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Difficulty: MediumNewton's Third Law (Action/Reaction)

An industrial electromagnet attracts a piece of scrap steel. The magnet pulls the steel forward, and the steel pulls the magnet backward with an equal and opposite force. Because these two forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction, they cancel each other out, preventing the steel from accelerating.

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is False.
The forces in an action-reaction pair never cancel each other out because they act on completely different objects. The net force determining the acceleration of the scrap steel depends only on the magnetic pull acting directly on the steel, completely independent of the reaction force the steel exerts back on the magnet.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the two forces described in the scenario.
Force 1 is the magnet pulling on the steel. Force 2 is the steel pulling on the magnet.
Mapping the specific forces is required to apply Newton's Laws of Motion correctly.
2
Determine which object receives each force.
The first force acts exclusively on the scrap steel, while the second force acts exclusively on the electromagnet.
Net force calculations must be done for a single object at a time.
3
Evaluate whether the forces can cancel each other out.
Because the forces are applied to completely different objects, they do not cancel each other.
Forces can only cancel out and result in zero net force if they are acting in opposite directions on the exact same body.

Key Concept

Action and reaction force pairs act on completely different objects, so they never cancel each other out when determining the net force on a single object.
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Newton's Third Law (Action/Reaction)

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