Lecture 7

Applications of
Newton’s Laws
(Chapter 6)
Reading and Review
 Going Up I
A block of mass m rests on the floor of a) N > mg
an elevator that is moving upward at
b) N = mg
constant speed. What is the relationship
between the force due to gravity and the
c) N < mg (but not zero)
normal force on the block? d) N = 0
e) depends on the size of the
elevator

m
 Going Up I
A block of mass m rests on the floor of a) N > mg
an elevator that is moving upward at
b) N = mg
constant speed. What is the relationship
between the force due to gravity and the
c) N < mg (but not zero)
normal force on the block? d) N = 0
e) depends on the size of the
elevator

The block is moving at constant speed, so it

must have no net force on it. The forces on v
it are N (up) and mg (down), so N = mg, just
like the block at rest on a table.
m
 Going Up II
A block of mass m rests on the a) N > mg
floor of an elevator that is b) N = mg
accelerating upward. What is c) N < mg (but not zero)
the relationship between the d) N = 0
force due to gravity and the
e) depends on the size of the
normal force on the block? elevator

m
a
 Going Up II
A block of mass m rests on the a) N > mg
floor of an elevator
 that is b) N = mg
accelerating upward. What is c) N < mg (but not zero)
the relationship between the d) N = 0
force due to gravity and the
e) depends on the size of the
normal force on the block? elevator

The block is accelerating upward, so it

N
must have a net upward force. The
m
forces on it are N (up) and mg (down), a>0
so N must be greater than mg in order mg
to give the net upward force! F = N – mg = ma > 0
Follow-up: What is the normal force if
→N = mg + ma > mg
the elevator is in free fall downward?
 Frictional Forces
Friction has its basis in surfaces that are not
completely smooth:
 Kinetic friction
Kinetic friction: the friction experienced by surfaces
sliding against one another.
This frictional force is proportional to the contact force
between the two surfaces (normal force):

The constant is called the coefficient of

kinetic friction.

fk always points in the direction

opposing motion of two surfaces
 Frictional Forces

Naturally, for any frictional

fk force on a body, there is an
opposing reaction force on
fk the other body
 Frictional Forces

fk fs
fk fs
when moving, one bumps when relative motion
“skip” over each other stops, surfaces settle into
one another
kinetic friction static friction

Kinetic Friction ≤ Static Friction

 Static Friction
The static frictional force tries to keep an object from
starting to move when other forces are applied.

The static frictional force has a maximum value, but

may take on any value from zero to the maximum...
depending on what is needed to keep
the sum of forces to zero.

The maximum static frictional

force is also proportional to
the contact force
 Similarities between
→normal forces and
→static friction
• Variable; as strong as necessary to
prevent relative motion either

- perpendicular to surface (normal)

- parallel to surface (friction)
 Characteristics of Frictional Forces
• Frictional forces always oppose relative motion

• Static and kinetic frictional forces are independent of

the area of contact between objects
• Kinetic frictional force is also independent of the
relative speed of the surfaces.

• Coefficients of friction are

independent of the mass
of objects, but in (most)
cases forces are not:
(twice the mass
→ twice the weight
→ twice the normal force
→ twice the frictional force)
 Coefficients of Friction

Q: what units?
 Going Sledding
Your little sister wants a) pushing her from behind
you to give her a ride
b) pulling her from the front
on her sled. On level
c) both are equivalent
ground, what is the
d) it is impossible to move the sled
easiest way to
accomplish this? e) tell her to get out and walk

2
 Going Sledding
Your little sister wants a) pushing her from behind
you to give her a ride
b) pulling her from the front
on her sled. On level
c) both are equivalent
ground, what is the
d) it is impossible to move the sled
easiest way to
accomplish this? e) tell her to get out and walk

In case 1, the force F is pushing down

(in addition to mg), so the normal force
is larger. In case 2, the force F is 1
pulling up, against gravity, so the
normal force is lessened. Recall that
the frictional force is proportional to
the normal force.
2
 Measuring static coefficient of friction
If the block doesn’t move, a=0.

N x
fs
Wx

Wy at the critical point


W


 Acceleration of a block on an incline
If the object is sliding down -

y
v
N x
fk
Wx

Wy

W


 Acceleration of a block on an incline
If the object is sliding up -

y
v
N x

Wx

fk
Wy

W
What will happen
 when it stops?
A mass m, initially moving with a speed of 5.0 m/s, slides up a 30o ramp.
If the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.4, how far up the ramp will the
mass slide?
If the coefficient of static friction is 0.6, will the mass eventually slide
down the ramp?
A mass m, initially moving with a speed of 5.0 m/s, slides up a 30o ramp.
If the coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.4, how far up the ramp will the
mass slide?
If the coefficient of static friction is 0.6, will the mass eventually slide
down the ramp?
yˆ : 0  N  mg cos  N  mg cos
xˆ : Fx   mg sin   k N   mg sin   k mg cos

  g sin   k g cos   g  sin   k cos 

Fx
 ax 
m
 9.81 sin 30o  0.4cos30o   8.30 m s 2
v 2f  0  v02  2ax  x f  x0 
 x f  x0  x  v 2ax  5.0 2  8.30   1.51m
2
0
2

When mass stops:

?
Fx  mg sin    s N  mg sin    s mg cos
  mg   sin    s cos   mg   sin 30o   s cos30o 
 mg  0.02   0
 mass will remain at rest
 Sliding Down II
A mass m is placed on an a) not move at all
inclined plane ( > 0) and
b) slide a bit, slow down, then stop
slides down the plane with
c) accelerate down the incline
constant speed. If a similar
block (same ) of mass 2m d) slide down at constant speed
were placed on the same e) slide up at constant speed
incline, it would:

m
 Sliding Down II
A mass m is placed on an a) not move at all
inclined plane ( > 0) and
b) slide a bit, slow down, then stop
slides down the plane with
c) accelerate down the incline
constant speed. If a similar
block (same ) of mass 2m d) slide down at constant speed
were placed on the same e) slide up at constant speed
incline, it would:

N
The component of gravity acting down f
the plane is double for 2m. However, the
normal force (and hence the friction
Wy
force) is also double (the same factor!). 
W
This means the two forces still cancel to
Wx
give a net force of zero. 
 Translational Equilibrium

“translational equilibrium” = fancy term for not accelerating

= the net force on an object is zero

example: book on a table

example: book on a table in an elevator

at constant velocity
 Tension
When you pull on a string or rope, it becomes
taut. We say that there is tension in the string.

Note: strings are “floppy”, so force from a string

is along the string!
Tension in a chain

Tup = Tdown when W = 0

Tup

Tdown
W
 Massless rope
The tension in a real rope will vary along its
length, due to the weight of the rope.

T3 = mg + Wr
In this class: we will assume
that all ropes, strings, wires,
T2 = mg + Wr/2 etc. are massless unless
otherwise stated.

T1 = mg Tension is the same

everywhere in a
massless rope!
m
 Idealization: The Pulley
An ideal pulley is one that only changes the
direction of the tension

along with a rope: useful class of

problems of combined motion

distance box moves =

distance hands move

speed of box =
speed of hands

acceleration of box =
acceleration of hands
Tension in the rope?
Translational equilibrium?
 Translational equilibrium?

T
T Tension in the rope?

2.00 kg

W
m1 : x :
y:

m2 : y :
 Three Blocks
Three blocks of mass 3m, 2m, and a) T1 > T2 > T3
m are connected by strings and b) T1 < T2 < T3
pulled with constant acceleration a. c) T1 = T2 = T3
What is the relationship between d) all tensions are zero
the tension in each of the strings? e) tensions are random

3m T3 T2 T1
2m m
 Three Blocks
Three blocks of mass 3m, 2m, and a) T1 > T2 > T3
m are connected by strings and b) T1 < T2 < T3
pulled with constant acceleration a. c) T1 = T2 = T3
What is the relationship between d) all tensions are zero
the tension in each of the strings? e) tensions are random

T1 pulls the whole set

of blocks along, so it
a
must be the largest. T2
pulls the last two T3 T2 T1
3m
2m m
masses, but T3 only
pulls the last mass.
Follow-up: What is T1 in terms of m and a?
 Over the Edge
In which case does block m a) case (1)
experience a larger acceleration? b) acceleration is zero
In case (1) there is a 10 kg mass
c) both cases are the same
hanging from a rope and falling.
In case (2) a hand is providing a d) depends on value of m
constant downward force of 98 N. e) case (2)
Assume massless ropes.

m m

a
10 kg a
F = 98 N

Case (1) Case (2)

 Over the Edge
In which case does block m a) case (1)
experience a larger acceleration? b) acceleration is zero
In case (1) there is a 10 kg mass
c) both cases are the same
hanging from a rope and falling.
In case (2) a hand is providing a d) depends on value of m
constant downward force of 98 N. e) case (2)
Assume massless ropes.

In case (2) the tension is m m

98 N due to the hand. In
a
case (1) the tension is 10 kg a
less than 98 N because F = 98 N
the block is accelerating
down. Only if the block Case (1) Case (2)
were at rest would the
tension be equal to 98 N.
 Elevate Me
You are holding your 2.0 kg a) in freefall
physics text book while b) moving upwards with a constant
standing on an elevator. velocity of 4.9 m/s

Strangely, the book feels as if c) moving down with a constant velocity

it weighs exactly 2.5 kg. From
this, you conclude that the
elevator is:
of 4.9 m/s
d) experiencing a constant acceleration
of about 2.5 m/s2 upward
e) experiencing a constant acceleration
of about 2.5 m/s2 downward

Use Newton’s 2nd law! the apparent weight:

and the sum of forces:

give a positive acceleration ay