Science Simplified: Newton’s Three Laws of Motion

What are the three laws of motion? The three laws explain how an object moves when it is affected by another object. The three laws of motion were first stated by Newton in1867. The three laws of motion help us understand how and why things move in our everyday lives.

The first law of motion is also called the Law of Inertia. It states that something that is not moving will continue to not move unless a force is exerted on it. It also states that something moving will continue to move at the same speed forever unless a force is applied to stop the thing from moving. According to the Law of Inertia, if you kick a soccer ball, it is supposed to continue moving at the same speed that it started with. However, in reality, the soccer ball actually starts to slow down and stops after it is kicked, why is this? It is because the air applies force to the ball through air resistance, which causes the ball to slow to a stop. The air is the force acting on the soccer ball.

The second law of motion states that force (F) equals mass (m) times acceleration (a), or F= ma. In other words, the heavier something is, the slower it moves compared to something lighter. A real-life example of this law is when you throw a volleyball and a basketball with the same force, the volleyball will travel further compared to basketball because it is lighter than the basketball. Likewise, to get the basketball to go as far as the volleyball, you will have to throw the basketball harder in order to balance out the extra mass that the basketball has.

The third law of motion states that when a force is applied to something, this “something” applies an equal force that is in the opposite direction of the original force. This is why when you punch a wall, you feel pain as it is also “hitting” you back with the same force that you hit it with. We are able to walk because of this law as we push against the ground which pushes us forward as a result of our force. This is also the reason why it is harder to walk on ice. It is harder for us to apply force onto the ice, which results in the ice applying less force on us too, causing us to move less than compared to on the ground.

Hopefully this helped you understand the three laws of motion better. See you next time!