Here’s another example. Imagine that an elephant on roller skates. You are standing in front of the elephant, also wearing roller skates. You push off the elephant with a force of 30 N. The elephant would feel the exact same force- 30 N- but in the opposite direction. You both experienced equal and opposite forces. This doesn’t mean it feels the same to both of you. The elephant has a HUGE mass, so he will have a very small acceleration. You have a much smaller mass, so you would have a pretty large acceleration. Here’s one that really messes with people’s heads. The earth is pulling you down toward its surface with a force of about 600 N, depending on your mass. How much are you pulling up on the earth? That’s right 600 N. Why then, when you jump, does the earth not rise to up and meet you? Because the earth’s mass is astronomically larger than your mass, its acceleration is so tiny it is undetectable.
Here’s another example. Imagine that an elephant on roller skates. You are standing in front of the elephant, also wearing roller skates. You push off the elephant with a force of 30 N. The elephant would feel the exact same force- 30 N- but in the opposite direction. You both experienced equal and opposite forces. This doesn’t mean it feels the same to both of you. The elephant has a HUGE mass, so he will have a very small acceleration. You have a much smaller mass, so you would have a pretty large acceleration. Here’s one that really messes with people’s heads. The earth is pulling you down toward its surface with a force of about 600 N, depending on your mass. How much are you pulling up on the earth? That’s right 600 N. Why then, when you jump, does the earth not rise to up and meet you? Because the earth’s mass is astronomically larger than your mass, its acceleration is so tiny it is undetectable.
notes_newtons_laws_2014.docx