What Are Common Misconceptions About Newton's Laws of Motion?

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In summary, common misconceptions that arise when students encounter Newton's Laws of Motion include confusing the concepts of 'force' and 'velocity', misunderstanding the role of net force in determining motion, and struggling with the idea that forces can be applied without intention. Other potential pitfalls include confusion about the direction of acceleration, the idea that an object must have a net force acting on it to be in motion, and difficulties with properly applying Newton's laws to free body diagrams. It is important for learners to be aware of these misconceptions and pitfalls in order to better understand and apply the principles of Newton's Laws of Motion.
  • #36
sophiecentaur said:
This misconception arises, I think, because it is tempting to ask the 'how does it know?' question. When you push an object, there is always a transitional time, during which the two surfaces (your finger and the ball) deform until the (N3 pair of) forces reach a final value. The same sort of 'how does it know?" question is often asked about the currents and voltages around an electrical circuit. They are only there after a certain transitional delay, during which the various circuit elements respond to their individual situation

Yep.
 
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