TOPICS:

Dynamics as a branch of mechanics:

 Newton’s first law of motion, Newton’s second law of motion and Newton’s third
law of motion
 Conservation of linear momentum, elastic and inelastic collisions
 Friction

You have previously dealt with kinematics – branch of mechanics that is concerned with
the motion of bodies without considering the masses of the bodies or the forces
responsible for the motion of the bodies. Dynamics on the other hand deals with the
description of motion while considering its causes and the masses of bodies involved in
motion.

NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

The relationship between the vector quantities (displacement, acceleration, and velocity) with
force and mass comprise the statements popularly known as Newton’s laws of motion.
1. First Law:
In summary the first law states that when the net force on a body is zero, its motion does not
change. Consider a book on a frictionless surface. Now, let’s say the book is given a forward
push. Once it is in motion, it continues to move with constant velocity because the net force
acting on it is zero. When a body is acted on by no forces or by several forces such that their
resultant is zero, the body is said to be in equilibrium. In equilibrium a body is either at rest or
moving in a straight line with constant velocity. The tendency of a body to remain at rest or in
constant motion until it is acted upon by a net force is called inertia.
2. Second law:
When the net force acting on a body is not zero, the body accelerates in the direction of the net
force. If the magnitude of the net force is constant, then so is the magnitude of the
acceleration. Doubling the net force doubles the acceleration; halving the net force
correspondingly halves the acceleration. The second law relates force to acceleration when the
net force is not zero.
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Statement of the 2nd law: The net force on a body is equal to the product of the body’s mass
and its acceleration.

3. Third law:
The third law is a relation between the forces that two interacting bodies exert on each other.
Experiments show that whenever two bodies interact, the two forces they exert on each other
are always equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. For example, when you hit your fist on
a wall you feel some pain because the wall pushes back on your fist. When you sit for a long
period on a concrete slab you start to feel pressure/pain after a while. This is because the
concrete slab pushes back on you with a force equal to your weight. The two opposite forces
referred to in the preceding examples are sometimes called an action – reaction pair. The action
and reaction forces each act on two separate bodies. For instance the action force of your fist
acts on the wall while the reaction force of the wall acts on your fist.
Statement of the 3rd law: When two bodies interact, the forces of action and reaction acting on
the bodies are always equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.

Worked Examples:
1. A man applies a constant horizontal force of 100N to a block of wood on a smooth horizontal
floor. The block starts from rest and moves 12 m in 5 seconds. a. What is the mass of the block?
b. If the man stops pushing at the end of 5s, how far does the block move in the next 5
seconds?

2. A passenger in a lift experiences an upward normal force of 720 N. If the weight of the man is
690 N, find his acceleration. (𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑔 = 10 𝑚𝑠-2)

3. A loaded elevator has a total mass of 1800 kg and the cables can withstand a maximum
tension of 28,000 N. What is the maximum upward acceleration for the elevator if the cables
are not to break?

4. An upward force of 12 kN acts on an elevator of mass 2000 kg. Calculate the acceleration of
the elevator.

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5. A bullet traveling at 300 m/s strikes a block of wood and it penetrates to a depth of 0.11 m. If
the mass of the bullet is 1.8 g, (a) In what time does the bullet come to rest? (b) What force
does the wood exert on the bullet?

The Atwood Machine

An Atwood Machine is a device that can be used to demonstrate the principles of dynamics. In
its simplest form, it consists of a string, a pulley, and two masses. The string passes over the
pulley and a mass is suspended from each of its ends. It is important to note that the tension is
constant throughout the string. An example to demonstrate how the Atwood Machine is used
to demonstrate the laws of motion is as follows.
Question: Two masses, m1 and m2, hang by a massless string from a frictionless pulley. If m1 is
greater than m2, determine the acceleration of the two masses when released from rest.

𝑚1 𝑔 − 𝑇 = 𝑚1 𝑎

𝑇 − 𝑚 2 𝑔 = 𝑚2 𝑎

Adding both equations will yield

𝑚1 𝑔 − 𝑚2 𝑔 = 𝑎(𝑚1 + 𝑚2 )

𝑚1 − 𝑚2
∴𝑎=𝑔
𝑚1 + 𝑚2

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When used in the laboratory for instance, the two objects on the machine can be set to be of
equal masses. Then the system will be in equilibrium and there will be no motion. However, if
one mass is set to be slightly greater than the other, then there will be a small acceleration
which can be easily measured (e.g. given 𝑢, 𝑠, and 𝑡). Such an experimental setup can be used
to determine acceleration due to gravity in the laboratory. Note that it is assumed that the
pulley and string are massless and that the system is frictionless.

Examples
6. A block of mass m1 = 2 kg on a smooth horizontal surface is pulled by a string hanging over a
frictionless pulley, having its other end attached to another block of mass m2 = 1 kg. Calculate
the acceleration of the system and the tension in the string.

7. A frictionless pulley is set up with two hanging masses as shown. If m1=5kg and m2=2.4 kg,
calculate the tension in the string.

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Homework
1. A 300g mass hangs at the end of a string. A second string hangs from the bottom of the mass
and supports a 900g mass. Find the tension in each string when the masses are:
a. accelerating upward at 0.7 ms-2 (string 1=12.84 N, string 2 = 9.63 N)
b. accelerating downward at 0.7 ms-2 (string 1=11.16 N, string 2 = 8.37 N)

2. A 15 kg cart is attached to a hanging 25 kg mass. If friction is negligible what is the

acceleration of the 15kg cart? (Ans: 6.25 m/s2, T = 93.75 N)

3. Two masses are connected by a rope and pulley on a frictionless inclined plane as shown
below. When the system is released, what is the initial acceleration of the 21 kg mass? Take g =
9.8m/s2. (Ans: 0.26 m/s2 down the incline)