Newtons 1st and 2nd Laws

Question 1

What is Newton’s first law?

Answer 1

A resultant force is required to change the motion of an object, or in other words, if there isn’t a resultant force, the object’s motion will not change

Question 2

What is Newton’s second law?

Answer 2

If a non-zero resultant force acts on an object, then it will cause the object to accelerate. Also, the size of the resultant force is directly proportional the acceleration it causes

Question 3

In Newton’s second law, the initial motion of the object can cause 5 different things to happen, what are they? Let’s assume the resultant force favors the right

Answer 3

1. If the object was stationary, the resultant force will cause it to start moving towards the right
2. If the object was already moving to the right, the result force will cause it to speed up
3. If the object was travelling to the left, the resultant force would cause it to slow down
4. If the object was travelling to the left more slowly, the resultant force would cause it to become stationary
5. The resultant force could also just cause a change in direction without change in speed this is because acceleration is change in velocity over time and velocity means speed in a particular direction

Question 4

The moon orbits around the earth at a constant speed, what happens to its acceleration?

Answer 4

It’s acceleration is changing because direction is always changing

Question 5

Which formula can we see the second part of Newton’s second law in action?

Answer 5

F = ma
Resultant force = Mass x Acceleration