Isaac Newton and His Laws of Motion

Question-and-answer flashcards covering key concepts from Newton, Principia, gravitation, forces, and Newton's laws as presented in the notes.

Who was Isaac Newton and what is he best known for?

An English scientist and mathematician who formulated the laws of motion and the universal law of gravitation; his work Principia Mathematica (1687) laid the foundations of classical mechanics.

What is Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica and why is it important?

Newton's 1687 work in Latin where he presented his laws of motion and the universal law of gravitation; commonly called Principia.

What is the universal law of gravitation?

A law describing the attractive force between masses that governs planetary motion and objects on Earth.

How is force defined in science?

A push or pull on an object that can cause it to accelerate; described by magnitude and direction, and measured in newtons.

How can force be represented visually?

With arrows where the length shows strength and the direction shows the force direction.

What does Newton's Third Law of Motion state?

When one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts an equal in magnitude and opposite in direction force on the first object.

What is a force pair?

Two equal and opposite forces that act on two interacting objects as described by Newton's third law.

Provide an example of Newton's third law in action.

A swimmer pushing against a pool wall; the wall pushes back on the swimmer with equal force in the opposite direction.

What happens in collisions according to Newton's third law?

Interacting bodies exert equal and opposite forces; the effects depend on the objects' masses and how they interact (e.g., car denting the wall, car crumpling).

When did Newton publish Principia and how old was he?

1687; Newton was 44 years old at the time of publication.

Who influenced Newton's development of his laws?

Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and other scientists whose ideas Newton studied and built upon.

What is the Latin translation of Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica?

"Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy."