EP204 Classical Mechanics

Lecture 4
Chapter 5 – The laws of motion

5.1 The concept of force

5.2 Newton’s first law and inertial frames
5.3 Mass
5.4 Newton’s second law
5.5 The gravitational force and weight
5.6 Newton’s third law
5.7 Applications of Newton’s laws
5.8 Forces of friction
Dynamics and kinematics

Kinematics: description of the motion of an object

Dynamics: study of the relationship between the motion of

an object and the causes for this motion.

Classical mechanics: understanding of the dynamics of

moving objects based on Newton’s laws.

In classical mechanics we work with the concepts mass,

force, momentum, work, and energy, and their inter-
relationships.
Force and momentum

Force and acceleration (see §5.4):

When viewed from an inertial reference frame, the net force

acting on an object and the acceleration it experiences as a
result are related by Newton’s second law: Fnet  m a

SI unit: Newton, 1 N  1 kg  m/s 2

Momentum and velocity (see §9.1):

The momentum of an object is defined as: p  m v

Force and momentum are vectors, and both their magnitude

and their direction can be time dependent.
Force and momentum

Fnet  m a

p  mv

In relation to these two equations there are two important

concepts which we need to look at:

 Mass

 Inertial reference frame

Mass

Let’s consider two balls: a hurling ball (diameter 70 mm) and

a canon ball (cast iron) of equal diameter.

m1  115 g m2  1.38 kg

 Which ball is the hardest to throw?

 Which ball is the heaviest?

Inertial mass

First definition – change in motion – see §5.3:

The inertial mass of an object is that property that specifies

how much resistance the object exhibits to a change in its
velocity.

 If you want to give an object a velocity, you have to

accelerate that object during a certain amount of time.
 In order to accelerate the object you have to apply a force
to it.
 The amount of energy you have to provide is equal to the
work done by the force during the distance (time) it is
applied to the object.
Throwing the balls

If we throw these balls with equal speed v f , which of these

two balls takes the most energy to throw?

Work - kinetic energy theorem (see §7.5): when work is

done on a system and the only change in the system is in its
speed, the net work done on the system equals the change in
kinetic energy of the system:
Wnet  12 mv 2f  12 mvi2

At the start of each throw the initial velocity is zero, vi  0 , and

W1 m1
W1  2 m1v f
1 2
W2  2 m2v f
1 2  
W2 m2
With equal final speeds, the ball with the highest mass
requires the most energy (work) to throw.
Throwing the balls
start of ball
throw released
xi d  x f  xi xf

Fx vf
vi = 0

If you throw a ball with a constant force Fx over a distance d,

the work done on the ball is (see §7.2):
W  Fx d  (m ax ) d  12 mv 2f
Gravitational mass

Second definition – gravitational attraction – §5.5 and §13.1:

The gravitational mass of an object is that property that

determines the strength of the gravitational attraction
between it and the Earth.

The gravitational force on a mass m exerted by the Earth is:

m ME
Fg  mg  G rˆ (5.6) and (13.1)
RE2
where ME and RE are the mass and the radius of the Earth, r̂ is
a unit vector pointing to the centre of the Earth, and G = 6.673
x 10–11 Nm2/kg2 is the universal gravitational constant.
Weighing the balls

Two objects A and B have equal masses when a symmetric

balance, with A and B each on a pan, is in equilibrium.

So because m2  12 m1 we can balance the scales if we put the

canon ball in one pan and 12 hurling balls in the other pan.
Mass

Experimental conclusion from classical mechanics (based

on Newton’s laws):

The inertial mass and the gravitational mass of an object

are the same.
Reference frame = coordinate system

If we want to describe the motion of a body, we have to

adopt a coordinate system.

Often a coordinate system is associated with an observer or

with another object.

In physics, a reference frame refers to a coordinate system

used to represent and measure the motion of objects at
different moments of time.

But a given reference frame can itself be in motion ...

Inertial reference frame

A free particle is one that is not subject to any interaction.

An inertial observer is one who is him/herself a free object,

and is not subject to interactions with the rest of the world
or the universe.
Example: an astronaut in empty space, very far away from
any stars or planets.

An inertial frame of reference is a frame of reference

attached to a free particle or to an inertial observer.
Force

The concept inertial reference frame allow us to define

force:

A force is an external influence on an object that causes it

to accelerate relative to an inertial reference frame.
Newton’s First Law

If an object does not interact with other objects (there are

no forces acting on the object), it is possible to identify an
inertial frame of reference in which the object has zero
acceleration.

Newton’s First Law:

In the absence of external forces
and when viewed from an inertial
reference frame, an object at rest
remains at rest, and an object in
motion continues in motion with a
constant velocity (that is, with a
constant speed in a straight line). Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Newton’s First Law and inertial frames

Consequences:
 Any reference frame that moves with constant velocity
relative to an inertial frame is itself an inertial frame.

 When no force acts on an object, the acceleration of the

object is zero.
Example: a spacecraft drifting through empty space with its
engine turned off will keep moving forever.

Note: Newton’s first law does not apply:

 To an object with zero net force, i.e. multiple forces, the
vector sum of which is zero (see §5.2).
 A reference frame attached to an object in free fall (under
the influence of gravity).
Newton’s First Law and inertial frames

Motion on the surface of the Earth:

The surface of the Earth is not an inertial frame, because

the gravitational force acts on objects.

For motion of objects in a horizontal plane the net force in

the vertical direction is zero, because the gravitational force
and the normal force cancel against each other (see
Newton’s Third Law).

In this case we can consider frames in which there are no

horizontal forces acting as inertial frames.
Curling

Curling is a sport in which players

slide stones (polished granite) across
a sheet of ice towards a target area.

If the friction of the stone on the ice is

negligible, its velocity is constant (in
both magnitude and direction).

From the perspective of horizontal

motion, the reference frame of an
observer on the side and the
reference frame attached to the
stone can both (approximately) be
considered inertial frames.
Newton’s First Law and interacting particles

An immediate consequence of Newton’s First Law is that a

free particle always moves with constant momentum.

Suppose we are observing two particles which are mutually

interacting, but are otherwise isolated from the rest of the
world.

As a result of their interaction, their individual velocities are

not constant but change with time, and their paths are
curved. However, conservation of momentum holds: the
total momentum of the two particles is constant:
p  m 1 v1  m2 v 2  constant

More information in chapter 9.

Newton’s Second Law

When viewed from an inertial reference frame, the net force

acting on an object and the acceleration it experiences as a
result are related by Newton’s second law:
Fnet   Fi  m a
i

Equations for the components of Fnet:

Fnet , x   Fi , x  m ax
i
Fnet , y   Fi , y  m a y
i
Fnet , z   Fi , z  m az
i
Example 5.1 The hockey puck
y
A hockey puck of mass 0.30 F2
kg slides on the frictionless
horizontal surface of an ice
rink.
Two hockey sticks strike the
puck simultaneously, 60ο
exerting forces as shown in
the figure: x
20ο
F1  5.0 N m  0.30 kg
F1
F2  8.0 N
Determine the magnitude
and the direction of the
acceleration of the puck.
Example 5.1
y
In accordance with F2
Newton’s Second Law,
the net force on the puck Fnet
is the vector sum of a
Fnet  F1  F2 60ο

and the acceleration of 

x
the puck is given by: 20ο
m  0.30 kg
Fnet F1  F2 F1
a 
m m
Example 5.1
y
To determine the F2
magnitude and the
direction of the Fnet , y Fnet
acceleration of the puck, a
we find the components ay
of the acceleration: 60ο
1 
a x  Fnet , x x
m 20ο a x Fnet , x
1 m  0.30 kg
 ( F1, x  F2, x ) F1
m

1
m
 
F1 cos( 20 )  F2 cos( 60 ) 
  1
0.30

5.0 cos( 20  )  8.0 cos( 60  ) 
 29 m/s 2
Example 5.1
y
Likewise we can calculate:
1
a y  Fnet , y Fnet , y Fnet
m
1 a
 ( F1, y  F2, y )  17 m/s 2 ay
m
Magnitude of a: 
x
a  a x2  a 2y  34 m/s 2 ax Fnet , x
m  0.30 kg

Direction of a:
  tan 1 (a y / a x )  31
Newton’s Third Law

If two objects interact, the force F12 exerted by object 1 on

object 2 is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to
the force F21 exerted by object 2 on object 1:
F12  F21

Examples:
F12

F12 F21
F12
F21
F21
 F12

F21
1930 Duesenberg
Model J 487-2336 Dual Cowl Phaeton LWB LeBaron
(Image: http://www.wallpaperup.com)
The normal force

The trash can standing on

your patio has a mass m and
exerts a gravitational force mg
on the surface of the patio.
n
The can does not accelerate,
because in accordance with
mg Newton’s Third Law, the patio
exerts a normal force n on the
can such that:
n  mg
Fnet  n  mg  0
Some examples of situations involving Newton’s Laws

The type of motion (kinematics) that an object undergoes is

determined by the net force acting on that object (dynamics).

In the remaining examples in this chapter, and also in the

examples of chapter 6, we are looking at different types of
motion.

What is the net force causing the motion?

In each of these examples we have to be careful that we

correctly relate the net force on an object to the motion of
that object.
Ski jumping – object moving under influence of gravity
on inclined path
n
Linear motion going down
the ski slope:
In accordance with Newton’s
Third Law, the normal force
exerted by the ski slope on
the skier (mass m) is:
g sin
n  mg cos mg sin
The net force on the skier is: 
 g cos
Fnet  mg sin
and the acceleration of the g mg cos
skier along the slope is:
a  g sin Fg  mg
Ski jumping
d vi = 0
Suppose the skier
starts at t = 0 with zero a  g sin
speed at the top of the
slope. What is his/her 
speed after travelling a
distance d? vf

Answer:
Fnet  mg sin  a  g sin

2d 2d
xf  d  at
1 2
 tf  
g sin 
2 f
a
2d See also example 5.6:
vf  at f  g sin   2dg sin  the runaway car.
g sin 
Free Body Diagram

A pictorial representation of the forces acting on a body is

called a free body diagram. The important point about a
free body diagram is that the object on which the forces
are acting is represented by a particle (or dot) and the
forces that act on the object are shown as being applied
to the dot.
When analysing an object subject to forces, we are
interested in the net force acting on one object (modelled
as a particle). Therefore a free-body diagram helps us to
isolate only those forces on the object and to eliminate
the other forces from our analysis.