Chapter V.

Newton’s Laws of Motion and Applications

1. Newton’s Law’s ofMotion

2. Inertial ReferenceFrames

3. Action at a distanceforces

4. Mass and Weight

5. Types of contact forces:tension, normal force,kinetic and staticfriction, fluid resistance

6. Action-Reaction Pairs

7. Free-Body Diagrams

8. Applications ofNewton’s Laws to single-body and multibody dynamics

9. Fluid resistance

10. Experiment on forces

11. Problem solving using Newton’s Laws

What is inertial frame reference?

Inertial frame of reference is a reference frame in which an object stays either at rest or at a constant
velocity unless another force acts upon it or a frame reference in which the First Law of Motion is valid.

What is Newton’s Laws of Motion?

Newton’s Laws of Motion

First Law (Law of Inertia) states that for every object it will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a
straight line unless compelled to
change its state by the action of an
external force.

Second Law (Law of Acceleration)

states that the force F is the product
of an object's mass m and its
acceleration a:
Third Law (Law of Interaction) states
that for every action, there is an
equal and opposite re-
action.

Example: 1.A box is pushed with a

force of 21 N and pulled with a force of 9 N, considering that the object is in constant motion. What is
the net force acting on the ball? a.14 N b.12 N * c.-9 N d.-4 N To solve this problem, we use a simple
vector addition:

What is the net force on a 3 kg object

accelerating at 0.5 m/s2?

a.1.33 N b.1.5 N * c.2 N d.2.21 N To solve the problem, we use the formula:
Contact forces are forces that
is applied by objects in
contact with each other.
Contact force is responsible for
most of the interactions we
experience in the daily life.

The Contact force equation

in any forms obeys the
fundamental force equation
that is defined by Newton’s
second law of motion. That is:

F=mxa

Example 5.2.1

Find the acceleration of the block shown below.

What are the types of contact forces?

1. Applied force. Force which is applied to an object

by another object.

Example 5.2.1.1

When a person pushes his car, there is an applied

force acting upon the car. The applied force is the
force exerted on the car by the person.

2. Frictional force. Force exerted by a surface as an object moves across it or makes an effort to move
across it.

Example 5.2.1.2

A man pushing a box. The exerted force by the man causes the box to move.
3. Normal force. This is also called the support force. The normal force is the support force exerted upon
an object that is in contact with another fixed or stable object.

Example 5.2.1.3

A man pushing against a wall.

What are noncontact forces?

Noncontact Forces when a force is applied on some

body by another object without any interaction or
contact.

What are the types of noncontact forces?

1. Gravitational force. Forcethat attracts any

objects with mass.

Example 5.2.2.1
2. Magnetic Force. Attraction or repulsion
that arises between electrically charged
particles because of their motion.

Example 5.2.2.2

Iron pins being attracted when in the

vicinity of a magnet without any physical
contact

3. Electrostatic Force. Also called the Coulomb

force or Coulomb interaction, is defined as the
attraction or repulsion of different particles and
materials based on their electrical charges.

Example 5.2.3

charging of the hair and attraction of paper bits

towards it.
What is mass?

Mass is measured in kilograms (kg) and is the amount of matter in an object. An object’s mass does not
change unless matter is added or removed from the object.

Example 5.3.1

Sarah’s mass on Earth is 50 kg. It is the same on any planet.

What is weight?

Weight is the gravitational force that the Earth exerts on any object. It is a vector quantity that can be
measured by this formula

Example 5.3.2

Sarah’s mass is 50 kg.

w = mg

w = 50 kg x 9.8 m/s2

w = 490 kg – m/s2
w = 490 N

Note: Weight is sometimes

abbreviated as Fg which refers to the
force of gravity. Do not use the
abbreviation ’W’ for weight as it refers
to ’Work’.

A list of the gravitational accelerations at

the surfaces of each of the planets in our
solar system. Values are listed as
multiples of g on Earth.

Example 5.3.2

Sarah has a mass of 50 kg. What is her weight on Mercury?

w = mg

w = 50 kg x 0.376 x 9.8 m/s2

w = 50 kg x 0.376 x 9.8 m/s2

w = 184.24 N

What is the difference between mass and weight?

Their difference can be summarized by the two tables below.

are action-reaction pairs?

force pairs is a set of two forces that are in opposite directions, have equal magnitudes and act on
different objects.

Think of a pile of books on a table. The weight of the books exerts a downward force on the table. This is
the action force. The table exerts an equal upward force on the books. This is the reaction force.

In what Newton’s law does this fall under?

These action and reaction forces are the subject of Newton’s Third Law of Motion which states that:
NOTE: 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.

Example 5.4.1

While driving down the road, a firefly strikes the windshield of a bus and makes a quite obvious mess in
front of the face of the driver. This is a clear case of Newton's third law of motion. The firefly hit the bus
and the bus hits the firefly. Which of the two forces is greater: the force on the firefly or the force on the
bus?

Answer: None. Their forces are equal.

This is a trick question. As stated, size of the forces on the first object equals the size of the force on the
second object.

The fact that the firefly splatters unto the windshield only means that it has smaller mass, making it less
able to withstand the larger acceleration resulting from the interaction.

Does just standing on the ground exhibit action-reaction force pairs?

Yes. By standing on the ground, you push on the ground with a force due to gravity (Fg down) and the
ground pushes back on you (FN up).

FN is the normal force. It balances out

the force due to gravity down.
The normal force is always perpendicular to the surface the object is on.

What are contact forces?

Contact forces are action-reaction forces that depend on the objects being in direct contact, meaning
that the two objects involved are actually touching each other to exert forces on each other.

Examples are:

Action: the tires on a car push on the road.

Reaction: the road pushes on the tires.

Action: while swimming, you push the water backwards.

Reaction: the water pushes you forward

What are “action at a distance forces”?

Action-reaction pairs can also happen without friction, or even with the objects not touching each other,
these are known as action at a distance forces.

Examples are:

Action: a rocket pushes out exhaust…

Reaction: the exhaust pushes the rocket forward.

One of the original arguments that flight in the vacuum of space was impossible was that there would be
nothing to push against. This action-reaction explains how a rocket can fly in space where there is no air
to push against.

Action: the earth pulls down on a ball…

Reaction: ball pulls up on the earth.

Action -Reaction Pair Diagrams

When sorting out action and reaction forces, it is helpful to draw diagrams. Draw each object apart from
the other. Represent each force as an arrow in the appropriate direction.
What is a free-body diagram?

A free body diagram (force diagram, or FBD) is a graphical illustration used to visualize the applied forces,
movements, and resulting reactions on a body in a steady state condition (no acceleration of the
system).
Why use free-body diagram?

A free-body diagram allows a learner to practice identifying the forces that act upon an object and to
express such an understanding by the construction of a free-body diagram. It also simplifies the
complicated real-life drawing of the problem.

How to draw a free-body diagram:

Identify the object you will draw a diagram for.

Identify all the forces actingdirectly on the object and the object exerting them.

Draw a dot or a box to represent the object of interest.

Draw and label each force acting on the body according to the direction of the force.

Notes:

Thenormal force, Fn or simply N, is the component, perpendicular to the surface.

Theweight of an object is the gravitational force between the object and the Earth.

Anapplied force is a force that is applied to an object by a person or another object.

Frictionis the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements
sliding against each other.

Example 5.5.1

A book is resting on a tabletop. Draw a free-body diagram representing the situation.

Solution:

Step 1: Identify the object to draw.

The book is the one to be drawn.

Step 2: Identify all the forces acting directly on the object and the object exerting them.

The forces acting on the body (book) are Normal Force and its gravitational force or simply its weight.

Step 3: Draw a dot or a box to represent the object of interest.

Step 4: Draw and label each force acting on the body according to the
direction of the force.

Example 5.5.2

A man is standing on the ground. Draw a free body diagram representing the problem.

Solution:

The man is the one to be drawn.

Use dot to represent
the man.
Second, draw the gravitational force.
Example 5.5.3

A box is being pulled by a rope on a

plane inclined at an angle ϴ. Draw a
free-body diagram representing
the scenario.

Solution:

The box is the body of the problem

and it is resting on a plane inclined
at an angle ϴ.

Draw first the normal and gravitational forces.

Second to draw is the force pulling the
box inclined at an angle ϴ.
Remember that this force is similar to
the applied force and it is represented
by the symbol F.

Second to draw is the force pulling the box inclined at an angle ϴ. Remember that this force is similar to
the applied force and it is represented by the symbol F.

The last force is the frictional force. Remember that it is the force resisting the relative motion of solid
surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. It is represented by the symbol Ff.
What is Newton’s 1st law of Motion?

Newton's first law of motion - sometimes

referred to as the law of inertia, is often stated as

“An object at rest stays at rest and an object

in motion stays in motion with the same
speed and in the same direction unless
acted upon by an unbalanced force.”

What are the two Clauses and a Condition?

There are two clauses or parts to this

statement - one that predicts the behavior of stationary objects and the other that 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 for example:

What is Mass?

The mass of a body is sometime said to be the quantity of matter in a body. This is quite vague because
of the use of the word quantity.

The mass of a body is a number assigned to it to distinguish it from another which may appear identical.
It determines the behavior of the body when acted upon by a force which causes it to change its motion.
The mass can then be considered to be a measure of the resistance to change of motion. The resistance
to change in motion is known as inertia. A body with a large mass is said to have a large inertia.
Do Forces keep objects moving?

Isaac Newton built on

Galileo's thoughts about
motion. Newton's first
law of motion declares that a
force is not needed to keep
an object in motion. Slide a book across a table and watch it slide
to a rest position. The book in motion on the table top does not come
to a rest position because of the absence of a force; rather it is.
What is friction?

Friction is the force that opposes the motion of an object either the object is sliding or rolling.

As shown in the figure, friction always works in the direction opposite from the moving object, thus,
always slows a moving object down.

Always remember that frictional force arises only when two object are in contact.

There are two forms of friction, static and kinetic.

What is Static Friction?

Static Friction is the frictional force that opposes

any attempt to move a stationary object
along a surface, thus, keeps the stationary object
at rest.

What is Kinetic Friction?

Kinetic Friction is a force that acts between moving surfaces. Once the static friction is overcome, it slows
down a moving object.

Static and Kinetic Friction Concept

For example, if you try to slide two objects past each other, a small amount of force will result in no
motion. The force of friction is greater than the applied force and this is called static friction. It is the
maximum value (which depends on the surface materials) in preventing motion between surfaces.
If you apply a little more
force, the object breaks free
and slides. Upon sliding, there is
a force that opposes the
movement and is called kinetic
friction.

Thus, to initiate the motion we

must first overcome the
force of static friction and on
sliding, the object will
come to a complete stop
due to kinetic friction.

Always remember that

static friction is greater than
kinetic friction.

What is frictional
force?

Frictional force is equal to the

magnitude of the normal
force multiplied by a frictional
coefficient.

What is Normal Force?

Normal Force is the support force exerted upon an object that is in contact with another stable object.
What is threshold angle for sliding?

Threshold Angle for sliding is also called coefficient of friction. It is a value that shows the relationship
between the force of friction between two objects and the normal force between the objects that are
involved.
What is acceleration?

According to Newton’s 2nd law of motion, acceleration is directly proportional to the magnitude of the
net force and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.
What is Newton’s Second Law of Motion?

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.

What does it mean?

Everyone knows that heavier objects require more force to move the same distance as lighter objects.

What is Kinematics?

Kinematics is the branch of classical mechanics which describes the motion of points alternatively
"particles", bodies (objects), and systems of bodies without consideration of the masses of those objects
nor the forces that may have caused the motion.

What is the difference between velocity and acceleration?

Velocity is the rate of displacement of an object. It is measured in m/s.

Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity of an object. It is measured in m/s2. They are both vector
quantities i.e. both magnitude and direction are required to fully specify them.
What are contact and non-contact forces?

The force which acts on an object without coming physically in contact with it is called non-contact force.
The most familiar example of a non-contact force is weight. In contrast a contact force is a force applied
to a body by another body that is in contact with it.

Application of Newton’s Second Law of Motion

Purpose:

How will the acceleration of an object’s mass (m) change when the net force acting on it changes?

Prediction:

We predict that the acceleration of an object mass will increase constantly when the net force acting on
the object itself changes. This is because, if we keep the mass of the object constant and we increase the
net force we will get a change in acceleration as stated and proved by Newton’s Second Law, Fnet = m x
a.

Where:

m = mass

a = acceleration

Fnet =Fa
Sample Problem of Contact Force

A student pushes a loaded sled whose mass is 240 kg for a distance of 2.3 m over the frictionless surface
of a frozen lake. He exerts a horizontal force equal to 130 N. If the sled starts from rest, what is its final
velocity?
Application of Kinematics

Remember that kinematics is a branch of mechanics concerned with the motion of objects without
reference to the forces that cause the motion.

What is Horizontal Translation?

Horizontal translation is a straight motion along a horizontal plane.

If acceleration is zero, the velocity of the body remains constant throughout the motion.