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Q:
What law of motion is applicable on an airplane in flight? It could be a 3rd law, 1st law and 2nd law,right? Which is which? All of the above?
A:
All of the above! All of Newton's laws of motion are connected, so for every motion, every one of Newton's laws applies.
The first law shows us that the plane will keep flying at the same speed unless something makes it accelerate.
The second law shows that we must add up the forces of lift, weight, drag and thrust and take into account the mass of the airplane to determine which direction and how fast the plane is accelerating.
The third law shows that there will be an opposite reaction for every movement the plane is making. Generally the air moves as a result of this reaction.
Posted on July 6, 2013 at 12:38 am
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