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Objectives
By the end of this lesson you should
Be able to state, in words, Newtons three laws of motion Understand the difference between mass and weight Be able to define the term force Be able to state what is meant by the term free-body diagram (FBD). Be able to construct FBDs and use them to aid in solving problems Be able to apply Newtons Laws of Motion in a systematic way to solve problems. Be able to state what is meant by the term Normal Force, and incorporate this definition in solving problems.
A Shift In Focus
Up to this point in the term, we have analyzed motion (DESCRIBED) without worrying about what was causing the motion to occur. We said that such a study of motion was referred to as kinematics. We now concern ourselves with why the object is accelerating (or not). In other words, we look for the cause of the motion. This type of a study of motion where the cause of motion is considered is called dynamics.
Introduction
Central to this discussion are a set of laws called Newtons Laws of Motion. This set of laws is considered to be of fundamental importance to the study of classical mechanics. Once introduced, you should be able to state these laws and apply them correctly even if stirred from a deep, restful sleep at 2 oclock in the morning!
Introduction
In the slides that follow, there are words that are highlighted in the statements of Newtons 3 Laws of Motion. This highlighting is to indicate that these words are critical to the statement of the law, and you should keep them in mind when applying these laws so that difficulties can be avoided. We begin with Newtons first law of motion. THE LAW OF INERTIA
Approaching FBDs
One cardinal rule is that once you identify the object, it cannot be changed unless you start all over with step one again and go through all of the steps with the new object.
Draw all of the forces on the tree in picture below. Use an arrow () to represent each force and to indicate the direction of each force. Identify each force by what is causing it. Write the statement, force caused by _frictional force, etc________, next to each arrow. Put the tail of the arrow at the place on the object where the force is being applied.
Forces on the object caused by something outside the object are the only forces that are used.
Forces at a distance vs. Forces from contact Weight --- DISTANCE Normal--- CONTACT Friction--- CONTACT Tension--- CONTACT Thrust --- CONTACT Drag --CONTACT
Types of Forces
There are two categories of forces to consider: contact forces forces at a distance.
Forces at a Distance
They arise when the object is in the field caused by another object, but not in contact with the object. Examples of fields are electrical, magnetic, and gravitational fields. Since we are only dealing with mechanics in this module, the only force at a distance we will deal with is the gravitational force. Gravitational force is often called weight.
Put the tail of the arrow at the center of the object. Label this force with the symbol W and the statement "force caused by Earth."
FBD Representations
On the sketch, represent the force by an arrow. The tail of the arrow will be at the place of contact and the tip will point in the direction of the force. Label each force with an appropriate symbol and force caused by ________.
Contact Forces
The contact forces acting on the system of interest are identified by going around the dotted circle that defines that object or system. There is the likelihood of a force at any point where something outside the dotted circle is touching something inside the circle.
Contact Forces
There are three contact forces that deserve special attention. These contact forces are tension, normal force, and friction.
Tension
Tension forces are caused by ropes or cables. Tension can only be a pull. Therefore, the direction is always known. Tension is given the symbol T.
Normal Force Any time an object exerts a force on a surface, the surface also exerts a force on the object. One common example is when the object rests on something that supports or helps to support the object. This supporting force is called the normal force. The direction of the normal force is always perpendicular to the surface that is causing the force. Normal force is given the symbol N.
The last special contact force to be discussed is surface friction. Friction is designated by the lower case letter f. Surface friction occurs whenever two surfaces rub together. It also can occur when two surfaces are touching but not moving with respect to each other.
This relationship between magnitude and the direction of the force is true for any two surfaces of the same material when rubbed together.
Types of Friction
There are two types of friction. When one surface slides on a second surface, it is called kinetic friction. When one surface tries to slide on a second surface but does not move, it is called static friction.
Static Friction
When an object is at rest with respect to a surface, the frictional force can be greater than when the objects move across each other. In our model, imagine that the bumps (or grooves) are deeply interlaced. If a small force is applied to the object, the static friction fs will equal the applied force and cause the object to remain in equilibrium (a = 0).
Kinetic Friction
In our model, when the object moves, the grooves of the object bounce along the grooves of the surface, and never go as deep as they do in the static case. Thus, the kinetic friction force fk has a smaller magnitude than the static friction force.
A soccer player starts running to the right. On the sketch of the player, show the point of application and direction of the forces (W, N, fs) on the player.
A car is at rest on a horizontal road. What is the value of the frictional force? Explain your answer. For the car in question, show the forces on the car and the points of application.
A woman pushes a book (the object) across a table to the left. On the sketch below, show the point of application and the direction of the four forces (W, N, fk, F). (F is the force of the woman on the book.)
Recall we are modeling the forces on an object. We need to examine if the forces are balanced or if there is a net force to determine the type of motion present.
Section Summary
What is inertia? What is a net force? What is equilibrium? What is moving equilibrium?
FNET, EXT a= m
FAB FBA
The man weighs 700 N. The force exerted by the table on the man is:
a) b) c) d) Larger than 700 N Equal to 700 N Smaller than 700 N There is no force.
A hand pushes on a balloon against a wall with a force of 10 N. The force exerted by the balloon on the hand is:
a) b) c) d)
A building is being torn down. The wrecking ball smashes through a wall. Does the ball put a larger force on the wall than the wall puts on the wrecking ball?
Explain your answer.
Imagine that you hold the two force probes, one probe in each hand. You will notice that each force probe has a hook on it. Connect the two force probes together and pull as seen in the
following figure.
An example would be the weight and normal force pairs in the left figure. Fg vs. Fg and Fn vs. Fn The Weight of an object and Normal Force are sometimes equal but they are not Force Pairs!!!
We move from a virtual field trip to a thought experiment in the next slide. I ask you to take some time and think about the question posed as it is quite complex. A class of 50 students will generally spend between 5-10 minutes stating wrong answers to the question before someone stumbles upon the correct answer. It is important for you to go through the same thinking process.
Foreshadowing
A well drawn FBD is crucial to the successful solution of a problem involving Newtons Laws of Motion.
Example
A car is traveling at a constant velocity straight ahead on a flat,frictionless road. Draw a free-body diagram for the car.
Normal Force
The last two situations had a force exerted by a surface on an object. A surface will always push on an object in a direction that is perpendicular, or normal, to the surface. Such a force exerted by a surface is called a normal force.
Example
A 4.0 kg object is pulled along a frictionless surface to the right by a 6.0 N force. How long does it take the object to travel a distance of 25.0 m assuming the object starts at rest?
Solution To Example
Use F=ma to find acceleration. 6 Newtons = a*4kg or 1.5 m/s2 then use the acceleration in the equation x=1/2*a8 t^2 and solve for time. 25 = .5*1.5*t^2.
Example
An 85.0 kg person stands on a scale that reads weight in Newtons while standing in an elevator. What is the reading on the scale when (a) The elevator is stopped? (b) The elevator is accelerating upward at 3.5 m/s2?
Solution
Normal Up is larger than the weight down. Hence the scale reading would be Greater than if it was not accelerating at all. Answer for part b is 1130.5 newton's
Summary
A correctly drawn free body diagram is essential to solve problems involving Newtons Laws of Motion. Newtons Laws of Motion are useful in a wide variety of situations ranging from the motion of a baseball when struck by a bat to the motion of the planets in the solar system. This wide range of applicability is why Newtons Laws are so highly regarded.