Question

A girl holds an orange at rest in her hand. One force in an action/reaction pair is the force of earth's gravity pulling down on the orange.
What is the other force in the action/reaction pair of forces?

• A. The force of the hand pushing up on the orange
• B. The force of the earth pushing up on the girl's feet
• C. The force of the orange pushing down on the girl's hand
• D. The force of the orange pulling up on the earth

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

The force of the hand pushing up on the orange

Sir Newton's third law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, action and reaction act on different objects.

When weight of orange (gravitational pull) acts on the hand vertically downward, the normal force on orange by hand acts pushing the orange upward.