Physics 111: Mechanics

Lecture 3

Bin Chen
NJIT Physics Department
Chapter 4 Newton’s Laws of Motion
q 4.1 Force and Interactions
q 4.2 Newton’s First Law
q 4.3 Mass and Weight
q 4.4 Newton’s Second Law
q 4.5 Newton’s Third Law
q 4.6 Free-Body Diagrams
Isaac Newton’s work represents one of the greatest
contributions to science ever made by an individual.
 Kinematics and Dynamics
q Kinematics: Describing object’s motion by
answering: When? Where? How fast? How far?
How long? without asking: Why is object moving
in a certain way?
 Kinematics and Dynamics
q Dynamics: Describing object’s motion by
answering: Why is the object moving in a
certain way? What causes the object to change
its velocity?
q Dynamics studies motion on a deeper level than
kinematics: it studies the causes of changes in
objects’ motion!
 Dynamics
q Describes the relationship between the motion
of objects in our everyday world and the forces
acting on them
q Language of Dynamics
n Force: The measure of interaction between two
objects (pull or push). It is a vector quantity – it has a
magnitude and direction
n Mass: The measure of how difficult it is to change
object’s velocity (sluggishness or inertia of the object)
 Forces
q The measure of interaction
between two objects (pull or
push)
q Vector quantity: has
magnitude and direction
q May be a contact force or a
field force
n Contact forces result from
physical contact between two
objects
n Field forces act between
disconnected objects
n Also called action at a distance
 Forces

q Gravitational Force
q Tension Force
q Normal Force
q Friction Force
q Spring Force
 Vector Nature of Force
q Vector force: has magnitude and direction
q Net Force: a resultant force acting on object
! ! ! ! !
Fnet = å F = F1 + F2 + F3 + ......
q You must use the rules of vector addition to
obtain the net force on an object
 Newton s First Law
q An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an
object in motion tends to stay in motion with
the same speed and in the same direction
unless acted upon by an unbalanced force

q An object at rest remains at rest as long as no net force acts on it

q An object moving with constant velocity continues to move with
the same speed and in the same direction (the same velocity) as
long as no net force acts on it
q “Keep on doing what it is doing”
 Newton s First Law
q An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an
object in motion tends to stay in motion with
the same speed and in the same direction
unless acted upon by an unbalanced force

q When forces are balanced, the acceleration of the objection is zero

n Object at rest: v = 0 and a = 0
n Object in motion: v ¹ 0 and a = 0

q The net force is defined as the vector sum of all the external forces
exerted on the object. If the net force is zero, forces are balanced.
    
Fnet = ∑ F = F1 + F2 + F3 +...... = 0
 Mass and Inertia
q Every object continues in its state of rest, or uniform
motion in a straight line, unless it is compelled to change
that state by unbalanced forces impressed upon it
q Inertia is a property of objects
to resist changes in motion!
q Mass is a measure of the
amount of inertia.
q Mass is a measure of the resistance of an object to
changes in its velocity
q Mass is an inherent property of an object
q Scalar quantity and SI unit: kg
 Newton s Second Law
q The acceleration of an object is directly
proportional to the net force acting on
it and inversely proportional to its mass

!"#$ &!
(= =
' '

!"#$ = &! = '(

 Units of Force
q Newton’s second law:
!"#$ = &! = '(

q SI unit of force is a Newton (N)

kg - m
1N=1 0
s
 More about Newton’s 2nd Law
q You must be certain about which body we are
applying it to
q !"#$ must be the vector sum of all the forces that act
on that body
q Only forces that act on that body are to be included
in the vector sum
q Acceleration along an axis is
determined by the net force
component along the same axis
 Net Force and Acceleration
q The figure shows overhead views of four situations in
which two forces accelerate the same block across a
frictionless surface. Rank the situations below according
to the magnitude of the horizontal acceleration of the
block, greatest first.
3N
A. I, IV, III, II 5N 3N 5N
B. II, I, IV, III
C. III, II, IV, I I II
D. I, IV, II, III 3N
E. III, IV, I, II 5N 5N
3N
III IV
 ∑ F = ma ∑ F = ma ∑ F = ma
Newton s Third Law
x x y y z z

q If object 1 and object 2 interact, the force

exerted by object 1 on object 2 is equal in
magnitude but opposite in direction to the
w = mg
force exerted by object (magnitude
2 on object 1 of th

 
FA on B = − FB on A (New

q Equivalent to saying a single isolated force cannot exist

 Newton s Third Law cont.
q F12 may be called the
action force and F21 the
reaction force
n Actually, either force can
be the action or the
reaction force
q The action and reaction
forces act on different
objects
 Action and Reaction Force
q If a bird collides with the windshield of a fast-
moving plane, which experiences an impact
force with a larger magnitude?

A) The bird.
B) The plane.
C) The same force is experienced by both.
D) Not enough information is given
 Action and Reaction Force
q Which experiences greater acceleration?

A) The bird.
B) The plane.
C) The same acceleration is experienced by
both the bird and plane.
D) Not enough information is given
 Applying Newton’s Third Law I
• An apple rests on a table. Identify the forces that
act on it and the action-reaction pairs.
[Conceptual Example 4.9 in the textbook]
 Applying Newton’s Third Law II
• A person pulls on a block across the floor. Identify
the action-reaction pairs.
[Conceptual Example 4.10 in textbook]
 A paradox?
n If an object pulls back on you just as hard as you pull on
it, how can it ever accelerate?