BITS Pilani

Dubai Campus

Ch-2
NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION
Elders say… . .

If you are determined to learn,

no one can stop you.

If you are not willing to learn,

no one can help you.
CONTENTS

1. Newton’s Laws – 3 in no.

a) First Law
b) Second Law - most fundamental
c) Third Law
2. Everyday forces – Gravity, Electrostatic force, Contact
force, Tension, normal force, friction, viscous force and
Spring force
3. Applications of Newton’ s Laws
Two approaches to understand mechanics
Force as the fundamental concept - Newtonian Approach
Energy as the fundamental concept - Lagrangian and
Hamiltonian Approach
Newtonian Mechanics fails when
1) the speed of the body is the order of 3x108 m/s and
2) the size of the body is of atomic dimensions or less

In both these cases, Quantum mechanics have to be used.

Newton’s First Law – a body in
equilibrium

body at rest - tends to remain at rest

body in motion - will continue to be in motion
Mathematically, F = 0 (translational equilibrium)
First law asserts the existence of Inertial system and
isolated bodies move with uniform velocity in it.
(a) For accelerating a body, an unbalanced
Force is a must.
(b) Balanced forces will
never result
in acceleration
Applying Newton's second
law

Since the equation is a vector equation, we will use it in

component form, with a separate equation for each component
of force and the corresponding acceleration:

Note:
1. ∑F means the sum of all external forces.
2. the equation is only valid if mass is constant.
3. the equation is only valid in the inertial frame of reference
S , as m is a constant called inertia / mass
(1) As m is a constant, F  a
(2) If F is constant, a  or m1a1 = m2a2
(3) When a constant, F  m

A body is acted on by two forces as shown above. If a third

horizontal force F3 also acts on the block, what are the
magnitude and direction of F3, when the block is (a) stationary
and (b) moves with constant velocity of 5m/s.

A body of mass m is accelerated to 2m/s2 by a force F. When

the force is increased by 6N, the acceleration increases by
1m/s2. Find the mass m and the force F. [6kg and 12N]
Newton’s Third Law:

When two bodies interact, the forces on

the bodies are always equal in magnitude
And opposite in direction.
Action = - Reaction
It leads to the law of conservation of momentum
Common forces:

1. Gravitational force: weight = mg

2. Normal Force:

3. Friction:
4. Tension:
When a force is exerted
through a rope or cable,
the force is transmitted
through that rope or cable
as a tension.

The suspended body in the diagram weighs 75 N.

Is T equal to or greater than or less than 75 N,
when the body is moving upward
(a) at constant speed
(b) at increasing speed
(c) at decreasing speed
(d) What is the net force on the pulley?
Tension and compression
Tug of war..
Free-body diagrams
1. Newton’s 1st and 2nd laws apply to a specific body.
• Newton’s 1st law, ∑F = 0, (equilibrium)
• Newton’s 2nd law, ∑F = ma, (non equilibrium)
2. Only forces acting on the body matter.
3. Free-body diagrams are essential to help identify the
relevant forces, “free” of its surroundings, with
vectors drawn to show the magnitudes and
directions of all the forces applied to the body by the
various other bodies that interact with it.

4. Label all the forces acting on the body.

Free-body diagrams
Problem:
A gymnast with mass 50.0 kg suspends herself from the
lower end of a hanging rope. The upper end of the rope is
attached to the gymnasium ceiling.
a) What is the gymnast’s weight?
b) What force does the rope exert on her?
c) What is the tension at the top of the rope?
Assume that the mass of the rope itself is negligible.
Suppose that in the previous question, the weight of the rope is
not negligible but is 120 N, find the tension at each end of
the rope.

• Lower end of the rope:

490 N
• Upper end of the rope:
610 N
Example 2.3 page:72

Three freight cars of mass M are pulled with force F by a

locomotive. Friction is negligible. Find the forces on
each car.
Freight train- cont.
Example: an inclined plane
A car of weight w rests on a slanted ramp leading
to a car-transporter trailer. Only a cable running
from the trailer to the car prevents the car from
rolling backward off the ramp. Find the tension
in the cable and the force that the tracks
exert on the car’s tires.
Problem 2.1, page 103:

A 5 kg mass moves under the influence of a force F = 4t2i – 3tj

N where t is time in seconds. It starts from the origin at t = 0
with zero velocity. Find its (a) velocity (b) its position and
(c) r X V, for any later time.
Clue: if t = 1, r X V = 6.7x10-3 k m2/ s
Problem : 2.2 page:103

The two blocs shown in the sketch are connected by a

string of negligible mass. If the system is released from
rest, find how far block M1 slides in time t seconds.
Neglect friction.
 Solution
Directions of acceleration is different but amplitudes are the same since
the blocks are connected with a string ⇒ a1 = a2
Forces acting on the 1st block along the x-axis:
Forces acting on the 2st block along the gravitational force:

Or

Thus

The acceleration is constant so the block M1 slides for

 Problem : 2.3 page 103
Two blocks are in contact on a horizontal table. A
horizontal
force is applied to one of the blocks as shown in the
drawing. If m1 = 2 kg and m2 = 1 kg and F = 3 N find the
force of contact between the two blocks.
Problem 2.7 page104

A block of mass M1 rests on a

block of mass M2 which lies on a
frictionless table. The coefficient
of friction between the blocks is .
What is the maximum horizontal
force which can be applied to the blocks for them to
accelerate without slipping on one another if the force is
applied to (a) block 1 and (b) block 2?
Constraints:
Example 2.4 page74

(a) Wedge and Block:

A block moves on a wedge which in turn moves on
a horizontal table as shown in the diagram. The
wedge angle is . How are the accelerations of the
block and wedge related?

Vertical acceleration of
the wedge is zero
Problem 2.16, page 105

A 450 wedge is pushed along a table with constant

acceleration A. A block of mass m slides without
friction on the wedge. Find its acceleration.
Solution

Given θ = 45o
From the diagram m
x
h y h
tan    h y  x X X y
x X

Differentiating the above equation twice,

x  X   y

ax  A  a y
Or a x  A  a y
Equation of motion of m
N sin   max
N cos   mg  ma y
ax
 tan  
g  ay
Or a x  g  a y y
NCosθ
Therefore A  a y  g  a y  A  g  2a y
x
NSinθ
A g A g Mg Cosθ
Or a y  and a x 
2 2
Clue: If A=3g, ay = g
 Problem:2.17 page 105

A block rests on a wedge inclined at an angle . The

coefficient of friction between the block and the plane is .
(a) Find the maximum value of  for the block to remain
motionless on the wedge when wedge is in fixed position.
(b) The wedge is given a
horizontal acceleration a, as
shown. Assuming that tan  ,
find the acceleration for the block
to remain on the wedge without
sliding. (c) Repeat part (b), but find
the maximum value of the
Acceleration.
(b) Mass and Pulley, page74
(c) Pulley system, page 74

Consider a pulley system to hoist the block. How does

the acceleration of the end of the rope compare with the
acceleration of the block?

Constraint equation –
L = X + R1 + (X-h) + R2 + (x-h)
Differentiating twice w.r.to t
0= +0+
=-2
ablock = - 0.5 aend of the rope
 Problem : 2.13, page 104

Masses M1 and M2 are connected to a system of strings and

pulleys as shown. The strings are massless and inextensible
and the pulleys are massless and frictionless. Find the
acceleration of M1. [clue: if M1 = M2 , a= g/5]
Uniform circular motion:
• In uniform circular motion, both the
acceleration and force are centripetal

• Cut the cord restraining an object in

such motion and observe the
object’s behavior without the
inward force.
.
Equations in Uniform Circular
Motion
For Uniform circular motion the constant acceleration, time
period and force are given as follows

v2 v2
ac  Fnet  Fc  mac  m
r r

2r 4 2 r
T ac  2
v T
Problem 2.9, page 104

A Particle of mass m slides without friction on the

inside of a cone. The axis of the cone is vertical
and gravity is directed downward. The apex angle
of the cone is , as shown. The
path of the particle happens to
be a circle in a horizontal plane.
The speed of the particle is v0.
Draw a force diagram and find
the radius of the circular path in
terms of v0, g and .
Ex. 2.11
 Solution
Applying Newton’s Second Law l
r
2
v 2 r 2 2

which simplifies to 2 r
  2r  g
and (∵ cos 45 =1/ √2)

By adding the 2 equations

And

For
 2l  2 g we get, Tupper  2mg and Tlower  0
Problem 2.10 page 104

Mass of the earth = 5.98X1024 kg, radius of the earth = 6.38x106 m and G – 6.67x10-11 Nm2kg-2
Uniform circular motion in a
vertical circle
A passenger on a carnival Ferries wheel moves in a
vertical circle of radius R with constant speed v. The
seat remains upright during the motion. (a) Find
expressions for the force the seat exerts on the
passenger at the top of
the circle and at the
bottom.
Top: Bottom:
Example 2.5, page 94 –
Spinning Terror
The Spinning Terror is an amusement park
ride – a large vertical drum which spins so
fast that everyone inside stays pinned
against the wall when the floor drops
away What is the minimum steady angular
velocity  which allows the floor to be
dropped away safely?
N = MR2
f  N = MR2
But f = Mg
Mg MR2 or  or min =
The conical pendulum

An inventor proposes to make a pendulum

clock using a pendulum bob with mass
m at the end of a thin wire of length L.
instead of swinging back and for, the
bob moves in a horizontal circle with
constant speed v, with the wire making a
constant angle β with the vertical
direction. This system is called a conical
pendulum because the suspending wire
traces out a cone. Find the tension F in
the wire and the period T in terms of β,
g and L.
Solution
 Problem 2.15 page 106

The system on the right above uses

massless pulleys and rope. The
coefficient of friction between the
masses and horizontal surfaces is 
Assume M1 and M2 are sliding.
Gravity is directed downward.
(a) Draw the force diagrams for all the objects.
(b) How are the accelerations related?
(c) Find the tension in the rope.
Problem 2.14 page 105

Two masses A and B, lie on a

frictionless table as shown below.
They are attached to either end of
a light rope of length L which
passes around a pulley of negligible
mass. The pulley is attached to a
rope connected to a hanging mass,
C. Find the acceleration of each
mass and tension in each string.
2.18 page 106

adfdsf
 2.19 and 2.20 page106

A “pedagogical machine” is illustrated in the sketch. All

surfaces are frictionless. What force F must be applied to
M1 to keep M3 from rising or falling?
Consider the pedagogical machine of the previous problem
in the case where F is zero. Find the acceleration of M1.
Problem 2.24 page106

affadgf
Ex. 2.28
Solution

Fx  ma N cosθ f sinθ

2 N f
mv
N sin   f cos   N sinθ f cosθ
R
mv 2 a=v2/R
N sin   N cos  
R
mg
Fy  0
N cos   f sin   mg  0
N cos   f sin   mg
Dividing the 2 equations N sin   N cos  mv 2 R

N cos   N sin  mg
If the car is going too fast, it will tend to slide out to larger R, so
the friction force f- must point in to smaller R, and f- = - µN.
 tan    
vmin  gR  
1   tan  
If the car is going too slow, it will tend to slide down the track to
smaller R, so the friction force f+ must point to larger R, and
f+ = µN
 tan    
vmax  gR  
1   tan  
 A car rounds a banked curve. The radius of curvature
of the road is 100m, the banking angle is 10o, and
the coefficient of static friction is 0.10.
(a) Determine the range of speeds the car can have
without slipping up or down the road.
(Ans:16.6 m/s to 8.6m/s)
Thank you