A bowling ball and pin collide. The ball hits the pin and experiences a force of 20 N. What is the force on the bowling pin during the collision?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Newton's Third Law: The mutual forces of action and reaction between two bodies are equal, opposite and collinear. Another way to imagine this is with bumper cars. When one bumper car slams into the other, both cars move in opposite directions. This is in the case in every scenario but it gets more difficult to see (especially when there are other forces stopping it).
The force on the bowling is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. So it is -20N.
Newton's Laws of Motion:
First law: The velocity of a body remains constant unless the body is acted upon by an external force.
Second law: The acceleration (a) of a body is parallel and directly proportional to the net force (F) and inversely proportional to the mass (m), i.e., F = ma.
Third law: The mutual forces of action and reaction between two bodies are equal, opposite and collinear.

A Bowling Ball and Pin Collide