1st Law

Newton’s First Law of Motion, also known as the Law of Inertia, is a fundamental principle that
describes the behavior of objects in the absence of external influences. The term “Law of
Inertia” emphasizes the concept of inertia, which refers to the property of massive objects to
resist changes in their state of motion. This idea stems from the observation that objects
naturally maintain their current state of rest or motion, resisting any changes unless acted upon
by an external force.

2nd Law
The second law of motion describes the relationship between the force acting on a body and the
resulting acceleration. According to Newton’s second law, the force acting on an object is equal
to the product of its mass and acceleration.
Mathematically, we express Newton’s Second Law as follows:
F= m x a

3rd Law
Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction. When two bodies interact, they apply forces on each other that are equal in magnitude
and opposite in direction. This law highlights the concept that forces always occur in pairs.

Two skaters push off each other in the middle of an ice rink. If one skater has a mass
of 32kg and an acceleration of 0.5 m/s2, what is the acceleration of the other skater if her mass
is 17kg?

FA = FR
m1 a1 = m2 a2
32kg x 0.5m/s2 = 17kg x a2
16 N = 17kg x a2
17kg 17kg
a = 16N /17kg
a= 0.9 m/s2
Work
Work is accomplished by the action of the force. When a force acts to cause an object to be
displaced, three quantities must be known in order to calculate the work. Those three quantities
are force, displacement and the angle between the force and the displacement. The work is
subsequently calculated as force times displacement times cosine θ where theta is the angle
between the force and the displacement vectors.

W=F d cosine θ Note:

F = force
 Cosine 0 is equals to 1
d = displacement
 If there is no angle, you may use
θ = angle between the force and the
W=Fd
direction of the motion

Diagram A Answer:
W = (100 N) * (5 m)* cos(0 degrees) = 500 J
The force and the displacement are given in the problem statement. It is said (or shown or
implied) that the force and the displacement are both rightward. Since F and d are in the same
direction, the angle is 0 degrees.
Diagram B Answer:
W = (100 N) * (5 m) * cos(30 degrees) = 433 J
The force and the displacement are given in theproblem statement. It is said that the
displacement is rightward. It is shown that the force is 30 degrees above the horizontal. Thus,
the angle between F and d is 30 degrees.
Diagram C Answer:
W = (147 N) * (5 m) * cos(0 degrees) = 735 J
The displacement is given in the problem statement. The applied force must be 147 N since the
15-kg mass (Fgrav=147 N) is lifted at constant speed. Since F and d are in the same direction,
the angle is 0 degrees.
Energy
Any object that has energy has the capacity to do work. There are 2 types of energy, kinetic
energy, and potential energy.
Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. An object that has motion - whether it is vertical or
horizontal motion - has kinetic energy where there are two variables: the mass (m) of the object
and the speed (v) of the object. The following equation is used to represent the kinetic energy
(KE) of an object.
KE = 0.5 • m • v2
where m = mass of object
v = speed of object

Example:
Determine the kinetic energy of a 625-kg roller coaster car that is moving with a speed of 18.3
m/s.
KE = 0.5*m*v2
KE = (0.5) * (625 kg) * (18.3 m/s)2
KE = 1.05 x105 Joules

Potential energy is basically a stored energy. An object can store energy as the result of its
position. Gravitational potential energy is the energy stored in an object as the result of its
vertical position or height. The energy is stored as the result of the gravitational attraction of the
Earth for the object. As the distance of the object from the ground increases, the potential
energy of the object also increases.

PEgrav = mass • g • height

PEgrav = m • g • h

Example
A mass of 2Kg is taken from the ground to the height of 10m. Find the potential energy of the
object.

Given: m = 2kg and g = 10 m/s2 and h = 10m.

Aim: Find the potential energy.

P = mgh
⇒ P = (2)(10)(10)
⇒P = 200J
Thus, the potential energy of the object is 200J.
Power

Power is the rate at which work is done. It is the work/time ratio. Mathematically, it is computed
using the following equation.
Power = Work / time
or
P=W/t
Another Formula for Power
The expression for power is work/time. And since the expression for work is force*displacement,
the expression for power can be rewritten as (force*displacement)/time. Since the expression
for velocity is displacement/time, the expression for power can be rewritten once more as
force*velocity. This is shown below.

Example:
When doing a chin-up, a physics student lifts her 42.0-kg body a distance of 0.25 meters in 2
seconds. What is the power delivered by the student's biceps?
To raise her body upward at a constant speed, the student must apply a force which is
equal to her weight (m•g). The work done to lift her body is
W = F * d = (411.6 N) * (0.250 m)
W = 102.9 J
The power is the work/time ratio which is (102.9 J) / (2 seconds) = 51.5 Watts (rounded)

An escalator is used to move 20 passengers every minute from the first floor of a department
store to the second. The second floor is located 5.20 meters above the first floor. The average
passenger's mass is 54.9 kg. Determine the power requirement of the escalator in order to
move this number of passengers in this amount of time.

W1 passenger = F • d • cos(0 deg)

W1 passenger = (54.9 kg • 9.8 m/s2) • 5.20 m = 2798 J (rounded)
W20 passengers = 55954 J (rounded)

P = W20 passengers / time

P= (55954 J) / (60 s)
P = 933 W