Two ice skaters push off from each other on a frictionless surface. What will be observed about their motion?
Both skaters move away from each other in opposite directions with equal and opposite forces.
When two bodies interact, Newton's third law says the force exerted by the first on the second is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the force exerted by the second on the first.
As the two skaters push against each other, each experiences a push from the other of equal size but opposite direction.
On a frictionless surface no external horizontal force acts, so each skater accelerates in the direction of the push she receives, moving away from her partner along opposite lines.
The lighter skater gains more speed than the heavier one (from F = ma), but the mutual forces themselves remain equal and opposite.
Hence, both skaters move apart in opposite directions under equal and opposite forces.
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Important Questions from Laws of Motion
Which of the following is correct?
I. The mass of an object is a measure of its inertia
II. In an isolated system the total momentum remains conserved
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When we jump out of a boat, the boat moves in the opposite direction. This is due to:
