Lecture-1

Scalars and vectors

The quantities measured in Physics may be divided into two groups:

(a) scalars - these are quantities that have magnitude (size) only.

Examples of scalars are length, speed, mass, density, energy, power, temperature, charge,
potential difference

(b) vectors - these are quantities that have direction as well as magnitude.
Examples of vectors are displacement, force, torque, velocity, acceleration, momentum, electric
current, magnetic flux density, electric field

Scalars may be added together by simple arithmetic but when two or more
vectors are added together their direction must be taken into account as well.

20o
A vector may be represented by a line, the length of the line being the 30 N

magnitude of the vector and the direction of the line the direction of the
vector.

For example Figure 1 shows a force of 30 N acting at 20o to the vertical of the
page. Figure 1

A simple comparison between a vector and a scalar is shown by Figure 2. This shows the
distance moved by a soccer referee during the match. The B
vector represents the displacement between the starting
position (A) and his position at the end of the game (B) while
the wavy line (a scalar) is the distance that the referee has A
actually run during the game (much further!).

Figure 2

When it is said that a vector has a direction it means that either it is moving in a certain direction
(as in a velocity) or that it could produce movement in a certain direction (as in a force or a
magnetic field).

Newton’s Laws of Motion

Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) an English scientist and mathematician famous
for his discovery of the law of gravity also discovered the three laws of motion.
Today these laws are known as Newton’s Laws of Motion and describe the
motion of all objects on the scale we experience in our everyday lives.

1st Law of Motion (Law of Inertia):

An object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion at constant velocity,
unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
What does this mean?
Basically, an object will “keep doing what it was doing” unless acted on by an unbalanced force.
If the object was sitting still, it will remain stationary.
If it was moving at a constant velocity, it will keep moving.
It takes unbalance force to change the motion of an object.
If the forces on an object are equal and opposite, they are
said to be balanced, and the object experiences no change
in motion. If they are not equal and opposite, then the forces
are unbalanced and the motion of the object changes.

Newton’s First Law is also called the Law of Inertia. Inertia is

the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of
motion: whether in motion or motionless.

These pumpkins will not move unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

Unless acted upon by an unbalanced force, this golf ball would sit on the tee
forever.

In outer space, away from gravity and any sources of friction, a rocket ship
launched with a certain speed and direction would keep going in that same
direction and at that same speed forever.

Newton’s Second Law:

The net force of an object is equal to the product of its mass and acceleration, or F = ma.
F = ma basically means that the force of an object comes from its mass and its acceleration.

Something very massive (high mass) that’s changing speed very slowly
(low acceleration), like a glacier, can still have great force.

Something very small (low mass) that’s changing

speed very quickly (high acceleration), like a bullet,
can still have a great force. Something very small
changing speed very slowly will have a very weak force.
Acceleration: a measurement of how quickly an object is changing velocity.
When mass is in kilograms and acceleration is in m/s/s, the unit of force is in newtons (N).
One newton is equal to the force required to accelerate one kilogram of mass at one
meter/second/second.

How much force is needed to accelerate a 1400 kilogram car 2 meters per second/per
second?
Write the formula, F = m x a
Fill in given numbers and units, then F = 1400 kg x 2 meters per second/second
= 2800 kg-meters/second/second or 2800 N
Check Your Understanding!!!!!!!
1. What acceleration will result when a 12 N net force applied to a 3 kg object?
2. A net force of 16 N causes a mass to accelerate at a rate of 5 m/s2. Determine the mass.
3. How much force is needed to accelerate a 66 kg skier 1 m/sec/sec?
4. What is the force on a 1000 kg elevator that is falling freely at 9.8 m/sec/sec?
1. 12 N = 3 kg x 4 m/s/s 2.16 N = 3.2 kg x 5 m/s/s
3. 66 kg-m/sec/sec or 66 N 4.  9800 kg-m/sec/sec or 9800 N
Newton’s Third Law:

2
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
For every force acting on an object, there is an equal force acting in the opposite direction.
Right now, gravity is pulling you down in your seat, but Newton’s Third
Law says your seat is pushing up against you with equal force. This is
why you are not moving. There is a balanced force acting on you– gravity
pulling down, your seat pushing up.

Flying through the air, birds depend on Newton’s third

law of motion.
A bird flies by use of its wings. The wings of a bird
push air downwards. In turn, the air reacts by pushing
the bird upwards. The size of the force on the air equals the size of the force on
the bird; the direction of the force on the air (downwards) is opposite the
direction of the force on the bird (upwards).
Action-reaction force pairs make it possible for birds to fly.

Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

Any two objects attract each other with a gravitational force,

proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional
to the square of the distance between them.
The force acts in the direction of the line connecting the centers of the
masses.

Where G is the gravitational constant (6.673 × 10 –11 N m2/ kg2 )

Example-1: What is the force of attraction between two people, one of mass 80 kg and the other
100 kg if they are 0.5m apart?

F = Gm1m2/r2

F = G x 100 x 80 / 0.52 = 2.14 x 10-6 N.

3
Example-2: What is the force of attraction between the Earth and the Sun?
Solution: Mass of the Sun = 2 x 1030 kg, mass of the Earth = 6 x 1024 kg, distance from the Earth to
the Sun = 1.5 x 1011 m

F = Gm1m2/r2

F = G x 2 x 1030 x 6 x 1024/ [1.5 x 1011]2 = 6.7 x 1011 N

Projectile Motion

A projectile is any object that is cast, fired, flung,

hurled, tossed, or thrown. Projectile motion is motion
under the influence of gravity. If we stand at the edge
of the roof of the Science Building and throw a ball up
at an angle, it moves up and then down vertically while
it moves horizontally. This is projectile motion.

Some more examples of projectile motion include…

 a bullet the instant it exits the barrel of a gun or
rifle
 a bus driven off an uncompleted bridge
 a moving airplane in the air with its engines and
wings disabled