While studying how objects change motion when they run into each other, Isaac Newton discovered that the force of an object’s impact equals the object’s mass multiplied by its acceleration. He could not explain why this is, but it was clearly true to anyone else who conducted experiments, and it remains just as true today. Is Newton’s statement a law or a theory? It is a theory because it developed and changed over time as new technology provided new observations. It is a theory because it is a statement of fact that does not need any more experimental support. It is a law because it developed and changed over time as new technology provided new observations. It is a law because it is a statement of fact that does not need any more experimental support.