1.

Newtons Law of Motion

Newton's First Law

In a previous chapter of study, the variety of ways by

which motion can be described(words, graphs, diagrams,
numbers, etc.) was discussed. In this unit (Newton's Laws
of Motion), the ways in which motion can
be explained will be discussed. Isaac Newton (a 17th
century scientist) put forth a variety of laws that explain
why objects move (or don't move) as they do. These
three laws have become known as Newton's three laws of
motion. The focus of Lesson 1 is Newton's first law of
motion - sometimes referred to as thelaw of inertia.
Newton's first law of motion 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.
There are two 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
with an eastward velocity of 5 m/s, they will continue in
this same state of motion (5 m/s, East). If in motion with a
leftward velocity of 2 m/s, they will continue in this same
state of motion (2 m/s, left). The state of motion of an
object is maintained as long as the object is not acted
upon by an unbalanced force. All objects resist changes in
their state of motion - they tend to "keep on doing what
they're doing."

Suppose that you filled a baking

dish to the rim with water and walked around an oval
track making an attempt to complete a lap in the least
amount of time. The water would have a tendency to spill
from the container during specific locations on the track.
In general the water spilled when:
the container was at rest and you attempted to
move it
the container was in motion and you attempted to
stop it
the container was moving in one direction and you
attempted to change its direction.
The water spills whenever the state of motion of the
container is changed. The water resisted this change in
its own state of motion. The water tended to "keep on
doing what it was doing." The container was moved from

rest to a high speed at the starting line; the water

remained at rest and spilled onto the table. The container
was stopped near the finish line; the water kept moving
and spilled over container's leading edge. The container
was forced to move in a different direction to make it
around a curve; the water kept moving in the same
direction and spilled over its edge. The behavior of the
water during the lap around the track can be explained
by Newton's first law of motion.

Everyday Applications of
Newton's First Law
There are many applications of Newton's first law of
motion. Consider some of your experiences in an
automobile. Have you ever observed the behavior of
coffee in a coffee cup filled to the rim while starting a car
from rest or while bringing a car to rest from a state of
motion? Coffee "keeps on doing what it is doing." When
you accelerate a car from rest, the road provides an
unbalanced force on the spinning wheels to push the car
forward; yet the coffee (that was at rest) wants to stay at
rest. While the car accelerates forward, the coffee
remains in the same position; subsequently, the car
accelerates out from under the coffee and the coffee
spills in your lap. On the other hand, when braking from a
state of motion the coffee continues forward with the
same speed and in the same direction, ultimately hitting
the windshield or the dash. Coffee in motion stays in
motion.
Have you ever experienced inertia (resisting changes in
your state of motion) in an automobile while it is braking
to a stop? The force of the road on the locked wheels

provides the unbalanced force to change the car's state

of motion, yet there is no unbalanced force to change
your own state of motion. Thus, you continue in motion,
sliding along the seat in forward motion. A person in
motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the
same direction ... unless acted upon by the unbalanced
force of a seat belt. Yes! Seat belts are used to provide
safety for passengers whose motion is governed by
Newton's laws. The seat belt provides the unbalanced
force that brings you from a state of motion to a state of
rest. Perhaps you could speculate what would occur when
no seat belt is used.

There are many more applications of

Newton's first law of motion. Several
applications are listed below. Perhaps you
could think about the law of inertia and
provide explanations for each application.
Blood rushes from your head to your feet
while quickly stopping when riding on a
descending elevator.
The head of a hammer can be tightened onto the
wooden handle by banging the bottom of the
handle against a hard surface.

 A brick is painlessly broken over the hand of a

physics teacher by slamming it with a hammer.
(CAUTION: do not attempt this at home!)
To dislodge ketchup from the bottom of a ketchup
bottle, it is often turned upside down and thrusted
downward at high speeds and then abruptly halted.
Headrests are placed in cars to prevent whiplash
injuries during rear-end collisions.
While riding a skateboard (or wagon or bicycle), you
fly forward off the board when hitting a curb or rock
or other object that abruptly halts the motion of the
skateboard.
Let us begin our explanation of how Newton changed our
understanding of the Universe by enumerating his Three
Laws of Motion.
Newton's First Law of Motion:
I. Every object in a state of uniform motion
tends to remain in that state of motion
unless an external force is applied to it.

This we recognize as essentially Galileo's concept of inertia,

and this is often termed simply the "Law of Inertia".
Newton's Second Law of Motion:
II. The relationship between an object's
mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied
force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are
vectors (as indicated by their symbols being
displayed in slant bold font); in this law the
direction of the force vector is the same as

the direction of the acceleration vector.

This is the most powerful of Newton's three Laws, because it

allows quantitative calculations of dynamics: how do
velocities change when forces are applied. Notice the
fundamental difference between Newton's 2nd Law and the
dynamics of Aristotle: according to Newton, a force causes
only a change in velocity (an acceleration); it does not
maintain the velocity as Aristotle held.
This is sometimes summarized by saying that under
Newton, F = ma, but under Aristotle F = mv, where v is the
velocity. Thus, according to Aristotle there is only a velocity
if there is a force, but according to Newton an object with a
certain velocity maintains that velocity unless a force acts
on it to cause an acceleration (that is, a change in the
velocity). As we have noted earlier in conjunction with the
discussion of Galileo, Aristotle's view seems to be more in
accord with common sense, but that is because of a failure
to appreciate the role played by frictional forces. Once
account is taken ofall forces acting in a given situation it is
the dynamics of Galileo and Newton, not of Aristotle, that
are found to be in accord with the observations.
Newton's Third Law of Motion:
III. For every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction.

This law is exemplified by what happens if we step off a boat

onto the bank of a lake: as we move in the direction of the
shore, the boat tends to move in the opposite direction
(leaving us facedown in the water, if we aren't careful!).

3. Stress and Strain: Basic Terms

and Concepts
Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin
- Green Bay
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Units
In traditional geology the unit of pressure is the bar, which is about
equal to atmospheric pressure. It is also about equal to the pressure
under 10 meters of water. For pressures deep in the earth we use
the kilobar, equal to 1000 bars. The pressure beneath 10 km of
water, or at the bottom of the deepest oceanic trenches, is about 1
kilobar. Beneath the Antarctic ice cap (maximum thickness about 5
km) the pressure is about half a kilobar at greatest.

In the SI System, the fundamental unit of length is the meter and

mass is the kilogram. Important units used in geology include:

Energy: Joule: kg-m2/sec2. Five grams moving at 20 meters per

second have an energy of one joule. This is about equal to a sheet of
paper wadded up into a ball and thrown hard.

Force: Newton: kg-m/sec2. On the surface of the Earth, with a

gravitational acceleration of 9.8 m/sec2, a newton is the force
exerted by a weight of 102 grams or 3.6 ounces. A Fig Newton
weighs about 15 grams; therefore one SI Newton equals
approximately 7 Fig Newtons.

Pressure: Pascal = Newton/m2 or kg/m-sec2. A newton spread

out over a square meter is a pretty feeble force. Atmospheric
pressure is about 100,000 pascals. A manila file folder (35 g, 700
cm2 area) exerts a pressure of about 5 pascals.
By comparison with traditional pressure units, one bar = 100,000
pascals. One megapascal (Mpa) equals 10 bars, one Gigapascal
(Gpa) equals 10 kilobars.
Using Units in Calculations

The fundamental rule in using units in calculations is that units

obey the same algebraic rules as other quantities
Example: Converting Traditional Density to SI density
Density is conventionally represented as grams per cubic
centimeter. How do we represent density in the SI system?
1 gram/cm3 =
(0.001 kg)/(.01 m)3 =
10-3 kg/10-6 m3 =
1000 kg/m3
Thus, to convert traditional to SI density, multiply by 1000. Thus,
2.7 gm/cm3 = 2700 kg/m3, etc.

Example: Pressure Beneath a Stone Block

What's the pressure beneath a granite block 20 meters long, 15
meters wide and 10 meters high, with density 2.7 gm/cm3?
First, we find the mass of the block. Mass is volume times density
or 20 x 15 x 10 m3 x 2700 kg/m3 = 8.1 x 106 kg.
Note that we have m3 times kg/m3, and the m3 terms cancel out to
leave the correct unit, kilograms.
Now the force the block exerts is given by mass times acceleration,
in this case the acceleration of gravity, or 9.8 m/sec2.
Thus the force the block exerts is 8.1 x 106 kg x 9.8 m/sec2, or 7.9 x
107 kg-m/sec2.
Referring to the SI units listed above, we see that these are indeed
the correct units for force. The block exerts 7.9 x 107 newtons of
force on the ground beneath it.
The pressure the block exerts is force divided by area, or 7.9 x
107 newtons/(20 m x 15 m) = 265,000 pascals (verify that the units
are correct). This is only 2.65 bars, the pressure beneath 27 meters
of water. Scuba divers can stand that pressure easily, but nobody
would want to lie under a ten-meter thick slab of rock. This should
bother you.
It should be intuitively obvious that the pressure will be the same
regardless of the area of the block. Can you show why this is so?
Conversion Factors

Often students find it hard to decide whether to multiply or divide by

a conversion factor. For example, one meter = 3.28 feet. To convert
150 feet to meters, do you multiply or divide by 3.28?
If you think of the conversion factor as merely a number, it can be a
puzzle. But consider:
1 meter = 3.28 feet. Therefore 1 m/3.28 feet = 1 and 3.28 feet/1 m
=1

Conversion factors are not just numbers, but units too. Every
conversion factor, with units included, equals unity. That part
about including units is all-important. So, given a conversion
problem, use the conversion factor to eliminate unwanted units,
produce desired units, or both.
To convert 150 feet to meters, we want to get rid of feet and obtain
meters. The conversion factor is 3.28 feet/1 m. Multiplying gives us
492 feet2/m 2. It's perfectly correct - it might be a valid part of some
other calculation - but not what we need here. We need to get rid of
feet and obtain meters, which means we need meters in the
numerator (upstairs) and feet in the denominator (downstairs).
150 feet x 1m/2.38 feet = 45.7 meters. Feet cancel out, leaving us
with only meters.
A more complex example: convert 10 miles per hour to meters per
second. Here, none of the units we want in the final answer are
present in the initial quantity. But we know:

1 mile = 5280 feet

1 meter = 3.28 feet

1 hour = 60 minutes

1 minute = 60 seconds
We want to get rid of miles and hours and get meters and seconds.
So we want our conversion factors to eliminate miles and hours:
10 mi/hr x (5280 feet/1 mi) x (1 hr/60 min)
Also, we want our end result to be in meters/second so at some
point we will have to have

Something x (1m/3.28 feet) x (1 min/60 sec) This is the only way to

get m/sec using the conversion factors given. We will, of course,
have to get rid of the feet and minutes somehow.
Putting it all together we get
10 mi/hr x (5280 feet/1 mi) x (1 hr/60 min) x (1m/3.28 feet) x (1
min/60 sec) = 4.47 m/sec
Miles cancel, hours cancel, feet cancel, minutes cancel, and we end
up with m/sec, just what we needed.
Some people prefer to use a grid arrangement as shown below:
10 miles

5280 feet

1m

1 hour

1 min

1 hour

1 mile

3.28 feet

60 min 60 sec

4.47 m
=
1 sec

In this example we get rid of miles and feet to get meters first, then
we get rid of hours and minutes to get seconds.
Stress Terms
Stress is defined as force per unit area. It has the same units as
pressure, and in fact pressure is one special variety of stress.
However, stress is a much more complex quantity than pressure
because it varies both with direction and with the surface it acts on.

Compression
Stress that acts to shorten an object.
Tension
Stress that acts to lengthen an object.
Normal Stress
Stress that acts perpendicular to a surface. Can be either
compressional or tensional.
Shear

Stress that acts parallel to a surface. It can cause one object to

slide over another. It also tends to deform originally
rectangular objects into parallelograms. The most general
definition is that shear acts to change the angles in an object.
Hydrostatic
Stress (usually compressional) that is uniform in all directions.
A scuba diver experiences hydrostatic stress. Stress in the
earth is nearly hydrostatic. The term for uniform stress in the
earth is lithostatic.
Directed Stress
Stress that varies with direction. Stress under a stone slab is
directed; there is a force in one direction but no counteracting
forces perpendicular to it. This is why a person under a thick
slab gets squashed but a scuba diver under the same pressure
doesn't. The scuba diver feels the same force in all directions.
In geology we never see stress. We only see the results of stress
as it deforms materials. Even if we were to use a strain gauge to
measure in-situ stress in the rocks, we would not measure the stress
itself. We would measure the deformation of the strain gauge (that's
why it's called a "strain gauge") and use that to infer the stress.
Strain Terms
Strain is defined as the amount of deformation an object
experiences compared to its original size and shape. For example, if
a block 10 cm on a side is deformed so that it becomes 9 cm long,
the strain is (10-9)/10 or 0.1 (sometimes expressed in percent, in
this case 10 percent.) Note that strain is dimensionless.

Longitudinal or Linear Strain

Strain that changes the length of a line without changing its
direction. Can be either compressional or tensional.
Compression

Longitudinal strain that shortens an object.

Tension
Longitudinal strain that lengthens an object.
Shear
Strain that changes the angles of an object. Shear causes lines
to rotate.
Infinitesimal Strain
Strain that is tiny, a few percent or less. Allows a number of
useful mathematical simplifications and approximations.
Finite Strain
Strain larger than a few percent. Requires a more complicated
mathematical treatment than infinitesimal strain.
Homogeneous Strain
Uniform strain. Straight lines in the original object remain
straight. Parallel lines remain parallel. Circles deform to
ellipses. Note that this definition rules out folding, since an
originally straight layer has to remain straight.
Inhomogeneous Strain
How real geology behaves. Deformation varies from place to
place. Lines may bend and do not necessarily remain parallel.
Terms for Behavior of Materials

Elastic
Material deforms under stress but returns to its original size
and shape when the stress is released. There is no permanent
deformation. Some elastic strain, like in a rubber band, can be
large, but in rocks it is usually small enough to be considered
infinitesimal.

Brittle
Material deforms by fracturing. Glass is brittle. Rocks are
typically brittle at low temperatures and pressures.
Ductile
Material deforms without breaking. Metals are ductile. Many
materials show both types of behavior. They may deform in a
ductile manner if deformed slowly, but fracture if deformed too
quickly or too much. Rocks are typically ductile at high
temperatures or pressures.
Viscous
Materials that deform steadily under stress. Purely viscous
materials like liquids deform under even the smallest stress.
Rocks may behave like viscous materials under high
temperature and pressure.
Plastic
Material does not flow until a threshhold stress has been
exceeded.
Viscoelastic
Combines elastic and viscous behavior. Models of glacioisostasy frequently assume a viscoelastic earth: the crust
flexes elastically and the underlying mantle flows viscously.