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Graphic: Andrew Ault
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When most people hear the name Isaac Newton, they think of the near mythic story of how an apple conked him on the head and jarred the theory of gravity into being. Though there is some factual basis for this tale (he actually saw, rather than felt, the apple while walking in his family's orchard), the story minimizes the lifetime of study and work that led to the remarkable contributions he made to science and mathematics.
Newton was born at Woolsthorpe, near Grantham in Lincolnshire, England, just after midnight on December 25, 1642 (this is according to the Julian calendar used at the time; according to the Gregorian calendar used today, the date was January 4, 1643). When his father, a yeoman farmer, died shortly before Newton was born, it was expected that Newton would one day take over the family business. Fortunately for us all, even at a very young age, Newton showed much more interest in devising and carrying out experiments than in farming.
The years were pivotal in Newton's life. In 1659, when Newton was close to turning 17, his mother requested that he learn to tend the sheep (an essential part of maintaining the farm). As he watched the sheep, his attention would wander, and he would become engrossed in building devices such as model waterwheels. And as his attention strayed, so did the sheep. Thus, just 9 months later, Newton--on the advice of his uncle and with the resigned consent of his mother--prepared to enter Trinity College, Cambridge.
It was at Trinity that his intellectual powers truly bloomed. Reading well beyond his courses' required texts, Newton soon became fascinated by mathematics, a field he knew nothing about before entering Cambridge. Soon Newton mastered the known boundaries of mathematic theory and began to branch off on his own.
Newton received his bachelor of arts degree in 1665, the same year the bubonic plague devastated England. When the plague spread to Cambridge, the university shut down, and Newton went home to Woolsthorpe. The two years that followed were some of Newton's most productive. It was at this time that Newton grappled and came to grips with theories concerning astronomy, mathematics, and mechanics that would eventually make up his two major works, Opticks and the Principia.
Newton returned to Cambridge when it reopened in 1667, and within two years was appointed to the position of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics (the position that Stephen Hawking holds today). He remained there until 1696 when he moved to London.
Though his theories concerning the nature of light were not perfected until around 1688, Newton began his investigation of light while still an undergraduate. Experimenting with the way white light is refracted by a glass prism, Newton theorized that white light actually contained the rainbow of colors we see around us. Today we take this idea for granted, but at the time it was revolutionary. Newton's contemporaries believed that color was a form of white light. Not even Newton's experiments convinced many of them to change their minds. Because he was sensitive about the criticism of his peers, Newton didn't publish Opticks, which contained his theories of light, until 1704, many years after it was written.
His defensiveness toward public scrutiny and criticism often caused headaches for Newton. In 1666, during his time away from school, Newton set down the principles for what today is known as differential calculus. However, Newton was unwilling to share his ideas with any but the closest of friends. As a result, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was credited with the creation of calculus. In 1684 Leibniz published a paper outlining theories that, though generated independently, closely matched Newton's own. When Newton attempted to receive credit for the priority of his work, a rather ugly feud between the Newton and Leibniz camps broke out.
It was in his other major work, the Principia, that Newton turned his attention to astronomy, his three laws of motion, and his law of universal gravitation. Published in 1687, the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) was an immediate success and confirmed Newton's importance among his peers. Furthermore, the Principia forever altered the scientific landscape by providing new theoretic tools for scientists to experiment with as they tried to understand the world around them.
Newton was honored for his work in numerous ways throughout his life. Elected a fellow of the prestigious Royal Society of London in 1671, he was made president of the Society in 1703 and held the position until his death. On April 16, 1705, Isaac Newton was knighted by Queen Anne. He was the first scientist to receive such an honor.
Sir Isaac Newton died on March 20, 1727, at the age of 84. He was buried in London's Westminster Abbey among Britain's kings and queens. Toward the end of his life, he wrote this:
I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy, playing on the sea shore, and diverting myself, in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.
These are thought-provoking words from a man who discovered some of the basic laws that govern our universe.
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From Stargazers to Starships: Newtonian Mechanics
This site will connect you to a variety of explanations and examples of Newton's work. The skill level of work is probably high school, but could be adapted up or down.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day: Scientists
This site will take you to several sites discussing the life and work of Isaac Newton. Biographical data can be used for most grade levels, but some of the other explanations are geared toward high school or above.
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Zona Land: Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion
(Part of an ENC Digital Dozen selection, ENC# 011839) Well-written and well-organized explanations of Newton's laws.
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Sir Isaac Newton ()
This excerpt from W. W. Rouse Ball's A Short Account of the History of Mathematics (4th edition, 1908) examines the technical aspects of Newton's work in detail.
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Sir Isaac Newton: The Universal Law of Gravitiation
This site, geared to high school and post-high school students, does a good job of explaining Newton's universal law of gravitation.
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MacTutor History of Mathematics: Sir Isaac Newton
Teachers and students can read a clear, conscise treatment of Newton's life and work, with numerous links to the people and ideas featured.
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Sir Isaac Newton ()
BBC Education presents this highly readable account of Newton and his work.
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The Newton Project
If you want to see Newton's works in the original--in his own handwriting and with cross-outs and corrections--or read transcriptions of his works, this is the site to go to.
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Flight Testing Newton's Laws
Lessons, written in the form of a flight instructor's manual, show how Newton's three laws of motion apply to flight-testing aircraft.
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Light and Optics
Activities and explanations concerning the properties of light and color are found on this site. They correlate well with Newton's work in this area.
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Roller Coaster Physics: One Two Three Isaac Newton and Me
Grades 9-12. From the Columbia Education Center's Summer Workshop, these lesson plans deal with Newton's laws and how they apply to space travel. The videos recommended are reviewed in the Classroom Resources section below.
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Liftoff to Learning: Newton in Space
Brief discussions of Newton's first, third, and second laws (in that order) are followed by suggested hands-on activities for making a soda pop can engine, a rocket car, and a Newton car.
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Build a Newton's Cradle
This fun project, for younger as well as older students, demonstrates the conservation of energy and momentum. If you don't have time to have students build the cradle, they can operate the one in the applet.
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The Physics Classroom: Newton's Laws
(An ENC Digital Dozen selection, ENC#026402) Grades 9-12. Here are four lesson plans--three on Newton's laws of motion and one on the meaning of force. The lessons offer clear explanations of the laws and present a variety of ways that the laws apply in daily life.
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Separating Light with a Prism
(Part of an ENC Digital Dozen site, ENC#025696) Grades 6-8. This site includes instructions for separating light in the traditional way, using a flashlight, a prism, a box, and paper. In addition, the site provides instructions for making a water prism and offers some other interesting suggestions.
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Science, Optics & You: Refraction of Light
(Part of an ENC Digital Dozen selection, ENC#027038) Grades 6-12. In this online tutorial, you can explore refraction of light by varying the medium the light travels through, the wavelength of the light, and the angle of incidence.
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Science, Optics & You: Newton's Prism Experiments
(Part of an ENC Digital Dozen selection, ENC#027038) Grades 6-12. This online tutorial (from the same site as the activity above) lets you move prisms in and out of a sunbeam to see what happens.
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Physical science. Grades 4-8: matter and motion
 Date: 1998 Grade(s): 4 - 8 Cost: $8.95 ENC#: 017308
This activity book starts off with a brief section on Galileo and Newton. Many of the activities deal with Newton's work.
(For more details see ENC Record)
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Science fun. Grades 4-8: activities to encourage students to think and solve problems
Date: 1998 Grade(s): 4 - 8 Cost: $8.95 ENC#: 017307
Isaac Newton acts as a guide through the experiments in this activity book. Several of the activities can be linked to his studies and observations.
(For more details see ENC Record)
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Space basics
 Date: 1991 Grade(s): 6 - 8 Cost: $16.00 ENC#: 001699
Part of the Liftoff to Learning series, this video answers four basic questions about spaceflight in terms of Newton's gravity theory and laws of motion: (1) how spacecraft travel into space, (2) how spacecraft remain in orbit, (3) why astronauts float in space, and (4) how spacecraft return to Earth.
(For more details see ENC Record)
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Newton's laws
Date: 1985 Grade(s): 9 - 12 Cost: $6.00 - $525.00 ENC#: 007100
This video is part of the Mechanical Universe series, which has been excerpted from the college physics series and reedited to be appropriate for a high school physics course. The video develops the concept that mechanics, the science of motion, can be summarized by Newton's laws of motion.
(For more details see ENC Record)
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Inertia
Date: 1985 Grade(s): 9 - 12 Cost: $6.00 - $525.00 ENC#: 007109
Like the resource above, this series is also part of the Mechanical Universe series. In this video, the methods Galileo used to deduce the law of inertia and the relativity of motion are examined such as inclined planes facing each other and dropping a ball from a tower.
(For more details see ENC Record)
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Newton: the father of modern astronomy
Date: 1992 Grade(s): 7 - 12 Cost: $12.95 ENC#: 004903
This book starts off with a very readable description of Newton's work with light and gravity and continues, in great detail, with an examination of his work with astronomy.
(For more details see ENC Record)
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Isaac Newton: discovering laws that govern the universe
 Featured in ENC Focus
Date: 1999 Grade(s): 5 - 8 Cost: $24.95 ENC#: 016242
A complete biography of Sir Isaac Newton and his work is featured in this book.
(For more details see ENC Record)
Find more materials by searching Curriculum Resources on ENC Online using these terms: Astronomy, Calculus, Gravity, Inertia, Newton's laws, Newton, Isaac (), or Prisms.
Realizing that there are many ways to use this Classroom Calendar entry, we chose these standards because they relate to the entry, in full or in part. If you want to explore the standards further, please use the link(s) provided.
Connections to NSES
Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry: Understanding about inquiry (5-8)
Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry: Understanding about inquiry (9-12)
Content Standard B: Physical Science: Motions and forces (5-8)
Content Standard B: Physical Science: Motions and forces (9-12)
Content Standard D: Earth and Space Science: Earth in the solar system (5-8)
Content Standard E: Science and Technology: Understanding about science and technology (5-8)
Content Standard E: Science and Technology: Understanding about science and technology (9-12)
Content Standard G: History and Nature of Science: Historical perspectives (9-12)
Content Standard G: History and Nature of Science: Science as a human endeavor (5-8)
Content Standard G: History and Nature of Science: History of science (5-8)
Content Standard G: History and Nature of Science: Science as a human endeavor (9-12)
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Kim Irving
Contributing Teacher
David O'Connell
Publications
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First posted: 11/25/2001
Last modified: 5/26/2004 |
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