Newtons laws of motion

The three laws of motion are based on experimental studies of moving objects. First
law gives the definition of force, second law is a
quantitative & dimensional definition of force,
while the third law defines the nature of force.
Force: It is a push or pull exerted by one body on
another. So every force is associated with two
bodies.
The following descriptions can be made of a
force
1) Force is a vector
2) Two or more forces can be
added according to the rules of
vector algebra. The resultant
force is known as net force.
Sir Issac Newton
3) Force occur in pairs.
4) Force can accelerate a body.
5) Force can deform a body.
Basic forces in nature: Based on the origin, force can be classified into 4 fundamental types.
a) Gravitational force: The mutual attraction between 2 bodies give rise to this force.
b) Electromagnetic force: The combination of electric and magnetic forces gives rise to
EM force. This force can be attractive or repulsive.
c) Strong nuclear force: Force of interaction between nucleons.
d) Weak nuclear force: Force of interaction between elementary particles. Both strong
& weak nuclear forces are of short range.

Newtons first law of motion:

Statement: "Every body continues to be in the state of rest or of uniform motion along
a straight line unless it is compelled to change that state by external forces acting on
it."
Consider a block on the floor. It remains at rest until some one disturbs it. Now
let us start pushing it. It starts to move. The block wont stop as soon as you withdraw
the force but it slides through some distance & then stops. This law is also known as law
of inertia
Inertia: It is the tendency by virtue of which a body resists change of state of rest or of
motion.
Heavier bodies resist the change to a greater extent than of lighter ones.

Illustrations of first law of motion:

1) A book placed on the table is at rest & will continue to be at rest until a force
acts on it.
2) A marble moving on a perfectly smooth surface will continue to move until an
external force is applied on it.

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3) When brakes are applied to a moving bus, the passengers inside are thrown
forward. This is because the lower parts of the body are at rest on the seats, but
the upper parts continue to move due to inertia.
4) A fast bowler runs through a distance & then delivers a ball so that he can
provide more speed to the ball. He uses inertia of the motion of his body.

Momentum: It is a measure of the quantity of motion contained in a body and also the
measure of the ability of a body to impart motion to another.
It is defined as the product of mass and its velocity. If `m` is the mass of a body
moving with velocity v , then its momentum P is given by

P mv
It is a vector quantity. Its unit is kgms 1 .

Newtons second law:

The rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the
applied force & takes place in the direction of force.
This law implies that the direction of acceleration is same as that of applied force.

To derive F

ma :

Consider a body of mass `m` moving with a uniform velocity u along a straight
line. Let a constant force F act on the body for `t` seconds. Let v be the final velocity
attained by the body at the end of t seconds.
Initial momentum = mu
Final momentum = mv
Change in momentum = mv
Of the body

mu

=m v

m v
Rate of change of momentum =
According to Newtons second law

m v
F

t
ma

kma

1 Where K is a constant depends

on the units of F , a & m. It is made equal to 1 by defining unit force.

Unit force is that force which causes unit acceleration in an object of unit mass.
Thus if m=1, a =1 then F =1 substituting these in equation (1) we get k=1.

ma
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SI unit of force is Newton (N).

The force acting on a body is said to be 1N when a unit acceleration is produced by a
force on a body of unit mass.
Weight: It is the gravitational force exerted on a body of mass `m` by earth & it is given by
W=mg where g is the acceleration due to gravity.
Spring force: Let F be a force applied on a spring so as to compress or expand it by an
amount x. Then

x F

kx

Where K is known as spring constant. The ve sign indicates that the restoring force
always points in the direction opposite to the displacement of the spring.
Impulsive & Impulsive forces:
An impulsive is a very large force acting on a body for a very short interval of
time.
The force which is difficult or impossible to understand the nature of variation in
their magnitude & direction are called as impulsive forces.
Consider a body of mass `m` moving with a velocity u . Let a large force act on
it for a short interval of time `t` & change its velocity to v .Then according to Newtons
2 law of motion.

m v
F

Ft

m v

Impulse = change in momentum

The SI unit of impulse is kgms 1 .

Illustrations of impulse:
1) While catching a fast moving ball, a fielder lowers his
hands a little so that the time of catching the ball increases
& force decreases.
2) A man jumping from a certain height receives more injuries when he falls on
marble floor than on a heap of sand.

Newtons law for a variable mass system:

Consider a body of mass `m` moving with a velocity v . Let a force F act on it the

dp
. According to Newtons second law
dt
dp
dp

F
F k
dt
dt
If we choose F & p such that a way that k=1
rate of change of momentum be

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dp
dt
But by definition p mv
d
F
(mv)
dt
dv
dm
F m
v
dt
dt
dm
dv
F v
dt
dt
F

Newtons third law of motion:

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Consider two bodies A & B. Let F1 be the force exerted
by A on B & F2 be that of B on A then

F1

F2

F2

B
F1

Note: 1) The forces act on different bodies & not on the same body.
2) Newtons third law is valid when bodies are at rest or in motion or in contact.
Examples: 1) Recoiling of a gun.
2) Rocket propulsion.
3) Swimmer pushes the water in backward direction so that he
can
move in forward.
4) When we walk across the floor, we push the floor
backwards & in turn floor pushes us forward due to reaction.

Law of conservation of momentum:

Statement: When two bodies collide, the total momentum before collision is equal to the
total momentum after collision.
u1

Before collision

v1

u2
During collision

v2

After collision

Consider two bodies A & B of masses m1 & m 2 moving with initial velocities u1 &

u 2 along the same direction. Let the bodies collide for `t` seconds. After collision, A
moves with velocity v1 & B moves with a velocity v 2 .During the collision, `A` exerts a
force F1 on B & B exerts an equal & opposite force F2 on A.
Applying Newtons second law of motion,
Force exerted by A on B = mass of B acceleration of B.
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F1

m2

(v 2

u2 )

Similarly Force on A by B = mass of A acceleration of A

F2

m1

(v1

u1 )

According to Newtons third law

F1

F2

m2 v2

m2 u2

m1 v 1

m1 u 1
t

m2 v 2

m2 u2

m1 u1

m2 u2

m1 v1
m1 v1

m1 u1
m2 v 2

Thus the total momentum before collision is equal to the total momentum after collision.
Examples of law of conservation of momentum:
1) When a body explodes into two or more pieces, the total momentum of the piece
is equal to momentum of the body.
2) When a bullet is fired from a gun, the moves backward thus conserving
momentum.
3) Motion of rocket conserves momentum.
4) When a man jumps from a boat to the shore, the boat moves backward. The total
momentum here is zero.
5) Principle of rocket propulsion conserves momentum.
Frames of reference:
The system with respect to which the position or motion of a body is represented is
known as the frame of reference.
The simplest frame of reference is Cartesian co-ordinate system i.e. x, y & z
axis. There are two types of frames of references i.e. inertial & non-inertial.

Inertial frame of reference:

A frame of reference in which Newtons law of inertia is valid is known as inertial
frame of reference. In this, no external force acts on a body does not move with
acceleration.

Importance of the concept of inertial frame:

1) Fundamental laws of physics are formulated w.r.t an inertial frame.
2) An inertial frame of reference is isotropic w.r.t an mathematical experiment.

Non-inertial frame of reference:

A frame where Newtons law of inertia is not applicable.
Earth is taken as an non-inertial frame.

Apparent weight in a lift:

Consider a man of mass `m` standing in a lift. Let the weight of that man be `mg`.
It acts vertically downwards. Let R be the reaction force acted on man by the floor.
1) when the lift is at rest or moving with uniform velocity upward or downward:
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When the lift is at rest or in uniform velocity, the acceleration of the man is
zero. So the resultant force on the man is also zero.

mg

i.e. the apparent weight of the man is equal to his true weight.
2) When the lift is accelerated downwards:
Let `a` be the acceleration downwards. Let R be the upward thrust of the
floor on the man. The weight mg is acting downwards. So the resultant F acts in the
downward direction given by

mg

But F

(1)

ma

ma

mg

m g

When a lift is accelerated downwards, the apparent weight of the man

decreases.
3) When the lift is accelerated upwards:
Let R be the upward force of floor on the man. The resultant force F acts in
the upward direction & is given by

mg

But

ma

ma

(1)

m g

mg

Thus, when a lift is accelerated upwards, the apparent weight of man increases.
4) When the lift is freely falling under gravity:
When the lift falls freely the lift will be accelerated downwards with an
acceleration a

g . Then

m g

m g

Thus, the man will experience weightlessness.

Weightlessness: For a freely falling or lying body R

0 . The satellite in the orbit

continuously falls towards earth. But the astronauts experience weightlessness because
the gravitational force on them is zero.

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