Newton's Third Law

ScienceForces & MotionAges 12–13

State and apply Newton's Third Law: every force has an equal and opposite reaction force acting on a different object, distinguishing action-reaction pairs from balanced forces

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Teaching Table

Set out your lesson

Practise the bounded task in Newton's Third Law; see exact limits before inferring broader coverage.

Activity

Can name both objects in an interaction; all examples are descriptions, no pushing people, rockets or weapons.

Policy

Exact directed source edges retained; earlier authorship is not learner attainment.

Materials

These supplied stage cards
Scrap paper and pencil; oral/pointing response where appropriate

Sequence

Read readiness and decide on support without treating prerequisite authoring as learner readiness.
Open Show first and explain its model.
Use Guided Try with support and its separate adult key.
Close Show and guided keys before Try, unless this Try is explicitly supported.
Reflect on an actual attempt, including help used.

No Printer

Use the supplied screen cards; copying the exact task to paper is optional, not required.

Privacy

Use only invented scenarios and optional anonymous local notes. Do not request names, photos, family finances, medical data, accounts or uploads. Stop uncomfortable physical activity.

Use the complete materials on screen or print only the current sheet. Keep adult guidance out of learner view. Retain an earlier model only when the current step supplies it as context.

Teaching limits and safe use

These are finite task opportunities, not proof of mastery. Record what was attempted and what support was used.

Conceptual interaction pairs; no physical force measurements. Exact firearm-recoil clause is blocked and replaced with a harmless magnet example, not claimed equivalent full coverage.

Use only invented scenarios and optional anonymous local notes. Do not request names, photos, family finances, medical data, accounts or uploads. Stop uncomfortable physical activity.

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Entire curriculum

1590 concepts · 8 subjects

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Practise the bounded task in Newton's Third Law; see exact limits before inferring broader coverage.

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Learning resources

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Check understanding

States Newton's Third Law correctly, identifying both the action and reaction force and the objects they act on
Gives at least two real-world examples (e.g. rocket propulsion, swimmer pushing off a wall)
Distinguishes a Newton's Third Law pair from balanced forces on the same object
Explains why a gun recoils when fired using Newton's Third Law

“If your child saw a video of a rocket launching into space, could they explain what force is pushing the rocket upward and where that force comes from — and which law of motion that demonstrates?”

Curriculum record

Type: Conceptual
Subject: Science
Domain: Forces & Motion
Age range: Ages 12–13

Standards

ngss-ms:MS-PS2-1uk-nc-2013:KS3.Sci.Phys.MotionAndForces.7