Question

When a bullet is fired, It exerts an equal and opposite force on the gun, yet the hurt caused by the recoil of the gun is much less than that by a bullet. Give reason

Answer 1

1. When a gun is fired, the bullet shoots out due to the force applied to it by the trigger of the gun.
2. As per Newton's third law of motion, the bullet exerts an equal and opposite force on the gun.
3. The gun recoils. This gives a backward jerk to the shoulder supporting the gun.
4. Hurt caused by the recoil of the gun is less than that of a bullet because the recoil velocity of the gun is very less and the mass of the gun is more than the bullet.
5. So the transfer of momentum is less and so is the impact.