## yadu123 one year ago In Paul Hewitt's book, he poses this question: "If the forces that act on a bullet and the recoiling gun from which it is fired are equal in magnitude, why do the bullet and gun have very different accelerations?" Think about Newton's Second Law (F = ma) and answer his question.

i know the mass of the bullet is less than the gun an that affects it but i dont know how

2. IrishBoy123

$$F = m_{bullet} \times a_{bullet} = m_{gun} \times a_{gun}$$. If $$m_{gun} > m_{bullet}, \ then .....$$????

the force remains constant

ok i get it

gotta go

6. IrishBoy123

not really it's Newton's first law. to every action there is an equal an opposite reaction so just as the gun propels the bullet towards its target, the bullet pushes back on the gun - creating "the recoil", as it is called but because the bullet is much lighter, it goes off like billy-o, whereas the gun just recoils a bit in the hands of its holder.

oh ok

8. IrishBoy123

sorry, Newton's **Third** Law ;p action and reaction.