Question

A boy hits a football with some amount of action force. What can be inferred from this scenario?

• A. The action and reaction forces differ in magnitude.
• B. The action and reaction forces act only on the boy's foot.
• C. There won't be any reaction force.
• D. The reaction force acts on the boy's foot.

Answer 1

The correct option is D The reaction force acts on the boy's foot.

According to Newton's third law of motion, action and reaction are equal and opposite but do not cancel each other. In this case when the boy hits the ball, the action force acts on the football but the reaction force acts on the boy in the direction opposite to that of the action force.