FORCE AND NEWTON’S LAWS

OF MOTION
Physics for Engineers
Second Semester, S.Y. 2020-2021
MODULE III
Course Code : Phys 123/121L
Course Title : Physics for Engineers (Lec/Lab)
Pre-requisite : Math 113, Math 123
Co-requisite : Math 113; Phys 121L
Credits Units : 4 units
Time Allotment : 6 hrs./week; 108 hours/semester
For this module : 1 week only

JUNDHEL D. CABRADILLA, REE

Instructor

1|Page Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

➢

This module covers basic concepts, principles, and history of physics. Course topic will
include topics in Vectors; kinematics; dynamics; work, energy, and power; impulse and
momentum; rotation; dynamics of rotation; elasticity; and oscillation. Fluids; thermal
expansion, thermal stress; heat transfer; calorimetry; waves; electrostatics; electricity;
magnetism; optics; image formation by plane and curved mirrors; and image formation by
thin lenses.

The students had to engage as an independent learner in this self-study designed

module. Also, the students had to familiarize themselves with the topics through the series
of explanations and examples given.

After this learning packet, the students will be able to:

- Distinguish between speed and velocity.
- Use vectors to illustrate and solve velocity problems.
- Distinguish between velocity and acceleration.
- Utilize vectors to illustrate and solve acceleration problems.
- Relate force and the law of inertia.
- Apply the law of acceleration.
- Identify components of friction.
- Analyze forces in one dimension.
- Distinguish among weight, mass, and gravity.
- Analyze how the law of action and reaction is used.

Students must submit their Answers to Pre-Test before the module release & submit their
answers to Post Assessment Test & of Culminating Activity on the date indicated at the
Google Classroom.

2|Page Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

➢

Acceleration – is a vector quantity that is defined as the rate at which an object changes
its velocity.
Dynamics – the study of the causes of motion and changes in motion.
Elasticity - is the ability of a body to resist a distorting influence and to return to its original
size and shape when that influence or force is removed.
Electricity - a form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles (such as
electrons or protons), either statically as an accumulation of charge or dynamically as a
current.
Energy - is the capacity to do work.
Fluids - is a substance that continually deforms (flows) under an applied shear stress, or
external force.
Force - is a push or pull upon an object resulting from the object's interaction with another
object.
Impulse - is a quantity that describes the effect of a net force acting on an object (a kind
of "moving force").
Inertia - is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its velocity.
Kinematics – branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of points, bodies
(objects) and systems of bodies (groups of objects) without consideration of the causes
of motion.
Magnetism – the study of physical phenomena that are mediated by magnetic field.
Momentum - is a quantity that describes an object's resistance to stopping (a kind of
"moving inertia").
Optics – the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light,
including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect
it.
Oscillation - is defined as the process of repeating variations of any quantity or measure
about its equilibrium value in time.
Power - is the rate, per unit time, at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric
circuit.
Resistance - is a measure of the opposition to current flow in an electrical circuit.
Rotation - is a circular movement of an object around a center (or point) of rotation.
Scalar - is a quantity that can be completely described by a number (called its magnitude)
and a unit.
Vector - is a quantity that requires both magnitude (size) and direction to be completely
described.
Voltage - is the potential difference in charge between two points in an electrical field.
Wave - is a disturbance in a medium that carries energy without a net movement of
particles.
Work - measure of energy transfer that occurs when an object is moved over a distance
by an external force at least part of which is applied in the direction of the displacement.

3|Page Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Motion is defined as an object’s change in position. One of the most frequently used
descriptors of motion is speed.
Speed, as measured on a speedometer, is the distance travelled per unit of time.
The speed of an automobile is represented in either miles per hour or kilometres per
hour (Fig. 4.1). These units actually help define the formula for calculating speed:

Speed is a scalar value, for it shows only

the magnitude of the position change per
unit of time and does not indicate a
direction. The unit for speed is a distance
unit divided by a time unit, such as:
miles per hour (mi/h),
kilometres per hour (km/h),
metres per second(m/s),
and feet per second (ft/s).
For example, if you drive 350 mi in 7.00 h, your average speed is:

Speed represents how fast something is moving, yet it does not indicate the direction
in which it is traveling.
Distance travelled must be distinguished from displacement. Whereas distance
travelled may follow a path that is not straight, displacement is the net change of
position of an object. It is represented by a straight line from the initial position to
the final position and is a vector because it has both magnitude and direction (Fig.
4.2).

4|Page Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 The velocity of an object is the rate of motion in a particular direction. Velocity is a
vector that not only represents the speed, but also indicates the direction of motion.
The relationship may be expressed by the equation

This equation is used to find either average speed (a scalar quantity) or the
magnitude of the velocity (a vector quantity). Remember that if indicating velocity,
the direction must be included with the speed. Therefore, a speed of 50 mi/h would
be written 50 mi/h northeast, 50 mi/h up, or 50 mi/h 30o east of south as a velocity.
Figure 4.3 shows an illustration of a car traveling at a constant velocity of 10 m/s to
the right. Note that its displacement is 10 m to the right during each second of travel.

5|Page Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Example 1:

Example 2:

6|Page Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Example 3:

7|Page Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 When shopping for a new vehicle, most consumers choose to ignore its maximum
speed but instead pay particular attention to how quickly the vehicle can change its
speed from 0 mi/h to 60 mi/h. From the new-car-buyer’s perspective, the less time
the car takes to achieve a speed of 60 mi/h, the greater will be its acceleration and
the easier it will be to get onto a highway or pass a slow-moving vehicle.

Acceleration is the change in velocity per unit time. In other words, acceleration
measures how quickly velocity changes. That is,

This relationship can be expressed by the equation:

8|Page Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Example 1:

Example 2:

9|Page Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Uniformly accelerated motion of an object occurs when its acceleration is constant;
examples are a ball rolling down a straight incline, a car increasing its speed at a
constant rate, and a ball dropped from a building. The following equations apply to
uniformly accelerated motion and freely falling bodies. Some of the derivations are
beyond the scope of this text.

Example 1:

10 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Example 2:

Example 3:

11 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Uniformly accelerated motion of an object occurs when its acceleration is constant;
examples are a ball rolling down a straight incline, a car increasing its speed at a
constant rate, and a ball dropped from a building. The following equations apply to
uniformly accelerated motion and freely falling bodies. Some of the derivations are
beyond the scope of this text.

12 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Example 4:

13 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Example 5:

14 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 A projectile is a launched object that travels through the air but has no capacity to
propel itself. Up to this point, we have discussed projectiles either being thrown
straight up or dropped straight down. We now discuss objects being thrown at an
angle. This type of motion uses the same principles and formulas as in the previous
section on uniformly accelerated motion. However, two dimensions are needed to
analyze projectile motion; x will represent horizontal and y will represent vertical.

Projectile motion is the movement of a projectile as it travels through the air

influenced only by its initial velocity and gravitational acceleration.

Consider the example of a ball being rolled across a table at a constant 2.00 m/s.
The ball moves 2.00 m for every second that it travels. Assuming no friction, the
ball would continue to roll at that same speed (Fig. 4.19). As the ball approaches
and rolls off the edge of the table, the ball continues to move horizontally at 2.00
m/s until it strikes the floor. Horizontally, there is nothing causing the ball to speed
up or slow down, so it continues with that same horizontal motion.

As the ball rolls off the table, gravity is

accelerating the ball downward at a rate of
g = 9.80 m/s2 (Fig. 4.20). As a result, the
ball increases its vertical speed by 9.80 m/s
for every second it falls. Vertically, the
problem can be treated as any other
uniformly accelerated motion problem, as
seen in the previous section.

15 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Example 1:

16 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Example 2:

17 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 As discussed in the previous chapter, if an object changes its velocity, we say it
accelerates. But what causes an object to accelerate? Let’s take an example of a
soccer ball at rest on a field. What must you do to accelerate the ball? Similarly, if
your car is approaching a red stoplight, what must you do to make the car accelerate
to rest? The answer in both instances is to apply a force.
Force is any push or pull. Forces tend to either change the motion of an object or
prevent the object from changing its motion. Force is a vector quantity and therefore
has both magnitude and direction. The force tends to produce acceleration in the
direction of its application.
The units for measuring force are the newton (N) in the metric system and the pound
(lb) in the U.S. system. The conversion factor is:
4.45 N = 1 lb
Isaac Newton (1642–1727), physicist, mathematician, and astronomer, was born
in England. He is credited with discovering the laws of motion and gravitation,
studying the nature of light and finding that white light is a mixture of colours that
can be separated by refraction, inventing the calculus, and devising the first reflecting
telescope. The metric unit of force, the newton, is named after him.

LAW OF INERTIA: NEWTON’S FIRST LAW

A body that is in motion continues in motion with the same velocity (at constant
speed and in a straight line) and a body at rest continues at rest unless an unbalanced
(outside) force act upon it.

If an automobile is stopped (at rest) on level ground, it resists being moved. That is,
a person is required to exert a tremendous push to get it moving. Similarly, if an
automobile is moving—even slowly—it takes a large force to stop it. This property of
resisting a change in motion is called inertia.

Inertia is the property of a body that causes it to remain at rest if it is at rest or to

continue moving with a constant velocity unless an unbalanced force act upon it.

18 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 When the accelerating force of an
automobile engine is no longer applied to
a moving car, the car will slow down. This
is not a violation of the law of inertia
because there are forces being applied to
the car through air resistance, friction in
the bearings, and the rolling resistance
of the tires [Fig. (a)]. If these forces
could be removed, the auto would
continue moving with a constant velocity.
Anyone who has tried to stop quickly on
ice knows the effect of the law of inertia
when frictional forces are small [Fig.
(b)].

The engine of a train makes use of the concept of inertia in incrementally starting a
train that has far too much inertia to start moving all at once. The train is set in
motion one car at a time. The couplers are loosely connected, which allows each car
to start moving separately from the others. Then the inertia of each moving car aids
in getting the rest of the cars moving. With use of this technique trains up to 1 mi
long can be set in motion.

Some objects more than others tend to resist changes in their motion. It is much
easier to push a small automobile than to push a large truck into motion ( Fig. 5.4).
Mass is a measure of the inertia of a body, that is, a measure of the resistance a
body has to changing its motion. The common units of mass are the kilogram (kg)
in the metric system and the slug in the U.S. system. The conversion factor is 1 kg
= 0.0685 slug

19 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 The second law of motion, called the law of acceleration, relates the applied force, the
mass, and the acceleration of an object.

LAW OF ACCELERATION: NEWTON’S SECOND LAW

The total force acting on a body is equal to the mass of the body times its acceleration.
In equation form this law is:
F = ma
Where: F = total force
m = mass
a = acceleration
The formula states that when a force is applied to an object, the force causes the object to
accelerate. The stronger the force, the larger is the acceleration. The weaker the force, the
smaller is the acceleration. In addition, when pushed with the same force, a more massive
object will accelerate less and a less massive object will accelerate more.

If the mass is kept constant,

F~a (The force is directly proportional to the acceleration.)

If the force is kept constant,

m ~ 1/a (The mass is inversely proportional to the acceleration.)

In SI units, the mass unit is the kilogram (kg) and the acceleration unit is metre/second/
second (m/s2). The force required to accelerate 1 kg of mass at a rate of 1 m/s2 is:
F = ma
= (1 kg) (1 m/s2)
= 1 kg m/s2
The SI force unit is the newton (N), named in honor of Isaac Newton, and is defined as

1 N = 1 kg m/s2

20 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Sample Problems:

1. A boy pushes forward a cart of groceries with a total mass of 40.0 kg. What
is the acceleration of the cart if the net force on the cart is 60.0 N?
Solution:
a = F/m
= (60.0 N) / (40.0 kg)
= 1.50 m/s2

2. What is the upward acceleration of a helicopter with a mass of 5000 kg if a

force of 10,000 N acts on it in an upward direction?
Solution:

a = F/m
= (10,000 N) / (5,000 kg)
= 2 m/s2

3. An automobile with a mass of 1200 kg accelerates at a rate of 3.0 m/s2 in

the forward direction. What is the net force acting on the automobile? (Hint:
Solve the acceleration formula for force.)
Solution:

F = ma
= (1200 kg) (3.0 m/s2)
= 3600 N

4. A 25-N force accelerates a boy in a wheelchair at 0.5 m/s2 What is the mass
of the boy and the wheelchair? (Hint: Solve Newton's second law for mass.)
Solution:

m = F/a
= (25 N) / (0.50 m/s2)
= 50 kg

5. During a test crash, an air bag inflates to stop a dummy's forward motion.
The dummy's mass is 75 kg. If the net force on the dummy is 825 N toward
the rear of the car, what is the dummy's deceleration?
Solution:

a = F/m
= (825 N) / (75 kg)
= 11 m/s2

21 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 The weight of an object is the amount of gravitational pull exerted on an
object by the earth. If this force is not balanced by other forces, an acceleration is
produced.
The acceleration of all objects near the surface of the earth is the same if air
resistance is ignored. We call this acceleration due to the gravitational pull of the
earth g. Its value is 9.81 m/s2 in the metric system and 32.2 ft/s2 in the U.S. system.
The weight of an object is the force exerted by the earth (or by another large body)
and gives the object an acceleration g. This force can be found using F = ma, where
a = g. If we abbreviate weight by Fw, the equation for weight is
Fw = mg
Where: Fw = weight
m = mass
g = acceleration due to gravity
g = 9.80 m/s2, (earth, metric)
g = 32.2 ft/s2, (earth, U.S.)

Example :
1. Find the weight of 5.00 kg.
Data: m = 5.00 kg
g = 9.81 m/ s2
Fw = ?
Solution:
Fw = mg
= (5.00kg)(9.81 m/ s2)
= 49.0 kg. m/ s2
= 49.0 N
2. Find the weight of 12.0 slugs.
Data: m = 12.0 slugs
g = 32.2 ft/ s2
Fw = ?
Solution:
Fw = mg
= (12 slugs)(32.2 ft/ s2)
= 386 slug ft/ s2
= 386 lb (1 lb = 1 slug. ft/ s2)

22 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 When an object is in contact with a surface, a force is exerted on that object by the
surface. This force, called a normal force, is perpendicular to the contact surface.
Picture a brick at rest on a table (Fig. 5.6)
Since the brick is at rest, the contact force,
pointing directly up from the table, must be
equal to the magnitude of the brick’s
weight. If additional bricks are stacked on
top of the original brick, the total weight of
the bricks will increase, causing the normal
force from the table to increase as well.
Eventually, the table will not be able to
support more and more bricks with enough
of a normal force. When this occurs, the
table will break, causing the bricks to
accelerate down toward the ground.
Normal forces are an essential component
of understanding how to calculate frictional
forces.

Do not confuse mass and volume. The volume of an object is the measure of the
space it occupies. Volume is measured in cubic units such as cm3, ft3, or L. The mass
of an object is the amount of inertia or the amount of material it contains. The more
mass contained in an object, the greater its inertia and the more force it takes to
move it or change its motion. Compare the masses of two boxes of identical size,
one filled with books and one empty. The box filled with books has more mass and
requires more force to move it.
As an astronaut goes from the earth to the moon, his or her weight changes but
mass and volume remain the same. Weight and mass are directly proportional in a
given place, as we saw earlier.

23 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Note that the mass of an object remains the same, but its weight varies according to
the gravitational pull. For example, an astronaut of mass 75.0 kg has a weight of
Fw = mg = (75.0 kg) (9.80 m/s²) = 735 N
on the earth. If that astronaut lands on the moon, where the acceleration due to
gravity is less than it is on the earth, the astronaut will still have the same 75.0 kg
mass but will weigh significantly less than 735 N. (The moon has less acceleration
due to gravity than the earth in part because the moon is less massive than the earth.
A full explanation will be given in Chapter 11.) The following example shows the
astronaut’s weight on the moon.

Example:

24 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Friction is a force that resists the relative motion of two objects in contact caused
by the irregularities of the two surfaces sliding or rolling across each other, which
tend to catch on each other (Fig. 5.7). In general, it is found that if two rough
surfaces are polished, the frictional force between them is lessened. However, there
is a point beyond which this decrease in friction is not observed. If two objects are
polished such that the surfaces are very smooth, then the frictional force actually
increases.

4 Types of Friction
a. Static friction
• Force that acts on objects that are not moving.
• Always acts in the direction opposite to that of the applied force.

b. Sliding friction

• Force that opposes the direction of motion of an object as it slides over a

surface.

c. Rolling friction

• Change in shape at the point of rolling contact.

d. Fluid friction

• Opposes the motion of an object through fluid

• Increases the speed of the object moving through the fluid
• Fluids (gas and liquids)

25 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Friction is both a necessity and a hindrance in our everyday lives. Without friction,
walking, driving, swimming and many other normal activities would not be possible.
Experiments with frictional forces indicate the following general characteristics:
1. Friction is a force that always acts parallel to the surface in contact
and opposite to the direction of motion. If there is no motion, friction
acts in the direction opposite any force that tends to produce motion [Fig.
5.8(a)]. The resistance to motion is the frictional force.

2. Static friction is greater than kinetic friction. When you push a large
box across the floor, you probably notice that it takes more force to start it
moving than to keep it moving. This is due to inertia. A box at rest tends to
remain at rest, whereas a moving box tends to continue moving. Pushing
someone on a sled is a good way to experience the difference between static
and kinetic friction.

3. Friction increases as the force between the surfaces increases. It is

much easier to slide a light crate than a heavy one across the floor [Fig.
5.8(b)]. The area of contact is not relevant. Friction depends only on the
nature of the materials in contact and the force pressing them together.

The characteristics of friction can be described by the following equation:

Ff = μFN
Where: Ff = frictional force

μ = normal force (force perpendicular to the contact surface)

FN = coefficient of friction

26 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 The coefficient of friction is the ratio between the frictional force and the
normal force of the object. The coefficient describes how rough or smooth the two
surfaces are when they are in contact with each other. A higher coefficient of friction
indicates two rough surfaces, whereas a lower number indicates two smooth surfaces.
Representative values for the coefficients of friction for some surfaces are given
in Table 5.1. Values may vary with surface conditions.

Example:
A force of 170 N is needed to keep a 530-N wooden box sliding on a wooden
floor. What is the coefficient of kinetic friction?

Sketch:

Data: Ff = 170 N
FN= 530 N
μ= 530 N
Basic Equation:
Ff = μFN
Working Equation:
μ= Ff / FN
Substitution:
μ= (170N)/ (530N)
= 0.32

27 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 LAW OF ACTION AND REACTION: NEWTON’S THIRD LAW
For every force applied by object A to object B (action), there is an equal but
opposite force exerted by object B to object A (reaction).

When a bullet is fired from a handgun (action),

the recoil felt is the reaction. These forces are
shown in Fig. 5.11. Note that the action and
reaction forces never act on the same object. For
every interaction, the forces always occur in pairs
and are equal and opposite. When you sit on a
chair, your weight pushes down on the chair; the
chair pushes up with a force equal to your
weight. If the chair pushed up with a force less
than your weight, you would fall through it. If the
chair pushed up with a force greater than your
weight, you would be pushed up above the seat.
Most interactions depend on force. What would
happen if you were standing in a small boat and
tried to jump across to the nearby boat dock?
You would fall into the water.
Why? The force you would exert against the boat as you jumped would push it
away, and the equal and opposite force the boat would exert on you would not result
in much forward motion for you.

28 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 Glossary:
Coefficient of Friction =The ratio between the frictional force and the normal force
of an object. The number represents how rough or smooth two surfaces are when
moving across one another.
Force = A push or a pull that tends to change the motion of an object or prevent an
object from changing motion. Force is a vector quantity and thus has both magnitude
and direction.
Friction = A force that resists the relative motion of two objects in contact caused by
the irregularities of two surfaces sliding or rolling across each other.
Inertia = The property of a body that causes it to remain at rest if it is at rest or to
continue moving with a constant velocity unless an unbalanced force acts upon it.
Law of Acceleration = The total force acting on a body is equal to the mass of the
body times its acceleration. (Newton’s second law).
Law of Action and Reaction = For every force applied by object A to object B
(action), there is an equal but opposite force exerted by object B on object A (reaction).
(Newton’s third law).
Law of Inertia = A body that is in motion continues in motion with the same velocity
(at constant speed and in a straight line) and a body at rest continues at rest unless
an unbalanced (outside) force acts upon it (Newton’s first law).
Mass =A measure of the inertia of a body.
Normal Force = Force perpendicular to the contact surface.
Weight = The amount of gravitational pull exerted on an object by the earth or by
another large body.

Formulas:

29 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

 ❖Suggested Readings

➢ Applied Physics - 10th Edition by Ewen, D., Schurter, N., & Gundersen, P.
E. (2012)
➢ College Physics – 9th Edition by Raymond A. Serway and Chris Vuille

For inquiries, you may call or text and chat:

ENGR. JUNDHEL D. CABRADILLA
Contact: 09751070490
Email address: engr.juncab@gmail.com
Facebook account: Engr. JC

30 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU

31 | P a g e Engr. Jundhel Cabradilla | SOE family - BiPSU