Have you ever wondered why a ball keeps rolling after you kick it… but eventually stops? Or why it’s easier to push an empty shopping cart than a full one? Or why when you jump, you land back on the ground instead of floating away?
These everyday moments are all connected to something called Newton’s Laws of Motion — three simple ideas that explain how and why things move.
Even though these laws were written down hundreds of years ago by a man named Isaac Newton, they still explain every move you make today — from riding a bike, to throwing a ball, to launching rockets into space.
In this article, we’re going to break down each of Newton’s three laws in the easiest way possible, with real-life examples you can try at home. By the end, you’ll not only understand them — you’ll start noticing them everywhere you go.
Newton’s First Law – The Law of Inertia
Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion says:
“An object will stay at rest if it’s at rest, and it will keep moving at the same speed and in the same direction if it’s already moving — unless a force acts on it.”
This is also called the Law of Inertia.
What is Inertia?
Inertia is a natural property of matter — everything around you has it. It’s like the object’s own stubbornness. If something is still, it doesn’t want to start moving. If something is moving, it doesn’t want to stop or change direction.
Think of a sleeping cat. If it’s lying peacefully, it doesn’t suddenly leap up without a reason. You have to poke it, call it, or make a sound to get it moving. Objects are the same way — they need a “reason” (a force) to change what they’re doing.
Breaking It Down
An object at rest stays at rest
If a football is lying on the grass, it won’t roll away by itself. Something — like a foot kicking it — must push it before it moves.
An object in motion stays in motion
Once the ball is rolling, it wants to keep rolling at the same speed in the same direction. But on Earth, it will eventually stop because of forces like friction (the rubbing between the ball and the ground) and air resistance (the air pushing against it).
It takes a force to change motion
Whether you want to start, stop, or change direction, you need a push or a pull. Without it, the object keeps doing exactly what it was doing.
Everyday Examples
Riding a bike
When you pedal, you give the bike a push. If there were no friction or air resistance, you could pedal once and coast forever. But in real life, the bike slows down unless you keep pedaling.
Car seatbelts
Your body has inertia too. If a car is moving and suddenly stops, your body wants to keep moving forward at the same speed. The seatbelt is the force that stops you safely.
Sliding on ice
On ice, friction is very low. That’s why if you push something, it will slide much farther than it would on rough ground.
A Fun Experiment
You can see the First Law in action with the tablecloth trick:
- Put a smooth cloth on a table.
- Place a few lightweight objects (like plastic cups) on top.
- Pull the cloth quickly and smoothly.
The cups will barely move because their inertia keeps them in place, even though the cloth moves out from under them.
Why It’s Important
Newton’s First Law helps us understand why things move and why they stop. It’s why astronauts floating in space have to push off walls to move, and why athletes need to stop their motion before changing direction.
Once you see it, you start noticing inertia everywhere — from the way your backpack keeps sliding when you brake suddenly, to how a bus jerks when it starts moving.
Newton’s Second Law – Force, Mass, and Acceleration
Newton’s Second Law tells us exactly how motion changes when a force is applied. In simple words:
“The bigger the force you use, the faster an object will speed up. The heavier the object, the harder it is to speed it up.”
This is often written as:
Force = Mass × Acceleration
or
F = m × a
Breaking Down the Law
Force is just a push or pull.
Mass means how much matter (stuff) an object has — its heaviness.
Acceleration means how quickly something speeds up or slows down.
The Second Law says that acceleration depends on two things:
- How much force you use.
- How heavy the object is.
Everyday Examples
1. Pushing a Shopping Cart
If the cart is empty (low mass), a small push makes it speed up easily. But if the cart is full of groceries (high mass), you have to push much harder to get the same acceleration.
2. Kicking a Ball vs. a Bowling Ball
Kick a soccer ball, and it flies across the field. Try the same kick on a bowling ball, and it barely moves — because the bowling ball has much more mass.
3. Cars and Trucks
A small car needs less force to reach high speed compared to a massive truck. That’s why trucks have bigger, more powerful engines — they need more force to move all that weight.
Acceleration in Action
Acceleration isn’t just about speeding up — it also means slowing down or changing direction.
- When you slam on the brakes in a car, you’re applying a force in the opposite direction to reduce speed.
- When you turn your bike’s handlebars, you’re applying a force that changes direction while still moving forward.
Try It at Home
You can test Newton’s Second Law with two toy cars and some weights:
- Push both cars with the same force.
- One car is empty, the other has small weights inside.
- The lighter car will speed up more because it has less mass to move.
You can also try pushing the same car harder and watch how much faster it accelerates compared to a gentle push.
Why This Law Matters
Newton’s Second Law is used everywhere:
- Engineers use it to design rockets, making sure engines have enough force to overcome the rocket’s huge mass.
- Athletes use it when training — they know that building strength (force) can help them accelerate faster in sports.
- Even video game designers use it to make virtual objects move in a realistic way.
Once you understand it, you realize that motion is not random — it follows clear rules, and you can predict exactly how something will move if you know its mass and the force applied.
Newton’s Third Law – Action and Reaction
Newton’s Third Law says:
“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
This means that whenever one object pushes on another, the second object pushes back with the same amount of force — just in the opposite direction.
It doesn’t matter if the objects are big or small, or if one is moving and the other is still. The forces always come in pairs, and they’re always equal in size but opposite in direction.
Understanding the Idea
Think about jumping off a small boat into the water. As you push the boat backward with your feet, you move forward into the water — that’s action and reaction in real life. The boat moves backward because it’s reacting to the push you gave it.
Everyday Examples
1. Walking
When you walk, your foot pushes backward on the ground (action), and the ground pushes you forward (reaction). Without that push from the ground, you couldn’t move forward at all.
2. Swimming
When you push the water backward with your hands, the water pushes you forward with the same force. That’s what makes you glide through the pool.
3. Rockets
Rocket engines push hot gases downward (action), and in return, the gases push the rocket upward (reaction). This is exactly how rockets lift off into space.
Small but Powerful Reactions
You can see Newton’s Third Law in action even with small objects. Try blowing up a balloon, then letting it go without tying it. The air rushes out one way (action), and the balloon zips around in the opposite direction (reaction).
Try It at Home
Here’s an easy experiment:
- Sit on a chair with wheels (like an office chair).
- Hold a heavy object, like a thick book.
- Throw the book forward gently.
You’ll feel yourself roll backward in the chair — the throw was the action, and your backward movement is the reaction.
Why This Law Matters
Newton’s Third Law explains so much about how we move and interact with the world:
- It’s the reason birds can fly — their wings push air down, and the air pushes them up.
- It’s how fish swim — their tails push water backward, and the water pushes them forward.
- It’s why a basketball bounces — when it hits the ground, the ground pushes back with equal force, sending it up again.
Once you start looking for it, you’ll see action and reaction everywhere — from the way you jump on a trampoline to how a skateboard shoots backward when you step off too quickly.
How Newton’s Three Laws Work Together
While Newton wrote these laws separately, in the real world, they’re like three teammates working on the same job. Almost every single thing that moves — from a marble rolling across the floor to a rocket flying into space — is obeying all three laws at the same time.
When you can see all three laws in action together, you start to understand why things move the way they do — and you can even predict what will happen before it happens.
Example 1: Kicking a Soccer Ball
First Law – Inertia
Before you touch it, the soccer ball just sits there on the grass. It won’t roll away by itself — it’s happy to stay still until a force (your foot) makes it move.
Second Law – Force, Mass, and Acceleration
The harder you kick, the faster it speeds up. If you kick a heavier ball (like a medicine ball), you’ll notice it doesn’t go as far — it needs more force to get the same speed.
Third Law – Action and Reaction
When your foot pushes forward on the ball, the ball pushes back on your foot with equal force. That’s the solid “thud” you feel when you kick.
In one single kick, you’ve just used all three of Newton’s Laws.
Example 2: Riding a Bike
- At first, your bike is at rest (First Law). To get moving, you need to push the pedals to overcome inertia.
- If you push the pedals harder, you’ll accelerate faster (Second Law). If you go uphill, you’ll notice it’s harder — gravity is adding extra “mass” for you to fight against.
- As you push each pedal down, the pedal pushes back up on your foot (Third Law). Without that push-back, you wouldn’t be able to keep balance or keep the bike moving smoothly.
Even turning a corner uses all three: your body’s inertia wants to keep going straight, you apply a force to turn (Second Law), and the road pushes back on your tires (Third Law).
Example 3: Space Rockets
Rockets are the perfect example of all three laws working at once:
- Before launch, the rocket sits still on the pad (First Law).
- Powerful engines create a huge force to lift the rocket’s massive weight (Second Law).
- The rocket pushes gases downward, and the gases push the rocket upward with equal force (Third Law).
Without all three laws, space travel wouldn’t even be possible.
Try This “All Three Laws” Experiment
You can use a skateboard or rolling chair to feel all three laws yourself:
- Sit on the skateboard holding a ball. You won’t move until you throw it (First Law).
- Throw the ball gently, then throw it harder — notice how you move faster with a stronger throw (Second Law).
- As you throw the ball forward, your body rolls backward (Third Law).
In just one small experiment, you can feel Newton’s three laws in your own body.
Understanding how these laws work together gives you a superpower: you can start predicting motion in sports, in driving, in building, or even in games. And once you see them, you can’t “unsee” them — they’re everywhere.
How Debsie Helps Kids Master Newton’s Laws of Motion
Newton’s Laws of Motion aren’t just dusty words from an old science book — they’re the rules that explain almost everything we see moving in the world. At Debsie, we believe the best way for kids to learn them is not by reading a paragraph and moving on, but by experiencing them in action.
Our partner teachers turn these laws into something your child can see, touch, test, and even laugh about. That way, the knowledge sticks — not for a week, but for life.
1. Live Demonstrations That Spark Curiosity
In every Debsie live class, the teacher makes science visible. If we’re talking about Newton’s First Law, they might balance a coin on top of a card, then flick the card away so the coin drops straight into a glass. Students watch inertia happen right before their eyes.
And it’s never a one-way show. Kids are encouraged to grab simple items from around the house — like toy cars, rulers, marbles, or skateboards — and join in. Learning becomes active, not passive.
2. Real-World “Newton Missions”
We know kids remember more when they figure something out themselves. That’s why our classes include small, creative challenges that link Newton’s Laws to their everyday world. Examples include:
- First Law Challenge: Find three examples of inertia in your home and explain them to the class.
- Second Law Challenge: Change the weight in a toy car and time how long it takes to travel the same distance.
- Third Law Challenge: Build a balloon-powered car and see how far the reaction force will push it.
These missions turn science into an adventure. Kids aren’t just learning — they’re experimenting like real scientists.
3. Making Complicated Ideas Simple
Newton’s Laws can sound intimidating when explained with heavy textbook words. At Debsie, our teachers use language that a 7-year-old can understand without losing the depth older students need.
Instead of saying:
“Acceleration is directly proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to mass,”
They’ll say:
“The harder you push, the faster it moves — unless it’s heavier, then you need to push harder.”
By stripping away the jargon, we make physics easy, clear, and fun — even for kids who think they’re “not science people.”
4. Skills Beyond Science
When children work with Newton’s Laws through hands-on activities, they’re building much more than science knowledge. They develop:
- Critical thinking – Asking why something happened and how to test it again.
- Problem-solving skills – Figuring out how to make an experiment work better.
- Observation skills – Noticing the small details in movement.
- Creativity – Using everyday objects to explain big ideas.
These skills prepare them for every subject — and for life beyond school.
5. Connecting to the Bigger World
We don’t teach Newton’s Laws in isolation. We connect them to sports, space travel, car safety, roller coasters, drones, and even video game design. Kids start to see that these three simple rules explain how the whole universe moves.
When children realize science is not just about passing a test — it’s about understanding the world around them — their confidence grows. They start looking at a bouncing ball, a racing bike, or even a flying bird and saying, “I know why that happens.”
A Fun Family Game: Spot Newton’s Laws in Action
One of the easiest — and most enjoyable — ways for kids to truly understand Newton’s Laws is to hunt for them in real life. Once they know what to look for, these laws stop being “just school science” and start becoming the secret rules that explain everything that moves.
You can turn this into a family game that works anywhere — at home, in the park, in the supermarket, or even while watching a sports match on TV.
How to Play
Step 1 – Choose Your Location
Pick a place where there’s a mix of moving and still objects. The playground, the backyard, the living room, or even a sports field are perfect.
Step 2 – Be a Motion Detective
Look closely at what’s happening around you. Notice how things start moving, keep moving, slow down, or change direction.
Step 3 – Match What You See to a Law
- Newton’s First Law (Inertia) – Spot something that stays still until a force moves it, or something that keeps moving until something slows it down.
- Newton’s Second Law (F = m × a) – Find examples where a bigger push or pull makes something speed up more, or where a heavier object needs more force to move.
- Newton’s Third Law (Action & Reaction) – Look for two objects pushing or pulling against each other, moving in opposite directions with equal force.
Step 4 – Share and Explain
Take turns explaining your examples in simple words. The goal isn’t to “get the right answer” every time — it’s to notice and think. If you’re not sure, talk it out together.
Example Round
If you’re at the park, you might spot:
- A soccer ball lying on the grass → First Law (it won’t move until kicked).
- A child pushing a swing harder → Second Law (more force = higher acceleration).
- A seesaw → Third Law (one side pushes down, the other side goes up).
If you’re at home, you might notice:
- A toy car slowing down on the carpet → First Law (it wants to keep rolling, but friction stops it).
- Lifting a heavy grocery bag vs. a light one → Second Law (the heavier one needs more force).
- Blowing up a balloon and letting it go → Third Law (air rushes out one way, balloon zooms the other way).
Why This Game Works
By turning science into a game, kids stop thinking of it as something that lives in a textbook. Instead, they see Newton’s Laws as a part of everyday life. This boosts their curiosity and builds a habit of asking, “Why did that happen?” — a question at the heart of all great science.
When children start to connect these laws to the world around them, they remember them for years — not just for the next test.
Conclusion
Newton’s three laws of motion might have been written down over 300 years ago, but they still explain almost every movement you see today — from the way a ball rolls across the grass to the way rockets leave Earth.
When kids learn these laws in a hands-on, playful way, they stop seeing science as a list of rules to memorize and start seeing it as the secret code that explains the world. They begin to notice patterns in sports, nature, and everyday life. They learn to predict what will happen next. And most importantly, they gain the confidence to experiment, ask questions, and explore.
At Debsie, we make that transformation possible. Our expert teachers don’t just talk about Newton’s Laws — they bring them to life with real experiments, creative challenges, and simple explanations that make tricky ideas easy to understand.
When your child joins a Debsie class, they’ll discover that science is not just something they study — it’s something they can use. And once they can use it, there’s no limit to what they can imagine or create.
💡 Give your child the gift of curiosity and confidence. Sign up for a free trial class at Debsie.com today, and watch them see the world in a whole new way.