You have previously dealt with kinematics – branch of mechanics that is concerned with the motion of bodies

without considering the masses of the bodies or the forces responsible for the motion of the bodies.

Dynamics on the other hand deals with the description of motion while considering its causes and the masses of
bodies involved in motion.

NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

The relationship between the vector quantities – displacement, acceleration, and velocity, with force and mass
comprise the statements popularly known as Newton’s laws of motion.

1. First Law:

In summary the first law states that when the net force on a body is zero, its motion does not change. Consider a
book on a frictionless surface. Now, let’s say the book is given a forward push. Once it is in motion, it continues
to move with constant velocity because the net force acting on it is zero.

When a body is acted on by no forces or by several forces such that their resultant is zero, the body is said to be
in equilibrium. In equilibrium a body is either at rest or moving in a straight line with constant velocity.

The tendency of a body to remain at rest or in constant motion until it is acted upon by a net force is called
inertia.

2. Second law:

When the net force acting on a body is not zero, the body accelerates in the direction of the net force. If the
magnitude of the net force is constant, then so is the magnitude of the acceleration. Doubling the net force
doubles the acceleration; halving the net force correspondingly halves the acceleration. The second law relates
force to acceleration when the net force is not zero.

Statement of the 2nd law: The net force on a body is equal to the product of the body’s mass and its
acceleration.

3. Third law:

The third law is a relation between the forces that two interacting bodies exert on each other. Experiments show
that whenever two bodies interact, the two forces they exert on each other are always equal in magnitude and
opposite in direction. For example, when you hit your fist on a wall you feel some pain because the wall pushes
back on your fist. When you sit for a long period on a concrete slab you start to feel pressure/pain after a while.
This is because the concrete slab pushes back on you with a force equal to your weight. The two opposite forces
referred to in the preceding examples are sometimes called an action – reaction pair. The action and reaction
forces each act on two separate bodies. For instance the action force of your fist acts on the wall while the
reaction force of the wall acts on your fist.

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Statement of the 3rd law: When two bodies interact, the forces of action and reaction acting on the bodies are
always equal in magnitude and opposite in direction

WORKED EXAMPLES:

1. A man applies a constant horizontal force of 100N to a block of wood on a smooth horizontal floor. The
block starts from rest and moves 12 m in 5 seconds. a. What is the mass of the block? b. If the man stops
pushing at the end of 5s, how far does the block move in the next 5 seconds?

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𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
2𝑠 24
∴𝑎= = 𝑚𝑠 −2
𝑡 2 25
𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘 100×25
a) 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘 = 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = = 104.2 𝑘𝑔
𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘 24

24
b) 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 5𝑠, 𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡 = 0 + × 5 = 4.8 𝑚/𝑠
25

∴ 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 5𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑠 = 𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 = 4.8 × 5 = 24 𝑚

Note that since F = 0 N, acceleration = 0 m/s2

2. A passenger in a lift experiences an upward normal force of 720 N. If the weight of the man is 690 N, find his
acceleration. (𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑔 = 10 𝑚𝑠 −2 )
The net force 𝑻 experienced by the passenger in the lift is the sum of two forces:

1. His weight (𝑚𝒈). The line of action of his weight is always downwards.

2. The force acting on him due to the acceleration, 𝒂, of the lift. This force is given by 𝑚𝒂.

Depending on whether the lift is accelerating upward or downward, the line of action of the force due to the
acceleration of the lift can be either downward or upward respectively.

𝑻 = 720 𝑁

𝑚𝑔 = 690 𝑁

∴ 𝑚𝑎 = 720 − 690

720 − 690
𝑎= = 0.434 𝑚𝑠 −2 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 720 𝑁 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑖. 𝑒. 𝑢𝑝𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑
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3. A loaded elevator has a total mass of 1800 kg and the cables can withstand a maximum tension of 28,000 N.
What is the maximum upward acceleration for the elevator if the cables are not to break?

𝑚𝑔 ± 𝑚𝑎 = 𝑻

𝑚𝑔 + 𝑚𝑎 = 𝑻

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 𝑇 − 𝑚𝑔 28,000 − 18,000
∴𝑎= = = 5.56 𝑚𝑠 −2
𝑚 1800
4. An upward force of 12 kN acts on an elevator of mass 2000 kg. Calculate the acceleration of the elevator.

𝑇 − 𝑚𝑔 = 𝑚𝑎

𝑇 − 𝑚𝑔 12,000 − 20,000
∴𝑎= = = −4 𝑚𝑠 −2
𝑚 2000
5. A bullet traveling at 300 m/s strikes a block of wood and it penetrates to a depth of 0.11 m. If the mass of the
bullet is 1.8 g, (a) In what time does the bullet come to rest? (b) What force does the wood exert on the bullet?

𝑣 2 = 𝑢2 + 2𝑎𝑠

𝑣 2 − 𝑢2 9 × 104
∴𝑎= =− = −4.09 × 105 𝑚𝑠 −2
2𝑠 2 × 0.11
𝑣−𝑢 300
𝑡= = = 7.3 × 10−4 𝑠
𝑎 4.09 × 105

The Atwood Machine

An Atwood Machine is a device that can be used to demonstrate the principles of dynamics. In its simplest
form, it consists of a string, a pulley, and two masses. The string passes over the pulley and a mass is suspended
from each of its ends. It is important to note that the tension is constant throughout the string.

An example to demonstrate how the Atwood Machine is used to demonstrate the laws of motion is as follows.
Question: Two masses, m1 and m2, hang by a massless string from a frictionless pulley. If m1 is greater than
m2, determine the acceleration of the two masses when released from rest.

T T

𝑚1 𝑔 − 𝑇 = 𝑚1 𝑎

𝑇 − 𝑚 2 𝑔 = 𝑚2 𝑎

Adding both equations will yield

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 𝑚1 𝑔 − 𝑚2 𝑔 = 𝑎(𝑚1 + 𝑚2 )
𝑚1 − 𝑚2
∴𝑎=𝑔
𝑚1 + 𝑚2

When used in the laboratory for instance, the two objects on the machine can be set to be of equal masses. Then
the system will be in equilibrium and there will be no motion. However, if one mass is set to be slightly greater
than the other, then there will be a small acceleration which can be easily measured (e.g. given 𝑢, 𝑠, and 𝑡).
Such an experimental setup can be used to determine acceleration due to gravity in the laboratory. Note that it is
assumed that the pulley and string are massless and that the system is frictionless.

Examples

6. A block of mass m1 = 2 kg on a smooth horizontal surface is pulled by a string hanging over a frictionless
pulley, having its other end attached to another block of mass m2 = 1 kg. Calculate the acceleration of the
system and the tension in the string.

2 kg

1 kg

𝑚1 𝑔 − 𝑇 = 𝑚1 𝑎

𝑇 = 𝑚2 𝑎

10 − 𝑇 = 𝑎

𝑇 = 2𝑎

∴ 𝑎 = 3.33 𝑚𝑠 −2 ; 𝑇 = 6.66 𝑁

7. A frictionless pulley is set up with two hanging masses as shown. If m1=5kg and m2=2.4 kg, calculate the
tension in the string. (Ans. 32.42 N)

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Homework

1. A 300g mass hangs at the end of a string. A second string hangs from the bottom of the mass and supports a
900g mass. Find the tension in each string when the masses are

a. accelerating upward at 0.7 ms-2 (string 1=12.84 N, string 2 = 9.63 N)

b. accelerating downward at 0.7 ms-2 (string 1=11.16 N, string 2 = 8.37 N)

2. A 15 kg cart is attached to a hanging 25 kg mass. If friction is negligible what is the acceleration of the 15kg
cart? (Ans: 6.25 m/s2, T = 93.75 N)

3. Two masses are connected by a rope and pulley on a frictionless inclined plane as shown below. When the
system is released, what is the initial acceleration of the 21 kg mass? Take g = 9.8m/s2
(Ans: 0.26 m/s2 down the incline)