PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

CALCULUS-BASED

KIM MARINELLE C. TIAMSON, REE

LESSON 2
FORCE
Introduction
Everyone has a basic understanding of the concept of force from everyday
experience.
• When you push your empty dinner plate away, you exert a force on it.
• you exert a force on a ball when you throw or kick it.

In these examples, the word force refers to an interaction with an object by

means of muscular activity and some change in the object’s velocity
Forces do not always cause motion, however.
• When you are sitting, a gravitational force acts on your body and yet you
remain stationary.
• you can push (in other words, exert a force) on a large boulder and not
be able to move it.
Introduction
What force (if any) causes the
Moon to orbit the Earth?
Newton answered this and
related questions by stating
that forces are what cause
any change in the velocity
of an object.
Isaac Newton
English physicist and mathematician (1642–1727)
Isaac Newton was one of the most brilliant scientists in history. Before the age of
30, he formulated the basic concepts and laws of mechanics, discovered the law of
universal gravitation, and invented the mathematical methods of calculus. As a
consequence of his theories, Newton was able to explain the motions of the planets,
the ebb and flow of the tides, and many special features of the motions of the
Moon and the Earth. He also interpreted many fundamental observations
concerning the nature of light. His contributions to physical theories dominated
scientific thought for two centuries and remain important today.
Introduction
The Moon’s velocity changes
in direction as it moves in a
nearly circular orbit around
the Earth. This change in
velocity is caused by the
gravitational force exerted
by the Earth on the Moon

What force (if any) causes

the Moon to orbit the Earth?
Introduction

Figure 2.1 Some examples of applied forces. In each case, a force is exerted on the
object within the boxed area. Some agent in the environment external to the boxed
area exerts a force on the object.
 Contact Forces

When a coiled spring When a stationary When a football is kicked,

is pulled, the spring cart is pulled, the cart it is both deformed and
stretches. moves. set in motion.

These are examples of a class of forces called contact forces

Contact Forces
- involves physical contact between two objects.

- Other examples of contact forces are the force exerted by gas

molecules on the walls of a container and the force exerted by your
feet on the floor.
Field Forces
- Does not involve physical contact between two objects.
- These forces act through empty space.

The gravitational force of attraction between two objects with mass is an

example of this class of force.
The gravitational force keeps objects bound to the Earth and the planets
in orbit around the Sun.
Field Forces
Other Examples of Field Forces
• Electric Force
• Magnetic Force
Fundamental Forces in Nature

The only known fundamental forces in nature are all field forces.
1. Gravitational forces
2. Electromagnetic forces between electric charges
3. Strong forces between subatomic particles
4. Weak forces that arise in certain radioactive decay processes.
The Vector Nature of Force
It is possible to use the
deformation of a spring to
measure force.

Figure 2.2 The vector nature of a

force is tested with a spring scale
The Vector Nature of Force
Suppose a vertical force is
applied to a spring scale that
has a fixed upper end as
shown in Figure 2.2a. The
spring elongates when the
force is applied, and a pointer
on the scale reads the
extension of the spring. We
can calibrate the spring by
defining a reference force 𝐹1
as the force that produces a
pointer reading of 1.00 cm.
If we now apply a
different downward
force 𝐹2 whose
magnitude is twice that
of the reference force
𝐹1 as seen in Figure
2.2b, the pointer
moves to 2.00 cm.
The Vector Nature of Force
Figure 2.2c shows that the combined effect of the two
collinear forces is the sum of the effects of the
individual forces.
The Vector Nature of Force
Now suppose the two forces are applied simultaneously
with 𝐹1 downward and 𝐹2 horizontal as illustrated in
Figure 2.2d. In this case, the pointer reads 2.24 cm. The
single force 𝐹Ԧ that would produce this same reading is
the sum of the two vectors 𝐹1 and 𝐹2 as described in
Figure 2.2d. That is,
𝟐 𝟐
𝑭 = 𝑭𝟏 + 𝑭𝟐 = 𝟐. 𝟐𝟒 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐬
and its direction is
𝜽 = 𝒕𝒂𝒏 −𝟏 −𝟎. 𝟓𝟎𝟎 = −𝟐𝟔. 𝟔°.
Because forces have been experimentally verified to behave as vectors, you
must use the rules of vector addition to obtain the net force on an object.
The Vector Nature of Force
Force is a vector quantity; you can push or pull an object in different
directions.
Types of Contact Forces

Figure 2.3 Four common types of forces

 Types of Contact Forces
When a force involves direct contact between two objects, such as a push or
pull that you exert on an object with your hand, we call it a contact force.

The normal force is exerted on an object by any surface with which it is

in contact. The adjective “normal” means that the force always acts
perpendicular to the surface of contact, no matter what the angle of that
surface.

By contrast, the friction force exerted on an object by a surface acts

parallel to the surface, in the direction that opposes sliding.
 Types of Contact Forces
The pulling force exerted by a stretched rope or cord on an object to which
it’s attached is called a tension force When you tug on your dog’s leash,
the force that pulls on her collar is a tension force.

The force between two magnets is an example of a long range force, as is

the force of gravity; the earth pulls a dropped object toward it even though
there is no direct contact between the object and the earth. The
gravitational force that the earth exerts on your body is called your
weight.
Typical Force Magnitudes
 Superposition of Forces
When you hold a ball in your hand to throw it, at least two forces act on it: the
push of your hand and the downward pull of gravity. Experiment shows that
when two forces 𝐹1 and 𝐹2 act at the same time at the same point on an object
(Fig. 4.4, next page), the effect on the object’s motion is the same as if a single
force 𝑅 were acting equal to the vector sum, or resultant, of the original forces:
𝑅 = 𝐹1 + 𝐹2
More generally, any number of forces applied at a point on an object have the
same effect as a single force equal to the vector sum of the forces. This important
principle is called superposition of forces.
 Superposition of Forces
Note that the 𝑥- and 𝑦-coordinate axes do not
have to be horizontal and vertical, respectively.
As an example, Fig. 2.5 shows a crate being
pulled up a ramp by a force 𝐹.Ԧ In this situation
it’s most convenient to choose one axis to be
parallel to the ramp and the other to be
perpendicular to the ramp. For the case shown
in Fig. 2.5, both 𝐹𝑥 and 𝐹𝑦 are positive; in
other situations, depending on your choice of Figure 2.5 𝐹𝑥 and 𝐹𝑦 are the
Ԧ either
axes and the orientation of the force 𝐹, components of 𝐹Ԧ parallel and
𝐹𝑥 or 𝐹𝑦 may be negative or zero. perpendicular to the sloping
surface of the inclined plane.
 Superposition of Forces
We’ll often need to find the vector sum (resultant) of all forces acting on
an object. We call this the net force acting on the object. We’ll use the
Greek letter Σ (capital sigma, equivalent to the Roman S) as a shorthand
notation for a sum. If the forces are labeled 𝐹1 , 𝐹2 and 𝐹3 , and so on, we
can write
 Superposition of Forces
We read σ 𝐹Ԧ as “the vector sum of the forces” or “the net force.” The 𝑥-
component of the net force is the sum of the 𝑥-components of the
individual forces, and likewise for the 𝑦-component

Each component may be positive or negative, so be careful with signs

when you evaluate these sums. Once we have 𝑅𝑥 and 𝑅𝑦 we can find the
magnitude and direction of the net force 𝑅= σ 𝐹Ԧ acting on the object. The
magnitude is
2 2
𝑅= 𝑅𝑥 + 𝑅𝑦
Superposition of Forces
Newton’s First Law
How do the forces acting on an object affect that object’s motion?

Let’s first note that it’s impossible for an object to affect its own motion
by exerting a force on itself. If that were possible, you could lift yourself
to the ceiling by pulling up on your belt!

The forces that affect an object’s motion are external forces, those
forces exerted on the object by other objects in its environment.

So the question we must answer is this: How do the external forces

that act on an object affect its motion?
Newton’s First Law
When no net external force acts on an object, the object either remains at
rest or moves with constant velocity in a straight line. Once an object has
been set in motion, no net external force is needed to keep it
moving.
Newton’s First Law
Inertia
- The tendency of an object to keep moving once it is set in
motion
- The tendency of an object at rest to remain at rest.
Newton’s First Law
It’s important to note that the net external force is what matters in
Newton’s first law

For example, a physics book at rest on a horizontal tabletop has two forces
acting on it: an upward supporting force, or normal force, exerted by the
tabletop and the downward force of the earth’s gravity.

The upward push of the surface is just as great as the downward pull of
gravity, so the net external force acting on the book (that is, the vector sum
of the two forces) is zero. In agreement with Newton’s first law, if the book is
at rest on the tabletop, it remains at rest.
Newton’s First Law
The same principle applies to a hockey puck sliding on a horizontal,
frictionless surface: The vector sum of the upward push of the surface
and the downward pull of gravity is zero. Once the puck is in motion, it
continues to move with constant velocity because the net external
force acting on it is zero.
Newton’s First Law
When an object is either at rest or moving with constant velocity (in a
straight line with constant speed), we say that the object is in
equilibrium. For an object to be in equilibrium, it must be acted on by
no forces, or by several forces such that their vector sum— that is, the net
external force—is zero:
Newton’s Second Law
Newton’s first law tells us that when an object is acted on by zero net
external force, the object moves with constant velocity and zero
acceleration

But what happens when the net external force is not zero?
If we apply a constant horizontal force to a sliding puck in the same
direction that the puck is moving. Then σ 𝐹Ԧ is constant and in the same
horizontal direction as 𝑣Ԧ . We find that during the time the force is
acting, the velocity of the puck changes at a constant rate; that is, the
puck moves with constant acceleration. The speed of the puck
increases, so the acceleration a S is in the same direction as 𝑣Ԧ and σ 𝐹Ԧ
Newton’s Second Law
Newton’s Second Law
We conclude that a net external force acting on an object causes the
object to accelerate in the same direction as the net external force. If the
magnitude of the net external force is constant, as in Fig. 4.12b and Fig.
4.12c, then so is the magnitude of the acceleration.

Many such experiments show that for any given object, the magnitude of
the acceleration is directly proportional to the magnitude of the net
external force acting on the object.
Newton’s Second Law
Mass and Force

Our results mean that for a given object, the ratio of the magnitude
σ 𝐹Ԧ of the net external force to the magnitude 𝑎 = 𝑎Ԧ of the acceleration
is constant, regardless of the magnitude of the net external force. We call
this ratio the inertial mass, or simply the mass, of the object and denote
it by 𝒎. That is
Newton’s Second Law
Mass and Force

Mass is a quantitative measure of inertia.

the greater an object’s mass, the more the object “resists” being
accelerated. When you hold a piece of fruit in your hand at the
supermarket and move it slightly up and down to estimate its heft, you’re
applying a force and seeing how much the fruit accelerates up and down
in response. If a force causes a large acceleration, the fruit has a small
mass; if the same force causes only a small acceleration, the fruit has a
large mass
Newton’s Second Law
The SI unit of mass is the kilogram. The kilogram is officially defined in
terms of the definitions of the second and the meter, as well as the value
of a fundamental quantity called Planck’s constant. We can use this
definition:
Newton’s Second Law
Suppose we apply a constant net external force

For the same net external force, the ratio of the masses of two objects is
the inverse of the ratio of their accelerations.
Newton’s Second Law
Newton’s Second Law
Using Newton’s Second Law
Usually we’ll use it in component form, with a separate equation for each
component of force and the corresponding component of acceleration:
 Example 2.1
A hockey puck having a mass of 0.30 kg slides on the frictionless, horizontal
surface of an ice rink. Two hockey sticks strike the puck simultaneously,
exerting the forces on the puck shown in Figure 2.3 . The force 𝑭𝟏 has a
magnitude of 5.0 N, and is directed at 𝜃 = 20° below the x axis. The force 𝟐
has a magnitude of 8.0 N and its direction is f 𝜃 = 60° above the x axis.
Determine both the magnitude and the direction of the puck’s acceleration
 Example 2.1
A hockey puck having a mass of 0.30 kg
slides on the frictionless, horizontal surface
of an ice rink. Two hockey sticks strike the
puck simultaneously, exerting the forces on
the puck shown in Figure 2.3 . The force
𝑭𝟏 has a magnitude of 5.0 N, and is directed
at 𝜃 = 20° below the x axis. The force 𝑭𝟐 has
a magnitude of 8.0 N and its direction is f
𝜃 = 60° above the x axis. Determine both
the magnitude and the direction of the
puck’s acceleration
Example 2.1
Mass and weight
Mass and weight
Mass and weight
Three professional wrestlers are fighting over a champion’s belt. Figure
2.6a shows the horizontal force each wrestler applies to the belt, as viewed
from above. The forces have magnitudes F1 = 50 N, F2 = 120 N, and F3 =
250 N. Find the x- and y-components of the net force on the belt, and find
its magnitude and direction.

Figure 2.6 (a)

Three forces acting on a belt.
Three professional wrestlers are fighting over a champion’s belt. Figure
2.6a shows the horizontal force each wrestler applies to the belt, as viewed
from above. The forces have magnitudes F1 = 50 N, F2 = 120 N, and F3 =
250 N. Find the x- and y-components of the net force on the belt, and find
its magnitude and direction.

Figure 2.6 (b) The net force

𝑅= σ 𝐹Ԧ and its components.
Newton’s Third Law
Two 25.0 N weights are suspended at opposite ends of a rope that passes
over a light, frictionless pulley. The pulley is attached to a chain from the
ceiling. (a) What is the tension in the rope? (b) What is the tension in the
chain?
A large wrecking ball is held in place
by two light steel cables. If the mass 𝑚
of the wrecking ball is 3620 kg, what
are (a) the tension 𝑇𝐵 in the cable that
makes an angle of 40° with the vertical
and (b) the tension 𝑇𝐴 in the horizontal
cable?
Apply Newton’s first law to the wrecking ball.
Each cable exerts a force on the ball, directed
along the cable.
The force diagram for the wrecking ball is
sketched in the figure
Your firm needs to haul granite blocks up a 15° slope out of a quarry and to
lower dirt into the quarry to fill the holes. You design a system in which a
granite block on a cart with steel wheels (weight 𝒘𝟏 , including both block
and cart) is pulled uphill on steel rails by a dirt-filled bucket (weight 𝒘𝟐 ,
including both dirt and bucket) that descends vertically into the quarry.
How must the weights 𝒘𝟏 and 𝒘𝟐 be related in order for the system to
move with constant speed? Ignore friction in the pulley and wheels, and
ignore the weight of the cable.
Suppose a constant horizontal friction force with magnitude 100 N opposes
the motion of an iceboat with mass 200 kg. In this case, what constant force
𝐹𝑤 must the wind exert on the iceboat to cause the same constant x-
2
acceleration 𝑎𝑥 = 1.5 m/𝑠 ?
A man is dragging a trunk up the
loading ramp of a mover’s truck. The
ramp has a slope angle of 20.0°, and
the man pulls upward with a force
𝐹Ԧ whose direction makes an angle of
30.0° with the ramp. (a) How large a
force 𝐹Ԧ is necessary for the component
Fx parallel to the ramp to be 90.0 N?
(b) How large will the component Fy
perpendicular to the ramp be then?
 Concept of Force and FBD
A rock is thrown up into the air by a person. Draw the free body diagram of the
rock while it is up in the air. (Your free body diagram is applicable for any time
after the rock leaves the thrower’s hand, until the last instant before the rock
makes contact with whatever it is destined to hit.) Neglect any forces that might
be exerted on the rock by the air.
In a modified version of the cart and bucket in Example 2.6, the angle of
the slope is 36.9° and the bucket weighs 255 N. The cart moves up the
incline and the bucket moves downward, both at constant speed. The cable
has negligible mass, and there is no friction. (a) What is the weight of the
cart? (b) What is the tension in the cable?
The cart and bucket move with constant speed, so their acceleration is
zero, which means that the forces on each of them must balance.
You increase the angle of the slope in Example 2.6 to 25.0° and use a
different cart and a different bucket. You observe that the cart and bucket
remain at rest when released and that the tension in the cable of negligible
mass is 155 N. There is no friction. (a) What is the weight of the cart? (b)
What is the combined weight of the cart and bucket?
 Concept of Force and FBD
Regarding the Free Body Diagrams: The hard part is creating them from a
description of the physical process under consideration; the easy part is using
them. In what little remains of this chapter, we will focus on the easy part: Given
a Free Body Diagram, use it to find an unknown force or unknown forces, and/or
use it to find the acceleration of the object.
 Concept of Force and FBD
Example 2.8 For an object of mass 2.00 kg, find the magnitude of the
normal force 𝑭𝑵 and find the magnitude of the acceleration 𝒂.
 Concept of Force and FBD
For an object of mass 2.00 kg, find the magnitude of the normal
force 𝑭𝑵 and find the magnitude of the acceleration 𝒂.

(Note that we define the symbols that we use to represent the components of
forces and the component of the acceleration, in the free body diagram. We
do this by drawing an arrow whose shaft represents a line along which the
force lies, and whose arrowhead we define to be the positive direction for
that force component, and then labeling the arrow with our chosen symbol.
A negative value for a symbol thus defined, simply means that the
corresponding force or acceleration is in the direction opposite to the
direction in which the arrow is pointing.
 Concept of Force and FBD
Note that the acceleration and all of the forces lie along one or the other of
two imaginary lines (one of which is horizontal and the other of which is
vertical) that are perpendicular to each other. The acceleration along one
line is independent of any forces perpendicular to that line so we
can consider one line at a time. Let’s deal with the horizontal line first.

෍ 𝑭 = 𝒎𝒂
Concept of Force and FBD
෍ 𝑭 = 𝒎𝒂

σ𝑭
𝒂=
𝒎
(𝑭𝑷 − 𝑭𝒌𝒇 )
𝒂=
𝒎
(𝟑𝟏𝑵 − 𝟏𝟑𝑵) 𝒎
𝒂= = 𝟗. 𝟎 𝟐 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕
𝟐. 𝟎𝟎 𝒌𝒈 𝒔
 Concept of Force and FBD
Now we turn our attention to the vertical direction. For your convenience, the free
body diagram is replicated here:
Concept of Force and FBD
෍ 𝑭 = 𝒎𝒂

σ𝑭
𝒂=
𝒎
(𝑭𝒈 − 𝑭𝑵 )
𝒂=
𝒎
(𝑭𝒈 − 𝑭𝑵 )
𝟎=
𝒎
𝑭𝑵 = 19.6 N
 Concept of Force and FBD
Example 2.9 A rock is thrown up into the air by a person. Draw the free body
diagram of the rock while it is up in the air. (Your free body diagram is applicable
for anytime after the rock leaves the thrower’s hand, until the last instant before
the rock makes contact with whatever it is destined to hit.) Neglect any forces that
might be exerted on the rock by the air.
 Concept of Force and FBD
Example 2.9 A rock is thrown up into the air by a person. Draw the free body
diagram of the rock while it is up in the air. (Your free body diagram is applicable
for anytime after the rock leaves the thrower’s hand, until the last instant before
the rock makes contact with whatever it is destined to hit.) Neglect any forces that
might be exerted on the rock by the air.
 Concept of Force and FBD
Note:
1) The only thing touching the object while it is up in the air (neglecting the
air itself) is the earth’s gravitational field. So there is only one force on the
object, namely the gravitational force. The arrow representing the force
vector is drawn so that the tail of the arrow is touching the object, and the
arrow extends away from the object in the direction of the force.
2) Unless otherwise stipulated and labeled on the diagram, upward is toward
the top of the page and downward is toward the bottom of the page.
3) The arrow representing the acceleration must be near but not touching
the object. (If it is touching the object, one might mistake it for a force.)
4) There is no velocity information on a free body diagram.
Concept of Force and FBD
 Concept of Force and FBD
Example 2.10 A ball of mass m hangs at rest, suspended by a string. Draw
the free body diagram for the ball, and create the corresponding table of
forces
 Concept of Force and FBD
Example 2.10 A ball of mass m hangs at rest, suspended by a string. Draw
the free body diagram for the ball, and create the corresponding table of
forces
 Concept of Force and FBD
Example 2.11 A sled of mass m is being pulled forward over a horizontal
frictionless surface by means of a horizontal rope attached to the front of the
sled. Draw the free body diagram of the sled and provide the corresponding
table of forces.
 Concept of Force and FBD
Example 2.11 A sled of mass m is being pulled forward over a horizontal
frictionless surface by means of a horizontal rope attached to the front of the
sled. Draw the free body diagram of the sled and provide the corresponding
table of forces.

Aside from the rope and the earth’s gravitational field, the sled is in contact
with a solid surface. The surface exerts a kind of force that we need to know
about in order to create the free body diagram for this example
Concept of Force and FBD
Concept of Force and FBD
 Concept of Force and FBD
Note: The word “Free” in “Free Body Diagram” refers to the fact that the
object is drawn free of its surroundings. Do not include the surroundings
(such as the horizontal surface on which the sled is sliding in the case at
hand) in your Free Body Diagram.
 Reference:
University Physics by Young and Freedman
(15 edition)
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