S5Physics Conservation of momentum

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 S5Physics Conservation of momentum

Newton's First Law

If a body is at rest or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will remain at rest or
keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless it is acted upon by a force.

If the resultant force on an object is zero, this means:

• a stationary object stays stationary
• a moving object continues to move at the same velocity (at the same speed and in the
same direction)

Examples of objects with uniform motion

Newton's First Law can be used to explain the movement of objects travelling with uniform
motion (constant velocity). For example, when a car travels at a constant speed, the driving
force from the engine is balanced by resistive forces such as air resistance and friction in the
car's moving parts. The resultant force on the car is zero.
Other examples include:

• a runner at their top speed experiences the same air resistance as their thrust
• an object falling at terminal velocity experiences the same air resistance as its weight

If the forces acting on an object are

balanced, the resultant force is zero

Examples of objects with non-uniform motion

Newton's First Law can also be used to explain the movement of objects travelling with non-
uniform motion. This includes situations when the speed, the direction, or both change. For
example, when a car accelerates, the driving force from the engine is greater than the resistive
forces. The resultant force is not zero.
Other examples include:

• at the start of a run, a runner experiences less air resistance than her thrust, so she
accelerates.
• an object that begins to fall experiences less air resistance than its weight, so it accelerates

If the forces acting on an object are not

balanced, the resultant force is not zero

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S5Physics Conservation of momentum

Forces on a submarine

The submarine above has both vertical forces and horizontal forces acting on it.

The horizontal forces will not affect its vertical movement and the vertical forces will not
affect its horizontal movement.

The horizontal forces are equal in size and opposite in direction.

They are balanced, so the horizontal resultant force is zero.

This means that there is no horizontal acceleration.

The vertical forces are equal in size and opposite in direction.

They are balanced, so the vertical resultant force is also zero.

This means that there is no resultant vertical acceleration.

The submarine will continue with the same motion, either remaining stationary or moving at a
constant speed.

If the submarine is moving, it is impossible to tell which direction it is moving from the forces
alone, only that it will continue in the same direction at the same speed.

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 S5Physics Conservation of momentum

Newton's Second Law

Newton’s second law is a quantitative description of the changes that a force can produce on
the motion of a body.
It states that the time rate of change of the momentum of a body is equal in both magnitude
and direction to the force imposed on it.
The momentum of a body is equal to the product of its mass and its velocity.
Momentum, like velocity, is a vector quantity, having both magnitude and direction.
A force applied to a body can change the magnitude of the momentum or its direction or both.
Newton’s second law is one of the most important in all of physics.
For a body whose mass m is constant, it can be written in the form F = ma, where F (force)
and a (acceleration) are both vector quantities.
If a body has a net force acting on it, it is accelerated in accordance with the equation.
Conversely, if a body is not accelerated, there is no net force acting on it.
Force, mass and acceleration
Newton's Second Law of motion can be described by this equation:
𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝐹 =𝑚𝑎
This is when:
• force (F) is measured in newtons (N)
• mass (m) is measured in kilograms (kg)
• acceleration (a) is measured in metres per second squared (m/s²)

The equation shows that the acceleration of an object is:

• proportional to the resultant force on the object
• inversely proportional to the mass of the object

In other words, the acceleration of an object increases if the resultant force on it increases, and
decreases if the mass of the object increases.

Example
Calculate the force needed to accelerate a 22 kg block at 15 m/s².
𝐹 =𝑚𝑎
𝐹 = 22 × 15
𝐹 = 330 𝑁
Example
Calculate the force needed to accelerate a 15 kg block at 10 m/s².
𝐹 =𝑚𝑎
𝐹 = 15 × 10
𝐹 = 150 𝑁

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 S5Physics Conservation of momentum

Newton's Third Law

According to Newton's Third Law of motion, whenever two objects interact, they exert equal
and opposite forces on each other.

This is often worded as 'every action has an equal and opposite reaction'.

However, it is important to remember that the forces act on two different objects at the same
time.

Examples of force pairs

Newton's Third Law can be applied to examples of equilibrium situation.

Pushing a pram
There are contact forces between the person and the pram:
• the person pushes the pram forwards
• the pram pushes the person backwards

Car tyre on a road

There are contact forces between the tyre and the road:
• the tyre pushes the road backwards
• the road pushes the tyre forwards

A satellite in Earth orbit

There are non-contact gravitational forces between Earth and the satellite:
• the Earth pulls the satellite
• the satellite pulls the Earth

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S5Physics Conservation of momentum

Exercise 1 Newtons Laws of Motion:

A. Circle the correct answer

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S5Physics Conservation of momentum

B. Choose the correct word(s) from the list and write in the space for each one.

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 S5Physics Conservation of momentum

Formulas
𝑝⃗ = 𝑚𝑣⃗

𝐹⃗ = 𝑚𝑎⃗

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Exercise 2

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Exercise 2

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Exercise 3

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Exercise 4

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