Newton's Laws of Motion – Part 1

 When we talk about why things move, stop, float, fall, or fly — we’re really talking about Newton’s Laws of Motion. These three elegant laws, introduced by Sir Isaac Newton in 1687, form the foundation of classical mechanics — and they're still used today to explain the motion of everything from rolling soccer balls to orbiting satellites.

First Law: The Law of Inertia

“An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force.”

Examples:

• A coffee cup on your car dashboard stays still — until you slam on the brakes.

• A soccer ball won’t roll unless someone kicks it.

• In space, a satellite keeps moving forever in the same direction — unless it hits something or a force redirects it.

Second Law: The Law of Force and Acceleration

“The force acting on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration.”

$$\mathrm{<b><span\; style="font-family:\; helvetica;">F\; =\; ma</span></b>}$$

The more mass something has, the more force it takes to accelerate it. And the more force you apply, the faster something will accelerate.

Examples:

• It’s easier to push an empty shopping cart than a full one (less mass = less force needed).

• A sprinter accelerates quickly off the blocks because of the strong force from their legs.

• Trucks need more powerful brakes than bikes — because they have more mass and momentum.

Conclusion 

So far, Newton’s laws have taught us this:

• Objects resist change — unless something acts on them.

• Force = mass × acceleration — more mass means more force is needed to move it.

In Part 2, we’ll dive into Newton’s Third Law — the most iconic of all — and

 explore how it governs everything from jet engines to jumping frogs.