PRELIMINARY QUES Name: Newton's Third Law You may have learned this statement of Newton's third law: "To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." What does this sentence mean? Lab Partners: Unlike Newton's first two laws of motion, which concern only individual objects, the third law describes an interaction between two bodies. For example, what if you pull on your partner's hand with your hand? To study this interaction, you can use two Force Sensors. As one object (your hand) pushes or pulls on another object (your partner's hand) the Force Sensors will record those pushes and pulls. They will be related in a very simple way as predicted by Newton's third law. The action referred to in the phrase above is the force applied by your hand, and the reaction is the force that is applied by your partner's hand. Together, they are known as a force pair. This short experiment will show how the forces are related. . N OBJECTIVES Observe the directional relationship between force pairs. Observe the time variation of force pairs. MATERIALS computer Vernier computer interface Logger Pro two Vernier Force Sensors Figure 1 Explain Newton's third law in simple language. . 500 g mass string rubber band Newton's Third Law NAME: PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS 1. You are driving down the highway and a bug splatters on your windshield. Which is greater: the force of the bug on the windshield, or the force of the windshield on the bug? GROUP# 2. Hold a rubber band between your right and left hands. Pull with your left hand. Does your right hand experience a force? Does your right hand apply a force to the rubber band? What direction is that force compared to the force applied by the left hand? 3. Pull harder with your left hand. Does this change any force applied by the right hand? Physics with Vernier 4. How is the force of your left hand, transmitted by the rubber band, related to the force applied by your right hand? Write a rule, in words, for the force relationship. 3