Newton’s Laws of Motion Force: A vector quantity representing a “push” or “pull” on an object. Units: Newton (N) Mass: A scalar quantity representing an object’s tendency to stay at rest or stay in constant motion (“Inertia”) Units: kilogram (kg) Sir Isaac Newton developed three very important laws dealing with force and mass.
Newton’s Laws of Motion (2) Newton’s First Law: An object continues in a state of rest or in a state of motion in a straight line at constant speed unless acted upon by a net force. (aka - law of Inertia) Newton’s Second Law: When a net force (F) acts on an object of mass ‘m’, the resulting acceleration of the object is: Directly proportional to the net force. Inversely proportional to the mass
Newton’s Laws of Motion (3) In equation form: Newton’s Third Law: Whenever one body exerts a force on another body, the second body exerts an equal but oppositely directed force on the first body.
Newton’s Laws of Motion (4) Free-Body Diagrams: A separate diagram for each object in a problem showing all forces acting on the object. Ex. One person pushes a 100kg crate with 300N of force to the east, another pushes with a force of 325N also to the east. The friction between the crate and the floor causes an opposing force of 490N. Draw the free-body diagram, then calculate the acceleration of the box.
Newton’s Laws of Motion (5) Solution: F = 300N + 325N - 490N =135N 490N 300N 325N
Newton’s Laws of Motion (6) Forces are VECTORS , so for example: If F = 100N at 30°, then it is equivalent to say that Fx = (100N)(cos30°) = 87N Fy = (100N)(sin30°) = 50N So, when using Newton’s Second Law when forces are at arbitrary angles, we must break the problem into ‘x’ and ‘y’ sections: Fx = max and Fy = may
Newton’s Laws of Motion (7) Example: 1. Two forces act on a 20 kg block: F1 = 40.0N at 60° north of east, and F2 = 10.0N due east. Initially, before forces are applied, the block is at rest on a flat surface without friction. (a) How far has the block moved 10 s after the forces begin acting on it? (b) What is the final velocity after 10 s?