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Lec03-Newton's Laws of Motion
Lec03-Newton's Laws of Motion
Class 03
Rev. 05-Jan-05 GB
03-1
Important Notice
03-2
Newton’s Laws of Motion
03-3
What is a Force?
Force
Target Source
03-4
Forces Are Vectors -
Adding Force Vectors
To add forces, first write the individual force vectors
in component form.
In one dimension, there is only one component and
the + or – sign tells you the direction.
Add components for each dimension (X,Y,Z).
Examples (1D):
+3 N + +3 N = +6 N
+3 N + -3 N = 0 N
03-5
Newton’s First Law
03-6
Newton’s Second Law
“F = ma”
03-7
Using Newton’s Second Law to
Solve Problems
1. Identify all forces acting on the object.
Pushes or Pulls Friction (if specified)
Gravity Normal (Surface) Forces
2. Choose a coordinate system.
If you know the direction of acceleration, one
coordinate axis should be in that direction.
3. Draw a “Free-Body Diagram.”
We will show you how in the next slide.
4. Express the force vectors in components.
This may require trigonometry (later).
5. Use Newton’s Second Law to write one
equation for each direction considered.
We will do 1D today, 2D later.
6. Solve the equation(s).
03-8
Free-Body Diagrams
03-9
Example Problem in 1D
An Elevator Going Down
Consider an elevator moving downward and speeding
up with an acceleration of 2 m/s2. The mass of the
elevator is 1000 kg. Ignore air resistance. What is
the tension in the elevator cable?
a X
1. Forces: Weight (W) down and Tension (T) up. T
2. Coordinates: +X down. (Why?)
3. Free-body diagram :
4. X Components: (W) and (–T). (Why – for T?) W = mg
5. Second Law: (W) + (–T) = m a.
6. Solve: T = W – m a = m g – m a = m (g–a)
T = 1000 (9.8–2) = 7800 N.
03-10
Newton’s Third Law:
“Action and Reaction”
“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
What does that mean?
It means that forces always occur in pairs. If object A is the
target (acted upon) of a force whose source (due to) is object
B, then there is another force vector with the same length but
opposite direction on B due to A.
F on A from B F on B from A
Object A Object B
03-11
Newton’s Third Law Pairs:
How to Recognize Them
03-12
Class #3
Take-Away Concepts
03-13
Class #3
Problems of the Day
A) Your weight and the force of gravity pulling on the earth due to your mass.
B) Your weight and the normal force from the seat holding you up.
C) The weight of an airplane and the lift from its wings holding it up.
D) All of the above (A-C).
E) None of the above (A-C).
03-14
Class #3
Problems of the Day
___ 2. Imagine that you are at rest and holding an object, of mass m,
stationary in your hand. (The weight of the object is mg.)
The net force exerted on the object is:
A) mg upward
B) mg downward
C) zero
D) more information is needed to answer this question
03-15
Activity #3
Newton’s Laws in 1D
03-16
Class #3 Optional Material
Are Newton’s Laws True?
It’s been over 300 years since Newton published Principia Mathematica.
How have his laws done since then?
The First Law is still doing fine. In modern times, many types of very low-
friction motion (space travel, magnetic bearings, air hockey tables, etc.) make
this notion more intuitively appealing than in the past.
The Third Law is also doing fine. All forces currently known to physics
obey this law. Any force not obeying this law would cause big problems in
physics, like getting free mechanical energy from nothing.
However, the Second Law in the form we learn it in Physics I is not exactly
correct. Where did Newton go wrong?
03-17
Where Did Newton Go Wrong?
03-18
If the Second Law isn’t true,
why do we still use it?
The Second Law is true to a very good approximation when dealing with
velocities much less than the speed of light. For most calculations
involving ordinary objects, it is close enough for practical purposes.
03-19