FORCE AND NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION
EFFECTS OF FORCE
To define force first of all one has to see the effects of
force. By ‘effects of force’ we mean what force can do
or what changes a force can bring about.
Effects of Force :
A force can produce the following effects :
(i) A force can move a stationary body.
(ii) A force can stop a moving body.
(iii) A force can change the speed of a moving body.
(iv) A force can change the direction of a moving body.
(v) A force can change the shape (and size) of a body.
Based on the effects of force, it may be defined as :
Force is a pull or push, which changes or tends to
change the state of rest or of uniform motion of a body
or changes its direction or shape.
(a) Mathematical Representation of Force :
Mathematically, force F is equal to the product of mass,
m of a body and acceleration a, produced in the body
due to that force.
i.e. F = ma
Where a = final velocity – initial velocity/time
(b) Units of Force :
(i) In C.G.S. system :
 F = ma  gram × cm/s2 = dyne
If m = 1 gram, a = 1 cm/s2, then F = 1 dyne
When a force is applied on a 1 gram body and the
acceleration produced in the body is 1 cm/s2 then the
force acting on the body will be one dyne.
(ii) In S.I. system :
F = ma  kg × m/s2 = Newton
If m = 1 kg and a = 1 m/s2 then by F = ma,
2
F = 1 × 1 = 1 kg × m/s = 1 Newton.
If a force is applied on a body of mass 1 kg and
acceleration produced in the body is 1 m/s2 then the
force acting on the body will be one Newton.
 Relationship between the newton and dyne
1 N = 1 kg × 1 m s–2
= 1000 g × 100 cm s–2
= 100000 g cm s–2
= 105 dyne
Thus 1 N = 105 dyne
ILLUSTRATIONS
1. A force produces an acceleration of 5.0 cm/s2 in a body
of mass 20g. Then find out the force acting on the body
in Newton.
Sol. Acceleration of the body, a = 5 cm/s = 0.05 m/s
Mass of the body, m = 20 g = 0.02 kg
 F = ma F = 0.05 × 0.02 = 10–3 N
2. A force of 15 N acts on a body of mass 5 kg for 2s. What
is the change in velocity of body ?
Sol. Given : F = 15 N , t = 2s , m = 5 kg
F 15
F = ma a = = = 3 m/s2
m 5
v u
a= v – u = at = 3 × 2 = 6m/s
t
RESULTANT FORCE
Many forces may be simultaneously applied on a body,
for example- several persons may jointly make an effort
to move a heavy body, each person pushes it i.e. each
person applies a force on it. t is also possible that a
stronger man pushes that body hard enough and
produces same acceleration in it. f a single force
acting on a body produces the same acceleration as
produced by a number of forces, then that single force is
called the resultant force of these individual forces .
FUNDAMENTAL FORCES
All forces observed in nature such as muscular force,
tension, reaction, friction, weight, electric, magnetic,
nuclear, etc., can be explained in terms of only following
four basic interactions.
(a) Gravitational Force :
The force of interaction which exists between two
particles of masses m1 and m2, due to their masses is
called gravitational force. The gravitational force acts
over long distances and does not need, any intervening
medium. Gravitational force is the weakest force of
nature.
(b) Electromagnetic Force :
Force exerted by one particle on the other because of
the electric charge on the particles is called
electromagnetic force. Following are the main
characteristics of electromagnetic force
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