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Forces and Newton's laws of

Motion

Dynamics

• How can a tugboat push a cruise ship that’s much

heavier than the tug?
• Why is a long distance needed to stop the ship
once it is in motion?
• Why does your foot hurt more when you kick a
big rock than when you kick an empty cardboard
box?
• Why is it harder to control a car on wet ice than
on dry concrete?
Who’s pushing who?

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Dynamics
• Dynamics - the relationship of motion to the forces
associated with it
• All the principles of dynamics can be wrapped up in a neat
package containing three statements called Newton’s laws
of motion.
▫ These laws, the cornerstone of mechanics, are based on
experimental studies of moving objects
• They are fundamental laws of nature; they cannot be
deduced or proved from any other principles. They were
clearly stated for the first time by Sir Isaac Newton.
▫ Many other scientists before Newton contributed to the
foundations of mechanics, especially Galileo Galilei,

Forces
• The concept of force gives us a
quantitative description of the
interaction between two objects or
between an object and its environment

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Types of Forces
• When a force involves direct contact between
two objects, we call it a contact force.
▫ When an object rests on a surface, there is
always a component of force perpendicular
to the surface; we call this component a
normal force, n,
• There may also be a component of force
parallel to the surface; we call this a friction
force, f. This force often acts to resist motion

Types of Forces
• When a rope or cord is attached to an object
and pulled, the corresponding force applied to
the object is referred to as a tension, T.
• The gravitational attraction that the earth (or
some other astronomical body) exerts on an
object. This force is the object’s weight, w.

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Types of Forces

Examples of forces applied to various objects.

In each case, a force acts on the object surrounded by the dashed lines.
Something in the environment external to the boxed area exerts the force.

Measuring Force
• Force is a vector quantity;
▫ To describe a force, we need to describe the direction in
which it acts as well as its magnitude—the quantity that
tells us “how much” or “how strongly” the force pushes or
pulls
• When forces act on a solid object, they usually deform
the object. For example, a coil spring stretches or
compresses when forces act on its ends. This property
forms the basis for a common instrument for
measuring forces, called a spring balance.
▫ The instrument consists of a coil spring, enclosed in a case
for protection, with a pointer attached to one end. When
forces are applied to the ends of the spring, it stretches;
the amount of stretch depends on the force We can represent the force we exert
on the box by a vector arrow.

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Resultant Force
• Experiment shows that when two forces, F1
and F2, act at the same time on the same
point of an object, the effect is the same as
the effect of a single force equal to the
vector sum of the original forces.
• This vector sum is often called the resultant
of the forces or the net force (R=F1+F2)
• Superposition of forces - the effect of any
number of forces applied at a point on an
object is the same as the effect of a single
force equal to the vector sum of the original
forces.

Resultant Force

• Any force can be replaced by its components, acting at the same point.
• The x and y coordinate axes don’t have to be vertical and horizontal

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Resultant Force

Newton’s Laws of Motion

• Newton’s 1st law of motion states that every body continues in its state of rest or in
constant velocity motion unless acted upon by an external force.
▫ Newton’s first law of motion simply means that no change in motion takes place unless
an external force acts on the body.
– When a car crashes the car stops but the person on the inside continues to move because
there is no external force exerted on the person.
• Newton’s 2nd law - The rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to
the external force acting upon it.
▫ In its simplest form what newton's second law of motion is saying the acceleration on
a body is directly proportional to the external force applied
– Increase the force, by using gas, on the car and the acceleration will also increase.
• Newton's 3rd law of motion states that if a body A exerts a force on a body B, then Body
B will exert an equal but opposite force on Body A.
▫ A bouncing ball applies a force to the ground and the ground applies an equal but opposite
force on the ball.

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Newton’s First Law

• Galileo, devised thought experiments—such as an object moving on a
frictionless surface, and concluded that it’s not the nature of an object to
stop, once set in motion, but rather to continue in its original state of
motion . This approach was later formalized as Newton’s first law of
motion

• The net force on an object is defined as the vector sum of all

external forces exerted on the object.
• External forces come from the object’s environment.
▫ If an object’s velocity isn’t changing in either magnitude or direction,
then its acceleration and the net force acting on it must both be zero

1st Law – Law of Inertia

• Resistance of a body to change its state of rest or motion.
▫ A body will preserve its velocity and direction so long
as no force in its motion's direction acts on it.
• For example : a package thrown out of an airplane will
continue to move at the speed of the airplane on the
horizontal axis (in the direction of the airplane's movement).
Since the law of gravity acts on the package, the package will
gather speed along the vertical axis, but on the horizontal
axis its speed will remain equal to that of the airplane.
A tablecloth yanked out from under
the china without anything being
broken. As the tablecloth slides, the
force it exerts on the china isn’t
great enough to make the china
move appreciably

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Inertia • If the puck is at rest at the start, it

remains at rest. If it is initially
moving, it continues to move in the
same direction with constant speed.
• These results show that, in Newton’s
first law, zero resultant force is
equivalent to no force at all.
• When an object is acted on by no
forces or by several forces whose
vector sum (resultant) is zero, we say
that the object is in equilibrium. For
an object in equilibrium

Inertia
• Inertia can be used to explain the operation of one type
of seat belt mechanism. In the event of an accident, the
purpose of the seat belt is to hold the passenger firmly
in place relative to the car, to prevent serious injury.
• Under normal conditions, the ratchet turns freely to
allow the harness to wind on or unwind from the pulley
as the passenger moves. In an accident, the car
undergoes a large acceleration and rapidly comes to
rest. Because of its inertia, the large block under the
seat continues to slide forward along the tracks. The
pin connection between the block and the rod causes
the rod to pivot about its center and engage the ratchet
wheel. At this point, the ratchet wheel locks in place
and the harness no longer unwinds

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Newton’s 2nd Law

• Consider a small object moving on a flat, level,
frictionless surface. (Initially, it is moving to the
right along the x axis of a coordinate system.) We
apply a constant horizontal force to the object.
• We find that during the time the force is acting, the
velocity of the object changes at a constant rate;
that is, the object moves with constant
acceleration.
• If we change the magnitude of the force, the
acceleration changes in the same proportion.
▫ Doubling the force doubles the acceleration,
halving the force halves the acceleration, and so
on

Newton’s 2nd Law

Experiments showing that an object’s

acceleration has the same direction
as the net force acting on the object.

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Newton’s 2nd Law

Experiments showing that an object’s

acceleration has the same direction
as the net force acting on the object.

Newton’s 2nd Law

• Newton’s first law states that when no net • Newton’s second law of motion
force acts on an object, it stays at rest or in • The vector sum (resultant) of all the forces
motion with a constant velocity.
acting on an object equals the object’s
• The second law tells us what happens
when this force is not zero. mass times its acceleration (the rate of
• The second law tells us that change of its velocity):
▫ “The change in motion of an object is
proportional to the applied force and
the change takes place in the direction
in which the force acts.”
▫ Note: force is not needed to maintain
• The rate of change of momentum of a body
motion but required to change. i.e an
unbalanced force is required to change is directly proportional to the external
the velocity force acting upon it.

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Mass & Weight

• An object’s mass is a measure of its inertia: This means its reluctance
to deviate from uniform straight-line motion under the influence of
external forces.
▫ According to Newton's second law, if two objects of differing
masses are acted upon by forces of the same magnitude, then the
resultant acceleration of the larger mass is less than that of the
smaller mass.
▫ The effect of a resultant force on an objects velocity depends on the
mass of the object. The more mass an object has the harder it is to
change its velocity.
• The mass of a body is an intrinsic property of that body, and,
therefore, does not change if the body is moved to a different place
• The weight of an object is the force of gravity on it.
▫ Dependent on g; varies according to our location.

Mass & Weight

The value of g actually varies
somewhat from point to point on
the earth’s surface, from about
9.78 to 9.82 m/s2 because the
earth is not perfectly spherical and
because of effects due to its
rotation, orbital motion, and
composition.

The weight of an object varies

from one location to another; the
mass does not.

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Weightlessness
• Apparent loss of weight . Typically experienced when unsupported or no contact
force acts on the body.
▫ These sensations are common to any situation in which you are momentarily in a
state of free fall. When in free fall, the only force acting upon your body is the force
of gravity. Since the force of gravity cannot be felt without any other opposing
forces, you would have no sensation of it. You would feel weightless when in a state
of free fall.
▫ Common at amusement parks for riders of roller coasters and other rides in which
riders are momentarily airborne and lifted out of their seats.
• Suppose you are in an elevator and the cables suddenly snap. As you and the
elevator falls towards the ground, you both accelerate at the same rate - g. Since
the elevator is unstable, falling at the same rate as you, it is unable to push upon
you. Normal forces only result from contact with stable, supporting surfaces. The
force of gravity is the only force acting upon your body. There are no external
objects touching your body and exerting a force. As such, you would experience a
weightless sensation

3rd Law – Action and Reaction

• A force acting on an object is always the result of that
object’s interaction with another object, so forces
always come in pairs.
• All of the forces acting in the Universe can ultimately be
grouped into equal and opposite action reaction pairs.
▫ Note, incidentally, that an action and its associated
reaction always act on different bodies.
An interacting ball and
• Experiments show that whenever two objects interact,
foot exert forces on each
the two forces they exert on each other are equal in other that are equal in
magnitude and opposite in direction magnitude and opposite
▫ The forces can be categorized into a in direction.
repulsive interaction tending to push the objects apart,
or the interactions can also be attractive

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3rd Law – Action and Reaction

For two interacting objects A and B , the formal statement of
Newton’s third law is

To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction; or,

the mutual actions of two objects upon each other are always
equal, and directed to contrary parts

The two forces in an action–reaction pair never act on the

same object

Example
An apple sits in equilibrium on a table. What forces act on the apple? What
is the reaction force to each of the forces acting on it? What are the action–
reaction pairs?

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Example
A stonemason drags a marble block across a floor by pulling on a rope
attached to the block (Figure a). The block has just started to move, and it
may not be in equilibrium. How are the various forces related? What are the
action–reaction pairs?

Example

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Application
An action shot. When the Olympic
biathlon fires her rifle, the force
propelling the bullet forward is matched
by an equal and opposite force pushing
against the rifle and her. If she had her
skis pointed in the direction in which she
is firing, she would be pushed backward
on the slippery mat and maybe end up
flat on her back. By keeping her back ski
firmly planted sideways on the mat, she
can avoid the possible consequences of
ignoring Newton’s third law.

Application
The force exerted by the hammer on
The force F12 exerted by object 1 on
the nail is equal in magnitude and
object 2 is equal in magnitude and
opposite in direction to the force
opposite in direction to the force F21
exerted by the nail on the hammer
exerted by object 2 on object 1.

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Objects in equilibrium

Newton’s 1st and 2nd law

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Applying the laws

• Consider a block of mass m resting on the floor of an elevator.
Suppose that the elevator is accelerating upwards with an
acceleration a . How does this acceleration affect the weight of the
block?
• Forces acting on the block?
▫ A downward force due to gravity. Let W = mg be the weight of
the block: by definition, this is the size of the downward force
exerted by the block on the floor of the elevator.
▫ From Newton's third law, the floor of the elevator exerts an
upward reaction force of magnitude N on the block.
▫ Force due to the accelerating elevator
• Applying Newton’s law
▫ Hence, N - W = ma, Thus N – mg = ma

Free body diagrams

• When you apply Newton’s first or second law ( for an
equilibrium situation or f or a non equilibrium situation),
you must apply it to some specific object

• You have to identify all the forces acting on it: Only the forces
acting on the object go into

• To help identify the relevant forces, draw a free-body diagram

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Applying the laws

• Consider a crate being pulled to the right on a
frictionless, horizontal surface. Suppose you wish to
find the acceleration of the crate and the force the
surface exerts on it.
• The horizontal force exerted on the crate acts
through the rope. The magnitude of T is equal to
the tension in the rope.
• Because we are interested only in the motion of the
crate, we must be able to identify all forces acting on
it
• A force diagram showing all the forces acting is
called a free-body diagram

Free body diagrams

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Free body diagrams

Free body diagrams

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Question
• An object moves along the x axis. Assuming that the positive
coordinate is to the right and that the forces are constant, which
of the following graphs of velocity as a function of time is
consistent with the forces shown in the free-body diagram.

Question
The carts in the Figure are speeding up as they are
pulled to the right with increasing speed across a
frictionless surface. The ropes have negligible mass.
We can conclude that:
a) The pull of rope 1 on cart A has greater
magnitude than the pull of rope 1 on cart B.
b) The pull of rope 2 on cart B has greater
magnitude than the pull of rope 1 on cart B.
c) The pull of rope 1 on cart A has greater
magnitude than the pull of rope 2 on cart B.
Answer B is correct: For cart B to
accelerate, there must be a net force
to the right.
Answer A cannot be right; if the rope
is massless, the forces acting on its
two ends must add to zero. Nor can
answer C be right: The two carts
have the same acceleration;
therefore, the tension in rope 2 must
be great enough to give this
acceleration to both carts, while the
tension in rope 1 is just great enough
to give cart A the same acceleration

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Question 1
• A body of mass 7 kg rest on a floor lift. Calculate the
reaction force R exerted by the floor of the lift on the
body if:
a) The lift has an upward acceleration of 2 m/s2.
b) The lift has a downward acceleration of 3 m/s2.
c) The lift is moving with constant velocity.

Solution 1
a) The reaction force when the lift has an upward acceleration of 2 m/s2.
▫ Forces are moving in opposite directions. In this question the
reaction force is larger than the weight because the lift is moving in
the upward direction
▫ From Newtons 2nd law: ∑ 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
R-W = ma; R- 70 = 7x2; R = 84N
b) The reaction force when given a downward acceleration of 3 m/s2.
▫ Since the lift is now moving in the downward direction, then the
weight is larger than the reaction force
W-R = ma; 70 - R = 7x3; R = 49 N
c) The reaction force given that the lift is moving at a constant velocity.
▫ Since it is moving at constant velocity acceleration would be zero
and no motion is taking place.
R- W=0; R=W=70N

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Question 2
• To improve the acoustics in an auditorium, a
sound reflector with a mass of 200 kg is
suspended by a chain from the ceiling. What
is its weight? What force (magnitude and
direction) does the chain exert on it? What is
the tension in the chain? Assume that the
mass of the chain itself is negligible.

Solution 2
• To improve the acoustics in an auditorium, a sound reflector with a
mass of 200 kg is suspended by a chain from the ceiling. What is its
weight? What force (magnitude and direction) does the chain exert
on it? What is the tension in the chain? Assume that the mass of the
chain itself is negligible.

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Example 1
• Suppose the mass of the chain in is not negligible, but is 10.0 kg.
What is the new tension in the chain.

From Newton’s 1st law ∑ 𝐹 = 𝑜 since the system is in

equilibrium therefore:
T1 – Wc - WR = 0
T1 – 1960 – (9.8 x 10) = 0
T1 = 2058 N

Question 3
• You stand on a bathroom scale that rests on the floor of an elevator.
(Don’t ask why!) Standing on the scale compresses internal springs
and activates a dial that indicates your weight in newtons. When the
elevator is at rest, the scale reads 600 N. Then the elevator begins to
move upward with a constant acceleration a= 2 m/s2
• (a) Determine your mass.
• (b) Determine the scale reading while the elevator is accelerating.
• (c) If you read the scale without realizing that the elevator is
accelerating upward, what might you think your mass is?

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Solution 3
All three objects are in equilibrium. You push
down on the scale with a force of magnitude 600
N, and (from Newton’s third law) the scale
applies an equal and opposite upward force to
your feet.

Solution 3

When the system accelerates upward at your weight is

still 600 N, but now the upward force the scale applies
to your feet is different because you are no longer in
equilibrium. From Newton’s second law

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Incline planes & Application of Newton’s

Laws

Force and Incline planes

• Inclined plane problems involving gravity, forces
of friction , moving objects etc. require vector
representations of these quantities.
▫ Components are better in representing forces using
rectangular system of axes since they make
calculations such as the addition of forces easier.
▫ Free body diagrams are also used as well
as Newton's second law to write vector equations.
Important points
• Weight always acts vertically
• Objects move in the direction of net Force
• Objects on an angle have a force parallel to the
surface and a force perpendicular to the surface.
• Normal Force FN is always perpendicular to the
surface.

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Example

The force of gravity can be resolved into its two components

Example 1
• A body of mass 5 kg is pulled up a smooth plane inclined at 30 degrees to
the horizontal by a force of 40 N acting parallel to the plane. Calculate the
acceleration of the body and the force exerted on it by the plane

Solution guide
• Draw a free body diagram (Add all force (components) to the diagram.
▫ One of the components of weight is parallel to the plane while the other is
perpendicular to the plane.
▫ Finally we must now add the reaction force. Remember that the reaction
force must be perpendicular to the plane

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a) The acceleration of the body

▫ Forces acting: 40 N required to cause the
acceleration and the weight component due to the
mass parallel to the acceleration.
▫ 40 – W sin 30 = ma
40 – 50 sin 30 = 5a
a = 3 m/s2
b) The force exerted on the body by the plane, i.e. the
reaction force.
▫ Since no motion is taking place in this direction
then a=0, thus F=ma=0
R - W cos 30 =0
R = W sin 60: R = 43.3 N

Questions
1. A 2 Kg box is put on the surface of an inclined plane at 27 ° with the horizontal. The
surface of the inclined plane is assumed to be frictionless.
a) Draw a free body diagram of the box on the inclined plane and label all forces
acting on the box. b) Determine the acceleration a of the box down the plane.
c) Determine the magnitude of the force exerted by the inclined plane on the box.
2. A car of mass 1000 kg is at rest on a 15 ° incline. What is the force of friction?
3. A block of mass m = 5.8 kg is pulled up a θ = 25° incline as in with a force of
magnitude F = 32 N. (a) Find the acceleration of the block if the incline is
frictionless. (b) Find the acceleration of the block if the coefficient of kinetic friction
between the block and incline is 0.10.
4. A person pushes a 30-kg shopping cart up a 10 ° incline with a force of 85 N.
Calculate the coefficient of friction if the cart is pushed at a constant speed.

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Tutorial Questions
1. In the Figure, a car engine with weight w hangs from a
chain that is linked at point O to two other chains, one
fastened to the ceiling and the other to the wall. (a) Write
expressions in w for the three tension, and (b) hence if
the engine’s weight = 2200 N find the tensions in the
chain that keeps the engine in equilibrium.

2. A car with a weight of 1.76 x 104 N rests on the ramp of a

trailer. The car’s brakes and transmission lock are
released; only the cable prevents the car from rolling
backward off the trailer. The ramp makes an angle of
26.0° with the horizontal. Find the tension in the cable
and the force with which the ramp pushes on the car’s
tires.

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Tutorial Questions T FN

3. A 5-kg block sits on a 30 degree incline. It is attached to

string that is thread over a pulley mounted at the top of 30
Ff
T
the incline. A 7.5-kg block hangs from the string. a)
Calculate the tension in the string if the acceleration of m2g
m1 30
the system is 1.2 m/s2. b) Calculate the coefficient of
kinetic friction.
m1g

4. A glider with mass m1 moves on a level, frictionless air

track in a physics lab. It is connected by a string passing
over a small frictionless pulley to a hanging weight with
total mass m2. The string is light and flexible, and it
doesn’t stretch. Find the acceleration of each object and
the tension inthe string.

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