TOGONON, MA.

EMIE PHYS132 W1/K4

BSME-1 ENGR. J.P. VALDEZAMO

Laws of Motion
Newton’s First Law of Motion: Law of Inertia
The first law states that an object at rest remains at rest or an object in motion tends
to stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force. This means nothing will change
for as long as nothing interacts with the object. One example is a ball on the floor. If you
slightly push the ball using the tip of your finger, you will notice the ball slightly changing
its position.
The net force on an object is defined as the vector sum of all external forces exerted
on the object. External forces come from the object’s environment. If an object’s velocity
isn’t changing in either magnitude or direction, then its acceleration and the net force
acting on it must both be zero.
Inertia is the tendency of an object to continue its motion in the absence of a force,
mass is a measure of the object’s resistance to changes in its motion due to a force. The
greater the mass of a body, the less it accelerates under the action of a given applied force.

Newton’s Second Law of Motion: Law of Acceleration

The second law states that “the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to
the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass.” Based on the equation
F = ma, if you double the force exerted on an object, the acceleration will also be doubled.
On the other hand, when you double the mass of the object, its acceleration is significantly
decreased by ½.
The acceleration can be calculated through this derived equation:

Newton’s Third Law of Motion:

The third law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In
other words, the action force is equal in magnitude to the reaction force and opposite in
direction. In all cases, the action and reaction forces act on different objects. This means
that forces are found in pairs. One example is the launching of a rocket. In order for the
rocket to move upward, it requires a downward thrusting force from the engine.
Problem # 1:
An airboat with mass 350 kg, including passengers, has an engine that produces a net
horizontal force of 770 N. Find the acceleration of the airboat.
Solution:
Fnet = ma
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡
𝑎=
𝑚
770 𝑁
𝑎=
350 𝑘𝑔
𝑎 = 2.20 𝑚/𝑠 2

Problem # 2:
An African elephant can reach heights of 14 feet and has a mass of as much as 6000 kg.
Determine the weight of an African elephant in Newtons and in pounds. Given: 1 N = 0.225
lbs.
Solution:
w = mg
w = (6000 kg)(9.8 m/s2)
w = 58800 N

58800 N = (58800 N)(0.225 lbs./ 1 N) = 13230 lb.

Momentum
Momentum is a quantity that describes an object’s resistance to stopping. It is the product
of an object’s mass and velocity. It is a kind of inertia for moving bodies and is represented
by the variable p in the equation:
p = mv
Doubling either the mass or the velocity of an object doubles its momentum; doubling
both quantities quadruples its momentum. Since velocity is a vector quantity which is
multiplied with the mass (scalar quantity), momentum also becomes a vector quantity. It
has both magnitude and direction.

Problem # 1:
An object has a mass of 20 kg and a velocity of 5 m/s. What is the momentum of the
particle?
Solution:
p = mv
p = (20 kg) (5 m/s)
p = 100 kg m/s
Problem # 2
Calculate the momentum of a basketball ball having 2 kg mass and 6 m/s velocity moving
towards the east.
Solution:
p = mv
p = (2 kg) (6 m/s)
p = 12 kg m/s east

Impulse
Changing an object’s momentum requires the continuous application of a force over a
period of time t, leading to the definition of impulse. Impulse is a vector quantity with
the same direction as the constant force acting on the object.
If a constant force F acts on an object, the impulse I delivered to the object over a time
interval t is given by the equation:
I=F t
Problem # 1:
A 0.150-kg baseball, thrown with a speed of 40.0 m/s, is hit straight back at the pitcher
with a speed of 50.0 m/s. What is the impulse delivered by the bat to the baseball?
Solution:
= 13.5 kg m/s
Problem # 2:
In a crash test, a car of mass 1500 kg collides with a wall and rebounds. The initial and final
velocities of the car are vi = -15.0 m/s and vf = 2.60 m/s, respectively. If the collision lasts
for 0.150 s, find the impulse delivered to the car due to the collision
Solution:
pi = mvi = (1500 kg) (-15.0 m/s) = -22500 kg m/s
pf = mvf = (1500 kg) (2.60 m/s) = 3900 kg m/s

I = pf - pi = 3900 kg m/s – (-22500 kg m/s) = 26400 kg m/s

Collision
For any type of collision, the total momentum of the system just before the collision equals
the total momentum just after the collision as long as the system may be considered
isolated. There are two types of collisions—elastic and inelastic. Inelastic collision is
defined as a collision in which momentum is conserved, but kinetic energy is not. The
collision of a rubber ball with a hard surface is inelastic, because some of the kinetic energy
is lost when the ball is deformed during contact with the surface.

When two objects collide and stick together, the collision is called perfectly inelastic.
Because the total momentum of the two-object isolated system before the collision equals
the total momentum of the combined-object system after the collision, we can solve for the
final velocity using conservation of momentum alone:

On the other hand, an elastic collision is defined as one in which both momentum and
kinetic energy are conserved. Billiard ball collisions and the collisions of air molecules with
the walls of a container at ordinary temperatures are highly elastic.
𝑚1 𝑣1𝑖 + 𝑚2 𝑣2𝑖 = 𝑚1 𝑣1𝑓 + 𝑚2 𝑣2𝑓

The types of collisions can be summarized as follows:

• In an elastic collision, both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved.
• In an inelastic collision, momentum is conserved but kinetic energy is not.
• In a perfectly inelastic collision, momentum is conserved, kinetic energy is not, and
the two objects stick together after the collision, so their final velocities are the
same.

Problem # 1:
An SUV with mass 1800 kg is traveling eastbound at +15.0 m/s, while a compact car with
mass 900 kg is traveling westbound at -15.0 m/s. The cars collide head-on, becoming
entangled. Find the speed of the entangled cars after the collision.

Solution:
𝑃𝑖 = 𝑃𝑓
𝑚1 𝑣1𝑖 + 𝑚2 𝑣2𝑖 = (𝑚1 + 𝑚2 )𝑣𝑓
(1800 kg) (15.0 m/s) + (900 kg) (-15.0 m/s) = (1800 kg + 900 kg) Vf
Vf = 5.00 m/s

Problem # 2
A 10 kg mass travelling 2 m/s meets and collides elastically with a 2 kg mass travelling 4
m/s in the opposite direction. Find the final velocities of both objects.

Solution:
Find both VAf and VBf.
𝑚𝐴 − 𝑚𝐵 2𝑚𝐵
𝑉𝐴𝑓 = 𝑉𝐴𝑖 +
𝑚𝐴 + 𝑚𝐵 𝑚𝐴 + 𝑚𝐵
(10 − 2)𝑘𝑔 2(2 𝑘𝑔)
𝑉𝐴𝑓 = (2 𝑚/𝑠) + (−4 𝑚/𝑠)
(10 + 2)𝑘𝑔 (10 + 2)𝑘𝑔
8 4
𝑉𝐴𝑓 = (2𝑚/𝑠) + (−4𝑚/𝑠)
12 12
16 16
𝑉𝐴𝑓 = 𝑚/𝑠 + − 𝑚/𝑠
12 12
𝑽𝑨𝒇 = 𝟎 𝒎/𝒔
 𝑚𝐵 − 𝑚𝐴 2𝑚𝐴
𝑉𝐵𝑓 = 𝑉𝐵𝑖 +
𝑚𝐴 + 𝑚𝐵 𝑚𝐴 + 𝑚𝐵
(2 − 10)𝑘𝑔 𝑚 2(2 𝑘𝑔) 𝑚
𝑉𝐵𝑓 = (−4 ) + (2 )
(10 + 2)𝑘𝑔 𝑠 (10 + 2)𝑘𝑔 𝑠
−8 𝑘𝑔 20 𝑘𝑔
𝑉𝐵𝑓 = (−4𝑚/𝑠) + (2 𝑚/𝑠)
12 𝑘𝑔 12 𝑘𝑔
40 32
𝑉𝐵𝑓 = 𝑚/𝑠 + 𝑚/𝑠
12 12
72
𝑉𝐵𝑓 = 𝑚/𝑠
12
𝑽𝑩𝒇 = 𝟔 𝒎/𝒔

Waves
A wave is a disturbance that transfers energy through matter or space, with little or
no associated mass transport. Waves consist of oscillations or vibrations of a physical
medium or field, around relatively fixed locations.
When we observe a water wave, we see a rearrangement of the water’s surface.
Without the water, there wouldn’t be a wave. Similarly, a wave traveling on a string
wouldn’t exist without the string. Sound waves travel through air as a result of pressure
variations from point to point. Therefore, we can consider a wave to be the motion of a
disturbance.
The figure below shows the curved shape of a vibrating string. This pattern is a
sinusoidal curve, the same as in simple harmonic motion. The brown curve can be thought
of as a snapshot of a traveling wave taken at some instant of time, say, t = 0; the blue curve
is a snapshot of the same traveling wave at a later time. This picture can also be used to
represent a wave on water. In such a case, a high point would correspond to the crest of the
wave and a low point to the trough of the wave.
The following is the equation for calculating wave speed:

Considering that x = λ and t = T, the previous equation becomes:

Where: λ is the wavelength and T is the period.

And since frequency is the reciprocal of period, we can say that:

v=fλ

Problem # 1:
A wave has a wavelength of 3.00 m. Calculate the frequency of the wave if it is (a) a sound
wave and (b) a light wave. Take the speed of sound as 343 m/s and the speed of light as
3.00 _ 108 m/s.

Solution:
𝑣 343 𝑚/𝑠
a) 𝑓 = = = 114 𝐻𝑧
λ 3.00 𝑚
𝑐 3.00 𝑥 108 𝑚/𝑠
b) 𝑓 = = = 1.00 𝑥 108 𝐻𝑧
λ 3.00 𝑚

Problem # 2:
A wave is travelling with an amplitude of 0.150 m and a wavelength of 0.400. Find the
speed and period of the wave if it has a frequency of 9.00 Hz.

Solution:
v = f λ = (9.00 Hz)(0.400 m) = 3.60 m/s
T = 1/f = 1s/9.00 = 0.111 s

Coulomb’s Law

In 1785, Charles Coulomb (1736–1806) experimentally established the fundamental

law of electric force between two stationary charged particles.

An electric force has the following properties:

1. It is directed along a line joining the two particles and is inversely proportional
to the square of the separation distance r, between them.
2. It is proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges, q1 and
q2, of the two particles.
3. It is attractive if the charges are of opposite sign and repulsive if the
charges have the same sign.

From these observations, Coulomb proposed the following mathematical form for
the electric force between two charges:

Where: q1 and q2 are the magnitudes of the charges on the

particles in coulombs, r is the separation distance and ke ≈ 8.99 x 109 N m2/C2 is the
Coulomb’s constant.

Problem # 1:
The electron and proton of a hydrogen atom are separated (on the average) by a distance of
about 5.3 x 1011 m. Find the magnitude of the electric force that each particle exerts on the
other.
Solution:
|𝑞1 ||𝑞2 |
𝐹𝑒 = 𝑘𝑒
𝑟2
𝑁𝑚2 (1.6 𝑥 10−19 𝐶)2
𝐹𝑒 = (8.99 𝑥 109 )
𝑐2 (5.3 𝑥 10 −11 𝑚)2
𝑭𝒆 = 𝟖. 𝟐 𝒙 𝟏𝟎 −𝟖 𝑵

Problem # 2
Electrons carry a negative electric charge of 1.60 x 10-19 C and revolve around the nucleus
of the atom, which carries a positive electric charge of 1.60 x 10-19 C from the protons. The
electron is held in orbit by the force of electrical attraction at a typical distance of 1.00 x
10-10 m. What is the force of electrical attraction between an electron and proton?
Solution:
|𝑞1 ||𝑞2 |
𝐹𝑒 = 𝑘𝑒
𝑟2
𝑁𝑚2 |(1.6 𝑥 10−19 𝐶)|2
𝐹𝑒 = (8.99 𝑥 109 )
𝑐2 (1.00 𝑥 10 −10 𝑚)2
−𝟖
𝑭𝒆 = 𝟐. 𝟑 𝒙 𝟏𝟎 𝑵