Chapter 5

Force and Motion–I

5-1 Newton's First and Second Laws

⚫ A force:
o Is a “push or pull” acting on an object
o Causes acceleration
⚫ We will focus on Newton's three laws of motion:
o Newtonian mechanics is valid for everyday situations
o It is not valid for speeds which are an appreciable fraction of
the speed of light
o It is not valid for objects on the scale of atomic structure
o Viewed as an approximation of general relativity
⚫ Before Newtonian mechanics:
o Some influence (force) was thought necessary to keep a
body moving
o The “natural state” of objects was at rest
⚫ In order to describe the motion of an object, Newton
discovered that:
⚫ Motion change = acceleration = affected by others
⚫ Need a reference frame: a coordinate system and
a clock – an objective observer
5-1 Newton's First and Second Laws

⚫ Newton's first law is not true in all frames

⚫ Need Inertial frames: a frame of reference not
undergoing acceleration

⚫ (a): a frictionless puck, pushed from

the north pole, viewed from space
⚫ (b): the same situation, viewed from
the ground
⚫ Over long distances, the ground is a
noninertial frame
⚫ In (b), a fictitious force would be
needed to explain deflection Figure 5-2
5-1 Newton's First and Second Laws

⚫ Characteristics of forces:
o Unit: N, the newton; 1 N = 1 kg m/s2
o Acceleration of a mass is proportional to the exerted force
o Forces are vectors
⚫ Net force is the vector sum of all forces on an object
⚫ Principle of superposition for forces:
o A net force has the same impact as a single force with
identical magnitude and direction
o So we can restate more correctly:
5-1 Newton's First and Second Laws

Newton’s 1st Laws:

⚫ When net force = 0, no acceleration,
⚫ Motion of object is constant in its inertial reference
frame;
⚫ A body at rest stays at rest;
⚫ a moving body continue moving with the same
velocity (same speed and direction)
5-1 Newton's First and Second Laws

⚫ Generally, assume the ground is an inertial frame

Answer: (c), (d), (e)

 5-1 Newton's First and Second Laws

⚫ What is mass?
o “the mass of a body is the characteristic that relates a force
on the body to the resulting acceleration”
o Mass is a measure of a body’s resistance to a change in
motion (change in velocity)
o It is not the same as weight, density, size etc.
o Mass is inversely proportional to acceleration
When net force  0,
• acceleration happens, and scale inversely with mass!
The motion velocity varies (both speed and direction)
•

Example Apply an 8.0 N force to various bodies:

o Mass: 1kg → acceleration: 8 m/s2
o Mass: 2kg → acceleration: 4 m/s2
5-1 Newton's First and Second Laws

⚫ Summarize these behaviors as:

⚫ As an equation, we write:
Eq. (5-1)

⚫ Identify the body in question, and only include forces

that act on that body!
⚫ Separate the problem axes (they are independent):
Eq. (5-2)
5-1 Newton's First and Second Laws

⚫ To solve problems with forces,

we often draw a free body
diagram
⚫ The only body shown is the one
we are solving for
⚫ Forces are drawn as vector
arrows with their tails on the
body
⚫ Coordinate system shown
⚫ Acceleration is NEVER part of a
free body diagram – only forces
on a body are present.

Figure 5-3
Answer: F3 = 2 N to the left in both cases
Question:

A constant force of 8.0 N is exerted for 4.0 s on a 16-kg

object initially at rest. The change in speed of this object
will be:
A) 0.5 m/s
B) 2 m/s
C) 4 m/s
D) 8 m/s
E) 32 m/s
5-2 Some Particular Forces

⚫ The gravitational force:

o A pull that acts on a body, directed toward a second body
o Generally we consider situations where the second body is
Earth
⚫ In free fall (y direction, with no drag from the air):

Eq. (5-8)

⚫ This force still acts on a body at rest!

⚫ We can write it as a vector:
Eq. (5-9)
5-2 Some Particular Forces

⚫ The normal force:

o If you are standing on a surface, the push back on you from
the surface (due to deformation) is the normal force
o Normal means perpendicular

Figure 5-7
5-2 Some Particular Forces

Example Normal force for a block resting on a horizontal

surface that is:
o Accelerating vertically at ay:
Eq. (5-13)
o Vertically at rest:
Eq. (5-14)

Answer: (a) equal to mg (no acceleration)

(b) greater than mg (see 5-13, with positive acceleration)
5-2 Some Particular Forces

⚫ Frictional force or friction:

o Occurs when one object slides or attempts to slide over
another
o Directed along the surface, opposite to the direction of
intended motion

Figure 5-8
5-2 Some Particular Forces

⚫ Tension force:
o A cord (or rope, etc.) is attached to a body and pulled taut
o Cord pulls on the body with force T directed along the cord
o The cord is said to be under tension
o The tension in the cord is T
⚫ A massless and unstretchable cord exists only as a
connection between two bodies
o It pulls on both with the same force, T
o True even if the bodies and cord are accelerating, and even
if the cord runs around a massless, frictionless pulley
o These are useful simplifying assumptions
5-3 Applying Newton's Laws

𝑇1 𝑇2 𝑇1 𝑇2

𝐹റ = 𝑇1 + 𝑇2 = m𝑎റ
For 𝑎=0,
റ i.e, the cord hold together
𝐹റ = 0;
𝑇1 = −𝑇2
The tension applied to the cord from 2 ends:
• Equal magnitude;
• Opposite in direction
5-2 Some Particular Forces

Figure 5-9

Answer: (a) equal to 75 N (b) greater than 75 N (c) less than 75 N

5-3 Applying Newton's Laws

⚫ Objects interact when they push or pull on each other:

⚫ We can write this law as a scalar or vector relation:

Eq. (5-15)

⚫ We call these two forces a third-law force pair

⚫ Any time any two objects interact, there is a third-law
force pair
5-3 Applying Newton's Laws

Figure 5-11

⚫ Third-law force pairs:

⚫ This includes the gravitational forces between Earth

and the cantaloupe!
5-3 Applying Newton's Laws

Answer: (a) they increase (b) yes

(c) they begin to decrease slowly (the gravitational force of Earth
decreases with height—negligible in an actual elevator)
(d) yes
5-3 Applying Newton's Laws

Sample Problem A block of mass M = 3.3 kg, connected by a

cord and pulley to a hanging block of mass m = 2.1 kg, slides
across a frictionless surface

Figure 5-12 Figure 5-13

Assuming the mass of the cord is negligibly small compared to the blocks
5-3 Applying Newton's Laws

⚫ Draw the forces involved

⚫ Treat the string as unstretchable, the pulley as
massless and frictionless, and each block as a particle
⚫ Draw a free-body
diagram for each mass
⚫ Apply Newton's 2nd law
(F = ma) to each block →
2 simultaneous eqs.
⚫ Eliminate unknowns (T)
that are the same, and
solve for the acceleration
Figure 5-14
5-3 Applying Newton's Laws

⚫ For the sliding block:

Eq. (5-18)

⚫ For the hanging block:

Eq. (5-20)

⚫ Combining we get:
Eq. (5-21) Eq. (5-22)

⚫ Plugging in we find a = 3.8 m/s2 and T = 13 N

⚫ Does this make sense? Check that dimensions are
correct, check that a < g, check that T < mg (otherwise
acceleration would be upward), check limiting cases
(e.g., g = 0, M = 0, m = ∞)
Question:

A 1-N pendulum bob is held at an angle q from the

vertical by a 2-N horizontal force F as shown. The
tension in the string supporting the pendulum bob is:
A) 2/ 5 N
B) 2 5 N
C) 5N
D) 1 N
E) none of these
Chapter 5

Force and Motion–II

6-1 Friction

⚫ Friction forces are essential:

o Picking things up
o Walking, biking, driving anywhere
o Writing with a pencil
o Building with nails, weaving cloth
⚫ But overcoming friction forces is also important:
o Efficiency in engines
o (20% of the gasoline used in an automobile goes to
counteract friction in the drive train)
o Roller skates, fans
o Anything that we want to remain in motion
6-1 Friction

⚫ Three experiments:
o Slide a book across a counter. The book slows and stops, so
there must be an acceleration parallel to the surface and
opposite the direction of motion.
o Push a book at a constant speed across the counter. There
must be an equal and opposite force opposing you,
otherwise the book would accelerate. Again the force is
parallel to the surface and opposite the direction of motion.
o Push a crate or other heavy object that does not move. To
keep the crate stationary, an equal and opposite force must
oppose you. If you push harder, the opposing force must
also increase to keep the crate stationary. Keep pushing
harder. Eventually the opposing force will reach a maximum,
and the crate will slide.
6-1 Friction

⚫ Two types of friction

⚫ The static frictional force:
o The opposing force that prevents an object from moving
o Can have any magnitude from 0 N up to a maximum
o Once the maximum is reached, forces are no longer in
equilibrium and the object slides
⚫ The kinetic frictional force:
o The opposing force that acts on an object in motion
o Has only one value
o Generally smaller than the maximum static frictional force
6-1 Friction

Figure 6-1
6-1 Friction
6-1 Friction

When the atoms at

the interface of the
copper blocks
interacts, they form
a bond
6-1 Friction

⚫ The properties of friction

1. If the body does not move, then the applied force
and frictional force balance along the direction
parallel to the surface: equal in magnitude,
opposite in direction
2. The magnitude of fs has a maximum fs,max given by:

Eq. (6-1)

where μs is the coefficient of static friction. If the

applied force increases past fs,max, sliding begins.
6-1 Friction

⚫ The properties of friction

3. Once sliding begins, the frictional force decreases
to fk given by:

Eq. (6-2)

where μk is the coefficient of kinetic friction.

⚫ Magnitude FN of the normal force measures how
strongly the surfaces are pushed together
⚫ The values of the friction coefficients are unitless and
must be determined experimentally
6-1 Friction

⚫ Assume that μk does not depend on velocity

⚫ Note that these equations are not vector equations

Answer: (a) 0 (b) 5 N (c) no (d) yes (e) 8 N

6-1 Friction

Example For a force applied at an angle:

o Decompose the force into x and y components
o Balance the vertical components (FN, Fg, Fy)
o Balance the horizontal components (f, Fx)
o Solve for your unknown,
noting that FN and f are related

Figure 6-3
 6-2 The Drag Force and Terminal Speed

⚫ A fluid is anything that can flow (gas or

liquid)
⚫ When there is relative velocity between
fluid and an object there is a drag force:
o That opposes the relative motion
o And points along the direction of the flow,
relative to the body
⚫ Here we examine the drag force for
o Air
o With a body that is not streamlined
o For motion fast enough that the air
The parachute
becomes turbulent (breaks into swirls)
6-2 The Drag Force and Terminal Speed

⚫ For this case, the drag force is:

Eq. (6-14)

⚫ Where:
o v is the relative velocity
o ρ is the air density (mass/volume) Figure 6-6
o C is the experimentally determined drag coefficient
o A is the effective cross-sectional area of the body (the area
taken perpendicular to the relative velocity)
⚫ In reality, C is not constant for all values of v
6-2 The Drag Force and Terminal Speed

⚫ The drag force from the air opposes a falling object

Eq. (6-15)

⚫ Once the drag force equals the gravitational force, the

object falls at a constant terminal speed:
Eq. (6-16)

⚫ Terminal speed can be increased by reducing A

⚫ Terminal speed can be decreased by increasing A
⚫ Skydivers use this to control descent
6-2 The Drag Force and Terminal Speed

Example Speed of a rain drop:

o Spherical drop feels gravitational force F = mg:
o Express in terms of density of water

o So plug in to the terminal velocity equation using the values

provided in the text:
o Use A = πR2 for the cross-sectional area
6-3 Uniform Circular Motion

⚫ Recall that circular motion requires a centripetal

acceleration
Eq. (6-17)

Examples You are a passenger:

o For a car, rounding a curve, the car accelerates toward the
center of the curve due to a centripetal force provided by
the inward friction on the tires. Your inertia makes you want
to go straight ahead so you may feel friction from your seat
and may also be pushed against the side of the car. These
inward forces keep you in uniform circular motion in the car.
o For a space shuttle, the shuttle is kept in orbit by the
gravitational pull of Earth acting as a centripetal force. This
force also acts on every atom in your body, and keeps you in
orbit around the Earth. You float with no sensation of force,
but are subject to a centripetal acceleration.
4-3 Average Acceleration and Instantaneous
Acceleration
6-3 Uniform Circular Motion

⚫ Centripetal force is not a new kind of force, it is

simply an application of force
Eq. (6-18)

⚫ For the puck on a string, the

string tension supplies the
centripetal force necessary
to maintain circular motion

Figure 6-8
6-3 Uniform Circular Motion

Answer: (a) accel downward, FN upward

(b) accel upward, FN upward
(c) the magnitudes must be equal for the motion to be uniform
(d) FN is greater in (b) than in (a)
6-3 Uniform Circular Motion

Example

Figure 6-11

o Sum components along the radial direction:

Eq. (6-23)

o Sum components along the vertical direction:

Eq. (6-24)

o Divide and replace (sin θ)/(cos θ) with tangent.