Lesson 3: Newton's Law of Acceleration, the Second Law!

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Newton's second law can be used to figure out how forces move an object with a known mass.

Newton's Second Law of Motion

Force is equal to the change in an object's acceleration per change in time. For a constant mass, force equals mass times acceleration.

In mathematical form, Newton's second law is:

F = m × a

It means that the net force (F) on an object equals its mass (m) multiplied by its acceleration (a). If you double the force, you double acceleration, but if you double the mass, you cut the acceleration in half. Remember, the forces are measured in newtons. ( What is a newton?)