The air escaping from a balloon and causing it to move around demonstrates which Newtonian law?

The air escaping from a balloon and causing it to move around demonstrates which Newtonian law?

• A. The Law of Inertia
• B. Law of Universal Gravitation
• C. Newton's Second Law of Motion
• D. Newton's Third Law of Motion

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is Newton's Third Law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When the balloon squirts air out in one direction, the air pushes back on the balloon in the opposite direction. That backward push on the air is the action, and the forward push on the balloon is the reaction. The result is the balloon propels itself forward as the exhaust gas moves backward, conserving momentum of the system. While the motion can be described by F = ma, the key reason the balloon moves is this pair of equal and opposite forces acting between the balloon and the escaping air.

The main idea here is Newton's Third Law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When the balloon squirts air out in one direction, the air pushes back on the balloon in the opposite direction. That backward push on the air is the action, and the forward push on the balloon is the reaction. The result is the balloon propels itself forward as the exhaust gas moves backward, conserving momentum of the system. While the motion can be described by F = ma, the key reason the balloon moves is this pair of equal and opposite forces acting between the balloon and the escaping air.