Context

Newton's Third Law, also known as the Action-Reaction Principle, is one of the fundamental pillars of Physics, playing a crucial role in almost all analyses of movements and interactions between bodies. It states that 'for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction: the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal and directed in opposite directions.' In simpler terms, this means that any force exerted on a body will generate a force of the same magnitude but in the opposite direction on the body that exerted the initial force.

This law is one of the most influential and revolutionary discoveries in the field of physics and continues to be an important topic in scientific education. It allows us to understand not only how objects interact with each other but also how these interactions affect the movement of objects. The concepts behind this law are essential for understanding how the world around us works, from how cars move to how planets orbit around the sun.

Newton's Third Law has applications in various areas of our daily lives. The relevance of these principles is seen in daily activities such as walking, swimming, or biking. It also plays a fundamental role in more complex technologies such as space rockets, cars, and industrial machines. In sports, the principles of Newton's Third Law are used to improve athletes' performance. In Medicine, Newton's Third Law is used in the design of prostheses and orthopedic devices.

Students can delve into the concept of Newton's Third Law and its applications through the following reliable resources in Portuguese:

1. Só Física - Newton's Third Law
2. Mundo Educação - Newton's Laws
3. Descomplica - Newton's Laws
4. Brasil Escola - Newton's Third Law

Practical Activity: Experimenting with Newton's 3rd Law

Project Objective

The objective of this project is to allow students to discover and understand the practical application of Newton's Third Law through a fun and interactive experiment. In addition, students should use their knowledge of mathematics to perform calculations and interpretations throughout the project.

Detailed Project Description

In this project, groups of 3 to 5 students will be tasked with designing and building their own water rockets (using 2L soda bottles), directly applying Newton's Third Law. In addition to analyzing the forces involved, students must calculate the rocket's velocity and the maximum height it reaches. Besides Physics, they will use concepts of Mathematics and Engineering to implement the project.

Required Materials

• Empty 2L soda bottles
• Rubber stopper
• Bicycle pump
• Water
• Ruler
• Stopwatch
• Notebook or sheets of paper
• Pens and pencils

Step-by-Step Activity Execution

1. Planning: Students should plan how they will build the rocket. They will need to decide the amount of water to be used (which will affect the distance the rocket will fly) and how they will attach the air pump to the bottle.

2. Construction: Students must build the rocket. The bottle should be filled with the decided amount of water and the rubber stopper placed firmly in the bottle's opening. The bicycle pump should be securely attached in some way to the rubber stopper.

3. Launch: In a safe outdoor location, students should pump air into the rocket and launch it. During the launch, one student should use the stopwatch to measure the rocket's flight time.

4. Calculations: Using the flight time measurement, students should calculate the rocket's velocity and the maximum height it reached. They should consider the acceleration due to gravity in their calculations.

5. Analysis: Students should discuss how Newton's Third Law applies to the rocket launch. They should also consider other forces at play, such as air resistance.

Project Deliverables

Groups should deliver two main products at the end of the project:

1. Water Rocket Experiment: Students must document the entire experiment process, including photos or videos, and demonstrate the results obtained.

2. Project Report: Should be a written document that includes the following topics:

   Introduction:

   Here, students should contextualize Newton's Third Law, discuss its relevance and real-world application, as well as explain the project's objective.

   Development:

   In this section, students should explain the theory of Newton's Third Law, describe the rocket launch experiment in detail, including the preparation, execution, and analysis of the forces involved, present the methodology used to calculate the rocket's velocity and height reached, and discuss the results obtained.

   Conclusion:

   The group should summarize the main points of the report, including what they learned about Newton's Third Law, and the conclusions drawn from the project.

   Bibliography:

   The group should cite all sources used to carry out the project, including books, websites, and videos.

This project is designed to be carried out over two weeks, with a total of approximately 12 hours of work per student.