• Units and basic quantity

Three basic quantities length, mass and time.
The SI system is a set of metric units now used in many countries.
• Powers of ten shorthand
This way of writing numbers is called standard notation.

• Length
The unit of length is the metre (m).
 • Significant figures

For example,
if your calculator gave an answer of 3.4185062, this would be written as 3.4 if the
measurements had two significant figures. It would be written as 3.42 for three
significant figures. Note that in deciding the least significant figure you look at the
next figure to the right. If it is less than 5 you leave the least significant figure as it
is (hence 3.41 becomes 3.4) but if it equals or is greater than 5 you increase the
least significant figure by 1 (hence 3.418 becomes 3.42).
If a number is expressed in standard notation, the number of significant figures is
the number of digits before the power of ten.
3
For example, has 2.73 × 10
  three significant figures.
• Area

• Volume

 The unit of volume is the cubic metre ().

Force has both magnitude and direction.
Usually more than one force acts on an object.

upwards by a
force R

downwards by
its weight W
Find the resultant of two forces of 4.0 N and 5.0 N acting at an angle of
45º to each other. Using a scale of 1.0 cm = 1.0 N, draw parallelogram
ABDC with AB = 5.0 cm, AC = 4.0 N and angle CAB = 45º (Figure 7.5). By
the parallelogram law, the diagonal AD represents the resultant in
magnitude and direction; it measures 8.3 cm, and angle BAD = 20º.
∴ Resultant is a force of 8.3 N acting at an angle of 20º to the force of
5.0 N.
Vectors and scalars
A vector quantity is one such as force which is described completely
only if both its size (magnitude) and direction are stated. It is not
enough to say, for example, a force of 10 N, but rather a force of 10 N
acting vertically downwards. A vector can be represented by a straight
line whose length represents the magnitude of the quantity and whose
direction gives its line of action. An arrow on the line shows which way
along the line it acts.
A scalar quantity has magnitude only. Mass is a scalar and is completely
described when its value is known. Scalars are added by ordinary
arithmetic; vectors are added geometrically, taking account of their
directions as well as their magnitudes.
Friction is the force that opposes one surface moving,
or trying to move, over another.
We could not walk if there was no friction between the soles
of our shoes and the ground.

Friction force is a contact force

Everything is in place due to friction: nails, bulbs, caps…
Car: tires, brakes, oil in the engine
Sports: ice hockey, bicycles,…
Opposes the impending motion. The static friction, depends on the
surfaces in contact. It is typically harder to cause an object to move
than to keep it moving.
The larger the mass of a body, the greater is its inertia, i.e. the more
difficult it is to move it when at rest and to stop it when in motion.
 5N
2kg
9N
Friction is the force that opposes one surface moving,
or trying to move, over another.
We could not walk if there was no friction between the soles
of our shoes and the ground.

Friction force is a contact force

Everything is in place due to friction: nails, bulbs, caps…
Car: tires, brakes, oil in the engine
Sports: ice hockey, bicycles,…
• Static Friction
Opposes the impending motion. The static friction, depends on
the surfaces in contact. It is typically harder to cause an object to
move than to keep it moving
The larger the mass of a body, the greater is its inertia, i.e. the more
difficult it is to move it when at rest and to stop it when in motion.
 (a) A small force on an object
causes a small acceleration

(b) a larger force causes

a larger acceleration.
 ρ=m/V
F=ma
W=mg p=mv
Taking g = 9.8 m/s2 and m = 1 kg, this gives W = 9.8 N, i.e. a body of
mass 1 kg has weight 9.8 N, or near enough 10 N.

On the Moon the acceleration of free fall is only about 1.6 m/s2, and so a
mass of 1 kg has a weight of just 1.6 N there.

The mass of a body is always the same, its weight varies depending on
the value of g.

The weight of a body is directly proportional to its mass, which explains

why g is the same for all bodies.
The greater the mass of a body, the greater is the force of gravity on it
but it does not accelerate faster when falling because of its greater
inertia (i.e. its greater resistance to acceleration).
Newton's third law of motion states that
 Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
This means that forces always act in pairs.
 Action and reaction forces are equal and opposite, but they are
not balanced forces because they act on different objects so they don't
cancel out.
 When an object falls in air, the air resistance opposing its motion
increases as its speed rises, so reducing its acceleration.
 Eventually, air resistance acting upwards equals the weight of the
object acting downwards.
 The resultant force on the object is then zero since the gravitational
force balances the frictional force.
 The object falls at a constant velocity, called its terminal velocity,
whose value depends on the size, shape and weight of the object.
1. A physics book is at rest on a desk. Gravitational force pulls the book
down. The desk exerts an upward force on the book that is equal in
magnitude to the gravitational force. Draw a free-body diagram of the
book.
2. Roberto and Laura are studying across from each other at a wide
table. Laura slides a 2.2 kg book toward Roberto. If the net force acting
on the book is 1.6 N to the right, what is the book’s acceleration?
3. The net force on the propeller of a 3.2 kg model airplane is 7.0 N
forward. What is the acceleration of the airplane?
4. The net force on a golf cart is 390 N north. If the cart has a total mass
of 270 kg, what are the magnitude and direction of the cart’s
acceleration?
5. A car has a mass of 1.50 × 103 kg. If the force acting on the car is 6.75 × 103 N to
the east, what is the car’s acceleration?
6. A soccer ball kicked with a force of 13.5 N accelerates at 6.5 m/s2 to the right.
What is the mass of the ball?
7. A 2.0 kg otter starts from rest at the top of a muddy incline 85 cm long and slides
down to the bottom in 0.50 s. What net force acts on the otter along the incline?

8. A 6.0 kg object undergoes an acceleration of 2.0 m/s2.

(a)What is the magnitude of the net force acting on the object?
(b)If this same force is applied to a 4.0 kg object, what acceleration is produced?

9. What acceleration will you give to a 24.3 kg box if you push it horizontally with a
net force of 85.5 N?
10. What net force is required to give a 25 kg suitcase an acceleration of 2.2 m/s2 to
the right?
11. (a) A woman has two bags weighing 13.5 pounds and one bag with a

weight of 10.2 pounds. What is the total weight of the bags?

(b) The force F on an object is equal to its mass m multiplied by its
acceleration a . If a wagon with mass 55 kg accelerates at a rate
of 0.0255
12. Suppose that m/s2 , what
the net is theforce
external force(push
on the wagon?
minus friction) exerted on
a lawn mower is 51 N (about 11 lb) parallel to the ground. The mass
of the mower is 24 kg. What is its acceleration?