FORCES AND NEWTON’S LAWS

Force
A force is a push or a pull.

It is the cause of an acceleration, or the change in an object’s velocity

It is measured in Newtons (N) which is the amount of force need to

accelerate 1 kg by 1 meter/s2
Two Categories of Forces
•Contact Force – Force that arises from the physical contact of two
objects
• Examples: friction, applied force

•Field Force – A force that can exist between objects, even in the
absence of physical contact between the objects

• Examples: gravitational, electromagnetic

Newton’s First Law
•Law of Inertia – an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in
motion will continue in motion with constant velocity unless acted on
by some outside force.

* Inertia is the tendency of an object to maintain its state of

motion and resist changes in velocity and acceleration

* Mass is the measure of an object’s inertia

Newton’s Second Law
•F = ma; the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net
force on it and inversely proportional to its mass.

* Net external force – the total force resulting from a

combination of external forces on an object.

* Equilibrium – the state in which there is no change in a

body’s motion, when the sum of the net external forces is zero.
Is there a difference
between mass and weight?
 The answer of course is … yes!!

 Mass – the amount of matter or inertia an object has. No

matter where you go in the universe your mass does not
change.

 Weight – the magnitude of the force of gravity acting on

an object. W = mg

 If you go to the moon you will lose weight and if you go

to Jupiter you will gain weight.
 Galileo proposed is was friction that
caused a moving object to come to rest.

Newton further noted that a force

was not necessary to keep an
object in motion. A force is
required to bring it to rest.
 Free Body Diagrams
Tension
•Shows the forces acting on the object of
Force
interest
(Ft)
•Assume all forces act on a point at the
center of the object
Gravitational •Position object like it is, i.e., on angle, etc.
Force (Fg) •Draw and label vector arrows representing
all external forces acting on the object
Ften= Tension
Fair= Air Resistance FNet = Ft - Fg
Fnorm= Normal Force
Fg= Gravity
Ff= Fricitional Force
 Free Body Diagrams
Road’s
upward
Force
(FN) Frictional
Tow Force (Ff)
Cable
Force •Force of towing cable
(Ftc) •Gravitational Force
Gravitational •Road exerts upward force
Force (Fg) •Backward Friction force

FNet = ∑F
 Equilibrium
The state in which there is no change in a body’s motion,
when the sum of the net external forces ∑F is zero

FNet = ∑F = ma

FNet x = ∑Fx FNet y = ∑Fy

We must resolve the forces into X and Y components
to know if the object is in equilibrium. We can also
then calculate the magnitude and direction of the net
external force on the object if it is not in equilibrium.
 4N

Equilibrant Force
3N
Net Force
5 N at
38°

5 N at
218° •The equilibrant force is the force
that when added to a system will
Equilibrant bring it to equilibrium
Force
•The equilibrant force is equal in
magnitude and opposite in direction
of the resultant (or net) force.
 Practice Problem
A crate is pulled to the right with a force of 52N, to the
left with a force of 36N, upward with a force of 120N,
and downward with a force of 180N.

Draw a free body diagram of the crate.

Find the net external force in the X direction.
Find the net external force in the Y direction.
Find the magnitude and direction of the net
external force on the crate.
Find the magnitude and direction of the equilibrant force.
 Normal Force
•Normal Force – a force that is exerted by one object on another in a direction
perpendicular to the contact surface.

•FN is just enough to maintain contact without “sinking” in

•Normal force is equal in magnitude to gravitational force on a horizontal

surface
 Normal Force
For an inclined plane - the normal force equals the gravitational force times
the cosine of the angle of the incline

FN = Fg cos ɵ

FN = mg cos ɵ
Newton’s Third Law
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Action-Reaction Pairs

Rocket boosters
thrust down and the
shuttle goes up!!!
 Net Force vs Action-
Reaction Pairs
Action – reaction pairs work on different objects and
they are always equal and opposite.

The net force is the sum of all forces on the same object
and it causes acceleration

Equilibrant Force – A force that is equal and opposite to

the net force; the force that will bring the system into
equilibrium.
Four Types of Non-Contact
Forces
1. Gravitational Force – attractive force that exists
between all objects; weakest of the four forces,
but acts over the greatest distance.
2. Electromagnetic Force – gives materials their
strength, ability to bend, squeeze, stretch, etc.
3. Strong Nuclear Force – holds the particles in a
nucleus together; strongest of the four forces,
but acts over the shortest distance.
4. Weak Force – involved in the radioactive decay
of some nuclei; form of the electromagnetic
force.
Gravitational Force
•Gravitational Force is two way – earth exerts a gravitational force on a
falling object, the object exerts a gravitational force on earth.

•Force of a 0.2 kg apple falling equals mass times acceleration so

0.2*9.81 equals 2.0N

•How much does that accelerate earth with a mass of 5.97 X 1024? 3.4 X
10-25 m/s2
 Friction
Frictional Force – force that opposes motion between two surfaces that are in
contact.

◦ Static Friction – force that opposes the start of motion (starting from a stationary
position)

◦ Sliding (Kinetic) Friction – force that opposes motion once the object is moving.

Static Friction is greater than sliding friction because of Newton’s First Law.
Friction
Ff = µFN where µ is the coefficient of friction

• Friction Force depends on the surfaces in contact

µk µs
Wood on wood 0.5 0.2
Waxed wood on wet snow 0.14 0.1
Ice on ice 0.1 0.03

• Friction Force is proportional to the normal force

Friction
FNet = ∑FProblems in One Dimension
= mass x acceleration

Fapplied – Fopposing = ma
When moving at constant velocity (zero acceleration), the applied force
required is equal in magnitude to the frictional force

When accelerating, the applied force required is equal in magnitude to the

frictional force plus the force required for acceleration
Free
Body
Diagram FNet = Fa - Fo

Force
Applied
(Fa)
ma = Fa - W

Force Opposing (Fo)

The
opposing
force is the
weight if
lifting
something
 Free
Body
Diagram

Force FNet = FN - W
Normal
(FN)
ma = FN – W
Applied
Frictional Force FN = W , a = 0
Force (Ff) (Fa)
The
opposing
force can
be friction Weight (W) FNet = Fa - Ff

ma = Fa - Ff
m 1a = T – W 1 - m 2a = T – W 2

T T

W = m 1g W = m 2g

0.1 a = T – 0.1 (9.8) - 0.2 a = T – 0.2 (9.8)