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SCIENCE
Quarter 1 – Module 2:
LAW OF INTERACTION

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Science – Grade 8
Quarter 1 – Module 2: Law of Interaction

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in any work of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of
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Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand

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copyright holders. Every effort has been exerted to locate and seek permission
to use these materials from their respective copyright owners. The publisher
and authors do not represent nor claim ownership over them.

Regional Director: Gilbert T. Sadsad

Assistant Regional Director: Jessie L. Amin

DEVELOPMENT TEAM OF THE MODULE

WRITER: April R. Gersalia

REVIEWERS: Welimen C. Oseo

Maria Charlene D. Dipad
Alvin T. Rosare
Michelle H. Guadamor

EDITORS: Maria Charlene D. Dipad

Welimen C. Oseo
Michelle H. Guadamor

LAYOUT ARTISTS: Roman B. Jebulan

Kevin H. Ojos

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 Most Essential Learning Competency

Infer that when a body exerts a force on another, an

equal amount of force is exerted back on it

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 LAW OF INTERACTION

Lesson 2

In simplest sense, a force is a push or a pull. However, Newton realized

that a force is not a thing in itself but part of mutual action, an interaction,
between one thing and another.
When a ball on the top of the table suddenly starts moving as what
happened in previous module, definitely, the movement does not happen
without cause. What causes the motion of the ball is surely due to a certain type
of force and what makes it to stop from moving is again due to a force of some
kind.

Hi, nice to be with you once again!

In the previous module, you have learned
the relationship among force, mass, and
acceleration. In this module, you will recognize
that forces always come in pairs.

Most Essential Learning

Competency & Objectives

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 Pre-Test

Direction: Read each item carefully and choose the letter of the correct
answer.
1. A man pulls a large crate. According to Newton’s Third Law or law of
interaction, how much force does the large crate exert on the man?
a. Greater than the force exerted by the man.
b. Lesser than the force exerted by the man
c. Equal to the force exerted by the man
d. Cannot be determined
2. Refer to the picture below: In picture A, Eugene is pulling a rope that is
attached to a wall. In picture B, Eugene is pulling a rope that is attached
to an elephant. In each case, the force scale reads 500 Newton. What
can you say about the force of Eugene?

a. Eugene is pulling with more force when the rope is attached to

the wall.
b. Eugene is pulling with more force when the rope is attached to
the elephant.
c. Eugene exerted the same force in each case
d. Eugene does not exert force in each case.
3. A player hits the ball with a bat. The action force is the impact force of
the bat on the ball. What is the reaction force?
a. the force the hand exerts in holding the bat
b. the force of the ball exerts on the bat

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 c. Weight of the ball
d. Weight of the bat
4. Which of the following situations does not illustrate Newton’s third law
of motion?
a. Rowing a boat.
b. A girl pushing a chair .
c. A book on the top of the table.
d. When the trigger of the gun is pulled.
5. Study figure A, what law of motion explains this situation?

Figure A
(https://www.google.com/search?q=boy+pushing+the+wall+cartoon&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi8wYHB9ujhAhVN6XMBHThnDAAQ_AUIDigB&biw=1308&bih=620#imgrc=us3g8aw60ko
lTM:)

a. Law of interaction, because for every action there is an equal but

opposite reaction.
b. Law of acceleration, because the acceleration is directly proportional
to the net force acting on the body and inversely proportional to its
mass.
c. Law of inertia, because bodies at rest will remain at rest and bodies
in motion will continue moving at constant speed in straight path
unless acted upon by a net force.
d. Law of gravitation, because every particle in the universe attracts
every other particle in the universe with a force that depends on the
product of the two particles’ masses divided by the square of the
distance between them.

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Learning Activities

E licit!

Have you experienced riding on a banca (fishing

boat) in a river or a sea?

1. What will you use for banca/boat to move? __________

2. What will you do to make the banca move forward?
__________________________________________________
3. What is the direction of the force you applied?
__________________________________________________
4. Is the direction of banca the same with the direction of your force?
_________________________________________________

It is a one of a kind experience to ride in a

banca. Paddle is used to move the banca. If you
paddle the water backward, you will go forward. If
you paddle forward, then you will go backward.

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 A force can be represented by means of an arrow . The
length of an arrow represents the magnitude/strength of force, while its
arrowhead represents the direction.

E ngage!

Take a look at the picture on

the left side
It’s a rocket, right?!
How does a rocket work?
What do you think are the
forces acting during a rocket
launch?

Write your ideas here!

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

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You will learn more about these forces as you move on
to the succeeding activities.

Explore!

In this activity, you will identify situations

showing action and reaction. You will also draw
arrows to illustrate the forces that act between two
objects, then explain how these forces act on each
other.
Number 1 is done for you!

Does the If the situation shows an

situation show action and reaction, draw an
Situation an action and arrow to show the direction of
reaction? the forces acting between
(Yes or No) objects

1. Throwing a rock
Yes
into the water
The rock hitting the water—
causes an equal reaction with
its splash.

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 2. Walking on the
floor

_____________________
_____________________
______________________
3. A person leaning
on the wall. ___________
___________
___________
___________
___________
___________

4. A person steps off

a boat

______________________
______________________
______________________
5. A swimmer
swimming
forward

________________________
________________________
________________________
6. A person setting
on a chair ______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________

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Guide questions:
1. Do all situations show action and reaction? If No, which situations do not show
action and reaction?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. Do all situations have the same number of forces? If yes, how mny forces were
you able to identified for each situation?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. How are you going to describe the direction of the forces acting on each
situation?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. How are you going to describe the amount of force acting in the given situation?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
5. How do the forces act on objects?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

If you have available spring balance at home,

I encourage you to perform this activity to have a
much deeper understanding of the law of interaction.

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 Structured Inquiry on Law of Interaction

Consider the situation:

The students connect two spring balances with their hook as shown in
the picture below:

April R. Gersalia, February 18, 2019 Bulan Sorsogon

One student pulled the spring balance while the other student held it in
place. Then, they kept a record of two spring balances.

Q1. Compare the readings for the two spring balance.

________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

Q2. Compare the direction of the forces exerted on the two ends of the
connected spring balance.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

Q3. Illustrate the direction of the force exerted on the two ends of the
connected spring balance.

Illustrate here…

Q4. How the action – reaction forces act on each other?

________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

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 EXPLAIN

In the activity, you observed the similarities and differences between the
interacting forces in terms of magnitude and direction. This relationship is stated
in Newton’s third law of motion – Law of Interaction.

Forces always occur in pairs, every time a force, or action, occurs, it

causes a reaction. We can describe the reaction in terms of its strength, or
magnitude, and also its direction. The magnitude of the action is equal to the
magnitude of the reaction. The action and reaction forces are reciprocal
(opposite) on an object.

For example in number 1 situation, if you

throw a rock into the water, it’s going to create a
ripple or splash. The force of the action and reaction
always match up. While an action and its reaction are
equal in magnitude, they are opposite in direction. The rock plunges down into
the water, but the water splashes up.
Both forces are always there whenever any force occurs. In the second
situation, your foot pushes (action) and the ground pushes back (reaction).
Likewise, as you lean on the wall, the wall exerts a force opposite and equal to
the force you exert while leaning on the wall.
In situation number 4, a person steps off
a boat. As the person moves to the left, the
boat moves back to the right. Action. Reaction.
When you throw or shoot something
forward, the recoil of the force pushes you backward. As the swimmer pushes
against the water, the water pushes back on the swimmer and pushes her
forward.
When you push on an object, the object pushes back with an equal force.
Think of a man setting on a chair. The weight of the man exerts a downward
force on the chair. This is the action force. The chair exerts an equal upward
force on the man. This is the reaction force. Note that the two forces act on
different objects. The action force acts on the chair, and the reaction force acts
on the man. Every time a force acts on an object, it causes a reaction force in
the opposite direction.

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 Law of interaction applies to two different bodies. The forces are equal
and opposite in directions. This law may seem to contradict the second law,
that is why, it is important to note that the forces in each pair in the law of
interaction are opposing forces that do not act on the same object, while that
on the law of acceleration are acting on the same object.

In the case of launching rocket, a

rocket carries its fuel. Its engine turns the
fuel into hot gas and pushes the gas out
its back.
The rocket's action is to push down
on the ground with the force of its powerful
engines, and the reaction is that the
ground pushes the rocket upwards with an
equal force.
The rocket exerts a downward
force, and the reaction force pushes it
upwards. The magnitude of the action is
equal to the magnitude of the reaction but
they are opposite in direction.

When an object exerts a force on another object (action), the second object
exerts on the first a force (reaction) of the same magnitude but in the
opposite direction.
Or

Law of Interaction (Action – Reaction)

“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

The statement means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces

“
acting on the two interacting objects. The size of the forces on the first object
equals the size of the force on the second object. The direction of the force on
the first object is opposite to the direction of the force on the second object.
Forces always come in pairs - equal and opposite action-reaction force pairs.

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Elaborate!
There are lots of real life examples of the
law of interaction. For instance, when playing
volleyball, your arm exerts a force on the ball
making it move forward. At the same time,
volleyball exerts force on your arm which makes
it painful.
Now, it’s your turn to write down one real
life example of law of interaction. Describe the
action - reaction forces acting on the objects.

Job well done!

Now, for more practice in the law of interaction
try to accomplish the next task.

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 EXTEND
A boy is pulled by a tractor and an elephant. Draw arrows to identify
the chain of at least 6 pairs of action – reaction force pairs in the
following diagram.

Great job!
Now, here’s the list of vocabulary if you find difficult
understanding terms/words.

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 Vocabulary List

Action Force. Is force acting in one direction.

Force. An impressed force is an action exerted upon a body, in order
to change its state, either of rest, or of moving uniformly forward in a right line.
Interaction. is a kind of action that occurs as two or more objects have
an effect upon one another.
Reaction Force. Is force acting in the opposite direction; a force equal
and opposite to the force giving rise to it.

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 Evaluate

1. A man pulls a large crate. According to Newton’s Third Law or law of

interaction, how much force does the large crate exert on the man?
a. Greater than the force exerted by the man.
b. Lesser than the force exerted by the man
c. Equal to the force exerted by the man
d. Cannot be determined
2. Refer to the picture below: In picture A, Eugene is pulling a rope that is
attached to a wall. In picture B, Eugene is pulling a rope that is attached
to an elephant. In each case, the force scale reads 500 Newton. What
can you say about the force of eugene?

a. Eugene is pulling with more force when the rope is attached to

the wall.
b. Eugene is pulling with more force when the rope is attached to
the elephant.
c. Eugene exerted the same force in each case
d. Eugene does not exert force in each case.
3. A player hits the ball with a bat. The action force is the impact force of
the bat on the ball. What is the reaction force?
a. the force the hand exerts in holding the bat
b. the force of the ball exerts on the bat
c. Weight of the ball
d. Weight of the bat
4. Which of the following situations does not illustrate Newton’s third law
of motion?
a. Rowing a boat.
b. A girl pushing a chair .
c. A book on the top of the table.

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 d. When the trigger of the gun is pulled.
5. Study figure A, what law of motion explains this situation?

Figure A
(https://www.google.com/search?q=boy+pushing+the+wall+cartoon&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ah
UKEwi8wYHB9ujhAhVN6XMBHThnDAAQ_AUIDigB&biw=1308&bih=620#imgrc=us3g8aw60kolTM:)

a. Law of interaction, because for every action there is an equal but

opposite reaction.
b. Law of acceleration, because the acceleration is directly proportional
to the net force acting on the body and inversely proportional to its
mass.
c. Law of inertia, because bodies at rest will remain at rest and bodies
in motion will continue moving at constant speed in straight path
unless acted upon by a net force.
d. Law of gravitation, because every particle in the universe attracts
every other particle in the universe with a force that depends on the
product of the two particles’ masses divided by the square of the
distance between them.

You cannot touch without being touched. That’s

newton’s third law!
Congratulations for accomplishing all the tasks in
this module… More fun in the succeeding modules.
Have a good day!

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 Answer Keys

Pre-Test Answer Keys

1. C
2. C
3. B
4. B
5. A

Learning Activities Answer Keys

Explore!
Forces come in pairs
Does the If the situation shows an action and
situation reaction, draw an arrow to show the
show an direction of the forces acting
Situation
action and between objects
reaction?
(Yes or No)

1. Throwing a rock
Yes
into the water
The rock hitting the water—
causes an equal reaction with its
splash.
2. Walking on the Yes When walking you push against
floor the ground. The ground pushes
back on you.

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3. A person Yes
leaning on the
wall.

4. A person steps Yes

off a boat

5. A swimmer
swimming Yes
forward

6. A person Yes
setting on a
chair

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 Structured Inquiry on Law of Interaction

1. Expected reading in two spring balance are equal.

2. Forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.

3.
4. How the action – reaction forces act on each other?
- Action and reaction forces are equal in magnitude but oppositely
directed. Action and reaction forces are acting on two different
bodies and will never cancel out. Forces always come in pairs.

Elaborate!
Other examples of action – reaction forces:
1. An airplane pushes air backward, air pushes the airplane forward.
2. When a football player is trying to catch a football from a very high kick.
The football, coming down from above, exerts a force (a push) on the
player as he catches it. The player then exerts a force that is equal in
magnitude (the size of a force) and opposite in direction. This slows
down the ball so the player can catch the football and bring it to rest.
3. the propulsion of a fish through the water. A fish uses its fins to push
water backwards. But a push on the water will only serve to accelerate
the water. Since forces result from mutual interactions, the water must
also be pushing the fish forwards, propelling the fish through the water.
The size of the force on the water equals the size of the force on the fish;
the direction of the force on the water (backwards) is opposite the
direction of the force on the fish (forwards).
4. Consider the flying motion of birds. A bird flies by use of its wings. The
wings of a bird push air downwards. Since forces result from mutual
interactions, the air must also be pushing the bird upwards. The size of
the force on the air equals the size of the force on the bird; the direction

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 of the force on the air (downwards) is opposite the direction of the force
on the bird (upwards).

E xtend!
The elephant's feet push backward on the ground; the ground pushes
forward on its feet. The right end of the right rope pulls leftward on the
elephant's body; its body pulls rightward on the right end of the right rope.
The left end of the right rope pulls rightward on the man; the man pulls
leftward on the left end of the right rope. The right end of the left rope
pulls leftward on the man; the man pulls rightward on the right end of the
left rope. The tractor pulls leftward on the left end of the left rope; the left
end of the left rope pulls rightward on the tractor. etc., etc.

Post-Test Answer Keys

1. C
2. C
3. B
4. B
5. A

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 References

DepEd – NSTIC Science 1 Integrated science 2012 pp. 23

Science and Technology textbook for fourth year, First edition 1992 pp.
93 – 94
Phoenix Exploring life through science series – the new grade 8. Pp. 293
– 305
http://teachertech.rice.edu/Participants/louviere/Newton/law3.html(n.d.)
. Retrieved from
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=657&tbm=isch&sa=1&
ei=wklyXPCsFcG99QPe04u4Cg&q=rocket cartoon black and
white&oq=rocket cartoon black and
white&gs_l=img.3..0j0i8i30.35596.40035..41185...0.0..0.1000.7708.2-
2j3j2j3j3j1......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i67.vo4-
mrDH5Cs#imgrc=QzBnzfQVBGXVjM:
https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/ucd_newton_lesson03
STUDY.COM, study.com/academy/lesson/action-and-reaction-forces-
law-examples-quiz.html.

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