Here’s how each statement corresponds to Newton's Three Laws:
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When riding the bumper cars at the fair, you bump into your friend and your car bounces backwards.
- Newton's 3rd Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
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A ball is rolling straight across the floor until Bradley kicks it.
- Newton's 1st Law: An object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force.
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A bowling ball and a baseball both roll across your foot at the same speed. The bowling ball hurts much more.
- Newton's 2nd Law: F = ma; the bowling ball has more mass, which means it has more momentum and can exert a greater force upon impact.
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Your car breaks down. As your friends help you push it, it begins to move and speed up.
- Newton's 2nd Law: The force applied by your friends causes the car to accelerate (F = ma).
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A fireman turns on his hose and is knocked backwards.
- Newton's 3rd Law: The action of the water being expelled from the hose results in an equal and opposite reaction, pushing the fireman backwards.
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A soccer ball will not move until a player kicks it.
- Newton's 1st Law: The stationary ball will remain at rest until an external force (the kick) acts upon it.
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F = ma
- Newton's 2nd Law: This is the mathematical statement of Newton's Second Law, relating force, mass, and acceleration.