
Sir Isaac Newton's three laws of motion explain the relationship between an object's motion and the forces acting on it. Newton's first law of motion, also known as the law of inertia, states that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue moving with a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force. The second law of motion relates the force acting on an object to its mass and acceleration. The force is equal to the product of mass and acceleration, where acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. Newton's third law of motion, the law of action and reaction, states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. These laws form the foundation of classical mechanics, one of the main branches of physics.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| First Law of Motion | An object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will continue moving with a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force. Also known as the Law of Inertia. |
| Second Law of Motion | The rate of change of momentum of any object is directly proportional to the force applied on the object in the direction of the force. The force on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration. |
| Third Law of Motion | To every action, there is always an equal and opposite reaction. When two bodies interact, they apply forces on each other that are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. |
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What You'll Learn

Objects at rest and in motion
Newton's laws of motion explain the relationship between an object's motion and the forces acting on it. They describe how objects behave at rest and in motion.
Newton's first law of motion, also known as the Law of Inertia, states that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue moving with a constant velocity in a straight line, unless acted upon by an unbalanced external force. This tendency to resist changes in the state of motion is called inertia. In other words, objects behave predictably. For example, a ball sitting on a table will not start rolling or fall off the table unless a force acts upon it to cause it to do so. Similarly, a moving ball will not change its direction unless a force causes it to move from its path.
Newton's second law of motion defines force as the rate of change of momentum (mass times velocity) per change in time. It states that the force on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration. This law also explains deceleration or slowing down, which can be thought of as acceleration with a negative sign. For instance, a ball rolling down a hill moves faster or accelerates as gravity acts in the same direction as the motion (positive acceleration). On the other hand, if the same ball is rolled up a hill, gravity acts in the opposite direction of the motion, causing the ball to decelerate or slow down (negative acceleration).
Newton's third law of motion, the law of action and reaction, states that for every action (force) in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, if object A exerts a force on object B, object B also exerts a force of equal magnitude but in the opposite direction on object A. Forces always occur in pairs, and they result from interactions. For example, when a book rests on a table, it applies a downward force equal to its weight on the table, and the table exerts an equal and opposite force on the book, pushing it upward.
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Force and acceleration
Newton's three laws of motion explain the relationship between an object's motion and the forces acting on it. Newton's first law of motion, also known as the law of inertia, states that an object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change by an external force. This means that objects will behave predictably, only changing their motion or direction if a force acts upon them.
Newton's second law of motion defines force as equal to the change in momentum (mass times velocity) per change in time. This can also be stated as the rate of change of momentum being directly proportional to the force applied on the object in the direction of the force. This law relates the force acting on an object to its mass and acceleration. It explains that it takes more force to move a heavy object than a light one and also explains deceleration or slowing down.
Newton's third law of motion is the law of action and reaction. This states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When one body exerts a force on another, the second body exerts a force of the same magnitude but in the opposite direction. Forces always occur in pairs and result from interactions.
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Mass and velocity
Newton's laws of motion explain the relationship between an object's motion and the forces acting on it. Newton's first law of motion, also known as the law of inertia, states that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue moving with a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force. This means that objects behave predictably and will not change their motion or direction unless a force acts upon them.
Newton's second law of motion defines force as equal to the change in momentum (mass times velocity) per change in time. This law relates the force acting on an object to its mass and acceleration. The force is equal to the product of mass and acceleration, where acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. For example, the bicycle is the mass, and the leg muscles pushing on the pedals of the bicycle are the force. This law also explains deceleration or slowing down, which can be thought of as acceleration with a negative sign. For instance, a ball rolling down a hill moves faster or accelerates as gravity acts in the same direction as the motion (positive acceleration). However, if the ball is rolled up a hill, gravity acts in the opposite direction of the motion, resulting in negative acceleration or deceleration.
Newton's third law of motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When one body exerts a force on another body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force of the same magnitude but in the opposite direction on the first body. This means that forces always occur in pairs, and the concept applies to any motion. For example, when standing on the ground, you push down on the Earth with a certain force, and the Earth pushes back up at you with an equal force.
Together, Newton's three laws of motion revolutionized our understanding of the physical world and provided the foundation for classical mechanics, a branch of physics that studies how objects move or remain at rest when forces act upon them. These laws show that the motion of objects is intimately tied to the forces acting on them, and they have been further developed and expanded upon since Newton's time.
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Action and reaction
Newton's Third Law of Motion, also known as the Law of Action and Reaction, states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that when one body exerts a force on another, the second body exerts a force of equal magnitude but in the opposite direction on the first body.
For example, when you are standing on the ground, you are pushing down on the Earth with a certain force, and the Earth pushes back up on you with the same amount of force. Similarly, when an aircraft is in motion, the air is deflected downward by the airfoil's action, and in reaction, the wing is pushed upward. The motion of a spinning ball also demonstrates this law: the air is deflected to one side, and the ball reacts by moving in the opposite direction.
Newton's Third Law highlights that forces always occur in pairs and result from interactions. This law is a fundamental principle that helps us understand the behaviour of objects in various scenarios and is essential in the field of classical mechanics.
Newton's Third Law of Motion is closely related to his First and Second Laws. The First Law, or the Law of Inertia, states that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue moving with a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force. The Second Law relates the force acting on an object to its mass and acceleration, with the force being equal to the mass multiplied by the acceleration. Together, these laws provide valuable insights into the relationship between an object's motion and the forces acting on it.
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Inertia and motion
Newton's laws of motion explain the relationship between an object's motion and the forces acting on it. Newton's first law, also known as the law of inertia, states that an object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change by an external force. This tendency to resist changes in the state of motion is inertia. Inertia was first conceptualised by Galileo Galilei, who deduced the principle from experiments with balls rolling down inclined planes. Galileo's idea of inertia was not exactly the same as what was later codified into Newton's first law. He thought that a body moving a long distance inertially would follow the curve of the Earth. This idea was corrected by Isaac Beeckman, Descartes, and Pierre Gassendi, who recognised that inertial motion should be motion in a straight line.
Newton's second law defines force to be equal to the change in momentum (mass times velocity) per change in time. The force acting on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration. This law relates the force acting on an object to its mass and acceleration. The rate of change of momentum of any object is directly proportional to the force applied on the object in the direction of the force.
Newton's third law states that for every action (force) in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If object A exerts a force on object B, object B also exerts an equal and opposite force on object A. In other words, forces always occur in pairs and result from interactions.
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Frequently asked questions
An object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue moving at a constant speed and in a straight line unless acted upon by an unbalanced external force.
The rate of change of momentum of any object is directly proportional to the force applied on the object in the direction of the force. This means that heavier objects need more force to move than lighter ones.
To every action, there is always an equal and opposite reaction. This means that if body A exerts a force on body B, then body B exerts a force of equal magnitude and in the opposite direction on body A.
Newton's laws of motion are three statements that describe the physical relations between the forces acting on a body and the motion of the body.
Newton's laws of motion explain the relationship between a physical object and the forces acting upon it, providing the basis of modern physics.



















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