T H I R D L A W O F

M O T I O N :
L A W
O F
A C C E L E R A T I O N
P R E PA R E D BY:
MS. DIANA E. BAGAY
SCIENCE TEACHER
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson the students should be able to:

 identify the law of acceleration;

 investigate the relationship between the amount of force applied
and the mass of an object to the change in the object’s motion; and
 realize the applications of the second law in real life.
 Newton's second law is one of the most
important laws you'll learn. It's used in almost
every chapter of every physics textbook, so
it's important to master this law as soon as
possible.
 These boys are racing around the track at
Newton’s Skate Park. The boy who can
increase his speed the most will win the race.
Tony, who is closest to the camera in this
picture, is bigger and stronger than the other
two boys, so he can apply greater force to
his skates.
Q: Does this mean that Tony will win the race?
A: Not necessarily, because force isn’t the
only factor that affects acceleration.

Figure 1. 1 Showing Force on Skate Racing

Newton’s Second Law: LAW OF
ACCELERATION
• States that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force
and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.
• The law states that the acceleration of an object equals the net force acting
on the object divided by the object’s mass.
Formula:
a=
where,
F the force applied on an object in newtons (N)
M the mass of an object in kilogram (kg)
a the acceleration of an object in meters per second squared ()
Example #1:
An object of mass 6 kg is acted on by a force of 36.6 N. What would its
acceleration be?

Given: Solution:
m = 6 kg a=
F = 36.6 N a=
Find: Final answer: a =
a
Formula:
a=
Example #2:
What force is required on a 5,800 kg object if it slows down from 55 m/s
to 45 m/s in 14 s?
Given: where,
m = 5,800 kg F/f force
vi = 55 m/s a acceleration
vf = 45 m/s m mass
t = 14 s vi initial velocity
Find: F vf final velocity
Formulas: F = ma t time
a = or
Solution:
F = ma

F = 5,800 kg ()
F = -4,142.86 N

Interpretation:
The object is decreasing or slowing down.
Example #3:
Neglecting air friction, what force is required to accelerate an
automobile, weighing 40,500 N from 40 km/h to 55 km/h in 8 s?
Given: where,
Fw = 40,500 N Fw force weight
vi = 40 km/h vi initial velocity
vf = 55 km/h vf final velocity
t =8s t time
Find: F g gravity (acceleration due to gravity)

Formulas: F = ()()
Solution:
F= ()()
F=
(convert velocity to m/s)

vi =

vf =
F=

F = 2,154.15 N
 This law of Newton (Law of
Acceleration) applies to real life, being
one of the laws of physics that impacts
most in our daily lives
 Kicking a ball

When we kick a ball, we exert force in a specific

direction, which is the direction in which it will travel.

In addition, the stronger that ball is kicked, the stronger

the force we put on it and the further away it will go.
Capture the ball by hand

Professional athletes move their hands back

once they catch the ball as it provides the ball
more time to lose its speed, and in turn apply less
force on its part.
Two people walking together

• The same reasoning above can be applied to any

moving object. For example, two people walking
together, but one of them has a lower weight than the
other, although they walk with the same amount of
force, who weighs less will go faster because their
acceleration is certainly greater.
5 minutes to review for
the Short Quiz!