Applying Newton’s 2nd Law of motion gives us mass 1 This can be written as Force 1 = -(Force 2), with the negative sign implying that Force 2 occurs in the opposite direction of Force 1. What force propels players as they run across the court? How can a ball accelerating downwards bounce back up? When a shot is blocked, why does the ball rebound off the player’s arm? The answer is that every force is paired with an equal opposing force.įrom gravity to contact forces, every force you observe has a pair in the opposite direction, as explained in Newton’s 3rd law of motion.
