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Chapter 4: Problem 22

What are Newton's three laws? Give an everyday example of each law.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Newton's first law states that an object remains at rest or in constant motion unless acted upon by an external force (eg. a book on a table). His second law states that force is the product of mass and acceleration, meaning heavier objects require more force to move (eg. pushing a car). His third law, the action-reaction law, posits that every action has an equal and opposite reaction (eg. walking by pushing backwards on the ground to move forwards).

Step by step solution

01

Define Newton's First Law

Newton's first law, also known as the Law of Inertia, states that 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. An example is keeping a book on a table; it remains at rest unless someone applies a force and moves it.
02

Define Newton's Second Law

Newton's second law states that the force acting on an object is equal to the mass of that object times its acceleration. In everyday life, think of pushing a heavy object like a car; it requires more force to move than does a light object.
03

Define Newton's Third Law

Newton's third law, commonly referred to as the action-reaction law, states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that any force exerted onto an object will create a force of equal magnitude but in the opposite direction on the first object. An example could be walking, where pushing the ground backwards propels you forwards.

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