2023 · Q35
Which one of the following conservation laws is a consequence of the Newton's third law of motion?
general-sciencephysics-mechanics
- AConservation of energy
- BConservation of momentum
- CConservation of charge
- DConservation of mass
Explanation
Newton's third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, so in any interaction the momentum gained by one body equals the momentum lost by the other. For an isolated system these internal action-reaction pairs cancel, giving conservation of total momentum. Conservation of energy, charge and mass rest on independent principles. Hence the conservation law that follows from the third law is conservation of momentum.