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The greater the mass—the greater the attraction! Take the Moon for example. It has tons of mass, but so do we (the Earth)! So there is a huge attraction between our Earth and the Moon. See it with our ocean's low and high tides—the Moon’s massive mass attracts the water on Earth. The side of the Earth that is facing the moon is closer and feels a greater pull. This pull causes the water to bulge at the equator, making for low tides. The side of the earth facing away from the moon will experience less pull, resulting in a normal or “high” tide. 
Law 1: Inertia An object sitting still will stay that way until something else (a force) moves it. Likewise, an object that is moving will keep on moving until something else (a force) stops it. That’s what ya call Inertia! If you’re hanging out on the couch watching the tube, you're probably not likely to budge, nor will the TV, unless something like a bulldozer or an earthquake (outside forces) makes you move. Likewise, if you're catching a wave or coasting down hill, you're gonna keep on going until the wave crashes (an outside force) or you crash into an obstacle, like maybe your little bro (an outside force). Law 2: F = Ma! The amount of force something has depends on how big it is (Mass) and how fast it is moving (Acceleration). This is FMA—Force = Mass times acceleration! Just standing there, a gargantuan pro basketball player is not exhibiting much force. Sure he's huge, lots of mass, but he ain't moving—no acceleration. But have this same massive dude run at you at full speed and that's a force you'd rather not reckon with. Law 3: Action/Reaction! When you push on something, it pushes back in the opposite direction with an equal amount of force. This is called Action/Reaction! Push your palm onto a chain link fence and the fence pushes back, leaving a diamond shaped indent on your hand. Same goes for standing in long lines for a show. Your feet get tired, don’t they? But why? Well, because your feet are pushing down on the ground, the ground is in turn pushing against the bottom of your feet. Weird, huh? But true. 
Want to learn more about motion? After all, it will give you an edge on the soccer field, help you carve better turns on your snowboard, and could eventually end up shooting you skyward toward outer space someday. Link up and learn how! NASA & Newtonian Physics: Newton & Athletes: A Teacher's Take on Newton: The English on the Englishman: |
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