A horse is dragging a loaded sled across a field.Which of the following pairs of forces is an action-reaction pair by Newton's third law?
A) The force of the horse on the sled and the force of the ground on the horse
B) The force of the sled on the ground and the force of the horse's hooves on the ground
C) The force of the horse on the sled and the force of the sled on the horse
D) The force of the horse on the sled and the force of the ground on the sled

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to Newton's third law, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, the force of the horse on the sled is the action, and the force of the sled on the horse is the equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, the correct answer is C. The other pairs listed in options A, B, and D are not action-reaction pairs because they do not involve the same two objects interacting with each other in opposite directions.

A Horse Is Dragging a Loaded Sled Across a Field