The Laws of Motion
Forces are what cause any change in the velocity of
an object
Newton’s definition
A force is that which causes an acceleration
Contact forces involve physical contact between
two objects
Examples a, b, c
Field forces act through empty space
No physical contact is required
Examples d, e, f
a) Gravitational force
Between objects
b) Electromagnetic forces
Between electric charges
c) Nuclear force
Between subatomic particles
d) Weak forces
Arise in certain radioactive decay processes
A spring can be used to calibrate the
magnitude of a force
Doubling the force causes double the
reading on the spring
When both forces are applied, the
reading is three times the initial reading
The forces are applied perpendicularly
to each other
The resultant (or net) force is the
hypotenuse
Forces are vectors, so you must use the
rules for vector addition to find the net
force acting on an object
If an object does not interact with other objects, it is possible to identify a
reference frame in which the object has zero acceleration
This is also called the law of inertia
It defines a special set of reference frames called inertial frames
We call this an inertial frame of reference
Any reference frame that moves with constant velocity relative to an inertial
frame is itself an inertial frame
A reference frame that moves with constant velocity relative to the distant stars
is the best approximation of an inertial frame
We can consider the Earth to be such an inertial frame, although it has a small centripetal
acceleration associated with its motion
In the absence of external forces, when viewed from an inertial
reference frame, an object at rest remains at rest and an object
in motion continues in motion with a constant velocity
Newton’s First Law describes what happens in the absence of a force
Does not describe zero net force
Also tells us that when no force acts on an object, the acceleration of the
object is zero
The tendency of an object to resist any attempt to change
its velocity is called inertia
Mass is that property of an object that specifies how
much resistance an object exhibits to changes in its
velocity
Masses can be defined in terms of the accelerations
produced by a given force acting on them:
m1 a2
m2 a1
The magnitude of the acceleration acting on an object is inversely
proportional to its mass
Mass is an inherent property of an object
Mass is independent of the object’s surroundings
Mass is independent of the method used to measure it
Mass is a scalar quantity
The SI unit of mass is kg
Mass and weight are two different quantities
Weight is equal to the magnitude of the
gravitational force exerted on the object
Weight will vary with location
Example:
wearth = 180 lb; wmoon ~ 30 lb
mearth = 2 kg; mmoon = 2 kg
When viewed from an inertial reference frame, the
acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the
net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its
mass
Force is the cause of change in motion, as measured by the
acceleration
Algebraically, a
F
F ma
m
With a proportionality constant of 1 and speeds much lower than
the speed of light
F is the net force
This is the vector sum of all the forces acting on the object
Newton’s Second Law can be expressed in terms of
components:
SFx = m ax
SFy = m ay
SFz = m az
Force dimension is : [M L 𝑇 −2 ]
The SI unit of force is the newton (N)
1 N = 1 kg·m / s2
The US Customary unit of force is a pound
(lb)
1 lb = 1 slug·ft / s2
1 N ~ ¼ lb
Extra: A particle of mass m=4 kg is acted upon by four forces of
magnitudes. F1=10 N,F2=40 N,F3=5 N,andF4=2 N, with the directions as
shown in the free-body diagram. What is the acceleration of the
particle?
Problem 19 textbook : page 140
We can use cos-law
to solve it like this
The gravitational force, F , is the force that the earth
exerts on an object g
This force is directed toward the center of the earth
From Newton’s Second Law
Fg mg
Its magnitude is called the weight of the object
Weight = Fg= mg
Because it is dependent on g, the weight varies with
location
g, and therefore the weight, is less at higher altitudes
This can be extended to other planets, but the value of g varies from
planet to planet, so the object’s weight will vary from planet to planet
Weight is not an inherent property of the object
In Newton’s Laws, the mass is the inertial mass and
measures the resistance to a change in the object’s motion
In the gravitational force, the mass is determining the
gravitational attraction between the object and the Earth
Experiments show that gravitational mass and inertial
mass have the same value
If two objects interact, the force F12 exerted by object
1 on object 2 is equal in magnitude and opposite in
direction to the force F21 exerted by object 2 on
object 1
F12 F21
Note on notation: FAB is the force exerted by A on B
Forces always occur in pairs
A single isolated force cannot exist
The action force is equal in magnitude to the reaction
force and opposite in direction
One of the forces is the action force, the other is the reaction force
It doesn’t matter which is considered the action and which the
reaction
The action and reaction forces must act on different objects and
be of the same type
The force F12 exerted by object 1 on
object 2 is equal in magnitude and
opposite in direction to F exerted
by object 2 on object 1 21
F12 F21
The normal force (table on
monitor) is the reaction of the
force the monitor exerts on the
table
Normal means perpendicular,
in this case
The action (Earth on monitor)
force is equal in magnitude and
opposite in direction to the
reaction force, the force the
monitor exerts on the Earth
In a free body diagram, you want the
forces acting on a particular object
Model the object as a particle
The normal force and the force of gravity
are the forces that act on the monitor
The most important step in solving
problems involving Newton’s Laws is to
draw the free body diagram
Be sure to include only the forces acting on
the object of interest
Include any field forces acting on the object
Do not assume the normal force equals the
weight
Assumptions
Objects can be modeled as particles
Interested only in the external forces acting on the object
can neglect reaction forces
Initially dealing with frictionless surfaces
Masses of strings or ropes are negligible
The force the rope exerts is away from the object and
parallel to the rope
When a rope attached to an object is pulling it, the
magnitude of that force is the tension in the rope
If the acceleration of an object that can be
modeled as a particle is zero, the object is said to
be in equilibrium
The model is the particle in equilibrium model
Mathematically, the net force acting on the object
is zero
F 0
F 0 and F
x y 0
A lamp is suspended from a chain of
negligible mass
The forces acting on the lamp are
the downward force of gravity
the upward tension in the chain
Applying equilibrium gives
F y 0 T Fg 0 T Fg
If an object that can be modeled as a
particle experiences an acceleration, there
must be a nonzero net force acting on it
Model is particle under a net force model
Draw a free-body diagram
Apply Newton’s Second Law in component
form
When two or more objects are connected or
in contact, Newton’s laws may be applied to
the system as a whole and/or to each
individual object
Forces acting on the crate:
A tension, acting through the rope, is the
magnitude of force T
The gravitational force, Fg
The normal force, n , exerted by the floor
Apply Newton’s Second Law in component
form: F T ma
x x
Fy n Fg 0 n Fg
Solve for the unknown(s)
If the tension is constant, then a is constant and
the kinematic equations can be used to more
fully describe the motion of the crate
The normal force is not always equal to the
gravitational force of the object
For example, in this case
F y n Fg F 0
and n Fg F
n may also be less than Fg
When an object is in motion on a surface or through a viscous
medium, there will be a resistance to the motion
This is due to the interactions between the object and its environment
This resistance is called the force of friction
Friction is proportional to the normal force
ƒs µs n and ƒk= µk n
μ is the coefficient of friction
These equations relate the magnitudes of the forces, they are not
vector equations
For static friction, the equals sign is valid only at impeding motion,
the surfaces are on the verge of slipping
Use the inequality if the surfaces are not on the verge of slipping
The coefficient of friction depends on the surfaces in contact
The force of static friction is generally greater than the force of
kinetic friction
The direction of the frictional force is opposite the direction of
motion and parallel to the surfaces in contact
The coefficients of friction are nearly independent of the area of
contact
Static friction acts to keep the object from moving
If F increases, so does ƒs
If F decreases, so does ƒ s
ƒs µs n
Remember, the equality holds when the surfaces are on the verge of
slipping
The force of kinetic friction acts when the object is in motion
Although µk can vary with speed, we shall neglect any such
variations
ƒk = µk n
Note what
happens when
the can starts
to move
Friction is a force, so it simply is included in the F in
Newton’s Laws
The rules of friction allow you to determine the
direction and magnitude of the force of friction
Extra problem 1
Two blocks are connected by a massless rope as shown below. The mass of the
block on the table is 4.0 kg and the hanging mass is 1.0 kg. The table and the pulley
are frictionless. (a) Find the acceleration of the system. (b) Find the tension in the
rope. (c) Find the speed with which the hanging mass hits the floor if it starts from
rest and is initially located 1.0 m from the floor.