Laws of Motion

The mass of an object is a measure of the inertia of the object. Inertia is the tendency of a body at rest to
remain at rest, and of a body in motion to continue moving with unchanged velocity. For several
centuries, physicists have found it useful to think of mass as a representation of the amount of or
quantity-of-matter.

The standard kilogram is an object whose mass is defined to be one kilogram. The masses of other
objects are found by comparison with this mass. A gram mass is equivalent to exactly 0.001 kg.

Force, in general, is the agency of change. In mechanics it is that which changes the velocity of an
object. Force is a vector quantity, having magnitude and direction. An external force is one whose
source lies outside of the system being considered.

The Newton is the SI unit of force. One newton (1 N) is that resultant force which will give a 1 kg
mass an acceleration of 1 m/s2. The pound is 4.45 N.

Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727) in

his treatise Philosophiae Naturalis
Principia Mathematica established
the groundwork for dynamics with
his three laws of motion and the
universal theory of gravitation,
which are discussed in this chapter.
(Time & Life Pictures/Getty
Images)

1. Newton’s First Law: An object at rest will remain at rest; an object in motion will continue in
motion with constant velocity, except insofar as it is acted upon by an external force. Force is the
changer of motion.

∑ F=F net =0
2. Newton’s Second Law: The acceleration of a body is directly proportional to the net force acting on
it (Fnet) and inversely proportional to its mass (m).
F net=ma

3. Newton’s Third Law: Action and reaction forces are equal in magnitude but oppositely directed.
“To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
4. Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation: The force of attraction between two bodies is proportional
to the product of their masses and is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the
center of the mass.

m1 m2
F −
F
r
m 1 m2
F=G
r2

where G=6.673× 10−11 N−m2 /kg 2

Solved Problem:
A tow rope will break if the tension in it exceeds 1500 N. It is used to tow a 700-kg car along level
ground. What is the largest acceleration the rope can give to the car?

Solution:

The forces acting on the car are shown in the figure, only the x-directed force is of importance, because
the y-directed forces balance each other. Indicating the positive direction
‡ with a sign and a little arrow
we write,

+ ∑ F x =ma x
→

substituting the values,

1500 N = (700 kg)(a)

From which a = 2.14 m/s

 Assignments

1.) Typically, a bullet leaves a standard 45-caliber pistol (5.0-in. barrel) at a speed of 262 m/s. If it takes
1 m/s to traverse the barrel, determine the average acceleration experienced by the 16.2-g bullet within
the gun and then compute the average force exerted on it. Ans. 3 × 105 m/s2 ; 0.4 × 102 N

2.) A force acts on a 2-kg mass and gives it an acceleration of 3 m/s2. What acceleration is produced by
the same force when acting on a mass of (a) 1 kg? (b) 4 kg? (c) How large is the force? Ans. (a) 6 m/s2;
(b) 2 m/s2; (c) 6 N

3.) A car strikes a stone wall at a velocity of 12 m/s. (a) The car is rigidly built, and the 60-kg
driver comes to a stop in a time of 0.05 s. How much force acts on her? (b) The car is built so
that its front end collapses gradually, and the driver comes to a stop in 0.2 s. How much force
acts on her in this case? Ans. (a) 14.4 kN (b) 3.6 kN

4.) A 430-g soccer ball moving toward a player at 8 m/s is kicked and flies off in the opposite
direction at 12 m/s. If the ball is in contact with the player’s foot for 0.01 s, find the average
force on the ball. Ans. 860 N

5.)A12,000kg air plane launched by a catapult from an aircraft carrier is accelerated from 0 to
200km/h in 3s.(a)How many times the acceleration of gravity is the airplane’s acceleration? (b)
What is the average force that the catapult exerts on the airplane? Ans. (a) 1.89 g (b) 222 kN