Action Force

Key Stage 4

Meaning

An action force is a force which is applied to an object by an action.

About Action Force

Newton's Third Law states that "For every action force there is a reaction force with an equal magnitude but acting in the opposite direction".

The terms 'action force' and 'reaction force' may sometimes be misleading as forces always act in pairs.

If weight is considered to be the action force then the normal contact force of an object on the ground can be considered the reaction force.

If there were no weight the object would not stay in contact with the ground so the reaction force would not longer exist without the action force.