Module 3—Effects of Force on Velocity
Lesson Summary
As you worked through this lesson, you should have developed answers to these questions:
- How do Newton’s laws help explain why motion occurs?
- How do you find a reaction force?
- How does friction affect moving objects?
In contrast to the kinematic equations that describe motion, Newton’s laws explain why motion occurs the way it does. Newton’s third law explains how two bodies interact with an action-reaction force pair. For every action force, a reaction force exists that is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.
In this lesson you were mostly able to ignore friction. In the next lesson you will learn more about friction, a significant factor that should not be ignored.
Lesson Glossary
friction: the resistance to motion between two surfaces in contact