According to conservation of momentum, when two objects collide, the momentum lost by one object equals the momentum gained by the other. Give a common-sense, non-mathematical explanation of the connection between Newton’s 3rd law and momentum conservation. In other words,make an argument that Newton’s 3rd law and momentum conservation, though they seem different on the surface, actually “say” similar things. Again, we’re looking for conceptual, commonsense reasoning, not formal mathematical reasoning.
Well,since Newton's 3rd law states that "for every action,there is an equal but opposite reaction",we can see that it is similar to the conservation of momentum in that the momentum before a collision is equal to the momentum after the collision but in the opposite direction...hope this helps but I'm a math thinker so not having to explain things in mathematical terms is really hard.
Well, imagine you and your friend are having a water balloon fight. When you throw a water balloon at your friend, there are two forces acting on it - one from your hand pushing it forward, and another from your friend's hand pushing it backward.
This is where Newton's 3rd law comes into play. Newton tells us that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, while your hand exerts force on the water balloon forward, your friend's hand also exerts an equal force on it in the opposite direction.
Now, let's think about momentum conservation. Momentum is essentially "oomph" or "pushiness" that an object has when it's moving. Take a basketball rolling down the street, for example. It has a lot of "pushiness" because it has both mass and velocity.
When the water balloon hits your friend, the forces involved cause a transfer of momentum. The momentum of the water balloon before the collision gets transferred to your friend after the collision. So, the water balloon loses momentum, but your friend gains exactly the same amount of momentum.
The connection between Newton's 3rd law and momentum conservation is that they both describe how the forces and motion of objects interact with each other. Newton's 3rd law explains that for every force acting on one object, there is an equal force acting on another object. Momentum conservation tells us that when these forces are exchanged, the overall momentum of the system remains the same.
So, while they may seem different, both Newton's 3rd law and momentum conservation are really saying that forces always come in pairs and that momentum is always conserved in an interaction. It's like a comedic duo where one provides the setup (Newton's 3rd law) and the other delivers the punchline (momentum conservation). They work together to keep the physics show running smoothly!
Newton's 3rd law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that any force exerted on one object will result in an equal and opposite force on the other object. On the other hand, momentum conservation states that the total momentum of a system remains constant before and after any interaction or collision.
When two objects collide, they exert forces on each other based on Newton's 3rd law. These forces cause the objects to change their velocities and hence their momenta. However, since the forces are equal and opposite, the change in momentum for one object is exactly canceled out by the change in momentum of the other object.
For example, imagine two billiard balls colliding on a table. When the first ball hits the second ball, it exerts a force on it. According to Newton's 3rd law, the second ball will exert an equal and opposite force back on the first ball. These forces cause the balls to accelerate and change their velocities. As a result, the first ball loses some momentum, while the second ball gains the exact same amount of momentum.
So, even though Newton's 3rd law and momentum conservation might seem different concepts, they are actually interconnected. The equal and opposite forces generated by the collision, as described by Newton's 3rd law, ensure that the total momentum of the system remains conserved, as stated by the principle of momentum conservation.
On the surface, Newton's third law and momentum conservation may seem different. Newton's third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that when one object exerts a force on another, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force on the first object.
On the other hand, momentum conservation states that the total momentum of a closed system remains constant before and after any interaction or collision between objects.
However, when we dive deeper into these concepts, we can see that they are actually saying similar things. Newton's third law and momentum conservation are interconnected and can be thought of as two sides of the same coin.
To understand this connection, let's consider a collision between two objects. When the objects collide, they exert forces on each other in opposite directions. According to Newton's third law, the force exerted by one object on the other is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the force exerted by the other object on the first.
Now, let's think about momentum. Momentum is the product of an object's mass and velocity. It represents the "quantity of motion" an object possesses. When the objects collide, the forces they exert cause changes in their velocities. This change in velocity is what leads to a change in momentum for each object involved.
But according to Newton's third law, the forces exerted on each other by the objects are equal and opposite. This means that the changes in momentum experienced by the objects are also equal and opposite in direction, preserving the total momentum of the system.
To put it simply, Newton's third law explains why the forces between objects during a collision are equal and opposite, while momentum conservation tells us that the changes in momentum experienced by the objects are also equal and opposite. They work together to ensure that the momentum lost by one object is equal to the momentum gained by the other, thus maintaining the overall momentum of the system. Therefore, Newton's third law and momentum conservation are fundamentally connected, even though they may appear different at first glance.