Professional Documents
Culture Documents
3.1 Newton's Laws of Motion
3.1 Newton's Laws of Motion
3.1 Newton's Laws of Motion
4N 4N
3N 3N 3N
There is no ‘net’ or resultant
force on the mass: the forces
are balanced.
4N
3 of 28 © Boardworks Ltd 2009
Forces and motion
If there is no resultant force on an object, can it be moving?
F = √32 + 42 = 5 N
4N
θ = tan-1(4/3) = 53°
There is a resultant force of 5 N at a direction of 53° from
the horizontal.
F = ma
weight = mg
3000 kg 5000 kg
The engine must accelerate both the car and the caravan:
?
4000 N
3000 kg 5000 kg
2500 N
4000 N
3000 kg 5000 kg
Free body diagrams only include the forces that act on one
object. This makes it easy to work out whether the forces on it
are balanced or not, and whether the object will accelerate.