6 Laws of Physical Students Need to Know

Posted: Dec 24, 2009 |Comments: 0 | Views: 123 |

Physics is the study of the physical characteristics and processes in the universe. It involves both basic and complex concepts that students need to master. While there are many laws of physics that are beneficial for students to learn, the six basic laws that all students need to memorize are Kepler's first law, Newton's first law of motion, Newton's second law of motion, Newton's third law of motion, Newton's law of gravity and the law of conservation of energy.

Kepler's First Law

A good place to begin when studying physics is Kepler's First Law. This law explains the true path of the planets in our solar system. It states that these orbits are elliptical around the sun. The sun acts as one of the foci in the orbit.

This law is important because it accurately described how the planets moved in their orbits. Previous models utilized circular orbits. These models did not quite fit the reality of the solar system and perplexed scientists for years.

Newton's First Law of Motion

Sir Isaac Newton developed many important laws in physics. The first was Newton's First Law of Motion. This law stated that objects in motion tend to stay in motion and objects at rest tend to stay at rest unless they are acted upon by an outside force. This law also suggests that the velocity of objects in motion will remain constant unless they are also acted upon by an outside force.

Newton's Second Law of Motion

The second law of motion presented by Newton dealt with the relationship between force, mass and acceleration. This relationship was expressed as the formula: force = mass X acceleration. Students also need to understand that the direction of the acceleration is going to be the same as the direction taken by the force.

To complete some calculations using this formula, students will also need to understand the difference between weight and mass. Mass is a volume description while weight is a force description. Weight can be calculated by multiplying an object's mass by gravitational force, which on earth is 9.8 m/s^2.

Newton's Third Law of Motion

In Newton's Third Law of Motion gravitational force is examined. This law suggests that everything in the universe is attracting everything else in the universe. The strength of these attractions is directly proportionate to the product of the constant of nature, expressed as G, the mass of object 1 and the mass of object 2, and inversely proportionate to the square of the distance between object 1 and object 2. This is how the formula is written:

F = (Gm1m2)/r^2

Law of the Conservation of Energy

The law of the conservation of energy simply states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Instead it is transformed from one form to another form. This seems like a radical concept for many students to grasp but it makes sense when you look at it closely. Take the sun's energy for example. It starts out as a chemical energy. It then transitions to solar radiation energy which travels to the Earth and transforms into heat energy.

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