Asked by Zephyr Benedict

An octopus propels itself through the water by ejecting water through a funnel in its body. How does this demonstrate Newton’s third law?
A. When the octopus ejects the water out, the water acts with an equal force on the surrounding water in the same direction.
B. When the octopus ejects the water out, the water acts with an equal force on the octopus in the same direction.
C. When the octopus ejects the water out, the water acts with an equal force on the octopus in the opposite direction.
D. When the octopus ejects the water out, the water acts with an equal force on the surrounding water in the opposite direction.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
C.

When the octopus pushes water out backward (action), the water pushes the octopus forward with an equal and opposite force (reaction), propelling it through the water.