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Newton’s Second Law of Motion

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Physics I Workbook For Dummies, 2nd Edition

By Steven Holzner

Force saves you from the monotony of everything moving at the same speed and direction forever.
Force can act on objects, changing their direction and/or speed. The relationship between force,
mass, and acceleration is primary in physics classes.

To start, you need to know Newton’s Second Law of Motion, which is a big one in physics:
“When a net force sigmaF acts on an object of mass m, the acceleration of that mass can be
calculated by sigmaF = ma.” The sigma sign stands for “sum,” so sigmaF = ma can be read as
“the vector sum of all forces on an object (the net force) equals mass times acceleration.” It is
important to note that this is a vector equation and that both force and acceleration are
vectors in this equation. Mass, like time, is a scalar.
Newton’s second law is often just abbreviated as F = ma. It’s important to note that sigmaF refers to
the vector sum of all the forces on the object and not to just a single force.

What is the unit of force? This table gives you a rundown for the three measurement systems most
commonly used in physics:

Units of Force

System Unit Name Abbreviation

MKS kg-m/s2 newton N

CGS g-m/s2 dyne dyn

FPS pound lb

Here’s how you relate the three di erent units of force:

1 lb = 4.448 N

1 N = 105 dyn

Sample question

1 You’re at rest on an ice rink when you get hit from behind with a force of 50.0N as
someone bumps you. If your mass is 70.0 kg, what is your acceleration?
The correct answer is 0.714 m/s2.
 1.1 Use the equation F = ma: Solving for a gives you a = F/m.
2
1.2 Plug in the numbers: a = F/m = (50.0 N)/(70.0 kg) = 0.714 m/s .

Practice questions

1 You come home to nd a delivered package with a mass of 100 kg blocking the door. If
you push it with a force of 100 N, what will its acceleration be if no friction is involved?

2 You’re gliding across a frictionless lake in a sailboat. If your mass is 70 kg and the boat’s
mass is 200 kg, with what force does the wind need to blow you to give you an
acceleration of 0.30 m/s2?

3 You have control of a space station, which has a mass of 400,000 kg. To give it an
acceleration of 2.0 m/s2, what force do you need to apply with the rockets?

4 You nd a stone in the forest and give it a push of 50.0 N. It accelerates at 2.0 m/s2.
What is its mass?

5 You’re applying a force of 17 N to a hockey puck with a mass of 0.17 kg. Starting from
rest, how far has the puck gone in 0.10 seconds?
 6 You push a rowboat on a calm lake (assuming no friction) with a force of 40.0 N. If the
rowboat has a mass of 80.0 kg, how far has it gone in 10.0seconds?

7 A space station with a mass of 1.0 x 105 kg is moving toward a satellite at 5.0 m/s. If you
want to avoid crashing them together and have only 1.0 x 103 seconds in which to act,
what force do you need to apply to stop the space station from colliding with the satellite?

8 Your 1,000-kg car needs a push. Starting at rest, how hard do you have to push to get it
up to 5.0 m/s in 1.0 x 102 seconds?

Following are answers to the practice questions:

1 1 m/s2

1.1 Solving F = ma for a gives you a = F/m.

2
1.2 Plug in the numbers: a = F/m = 100 N/100 kg = 1 m/s .
2 81 N

2.1 Use the equation F = ma.

2
2.2 Plug in the numbers: F = ma = (70 kg + 200 kg)(0.30 m/s ) = 81 N.

3 800,000 N

3.1 Use the equation F = ma.

2
3.2 Plug in the numbers: F = ma = (400,000 kg)(2.0 m/s ) = 800,000 N.

4 25 kg

4.1 Use the equation F = ma, and solve for the mass, giving you m = F/a.
2
4.2 Plug in the numbers: m = F/a = 50 N/2.0 m/s = 25 kg.

5 50 m

5.1 Use the equation F = ma, and solve for the acceleration, giving you a = F/m.

5.2 Use the equation

and substitute F/m for a:

5.3 Plug in the numbers:

6 25 m

6.1 Use the equation F = ma, and solve for the acceleration, giving you a = F/m.
 6.2 Use the equation

and substitute F/m for a:

6.3 Plug in the numbers:

7 –5.0 x 102 N

7.1 Use the equation F = ma, and solve for the acceleration, giving you a = F/m.

7.2 Use the equation vf = vo + at. In this question, vf = 0, so at = –vo.

7.3 This becomes

solving for F gives you

2
7.4 Plug in the numbers, and you get F = –500 N = –5.0 x10 N (it’s negative because it’s
opposite to the direction of travel).

8 50 N

8.1 Use the equation F = ma, and solve for the acceleration, giving you a = F/m.

8.2 Use the equation vf = vo + at. In this question, vf = 10 and vo = 0, so at = vf.

8.3 This becomes

solving for F gives you

 8.4 Plug in the numbers, and you get F = 50 N.

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