Mechanics I

Lecture M11
Newton’s Second Law of Motion
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1 Introduction

• Until now we have considered separately the motion of a particle through space and the forces F 1 , . . . , F n acting on
a particle that are in equilibrium, that is, F 1 + · · · + F n = 0.

• In this lecture we will consider forces acting on the particle that are not in equilibrium, that is, F 1 + · · · + F n 6= 0,
and how these forces subsequently influence the motion of the particle in space.
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• Consider a particle that has mass m (in kilograms).

• If the forces F 1 , . . . , F n are acting on the particle and F 1 + · · · + F n 6= 0 then, by Newton’s Second Law of Motion,
the motion of the particle can be determined by solving the system of differential equations
 2 
dr
m = F 1 + ··· + F n (1)
dt2

subject to certain initial conditions where r(t) = hx(t) , y(t) , z(t)i is the position of the particle at time t with respect
to the origin of a coordinate system.

• Note that a force of magnitude 1 N is defined to be a force that will accelerate a body of mass 1 kg at a rate of 1 m/s2;
thus, 1 N = 1 kg m/s2.
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• Example 1.

◦ Consider a particle of mass 1 kg that is acted upon by the forces F 1 = h2 N, 0, 0i and F 2 = h0, 4 N, 0i.

◦ Substituting for the mass of the particle and the given forces into Newton’s Second Law of Motion (1) and
integrating with respect to time we have that
 2 
dx d2 x dx
= 2 m/s2 →


1 kg = 2 N → = (2t + c11) m/s → x(t) = t2 + c11 t + c12 m,
dt2 dt2 dt
 2 
dy d2 y dy
= 4 m/s2 → 2t2 + c21 t + c22 m,


1 kg = 4N → = (4t + c21) m/s → y(t) =
dt2 dt2 dt
 2 
dz d2 z dz
1 kg = 0 N → = 0 m/s2 → = c31 m/s → z(t) = (c31 t + c32 ) m,
dt2 dt2 dt
where c11, . . . , c32 are arbitrary constants of integration.

◦ If at time t = 0 the particle was at the point r (0) = h1 m, 0, 0i with respect to the origin of a coordinate system
and moving with velocity v (0) = h0, 1 m/s, 0i, then these initial conditions will determine the value of the above
arbitrary constants of integration.
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• Example 1 (continued).

◦ Thus,

[2 (0) + c11] m/s = 0 m/s → c11 = 0,






dx dy dz 
v (0) = h (0) , (0) , (0)i = h0, 1 m/s, 0i → [4 (0) + c21] m/s = 1 m/s → c21 = 1,
dt dt dt 




c31 m/s = 0 m/s → c31 = 0,



and
  2 


 0 + c 11 (0) + c12 m = 1 m → c12 = 1,


r (0) = hx(0) , y(0) , z(0)i = h1 m, 0, 0i →


2 02 + c21 (0) + c22 m = 0 m → c22 = 0,




 [c31 (0) + c32] m = 0 m → c32 = 0.
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• Example 1 (continued).

◦ Therefore, at time t,

◦ the particle’s position with respect to the origin of the coordinate system is

r (t) = h t2 + 1 m, 2t2 + t m, 0i,

◦ the particle’s velocity is

v (t) = h2t m/s, (4t + 1) m/s, 0i,

◦ the particle’s acceleration is

a (t) = h2 m/s2, 4 m/s2, 0i.
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• Example 1 (continued).

◦ Consider the motion of the particle at time t = 1.

◦ At this instant the particle is at the point r (1) = h2 m, 3 m, 0i. The distance of the particle from the origin of the
coordinate system is
√
kr (1) k = 13 m

= 3, 61 m (rounded to two decimal places).

◦ At this instant the particle has velocity v (1) = h2 m/s, 5 m/s, 0i. The speed of the particle is
√
kv (1) k = 29 m/s

= 5, 39 m/s (rounded to two decimal places).

◦ At this instant the particle has acceleration a (1) = h2 m/s2, 4 m/s2, 0i. Note that the particle’s acceleration is
constant (uniform) and does not change with respect to time.
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• Example 1 (continued).

◦ The diagram given below illustrates the various quantities that describe the motion of the particle at time t = 1.

v (1)
F2
a (1)

3m
F1

r (1)

O 2m x
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• Example 2.

◦ Consider a particle of mass 2 kg that is acted upon by the forces F 1 = h5 N, 3 N, 0i and F 2 = ha N, b N, 0i where
a and b are constants.

◦ If the position of the particle with respect to the origin of a coordinate system at time t (in seconds) is

r (t) = h 1 − t + 2t2 m, (2 + 4t) m, 0i,

then by Newton’s Second Law of Motion (1) we must have that

 2 
dx 
2

2 kg = (5 + a) N → (2 kg) 4 m/s = (5 + a) N → 8 N = (5 + a) N → a = 3,
dt2
 2 
dy 
2

2 kg = (3 + b) N → (2 kg) 0 m/s = (3 + b) N → 0 N = (3 + b) N → b = −3.
dt2
 2 
dz 
2

2 kg = 0N → (2 kg) 0 m/s = 0 N (This equation is identically satisfied.)
dt2
◦ Therefore, the resultant force that is acting on the particle is

F 1 + F 2 = h5 N, 3 N, 0i + h3 N, −3 N, 0i

= h8 N, 0, 0i.