Newtons Laws of Motion

Objectives
1. To learn about Newtons first law of motion.
2. To learn about Newtons second law of motion.
3. To learn about Newtons third law of motion.
4. To be able to determine which law of motion is which.
Introduction
Newtons three laws are important because they apply to almost everything we see in everyday
life. They tell us how things move or sit still. Newtons laws explain why buildings dont fall
down, how water flows, and how cars work. We use Newtons three laws every day.
1. Newtons First Law
Newtons first law states: An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion
with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
Newtons first law is commonly referred to as the law of inertia. Inertia is the resistance of any
physical object to any change in its state of motion including speed, direction, or state of rest.
2. Newtons Second Law
Newtons second law states: The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly
proportional to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and
inversely proportional to the mass of the object
Newtons second law can be expressed as the equation: Fnet=m x a. In this equation Fnet is the
net force (sum) of all forces, m stands for the mass of the object, and a stands for how fast the
object is moving (or accelerating).
3. Newtons Third Law:
Newtons third law states: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
This means that for every interaction there is not one but two forces acting on the object. Since
the forces have to be equal the forces on the first object equals the forces on the second object.
Before Coming to Lab
1. Read the lab manual for experiment 3.
2. What are the goals for this experiment?
3. Give one example of how Newtons laws are used in everyday life.
Apparati:
Kick ball
Baseball

 Ping pong ball

Dominos
Balloon
Procedures:
Experiment 1:
1. Place the kickball on the ground.
2. Kick the ball.
3. Observe the balls action.
4. What law of motion is this?
Experiment 2:
1. Line up 10 dominos in a row.
2. Roll the baseball into the dominos.
3. Record your observations.
4. Line up the dominos again.
5. Roll the ping pong ball into the dominos.
6. Record your observations.
7. What law of motion is this? Why did this happen?
Experiment 3:
1. Blow up a balloon. DONT TIE OFF
2. Let the balloon go.
3. Record your observations.
4. What law of motion is this?