Chapter 4: Newton’s Law of Motion
A. Section 1: Force and Interactions
1. Force: A push or a pull. It is an interaction between two bodies or a body and its environment.
Forces are vectors; they have magnitude and direction.
2. Common Forces
a. Contact Force: Force that involves direct contact between two bodies.
b. Weight: Gravitational force the earth exerts on a body
c. Normal Force: The force a surface exerts on a body with which it is in contact. This force is in a
direction normal to the surface.
d. Friction Force: The force a surface exerts on an object. This force is parallel to the surface and in a
direction that prevents sliding.
e. Tension Force: The pulling force exerted by a stretched rope or spring on an object to which it is
attached.
3. Superposition of Forces
a. Definition: Any number of forces applied at a point on a body have the same effect as a single
force equal to the vector sum of the forces. We will refer to this vector sum as the “net force”.
b. Net Force: Vector sum of all forces acting on a body
⃗𝑹
⃗ = 𝚺𝑭⃗ = ⃗𝑭𝟏 + ⃗𝑭𝟐 + ⃗𝑭𝟑
c. Example: Three forces are acting on an object. The first force has a magnitude of 250 N and a
direction of 127°. The second force has a magnitude of 50 N and a direction of 0°. The third force
has a magnitude of 120 N and a direction of 270°. Find the x and y component of the net force.
Find the magnitude and direction of the net force.
B. Section 2: Newton’s First Law
1. Newton’s First Law: A body acted on by no net force has a constant velocity (which may be zero)
and zero acceleration.
2. Equilibrium: The state in which the body or system of bodies is either at rest or moving in the same
direction at constant speed. Here, the net force is equal to zero.
⃗⃗ = 𝚺𝑭
𝑹 ⃗ =𝑭 ⃗ 𝟏+𝑭 ⃗ 𝟐+𝑭 ⃗𝟑=0
C. Section 3: Newton’s Second Law
1. Newton’s Second Law: If a net external force acts on a body, the body accelerates. The direction of
acceleration is the same as the direction of the net force. The mass of the body times the
acceleration vector of the body equals the net force.
⃗ = 𝑚𝒂
𝚺𝑭 ⃗
2. Using the Second Law
Σ𝐹𝑥 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥 ; Σ𝐹𝑦 = 𝑚𝑎𝑦 ; Σ𝐹𝑧 = 𝑚𝑎𝑧
3. Example 1: A worker applies a constant horizontal force with magnitude 20 N to a box with mass 40
kg resting on a level floor with negligible friction. What is the acceleration of the box?
4. Example 2: A waitress shoves a ketchup bottle with mass 0.45 kg to the right along a smooth, level
lunch counter. The bottle leaves her hand moving at 2.8 m/s, then slows down as it slides because of
a constant horizontal friction force exerted on it by the countertop. It slides for 1.0 m before coming
to rest. What are the magnitude and direction of the friction force acting on the bottle?
D. Section 4: Mass and Weight
1. Mass: Measure of the amount of matter in an object. The mass of an object (that is not altered) is
fixed. Mass is a scalar, and the SI unit is kg.
2. Weight: The gravitational force exerted on the object. The weight of an object can vary depending
on its location on Earth or on which planet it is on. Weight is a vector and the unit is N.
⃗ = 𝑚𝒂
𝚺𝑭 ⃗
⃗⃗⃗⃗ = 𝑚𝒈
𝚺𝑾 ⃗⃗
3. Example: A 2.49 x 104 N Rolls-Royce Phantom traveling in the +x-direction makes an emergency
stop; the x-component of the net force acting on it is -1.83 x 104 N. What is its acceleration?
E. Section 5: Newton’s Third Law
1. Newton’s Third Law: If body A exerts a force on body B (an “action”), then body B exerts a force on
body A (a “reaction”). These two forces have the same magnitude but are opposite in direction.
These two forces act on different bodies.
⃗𝑭𝐴 𝑜𝑛 𝐵 = −𝑭
⃗ 𝐵 𝑜𝑛 𝐴
2. Example: A force of magnitude 7.50 N pushes three boxes with masses m1 = 1.30 kg, m2 = 3.20
kg, and m3 = 4.90 kg, as shown in the figure. Find the magnitude of the contact force (a)
between boxes 1 and 2, and (b) between boxes 2 and 3.
F. Section 6: Free-Body Diagrams
1. Process for Solving Force Problems
a. Step 1: Decide which body you are dealing with. Newton’s First and Second Laws apply to a
specific body.
b. Step 2: Think of all the forces that would be affecting the body. Only forces acting on the body
matter.
c. Step 3: Draw a Free-Body diagram representing all forces acting on the body.
A. Example 1: To give a 19-kg child a ride, two teenagers pull on a 3.7-kg sled with ropes as shown
in the figure. Both teenagers pull with a force of 55 N at an angle of 35° relative to the forward
direction, which is the direction of motion. In addition, the snow exerts a retarding force on the
sled that points opposite to the direction of motion and has a magnitude of 57 N. Find the
acceleration of the sled and child.
2. Example 2: A 9.3-kg child sits in a 3.7-kg highchair. (a) Draw a free-body diagram for the child,
and find the normal force exerted by the chair on the child. (b) Draw a free-body diagram for the
chair, and find the normal force exerted by the floor on the chair.
3. Example 3: A gardener mows a lawn with an old-fashioned push mower. The handle of the
mower makes an angle of 32° with the surface of the lawn. If a 68-N force is applied along the
handle of the 17-kg mower, what is the normal force exerted by the lawn on the mower?
4. Example 4: Find the normal force exerted on a 2.9-kg book resting on a surface inclined at 36°
above the horizontal.
5. Example 5: A train is traveling up a 2.88° incline at a speed of 4.31 m/s when the last car breaks
free and begins to coast without friction. (a) How much time does it take for the last car to come
to rest momentarily? (b) How far did the last car travel before momentarily coming to rest?