Newton’s Third Law of Motion

“Launchers?” Maya exclaimed, looking at the materials scattered across Liam’s kitchen table.

Liam grinned, “Yep. Thought it would be a fun way to spend the evening!”

The elastic-powered launcher resembled a classic slingshot, set up for action on the kitchen countertop. Constructed with a sturdy wooden base firmly planted in the ground, it had a stretchable elastic band, meant to propel objects forward.

"Did you know that this launcher kinda reminds me of Newton’s Third Law?” Maya asked, “Newton's Third Law applies to any pair of interacting objects. For our next adventure, let's use this launcher with an elastic band."

Liam, always ready for action, suggested, "We'll stretch the elastic and release it, making the launcher move backward. But according to Newton, there should be an equal and opposite reaction, so something else must move forward. What if we attach a small toy car to the launcher?"

Excitement filled the air as they secured the toy car to the launcher. With a swift release of the stretched elastic, the launcher recoiled backward, sending the toy car zooming forward.

Maya explained, "When the launcher moved backward (action), the toy car responded by moving forward (equal and opposite reaction). Newton's Third Law is like the universe's way of maintaining balance in every interaction."

Encouraged by their success, Orion, the ever-curious robot, proposed another experiment. "What if we place two scooters facing each other, and each of you pushes against the other? We can observe how the forces interact."

And so, in the spirit of discovery, the two engaged in a friendly scooter showdown. As the experiment began, Liam and Zoey pushed against the handles of their scooter, propelling it forward. In response, Newton's Third Law came into play—the force exerted by Liam and Zoey was met with an equal and opposite force pushing the scooters backward. The scooters glided seamlessly in opposite directions.

“Woah! There is an equal and opposite force!” Liam exclaimed, “I was pushing in the opposite direction, in fact!”

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Zoey, Liam, and Orion continued their exploration of Newton’s Third Law. They found the phrase to be quite catchy, and found themselves singing it; “Every action has an equal opposite reaction!”