Three Laws of Motion

Isaac Newton was born on December 25, 1643 and was born in Woolsthorpe, near Grantham in Lincolnshire, England. He went to Cambridge University in 1661 and became interested in math, physics, and astronomy. Newton received a bachelors and masters degree. (online) What he is most famous for is developing his three laws of motion. The first law is that an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed going in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. An object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. His second law states that acceleration is produced when a force acts on mass. The greater the amount of mass is the more force is needed to accelerate the object. His third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction (online). There are many everyday examples, and more complex explanations of each of these laws. Isaac Newton’s first law, an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed going in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. An object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force, is also known as “the law of inertia.” Galileo Galilei developed the concept of inertia years before Isaac Newton was born. “The law of inertia” states that every moving object possesses inertia which keeps it moving unless an external force acts upon it. Basically this law means that all objects naturally want to stay in motion. Objects avoid change in their state of motion unless an outside force causes it (Encyclopedia of Earth and Physical Sciences, 2009) The second law of motion developed by Isaac Newton states that acceleration is produced when a force acts on mass.” The greater the amount of mass, the more force needed to accelerate the object.” (online). This law is often represented by the mathematical equation, F=ma (force equals mass times acceleration). This means that an object with more mass takes more force to move the same distance than an object with less mass. As force acting upon an object increases, the acceleration of the object increases. As the mass of an object increases, the acceleration decreases. The direction of the acceleration is in the same direction as the applied force (Encyclopedia of Earth and Physical Sciences, 2009). Isaac Newton’s third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Within this interaction there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects. The size of the first force is the same as the size of the second force. Also, the direction of the force on the first object is opposite to the direction of the force on the second object. In other words, the forces are equal in size, but opposite in direction. “Whenever an object pushes another object, it gets pushed back in the opposite direction with an equal force” (online). An example of this would be if a bat hits a baseball, the force of the bat would be the same as the force of the baseball. (Encyclopedia of Earth and Physical Sciences, 2009). Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion have revolutionized the world. Newton was knighted in 1705 by Queen Anne because of the brilliance of his ideas. Isaac Newton died in 1727. We know now that the ideas of Isaac Newton have laid the foundation for modern science. Newton is now remembered as one of the most accomplished scientists and mathematicians of all time.