Words to know before you read
The three laws of what?
  • Law- a well established idea in science and one that can be used in many ways.
  • Mass- the property of matter that makes it hard to change motion.

Newton's Three Laws of Motion

1. Every body continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it.

What was that? Look at it this way.

Things only change motion if there is a force acting on them. Such as pushing or pulling.


2. The acceleration of a body is directly proportional to the net force acting on the body and inversely proportional to the mass of the body and is in the direction of the net force.

What? Think of it this way.

The amount of change in motion is less for big things than for small things. The second law says it is easier to push the empty cardboard box your refrigerator came in than the refrigerator.


3. Whenever one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body exerts an equal and opposite force on the first.

In other words...

You cannot touch an object without that object touching you.

Sometimes this law is explained as "to every action there is always an opposed equal reaction."




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