Newton's Three Laws, step by step
Three statements that describe almost all everyday motion.
- FIRST LAW — INERTIAAn object stays still, or keeps moving steadily, unless a force acts on it.
- SECOND LAW — F = maForce equals mass times acceleration. More force, more acceleration; more mass, less.
- THIRD LAW — ACTION AND REACTIONEvery force has an equal and opposite force acting on the other object.
everyday examples
- 1st: you lurch forward when a car brakes
- 2nd: an empty trolley is easier to push
- 3rd: a rocket pushes gas down, gas pushes rocket up
The third law's pair acts on two DIFFERENT objects. That is why they never cancel out.
Questions about the Newton's Three Laws poster
- What’s on the Newton's Three Laws poster?
- 3 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. Three statements that describe almost all everyday motion. FIRST LAW — INERTIA — An object stays still, or keeps moving steadily, unless a force…; SECOND LAW — F = ma — Force equals mass times acceleration. More force, more accelera…; THIRD LAW — ACTION AND REACTION — Every force has an equal and opposite force acting…. The third law's pair acts on two DIFFERENT objects. That is why they never cancel out.
- Who is the Newton's Three Laws poster for?
- Newton's Three Laws is filed under 8th Grade (ages 13–14), so it matches what that year asks a child to remember. It is equally useful to an older student revisiting science, and to the parent or teacher answering the question at the kitchen table.
- When should you use the Newton's Three Laws poster?
- Find an everyday example of each. Seat belts are the first law made physical. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Newton's Three Laws belongs on the wall where that science work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Newton's Three Laws?
- Energy Transfer and Conservation, Alkali Metals and Alkaline Earth Metals sit alongside Newton's Three Laws in the 8th Grade set. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Energy Transfer and ConservationAlkali MetalsAlkaline Earth Metals
- Is the Newton's Three Laws poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Newton's Three Laws downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the 8th Grade set. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Newton's Three Laws poster print at?
- Newton's Three Laws is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Newton's Three Laws loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Newton's Three Laws on the same wall.
Browse every 8th Grade poster, or start from the full catalogue.