● The Laws of Motion

● Newton’s first law

● Force
● Mass
● Newton’s second law
● Newton’s third law
● Examples
Isaac Newton’s work represents one of the greatest
contributions to science ever made by an individual.
 ● Forces
● The measure of interaction
between two objects (pull or
push)
● Vector quantity: has
magnitude and direction
● May be a contact force or a
field force
− Contact forces result from
physical contact between two
objects
− Field forces act between
disconnected objects
● Also called “action at a
distance”
 ● Vector Nature of Force
● Vector force: has magnitude and direction
● Net Force: a resultant force acting on object

● You must use the rules of vector addition to

obtain the net force on an object
 ● Newton’s First Law
● 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

❑ An object at rest remains at rest as long as no net force acts on it

❑ An object moving with constant velocity continues to move with the
same speed and in the same direction (the same velocity) as long
as no net force acts on it
❑ “Keep on doing what it is doing”
 ● Newton’s First Law
● 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

❑ When forces are balanced, the acceleration of the object is zero

•Object at rest: v = 0 and a = 0
•Object in motion: v ≠ 0 and a = 0

❑ The net force is defined as the vector sum of all the external forces
exerted on the object. If the net force is zero, forces are balanced.
When forces are balances, the object can be stationary, or move
with constant velocity.
Mass and Inertia
❑ Every object continues in its state of rest, or uniform
motion in a straight line, unless it is compelled to change
that state by unbalanced forces impressed upon it
❑ Inertia is a property of objects
❑ to resist changes is motion!
❑ Mass is a measure of the
❑ amount of inertia.
❑ Mass is a measure of the resistance of an object to
changes in its velocity
❑ Mass is an inherent property of an object
❑ Scalar quantity and SI unit: kg
 ● Newton’s Second Law
● The acceleration of an object is
directly proportional to the net force
acting on it and inversely proportional
to its mass
 ● Units of Force
● Newton’s second law:

● SI unit of force is a Newton (N)

3
● More about Newton’s 2nd Law
● You must be certain about which body we are
applying it to
● Fnet must be the vector sum of all the forces that act
on that body
● Only forces that act on that body are to be included
in the vector sum
● Net force component along an
axis gives rise to the acceleration
along that same axis
 ● Sample Problem
● One or two forces act on a puck that moves over frictionless ice
along an x axis, in one-dimensional motion. The puck's mass is m =
0.20 kg. Forces F1 and F2 and are directed along the x axis and
have magnitudes F1 = 4.0 N and F2 = 2.0 N. Force F3 is directed at
angle θ = 30° and has magnitude F3 = 1.0 N. In each situation, what
is the acceleration of the puck?

Feb. 11-15, 2013

 ● Sample Problem
● One or two forces act on a puck that moves over frictionless ice
along an x axis, in one-dimensional motion. The puck's mass is m =
0.20 kg. Forces F1 and F2 and are directed along the x axis and
have magnitudes F1 = 4.0 N and F2 = 2.0 N. Force F3 is directed at
angle θ = 30° and has magnitude F3 = 1.0 N. In each situation, what
is the acceleration of the puck?

Feb. 11-15, 2013

 ● Gravitational Force
● Gravitational force is a vector
● Expressed by Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation:

− G – gravitational constant
− M – mass of the Earth
− m – mass of an object
− R – radius of the Earth
● Direction: pointing downward

Feb. 11-15, 2013

 ● Weight
● The magnitude of the gravitational force acting on an
object of mass m near the Earth’s surface is called the
weight w of the object: w = mg
● g can also be found from the Law of Universal Gravitation
● Weight has a unit of N

Weight depends upon location

●
R = 6,400 km
 ● Normal Force
● Force from a solid
surface which keeps
object from falling
through
● Direction: always
perpendicular to the
surface
● Magnitude: depends
on situation
 ● Tension Force: T
● A taut rope exerts forces
on whatever holds its
ends
● Direction: always along
the cord (rope, cable,
string ……) and away T1
from the object T1 = T = T2
● Magnitude: depend on T2
situation
 ● Newton’s Third Law
● If object 1 and object 2 interact, the force
exerted by object 1 on object 2 is equal in
magnitude but opposite in direction to the
force exerted by object 2 on object 1

❑ Equivalent to saying a single isolated force cannot exist

 ● Newton’s Third Law cont.
● F12 may be called the
action force and F21 the
reaction force
− Actually, either force can
be the action or the
reaction force
● The action and reaction
forces act on different
objects
● Some Action-Reaction Pairs
● Some Action-Reaction Pairs
 ● Free Body Diagram
● The most important step in
solving problems involving F hand on book
Newton’s Laws is to draw the
free body diagram
● Be sure to include only the
forces acting on the object of
interest F Earth on book
● Include any field forces
acting on the object
● Do not assume the normal
force equals the weight
 ● Hints for Problem-Solving
● Read the problem carefully at least once
● Draw a picture of the system, identify the object of primary interest,
and indicate forces with arrows
● Label each force in the picture in a way that will bring to mind what
physical quantity the label stands for (e.g., T for tension)
● Draw a free-body diagram of the object of interest, based on the
labeled picture. If additional objects are involved, draw separate
free-body diagram for them
● Choose a convenient coordinate system for each object
● Apply Newton’s second law. The x- and y-components of Newton
second law should be taken from the vector equation and written
individually. This often results in two equations and two unknowns
● Solve for the desired unknown quantity, and substitute the numbers
 ● Objects in Equilibrium
● Objects that are either at rest or moving with
constant velocity are said to be in equilibrium
● Acceleration of an object can be modeled as
zero:
● Mathematically, the net force acting on the
object is zero
● Equivalent to the set of component equations
given by
 ● Equilibrium, Example 1
● 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
 ● Equilibrium, Example 2
● A traffic light weighing 100 N hangs from a vertical cable
tied to two other cables that are fastened to a support.
The upper cables make angles of 37° and 53° with the
horizontal. Find the tension in each of the three cables.
❑ Conceptualize the traffic light
•Assume cables don’t break
•Nothing is moving
❑ Categorize as an equilibrium problem
•No movement, so acceleration is zero
•Model as an object in equilibrium

Feb. 11-15, 2013

 ● Equilibrium, Example 2
● Need 2 free-body diagrams
− Apply equilibrium equation to light

− Apply equilibrium equations to

knot
 ● Accelerating Objects
● If an object that can be modeled as a particle
experiences an acceleration, there must be a
nonzero net force acting on it
● Draw a free-body diagram
● Apply Newton’s Second Law in component form
 ● Accelerating Objects, Example
●
1
A man weighs himself with a scale in an elevator. While
the elevator is at rest, he measures a weight of 800 N.
− What weight does the scale read if the elevator accelerates
upward at 2.0 m/s2? a = 2.0 m/s2
− What weight does the scale read if the elevator accelerates
downward at 2.0 m/s2? a = - 2.0 m/s2
❑ Upward: N
N

❑ Downward:

mg mg