Newton’s Laws of Motion

Aristotle
- Greek philosopher, studied motion 2,000 years ago.
- First suggested that a force is necessary to produce
motion and maintain it.
- For about 20 centuries, people believe Aristotle’s
weird ideas about motion until Galileo Galilei
challenged Aristotle theories regarding motion.
Galileo Galilei
- Scientist from Florence, Italy.
- Performed thought experiments to test Aristotle’s ideas.
 Thought experiments – are experiments not actually
performed except in the mind and conclusions are
arrived at through logical thought.
- A body moving along a frictionless surface does not
need an external force to maintain its uniform speed.
- Galileo’s work on motions caught the interest of Isaac
Newton
Isaac Newton
- Studied and developed further the ideas of Galileo
about motion.
- Principia Mathematica (1687), discussed his 3 laws of
motion, which are now among the fundamental laws
of physics.
Force
Force
- In mechanics, any action that tends to maintain or alter
the motion of a body or to distort it.
- Is a push or pull upon an object resulting from the
object’s interaction with another object.
- Whenever there is an interaction between two objects,
there is a force upon each of the objects.
- Forces only exist as a result of an interaction.
 Newton’s Laws of Motion
• The SI unit of force is newton, written as N.

• It is defined as the force that produces an

acceleration of 1 m/to a mass of 1 kg. Thus, m=1 kg and
a=1 m/, then F=1 N.

• Therefore, 1 N=1 kgm/

Contact and Non-contact Forces
Contact Forces
- acts on an object by only touching it.
Situational examples:
Holding a book
Book on top of the table
1.Tension
2.Normal force
3.Kinetic and Static Friction
4.Spring Force
5.Thrust
Tension
- is the pull exerted by a string, rope of cable when
attached to a body and pulled taut.
Sample problem
A force of 20 N pulls two carts tied together with a
string. The carts, with masses 3 kg and 4 kg, respectively,
run on a smooth level surface.
Find:
a. Acceleration of the 4 kg cart,
b. Acceleration of the 3 kg cart, and
c. The tension of the string connecting the 2 carts
Given:
m1 = 4 kg solve for T
Consider the 3 kg box:
m2 = 3 kg
F-T = m1 a
F = 20 N
20 N – T = 3 kg (2.86 m/s^2)
Find: a1, a2, T
20 N – 8.58 N = T
Solutions: solve for a 11.428 N = T
F = mTa
20 N = (4 kg + 3 kg) (a) 2.86 m/s^2 is also the acceleration of the
20 N/ 7 kg = a 4 kg box since they are connected to one
2.86 m/s^2 = a another.
Normal Force

- A contact force exerted by a surface on an object.

- Its direction is perpendicular but away from the surface.
Kinetic and Static Friction
- Whether static or kinetic, friction is a contact force.
- Acts to oppose sliding motion between surfaces. The
direction of this force is parallel to the surface and
opposite direction of sliding.
- You have a Static friction acting when trying to get an
object moving and once it is moving you have kinetic
or sliding friction acting.
Spring Force

- Is either a push or a pull exerted on an object by a

spring.
Thrust
- It is the general term for
forces that move objects such
as rockets, airplanes, cars and
people.
- Its direction is the same as the
direction of acceleration of the
object barring any resistive
force.
Non-contact forces
- Also known as the long-range force.
- A force that is exerted from a distance without contact or
touching.
Situational examples:
Attraction between:
Earth and the moon
Earth and the sun or
Between any two objects
1. Gravitational Force
Gravitational Force

- Is a non-contact force between two bodies in the

universe due to the gravitational attraction between
them.
- Is an attractive force.
Balanced and Unbalanced Forces
Balanced and Unbalanced force

- Balanced forces implies the force which does not

change the object’s state of motion. On the contrary,
Unbalanced forces are the one that results in the
change in object’s state of motion.
Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR COMPARISON BALANCED FORCES UNBALANCED FORCES

The forces exerted on an

The forces applied on the
Meaning object, are of equal of size object are unequal in size.
but opposite direction.
Direction Opposite Same or Opposite
Stationary object Stays at rest Moves in direction of
greater force
Continues to move in the Changes its speed and
Moving object same speed direection
Newton’s 3 Laws of motion.
LAW OF INERTIA

Newton’s first law of motion stated that:

A body at rest continues to remain at
rest and a body with constant velocity
continues to be in constant uniform motion,
unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
Situational example:

• The principle behind the use of seat belts and

headrests in cars.
• -A driver or passenger in a moving car who is not
wearing a seat belt will be thrown forward when the
car suddenly stops because he remains in motion. A
fastened seat belt provides a restraining force on the
passenger’s or driver’s motion.
• Other Situational Examples
Situational Example
LAW OF MASS AND ACCELERATION

Newton’s second law of motion can be expressed as

follows:
The acceleration of a body is directly
proportional to the force exerted on the body
and is in the same direction as this force.
 Law of Mass and Acceleration
• In equation form, Newton’s second law of motion is

(F- force, m- mass, a- acceleration)

• Another useful insight can be obtained by rearranging
the equation
Law of Mass and Acceleration

• The relation states that the acceleration

produced is proportional to the net force
and inversely proportional to the mass.
 Situational Examples
• Acceleration Depends on Mass
Look at the two carts below. Which one will require the
smallest amount of force to push?
 Acceleration Depends on Mass
You would only have to
exert a small force on the
empty cart to accelerate
it. However, when the
cart is full, the same
amount of force will not
accelerate the cart as
much as before.
Acceleration Depends on Force
• The carts below have boxes with the same mass on
them. If we apply different amounts of force, which
one will have the greater acceleration?
Acceleration Depends on Force
Remember:
• The higher the mass of an object, the less the
increase of its acceleration because more amount of
force will be needed.
• The lower the mass of an object, the higher its
acceleration; the less amount of force is needed
Formulas
LAW OF INTERACTION
• Newton’s third law of motion stated that:
In every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction.
LAW OF INTERACTION
• The statement means that in every interaction, there is
a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects.
The size of the forces on the first object equals the size
of the force on the second object. The direction of the
force on the first object is opposite to the direction of
the force on the second object. Forces always come in
pairs - equal and opposite action-reaction force pairs.
Situational Example
• Consider the flying motion of birds. A bird flies by use of its wings.
The wings of a bird push air downwards. Since forces result from
mutual interactions, the air must also be pushing the bird
upwards. The size of the force on the air equals the size of the
force on the bird; the direction of the force on the air
(downwards) is opposite the direction of the force on the bird
(upwards). For every action, there is an equal (in size) and
opposite (in direction) reaction. Action-reaction force pairs make
it possible for birds to fly.
Situational Example
• Consider the motion of a car on the way to school. A car is equipped
with wheels that spin. As the wheels spin, they grip the road and push
the road backwards. Since forces result from mutual interactions, the
road must also be pushing the wheels forward. The size of the force on
the road equals the size of the force on the wheels (or car); the
direction of the force on the road (backwards) is opposite the direction
of the force on the wheels (forwards). For every action, there is an
equal (in size) and opposite (in direction) reaction. Action-reaction
force pairs make it possible for cars to move along a roadway surface.
Applications of Newton’s Law
of Motion
Applying Newton’s First Law of Motion

The law of inertia implies that there is no

fundamental difference between bodies at rest and one
that is constant motion. Forces may act on the body
and produce no motion.
Applying Newton’s First Law of Motion
Example:
• Let us say that a box on a frictionless floor is pushed to
the right by a boy with a certain force, and by another
boy to the left with the same magnitude of force.
• Since they exert equal amount of forces in exactly
opposite directions, the box will not move. The forces
are balanced, and so the resultant force is zero.
• The box will remain at rest.
Applying Newton’s First Law of Motion
Example: