A cannon recoils while firing a cannonball. The speed of the cannon's recoil is relatively small because the

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According to Newton's third law of motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When a cannon fires a cannonball, an equal and opposite force is exerted on the cannon. However, the recoil speed of the cannon is relatively small because the cannon has much more mass than the cannonball. This means that even though the force on the cannon is equal and opposite to the force on the cannonball, the cannon's larger mass causes its acceleration to be smaller, resulting in a smaller recoil speed.

A Cannon Recoils While Firing a Cannonball