(a) State Newton’s third law of motion. (b) Two blocks and of masses and respectively…

PHYSICS · Subjective · CBSE · Physics · Laws of Motion · Laws of Motion

Problem

(a) State Newton’s third law of motion. (b) Two blocks

A

and

B

of masses

m_A

and

m_B

respectively are kept in contact on a horizontal frictionless table. A horizontal force

F

is applied on block

A

only. Draw separate free-body diagrams of the two blocks. (c) Explain, with reference to your diagrams, why the force that block

A

exerts on block

B

is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the force that block

B

exerts on block

A

. (d) Why do these two equal and opposite forces not cancel each other when we calculate the acceleration of the system? (e) If

F=15\,\text{N}

m_A=2\,\text{kg}

and

m_B=3\,\text{kg}

, calculate the common acceleration of the system and the magnitude of the force acting at the contact surface between the two blocks.