Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region XII
Division of City Schools
Banisil National High School
Tambler, General Santos City

Reporter: Emariel M. Delos Santos

Topic: Use algebra, Newton's 2nd law of motion, and newton's law of universal gravitation
to show that, in the absence of air resistance, objects close to the surface of the earth fall
with identical accelerations independent of their mass.
Competency: Explain and show the equation of Newton’s 2nd law of motion and Newton’s
law of universal gravitation.

Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion

Newton's second law of motion pertains to the behavior of objects for which all
existing forces are not balanced. The second law states that the acceleration of an
object is dependent upon two variables - the net force acting upon the object and
the mass of the object. The acceleration of an object depends directly upon the net
force acting upon the object, and inversely upon the mass of the object. As the
force acting upon an object is increased, the acceleration of the object is increased.
As the mass of an object is increased, the acceleration of the object is decreased.
Calculate net force, mass and acceleration of an object by referring the below
Newton second law of motion.
Newton's Second Law of Motion Formula:

Net Force: 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑚𝑎 Where, 𝑎 = Acceleration

𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡
Mass: 𝑚 = 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = Net Force
𝑎
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡
Acceleration: 𝑎 = 𝑚 = Mass
𝑚

Example # 1:
A 15 kg object moving to the west with an acceleration of 10m/s2. What is the net force
acting on an object?
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑚𝑎
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 15 𝑘𝑔 × 10𝑚/𝑠 2
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 150 𝑁

Therefore, the value of Net force is 150 N

Example # 2:
A softball has a mass of 1.5 kg and hits the catcher's glove with a force of 30 N? What is
the acceleration of the softball?
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡
𝑎=
𝑚
30 𝑁
𝑎=
1.5 𝑘𝑔
𝑎 = 20 𝑚/𝑠 2

Therefore, the value of Acceleration is 20 𝒎/𝒔𝟐

Example # 3:
What is the mass of a truck if it produces a force of 15000 N while accelerating at a rate
of 6 m/s2?
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡
𝑚=
𝑎
1500 𝑁
𝑚=
6𝑚/𝑠 2
𝑚 = 2500 𝑘𝑔

Therefore, the value of Mass is 2500 kg

Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
Since the force acting to cause the apple's downward acceleration also causes the
earth's upward acceleration (Newton's third law), that force must also depend upon
the mass of the earth. So, for Newton, the force of gravity acting between the earth
and any other object is directly proportional to the mass of the earth, directly
proportional to the mass of the object, and inversely proportional to the square of
the distance that separates the centers of the earth and the object.
Using Newton's Gravitation Equation to Solve Problems
𝐺 × 𝑚1 × 𝑚2
𝐹𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣 =
𝑑2
Where 𝑭𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗 represent the force of gravity between two objects

𝒎𝟏 represent the mass of object 1

𝒎𝟐 represent the mass of object 2
𝒅 represent the distance separating the objects centers
The value of 𝑮 is found to be 𝟔. 𝟔𝟕𝟑 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟏 𝑵 𝒎𝟐 / 𝒌𝒈𝟐

Example # 1:
Determine the force of gravitational attraction between the earth (m = 5.98 x 1024 kg) and
a 70-kg physics student if the student is standing at sea level, a distance of 6.38 x 106
m from earth's center.
The solution of the problem involves substituting known values of 𝐺 ( 6.673 ×

10−11 𝑁𝑚2 /𝑘𝑔2 ), 𝑚1 (5.98 𝑥 1024 𝑘𝑔), 𝑚2 (70 𝑘𝑔) and 𝑑 (6.38 𝑥 10 6 𝑚) into the
universal gravitation equation and solving for 𝑭𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗.

𝐺 × 𝑚1 × 𝑚2
𝐹𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣 =
𝑑2

(6.673 × 10−11 𝑁 𝑚2 / 𝑘𝑔2 ) (5.98 × 1024 𝑘𝑔 ) (70 𝑘𝑔)

𝐹𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣 =
(6.38 × 106 𝑚)2

𝐹𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣 = 686 𝑁
Example # 2:
Determine the force of gravitational attraction between the earth (𝑚 =

5.98 𝑥 1024 𝑘𝑔) and a 70 − 𝑘𝑔 physics student if the student is in an airplane at

𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 feet above earth's surface. This would place the student a distance of
6.39 𝑥 106 𝑚 from earth's center.
The solution of the problem involves substituting known values of
𝐺 (6.673 𝑥 10−11 𝑁 𝑚2 /𝑘𝑔2 ), 𝑚1 (5.98 𝑥 1024 𝑘𝑔), 𝑚2 (70 𝑘𝑔) and

𝑑 (6.39 𝑥 106 𝑚) into the universal gravitation equation and solving for 𝑭𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗.

𝐺 × 𝑚1 × 𝑚2
𝐹𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣 =
𝑑2

(6.673 × 10−11 𝑁 𝑚2 / 𝑘𝑔2 ) (5.98 × 1024 𝑘𝑔)(70 𝑘𝑔)

𝐹𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣 =
(6.39 × 106 𝑚)2

𝐹𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣 = 684 𝑁
Quiz:

1.