Lesson M8.4.1

M8.4.1 Newton's third law and connected particles Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Maths, Unit 18

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson M8.4.1, Newton's third law and connected particles: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Maths (9MA0), Unit 18: Forces and Newton's laws, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which Newton's law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction?

    • Second law
    • Zeroth law
    • First law
    • Third law

  2. What do we call two forces acting on different bodies that are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction?

    • Resultant force
    • Normal contact force
    • Action-reaction pair
    • Balanced forces

  3. Do action-reaction forces in Newton's third law act on the same body?

    • Always
    • Yes
    • Sometimes
    • No

  4. What force prevents a stationary object on a table from falling through the surface?

    • Tension
    • Normal contact force
    • Friction
    • Air resistance

  5. When two masses are connected by a light inextensible string, what property is constant throughout the string?

    • Velocity
    • Tension
    • Mass
    • Acceleration

  6. What assumption is made about the mass of a string in standard connected particle problems?

    • Zero mass
    • High mass
    • Equal mass
    • Variable mass

  7. What assumption is made about a string when calculating connected particle acceleration?

    • Inextensible
    • Elastic
    • Flexible
    • Extensible

  8. What is the primary purpose of modelling a pulley as smooth?

    • Infinite radius
    • Fixed position
    • Zero friction
    • Zero mass

  9. Two masses m1 and m2 hang over a smooth pulley. What must be true for them to move?

    • m2 is zero
    • m1 does not equal m2
    • m1 is zero
    • m1 equals m2

  10. A car tows a trailer of mass 500 kg with acceleration 2 m/s squared. What is the tension?

    • 500 N
    • 2000 N
    • 1000 N
    • 250 N

  11. A particle of mass 3 kg is pulled by a string with tension 15 N on a smooth surface. Find its acceleration.

    • 5 m/s squared
    • 9.8 m/s squared
    • 2 m/s squared
    • 45 m/s squared

  12. Two masses of 2 kg and 3 kg are connected on a smooth horizontal table and pulled by 10 N. Find acceleration.

    • 10 m/s squared
    • 5 m/s squared
    • 2 m/s squared
    • 3.3 m/s squared

  13. In a lift moving upwards with acceleration a, what is the apparent weight of a person of mass m?

    • m(g + a)
    • m(g - a)
    • mg
    • ma

  14. A 4 kg mass is connected via a string to a 6 kg mass hanging over a smooth pulley. Find the system acceleration.

    • 1.96 m/s squared
    • 9.8 m/s squared
    • 4.9 m/s squared
    • 2.0 m/s squared

  15. Why do internal tensions cancel out when considering a whole system of connected particles?

    • Zero magnitude
    • Perpendicular forces
    • Internal forces
    • Unbalanced forces

  16. If a lift descends with a downward acceleration equal to gravity g, what is the normal contact force on a passenger?

    • Zero
    • mg
    • 0.5mg
    • 2mg

  17. Two particles of mass m and 2m are connected by a light string on a smooth table. A force F pulls the 2m mass. Find the tension.

    • F / 2
    • F / 3
    • 3F / 2
    • 2F / 3

  18. What force must be included when connected particles move vertically rather than horizontally?

    • Air resistance
    • Normal reaction
    • Weight
    • Friction

  19. A towing cable breaks if tension exceeds 5000 N. A 1000 kg car accelerates at 4 m/s squared pulling a trailer. Will the cable break?

    • Cannot tell
    • No
    • Always
    • Yes

  20. What physical quantity represents the rate of change of momentum according to Newton's laws?

    • Power
    • Force
    • Energy
    • Impulse

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