According to Newton’s Third Law, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This principle illustrates that forces always occur in pairs; when one body exerts a force on another, the second body exerts a force of equal magnitude but in the opposite direction on the first body.
A good example of this is when you jump off a small boat onto the dock. As you push down and back on the boat with your legs to propel yourself forward, the boat moves in the opposite direction—backward in the water.
This is a perfect action-reaction scenario because your downward force on the boat causes it to move away from you, demonstrating how the forces work in equal and opposite pairs. Your action (jumping) directly results in the boat's reaction (moving backward).
The scene feels believable because it accurately reflects real-life physical interactions. Anyone who has experienced jumping from a small surface knows that the boat will shift in response, making the example relatable and consistent with our understanding of how forces operate in the world around us.