Newton „s laws of

motion
Sir Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727)

• Worked out the “three laws

of motion” governing the
movement of all objects at
all times an in all
circumstances.
• He published them in his book
Philosophiae Naturalis
Principia Mathematica
(mathematic principles of
natural philosophy) in 1687.
“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 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.
Newton’s 1st Law of Motion
 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.
1st Law
 THECOIN
WOULD BE IN
REST UNLESS
ACTED UPON BY
AN
UNBALANCED
FORCE
 1st Law
 Once airborne,
unless acted on
by an
unbalanced force
(gravity and air
– fluid
friction), it
would never
stop!
Why was it so difficult
to stop the TITANIC
from colliding with the
iceberg?
 The mass of
th e Tita n ic is
very la r ge.
Inertia is
p r o p o r tio n a te
to m a s s .

The Titanic could not

c h a n g e its d ir ec tio n b ec a u s e
its e x t r e me ly high inertia
f o r c es it to c o n tin u e in a
straight line, t h e reby
colliding with the ic e b e rg.
men
u
 Newton’s Second Law

The acceleration of an object is

directly proportional to the net
force acting on it and inversely
proportional to its mass.
 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 ob ect
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 till
have a great force. Something very
small changing speed very slowly will
have a very weak force.
 Check Your Understanding

 1. What acceleration will result when a 12 N net force applied to

a 3 kg object? A 6 kg object?

 2. A net force of 16 N causes a mass to accelerate at a rate

of 5 m/s2. Determine the mass.

 3. How much force is needed to accelerate a 66 kg

skier 1 m/sec/sec?
 Check Your
Understanding
• 1. What acceleration will result when a 12 N net force applied to a
3 kg object?
12 N = 3 kg x 4 m/s/s

• 2. A net force of 16 N causes a mass to accelerate at a rate of 5

m/s2. Determine the mass.
16 N = 3.2 kg x 5 m/s/s

• 3. How much force is needed to accelerate a 66 kg skier 1

m/sec/sec?

66 kg-m/sec/sec or 66 N
 Newton’s Third Law

For every action there is an equal and

opposite reaction.
3rd Law
According to Newton,
whenever objects A
and B interact with
each other, they exert
forces upon each
other. When you sit in
your chair, your body
exerts a downward
force on the chair and
the chair exerts an
upward force.
 3rd Law
There are two
forces resulting
from this
interaction - a
force on the chair
and a force on
your body.
These two forces
are called action
and reaction
forces.
 3rd Law
Flying gracefully
Reaction through the air,
birds depend on
Newton’s third law
of motion. As the
birds push down on
the air with their
wings, the air pushes
Force their wings up and
gives them lift.
3rd Law
The reaction of a rocket is
an application of the third
law of motion. Various
fuels are burned in the
engine, producing hot
gases.
The hot gases push against
the inside tube of the rocket
and escape out the bottom
of the tube. As the gases
move downward, the rocket
moves in the opposite
direction.
How does a rocket work?
How does a jet plane work?
 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.