Question

consider two forces acting on a person who stand still namely,the downward pull of gravity and the upward support of the floor. are these forces equal and opposite? do they form an action-reaction pair? why or why not?

Answer 1

Answer:

Yes, these forces are directly equal and opposite of each because, for this particular example they are the only forces being applied, and abides by Newton’s 3rd law. They do not form an action-reaction pair because they are both paired with separate forces. The pull of gravity is paired with the person pulling upwards and the upward support of the floor is paired with the person’s downward force against the floor.