Newton’s Laws of Motion 
Review
Background 
Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) an English 
scientist and mathematician famous for his 
discovery of the law of gravity also 
discovered the three laws of motion. He 
published them in his book Philosophiae 
Naturalis Principia Mathematica 
(mathematic principles of natural 
philosophy) in 1687. Today these laws are 
known as Newton’s Laws of Motion and 
describe the motion of all objects on the 
scale we experience in our everyday lives.
“If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has 
been owing more to patient attention, than to any 
other talent.” 
-Sir Isaac Newton
Newton’s Laws of Motion 
1. An object in motion tends to stay in 
motion and an object at rest tends to 
stay at rest unless acted upon by an 
unbalanced force. 
2. Force equals mass times acceleration 
(F = ma). 
3. For every action there is an equal 
and opposite reaction.
Newton’s First Law 
An object at rest tends to stay at rest 
and an object in motion tends to stay in 
motion unless acted upon by an 
unbalanced force.
What does this mean? 
Basically, an object will “keep doing what it 
was doing” unless acted on by an 
unbalanced force. 
If the object was sitting still, it will remain 
stationary. If it was moving at a constant 
velocity, it will keep moving. 
It takes force to change the motion of an 
object.
What is meant by unbalanced 
force? 
If the forces on an object are equal and opposite, they are said 
to be balanced, and the object experiences no change in 
motion. If they are not equal and opposite, then the forces are 
unbalanced and the motion of the object changes.
Some Examples from Real Life 
A soccer ball is sitting at rest. It 
takes an unbalanced force of a kick 
to change its motion. 
Two teams are playing tug of war. They are both 
exerting equal force on the rope in opposite 
directions. This balanced force results in no 
change of motion.
Newton’s First Law is also 
called the Law of Inertia 
Inertia: the tendency of an object to 
resist changes in its state of motion 
The First Law states that all objects 
have inertia. The more mass an object 
has, the more inertia it has (and the 
harder it is to change its motion).
More Examples from Real Life 
A powerful locomotive begins to pull a 
long line of boxcars that were sitting at 
rest. Since the boxcars are so massive, 
they have a great deal of inertia and it 
takes a large force to change their 
motion. Once they are moving, it takes 
a large force to stop them. 
On your way to school, a bug 
flies into your windshield. Since 
the bug is so small, it has very 
little inertia and exerts a very 
small force on your car (so small 
that you don’t even feel it).
If objects in motion tend to stay in motion, 
why don’t moving objects keep moving 
forever? 
Things don’t keep moving forever because 
there’s almost always an unbalanced force 
acting upon it. 
A book sliding across a table slows 
down and stops because of the force 
of friction. 
If you throw a ball upwards it will 
eventually slow down and fall 
because of the force of gravity.
In outer space, away from gravity and any 
sources of friction, a rocket ship launched 
with a certain speed and direction would 
keep going in that same direction and at that 
same speed forever.
Newton’s Second Law 
Force equals mass times acceleration. 
F = ma 
Acceleration: a measurement of how quickly an 
object is changing speed.
What does F = ma mean? 
Force is directly proportional to mass and acceleration. 
Imagine a ball of a certain mass moving at a certain 
acceleration. This ball has a certain force. 
Now imagine we make the ball twice as big (double the 
mass) but keep the acceleration constant. F = ma says 
that this new ball has twice the force of the old ball. 
Now imagine the original ball moving at twice the 
original acceleration. F = ma says that the ball will 
again have twice the force of the ball at the original 
acceleration.
More about F = ma 
If you double the mass, you double the force. If you 
double the acceleration, you double the force. 
What if you double the mass and the acceleration? 
(2m)(2a) = 4F 
Doubling the mass and the acceleration quadruples the 
force. 
So . . . what if you decrease the mass by half? How 
much force would the object have now?
What does F = ma say? 
F = ma basically means that the force of an object 
comes from its mass and its acceleration. 
Something very massive (high mass) 
that’s changing speed very slowly (low 
acceleration), like a glacier, can still 
have great force. 
Something very small (low mass) that’s 
changing speed very quickly (high 
acceleration), like a bullet, can still 
have a great force. Something very 
small changing speed very slowly will 
have a very weak force.
Newton’s Third Law 
For every action there is an equal and 
opposite reaction.
What does this mean? 
For every force acting on an object, there is an equal 
force acting in the opposite direction. Right now, 
gravity is pulling you down in your seat, but 
Newton’s Third Law says your seat is pushing up 
against you with equal force. This is why you are 
not moving. There is a balanced force acting on 
you– gravity pulling down, your seat pushing up.
Think about it . . . 
What happens if you are standing on a 
skateboard or a slippery floor and push against 
a wall? You slide in the opposite direction 
(away from the wall), because you pushed on 
the wall but the wall pushed back on you with 
equal and opposite force. 
Why does it hurt so much when you stub 
your toe? When your toe exerts a force on a 
rock, the rock exerts an equal force back on 
your toe. The harder you hit your toe against 
it, the more force the rock exerts back on 
your toe (and the more your toe hurts).
Review 
Newton’s First Law: 
Objects in motion tend to stay in motion 
and objects at rest tend to stay at rest 
unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. 
Newton’s Second Law: 
Force equals mass times acceleration 
(F = ma). 
Newton’s Third Law: 
For every action there is an equal and 
opposite reaction.
Vocabulary 
Inertia: 
the tendency of an object to resist changes 
in its state of motion 
Acceleration: 
‱a change in velocity 
‱a measurement of how quickly an object is 
changing speed, direction or both 
Velocity: 
The rate of change of a position along 
a straight line with respect to time 
Force: 
strength or energy

discoveringnewtonslaws1

  • 1.
    Newton’s Laws ofMotion Review
  • 2.
    Background Sir IsaacNewton (1643-1727) an English scientist and mathematician famous for his discovery of the law of gravity also discovered the three laws of motion. He published them in his book Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (mathematic principles of natural philosophy) in 1687. Today these laws are known as Newton’s Laws of Motion and describe the motion of all objects on the scale we experience in our everyday lives.
  • 3.
    “If I haveever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent.” -Sir Isaac Newton
  • 4.
    Newton’s Laws ofMotion 1. An object in motion tends to stay in motion and an object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. 2. Force equals mass times acceleration (F = ma). 3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
  • 5.
    Newton’s First Law An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
  • 6.
    What does thismean? Basically, an object will “keep doing what it was doing” unless acted on by an unbalanced force. If the object was sitting still, it will remain stationary. If it was moving at a constant velocity, it will keep moving. It takes force to change the motion of an object.
  • 7.
    What is meantby unbalanced force? If the forces on an object are equal and opposite, they are said to be balanced, and the object experiences no change in motion. If they are not equal and opposite, then the forces are unbalanced and the motion of the object changes.
  • 8.
    Some Examples fromReal Life A soccer ball is sitting at rest. It takes an unbalanced force of a kick to change its motion. Two teams are playing tug of war. They are both exerting equal force on the rope in opposite directions. This balanced force results in no change of motion.
  • 9.
    Newton’s First Lawis also called the Law of Inertia Inertia: the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion The First Law states that all objects have inertia. The more mass an object has, the more inertia it has (and the harder it is to change its motion).
  • 10.
    More Examples fromReal Life A powerful locomotive begins to pull a long line of boxcars that were sitting at rest. Since the boxcars are so massive, they have a great deal of inertia and it takes a large force to change their motion. Once they are moving, it takes a large force to stop them. On your way to school, a bug flies into your windshield. Since the bug is so small, it has very little inertia and exerts a very small force on your car (so small that you don’t even feel it).
  • 11.
    If objects inmotion tend to stay in motion, why don’t moving objects keep moving forever? Things don’t keep moving forever because there’s almost always an unbalanced force acting upon it. A book sliding across a table slows down and stops because of the force of friction. If you throw a ball upwards it will eventually slow down and fall because of the force of gravity.
  • 12.
    In outer space,away from gravity and any sources of friction, a rocket ship launched with a certain speed and direction would keep going in that same direction and at that same speed forever.
  • 13.
    Newton’s Second Law Force equals mass times acceleration. F = ma Acceleration: a measurement of how quickly an object is changing speed.
  • 14.
    What does F= ma mean? Force is directly proportional to mass and acceleration. Imagine a ball of a certain mass moving at a certain acceleration. This ball has a certain force. Now imagine we make the ball twice as big (double the mass) but keep the acceleration constant. F = ma says that this new ball has twice the force of the old ball. Now imagine the original ball moving at twice the original acceleration. F = ma says that the ball will again have twice the force of the ball at the original acceleration.
  • 15.
    More about F= ma If you double the mass, you double the force. If you double the acceleration, you double the force. What if you double the mass and the acceleration? (2m)(2a) = 4F Doubling the mass and the acceleration quadruples the force. So . . . what if you decrease the mass by half? How much force would the object have now?
  • 16.
    What does F= ma say? F = ma basically means that the force of an object comes from its mass and its acceleration. Something very massive (high mass) that’s changing speed very slowly (low acceleration), like a glacier, can still have great force. Something very small (low mass) that’s changing speed very quickly (high acceleration), like a bullet, can still have a great force. Something very small changing speed very slowly will have a very weak force.
  • 17.
    Newton’s Third Law For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
  • 18.
    What does thismean? For every force acting on an object, there is an equal force acting in the opposite direction. Right now, gravity is pulling you down in your seat, but Newton’s Third Law says your seat is pushing up against you with equal force. This is why you are not moving. There is a balanced force acting on you– gravity pulling down, your seat pushing up.
  • 19.
    Think about it. . . What happens if you are standing on a skateboard or a slippery floor and push against a wall? You slide in the opposite direction (away from the wall), because you pushed on the wall but the wall pushed back on you with equal and opposite force. Why does it hurt so much when you stub your toe? When your toe exerts a force on a rock, the rock exerts an equal force back on your toe. The harder you hit your toe against it, the more force the rock exerts back on your toe (and the more your toe hurts).
  • 20.
    Review Newton’s FirstLaw: Objects in motion tend to stay in motion and objects at rest tend to stay at rest unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Newton’s Second Law: Force equals mass times acceleration (F = ma). Newton’s Third Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
  • 21.
    Vocabulary Inertia: thetendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion Acceleration: ‱a change in velocity ‱a measurement of how quickly an object is changing speed, direction or both Velocity: The rate of change of a position along a straight line with respect to time Force: strength or energy