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Action Force: The bird pushes down on the branch Reaction Force:The branch pushes up on the bird

Have you ever wondered why pushing against water while swimming causes you to move forward? Sir Isaac Newton probably would have wondered the same thing. Sir Isaac Newton was an English physicist, mathematician, theologian, astronomer and natural philosopher. He was born on December 25th, 1642, and died on March 20th, 1726. One of his major contributions to physics was his three laws of motion. This website will focus on Newton’s third law. Newton’s third law is best summed up by the statement: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This means that every time a force is exerted on an object, the object exerts an equal force back. An example of the phenomenon is the recoil of a gun.