Newton’s Laws

Newton’s First Law:

A body stays at rest or continues to move in a

straight line at a constant speed, unless acted on by
a resultant force.

This means that when the resultant force is ZERO the object
will

➔Remain at rest if already at rest or

➔Continue to move at the same speed and in the
same direction if it was already moving.

What happens when the resultant force is not zero?

The movement of the object depends on the size and the

direction of the resultant force.
The resultant force can change the velocity of an object by
changing its direction or its speed.
Newton's Second Law:

An object will experience an acceleration, a when a

resultant force, F acts on a mass, m.

The magnitude of the acceleration depends on

➔The resultant force - the greater the force, the

greater the acceleration (directly proportional)
➔The mass - the greater the mass, the less the
acceleration (inversely proportional)

This relationship is given in the equation

𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝐹 = 𝑚 ×𝑎

Where: F is force measured in Newtons (N)

m is mass in kilograms (kg)
a is acceleration in m/s2
Example:
1. A block of mass 2 kg has a constant velocity when it is
pushed along a table by a force of 5 N. When the
push is increased to 9 N what is
a. The resultant force
b. The acceleration

2. What resultant force produces an acceleration of 5 m/s2

in a car of mass 1000 kg?

3. What acceleration is produced in a mass of 2 kg by a

resultant force of 30 N?
Summary

Object at the Resultant force Effect on the object

start
1 At rest Zero Stays at rest
2 Moving Zero Speed and direction
of motion stay the
same
3 Moving Non-zero in the same Accelerates
direction as the
direction of motion
4 Moving Non-zero in the Decelerates
opposite direction as
the direction of motion