about Newton's Third Law and prompting further exploration of the forces involved. There is a focus on understanding the application of the law rather than reaching a consensus or solution.

Contextual Notes

The original poster mentions attempting to use a free body diagram, suggesting that visual representation of forces may be part of the discussion. The conversation hints at a need for deeper exploration of the conditions under which forces act and interact.

Varun Narayanan
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Homework Statement


If every action has an equivalent and opposite reaction, how is that anything ever happens ?. Shouldn't force pairs equal in magnitude cancel each other?

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution


I tried drawing a free body diagram, but it didn't help much. This is a conceptual problem for me
 
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Hi!
Could you state Newton's Third Law?
 
LemmeThink said:
Hi!
Could you state Newton's Third Law?
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
 
Varun Narayanan said:
Shouldn't force pairs equal in magnitude cancel each other?
Two forces can cancel each other only if they are acting on the same body. Is that the case with Newton's 3rd law?
 
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Varun Narayanan said:
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
On what object (or objects) are those two forces acting on?
 
Have you drawn a free body diagram for each body separately, showing only the forces acting on each body separately?
 

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