UNIT 1 DYNAMICS O F A PARTICLE

! Structure
1.1 Introduction
Objectives
1.2 Newton's Laws of Motion
1.2.1 First Law and Inertia
1.2.2 The Second Law
1.2.3 Newton's Third Law
1.3 Forces in Mechanics
1.3.1 Tension
1.3.2 Spring Force - Hooke's Law
1.3.3 Frictional Forces
1.4 Free Body Diagrams
1.5 Circular Motion
1.6 Inertial and Non-Inertial Frames
1.7 Summary
1.8 Answers to SAQs

1.1 INTRODUCTION
It is a common experience that material objects change their positions with
time. Moving bodies may change their velocities. We are naturally interested
in learning the cause of such changes. Questions like (i) Why does a body
change its state of motion ? (ii) How will the body move, given that we know
its physical environment ? (iii) On what factors does the motion depend ? are
answered by the celebrated laws of Galileo (1564-1642) and Newton
(1642-1 727).

These laws, which are based on observations of behaviour of the physical

bodies, provide a kind of mathematical model for description of motion.
Galileo attempted to descri.be the motion of objects near the surface of the
earth. His first law postulates that all bodies are subjected to the same
vertical acceleration when they are dropped from a height above the surface of
the earth. The second of his laws is almost identical to the first law of
Newton. Galileo had observed that a body moving on a horizontal surface
stops after travelling some distance. If the contact surfaces are polished, the
body travels a larger distance. He therefore conjectured that, in the absence of
friction, air resistance etc., the body would continue to move indefinitely along
a straight line. This observation by Galileo led to the principle of inertia.

Historically, Kepler (1571-1630) had enunciated a set of laws governing the

motion of planets around the sun though he was not able to see any universal
law of nature behind the planetary motion that could be applicable to all -
material bodies. The task of completing what was started by Galileo and
Kepler was taken up by Sir Issac Newton who in 1687, published a book
entitled Philosophiae Natumlis Priracipia Maihematica (Mathematical
Principles of Natural Philosophy) , in which he enunciated a set of three laws
which answer the questions mentioned above.
Particle Mechanics Objective:
After going through this unit you should be able to :

explain what causes a body to change its state of motion

(SAQS 1-2).
describe and explain about various types of forces (SAQs 4,5,7).
write equations of motion of a particle under the action of forces and
apply these principles to physical problems (SAQs 6-9).
explain what frames of references are and their importance
(SAQs 10,ll).

1.2 NEWTON'S LAWS OF MOTION

The central.problem in particle mechanics is to attempt to understand how
will a body move, given that we know its physical attributes like the mass,
shape, volume, electric charge etc. The motion also depends on the
environment in which the body is located. Newton introduced a set of three
laws to describe the motion of a particle. In the following, we discuss these
laws and their use.
1.2.1 First Law and Inertia
Newton's first law attempts to find out what the natural state of a body which
is not subject to external influences of any kind would be. According to this
every body continues in a state of rest or in
t NEWTON'S uniform motion in a straightline unless it is
FIRST' LAW compelled to change that state by forces that
are impressed upon it.
This law is called the law of inertia, because "inertia" means reluctance to
change from a natural state. The original statement of the law seems to
suggest that there are two different types of inertia - an inertia of rest and an
inertia of motion along a straight line. The distinction however is not a real
one, because, what is at rest with respect to one observer may appear to be
moving with respect to another observer. The natural state in the absence of
a net external force is one in which the acceleration is zero. It may be noted
that while we require the net force to be zero, it is possible that more than
one force could be acting on the body. According to the law of superposition
of forces, if individual forces act on a body, the effect is the same as
that of a single force given by the vector sum of tlie forces

acting on the same body. So if the net force acting on a body is zero, the
acceleration is zero.
SAQ 1
Will two equal and opposite forces acting on a body have no effect on the
motion of the body at all ? Explain.
 I 1.2.2 The Second Law
We have learnt that force is what is responsible for changing the state of
uniform motion of a body. The second law quantitatively relates force with
the acceleration. We define momentum of a particle to be the product of its
mass with velocity
-,
@'=mu (1.1)
i According to the second law
the rate of change of momentum of a body
L NEWTON'S is proportional to the external force
SECOND LAW impressed on the body.
i
Thus
Roc-
-
dp'
dt
Using the definition of momentum, and the fact that mass of a particle
remains constant in time, we can write
-, dv'
F a m-
dt
a ma'
dv'
where a' = - is the acceleration of the particle.
dt
We therefore have
2 = kma',
where k is proportionality constant. The constant can be determined by
choosing proper units for force, mass and acceleration. In S.I. units, we define
a unit force to be one Newton, which, acting on a body of mass 1 kg
produces an acceleration of 1 m/s2. This fixes the values of k to be 1 and we
get the familar form of Newton's second law:
-,
F = ma' (1.3)

Clearly, the first law is a special case of the second, as = Q-implies a' = 0.
1.2.3 Newton's Third Law
We have said that the forces which cause acceleration on a body must be
external to the body. Usually we will be able to identify an object (or objects)
in the surroundings of the body in question which provides this force. For
instance, a stone dropped from a height accelerates because the earth exerts
an attractive force on it. In this case the earth is the object in the
surroundings of the stone. Similarly the earth moves round the sun because of
the gravitational attraction of the sun. Newton's third law answers the
question as to what happens to the second body which exerts the force. This
law can be stated as follows:
NEWTON'S To every action, there is an equal and
THIRD LAW opposite reaction.
What it implies is that when two objects exert forces on each other, the force
that an object A exerts on B (action) is always equal in magnitude and
opposite in direction to the force that B exerts on A (reaction).
SAQ 2
When a person pushes a cart, the cart also pushes him back with an equal
force. Why does the cart move at all?

The point to remember about Newton's third law is that the action and
reaction act on different bodies. When we keep a book on a table the book
exerts a contact force on the table. The table in turn, exerts a force on the
book called "reaction"
Example 1
When two bodies interact only through mutual forces, show that the net
momentum of the bodies does not change with time.
Solution :
Calling the bodies 1 and 2 the rate of change of fnomentum of body 1

where Z12is the force exerted by the second body on the first one. Similarly,
-dz%
=
dt
Z21
where Sz1 is the force exerted by the first body on the second.
Define total momentum of the pair as

We get, on differentiation,

SAQ 3
Generalize the above result to N objects.
 qnambm d x
1.3 FORCES IN MECHANICS Partide

All the forces that one comes across in mechanics fall into two @assee: contact
fomes and non-contact f o e s . Contact forces are those which rdquire physical
contact between two or more bodies. Examples of such forces are tension in a
string, spring force, friction etc. Examples of non-contact forces are
gravitational force, electrostatic force between charged objects, magnetic force
etc.
1.3.1 Tension
Frequently, we use strings, ropes or wires to pull objects. This is essentially a
way of transmitting a force from one point to another. We will assume that
-,i
the string (or whatever) is intensible i.e. it does not change in length in the
process. Consider a string (Fig.l.1) being pulled from both ends with equal
and opposite forces. If each force has a magnitude T, the string is,said to be
r under a tension T. This tension exists throughout the string. The reason for Figure 1.1 : Tension
occurrence of tension is that at a microscopic level, by pulling from both ends in a massless s t r i n ~
we are increasing the distance between the atoms in the string slightly. This
brings in an increased attractive force between molecules.

At a microscopic level we can think of the tension in the following way.

Consider the string as being made of a large number of segments (Fig. 1.2)
Since the net force on the string is zero (the two ends are being pulled by -- T T T T
equal and opposite forces), the acceleration of the string as well & that of each
segment of the string is zero. Consider the segment at the right end of the
string, where we have applied a force T. If this segment is to have no Figure 1.2 : Tension in
acceleration, the net force on the segment must be zero, i.e., a force T rfiust different segments of the
act outward at the other end of this segment. What provides this force at this string
end ? Clearly this must be provided by the segment to the immediate left of
the first segment. According to action-reaction principle, it means that the
first segment must pull the second segment with a force T to the right. This is
how the tension is generated throughout the string. It may be noted that at
any point on the string, the tenaion points to the left for the right segment'
and to the right for the left sdment.
Example 2
A block of mass M connected to a string of mass m is pulled by a force ?to
applied at the free end A of the string. Calculate the tension in the string at a
point halfway along its length. Assume the string to be uniform.
Solution :
+
The acceleration of the system is clearly ii = T ~ o / ( M m). Consider the
system consisting of the mas8 M and the section of the rope upto the
+
mid-point C (Fig.l.3). The mass of this system is (M y). The only external
D+B
.: e.,.<,<v ,..
.A

force on this section is t h w i o n T exerted gy, the section of the rope to the
right. By Newton's second law, we mist have Figure 1.3
m
T = ( M + $a
M+m
-- TT
M+m
O

SAQ 4
Derive the tension in the above case at an arbitarary distance z form the
block. 9
 -
1.3.2 Spring Force Hooke's Law
Springs tend to keep their natural lengths. Whenever a spring is extended or
compressed, a restoring force acts on the agency responsible for such acts. For
an ideal, massless spring this restoring force is given by Hooke's Law:

Where z is the elongation or compression; k is called the spring constant, ,

which depends on the materials of the spring as well as geometrical factors
like the length of the spring. The minus sign in front is a reminder of the
restoring nature.
SAQ 5
Fig.1.4 shows the elongation s of two springs A and B when a force F is
applied. The springs snap at the end of the curves. Which has more stiffness ?
Which has more strength ?

8
Figure 1.4
1.3.3 Frictional Forces
Whenever a body slides or attempts to slide over another, each one exerts a
force of friction on the other. These forces are tangential to the surfaces in
contact. It may be noted that the force between two bodies in contact can
point in any arbitarary direction. This force of contact can be resolved into
two mutually perpendicular components. The component parallel to the
surfaces is called friction while the componen$ perpendicular to the surfaces is
called the 'normal reaction'.
Friction is not fully understood. However certain empirical relationships have
been found, which are very convenient to use. When we attempt to slide a
body over another body by applying an external force, the body does not
move until a minimum external force is applied. Clearly the frictional force
must be exactly equal to the applied force in this case. As the applied force
increases, the frictional force also increases adjusting its value to that of the
applied force. The frictional force cannot, however, exceed a certain limit.
This limiting value of frictional force, when no sliding occurs, has been found
to be proportional to the normal reaction N. We therefore have

Where f, is the static frictional force. p, is called the coefficient of static

friction. When sliding starts the frictional force decreases slightly and does
not vary with the area of contact or the speed of sliding. Empirically this
force is also found to be proportional to the normal reaction N:

Where pk is called the coefficient of kinetic friction. Usually the force of

kinetic friction is less than the maximum static friction so that pk 5 p,. It
must be remembered that the direction of friction is opposite to the direction
relative velocity between the two surfaces.
Example 3:
A 8 kg block rests on a horizontal surface (Fig. 1.5). A horizontal force of
29 N is necessary to start the block moving on the surface while a force of
1.5g N is sufficient to keep the block moving with a constant speed, once it is
set into motion. Find the coefficient of kinetic and static friction.

Figure 1.5
Solution: .
The forces acting on the block are as follows:
Vertical Component Horizontal Component
(i) Weight mg downward (i) applied force F
(ii) Normal reaction N upward (ii) frictional force I f
Since the block does not move in the vertical direction the net vertical force
must be zero,
R = mg = 8 x 9.81 = 78.48N
The maximum value of f in static case is 29 = 2 x 9.81 = 19.62 N This value
must be

Hence
19.62 = 78.48 p, giving p. = 0.25.
Once the motion starts the value of kinetic friction is pkR. Since the block
moves with a constant velocity, the net horizontal force must be zero.Hence
p k R = 1.59, which gives pk = 1.5/8 = 0.18.
SAQ 6
The block in the previous example is dragged on the surface by pulling with a
20N force on a rope that makes 37.O with the horizontal (Fig. 1.6a). Find the
acceleration of the block.

Figure 1.6 (a)

Example 4
A 40 kg girl, initially at rest, starts to move with an acceleration of 2 m/s2.
Determine all the forces acting on the girl.
Solution: It is to be realised that the girl cannot accelerate by herself without
an external agency. In this case, she must exert a force on the ground at an
angle (Fig.l.6b). The reaction force of the ground can be resolved into a
normal component N, and a frictional component f . Note that the frictional Figure 1.6 (b)
force is one of static fiction and itois in the direction of motion. 11
k r t l c l e Mechanics Clearly

There is no sliding and hence kinetic friction does not come into play. 0

1.4 FREE BODY DIAGRAM

While applying Newton's laws to solve problems in mechanics, it is convenient
to diagrammatically represent the forces acting on a body. The steps in the
process of analysis are as follows:
1. Identify the body whose motion is being studied. Draw a l l the forces
which act on this body. These forces will be exerted by other bodies in
its environment; such other bodies which may or may not be in contact
with the body in question. Examples of environment could be strings,
7
springs, gravity etc. I

2. Often the solution of a problem becomes simple by a proper choice of

the coordinate system. There is no special prescription for such choice,
but generdy one chooses it such that a minimum number of unknowns
are introduced into the equation of motion.
3. Having chosen a reference co-ordinate system, we resolve all the forces
along the axes and write down the equation of motion in each of the
chosen directions. An equation of motion is generally written in the form
Cause = Effect
The left hand s i b contains all causes of motion, viz, the forces and the
right hand side gives effect in the form of mass times accelerati~n.
Example 6
A body of mass m slides down an inclined plane (Fig.l.?), with which its
coefficient of kinetic friction is p. Find the acceleration of the body.

Figure 1'.7
Solution:
The forces acting on the body are
.
(i) its weight mg in vertical direction
(ii) Normal reaction N perpendicular to incline
(iii) frictional force f = pN up the incline.

A convenient choice of axes is to take the x-axis dong the incline and the
y-axis perpendicular to it. Only the weight does not act along one of these
axes and we can resolve it. Resolving the forces we can write
I where a L the acceleration down the incline. The right hand side of the
second equation is zero because the body has no component of motion along y
- axis. Solving these one gets

a = g(sin 8 - ' p cos 8)

Example 6
The coefficient of static friction between the 1 kg block and the 5 kg block is
Q.25. A horizontal force F is applied to the upper block (Fig.l.8(a)).
Determine the acceleration of the blocks when the applied force is
(i) 2N (ii) 4N.
Solution:
The free body diagram of the upper block is shown in Fig.l.8(b). R is the
normal reaction from the lower block and f the frictional force. Clearly
I R = mg = 9.8 N. The maximum value of frictional force f is Figure 1.8 (a)
pR = 0.25 x 9.8 = 2.45N R
Case (i): When the applied force is 2N, the frictional force f = 2N, and there ?
' is no relative motion. Since the blocks move together, their common
+
acceleration is F/(1 5) = 113 ms-2
Case (ii): In this case the applied force exceeds the maximum frictional force. f
Hence f = 2.45 N. For upper block (4 - 2.45) = l.a,,i.e., a, = 1.55 m/s2. The
only horizontal force on the lower block is f. Hence 2.45 = 5.al i.e. a1 = 0.49
m/s2 Figure 1.8 (b)
SAQ 7
In Fig.l.9, the coefficient of friction between all surfaces is 0.25. Assume that
the pulley is frictionless and smooth. Find the force F required to give an
acceleration of 1 m/s2 to the lower block.

Figure 1.9

1.5 CIRCULAR MOTION

When a body moves along a circle of radius r with a uniform speed v, it has
an acceleration v 2 / directed
~ towards the centre of the circle. This is called
centripetal acceleration. We have learnt that a force is required to produce
acceleration. Consider a stone tied to the end of a string and being rotated in
a horizontal circle of radius T (Fig.l.10). The only physical force towards the
a
0'
centre is the tension T, and we must have T = m-.
T

Similarly consider the case of a planet of mass m moving round the sun of
mass M. The force towards the centre which provides the centripetal
acceleration is the gravitational force, and we have

In both these examples the force towards the centre is called centripetal force Figure 1.10 : The cen-
because it is directed towards the centre. It is important t o realize that the tripetal force is radially
centripetal force is not a new kind of force. Forces towards the centre which inyard
are responsible for providing centripetal acceleration are called centripetal
fnrces. 13
Psrtlcle Mechanig It is not neceaeary that in a circular motion, the speed is constant. If the
speed changes then in addition to the centripetal acceleration v2/r, there is
also a tangential acceleration responsible for change of speed. The centripetal
weeleration now varies in magnitude since v itself changes. If w is the
instantaneous angular speed and a the angular accelertion we have for
circular motion:
v2
Centripetal acceleration = rw2 = -
T (1.7)
dw
tangential acceleration = ra = r-
dt (1.8)
Example 7
A mass is released from the top of a smooth vertical track of radius R with
negligible initial speed. Find the angle at which it leaves contact with the
track.
Solution:
The freebody diagram of the mass m at any arbitary position is shown in
Fig. 1.11.

Figure 1.11 : Free-body Diagram

N(8) is the reaction of the track which varies with angle. This and the
component of the weight towards the centre provide the centripetal force:

The tangential component of the force gives the tangential acceleration

dw
mgsine = mr-
dt
These pair of equation must be solved and the angle 0 for which N(8) = 0
determined since at the ~ o i n where
t contact is lost the reaction becomes zero.
dw dB dw dw
We note that - can be written as - . - = o . - Writing this in (B) we
dt dt de dB '
get, I

Integrate this equation to get

/ rwdw = J sin ode

Where C is a constant. At 8 = 0, w = 0. This gives 0 = -g + C i.e. C = +g.

We have

On substituting this value of rwa 'in (A) and putting N ( 8 ) = 0 we get the
angle to be given by cos 8 = 213. 0
I
Example 8
A car (Fig.l.12 (a)) travelli~sgwith a constant speed negotiates a turn of
radius 147 m. If the coefficient of static friction between the care tyres and the
road is 0.6, determine the maximum speed the car can have without sliding.
Solution:
The free body diagram of the car is as shown in Fig.l.l2(b). There is a net
horizontal force on the car towards the centre of the circle. Hence
mv2
j=-
R
The maximum speed corresponds to the maximum value of j which is
p,N = p,rng. Thus, , Figure 1.12 (a)

vmar=diGZ
= d 0 . 6 x 9.8 x 147
=29.4 m/s 0
!
? In order t o safely negotiate circular turns, roads are usually banked at an
angle, so that the horizontal component of the normal force exerted by the
road provides the necessary centripetal force. For a car moving at a given
speed, which depends on the banking angle, no frictional force is necessary
and the car will not tend t o skid even if the road surface is smooth. Figure 1.12 (b)
SAQ 8
Show that the correct banking angle B corresponding to a speed v is given by
tan0 = v 2 / R g .

SAQ 9
Conical Pendulum - A conical pendulum is a device in which a mass rn is
suspended from a string of length L. The mass is swung in a horizontal circle L,
,
(Fig.l.l3), so that the string sweeps out. a cone of vertical angle 8. Show that
the speed v is given by J g L sin Btane'.

Figure 1.13 :
A Conical Pendulum
Partielo Mechania
1.6 / INERTIAL AND NON INERTIAL FRAMES
to Nwton's laws, we expect a particle to have non-zero
celerationif'h i s acted upon by a non-zero force. However consider the
following apparently contradictory situations:
(i) If you are seated inside a stationary car or a train, which suddenly starts
moving, you will experience being thrown backward even though there is
no visible force providing this backward acceleration.
(ii) A child moving in a circular path in a merry-go-round must have a
centripetal acceleration v 2 / R with respect to an outside on-looker.
How,ever, with respect to the child himself he is stationary and hence is
not being subjected to an acceleration.
In both these examples, there seems to be an apparent violation of Newton's
laws with reference to the moving observer, though with respect to a
stationary observer outside, the observations are in conformity with the
Newton's laws.
)SAQlo
How does an outside observer explain the phenomenonpof the man being
thrown backward, when the car suddenly starts ?

SAQ 11
What force provides the centripetal acceleration to the child in the
merry-go-round?

Observers are usually called 'frames of reference' in physics. Reference frames

in which Newton's laws are valid are called inertial reference fmmes. Two
inertial reference frames may move with a relative velocity but they may not
h v e a relative acceleration.

In both the examples mentioned above, the moving observers have relative
accelerations with respect to the inertial observer. It would be a pity if
Newton's laws are to be reframed for such moving observers (called
non-inertial frames). The situation is remedied if we postulate the existence
of special forces which exist only in non-inertial frames. Such forces are called
pseudo forces. For an observer moving with an acceleration a', with respect to
an inertial frame, a body of mass m will be seen to experience a pseudo force
-ma'. This is in addition to all the real forces which act on the bgdy. To
describe the dynamics of the body in the non-inertial frame, Newton's laws
may be used provided we include the pseudo forces as well. In the second
example mentioned above, the child must be experiencing a centripetal
(contact) force of magnitude m v 2 / ~In. the reference frame of the child,
 who has an acceleration v 2 / R with respect to an inertial frame, a radially
outwad force m v 2 / R also appears. This is called centrifugal force.
Example 9
The weight of an object is defined as the force of attraction experienced by it
due to the gravitational pull of the earth. If the object is in a non-inertial
frame however, there will be an apparent increase or decrease in this weight.
Find the apparent weight of a 70 kg man accelerating upward in a lift with an
acceleration of 2 m/s2
Solution:
Since the man is accelerating upwqd, in addition to the gravitational force
mg = 70 x 9.8 = 686 N, there is a pseudo force m a = 70 x 2 = 140 N acting
downward. These together are balanced by the normal reaction R of the floor
of the lift on the man.
Thus the reaction

rb If the man was standing on a spring scale inside the elevator it would have
registered 82619.8 = 84.3 k g .
Earth as a non-inertial frame
For observations which take a lesser time when compared to the period of
rotation of the earth, it is reasonable to consider the earth as an inertial
frame. For instance, for all practical purposes, we take the acceleration at a
place due to gravity to be constant. If we consider earth's rotation however,
the apparent weight of an object will be different at different latitudes since
the centrifugal force acting on it will be different. The centrifugal force force
on object moving in a latitude circle of radius R is given by w 2 R where
omega is the angular speed of rotation of the earth. Since the period of
rotation of the earth is 1 day, the angular speed w is
2n
w= = 7.3 x 10'~rad/sec.
24 hours
The centrifugal acceleration at the equator is therefore
w 2 R = (7.3 x 1 0 ~ x ~(6.4) x~ l o 6 ) = 0.034m/s2. The apparent weight of an
object is thus reduced by about 0.35% from its real. value.

1.7 SUMMARY
-
In this unit, we introduced the three basic laws of Newton on motion of
physical objects. We learnt about the law of inertia and saw that a change in
the state of motion of a body is caused by forces. The quantitative
relationship between the acceleration of a body and the acting on it, is given
by Newton's second law. The third law of Newton postulates that the action
and the reaction always occur in pairs, though they act on different bodies. In
solving problems of dynamics of a particle, it is convenient to draw the free
body diagram of the body, which is a pictorial representation of the forces
acting on the body. The equation of motion of the body is an equation
connecting such forces with the product of mass and acceleration.

We considered the circular motion of a body for which the direction of the
, acceleration is always towards the centre. Such a motion can obviously be
caused by forces which act towards the centre of the circle in .which the body
moves, The collective name given to such forces is centripetal force.
-
Finally, it was pointed out that Newton's laws are valid in inertial frames. In
order to use the same laws in non-inertial frames, pseudo forces must be
taken into account.
Particle Mechanics
1.8 ANSWERS TO SAQs
1. If the body is a point mass, there will be no effect. For an extended
object Like a bar, if the point of application of the forces are not the
same, it could result in a rotational motion.
2. Forces acting on the cart alone are responsible for the acceleration of the
cart. The force that the cart exerts on the person is of no consequence
for the motion of the cart.

-
3. Define the total momeptum as F= Cfi. Differentiate with respect to
time and cancel out E, = -Fji, using Newton's third law.
4. If the length of the string is L and the mass is uniformly distributed
aver its length, the tension T(z) provides the acceleration to the block of
mass M and the mass (mz/L) of the string. Hence

Figure 1.14 Figure 1.15

5. The spring A, on both counts. To determine stiffness consider the

deflection in cases when the same force is applied. To determine
strength consider the breaking stress in the two cases.
6. The free body diagram of the body is shown in Fig.l.15. Resolving
dong the vertical and the horizontal R = mg - F sin 9 = 66.48 N. The
frictional force is f = pR = 11.97 N. The net horizontal force is
F m0 - pR = 4.03 N. The acceleration is 0.5 m/s2.
N

7. The free body diagram of the two bodies are shown in Fig.l.16.

Figure 1.16(r) Figure 1.16(b)

Designating the forces on the upper block by the subscript 1 and those
on the lower block by 2, we have N1 = nag = 9.8 N,
+
N2 = Nl Mg = 29.4 N. The frictional forces are fl = pNl = 2.45 N
 and fi = pN2 = 7.35N.
The equations of motion of the blocks are Dynamla of a
Partide
T- - - f2 - fl = ma. Solving, one gets the tension to
fl = m a and F T
be 3.45 N and F=17.25 N.
8. The free body diagram of a vehicle negotiating a turn is shown in
Fig.l.17. Point 0 represents the centre of the circle. Thus N cos 8 = mg
and N sin 8 = m v 2 / ~giving
, v= a.

Figure 1.17 Figure 1.18

-

9. The free body diagram is shown in Fig.l.18. Resolve T into

components and equate the radial component to centripetal force.
10 With respect to an outside observer, the upper part of the body tries to
stay in place, obeying the first law, while the part of the body in $ohtact
with the seat starts moving, being acted upon by a force.
11 The contact force of the seat with the body.