Newton’s Second Law and the

Friction and Spring Forces

Quick review of Newton’s 2nd law Drawing and using free body
diagrams
Static friction
Resolving vectors into x and y
Kinetic friction components
Springs Sample problems
Newton’s 2nd law in a larger context

Monday, June 8, Session 1

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 Newton’s Second Law

The sum of the forces acting on an object is equal to the product of

the object’s mass and its acceleration.

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Newton’s second law is a vector equation.

Vectors have both magnitude and direction.

The magnitude of a vector is represented symbolically by the same

symbol as the vector, but without the arrow:

Vector magnitudes are always positive.

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The directions of the acceleration of an object and the
net force applied are the same.

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 Static Friction

y
You push against a filing cabinet, but it
doesn’t move.

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The static friction force can have a magnitude from zero, up to
some maximum value.
i.e. fs ranges from 0 to fs, max

The static friction force acts in a direction opposite to the direction

of motion the object would have if there was no friction.

The magnitude of the maximum static friction force is experimentally

found to be related to the normal force:

This is not a vector equation.

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 Example 1 Solution

If the coefficient of static friction

between the filing cabinet and the floor
is 0.92, what is the maximum force that
can be applied before the cabinet
begins to slide? The mass of the cabinet
is 120 kg.

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 Kinetic Friction
What happens if a force greater than is applied to
the filing cabinet?

We find, again through experiment, that the frictional force

does not disappear, but assumes a constant value, which
is smaller than the static friction.
The frictional force present between two objects sliding
past each other is called the kinetic friction force, fk.
The kinetic frictional force is related to the normal force by
the coefficient of kinetic friction, µ k :

This is not a vector equation.

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 Example 2 Solution

The applied force on our filing cabinet is

increased to 1100 N, so that the cabinet
starts to slide. If its acceleration is 7 m/s2,
what is the coefficient of kinetic friction
between the floor and the cabinet?

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 Example 3 Solution

Why is it better not to skid when

you want to stop a car in as short
a distance as possible?

For example, suppose that the car

has a mass of 1200 kg and is
travelling at 22 m/s. The coefficient of
static friction between the car tires
and the road is 0.8, and the coefficient
of kinetic friction between the tires
and the road is 0.6. How far does the
car need to come to a complete stop if
it is (a) skidding? (b) not skidding?

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 What causes friction?

Surface roughness?
Will two smooth surfaces slide over each other more easily
than two rough surfaces?
Cold welding

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Springs and the spring force
Consider a spring which is neither stretched
nor compressed. The length of the spring in
this state is its equilibrium length.

We can compress or stretch the spring. Let d

be the distance between the equilibrium length
and the position of the end of the spring when it
is stretched or compressed.
d
d Experimentally, it is found that for many
materials, the magnitude of the restoring force,
or spring force, is proportional to the distance
d:
This is not a vector equation.

The constant of proportionality, k, is a measure

of how stiff the spring is.

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 Hooke’s Law

Hooke’s law is not really a law. It would be more correct to call

it “Hooke’s rule of thumb.”
Nevertheless, it is amazingly useful, and many materials obey
Hooke’s law (under the right conditions).
Hooke’s law relates the magnitude of the restoring force of a
spring, to the distance from equilibrium of the spring.

A note: You will often see Hooke’s law given as

This is sloppy notation, and can lead to confusion.

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Example 4: A typical spring problem

A spring with a spring constant of 16.7 N/m

is suspended from the ceiling. With no
mass attached, it has a length of 12.3 cm.
When a mass is hung from the spring, its
length increases to 15.6 cm. How much
mass was suspended from the spring?

Solution

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 Example 5: Bringing it all together

A block, incline, and spring are configured

as shown in the diagram. The block has a
mass 0.75 kg, the spring constant has the
value 107 N/m, and the block is pulled
down the incline a distance of 7.2 cm from
the spring’s equilibrium position and
released. What is the initial acceleration of
the block if the coefficient of friction between
the block and the surface is 0.25 and the
angle of the incline is 40°?

Solution

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 The bigger picture
Newton’s second law is amazingly useful:

Gets us to the moon.

Calculate the position of the planets.
Ballistics.

For such a simple equation, it can be very difficult to

solve...

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A closer look at Newton’s second
law

Newton originally stated his law in a different way:

It is a differential equation.

Example: Objects orbiting each other due to the gravitational force.

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 The bigger picture cont...
Hooke’s law can be used to model the interaction of atoms in a solid.

Atoms are continually jiggling about their equilibrium position. As long as

the jiggles are small, Hooke’s law can be used to model their vibrations.

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