Form 4 PhysicsSt.

Mary’s College

NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

1. What does Newton’s first law of motion tell us about the forces on an object that
is
a) stationary

Newton’s first law tells us that a body that is stationary stays at rest unless acted upon
by an external force.

(1 mark)
b) moving at a steady velocity.

Newtons first law tells us that a body that is moving at a steady velocity will continue
to move at that same velocity, unless acted upon by an external force.

(1 mark)

2. A car has a mass of 800 kg.

a. What resultant force is necessary to give an acceleration of 3.0 ms-2 ?

Resultant force, (F) = ma

= 800*3.0= 2400N
Answer= 2400N

(4 marks)

b. If the combined air resistance and frictional forces acting against a car
equal to 1600 N, what is the total driving force required from the car’s engine.

Total driving force=

Resultant force + Frictional force =
2400N+1600N=
4000N
Answer= 4000N
(2 marks)
Form 4 PhysicsSt. Mary’s College

3. a) A person drives a cart, Cart 1, to the right while pushing another cart, Cart 2,
that has a massive refrigerator on it. The total mass of Cart 2 [cart plus fridge], is
three times the total mass of Cart 1 [cart plus person]. If the person is driving
with enough force that the two carts accelerate to the right, what can be said for
sure about the magnitude of the forces on the carts? You are to select the right
answer from the list below.

i. The force on
Cart 2 exerted by Cart 1 is larger in magnitude than the force on Cart 1
exerted by Cart 2.
ii. The force on Cart 2 exerted by Cart 1 is smaller in magnitude than the
force on Cart 1 exerted by Cart 2.
iii. The force on Cart 2 exerted by Cart 1 is equal in magnitude to the
force on Cart 1 exerted by Cart 2.
iv. The force on Cart 2 exerted by Cart 1 could be larger or smaller
depending on the size of the acceleration.

v. The force on Cart 2 exerted by Cart 1 is equal in magnitude to the

force on Cart 1 exerted by Cart 2.

(1 mark)

b) A box sits at rest on a table as seen in the image below. Various forces are listed in
the table below.
Form 4 PhysicsSt. Mary’s College

Complete the table below.

Place the letters A, B, C, D accordingly in the right column, so that they are lined up with
their corresponding Newton’s third law partner force found in the left column.

A. Upward force of gravity on Earth exerted by the table.

B. Upward force of gravity on Earth exerted by the box.
C. Upward force on the table exerted by the ground.
D. Upward force on the box exerted by the table.

First force of third- law pair Second force of a third-law pair

Downward force of gravity on the box B
exerted by Earth
Downward force on the table exerted by D
the box
Downward force on the ground exerted by C
the table
Downward force of gravity on the table A
exerted by Earth
(4 marks)

3. A tennis ball has a mass of 0.07 kg. It reaches a racket at a speed of 20 ms -1 and
leaves it with a speed of 10 ms-1, in exactly the opposite direction. The ball was in contact
with the racket for a time of 0.15 s.

a) What was the change of momentum?

[Hint: Final Momentum - Initial Momentum]

Change of momentum=
Impulse= mv-mu= m(v-u)
= 0.07kg(-10 ms-1 -20ms-1 )
= 0.07kg(-30ms-1 )
= = -2.1kgms-1
Answer = -2.1kgms-1
This answer is negative because the speed of 10ms-1 was taken as the left direction and
given that the direction left generally represents negative our answer is negative.

(4 marks)
A quantity called ‘Impulse’ is equal to the change in momentum. Impulse (I) can be
found by multiplying the Force (F) x time (t).
Form 4 PhysicsSt. Mary’s College

I = Ft
Therefore
change in momentum = Ft

b) Using the time given, your answer in (a) above and how it relates to the
quantity called impulse (I). What is the average force (F) exerted on the

i) the racket

Average Force exerted on the racket=

Given the equation “I=Ft”, we can rearrange the formula to get
what we want, which is “F”.
F=I/t
F= -2.1/0.15
F= -14N
(3 marks)
ii) the ball

Average Force exerted on the ball= 14N

(1 mark)
iii) Which of Newton’s Laws helped to determine your answer for ii)

Newton’s third law helped to determine my answer for ii).

(1 mark)

5. A red ball and a blue ball, each with a mass of 0.16 kg, collide. The red ball is
travelling from left to right at 0.28 ms-1. The blue ball is travelling from right to left at
0.12 ms-1. This is shown in the diagram below.

After the collision, the blue ball travels from left to right at 0.18 ms-1.
Form 4 PhysicsSt. Mary’s College

Calculate the velocity of the red ball after the collision.

[Hint: Pay special attention to direction. Choose one direction as having a

positive (+) velocity and the direction opposite to that a negative (-) velocity, just
remember to be consistent]

Using the equation of the conservation of linear momentum:

Total momentum before collision= Total momentum after collision
=mR1vR1+ mB1vB1= mR2vR2+ mB2vB2
= 0.16*0.28 + 0.16*(-0.12) = 0.16*vR2 + 0.16*0.18
Rearrange our formula for what we want to find:
=0.0256= 0.16*vR2 + 0.0288
=vR2= (0.0256-0.0288)/0.16
vR2= -0.0032/0.16
vR2= -0.02ms-1
Answer= -0.02ms-1
This value indicates that the direction is acting in the opposite direction,
given that it is negative.

(8 marks)

TOTAL: 30 Marks