Newton's First Law

The variety of ways by which motion can be described (words, graphs, diagrams,
numbers, etc.) was discussed. In this unit (Newton's Laws of Motion), the ways in which
motion can be explained will be discussed. Isaac Newton (a 17th century scientist) put
forth a variety of laws which explain why objects move (or don't move) as they do. These
three laws have become known as Newton's three laws of motion. The focus of Lesson 1
is Newton's first law of motion - sometimes referred to as the law of inertia.

Newton's first law of motion is often stated as

An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in
motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an
unbalanced force.

There are two parts to this statement - one which predicts the behavior of
stationary objects and the other which predicts the behavior of moving objects. The two
parts are summarized in the following diagram.

The behavior of all objects can be described by saying that objects tend to "keep
on doing what they're doing" (unless acted upon by an unbalanced force). If at rest, they
will continue in this same state of rest. If in motion with an eastward velocity of 5 m/s,
they will continue in this same state of motion (5 m/s, East). If in motion with a leftward
velocity of 2 m/s, they will continue in this same state of motion (2 m/s, left). The state of
motion of an object is maintained as long as the object is not acted upon by an
unbalanced force. All objects resist changes in their state of motion - they tend to "keep
on doing what they're doing."
 Suppose that you filled a baking dish to the rim with water and walked around an oval
track making an attempt to complete a lap in the least amount of time. The water would
have a tendency to spill from the container during specific locations on the track. In
general the water spilled when:

• the container was at rest and you attempted to move it

• the container was in motion and you attempted to stop it
• the container was moving in one direction and you attempted to change its
direction.

The water spills whenever the state of motion of the container is changed. The water
resisted this change in its own state of motion. The water tended to "keep on doing what
it was doing." The container was moved from rest to a high speed at the starting line; the
water remained at rest and spilled onto the table. The container was stopped near the
finish line; the water kept moving and spilled over container's leading edge. The
container was forced to move in a different direction to make it around a curve; the water
kept moving in the same direction and spilled over its edge. The behavior of the water
during the lap around the track can be explained by Newton's first law of motion.

Newton's Second Law

Newton's first law of motion predicts the behavior of objects for which all
existing forces are balanced. The first law - sometimes referred to as the law of inertia -
states that if the forces acting upon an object are balanced, then the acceleration of that
object will be 0 m/s/s. Objects at equilibrium (the condition in which all forces balance)
will not accelerate. According to Newton, an object will only accelerate if there is a net or
unbalanced force acting upon it. The presence of an unbalanced force will accelerate an
object - changing either its speed, its direction, or both its speed and direction.

Newton's second law of motion pertains to the behavior of objects for which all existing
forces are not balanced. The second law states that the acceleration of an object is
dependent upon two variables - the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the
object. The acceleration of an object depends directly upon the net force acting upon the
object, and inversely upon the mass of the object. As the force acting upon an object is
increased, the acceleration of the object is increased. As the mass of an object is
increased, the acceleration of the object is decreased.

Newton's second law of motion can be formally stated as follows:

The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional to the

magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely
proportional to the mass of the object.

This verbal statement can be expressed in equation form as follows:

a = Fnet / m

The above equation is often rearranged to a more familiar form as shown below. The net
force is equated to the product of the mass times the acceleration.

Fnet = m * a

In this entire discussion, the emphasis has been on the net force. The acceleration
is directly proportional to the net force; the net force equals mass times acceleration; the
acceleration in the same direction as the net force; an acceleration is produced by a net
force. The NET FORCE. It is important to remember this distinction. Do not use the
value of merely "any 'ole force" in the above equation. It is the net force which is related
to acceleration. As discussed in an earlier lesson, the net force is the vector sum of all the
forces. If all the individual forces acting upon an object are known, then the net force can
be determined. If necessary, review this principle by returning to the practice questions in
Lesson 2.

Consistent with the above equation, a unit of force is equal to a unit of mass times
a unit of acceleration. By substituting standard metric units for force, mass, and
acceleration into the above equation, the following unit equivalency can be written.
 The definition of the standard metric unit of force is stated by the above equation.
One Newton is defined as the amount of force required to give a 1-kg mass an
acceleration of 1 m/s/s.

Newton's Third Law

A force is a push or a pull upon an object which results from its interaction with
another object. Forces result from interactions! As discussed in Lesson 2, some forces
result from contact interactions (normal, frictional, tensional, and applied forces are
examples of contact forces) and other forces are the result of action-at-a-distance
interactions (gravitational, electrical, and magnetic forces). According to Newton,
whenever objects A and B interact with each other, they exert forces upon each other.
When you sit in your chair, your body exerts a downward force on the chair and the chair
exerts an upward force on your body. There are two forces resulting from this interaction
- a force on the chair and a force on your body. These two forces are called action and
reaction forces and are the subject of Newton's third law of motion. Formally stated,
Newton's third law is:

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The statement means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on
the two interacting objects. The size of the forces on the first object equals the size of the
force on the second object. The direction of the force on the first object is opposite to the
direction of the force on the second object. Forces always come in pairs - equal and
opposite action-reaction force pairs.

A variety of action-reaction force pairs are evident in nature. Consider the

propulsion of a fish through the water. A fish uses its fins to push water backwards. But a
push on the water will only serve to accelerate the water. Since forces result from mutual
interactions, the water must also be pushing the fish forwards, propelling the fish through
the water. The size of the force on the water equals the size of the force on the fish; the
direction of the force on the water (backwards) is opposite the direction of the force on
the fish (forwards). For every action, there is an equal (in size) and opposite (in direction)
reaction force. Action-reaction force pairs make it possible for fish to swim.

Consider the flying motion of birds. A bird flies by use of its wings. The wings of
a bird push air downwards. Since forces result from mutual interactions, the air must also
be pushing the bird upwards. The size of the force on the air equals the size of the force
on the bird; the direction of the force on the air (downwards) is opposite the direction of
the force on the bird (upwards). For every action, there is an equal (in size) and opposite
(in direction) reaction. Action-reaction force pairs make it possible for birds to fly.

Consider the motion of a car on the way to school. A car is equipped with wheels
which spin backwards. As the wheels spin backwards, they grip the road and push the
road backwards. Since forces result from mutual interactions, the road must also be
pushing the wheels forward. The size of the force on the road equals the size of the force
on the wheels (or car); the direction of the force on the road (backwards) is opposite the
direction of the force on the wheels (forwards). For every action, there is an equal (in
size) and opposite (in direction) reaction. Action-reaction force pairs make it possible for
cars to move along a roadway surface.

Acceleration

Is how much your velocity changes each second

Velocity is measured in metres per second (m/s),

so acceleration is measured in metres per second per second (written as m/s/s or m/s )

No, it's not a misprint, it's really called that.

It's how much your velocity (metres per second), changes each second (per second).

We work out acceleration using

Example: a car accelerates from 8 m/s to 20 m/s, and takes 6 seconds to do it.
What is the acceleration?

Answer: change in velocity is 20 minus 8 = 12 m/s. Time taken for change is 6 seconds.
Acceleration = 12 divided by 6 = 2 m/s/s (that's a pretty impressive
car!)

Force and acceleration:

If the forces on an object are in balance, then its velocity will be constant)

If the forces aren't in balance, then the object will accelerate - which may mean speeding
up, slowing down, or changing direction.

• If we apply an unbalanced force to an object, it will accelerate.

• If we apply twice the force, we'd expect to get twice the acceleration.

• If we apply the same force to an object with twice the mass, we'd expect to get
only half the acceleration

Advanced:
We have more flexibility to cope with the calculations if we use an equation:

Where a = acceleration (m/s/s)

v = final velocity (m/s)
u = initial (starting) velocity (m/s)
t = time (seconds)

Thus v - u is the change in velocity

Example: a wombat falls out of a tree into a vat of custard. It accelerates at 10 m/s/s, and
falls for 5 seconds. How fast is it going when it hits the custard?

Answer: first, realise that the wombat starts from rest, so u = 0.

we have: a = 10 m/s/s, t = 5 sec, and we want v.

, so v = 10 x 5 = 50 m/s

Newton's Second Law tells us how much an object accelerates if the forces are
unbalanced. It comes down to an equation:

F = ma

where F = force (in Newtons)

m = mass of object (in kilogram)
a = acceleration (in metres per second per second) Example: a guinea pig of mass 1
kg sits on a skateboard of mass 2kg. If the skateboard is pushed, and accelerates at 4
m/s/s, how big is the force pushing it?

Answer: first, we need to add the mass of the guinea pig and the skateboard together.
That's 1kg + 2kg = 3kg
we know that acceleration = 4 m/s/s

using F = ma, we have F = 3 x 4 = 12 Newtons

Projectile Motion

A projectile is an object upon which the only force acting is gravity. There are a
variety of examples of projectiles. An object dropped from rest is a projectile (provided
that the influence of air resistance is negligible). An object which is thrown vertically
upward is also a projectile (provided that the influence of air resistance is negligible).
And an object is which thrown upward at an angle to the horizontal is also a projectile
(provided that the influence of air resistance is negligible). A projectile is any object
which once projected or dropped continues in motion by its own inertia and is influenced
only by the downward force of gravity.

By definition, a projectile has only one force acting upon it - the force of gravity.
If there was any other force acting upon an object, then that object would not be a
projectile. Thus, the free-body diagram of a projectile would show a single force acting
downwards and labeled force of gravity (or simply Fgrav). Regardless of whether a
projectile is moving downwards, upwards, upwards and rightwards, or downwards and
leftwards, the free-body diagram of the projectile is still as depicted in the diagram at the
right. By definition, a projectile is any object upon which the only force is gravity.

Friction
. Friction is the force of two surfaces in contact, or the force of a medium acting
on a moving object (i.e air on an aircraft). It is not a fundamental force, as it is derived
from electromagnetic forces between atoms. When contacting surfaces move relative to
each other, the friction between the two objects converts kinetic energy into thermal
energy, or heat. Friction between solid objects is often referred to as dry friction and
between a solid and a gas or liquid as fluid friction. Internal friction is related to a
body's ability to recover from external deformation. Contrary to popular belief, sliding
friction is not caused by surface roughness, but by chemical bonding between the
surfaces. Surface roughness and contact area, however, do affect sliding friction for
micro- and nano-scale objects where surface area forces dominate inertial forces.
μ is the coefficient of friction, which is an empirical property of the contacting
materials,
Fn is the normal force exerted between the surfaces, and
Ff is either the force exerted by friction, or, in the case of equality, the maximum
possible magnitude of this force.
Thus: Ff=μFn

For surfaces in relative motion, μ is the coefficient of kinetic friction (see

below), the Coulomb friction is equal to Ff, and the frictional force on each surface is
exerted in the direction opposite to its motion relative to the other surface.

For surfaces at rest relative to each other, μ is the coefficient of static friction
(generally larger than its kinetic counterpart), the Coulomb friction may take any value
from zero up to Ff, and the direction of the frictional force against a surface is opposite to
the motion that surface would experience in the absence of friction. Thus, in the static
case, the frictional force is exactly what it must be in order to prevent motion between the
surfaces; it balances the net force tending to cause such motion. In this case, rather than
providing an estimate of the actual frictional force, the Coulomb approximation provides
a threshold value for this force, above which sliding would commence.

This approximation mathematically follows from the assumptions that surfaces

are in atomically close contact only over a small fraction of their overall area, that this
contact area is proportional to the normal force (until saturation, which takes place when
all area is in atomic contact), and that frictional force is proportional to the applied
normal force, independently of the contact area (you can see the experiments on friction
from Leonardo Da Vinci). Such reasoning aside, however, the approximation is
fundamentally an empirical construction. It is a rule of thumb describing the approximate
outcome of an extremely complicated physical interaction. The strength of the
approximation is its simplicity and versatility – though in general the relationship
between normal force and frictional force is not exactly linear (and so the frictional force
is not entirely independent of the contact area of the surfaces), the Coulomb
approximation is an adequate representation of friction for the analysis of many physical
systems.

Coefficient of Friction

The coefficient of friction (also known as the frictional coefficient) is a

dimensionless scalar value which describes the ratio of the force of friction between two
bodies and the force pressing them together. The coefficient of friction depends on the
materials used; for example, ice on steel has a low coefficient of friction (the two
materials slide past each other easily), while rubber on pavement has a high coefficient of
friction (the materials do not slide past each other easily). Coefficients of friction range
from near zero to greater than one - under good conditions, a tire on concrete may have a
coefficient of friction of 1.7.

When the surfaces are conjoined, Coulomb friction becomes a very poor approximation
(for example, Scotch tape resists sliding even when there is no normal force, or a
negative normal force). In this case, the frictional force may depend strongly on the area
of contact. Some drag racing tires are adhesive in this way.
The force of friction is always exerted in a direction that opposes movement (for kinetic
friction) or potential movement (for static friction) between the two surfaces. For
example, a curling stone sliding along the ice experiences a kinetic force slowing it down.
For an example of potential movement, the drive wheels of an accelerating car experience
a frictional force pointing forward; if they did not, the wheels would spin, and the rubber
would slide backwards along the pavement. Note that it is not the direction of movement
of the vehicle they oppose, it is the direction of (potential) sliding between tire and road.

The coefficient of friction is an empirical measurement – it has to be measured

experimentally, and cannot be found through calculations. Rougher surfaces tend to have
higher values. Most dry materials in combination have friction coefficient values between
0.3 and 0.6. Values outside this range are rarer, but Teflon, for example, can have a
coefficient as low as 0.04. A value of zero would mean no friction at all, an elusive
property – even Magnetic levitation vehicles have drag. Rubber in contact with other
surfaces can yield friction coefficients from 1.0 to 2.

Types of friction

Static friction

Static friction is the force between two objects that are not moving relative to each other.
For example, static friction can prevent an object from sliding down a sloped surface. The
coefficient of static friction, typically denoted as μs, is usually higher than the coefficient
of kinetic friction. The initial force to get an object moving is often dominated by static
friction.

Another important example of static friction is the force that prevents a car wheel from
slipping as it rolls on the ground. Even though the wheel is in motion, the patch of the tire
in contact with the ground is stationary relative to the ground, so it is static rather than
kinetic friction.

The maximum value of static friction, when motion is impending, is sometimes referred
to as limiting friction, although this term is not used universally.

Rolling friction

Rolling friction is the frictional force associated with the rotational movement of a wheel
or other circular objects along a surface. Generally the frictional force of rolling friction
is less than that associated with kinetic friction.[5] Typical values for the coefficient of
rolling friction are 0.001.[6] One of the most common examples of rolling friction is the
movement of motor vehicle tires on a road, a process which generates heat and sound as
by-products.[7]

Kinetic friction
Kinetic (or dynamic) friction occurs when two objects are moving relative to each other
and rub together (like a sled on the ground). The coefficient of kinetic friction is typically
denoted as μk, and is usually less than the coefficient of static friction. Since friction is
exerted in a direction that opposes movement, kinetic friction usually does negative work,
typically slowing something down. There are exceptions, for instance if the surface itself
is under acceleration. One can see this by placing a heavy box on a rug, then pulling on
the rug quickly. In this case, the box slides backwards relative to the rug, but moves
forward relative to the floor. Thus, the kinetic friction between the box and rug
accelerates the box in the same direction that the box moves, doing positive work.

Examples of kinetic friction:

• Sliding friction is when two objects are rubbing against each other. Putting a book
flat on a desk and moving it around is an example of sliding friction

• Fluid friction is the friction between a solid object as it moves through a liquid or
a gas. The drag of air on an airplane or of water on a swimmer are two examples
of fluid friction.