Students read about Isaac Newton and answer comprehension questions.
A great reading activity that combines science and literacy skills.
Isaac Newton — Reading Comprehension Practice
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Read the passage, then try the questions. Every answer is in the text above them — if you are not sure, go back and look rather than guessing. The last question asks for the order the passage tells things in.
Isaac Newton — Physicist and mathematician — laws of motion and gravity
Isaac Newton was one of the greatest scientists in history. Born prematurely in Woolsthorpe, England on January 4, 1643, he was so tiny at birth that his mother said he could fit inside a quart mug. Yet this small child would grow up to reshape humanity’s understanding of the universe.
Newton attended Cambridge University, but during a plague outbreak in 1665, the university closed and he returned home to his farm. In those quiet months, Newton made some of the most important discoveries in the history of science.
Legend has it that watching an apple fall from a tree inspired Newton to think about gravity. Whether or not the apple story is true, Newton developed his Law of Universal Gravitation, which explained that every object in the universe attracts every other object. This single law explained everything from falling apples to the orbits of planets.
Newton also developed the three Laws of Motion, which describe how objects move and how forces affect them. These laws became the foundation of physics for over 200 years. He also invented calculus — a new form of mathematics — and conducted experiments showing that white light is made of all the colors of the rainbow.
In 1687, Newton published Principia Mathematica, considered one of the greatest scientific books ever written. He was later knighted by Queen Anne, becoming Sir Isaac Newton. His work laid the groundwork for modern science and engineering.
Question 1
What does the Law of Universal Gravitation say?
Every object attracts every other object. The word universal is doing the work — it is not a rule about apples, it is a rule about everything, which is why it also explains the orbits of planets.
Question 2
Why did Newton go home from Cambridge in 1665?
A plague outbreak closed the university. Those quiet months at the farm are when the passage says he made some of his most important discoveries.
Question 3
What did Newton’s experiments show about white light?
He showed white light is made of all the colours of the rainbow — which is why a prism can split it apart.
Question 4
The passage calls the apple story a legend. What does that mean here?
The passage says whether or not the apple story is true. A good reader notices that hedge — the science does not depend on the anecdote.
Question 5 — select all that apply
Select every contribution the passage credits to Newton, then press Check.
The Laws of Motion, calculus and his work on white light — plus universal gravitation. Evolution was Darwin, and the periodic table and steam engine belong to other people entirely.
Question 6 — put them in order
Click these in the order the passage tells them.
The passage moves from his birth, to the plague year of 1665, to the law of gravitation, to the book in 1687.
Think about it — from the worksheet
What is Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, and what kinds of things does it explain?
Name two other scientific contributions Newton made besides the law of gravity.
Why do you think Newton’s laws of motion were so important for science and engineering?