Newton’s Laws of Motion

Newton’s
Laws of Motion
I. Law of Inertia
II. F=ma
III. Action-Reaction
 Newton’s Laws of Motion
• 1st Law – An object at rest will stay at rest,
and an object in motion will stay in
motion at constant velocity, unless acted
upon by an unbalanced force.
• 2nd Law – Force equals mass times
acceleration.
• 3rd Law – For every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction.
 Newton’s First Law

“The velocity of an object will remain constant

unless a net force acts on it.”

1st Law – An object at rest will stay at rest,

and an object in motion will stay in motion
at constant velocity, unless acted upon by an
unbalanced force.
Basically, an object will “keep doing what it
was doing” in the same direction at the
same speed unless acted on by an
unbalanced force.

If the object was sitting still, it will remain

stationary. If it was moving at a constant
velocity, it will keep moving.

It takes force to change the motion of an object.

 RECAP: What is meant by
unbalanced force?

If the forces on an object are equal and opposite, they are said
to be balanced, and the object experiences no change in
motion. If they are not equal and opposite, then the forces
are unbalanced and the motion of the object changes.
 Newton’s First Law is also called
the Law of Inertia
Inertia: the tendency of an object to
resist changes in its state of motion
The First Law states that all objects
have inertia. The more mass an
object has, the more inertia it has
(and the harder it is to change its
motion).
Therefore, inertia depends on mass.
The Relationship between Mass &
Inertia
The amount of inertia that an object has
is dependent on the object’s mass. The
more mass an object has the more
inertia it has.
 Mass & Inertia
If an object has a large amount of
inertia (due to a large mass)
1.It will be hard to slow it down or
speed it up of it is moving.
2.It will be hard to make it start moving
if it is at rest.
3.It will be hard to make it change
direction.
INERTIA DOES NOT DEPEND ON
GRAVITY

• An object’s inertia is the same on Earth

as it is in space.
Examples of the effects of inertia
might also include:

1. Inertia causes a passenger in a car to

continue to move forward even
though the car stops.
This is the reason that seat belts are so
important for the safety of passengers.
NOTE: Inertia is the reason that it is
impossible for vehicles to stop
instantaneously.
Don’t let this be you. Wear seat belts.
Because of inertia, objects (including you) resist
changes in their motion. When the car going 80
km/hour is stopped by the brick wall, your body
keeps moving at 80 m/hour.
2. Inertia is the reason that it is harder to
start pushing a wheelbarrow full of bricks
than to start pushing an empty
wheelbarrow. The filled wheelbarrow has more mass and
therefore, more inertia.

3. Inertia is also the reason that it is harder to

stop a loaded truck going 55 miles
per hour than to stop a car going 55 miles
per hour. The truck has more mass resisting the
change of its motion and therefore, more inertia.
Some Examples from Real Life
A soccer ball is sitting at rest. It
takes an unbalanced force of a kick
to change its motion.

Two teams are playing tug of war. They are both

exerting equal force on the rope in opposite
directions. This balanced force results in no
change of motion.
1 Law Continued
st

• Unless acted
upon by an
unbalanced
force, this golf
ball would sit on
the tee forever.
 1 Law Continued
st

• Once airborne,
unless acted on
by an unbalanced
force (gravity and
air – fluid
friction), it would
never stop!
If objects in motion tend to stay in
motion, why don’t moving objects
keep moving forever?
Things don’t keep moving forever because
there’s almost always an unbalanced force
acting upon it.

A book sliding across a table slows

down and stops because of the force
of friction.

If you throw a ball upwards it will

eventually slow down and fall
because of the force of gravity.
 What is this unbalanced force that acts on an object in motion?

• There are four main types of friction:

– Sliding friction: ice skating
– Rolling friction: bowling
– Fluid friction (air or liquid): air or water resistance
– Static friction: initial friction when moving an object
If objects in motion tend to stay in motion, why do
n’t moving objects keep moving forever?

Things don’t keep moving forever because

there’s almost always an unbalanced
force acting upon it.

A book sliding across a table slows

down and stops because of the force
of friction.

If you throw a ball upwards it will

eventually slow down and fall
because of the force of gravity.
 In outer space, away from gravity and any
sources of friction, a rocket ship launched with a
certain speed and direction would keep going in
that same direction and at that same speed
forever.
 QUESTION

Why then, do we observe every

day objects in motion slowing
down and becoming motionless
seemingly without an outside
force?
Momentum
 Momentum
• Momentum is what Newton called the
“quantity of motion” of an object.

• What is this quantity of motion?

• Today we call it momentum.
• Momentum is a characteristic of a moving
object that is related to the mass and the
velocity of the object.
 Momentum
• The momentum of an object:
• Depends on the object’s mass.
• Depends on the object’s velocity.
– What is velocity? Velocity includes the speed and
the direction. Ex: 10mph north
• The momentum of a moving object can be
determined by multiplying the object’s mass and
velocity.
Momentum = Mass x Velocity
• Since mass is measured in kilograms and velocity is
measured in meters per second, the unit for
momentum is kilogram-meters per second (kg x
m/s).

• Like velocity, acceleration, and force, momentum is

described by its direction as well as its quantity.
 Momentum Formula
• In symbols:

p = mv p
m v
Common units of
momentum: kg m/s
Momentum Defined

p = mv
p = momentum
vector
m = mass
v = velocity vector
• The momentum of an object is in the same direction
as its velocity.
• The more momentum a moving object has, the
harder it is to stop.

• The mass of an object affects the amount of

momentum the object has.

• For example, you can catch a baseball moving at 20

m/s, but you cannot stop a car moving at the same
speed. The car has more momentum because it has a
greater mass.
• The velocity of an object also affects the
amount of momentum an object has.

• For example, an arrow shot from a bow has a

large momentum because, although it has a
small mass, it travels at a high velocity.
 Sample Momentum Problems
• Which has more momentum: a 3.0 kg sledgehammer
swung at 1.5m/s, or a 4.0 kg sledgehammer swung at
0.9 m/s?
• Read and Understand
– What information are you given?
• Mass of smaller sledgehammer =
• Velocity of smaller sledgehammer =
• Mass of larger sledgehammer =
• Velocity of larger sledgehammer =
• Plan and Solve
– What quantities are you trying to calculate?
• The momentum of each sledgehammer
– What formula contains the given quantities and the
unknown quantity?
• Momentum = Mass x Velocity
– Perform the calculations
• Smaller sledgehammer:

• Larger sledgehammer:
• Look Back and Check
– Does your answer make sense?
• The 3.0 kg hammer has more momentum than
the 4.0 kg one. This answer makes sense
because it is swung at a greater velocity.
 Choose 2 out of the 4 Momentum
Problems to Calculate.
1. A golf ball travels at 16 m/s while a baseball
moves at 7 m/s. The mass of the golf ball is 0.045
kg and the mass of the baseball is 0.14 kg. Which
has a greater momentum?
2. What is the momentum of a bird with a mass of
0.018 kg flying at 15 m/s?

Momentum Internet Site

3. Calculate the momentum of a 1200kg car
with a velocity of 25m/s.

4. What is the momentum of a child and

wagon if the total mass of the child and
wagon is 22kg and the velocity is 1.5m/s?
How does momentum relate to
inertia?
Momentum is similar to inertia. Like inertia,
the momentum of an object depends on its
mass. Unlike inertia, however, momentum
takes into account how fast the object is
moving. A wrecking ball that is moving
very slowly, for example, has less
momentum than a fast moving wrecking
ball. With less momentum, the slower-
moving wrecking ball would not be able to
do as much damage to the wall.
Newton’s (2ND)Second Law

Force equals mass times acceleration.

F = ma
Acceleration: a measurement of how quickly an
object is changing speed and direction
(velocity) per unit time.
2 LAW FORMULA
nd
Force equals
mass times
acceleration.
MORE MASS NEEDS MORE FORCE
FOR GREATER ACCELERATION
 Newton’s Third Law
“Law of Action and Reaction”

“When one object exerts a force on a second object, the second

one exerts a force on the first that is equal in magnitude and
opposite in direction.”
.
 3 Law
rd

• For every action, there is an

equal and opposite reaction.
Even though the forces are equal in
magnitude and opposite in direction,
they do not cancel each
other. This law addresses two objects,
each with only one force exerted on it.
■ Each object is exerting one force on
the other object.
■ Each object is experiencing only one
force.
3 Law
rd

The reaction of a rocket is

an application of the third
law of motion. Various
fuels are burned in the
engine, producing hot
gases.
The hot gases push against
the inside tube of the rocket
and escape out the bottom
of the tube. As the gases
move downward, the rocket
moves in the opposite
direction.
3 Law- Meaning????
rd
According to Newton,
whenever objects A and B
interact with each other,
they exert forces upon each
other. When you sit in your
chair, your body exerts a
downward force on the
chair and the chair exerts
an upward force on your
body.
 3 Law
rd

There are two forces

resulting from this
interaction - a force on
the chair and a force on
your body. These two
forces are called action
and reaction forces.
3 Law
rd

Flying gracefully
through the air, birds
depend on Newton’s
third law of motion. As
the birds push down on
the air with their wings,
the air pushes their
wings up and gives
them lift.
• 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).
• Action-reaction force pairs make it possible for birds
to fly.
 Think about it . . .
What happens if you are standing on a
skateboard on a slippery floor and push against
a wall? You slide in the opposite direction
(away from the wall), because you pushed on
the wall but the wall pushed back on you
with equal and opposite force.

Why does it hurt so much when you stub

your toe? When your toe exerts a force on
a rock, the rock exerts an equal force back
on your toe. The harder you hit your toe
against it, the more force the rock exerts back
on your toe (and the more your toe hurts).
Other Examples of Newton’s 3rd
Law of Motion
More Examples of the 3 Law
rd
 Other examples of Newton’s Third
Law
• The baseball forces the
bat to the left (an
action); the bat forces
the ball to the right (the
reaction).
 3 Law
rd

• Consider the motion of

a car on the way to
school. A car is
equipped with wheels
which spin backwards.
As the wheels spin
backwards, they grip
the road and push the
road backwards.
The action and reaction forces are reciprocal on
an object.
○ Examples may include:
○ A swimmer swimming forward:
■ The swimmer pushes against the water
(action force), the water pushes back on the
swimmer (reaction force) and pushes her
forward.
○ A ball is thrown against a wall:
■ The ball puts a force on the wall (action
force), and the wall puts a force on the ball
(reaction force) so the ball bounces off.
A person is diving off a raft:
■ The person puts a force on the raft (action force) pushing
it, and the raft puts a force on the diver (reaction force)
pushing them in the opposite direction.
○ A person pushes against a wall (action force), and the wall
exerts an equal and opposite force against the person
(reaction force).

○ The Space Shuttle engines push out hot gases (action

force), and the hot gases put a force on the shuttle engines
(reaction force) so the shuttle lifts (there is no sling shot
doing it!)