NEWTON'S LAWS OF

MOTION
PHYSICS LECTURE SERIES
KINEMATICS VS DYNAMICS
Kinematics: the language for describing
motion

Dynamics: the relationship of the motion to

the forces that cause it
THE CONCEPT OF FORCE
In everyday language, a force is a push or a
pull.
THE CONCEPT OF FORCE
An interaction between two bodies or a
body and its environment.
FORCES KNOWN IN THE UNIVERSE
Electromagnetic forces
- caused by electric and magnetic forces

Strong nuclear forces

- responsible for holding the nucleus
together in an atom
FORCES KNOWN IN THE UNIVERSE
Weak nuclear forces
- responsible for the radioactivity in atoms

Gravitational force
- weakest force
TYPES OF FORCES
Contact force

Field force
TYPES OF FORCES
Contact force

- Exists when an object from the external

world touches a system and exerts a force
on it
TYPES OF FORCES
Field force
- An object can move without something
directly touching it
TYPES OF CONTACT FORCES
Normal force
- exerted on an object with which it is in
contact with.
TYPES OF CONTACT FORCES
Friction force
- exerted on an object by a surface that acts
parallel to the surface, in the direction that
opposes sliding
TYPES OF CONTACT FORCES
Tension force
- a pulling force exerted on an object by a
rope, cord, etc.
LONG-RANGE FORCES
- Act even when the bodies are separated by
empty space

Weight: the gravitational force that the

Earth exerts on your body
VECTOR NATURE OF FORCES
To describe a force vector, we describe the
direction in which it acts, as well as the
magnitude.

SI unit for force is Newton (kg m/s2)

VECTOR NATURE OF FORCES
A common
instrument for
measuring force
magnitudes is the
spring balance.
SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
When two forces act at the same time at a
point A of the body, the effect on the body's
motion is the same as if a single force were
acting equal to the vector sum of the
original forces.
R = F1 + F2
SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
Sample Problem #1

Three professional wrestlers are fighting

over the same champion's belt. They apply
three horizontal forces to the belt.
 SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
Sample Problem #1
F1 = 250 N

53°
F2 = 50 N

Find the x- and y-

components of the net force
on the belt, and the
magnitude and direction of F3 = 120 N
the net force.
SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
Sample Problem #2

A warehouse worker pushes a crate along

the floor, with a force 10.0 N that points
downward at an angle of 45 degrees below
the horizontal. Find the components of the
force.
SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
Sample Problem #3

Two forces have the same magnitude F.

What is the angle between the vectors if
their sum has a magnitude of 2F?
SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
Sample Problem #3

Two forces have the same magnitude F.

What is the angle between the vectors if
their sum has a magnitude of 2F ?
SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
Sample Problem #3

Two forces have the same magnitude F.

What is the angle between the vectors if
their sum has a magnitude of zero?
SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
Sample Problem #4

A man is dragging a trunk up the loading ramp of

a mover's truck. The ramp has a slope angle of
20.0 degrees, and the man pullsupward with a
force F whose direction makes an angle of 30.0
degrees with the ramp.
SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
Sample Problem #4

How large a force F is

necessary for the
component Fx
parallel to the ramp
to be 60.0 N?
SUPERPOSITION OF FORCES
Sample Problem #4

How large will the

component Fy
perpendicular to the
ramp then be?
NEWTONIAN MECHANICS
The relation between a force and the
acceleration it causes was first understood
by Sir Isaac Newton.
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
Law of Inertia:

If no force acts on the body, the body's

velocity cannot change; that is the body
cannot accelerate.
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
Inertia:
Tendency of the body to keep moving;

Tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest

NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
The net force is what matters in Newton's
First Law.
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
The net force is the combination of all the
forces acting on the object.
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
What if the net force is zero?
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
What if the net force is not zero?
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
When the body is at rest or moving with
constant velocity, the body is in equilibrium.

Static equilibrium - objects at rest

NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
When the body is at rest or moving with
constant velocity, the body is in equilibrium.

Moving equilibrium - objects at constant

velocity
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION

F0
F  0
x

F  0
y
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
If objects in motion tend to stay in motion,
why don’t moving objects keep moving
forever?
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
If objects in motion tend to stay in motion,
why don’t moving objects keep moving
forever?
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
Contextual Example # 1

In the classic 1950 science fiction film Rocketship

X-M, a spaceship is moving in the vacuum of
outer space, far from any planet, when its
engine dies. As a result, the spaceship slows
down and stops.
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
Contextual Example # 1

What does Newton's First Law say about

this event?
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
Contextual Example # 2

You are driving a sports car on a straight

testing track at a constant speed of 150
km/h. You pass a vintage car doing a
constant 75 km/h. For which car is the net
force greater?
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
Contextual Example # 3

The Earth moves about 30 km/s relative to

the sun. But when you jump upward in front
of a wall, the wall doesn’t slam into you at
30 km/s. Why?
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
The First Law states that all objects have
inertia.
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW OF MOTION
The First Law states that all objects have
inertia.