Newton's Laws of Motion

Name: Newton's Laws of Motion
Author: StemPy Lab

When a bus starts suddenly, you lean back. When it stops, you lean forward. Why? In this course we find what a force really does. We learn Newton's three laws, the idea of momentum and impulse, and why a gun kicks back when it fires.

3 lessons, about 1 h 15 min3 simulations12 problems6 practice questionsPython in every lesson

Created by StemPy Lab

Course outline (3 lessons)

Lesson 1about 25 min
Inertia and Newton's first law
A body keeps its velocity (stays at rest, or moves in a straight line at a steady speed) unless a net force acts on it. This tendency is inertia, and mass measures it. A force is needed to change motion, not to keep it going. The first law holds in inertial frames, frames that are not accelerating.
1 simulation2 practice questions1 Python program2 problems1 question set
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Lesson 2about 25 min
Newton's second law, momentum and impulse
Momentum is $p = mv$ , a vector. Newton's second law says the net force equals the rate of change of momentum, $F = \dfrac{\Delta p}{\Delta t}$ , which for a fixed mass is $F = ma$ . One newton gives $1\ \text{kg}$ an acceleration of $1\ \text{m/s}^2$ . Impulse, force times time, equals the change of momentum and is the area under a force-time graph.
1 simulation2 practice questions1 Python program6 problems2 Python labs
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Lesson 3about 25 min
Newton's third law and conservation of momentum
Forces come in pairs: if A pushes on B, B pushes on A with an equal and opposite force (Newton's third law). The two act on different bodies, so they never cancel each other. Because of this, the total momentum of a group of bodies stays the same when no outside force acts: recoil, explosions and collisions all follow from it.
1 simulation2 practice questions1 Python program4 problems1 note
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Newton's Laws and Momentum: Practice Paper

15 questions · 20 min

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Newton's Laws of Motion

Course outline (3 lessons)

Inertia and Newton's first law

Newton's second law, momentum and impulse

Newton's third law and conservation of momentum

Test Your Learning

Your teacher

Discussion (0)