What Are Newton's Laws?
Newton's laws of motion explain the movement of everyday objects and are important to engineers who design machines, structures and products.Copyright (left, right) 2004 Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA. All rights reserved; (middle) 1689 Sir Godfrey Kneller, Wikimedia Commons http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=scooter&ex=1#ai:MP900425518|
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Newton's first law of motion: Unless an unbalanced force acts on an object, an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion.
Newton's second law of motion: Force = mass x acceleration (aka F=ma)
Newton's third law of motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Engineers apply basic physics concepts such as Newton's laws of motion in a wide range of situations such as designing all sorts of stationary and moving objects, from the massive to the delicate. This includes structures, vehicles and objects such as bridges, rockets, aircraft, seat belts, door knobs and medicine delivery systems. To design objects that perform as we want and are safe, engineers must fully understand the workings of the natural physical laws. Learning how Newton's laws apply in everyday situations and devices enables students to be able to describe how objects move and prepares them for the study of more complex physics concepts.