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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 15, Issue 1, Article 4 (Jun., 2014) |
Historical development of Newton’s laws of motion and suggestions for teaching content
1Wheijen CHANG, 2Beverley BELL and 2Alister JONES
1Physics Department, National Changhua University of Education, 1 Jin De Road, Changhua 500, TAIWAN
2School of Education, University of Waikato, Knighton Road, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, NEW ZEALAND
E-mail: wjnchang@gmail.com; wheijen@cc.ncue.edu.tw
E-mail: beebell@waikato.ac.nz
E-mail: ajones@waikato.ac.nz
Received 28 Apr., 2014
Revised 22 Jun., 2014
A review of the history of Newton’s Laws of Motion illustrates that the historical development gradually shifted away from intuitive experiences and daily life conventions towards a scientific regulated perspective. Three stages of the historical development are discussed, i.e. prior to the Principia, the 3rd (last) edition of the Principia, and the modern view developed during the 18th - 19th centuries. Four key terms are elaborated, i.e. Newton’s 1st Law, inertia, force, and Newton’s 2nd Law. Owing to the initiation of scientific tools and the on-going modifications of the meanings of the key terms, the modern view varies dramatically from Newton’s perspective. Thus, it is suggested that teaching content should avoid directly translating from Newton’s publications, and the modernized definitions of the key terms should be thoroughly informed, which includes initiation of new scientific tools, modification of the meanings of the key terms, and alteration of the causal relations among related variables.
