Thank you for visiting How does Newton s third law apply to a rifle shooting a bullet Include the concepts of acceleration and mass in your explanation. This page is designed to guide you through key points and clear explanations related to the topic at hand. We aim to make your learning experience smooth, insightful, and informative. Dive in and discover the answers you're looking for!
Answer :
Final answer:
In a rifle, Newton's third law manifests as the recoil experienced when a bullet is fired. The bullet is propelled forward by exploding gases, and in turn, these gases exert an equal and opposite reaction force on the rifle. The mass of the rifle compared to the bullet explains why the bullet accelerates much more rapidly out of the barrel, while the rifle's recoil is less pronounced.
Explanation:
Newton's third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This principle applies to a rifle when it fires a bullet. As the gunpowder explodes within the cartridge, it creates rapidly expanding gases. These gases exert a force on the bullet, propelling it forward, which is the action force. According to Newton's third law, there must be a reaction force of equal magnitude and opposite direction. This reaction force is exerted by the bullet (and gases) back onto the rifle itself, which manifests as the recoil or kickback that we observe.
The acceleration of the bullet down the barrel is a consequence of the force from the expanding gases and can be described by Newton's second law of motion. This law, which relates acceleration, force, and mass, tells us that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting upon it and inversely proportional to its mass. Because the bullet has a much smaller mass compared to the rifle, it undergoes a much larger acceleration, allowing it to exit the barrel at a high velocity.
In contrast, the rifle, having a greater mass, experiences a much smaller acceleration in the opposite direction, resulting in the noticeable recoil. The principle explains why a recoilless rifle, which has an open barrel at both ends, produces much less recoil; the gases are allowed to escape backwards freely, thereby reducing the backward force applied to the rifle.
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