ANCIENT GREEKS’ VIEW OF
on Earth had its appointed place
MATTER, MOTION, AND THE
UNIVERSE
INTRODUCTION
➢ All of our knowledge of Earth and
the Universe were founded on
scientific evidence.
➢ From technological tools to brain
cell-killing theories and
computations, we arrive to a large
collection of data which shaped our
understanding to what it is now.
➢ But without our ancestors and their
sense of wonder and questioning
nature, we will never have known all
of those information that will
eventually guide us to the right path
for our pursuit of knowledge.
➢ These presentation shows how the
Ancient Greek philosophers, with just
their thinking, discipline, and pursuit
of the world’s truth and knowledge
paved the way for all the discoveries
that we will re-discover, debunked,
and polished as we move forward.
THE ELEMENTS AND THE DOMAINS
a. Terrestrial Domain
• The Ancient Greek philosopher
Empedocles (494 - 434 BCE)
presented the four classical
elements listed as earth, water, air,
and fire and the ratio of these four
affected the properties of matter.
• For example, a stone is purely made
out of earth, and a rabbit is a mix of
water, being “soft”, and also fire,
because it is warm and alive.
• These four elements were also
applied by another Greek
philosopher, Aristotle, to present his
ideas about the Universe and
motion.
• He further explained that everything
and function.
• The element earth is at the most
center, being the heaviest.
• Next to earth is water.
• The lighter element, air, and the
lightest element, fire, sought the
outer spherical layer.
• These four are what consist of the
terrestrial domain.
• As Aristotle presented the kind of
motion that is present in the
terrestrial domain as all rectilinear,
meaning, straight-line motion.
❖ Rectilinear Motion:
▪ Natural (Levity and Gravity) Motion
— related to the tendency of
objects to be drawn towards the
earth (downward); lighter matter
(such as air and fire) moves the
opposite.
▪ Violent or Involuntary Motion — an
outside force is acted upon a non-
moving object, making it move on
the direction of the force.
• Levity — the tendency of air and
fire to move up because they are
light elements.
• Gravity — the tendency of water
and earth to go down or return to
the center of the Earth because
they are heavier elements.
b. Celestial Domain
• Aristotle also presented the fifth
classical element, called aether (or
quintessence).
• Aether was one of the teachings of
Plato, which Aristotle adapted in his
presentation of the Universe.
• Aether is described as having the
following characteristics: weightless,
frictionless, undetectable
chemically and physically, and
literally permeating all matter and
space.
• Therefore, it is described as the
matter behind the formation of the
Moon, the Sun, the other plants,
and all of the visible starts in the sky
and everything around them.
• Aristotle, following the teachings of
Plato, described the movement of
aether as perfectly circular and in
constant speed.
• He also said that being circular, the
motion of all celestial bodies has no
beginning and no end.
THE DOMAINS AND THE ANCIENT
ELEMENTS: SUMMARY
PLANETARY MOTION AS OBSERVED BY
THE GREEKS
➢ The Ancient Greeks have observed
these motions of the Earth even
without tools.
➢ They only observed these
movements through their naked eye
and sharp thinking.
1. Diurnal Motion
• It refers to the apparent movement
of stars and other celestial bodies
around the Earth.
• It is caused by the Earth’s rotation
from west to east.
• Man has observed the sun rising
from the east and set in the west.
• The Greek astronomers have
described "fixed stars" moving in the
sky at the same arrangement and
speed as most stars are.
• Stars whose movements deviate
from what seems to be fixed stars
where called planetes which means
"wandering stars" in Greek.
• They identified seven (7) wandering
stars namely: Sun, Moon, Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus.
• In actuality, it is the movement
caused by the rotation of the Earth
on its axis, which is 24 hour long.
• Phenomena observed: rising and
setting of the Sun, movement of the
stars, Moon and planets as seen
here on Earth.
2. Annual Motion
• Apparent yearly movement of the
Sun across a background of stars in
its celestial sphere due to Earth's
revolution.
• Slow movement of sun against
background stars, changing
sunrise/sunset positions, altitude of
sun during year are the
consequences of annual motion.
• In actuality, this motion is attributed
to the revolution of the Earth
around the Sun, 365.25 days in
length to finish one revolution.
❖ Below are the astronomical events
associated to annual motion:
a) Zodiac and the Ecliptic
▪ If we trace the path of the sun
takes in the celestial sphere as we
see on Earth, we would have
traced the ecliptic.
▪ A band of thirteen constellations
collectively called zodiac can be
seen in the ecliptic.
▪ Ancient civilizations have
observed that these constellations
changes through months as they
are visible at different times in a
year.
▪ These constellations served to
mark the time for planting and
used by astronomers to develop a
chart called horoscope.
b) Equinoxes and Solstices
▪ Equinoxes (mean equal nights)
are two days in a year in which
the sun crosses the celestial
equator occurring near March 20
(vernal equinox) and near
September 22 (autumnal
equinox).
▪ Midway between these two
equinoxes is the solstices.
▪ Solstices are the two days in a
year in which the Sun is at the
farthest declination (north or
south) from the celestial equator.
▪ Ancient Greeks and early Chinese
civilizations have recorded
solstices by observing the
declination of the Sun for several
days before and after the solstice.
▪ The calculated half-way between
the days with the equal
declination of the Sun at noon
would be the solstice.
▪ This method also applies for
equinoxes.
3. Precession
• Also called precession of the
equinox, refers to the cyclic
“wobbling” of the Earth because of
its natural tilt measuring 23.5
degrees, on its axis.
• Precession is completed in
approximately 26,000 years.
• Polaris, the North Star now, will be
replaced by Vega in 12,000 years.
• The tilt of the Earth, plus its
revolution, is the reason why there
are seasons in the hemispheres.
• This is also the reason why there are
solstices and equinoxes.
PLANETARY MOTION AS OBSERVED BY
THE GREEKS: SUMMARY
OBSERVATIONS OF THE GREEKS THAT
PROVED THAT THE EARTH IS
SPHERICAL
➢ Even before Plato, the Greeks have
deduced that the Earth is spherical
based on the observation that the
shadow cast by the Earth during the
lunar eclipse is circular and that the
only shape that can cast a circular
shadow at whatever direction it is
pointed is a sphere.
➢ The Greeks were also able to
measure the diameter of the Earth.
1. Pythagoras (570 BCE - 500 BCE)
• Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher
and mathematician, proposed that
the Earth was round by observing
the moon, but only aesthetically
and not physically.
2. Anaxagoras (500 BCE - 428 BCE)
• Anaxagoras, a Greek philosopher
and cosmologist, observed lunar
eclipses and saw that the shadow
formed over the eclipsed Moon are
curved, thus concluding that the
Earth, like the moon, is round or
spherical.
3. Aristotle (384 BCE - 322 BCE)
• Aristotle presented physical
evidences that the Earth is
spherical.
❖ Aristotle’s evidences are the
following:
a) Shape of Celestial Bodies
• Aristotle’s first observation is based
on the shape of other celestial
bodies as what his teacher, Plato,
believes.
• He concluded that because the
Sun and Moon are both round,
then there is the possibility that the
Earth is also round.
b) Solar and Lunar Eclipses
• Just like Anaxagoras’
observations, Aristotle concurred
that the shadows cast upon the
Moon in lunar eclipses are curved,
which made him conclude that
the Earth is spherical.
• They also noticed that there are
times when the moon or part of it
seemed to be covered by a
shadow for a brief moment.
• A lunar eclipse occurs when the
Earth casts its shadow on the
moon when the Earth is between
the Sun and the Moon.
• A phenomenon such as this is
known as a lunar eclipse wherein
the moon changes into a dark or
blood red color.
• Aside from lunar eclipse, the
occurrence of a solar eclipse was
also observed.
• Solar eclipse occurs when the
Moon is in between the Sun and
the Earth, and the moon partially
or completely blocks out the sun.
• Aristotle argued that if the Moon
and the Sun were both spherical,
then perhaps, the Earth was also
spherical.
c) North Star (Polaris)
• The North Star was firstly believed
as a “fixed star”, but as Aristotle
and other Greeks travelled to
places closer to the equator (e.g.,
Egypt), they observed that the
North Star lies closer to the horizon.
• Because of this observation,
Aristotle again concluded that the
world is round.
• He also observed this in
constellations.
d) Ships' Disappearance as They
Passed Over the Horizon
• Aristotle argued that if the Earth
was flat, a ship travelling through
the sea will become smaller as it
goes farther away from the
observer.
• However, the Greeks observed
that the ship became smaller and
then its hull disappeared first
before the sail as if it was being
enveloped by the water until it
completely disappeared.
• The ship’s hull “disappears” first as
it goes down the horizon.
• This will only happen if the world
was round.
e) Phases of the Moon
• Ancient people have observed
that the moon changes its path
and its appearance within a
period of 29.5 days.
• They observed that the moon
changes its appearance from thin
semi-circular disk to full circular
disk.
• These phases of the moon is the
basis of ancient calendars
(Canoy, 2018).
4. Eratosthenes (276 BCE - 194 BCE)
• Eratosthenes, a Greek
mathematician, was told that no
vertical shadow was cast as the sun
rays fall vertically in the city of
Syene in Egypt during summer
solstice (June 21).
• Eratosthenes noted that at the
same time a shadow was cast as
the sun [rays fell at an angle of 7.2°
[or one-fiftieth (1/50) of a circle in
ancient Greek writings] in the city of
Alexandria.
• Eratosthenes determined the angle
that the Sun made with the vertical
direction by measuring the shadow
that a vertical stick cast.
• He found out that in Alexandria, the
Sun makes an angle of 7.2° from the
vertical, whereas in Syene, the Sun
makes an angle of 0°.
• To explain the difference, he
hypothesized that the light rays
coming from the Sun were parallel,
and the Earth was curved.
 CONCLUSION

➢ Ancient Greek philosophers were the

forefront of Western knowledge.
➢ Because of them, we as the later
generation, have learned from their
discoveries and even debunked
some of their erroneous findings
through re-discovery and
experimentation.
➢ Because of their pioneering
discoveries in physics, astronomy
• From his measurements, and cosmology, the later
Eratosthenes computed the generations have developed an
circumference of the Earth to be open-mind and later on, explored
approximately 250,000 stadia or and discovered a lot more which
46,250 km (1 stadia = 185 m), an revealed a lot of truths not only on
approximate 13% to 15% off the real Earth, but also on the whole
value (40,075 km). Universe.
• He assumed that the sun was so
distant that the rays fall parallel to MOTION ACCORDING TO
each other on the Earth's surface
and that the difference in the ARISTOTLE, GALILEO GALILEI,
shadows cast in the two cities was AND ISAAC NEWTON
due to the curvature of the Earth's
round surface. ARISTOTLE AND HIS VIEWS
• Eratosthenes hired a man to pace REGARDING MOTION
the distance between Syene and
Alexandria and was found to be
➢ Aristotle defined natural motion as
5000 stadia (approximately 800 km
objects that are related to the
in modern measurements).
classical element earth are always
• He could then use simple
drawn to the center of the Earth.
proportions to find the Earth's
circumference.
❖ For example:
❖ The sample computation of
Eratosthenes is shown below: ▪ How a stone falls to the ground
▪ How an apple falls from its tree

➢ Aristotle even added that larger and

heavier objects tend to fall faster
compared to lighter objects.

❖ For example:

▪ A bowling ball will fall faster than a

basketball because naturally, a
bowling ball is heavier than a
basketball.
▪ A metal ball will fall faster against a
feather.

❖ Aristotle explained another kind of

• In the mid-20th century, humans
begin to launch satellites in to
space that would help us to
determine the exact circumference
of the Earth which is exactly 40,030
km.
• Eratosthenes calculation of the
Earth's circumference was regarded
with a high precision (whooping
99.93%).
motion:
▪ Pushing or pulling an object causes
“unnatural” motion (or “violent”
motion)
▪ If the cause of motion is removed
(pushing is stopped), then the
object returns to its “natural” state
and stops moving.
▪ Example: An example of this is if a
cannonball was fired from a
cannon, then the first motion will
 be a straight motion. If the
“external force” runs out, then the
cannonball falls straight down
because it has returned to its
natural state.
▪ Example: Another example is if a
man pulls a slab of stone towards
him, then the slab is subjected to
violent motion. Stopping the pulling
will return the stab to its natural
state of non-motion.
➢ In the celestial domain, objects are
said to have circular motion, in
uniform speed.
➢ As this kind of motion happens
outside the Earth’s influence, he
believed that there must be a self-
moved mover, or the Prime Mover.
❖ In summary, Aristotle presented his
laws of motion as:
▪ Objects fall on a constant rate.
Heavier objects fall faster than
lighter objects.
▪ There is a difference between
“natural” motion and “violent”
motion.
▪ Objects in the heavens move in
circular motion. Objects on Earth,
however, move in straight lines,
unless forced to move in a circular
motion.
GALILEO GALILEI AND HIS VIEWS
REGARDING MOTION
❖ Background:
▪ Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642) was an
Italian astronomer, physicist, and
engineer.
▪ He mainly experimented on topics
concerning physics, such as speed
and velocity, gravity, free-fall,
inertia, and projectile motion.
▪ His contributions will garner him the
title of “Father of Modern Physics”.
▪ A notable incident in his life was,
when he was branded as a heretic
by the Catholic Church in 1632
because he refused to recant his
views regarding Copernican
heliocentrism and even defended
his position in his book, “Dialogue
Concerning the Two Chief Word
Systems”.
➢ Galileo Galilei refuted Aristotle’s
ideas about motion by providing
conclusive evidence through
experiments.
➢ The first that he refuted was
Aristotle’s view that heavier objects
fall faster than lighter ones.
➢ He performed free-fall experiments
on the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which
is one of the things he became
famous for.
➢ He was able to conclude that
besides a little resistance, objects of
different weights released at the
same time at the same height, will
reach the ground at the same time.
➢ This result was contrary to Aristotle’s
thought of heavier objects fall faster.
➢ Inertia was also tackled by Galileo.
➢ He explained that inertia is the
tendency of an object to maintain
its state of rest or of uniform speed
along a straight line.
➢ He initiated thought experiments
(experiments using only logic; no
actual materials) on this concept
using balls rolling on inclined planes.
❖ First Scenario:
▪ In a frictionless surface, a ball that
moves on a downward slope
increases in speed while a ball
moving on an upward slope will
lose its speed.
▪ That is because the ball was
influenced by gravity.
▪ According to Galileo, in scenario
C, a ball rolling on a flat, frictionless
surface will keep on rolling with
constant velocity.
❖ Second Scenario:
▪ He experimented further using a
surface with two inclined planes.
▪ In scenario A, the ball was rolled
from a high point.
▪ The ball will reach the same height
at the next incline.
 ▪ At the scenario B, the incline was
lessened, but still the ball will reach
the same height.
▪ At scenario C, he concluded that
the ball would continue to move
indefinitely in a straight line, with
constant speed.
▪ Galileo asserted that if friction was
absent, an object will continue to
move with constant velocity unless
a push or a pull compels it to
change that state.
▪ Galileo called this tendency of
materials to resist change in their
state of motion as inertia.
➢ Galileo also presented his own
explanation of projectile motion.
➢ He posited that the vertical motion
(up/down) is independent from the
horizontal motion (side-to-side).
➢ In this particular scenario, where a
cannonball was fired from a cannon,
the vertical motion slowly decreases,
reaches zero (at the peak), and then
increases in the opposite
(downward) direction.
➢ Horizontal motion is uniform all
throughout, but the vertical motion
will eventually be influenced by
gravity, which will cause the falling of
the object.
➢ He described the motion of
projectiles as a parabola.
❖ In summary, Galileo through his
thought experiments
▪ Developed the concept of motion
in terms of velocity (speed and
direction).
▪ Developed the idea of force, as a
cause of motion.
▪ Determined that the natural state
of an object is rest (velocity with a
magnitude of 0) or uniform motion.
▪ Objects resist change in motion,
which is called inertia.
ISAAC NEWTON AND HIS VIEWS
REGARDING MOTION
❖ Background:
▪ Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was
an English physicist and
mathematician, astronomer, and
author.
▪ He is regarded as one of the most
influential scientists of all time and
a key figure in the scientific
revolution.
▪ He was knighted by Queen Anne
by 1705.
▪ Author of “Mathematical Principles
of Natural Philosophy”
(Philosophiae Naturalis Principia
Mathematica).
▪ Expanded Galileo Galilei’s work, by
presenting his Three Laws of
Motion.
a. First Law of Motion
• It states that “an object at rest will
remain at rest, while an object in
motion will stay in motion unless
acted upon by an external force.”
• This first law is often referred to as
the principle of inertia, which was
developed from the findings of
Galileo Galilei.
• Newton credited this law to him.
• Example: In practice, the First Law
of Motion is the reason why cars
nowadays have seat belts, airbags,
and headrests on their seats. This is
because when a moving car slams
into a wall, all of the contents of the
car will remain in motion until an
outside force will act upon them.
b. Second Law of Motion
• It states that the “acceleration is
produced when a force acts on a
mass.
• The greater the mass (of an object
being accelerated), the greater the
amount of force needed (to
accelerate said object).
• The second law puts a distinction
between the terms “mass” and
“weight.”
• Mass is the amount of matter in a
material.
• Weight is measure of how the force
of gravity acts upon that given
mass.
• The Second Law is usually referred
to with its equation F = m x a (force
= mass times acceleration).
• Example: This principle is applied
when comparing the force required
in pushing a car and a truck. A car
requires less force to push because
it is lighter than the truck. Or if the
 same force is applied, the car will
accelerate faster than the truck.
c. Third Law of Motion
• It states that “for every action, there
is an equal and opposite reaction.”
• This means that for every force
exerted, there is a force that is
equal in size (or magnitude) but
opposite in direction.
• Example: In a practical scenario, a
rower will generate force on the
water by pushing with a paddle,
and the water will generate a force
in the opposite direction, and that
will make the boat go forward.
❖ In summary, Newton presented his
Laws of Motion by working and
expanding on Galileo’s work:
▪ Inertia is resistance to change in
velocity (speed and direction) and
is proportional to the mass of an
object.
▪ Force was introduced.
Mathematical relationships
between force, acceleration and
mass were also presented.
▪ Gravity and how it affects an
object either in free-fall or
parabolic motion was explained
better.
VIEWS ABOUT MOTION
(ARISTOTELIAN, GALILEAN, AND
NEWTONIAN)
INTRODUCTION
➢ All of our knowledge of Earth and
the Universe were founded on
scientific evidences.
➢ From technological tools to brain
cell-killing theories and
computations, we arrive to a large
collection of data which shaped our
understanding to what it is now.
➢ But without our ancestors and their
sense of wonder and questioning
nature, we will never have known all
of those information that will
eventually guide us to the right path
for our pursuit of knowledge.
➢ This module shows how the Ancient
Greek philosophers, with just their
thinking, discipline, and pursuit of the
world’s truth and knowledge paved
the way for all the discoveries that
we will re-discover, debunked, and
polished as we move forward.
ARISTOTELIAN VS. GALILEAN VIEWS
OF MOTION
➢ A universal definition of motion is a
change of location or direction at a
specific point in time an action is
taking place.
➢ The direction, location, and speed
are often used terms to describe it.
➢ Motion is evident in our regular
actions such as eating, walking,
running, dishwashing, and closing
the window and door.
➢ But how can you tell if an object is in
motion?
➢ It has to be emphasized that motion
is relative, it means that motion is
independent of the frame of
reference.
➢ Famous philosophers and scientists
like Aristotle, Galileo, and Newton
have imparted their ideas that laid
the foundation on the concept of
motion.
ARISTOTELIAN VIEWS OF MOTION
➢ Aristotle (c. 384 B.C. to 322 B.C.) was
an Ancient Greek philosopher and
scientist who is still considered one of
the greatest thinkers in politics,
psychology and ethics.
➢ According to him, there is a proper
place for every object in the
universe.
❖ He believed that motion has two
types, natural motion and violent
motion:
a) Natural Motion
▪ As stated by Aristotle, objects in
natural motion have the tendency
to look for their natural resting
place or moment.
▪ For example, the natural motion
that is being referred to by
Aristotle is clearly exemplified by
the fruit of a tree falls into the
ground naturally without being
force to change its direction as
seen in the figure on the right.
▪ Falling towards the earth or
ground is the resting place of the
fruit.
b) Violent Motion
▪ Another type of motion according
to Aristotle is violent motion.
▪ It is a motion that is being
enforced due to the result of a
force or external force applying to
an object.
▪ It is any force that competes
against natural motion.
▪ As seen on the figure on the left,
the Carabao is pulling a cart.
▪ There is an external force from the
Carabao in pulling the cart
causing it to move forward.
▪ There is an external force applied
to the cart.
▪ Most common example of violent
motion is the pushing and pulling
of an object.
➢ Aristotle even added that larger and
heavier objects tend to fall faster
compared to lighter objects.
➢ For example, a bowling ball will fall
faster than a basketball because
naturally, a bowling ball is heavier
than a basketball.
➢ In the celestial domain, objects are
said to have circular motion, in
uniform speed.
➢ As this kind of motion happens
outside the Earth’s influence, he
believed that there must be a self-
moved mover, or the Prime Mover.
❖ In summary, Aristotle presented his
ideas of motion as:
1) Objects fall on a constant rate.
Heavier objects fall faster than
lighter objects.
2) There is a difference between
“natural” motion and “violent”
motion.
3) Objects in the heavens move in
circular motion. Objects on Earth,
however, move in straight lines,
unless forced to move in a circular
motion.
GALILEAN VIEWS OF MOTION
➢ On the other hand, Galileo Galilei
(1564-1642), an Italian Physicist,
viewed motion in contrast to
Aristotle's view.
➢ Galileo stated that the motion of a
body is not due to its composition.
➢ He further asserted that the motion
of a body can be described by
measurement and the changes in
quantifiable variables such as time
and distance.
❖ Other assertions made by Galileo
are as follows:
1) A body that is in uniform motion will
move a distance that is
proportional to the time it will take
to travel;
2) A uniformly accelerating body will
travel at a speed proportional to
time; and
3) An object in motion will keep
moving and the external force is
not necessary to maintain the
motion.
➢ The concept of inertia was also
tackled by Galileo.
➢ He explained that inertia is the
tendency of an object to maintain
its state of rest or of uniform speed
along a straight line.
➢ He initiated thought experiments
(experiments using only logic; no
actual materials) on this concept
using balls rolling on inclined planes.
❖ Experiment 1:
▪ In a frictionless surface, a ball that
moves on a downward slope
increases in speed while a ball
moving on an upward slope will
lose its speed.
 ▪ That is because the ball was
influenced by gravity as seen in the
figure above.
▪ According to Galileo, in scenario
C, a ball rolling on a flat, frictionless
surface will keep on rolling with
constant velocity.
❖ Experiment 2:
▪ He experimented further using a
surface with two inclined planes.
▪ In scenario A, the ball was rolled
from a high point.
▪ The ball will reach the same height
at the next incline.
▪ At scenario B, the incline was
lessened, but still the ball will reach
the same height.
▪ At scenario C, he concluded that
the ball would continue to move
indefinitely in a straight line with
constant speed.
▪ Galileo asserted that if friction was
absent, an object will continue to
move with constant velocity unless
a push or a pull compels it to
change that state.
UNIFORM ACCELERATION
ACCORDING TO GALILEO
➢ Galileo asserted using his cannon
ball experiment that when objects
are dropped simultaneously at the
same height, they will reach the
ground at the same time regardless
of mass, size, and air resistance.
➢ This experiment paved the way for
the discovery of the principle of
uniform acceleration.
➢ Galileo also presented his own
explanation of projectile motion.
➢ He posited that the vertical motion
(up/down) is independent from the
horizontal motion (side-to-side).
➢ In this particular scenario where a
cannonball was fired from a cannon,
the vertical motion slowly decreases,
reaches zero (at the peak), and then
increases in the opposite
(downward) direction.
➢ Horizontal motion is uniform all
throughout, but the vertical motion
will eventually be influenced by
gravity, which will cause the falling of
the object.
➢ He described the motion of
projectiles as a parabola.
NEWTON’S LAW OF MOTION
➢ Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was an
English physicist and mathematician,
astronomer, and author.
➢ He is regarded as one of the most
influential scientists of all time and a
key figure in the scientific revolution.
➢ He was knighted by Queen Anne by
1705.
➢ He authored the “Mathematical
Principles of Natural Philosophy”
(Philosophiae Naturalis Principia
Mathematica).
➢ He also expanded Galileo Galilei’s
work by presenting his Three Laws of
Motion.
1. First Law of Motion (Law of Inertia)
• It states that “an object at rest will
remain at rest, while an object in
motion will stay in motion unless
acted upon by an external force.”
• This first law is often referred to as
the principle of inertia, which was
developed from the findings of
Galileo Galilei.
• Newton credited this law to him.
• In practice, the First Law of Motion is
the reason why cars nowadays
have seat belts, airbags, and
headrests on their seats.
• This is because when a moving car
slams into a wall, all of the contents
of the car will remain in motion until
an outside force will act upon them.
• There are two clauses or parts to this
statement — one that predicts the
behavior of stationary objects and
the other that predicts the behavior
of moving objects.
❖ The two parts are summarized in the
diagram below:
• The behavior of all objects can be
described by saying that objects
tend to "keep on doing what they're
doing" (unless acted upon by an
unbalanced force).
• If at rest, they will continue in this
same state of rest.
• If in motion with an eastward
velocity of 5 m/s, they will continue
in this same state of motion (5 m/s,
East).
• In a practical scenario, a rower will
generate force on the water by
pushing with a paddle, and the
water will generate a force in the
opposite direction, and that will
make the boat go forward.

2. Second Law of Motion (Law of

Acceleration)

• It states that the “acceleration is

produced when a force acts on a
mass."
• The greater the mass (of an object
being accelerated), the greater the
amount of force needed (to
accelerate said object).
• It is mathematically represented by
the formula F=ma where F is the
force experienced by the object, m
is the mass and a is the
acceleration.
• The second law puts a distinction
between the terms “mass” and
“weight.”
• Mass is the amount of matter in a
material.
• The standard unit for mass is
kilogram (kg).
• Weight is measure of how the force
of gravity acts upon that given mass
and the unit for weight is Newton
(N).

❖ Example:

a) For example, your mass is 60 kg. To

determine your weight, we will
multiply your mass by the
acceleration due to gravity (g)
which is approximately 9.8 m/s2. It
will give as an answer of 588 N. This
will be your weight here on Earth.
b) However, if you are on the Moon,
your weight will be different since
the gravity of the Moon is only 1/6
that of Earth.

• This principle is applied when

comparing the force required in
pushing a car and a truck.
• A car requires less force to push
because it is lighter than the truck or
if the same force is applied, the car
will accelerate faster than the truck.

3. Third Law of Motion (Law of

Interaction)

• It states that “for every action, there

is an equal and opposite reaction.”
• This means that for every force
exerted, there is a force that is
equal in size (or magnitude) but
opposite in direction.