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DEPARTMENT : PHYSICS
ACADEMIC YEAR : 2024/2025
SEMESTER : 1
PAPER CODE : PHY1101
PAPER NAME : INTRODUCTORY CLASSICAL MECHANICS
LECTURER : MR. NIWAMANYA DUNCAN

Newton’s laws of Motion

Newton’s three laws of motion talk about the effect of force on [Link]’s
Laws are often simply stated as:

1 ”Every particle continues in its state of rest or of uniform velocity in a

straight line unless acted upon by an external force”.

ˆ The First Law would be meaningless without the concept of force, but
it conveys a precise meaning for the concept of a “zero net force”.

ˆ This tendency for a body to remain in its initial state of motion (or
at rest) is called inertia. Newton’s First law is sometimes refered to as
the law of inertia.
This law states that there exists in nature a unique class of mutually
unaccelerated reference frames (The inertial frames) in which the
first law is valid/true.

ˆ Inertial reference frame is a frame of reference in which the first law

holds. Since the term ”velocity” is used, we have to state what frame
we are measuring the velocity with respect to.
A transformation from one frame K to another K’ which moves at
constant velocity v relative to K is called a Galilean transformation.
The equations of motion of classical mechanics are invariant
(do not change) under Galilean transformations.

2 ”The rate of change of momentum is proportional to the exerted or

impressed force and takes place in the direction of the action of force”.

ˆ In other words, if F is the external force acting on the particle of mass

m which as a consequence is moving with velocity v, then

dp d dv
F= = (mv) = m
dt dt dt
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If m is independent of time, then we write F=ma, where a is the

accelation of the particle.

ˆ Note that the acceleration is in the same direction as the force and
proportional to it (the constant of proportionality being the mass).

3 ”To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. That is, if
particle 1 acts on particle 2 with a force F12 then particle 2 will react
on particle with a force F21 of the same magnitude but in an opposite
direction, that is,F21 = −F12

ˆ If we have two isolated bodies,1 and 2, then the Third Law states that

F1 = −F2

and from the Second Law we have

dp1 dp
=− 2
dt dt
or using the acceleration a

m1 a1 = −m2 a2

and
m1 a2
=
m2 a1
with ai =| ai |.

ˆ If one chooses m1 as the reference or unit mass, m2 , or the mass of

any other object, can be measured by comparison (if it is allowed to
interact with m1 ) of their measured accelerations.

ˆ Incidentally,
d
(p + p2 ) = 0
dt 1
or
p1 + p2 = Constant

ˆ The momentum is conserved in the interaction of two isolated parti-

cles. This is a special case of the conservation of linear momentum,
which is a concept that we will discuss at length later on.
Examples
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Here we define velocity as the rate of change of displacement, and ac-

celeration as the rate of change of velocity. This means that, given
the position vector or displacement as a function of time t, you differ-
entiate once to get velocity, whereas a second derivative will give the
acceleration of a particle, all at any time t.

1 A particle of mass 2 units moves along the space curve defined by

r = (4t2 − t3 )i − 5tj + (t4 − 2)k

Find the (i)velocity (ii)momentum(iii)accelation(iv)Force

Frames of Reference and Newton’s Laws

The cornerstone of the theory of special relativity is the Principle of Rela-
tivity:
The Laws of Physics are the same in all inertial frames of reference.

Briefly reviewing Newton’s mechanics in terms of frames of reference.

ˆ A “frame of reference” is just a set of coordinates: something you use

to measure the things that matter in Newtonian problems, that is to
say, positions and velocities, so we also need a clock.
A point in space is specified by its three coordinates (x,y,z) and an
“event” like, say, a little explosion,by a place and time:(x,y,z,t).

ˆ An inertial frame is defined as one in which Newton’s law of inertia

holds—that is, any body which isn’t being acted on by an outside force
stays at rest if it is initially at rest, or continues to move at a constant
velocity if that’s what it was doing to begin with. An example of a
non-inertial frame is a rotating frame, such as a carousel.

ˆ Non-inertial reference is defined as a frame of reference that is under-

going acceleration with respect to an inertial frame.

ˆ The “laws of physics” we shall consider first are those of Newtonian me-
chanics, as expressed by Newton’s Laws of Motion, with gravitational
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forces and also contact forces from objects pushing against each other.
For example, knowing the universal gravitational constant from exper-
iment (and the masses involved), it is possible from Newton’s Second
Law, force = mass x acceleration, to predict future planetary motions
with great accuracy.

ˆ Suppose we know from experiment that these laws of mechanics are

true in one frame of reference. How do they look in another frame,
moving with respect to the first frame?

ˆ To find out, we have to figure out how to get from position, velocity
and acceleration in one frame to the corresponding quantities in the
second frame.

ˆ Obviously, the two frames must have a constant relative velocity, oth-
erwise the law of inertia won’t hold in both of them. Let’s choose the
coordinates so that this velocity is along the x-axis of both of them.

ˆ Notice we also throw in a clock with each frame. Suppose S’ is proceed-

ing relative to S at speed v along the x-axis. For convenience, let us
label the moment when O’ passes O as the zero point of timekeeping.

ˆ Now what are the coordinates of the event (x, y, z, t) in S’ ? It’s easy to
see t’= t; we synchronized the clocks when Opassed O. Also, evidently,
y’= y and z’= z, from the figure. We can also see that x = x0 + vt.

ˆ Thus (x, y, z, t) in S corresponds to (x’, y’, z’, t’) in S, where

x’=x-vt
y’=y
z’=z
t’=t

ˆ That’s how positions transform; these are known as the Galilean

transformations. What about velocities? The velocity in S’ in the x’
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direction

dx0 dx0 d dx
u0x = 0
= = (x − vt) = − v = ux − v
dt dt dt dt
This is obvious anyway, it’s just the addition of velocities formula

ux = u0x + v
How does accelation transform?

du0x du0x d dux

0
= = (ux − v) =
dt dt dt dt
where v is a constant. That is to say

a0x = ax
the acceleration is the same in both frames. This again is obvious—the
acceleration is the rate of change of velocity, and the velocities of the
same particle measured in the two frames differ by a constant factor-
the relative velocity of the two frames.
[Link]

Momentum

(a) Conservation of Linear Momentum.

Momentum is the product of mass, m of a body and velocity, v at which
the body is moving.
Mathematically, momentum can be written as;
p~ = m~v where p~ is the momentum.

ˆ In proving the conservation of linear momentum, we shall consider two

particles of masses,m1 and m2 with velocities v1 and v2 respectively.
We shall also consider force,F~1 is exerted by the body of mass,,m1 onto
the body of mass,,m2 ; force,F~1 is exerted by the body of mass, m2
onto the body of mass m1 .
From Newton’s second law,

d~v d~p
F~ = m~a = m =
dt dt

where F~ is the force acting on the body, m is the mass of the body, ~a
is the accelation of the body.
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ˆ From Newton’s third law,F~1 and F~2 are equal in magnitude and opposite
in direction, therefore;
F~1 = −F~2
m1 ddtv~1 = −m2 ddtv~2
dp~1
dt
= − ddtp~2
dp~1
dt
+ ddtp~2 = 0
d
(p~ + p~2 ) = 0
dt 1
This therefore shows that the total momentum is constant, which is
the Principle of conservation of linear momentum.
This general formula for more than two bodies can be written as;
d
(p~1 + p~2 + ... + p~n ) = 0
dt

where p~n is the momentum due to mass, mn and velocity,vn .

(b) Impulse
From Newton’s second law, an unbalanced force always accelerates or
decelerates an object.
Impulse is a force applied to an object for a certain length of time
causing the object’s momentum to change.
Impulse,I = F~ . M t where F is the force and M t is the time taken.
By Newton’s second law,
d~p
F~ = (1)
dt
Let the momentum of the body change from p~i at time ~ti to p~f at time
t~f , then the change in momentum is obtained by Intergrating equation
1. Z p~f Z tf
d~p = F~ dt
p~i ti
Z tf
M p~ = p~f − p~i = F~ dt (2)
ti

Therefore, the impulse I~ of the net force F~ for the time interval M t =
tf − ti is
Z tf
I~ = F~ dt = F~ M t =M p~
ti

Therefore, when a net force F~ acts on an object during a time interval

M t, the impulse of this force is equal to the change in momentum of
the object. This is the Impulse-momentum theorem.
Examples
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(1) Find the impulse developed by a force given by F = 4ti+(6t2 −2)j+12k

from t=0 to t=2.

(2) A hockey player applies an average force of 80.0 N to a 0.25 Kg hockey

puck for a time of 0.10 seconds. Determine the impulse experienced by
the hockey puck.[Ans[8 Ns]]

(3) If a ball of mass, 10 kg is thrown against a wall for 0.1 s, while moving
horizontally to the left at 30ms−1 and it bounces to the right at 20ms−1 ,
find the average force on the ball during the impact.[Ans[5000n] Hint:F =
m v−u
t
= 10 20−(−30)
0.1
]

(c) Centre of Mass

Centre of mass is the weighed average position of the particles. Centre
of mass of a system is the point that behaves as whole mass of the
system is concentrated at it and all external forces are acting on it.
Consider two particles having mass m1 and m2 lying on x-axis at dis-

tances of x1 and x2 respectively from the origin (0).

The centre of mass of this system is that point whose distance from ori-
gin O is given by
m1 x1 + m2 x2
x=
m1 + m2
Here, x is the mass-weight average position of x1 and x2 .
The centre of mass of the two particles of equal mass lies at the centre
(on the line joining the two particles between the two particles).
If the system consists of n particles of masses m1 , m2 , m3 , ...mn having

position vectors r1 , r2 , r3 , ...rn .

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Then the position vector of centre of mass of the system,

Pn Pn
m1~r1 + m2~r2 + m3~r3 + ... + mn~rn i=1 mi~ri mi~ri
~rCM = = P = i=1
m1 + m2 + m3 + ... + mn mi M
(3)
where M = Mass of the system.
In terms of coordinates,
Pn
m1 x1 + m2 x2 + m3 x3 + ... + mn xn i=1 mi xi
xCM = = P
m1 + m2 + m3 + ... + mn mi
and
Pn
m1 y1 + m2 y2 + m3 y3 + ... + mn yn i=1 mi yi
yCM = = P
m1 + m2 + m3 + ... + mn mi
and
Pn
m1 z1 + m2 z2 + m3 z3 + ... + mn zn i=1 mi zi
zCM = = P
m1 + m2 + m3 + ... + mn mi
For calculating centre of mass of continous bodies(extended objects),the
body is divided into tiny elements(infinitesimal elements) each of mass
dm. The choice normally is determined by the symmetry of the body.
Consider an element dm of the body having position vector r, the quan-
tity mi ri can be replaced by dm~ ri , direct sum over particles becomes
intergral over the body.
Z
1
~rCM = ~rdm (4)
M
In component form, this equation can be written as
Z
1
xCM = xdm
M
and Z
1
yCM = ydm
M
and Z
1
zCM = zdm
M
Under the influence of the external force, the center of mass will move
as a single particle of mass M and the total momentum p~ of collection
of particles will be the vector sum of the individual momenta. i.e
X X
p~ = p~i = mi ri
i i
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where p~i = M~rCM

Note:
1 Velocity of centre of mass
m1~v1 + m2~v2 + m3~v3 + ... + mn~vn
~vCM =
m1 + m2 + m3 + ... + mn
2 Momentum of centre of mass
p~ = M~vCM = m1~v1 + m2~v2 + m3~v3 + ... + mn~vn
or
p~ = p~1 + p~2 + p~3 + ... + p~n
Examples
1. Three particles of mass 2 kg,5 kg and 3 kg are situated at points with
position vectors (i+4j−7k),(3i−2j+k) and (i−6j+13k) respectively.
Find the position vector of centre of mass.
solution

m1~r1 + m2~r2 + m3~r3 2(i + 4j − 7k) + 5(3i − 2j + k) + 3(i − 6j + 13k)

~rCM = =
m1 + m2 + m3 2+5+3
and
~rCM = (2i − 2j + 3k)m
2. A 2 kg body and a 3 kg body are moving along the x-axis. At a
particular instant, the 2 kg body is 1m from the origin and has a
velocity of 3ms−1 and the 3 kg body is 2m from the origin and has
a velocity of −1ms−1 . Find the position and velocity of the center of
mass and also the momentum.
solution
Let x be the x-coordinate of the center of mass, then from;
m1 x1 + m2 x2 + ... (2 × 1) + (3 × 2)
x= = = 1.6m
m1 + m2 + ... 2+3
The x-component of velocity is
m1 v1 + m2 v2 + ... (2 × 3) + (3 × (−1))
vx = = = 0.6ms−1
m1 + m2 + ... 2+3
The x-component of momentum;
p~x = (2 × 3) + (3 × −1) = 3kg/ms−1
Exercise
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1. Asystem of three particles of masses m1 = 0.5kg,m2 = 1kg and m3 =

1.5kg are spread out in two dimensions and located as shown in the

figure below.
Find the center of mass ~rCM of the system.

2. A horizontal rod has a mass M and length L. Find the location of its
center of mass from its left end;
(a) if the rod has a uniform mass per unit length λ and
(b) if the rod has a mass per unit length λ that increases linearly from
its left end according to the relation λ = αx, where α is a constant.