Newtons Second Law of

Motion
Force and Acceleration
Movement

When we see something move we see

Start

Slow

Curve

Stop

All
these things represent a CHANGE in
motion
Formulas to remember

Acceleration = change in velocity

time interval

What is the cause of acceleration?

FORCE
Force causes Acceleration

Example hockey puck in ice

Still
until force is placed on it
Stays moving in a straight path until another
force causes it to accelerate
Change direction
Speed up

Slow down

Change in velocity acceleration

Net force causes acceleration

Combination of force yields acceleration

Double the force double the
acceleration
Mathematically
Acceleration~ net force
~ means directly proportional to
Mass resists acceleration

Example
Fullshopping cart vs. empty shopping cart
The greater the mass the more force it
takes to accelerate the object
Acceleration is inversely proportional to
mass
Acceleration As the denominator
~ 1 increased the whole
mass quantity decreases
Newtons Second Law

The acceleration produced by the force

on an object is directly proportional to
the magnitude of the net force, is in the
same direction as the net force and is
inversely proportional to the mass of the
object
Mathematically:
acceleration~ net force
mass
Applications of 2nd Law
Using consistent units

a=F
m
a =acceleration
(m/sec^2 )
F = force
(newtons)
m = mass (kg)
Acceleration which way?

Net force action on an object

and its resulting acceleration
are always in the same
direction
The spool demo:
Which way will it roll?
Does it change from top to
bottom?
Problem Solving

One Newton the force

needed to give a mass of
one kilogram an acceleration
of one meter per second per
second.
1 N = (1 kg) (1 m/sec/sec)
1 N = 1 kg m/ sec^2
If we know two quantities, we can
solve for the third
Problem 1

How much force, or thrust, must a

30,000-kg jet plane develop to achieve
an acceleration of 1.5 m/sec^2
F = ma
= (30,000 kg)(1.5 m/sec^2)
= 45,000 kg m/sec^2
= 45,000 N
Problem 2

What acceleration is produced by a force

of 2000 N applied to a 1000-kg car?
a = F/m
= 2000 N/ 1000 kg
= 2000 kg m/sec^2/1000 kg
= 2 m/sec^2
Ifthe force is 4000 N, the acceleration doubles
4000N/1000 kg = 4 m/sec^2
Questions

Ifa car accelerates at 2 m/sec^2, what

acceleration can it attain if it is towing
another car of equal mass?
Answer the same force on twice the
mass produces half the acceleration or
1 m/sec^2
Questions

What kind of motion does a constant

force produce on an object of fixed
mass?
A constant force produces motion at a
constant acceleration, in accordance
with Newtons second law.
Friction

Is a force
Must be in contact
Direction opposite
to motion
Force is needed to
overcome friction
Caused by
irregular surface
Extent of friction

Depends on kinds of
material
How much surface are
pressed together
Examples
Rubber on concrete
Steel on steel
Guard rails are now
concrete instead of steel
Friction in Fluids
Fluids liquids and gases
Caused by object trying to move
particles apart in order to pass
thru it
Try to run in water?
Liquid friction can be quite high
Air resistance notice at high
speeds
Biking or skiing
Friction and Force

When friction is present, object may only

move at a constant speed even if you
apply force (instead of accelerating)
The net force is zero
Air Resistance

PUSH
Weight

FRICTION
Questions

Two forces act on a book resting on a

table: its weight and the support force
from the table. Does a force of friction
act as well?
No, not unless the book tends to slide.
Friction only acts when there is motion
Question

Suppose a high-flying jet cruises with a

constant velocity when the thrust from its
engines is a constant 80,000 N. What is
the acceleration of the jet? What is the
force of air resistance acting on the jet?
Answer

The acceleration must be zero because

the velocity is constant. Since the
acceleration is zero, if follows a = F/m
the net force is zero. This means the
force of air resistance is 80,000 N and it
acts in the direction opposite to the jets
motion.
Applying Force - Pressure

No matter how you place a book on

a table, the force is the same
Tryvarying the way it is placed on a
scale
However place a book on your
palm or on top of a pencil which
goes into your hand
PRESSURE has to do with force and
area
Pressure

The amount of force per unit area

Pressure = force
area of application
P = F
A P=pressure (pascals)
F= force (newtons)
A = area (meter^2)
1 Pascal = 1 N/m^2
Pressure comparisons

Pressure on your foot

Two feet
One foot

Pointe (ballerina)

Calculatingthe pressure on your foot

with graph paper
Bed of Nails Questions
In attempting to do a bed
of nails, would it be wise
to begin with a few nails
and work upward to more
nails?
No, no, no! There would
be less physics teachers
with fewer nails. The
resulting greater pressure
would cause harm.
Bed of Nails question
The massiveness of the cement block plays an
important role in this demo. Which provides
more safety, a small block or a more massive
block?
The greater the mass, the smaller the
acceleration of the block and the bed of nails
towards the friend. Much of the force from the
hammer goes into breaking the block. The
block must be BIG and must BREAK!
Free Fall explained

Galileodid his famous

experiment off the leaning
tower of Pisa.
Dropped a 10 kg cannon
ball
Dropped a 1 kg stone at
same time
Result accelerations are
equal
But why?
Newtons law

F = ma
Therefore a = F/m
If an item is large it has a large force and a
large mass
If an item is small, it has a small force and a
small mass
Either way the RATIOS are the same

F/m = F/m
Galileo's experiment

a = F/m = 9.8 N/ 1 kg rock = 9.8 m/sec^2

a = F/m = 98 N/10 kg cannon ball= 9.8 m/sec^2

Question if you were on the moon an

dropped a hammer and a feather at the
same time, would they strike the surface
of the moon at the same time?
Answer

Yes. Astronaut
David Scott did this
exact experiment on
the moon. They
both accelerated at
1/6 g.
Falling and Air resistance

Example feather and coin in a tube.

With air coin falls rapidly, the feather
flutters down
Without air both reach the bottom at the
same time
Air resistance

feather
coin

weight
Terminal Speed or Velocity

Speed during freefall, when the air

resistance on the object equals the
weight of the falling object.
Terminal speeds of various objects
Feather 5 m/sec
Coin 200 km/hr

Skydiver 150 200 km/h

Parachute 15-25 km/h

Question
Ifa heavy person and a light person
open their parachutes together at
the same altitude and each wears
the same size parachute, who will
reach the ground first?
The heavy person. Light person
reaches terminal speed first and it
will be slower than terminal speed
for the heavy person.