An example of an alternative conception:
Some learners will suggest that the forces acting on any body will always be balanced – and may claim they know this because Newton's third law says there will always be an equal and opposite force paired with any force we consider.
If that were so, then the universe would be pretty boring as everthing would be in status quo (not accelerating or deforming) according to Newton's first law.
The error here is not to recognise that the 'paired forces' (perhaps better considered as a force that acts between objects mutually) of Newton's third law must act on different bodies.
When there are balanced forces acting on an object, there are several such ('paired') forces involved. So the apple that remains hanginf form the tree is subject to a downwards force (earth⟺apple) and an upwards force (apple⟺branch) which happen to be of equal value (as the weight of the apple has not exceeded the breaking tension in the apple stalk -branch connection).
Although it is not a coincidence that the two opposing forces are balanced (the tension in the stalk increases as the apple grows, somewhat like a sping with increasing weights suspended) it is not necesarily so (eventually the weight of the apple will not be supportable by the stalk and the apple will fall). [This usually only happens some time after the apple has reached its full size, so is not because the apple gets even heavier, but because of changes in the stalk which make it weaker.]
Read about conceptions of Newton's third law
