Question

If for every action force an equal and opposite reaction force exists, how can anything ever be accelerated?

Answer 1

The action and reaction forces act on different objects, therefore the net force is not always zero

Explanation:

Newton's third law of motion states that:

"When an object A exerts a force (called action) on an object B, then object B exerts an equal and opposite force (called reaction) on object A"

From the statement above, it is clear that the action and the reaction forces act on different objects. In fact, the action force acts on object B, while the reaction force acts on object A. This means that the two forces never appear in the same free-body diagram of the same object, and therefore when computing the net force acting on an object, we take into account only one of the two forces, never both.

For instance, imagine you are pushing a box along the floor with a force F (action). The box is exerting back on you a reaction force of equal magnitude in the opposite direction, - F. However, if we want to compute the net force on the box, we just take into account the action (F), not the reaction, because the reaction is acting on you, not on the box.

Therefore, the correct answer is

The action and reaction forces act on different objects, therefore the net force is not always zero

Learn more about Newton's third law:

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