How do our Students Understand Newton’s Third Law of Motion? A study in a Ghanaian University Context

Newton’s third law of motion is probably one of the easiest and simplest laws in physics for students to recite. However, when they are given questions where they must apply the understanding of the law to solve a problem, it often becomes a challenge. They seem to forget about the fact that action and reaction are opposite and equal. In this study, five sequential activities were used in the teaching of Newton’s third law of motion: Concept quiz, conceptual reasoning questions, interactive teaching, reflection, and application and problem-solving questions. Twenty 1st year University Physics students at the University of Education, Winneba, were introduced to the Newton’s third law of motion using real-life examples in an interactive engagement approach. The results indicated that students could give better qualitative reasoning and verbal explanations to most of the qualitative reasoning questions that were put as an effective strategy to assess students’ learning after the interactive engagement approach. It was also revealed that students were intellectually active in understanding the concept of Newton’s third law of motion.

Key Words: Newton’s third law of motion, understand, concept, interactive engagement