Astronomy and Physics for Everyone: Reaching for the Stars

DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. Force - a physical influence that tends to change the

position of an object with mass, equal to the rate of
change in momentum of the object.
- a push or a pull or an interaction between two
bodies or between a body and its environment.

TYPES OF FORCE
1. Weight – the force exerted by the Earth on any body.
2. Tension – a force that pulls or stretches something
DEFINITION OF TERMS

3. Friction - the resistance encountered by an

object moving relative to another object with
which it is in contact.
4. Normal Force – the force exerted by a surface
on any object in contact with the surface. It is
perpendicular to the surface.
Force and Types of Forces
Friction
Normal Force
Normal Force
Weight
NEWTON’S FIRST LAW OF MOTION : A BODY THAT IS AT REST
WILL REMAIN AT REST AND THE BODY IN MOTION WILL
REMAIN IN MOTION UNLESS ACTED UPON BY AN
UNBALANCED OR NET FORCE

One Newton (1N) is the amount of force that gives an acceleration of 1

meter per second to a body with a mass of 1 kilogram
NEWTON’S SECOND LAW OF MOTION: THE
ACCELERATION PRODUCED BY FORCES ACTING ON
ABODY IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO AND IN THE
SAME DIRECTION AS THE NET EXTERNAL FORCE AND
INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL TO THE MASS OF THE
BODY.
NEWTON’S THIRD LAW OF MOTION: WHENEVER A BODY
EXERTS FORCE ON A SECOND BODY, THE SECOND BODY
EXERTS A FORCE BACK ON THE FIRST THAT IS EQUAL IN
MAGNITUDE AND OPPOSITE IN DIRECTION.
Newton’s 1st law of motion in mathematical form
Newton’s 2nd law of motion in mathematical
form
Newton’s 3rd law of motion in mathematical form
FREE-BODY DIAGRAM (FBD) – pictorial representation of all the
forces acting on a body
Examples of Free-body Diagrams
Illustration: Since astronauts in orbit are apparently weightless, a
clever method of measuring their masses is needed to monitor their
mass gains or losses to adjust diets. One way to do this is to exert a
known force on an astronaut and measure the acceleration produced.
Suppose a net external force of 50.0 N is exerted and the astronaut’s
acceleration is measured to be 0.893 m/s2 . Calculate her mass?

Apply

Thus:

Thus:
Illustration: Alejandra is attempting to a 32.6-kg box across the
wooden floor by applying a horizontal force. What force must she
apply to move the box with a constant speed of 0.95 m/s? The
coefficient of friction between the box and the floor is 0.72

(1)

(2)
From Equation (1)

Solving for Ff:

Illustration: Suppose the mass of a fully loaded module in which
astronauts take off from the Moon is 10,000 kg. The thrust of its
engines is 30,000 N. (a) Calculate the magnitude of acceleration in a
vertical takeoff from the Moon. (b) Could it lift off from Earth?

Apply:

It could not lift off from the surface of the

Thus: Earth because it is much lower that the
gravitational acceleration on Earth which is
9.8 m/s2.
3. ) A crate with mass of 32.5 kg initially at rest on a warehouse
floor is acted on by a net horizontal force of 140 N. What
acceleration is produced if the frictional force between the crate and
the floor is 5N?

(1)

(2)
From equation (1)
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1. The property of a object at rest to remain at
rest is known as
a. inertness
b. inertia
c. resistance
d. sluggishness
2. If an object moves with a constant velocity, we
can conclude that
a. it is moving toward its natural place.
b. there are no forces acting on it.
c. there is no unbalanced (net) force acting on
it.
d. it has a very large inertia.
3. What is the net force on an 800-kg airplane flying
with a constant velocity of 160 km/hour north?
a. zero
b. 160 N
c. 800 N
d. 128 000 N
4. What kind of motion does a constant, non-zero net
force produce on an object of constant mass?
a. constant speed
b. constant acceleration
c. increasing acceleration
d. It depends on the speed of the object.
5. If you push on a railroad boxcar with a force of
200 N and it doesn't move, you can conclude that
a. Newton's second law is not valid.
b. This force is canceled by the third law force.
c. The boxcar has too much mass to
accelerate.
d. There is a force of 200 N in the opposite
direction.
6. What is the mass of a cart that has an acceleration of
5 m/s/s when a net force of 2000 N is applied to it?
a. 10,000 kg
b. 2000 kg
c. 1000 kg
d. 400 kg
7. The same net force is applied to object A and object B.
The observed accelerations of the two objects are not the
same; object A has an acceleration three times that of
object B.Which of the following is correct?
a. Object A has three times the mass of object B.
b. Object A has one-third the mass of object B.
c. Object A has a different, less streamlined shape than
object B.
d. Object A has more friction than object B.
8. A ball with a weight of 20 N is thrown vertically
upward. What is the acceleration of the ball just as it
reaches the top of its path?
a. zero
b. 10 m/s/s downward
c. 10 m/s/s upward
d. The acceleration cannot be determined.
11. Putting on the seatbelt while on board a car is in
direct relation to _____.
A. Newton’s 1st law of motion
B. Newton’s third law of motion
C.Newton’s 2nd law of motion
D. Conservation of energy
12. It is harder to move heavy objects than lighter
objects. This is in direct relations to ________.
A. Newton’s 1st law of motion
B. Newton’s third law of motion
C.Newton’s 2nd law of motion
D. Conservation of energy
13. The tendency of an object to resists
change in its motion is known as
A. Acceleration
B. Velocity
C. Force
D. inertia
13. The greater the mass of an object,
A. The easier the object starts
moving
B. The greater is its inertia
C. The more balanced it is
D. The more space it takes up
15. One way to increase acceleration is by
a. decreasing force.
b. increasing mass.
c. decreasing mass.
d. increasing both force and mass proportionally.
 Essay-type Questions

1. When a rifle is fired how does the size of the force of

the rifle on the bullet compare to force of the bullet on
the rifle. Why?

2. If a bicycle and a massive truck have a head-on

collision, upon which vehicle is the impact force greater?
Which vehicle undergoes the greater acceleration?
3. Suppose two cars one twice as massive as the
other fly apart when the compressed spring that
joins them is released how do their speeds
compare?
4. A horse pull on a wagon with some force causing
it to accelerate. Newton’s 3rd law says that the
wagon exerts an equal and opposite reaction force
on the horse. How can the wagon move?
5. If you were in spaceship and fired a cannonball
into space, how much force would have to be
exerted on the ball to keep it moving once it has
left the spaceship?
6. When a hammer exerts a force on a nail
how does the amount of force compare to
that of the nail on the hammer?
7. Why does a cannon recoil when it fires a
cannonball?
-end…