This key facts covers Newton's Third Law — Action-Reaction within Newton's Laws of Motion for GCSE Physics. Revise Newton's Laws of Motion in Forces for GCSE Physics with 13 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 6 of 15 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 6 of 15
Practice
13 questions
Recall
15 flashcards
📜 Newton's Third Law — Action-Reaction
Statement: When object A exerts a force on object B, object B exerts an equal and opposite force on object A.
Key features of Third Law pairs:
- Equal in magnitude
- Opposite in direction
- Act on DIFFERENT objects
- Same type of force
- Act simultaneously
Examples:
- You push wall → wall pushes you (contact forces)
- Earth pulls you → you pull Earth (gravitational)
- Rocket pushes gas down → gas pushes rocket up
- Swimmer pushes water back → water pushes swimmer forward