Trying To Pull A Boulder Up A Hill Working Vectors: W + F + N + P o

(4) Trying to pull a boulder up a hill
WORKING VECTORS
This gives us a practical application of using components of vector
quantities.
The picture below shows the forces involved when a person tries to
pull a boulder up a grassy slope.
The forces are all acting in different directions, and the person has
not yet succeeded in moving the boulder. We therefore know from
Newton's first law that there is no net resultant force acting on the
boulder.
If I write the forces as w, f, n and p, then we have the vector
equation
w+f+n+p=o
where o stands for zero force.

A very useful result of this is that the components of the four
forces, w, f, n and p, acting in any particular chosen direction,
must balance each other out. There is no net force acting in any
specified direction on the boulder.
Also, since there is no sideways force acting on this boulder, all the
forces are acting in two dimensions. This means that we can write
each force in terms of any two non-parallel vectors which we
choose, (components), and doing this will give us two
independent equations of balanced forces, one for each chosen
vector direction.
It makes things easier if we have at least one force acting entirely
in one of the chosen directions.
The weight acts vertically so one possibility is to split all the forces
into their horizontal and vertical components. I've done this in the
picture below.
INCLINE G
If we a mass m slides down a frictionless inclined plane as shown
below, we observe the following:

1. The mass accelerates.
2. The acceleration is less than gravity.
3. The larger the angle q (i.e., the steeper the incline) the
greater the acceleration.
4. The mass remains on the incline.
From the first observation and Newton’s second law we can deduce
that there is a net force acting on the mass. The second and third
observations tell us that this acceleration depends on the angle of
inclination.
We can explain the motion on the inclined plane by examining the

forces acting on the mass. The two forces acting on the mass are the
normal force R and the force of gravity in it (its weight). The normal
force acts perpendicular to the surface on the incline, while the weight
of the mass acts straight down. The weight can be broken down into
two components: one parallel to the incline (Wsinq) and the one
perpendicular (Wcosq).

The fourth observation tells us that the net force perpendicular to the
surface must be zero. Thus
R = Wcosq = mgcosq
We also recognize that the component of the weight parallel to the

incline is unbalanced. Thus there is a force down the incline.
Force down the incline = Wsinq

This unbalanced force results in an acceleration down the incline. By
the second law F = ma. So
F = ma = Wsinq = mg sinq
a = g sinq
Thus the acceleration down a frictionless inclined plane is given by

gsinq.
PROJECtiLE
The accelerated motion toward the center of the Earth of a body acted
on by the Earth's gravitational attraction and by no other force. If a
body falls freely from rest near the surface of the Earth, it gains a
velocity of approximately 9.8 m/s every second. Thus, the acceleration
of gravity g equals 9.8 m/s2 or 32.16 ft/s2. This acceleration is
independent of the mass or nature of the falling body. For short
distances of free fall, the value of g may be considered constant. After
t seconds the velocity vt of a body failing from rest near the Earth is
given by Eq. (1). 1.
If a falling body has an initial constant velocity in any direction, it

retains that velocity if no other forces are present. If other forces are
present, they may change the observed direction and rate of fall of the
body, but they do not change the Earth's gravitational pull; therefore a
body may still be thought of as freely “failing” even though the
resultant observed motion is upward.
For a body failing a very large distance from the Earth, the
acceleration of gravity can no longer be considered constant.
According to Newton's law of gravitation, the force between any two
bodies varies inversely with the square of the distance between them;
therefore with increasing distance between any body and the Earth,
the acceleration of the body toward the Earth decreases rapidly. The
final velocity vf, attained when a body falls freely from an infinite
distance to the surface of the Earth, is given by Eq. (2), 2. where R is
the radius of the Earth, which gives a numerical value of 11.3 km/s or
7 mi/s. This is consequently the “escape velocity,” the initial upward
velocity for a rising body to completely overcome the Earth's
attraction.
Because of the independent action of the forces involved, a ball thrown

horizontally or a projectile fired horizontally with velocity v will be
accelerated downward at the same rate as a body falling from rest,
regardless of the horizontal motion.
At a sufficiently large horizontal velocity, a projectile would fall from

the horizontal only at the same rate that the surface of the Earth
curves away beneath it. The projectile would thus remain at the same
elevation above the Earth and in effect become an earth satellite. See
also Ballistics; Gravitation.

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(4) Trying to pull a boulder up a hill

where o stands for zero force.

1. The mass accelerates.

2. The acceleration is less than gravity.

4. The mass remains on the incline.

We can explain the motion on the inclined plane by examining the

We also recognize that the component of the weight parallel to the

Force down the incline = Wsinq

Thus the acceleration down a frictionless inclined plane is given by

If a falling body has an initial constant velocity in any direction, it

Because of the independent action of the forces involved, a ball thrown

At a sufficiently large horizontal velocity, a projectile would fall from

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