7. Newton's Laws

Available for over a year

In this episode, James Stewart and Ellie Hurer explore Newton’s three laws of motion, the rules that apply to them and how to calculate Newton's second law. Suitable for: AQA, Edexcel, OCR. For more information on Newton's laws, check out the BBC Bitesize website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zp2fcj6/revision/1 Key learning objectives discussed in this episode: - Newton’s First Law: If the resultant force acting on an object is zero and: - the object is stationary, the object remains stationary - the object is moving, the object continues to move at the same speed and in the same direction. So the object continues to move at the same velocity. - So, when a vehicle travels at a steady speed the resistive forces balance the driving force. - So, the velocity (speed and/or direction) of an object will only change if a resultant force is acting on the object. - Students should be able to apply Newton’s First Law to explain the motion of objects moving with a uniform velocity and objects where the speed and/or direction changes. - (HT only) The tendency of objects to continue in their state of rest or of uniform motion is called inertia. - Newton’s Second Law: The acceleration of an object is proportional to the resultant force - acting on the object, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object. - As an equation: F = ma - Newton’s Third Law: Whenever two objects interact, the forces they exert on each other are equal and opposite. - Students should be able to apply Newton’s Third Law to examples of equilibrium situations.