Isaac Newton Bio & Scientific Discoveries

Newton's Three Laws of Motion By Sharon Fabian Isaac Newton was born in 1643. His family was wealthy, so in some ways he had advantages over other kids his age, but in other ways he was disadvantaged. Isaac's father had died before Isaac was born, and he was raised by his grandmother and other relatives. At first he probably was not encouraged to learn much in school. He didn't pay attention in school and was described as lazy. It was only after an uncle encouraged him to prepare to go on to college that he began to take an interest in school and to develop his talents. One of the skills he developed while still in school was making model machines, including clocks and windmills. In college he began studying the latest theories in math. Soon he was coming up with theories of his own, and today Sir Isaac Newton is well known for his three laws of motion as well as for other scientific breakthroughs. Here are Sir Isaac Newton's three laws of motion. Law 1 - An object moving in a straight line will continue moving in a straight line unless acted on by an outside force. Also, an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted on by an outside force. The word for this is inertia. Law 2 - Force will cause a change in the motion of an object. The change in motion depends on the amount of force and the mass of the object. There is a formula for this: F = ma (force equals mass times acceleration). Law 3 - For each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. These three laws will make more sense, and be a lot more interesting, if you do some experiments to demonstrate each law. Maybe Sir Isaac did some similar experiments when he was testing out his theories. To demonstrate the first law, you might want to try the old trick of pulling the tablecloth out from under the dishes on the table. If you do it just right, you will remove the tablecloth without causing the dishes to crash to the floor. Then again, maybe you wouldn't want to try that one, even though Newton's first law says that objects at rest, like the dishes, will stay at rest. Another way to demonstrate inertia is to show what can happen when you don't wear your seat belt. A safe way to demonstrate this is with a small toy truck, a clay figure, a ramp, and a brick. Place the little clay figure in the toy truck. Place the brick just a short distance past the end of the ramp. The toy truck can roll down the ramp until it hits the brick. When it hits the brick, the truck will stop suddenly, but the clay figure will keep moving forward and fly out of the truck because of inertia. For the second law, there are many demonstrations that you can do. Anything that involves using a force to move an object would demonstrate Newton's second law. You might want to try an experiment in which you change the amount of force that you use or change the mass of the objects that you try to move. For example, you could set up a little seesaw, made from a ruler balanced on a pencil. Try objects of different weights at the one end and drop something on the other end to see which object moves the farthest. Or, try dropping the objects from different heights. The third law is fun to demonstrate. One way is with a basketball and roller skates. Two kids, each wearing roller skates, stand facing each other and throw a basketball back and forth. As each kid pushes the basketball forward, he will roll backwards on his skates. That is the equal and opposite reaction described in the third law. You can also build a balloon racer to demonstrate the third law. Tie a string between two chairs, pretty far apart. Put an empty pen case or a section of a straw on the string so that it can slide along the string. Now blow up a balloon but don't tie it. Carefully tape the balloon to the pen case or straw, then let go. The action of the air shooting out of the balloon causes a reaction of the balloon racing across the string towards the opposite end. If you don't feel like doing experiments, you can always observe Newton's laws of motion in another location, an amusement park. Roller coasters, merry-go-rounds, and bumper cars all follow Newton's three laws of motion and are part of the science of force and motion. Sir Isaac Newton's only discovery was the three laws of motion. true false According to the first law, an object that is sitting still will stay that way unless acted on by an outside force. true false The formula F = ma means "force equals motion times acceleration." true false The third law says that some actions will produce an equal and opposite reaction. true false Sir Isaac Newton probably never conducted any experiments. true false One word that sums up the first law is: force inertia motion acceleration Bumper cars colliding and bouncing back are an example of which law? 1st law 2nd law 3rd law Which law might require you to do some math calculations? 1st law 2nd law 3rd law Pulling a tablecloth out from under dishes and the dishes not moving is an example of which law? 1st law 2nd law 3rd law Adding force to a soccer ball in order to increase its acceleration would be an example of which law? 1st law 2nd law 3rd law What was Newton’s father’s occupation? farmer grammar teacher professor lawyer Where did Newton become a professor? Sorbonne University of Glasgow Cambridge Oxford The video says Newton was most concerned with glory and fame True False In 1671 Newton: became president of the Royal Academy demonstrated his reflecting telescope lost his professorship divorced his wife The video states that Newton’s Principia is largely regarded as the most influential science book ever written. True False After his nervous breakdown, Newton shifted his focus to philosophy and: religion alchemy metallurgy philanthropy (doing acts of service) Newton always remained a private person. True False What did Newton invent? A telescope New Mathematical systems Discovered a new planet The wheel Newton figured out his new theory while sitting under what tree? Apple Peach Orange Money Which scientists discovered that Earth orbits the sun, just like the other planets? Pikachu, Charizard, and Mew Kepler, Copernicus, and Galileo Hobbes, Locke, Bacon What force pulls objects to the ground AND makes the moon orbit the Earth? Friction Inertia Gravity Why doesn't the moon crash into the Earth? It is too small It is too far away Earth has a natural forcefield What was the name of Newton's theory? Theory of gravity Theory of Universal Gravitation Theory of Unified Gravity What honor was Newton given. The President of the Royal Society in London King of England The President of the London Science Club Which of the following was not true of Newton He created a theory about gravity He was influenced by an apple He created the heliocentric theory