Newton's Laws of Motion worksheet with scenarios and an illustration of Newton under an apple tree.
A cartoon illustration of Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree, reading a book, with apples falling around him.
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Step-by-step solution for: Newtons Laws of Motion worksheet
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Show Answer Key & Explanations
Step-by-step solution for: Newtons Laws of Motion worksheet
Let’s go through each scenario one by one and match it to Newton’s 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Law of Motion.
Remember:
- Newton’s 1st Law (Law of Inertia): An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted on by an unbalanced force.
- Newton’s 2nd Law: Force = mass × acceleration → F = ma. More force means more acceleration; more mass means less acceleration for the same force.
- Newton’s 3rd Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
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Now let’s solve each:
1. A coin put on top of a paper on the table will stay in place when the paper is pulled.
→ The coin doesn’t move with the paper because of inertia — it wants to stay still. That’s 1st Law.
2. A farmer could not move his cart full of vegetables with only one horse, so he added another horse in order to move the cart.
→ Adding more horses = more force → moves the heavy cart. This shows that more force causes motion (overcoming inertia), but also relates to needing enough force to accelerate mass → 2nd Law.
Wait — actually, this is about overcoming static friction/inertia with more force. But since it’s about applying more force to get something moving (accelerating from rest), it fits 2nd Law best.
3. A truck with less mass will have a bigger acceleration than a truck with more mass.
→ Directly says: less mass → more acceleration (with same force). Classic 2nd Law.
4. Daddy hit the golf ball with more force than little Johnny. Daddy’s ball went the farthest.
→ More force → more acceleration → goes farther. Again, 2nd Law.
5. When a basketball player shoots a jump shot, the ball follows an arcing path because of gravity and friction.
→ Gravity and friction are external forces changing the ball’s motion. Without them, it would go straight. So this is about forces changing motion → 1st Law (because without those forces, motion wouldn’t change).
Actually — wait. The ball changes direction due to gravity — that’s an unbalanced force acting on it. So yes, 1st Law explains why its motion changes.
6. The harder you pedal your bicycle, the faster your bicycle will go.
→ Harder pedaling = more force → more acceleration → faster speed. 2nd Law.
7. A book resting on the table exerts a downward force on the table while the table exerts an upward force on the book.
→ Action-reaction pair. Book pushes down, table pushes up. Equal and opposite. 3rd Law.
8. The large snowball was much harder to move than the smaller one.
→ Larger mass → harder to accelerate → needs more force. 2nd Law.
9. A ball that rolls on a flat surface will continue to roll until friction brings the ball to a stop.
→ It keeps rolling unless stopped by friction — that’s inertia. 1st Law.
10. If you push a small table and a big table with the same amount of force, the small table will move faster.
→ Same force, different masses → smaller mass accelerates more. 2nd Law.
11. When a car slams on brakes the passengers body is thrown forward until stopped by the seat belt.
→ Body keeps moving forward even though car stops — inertia. 1st Law.
12. Walker hits the ball with more force than Max, so Walker’s ball went farther into the outfield.
→ More force → more acceleration → goes farther. 2nd Law.
13. It takes a track runner several yards after the finish line to come to a stop.
→ Runner can’t stop instantly — body wants to keep moving. Inertia. 1st Law.
14. When an air-filled balloon is set free, the air inside it rushes out and the balloon moves forward.
→ Air pushed backward → balloon pushed forward. Action-reaction. 3rd Law.
15. When walking on a sandy beach, while we exert force forward with each step, we push the sand backward.
→ You push sand back → sand pushes you forward. Action-reaction. 3rd Law.
16. The bowling pins fell down when they were hit by the bowling ball.
→ Ball applies force → pins move. But why do they fall? Because force changed their state of rest. Could be 1st or 2nd. Actually, the key is: the ball exerts force on pins → they accelerate/move. But also, the pins resist motion (inertia) until hit. Hmm.
Better way: The pins were at rest, then moved because of force — that’s 1st Law (change in motion due to force). Or 2nd Law (force caused acceleration). But typically, “object at rest stays at rest until force acts” → 1st Law.
Wait — actually, many sources classify this as 1st Law because the pins don’t move until forced. Let’s stick with 1st Law.
But some might say 2nd — however, the question is about *why* they fell — because force overcame inertia → 1st Law.
17. A rider on a running horse is thrown forward when the horse stops suddenly.
→ Rider keeps moving forward when horse stops — inertia. 1st Law.
18. The boy had to apply extra force to move the big bag.
→ Big bag = more mass → needs more force to accelerate. 2nd Law.
19. A 50 pound rock is much harder to move than a 5 pound rock.
→ Heavier rock = more mass → harder to accelerate. 2nd Law.
20. The biker was moving at 25 miles per hour until he hit a rock that threw him over the handlebars.
→ Biker was moving, then hit rock (external force) → changed motion. Inertia made him keep going forward. 1st Law.
---
Let me double-check a few tricky ones:
#5: Ball arcs due to gravity/friction → without those, it would go straight → so gravity/friction are unbalanced forces changing motion → 1st Law ✔️
#16: Bowling pins fall when hit → they were at rest, force made them move → 1st Law ✔️
#2: Farmer adds horse to move cart → more force to overcome inertia/start motion → technically, starting motion from rest requires net force → which is covered under 2nd Law (F=ma, where a starts from 0). Some might argue 1st, but since it's about applying force to cause acceleration (even if just starting), 2nd Law is better.
Actually — let’s reconsider #2: “could not move... so added another horse to move the cart.” This implies the first horse wasn’t providing enough force to overcome static friction/inertia. Adding second horse increases total force → now net force > 0 → cart accelerates. So yes, 2nd Law.
Similarly, #18 and #19 are clearly 2nd Law.
#14 and #15 are clearly 3rd Law.
Okay, final list:
1. 1
2. 2
3. 2
4. 2
5. 1
6. 2
7. 3
8. 2
9. 1
10. 2
11. 1
12. 2
13. 1
14. 3
15. 3
16. 1
17. 1
18. 2
19. 2
20. 1
Final Answer:
1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 3, 3, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1
Remember:
- Newton’s 1st Law (Law of Inertia): An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted on by an unbalanced force.
- Newton’s 2nd Law: Force = mass × acceleration → F = ma. More force means more acceleration; more mass means less acceleration for the same force.
- Newton’s 3rd Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
---
Now let’s solve each:
1. A coin put on top of a paper on the table will stay in place when the paper is pulled.
→ The coin doesn’t move with the paper because of inertia — it wants to stay still. That’s 1st Law.
2. A farmer could not move his cart full of vegetables with only one horse, so he added another horse in order to move the cart.
→ Adding more horses = more force → moves the heavy cart. This shows that more force causes motion (overcoming inertia), but also relates to needing enough force to accelerate mass → 2nd Law.
Wait — actually, this is about overcoming static friction/inertia with more force. But since it’s about applying more force to get something moving (accelerating from rest), it fits 2nd Law best.
3. A truck with less mass will have a bigger acceleration than a truck with more mass.
→ Directly says: less mass → more acceleration (with same force). Classic 2nd Law.
4. Daddy hit the golf ball with more force than little Johnny. Daddy’s ball went the farthest.
→ More force → more acceleration → goes farther. Again, 2nd Law.
5. When a basketball player shoots a jump shot, the ball follows an arcing path because of gravity and friction.
→ Gravity and friction are external forces changing the ball’s motion. Without them, it would go straight. So this is about forces changing motion → 1st Law (because without those forces, motion wouldn’t change).
Actually — wait. The ball changes direction due to gravity — that’s an unbalanced force acting on it. So yes, 1st Law explains why its motion changes.
6. The harder you pedal your bicycle, the faster your bicycle will go.
→ Harder pedaling = more force → more acceleration → faster speed. 2nd Law.
7. A book resting on the table exerts a downward force on the table while the table exerts an upward force on the book.
→ Action-reaction pair. Book pushes down, table pushes up. Equal and opposite. 3rd Law.
8. The large snowball was much harder to move than the smaller one.
→ Larger mass → harder to accelerate → needs more force. 2nd Law.
9. A ball that rolls on a flat surface will continue to roll until friction brings the ball to a stop.
→ It keeps rolling unless stopped by friction — that’s inertia. 1st Law.
10. If you push a small table and a big table with the same amount of force, the small table will move faster.
→ Same force, different masses → smaller mass accelerates more. 2nd Law.
11. When a car slams on brakes the passengers body is thrown forward until stopped by the seat belt.
→ Body keeps moving forward even though car stops — inertia. 1st Law.
12. Walker hits the ball with more force than Max, so Walker’s ball went farther into the outfield.
→ More force → more acceleration → goes farther. 2nd Law.
13. It takes a track runner several yards after the finish line to come to a stop.
→ Runner can’t stop instantly — body wants to keep moving. Inertia. 1st Law.
14. When an air-filled balloon is set free, the air inside it rushes out and the balloon moves forward.
→ Air pushed backward → balloon pushed forward. Action-reaction. 3rd Law.
15. When walking on a sandy beach, while we exert force forward with each step, we push the sand backward.
→ You push sand back → sand pushes you forward. Action-reaction. 3rd Law.
16. The bowling pins fell down when they were hit by the bowling ball.
→ Ball applies force → pins move. But why do they fall? Because force changed their state of rest. Could be 1st or 2nd. Actually, the key is: the ball exerts force on pins → they accelerate/move. But also, the pins resist motion (inertia) until hit. Hmm.
Better way: The pins were at rest, then moved because of force — that’s 1st Law (change in motion due to force). Or 2nd Law (force caused acceleration). But typically, “object at rest stays at rest until force acts” → 1st Law.
Wait — actually, many sources classify this as 1st Law because the pins don’t move until forced. Let’s stick with 1st Law.
But some might say 2nd — however, the question is about *why* they fell — because force overcame inertia → 1st Law.
17. A rider on a running horse is thrown forward when the horse stops suddenly.
→ Rider keeps moving forward when horse stops — inertia. 1st Law.
18. The boy had to apply extra force to move the big bag.
→ Big bag = more mass → needs more force to accelerate. 2nd Law.
19. A 50 pound rock is much harder to move than a 5 pound rock.
→ Heavier rock = more mass → harder to accelerate. 2nd Law.
20. The biker was moving at 25 miles per hour until he hit a rock that threw him over the handlebars.
→ Biker was moving, then hit rock (external force) → changed motion. Inertia made him keep going forward. 1st Law.
---
Let me double-check a few tricky ones:
#5: Ball arcs due to gravity/friction → without those, it would go straight → so gravity/friction are unbalanced forces changing motion → 1st Law ✔️
#16: Bowling pins fall when hit → they were at rest, force made them move → 1st Law ✔️
#2: Farmer adds horse to move cart → more force to overcome inertia/start motion → technically, starting motion from rest requires net force → which is covered under 2nd Law (F=ma, where a starts from 0). Some might argue 1st, but since it's about applying force to cause acceleration (even if just starting), 2nd Law is better.
Actually — let’s reconsider #2: “could not move... so added another horse to move the cart.” This implies the first horse wasn’t providing enough force to overcome static friction/inertia. Adding second horse increases total force → now net force > 0 → cart accelerates. So yes, 2nd Law.
Similarly, #18 and #19 are clearly 2nd Law.
#14 and #15 are clearly 3rd Law.
Okay, final list:
1. 1
2. 2
3. 2
4. 2
5. 1
6. 2
7. 3
8. 2
9. 1
10. 2
11. 1
12. 2
13. 1
14. 3
15. 3
16. 1
17. 1
18. 2
19. 2
20. 1
Final Answer:
1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 3, 3, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of newton laws of motion worksheet middle school.
