In 1666 Newton did his early work on his Three Laws of Motion. To this day, those laws still hold true. There has been some allowances for really big things (like the cosmos) and for really small things (like the atom). Other than that, Newton’s Law’s are pretty much dead on.
NEW! Download the complete packet for this section here.
NEW! Download the complete packet for this section here.
Newton’s Laws are all they used to get the first man to the moon. They are an amazingly powerful and wonderful area of physics. I like them because evidence of them is everywhere. If something moves or can be moved, it follows Newton’s Laws. You can’t sit in a car, walk down the road, drink a glass of milk, or kick a ball without using Newton’s Laws. I also like them because they are relatively easy to understand and yet open up worlds of answers and questions. They are truly a foundation for understanding the world around you.
Newton has a famous quote that goes “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.” One of the giants he was referring to was Galileo. Thanks to the discoveries of Galileo and others, Newton was able to make many of his own discoveries. The most famous of which are Newton’s Laws of Motion.
Newton’s three laws of motion predict the motion of virtually all objects on Earth and in space. You are about to know all of them. Newton’s Laws are all they used to launch space craft to the moon and soon you will understand them all. Pretty powerful stuff, eh?
Newton has a famous quote that goes “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.” One of the giants he was referring to was Galileo. Thanks to the discoveries of Galileo and others, Newton was able to make many of his own discoveries. The most famous of which are Newton’s Laws of Motion.
Newton’s three laws of motion predict the motion of virtually all objects on Earth and in space. You are about to know all of them. Newton’s Laws are all they used to launch space craft to the moon and soon you will understand them all. Pretty powerful stuff, eh?
Newton’s Three Laws of Motion are:
1. An object at rest tends to stay at rest, an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless a force acts against it.
2. Force equals mass times acceleration.
3. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
Be sure to take out a notebook and copy down each example problem right along with me so you take good notes as you go along. It's a totally different experience when you are actively involved by writing down and working through each problem rather than passively sitting back and watching.