CHAPTER 2: CLASSICAL MECHANICS

2.1: MOTION
Motion is the action of changing location or position.

2.1.1: ARISTOTELIAN MOTION

Two types of motion:
1. Natural motion
 also called vertical motion
 is the natural tendency of an object to go its natural state
 Heavy things fall and very light materials rise.
Examples: falling of the boulders towards the ground and the rising of smoke up in the air
2. Violent motion
 is the result of removing an object from its natural place
 any motion that required a force to maintain horizontal motion. When the force is removed, motion stops.
Examples: pulling of a wagon by a horse and the lifting of a box from the ground by a man

But suppose an object is thrown at an angle. What pushes the rock after it was thrown?
When an object is thrown at an angle, it follows a curved path. An object following a curved path is known as
Projectile.
In order to explain this, Aristotle came up with the idea of Antiperistalsis, which explains that, as an object moves
after being thrown through the air, it leaves a vacuum behind it. Since nature abhors vacuum, the air behind the object
rushes in violently to fill the space vacated. The force of the rushing air causes the object to be pushed forward.

2.1.2: GALILEAN MOTION

Vertical Motion: In the absence of a resistance, objects would fall with uniform acceleration, not depending on their weight,
but in the time of fall.
Example: without any resistance, a 1-kg object will be as fast as a 10-kg object when falling because they fall with the
same amount of time, given that they are released from the same height.

Horizontal Motion:
 An object in motion, if unimpeded, will continue to be in motion, and an external force is not necessary to
maintain the motion.
 Object tends to slow down or stop because of friction–a force that opposes the motion of an object.
Example: if a ball is pushed on an infinitely flat plane, the ball will continue to roll if unimpeded.

Projectile Motion:
Galileo performed experiments on uniformly accelerated motion using an inclined plane, and used the same
apparatus to study projectile motion. He believed that a projectile is a combination of uniform motion in the horizontal
direction and uniformly accelerated motion in the vertical direction. If it is not impeded, it will continue to move even without
an applied force.
Example: when you shoot a ball in a basketball ring, the ball does not need a force to keep it moving.

UNIFORM MOTION
An object is said to be in uniform motion when it is moving with constant velocity with zero acceleration.
Example: Suppose a marble is placed on a leveled smooth surface, the marble will stay at rest without the applied force. If
it will be pushed to the left, it will travel left at seemingly uniform rate. And if it will be pushed at right, it will travel right at
seemingly uniform rate.
The motion of the marble which is in uniform motion can be presented using line graphs:
CONSTANT ACCELERATION MOTION
An object is said to be accelerating when it travels with varying velocity. The object may be speeding up, slowing
down, or changing direction. The rate at which an object changes its velocity is known as acceleration. It can be expressed
as:
change∈velocity ∆ v
acceleration= = The SI unit for acceleration is m/s 2
change∈time ∆t

Example: Suppose the same marble is placed on an inclined smooth surface. The marble travels down the inclined
plane at constant acceleration. And this can be presented in the following line graph:

2.1.3: NEWTON’S THREE LAWS OF MOTION

Sir Isaac Newton, a 17th century scientist formulated laws explaining why things behave the way they do.
Galileo concluded from his experiments that objects in motion tend to maintain their state of motion, while an object
that is originally at rest will remain at rest. Inertia is the tendency of an object to maintain its initial state of motion.

First Law of Motion: The Law of Inertia

“an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction
unless acted upon by an unbalanced force”
Mass and Inertia
An object’s inertia depends on its mass. Mass is the amount of matter or substance that makes up an object. It is
measured in units called kilogram. An object with a greater mass has a greater inertia and an object with a lesser mass will
also have a lesser inertia.
Inertia has three types:
 Inertia of rest- an object will stay in place unless something or somebody moves it.
Example: a plate on the table
 Inertia of motion- an object will continue at the same speed until a force acts on it.
Example: a rolling ball
 Inertia of direction- an object will stay moving in the same direction unless a force acts on it.
Example: a moving car turning right
Second Law of Motion: The Law of Acceleration
“the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force applied and inversely proportional to mass”
This can be expresses in the following equation:
F net
a=  F net=ma The SI unit for force is Newton (N) or kg m/s 2
m
Example:
1. A woman is pushing a cart with a constant force of 300 N. If the total mass of the cart and its contents are 50 kg, what is
its acceleration?
F net 300 N 2
Solution: a= = =6 m/s
m 50 kg
EXERCISE: If a female student weighs 617 N, what is her mass?
Third Law of Motion: Law of Interaction
“for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”
According to this law, forces (action and reaction forces) always act in pairs and on different objects.

2.1.4: LAW OF UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION

“Every mass attracts another mass. The force of attraction is directly proportional to the product of their masses and
inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two masses”
This law can be expressed in the following equation:
 M1 M 2 where: M1 and M2 are the masses of the two objects, d is the distance between the two
F g=G 2 objects, and G is the gravitational constant equal to 6.67 x 10 -11 Nm2/kg2
d
2.2: MOMENTUM, IMPULSE, AND ENERGY
2.2.1: MOMENTUM
Momentum is a quantity of motion that an object has. In some books, it is described as the difficulty to stop an
object.
This can be expressed in the equation: p=mv The SI unit for momentum is kg m/s
Example:
1. Which has a greater momentum–a 70.0 kg soccer player running with a speed of 4.0 m/s or a 0.50 kg bullet fire with a
speed of 500 m/s?
Solution: Soccer player: p = mv = (70.0 kg) (4.0 m/s) = 280 kg m/s
Bullet: p = mv = (0.50 kg) (600 m/s) = 300 kg m/s
Therefore, the bullet, though it is less massive, has the greater momentum.
2.2.2: IMPULSE
Impulse is defined as the product of force and time.
This can expressed in the equation: I =F ∆ t The SI unit for impulse is kg m/s
Example:
1. A force of 15 N is applied on a box weighing 5 kg. If the time the force is applied on the box is 10 s, what is its impulse?
Solution:
I =F ∆ t= (15 N ) ( 10 s )=150 kg m/ s
EXERCISE: Suppose a 10 N force is applied on the box in the first example for 15 s, what happens to its impulse?

2.2.3: LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM

“the total momentum of a system remains the same if there is no net external force acting on it”
pf = p i the final momentum (pf) is equal to the initial momentum (pi)
This Law of Conservation of Momentum can applied in the collision of objects.
Two types of collision: elastic and inelastic
Elastic collision – two objects move separately after collision and the total kinetic energy of the system remains the
same.
m1v1 + m2v2 = m1v’1 + m2v’2
Where: m1 = mass of the first object v1 = velocity of the first object before collision
m2 = mass of the second object v2 = velocity of the second object before collision
v 1 = velocity of the first object after collision
’
v’2 = velocity of the second object after collision
Example:
1. Suppose an 8.0 kg ball is moving with a velocity of 5.0 m/s strikes a 10.0 kg ball initially at rest. After the collision, the 8.0
kg ball continues to move in the same direction with a velocity of 3.0 m/s. What is the velocity of the 10.0 kg ball after the
collision?
Solution: m1v1 + m2v2 = m1v’1 + m2v’2
' m1 v 1+ m2 v 2−m1 v ' 1
v 2=
m2

¿
( )m
( ) m
( 8.0 kg ) 5.0 + ( 10.0 kg ) 0 − ( 8.0 kg ) (3.0 )
s s
m
s
10.0 kg
¿ 1.6 m/s
Inelastic collision – two objects stick together after collision. The total kinetic energy is not conserved while the total
momentum is conserved.
m1v1 + m2v2 = (m1 + m2) v
Where: m1 = mass of the first object v1 = velocity of the first object before collision
m2 = mass of the second object v2 = velocity of the second object before collision
v = velocity of the two objects after collision
Example:
1. A 130 kg lineman is moving west with a speed of 2.0 m/s. He tackles an 80.0 kg football fullback who was moving east at
a speed of 8 m/s. If after the collision both players stuck together, what was their velocity?
Solution: m1v1 + m2v2 = (m1 + m2) v
 m1 v 1 +m2 v 2
v=
( m1 +m2)

¿
(
(130 kg ) 2.0
m
s ) m
+(80.0 kg)(8 )
s
(130 kg+80 kg )
¿ 4.29 m/ s