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MasteringPhysics - Assignment 4 - Forces Part One

1) Newton's first law states that an object will remain at rest or in constant motion unless acted upon by an external force. It defines an inertial reference frame as one where this law holds. 2) Newton's second law establishes the relationship between an object's net force, mass, and acceleration. It states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. 3) To properly apply Newton's laws, it is important to use an inertial reference frame where Newton's first law is true. The earth is approximately inertial for most practical applications on its surface.

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MasteringPhysics - Assignment 4 - Forces Part One

1) Newton's first law states that an object will remain at rest or in constant motion unless acted upon by an external force. It defines an inertial reference frame as one where this law holds. 2) Newton's second law establishes the relationship between an object's net force, mass, and acceleration. It states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. 3) To properly apply Newton's laws, it is important to use an inertial reference frame where Newton's first law is true. The earth is approximately inertial for most practical applications on its surface.

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10/4/2017 MasteringPhysics: Assignment 3 - Forces Part One

Newton's1stand2ndLaws

LearningGoal:
TounderstandthemeaningandthebasicapplicationsofNewton's1stand2ndlaws.

Newton'slawsarefundamentalinmechanics.Theirmathematicalexpressionsareverysimplebutconceptualunderstandingof
Newton'slaws,whichisnecessaryforsolvingnontrivialproblems,isnotsimpleatall.

Newton's1stlaw
ThecommontextbookstatementofNewton's1stlawmayseemratherstraightforward.Hereitis:
Anobjecthasaconstantvelocity(possiblyzero)ifandonlyifthenetforceactingontheobjectiszero.
Inotherwords,ifthevectorsumoftheforcesappliedtotheobjectiszero,theobjectwouldbeeitheratrestoratconstant
velocity(thatis,theobjectwouldhavezeroacceleration).Ifsuchasumisnotzero,theobjectcannotpossiblybemovingata
constantvelocity.

Framesofreference
ThestatementofNewton's1stlawbecomesabitmorecomplicatedinactualapplications.Imagineyourselfinacar.To
understandNewton's1stlawfully,weneedtheconceptofaframeofreference.Aframeofreferenceisasetofcoordinatesused
tomeasuredistancesandtimes.Inyourframeofreference,anydistancewouldbemeasuredrelativetoyou.Forexample,the
radiointhecaris0.75mtotherightofyou.Theradioisatrestinyourframeofreference,becausetheradiodoesn'tchangeits
distanceordirectionfromyou.

Inyourframeofreference,thecarisalwaysatrest.Itisentirelypossiblethatthenetforceactingonthecarisnotzero:Thecar
may(intheframeofreferenceofanobserverstandingontheground)beaccelerating,turning,orbraking.Yetinyourframeof
reference,thecarwouldremainatrestbecause,relativetoyou,itisnotmovingatall.So,thecarisatrestoraccelerating,
dependinguponwhoyouask.

Inertialframesofreference
It'stemptingtoignorethisdifficultybysayingthattheframeofreferenceattachedtothecarissomehowwrong.Theobserveron
theground,incontrast,isright:Theobserverseesthemotionofthecarasitreallyis.However,suchalineofreasoningseems
flawed,becauseitraisesthequestionofhowtodeterminewhichframesofreferenceare"right"andwhichonesare"wrong."

ThisiswhatNewton's1stlawsettles.Newtonestablishedtheconceptofaninertialframeofreference.Aninertialframeof
reference,bydefiniton,isoneinwhichthestatementofNewton's1stlawis,infact,true.

Newton's2ndlaw
Itisimportanttoknowthattheframeofreferencebeingusedis,infact,inertial.OnlythendoesNewton's2ndlawworkina
simpleandelegantform.Newton's2ndlawestablishestherelationshipbetweenthenetforceactingonanobject,themassof
theobject,anditsacceleration:


F net = ma ,
or

F
.
net
a=
m

NotethatNewon's2ndlawallowsonetofindthemagnitudeoftheobject'sacceleration.Italsoestablishesthefactthatthe
accelerationofanobjecthasthesamedirectionasthenetforceactingontheobject.

ApplyingNewton'slawsininertialandnoninertialframes
Iftheframeofreferenceisnotinertial,usingNewton's2ndlawtocalculateaccelerationisstillpossiblebutmaybefarmore
complicated.Objectsthatexperiencezeronetforcemayaccelerate,andobjectsthatmoveatconstantvelocitymayexperience
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10/4/2017 MasteringPhysics: Assignment 3 - Forces Part One
anetforcenotequaltozero.Theimportantquestionis:Whichframesofreferenceareinertialandwhichonesarenot?Thisalso
raisesthefollowingquestion:Arethereanyinertialframesofreferenceinthisuniverse?

Newtonpostulatedthatinertialframesofreferencedoexist.Thisstatement,coupledwiththedefinitionofinertialframesof
reference,maybeconsideredamoreproperwaytostateNewton's1stlaw.

Onlyanexperimentcanestablishwhetheraparticularframeofreferenceisinertial(or,tobeprecise,"inertialenough"forthe
purposesneeded).Letusgobacktothecarexample.Theframeofreferenceattachedtotheground,wewouldusuallysay,is
inertial.Thatis,ifwegetanobjectandmakesurethatallexternalforcesactingonitadduptozero,wecanthenobservethat
theobjectis,infact,movingatconstantvelocity(or,possibly,remainingatrest).Inmostproblemsthatwewillbesolving,the
frameofreferenceoftheearthwillbeconsideredaninertialframeofreference.Forallpracticalpurposes,thismeansthat
Newton's2ndlawwillworkinit.

However,itisinstructivetounderstandthattheearthprovidesareferenceframethatislessthan"perfectlyinertial."Anobserver
onthesun,forinstance,wouldnoticethattheobjectinquestiondoes,infact,haveanacceleration:thecentripetalacceleration
associatedwiththeorbitalmotionoftheeartharoundthesun!Thebestinertialframeofreferenceistheoneassoicatedwith
distantstarsandanyotherframeofreferencethatismovingataconstantvelocityrelativetodistantstars.

TheconceptualquestionsthatfollowshouldhelpyoulearntoapplyNewton's1stand2ndlawsproperly.Notethat,throughout
thisproblem,wewillassumethattheframeofreferenceassociatedwiththeearthisperfectlyinertial.

PartA
Whichobjectprovidesaninertialframeofreference?
ANSWER:

thetipofthemovingsecondhandofaclock

arockthrownverticallyupward

apendulumswingingwithnoairresistance

askydiverfallingatterminal(constant)velocity

Correct
Assumingthattheearthprovidesaninertialframeofreference,anobjectmovingataconstantvelocityrelativetothe
earthwouldalsoprovideaninertialframeofreference.

PartB
Youareconductinganexperimentinsideanelevatorthatcanmoveinaverticalshaft.Aloadishungverticallyfromthe
ceilingonastring,andisstationarywithrespecttoyou.Thetensioninthestringismeasuredtobe10%lessthantheforce
duetogravityontheload.Nootherforcesareactingontheload.Whichofthefollowingstatementsabouttheelevatorare
correct?
Checkallthatapply.
ANSWER:

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10/4/2017 MasteringPhysics: Assignment 3 - Forces Part One

Theelevatorisaninertialframeofreference.

Theelevatorisnotaninertialframeofreference.

Theelevatormaybeatrestforthedurationoftheentireexperiment.

Theelevatormaybemovingataconstantvelocityupward.

Theelevatormaybemovingataconstantvelocitydownward.

Theelevatormustbeaccelerating.

Correct

PartC
Youareconductinganexperimentinsideanelevatorthatcanmoveinaverticalshaft.Aloadishungverticallyfromthe
ceilingonastring.Thetensioninthestringismeasuredtobeexactlyequaltotheforceduetogravityontheload.Noother
forcesareactingontheload.Whichofthefollowingstatementsabouttheelevatorarecorrect?
Checkallthatapply.
ANSWER:

Theelevatorisaninertialframeofreference.

Theelevatorisnotaninertialframeofreference.

Theelevatormaybeatrest.

Theelevatormaybemovingataconstantvelocityupward.

Theelevatormaybemovingataconstantvelocitydownward.

Theelevatormaybeaccelerating.

Theelevatormustbeaccelerating.

Correct

PartD
Youareconductinganexperimentinsideatraincarthatmaymovealonglevelrailtracks.Aloadishungfromtheceilingon
astring.Theloadisnotswinging,andthestringisobservedtomakeaconstantangleof45 withthehorizontal.Noforces
otherthantensionandgravityareactingontheload.Whichofthefollowingstatementsarecorrect?

Checkallthatapply.
ANSWER:

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10/4/2017 MasteringPhysics: Assignment 3 - Forces Part One

Thetrainisaninertialframeofreference.

Thetrainisnotaninertialframeofreference.

Thetrainmaybeinstantaneouslyatrest.

Thetrainmaybemovingataconstantspeedinastraightline.

Thetrainmaybemovingataconstantspeedinacircle.

Thetrainmustbespeedingup.

Thetrainmustbeslowingdown.

Thetrainmustbeaccelerating.

Correct
Sincethetensionandtheforceduetogravityarenotdirectedoppositetoeachother,thenetforcecannotpossiblybe
zeroandyettheloadisatrestrelativetothetraincar.Therefore,thecarisnotaninertialframeofreference.Itmust
beacceleratingrelativetotheearth,althoughitisnotclearexactlyhow.

PartE
Considerthetraincardescribedinthepreviouspart.Anotherexperimentisconductedinit:Anetforceof20 N isappliedto
anobjectofmass5 kg.Canyoudeterminetheaccelerationoftheobjectwithrespecttothetrain,and,ifso,whatisits
value?
ANSWER:

2
Yes0.25 m/s .

2
Yes4.0 m/s .

2
Yes100 m/s .

Nothereisnotenoughinformation.

Correct

Thetraincarisnotaninertialframeofreference,soF net = ma wouldnotworkhere.

PartF
A1000kgcarismovingalongastraightroaddowna30 slopeataconstantspeedof20.0 m/s .Whatisthenetforce
actingonthecar?
ANSWER:

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10/4/2017 MasteringPhysics: Assignment 3 - Forces Part One

0 N

10000 N

17320 N

20000 N

Correct
Thecarhaszeroaccelerationtherefore,itexperienceszeronetforce.AccordingtoNewton's1stlaw,nonetforceis
requiredtomaintainaconstantvelocity(inaninertialframeofreference,ofcourse).Thecarhasaconstantveclocity
relativetotheearththerefore,thecarisalsoaninertialframeofreference.

PartG
Considertwocarsmovingalongthesamestraightroadinoppositedirections.CarAhasamassof500 kgandhasa
constantspeedof20 m/scarBhasamassof800 kgandaconstantspeedof15 m/s.Whatcanyousayaboutthenet
forcesonthecars?
ANSWER:

CarAexperiencesgreaternetforcethancarB.

CarBexperiencesgreaternetforcethancarA.

Bothcarsexperienceequalnetforces.

Correct
Eachcarhaszeroaccelerationtherefore,thenetforceoneachcar,accordingtoNewton's1stlaw,iszero.

PartH
Inaninertialframeofreference,aseriesofexperimentsisconducted.Ineachexperiment,twoorthreeforcesareappliedto
anobject.Themagnitudesoftheseforcesaregiven.Nootherforcesareactingontheobject.Inwhichcasesmaytheobject
possiblyremainatrest?

Theforcesappliedareasfollows:

Checkallthatapply.

Hint1.Usingthenetforce
Inaninertialframeofreference,thestateofrestisonlypossiblewhenthenetforceactingontheobjectiszero.In
whichcasescantheforcesactingontheobjectpossiblyadduptozero?Youmaywanttodrawsomediagrams.

ANSWER:

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10/4/2017 MasteringPhysics: Assignment 3 - Forces Part One

2N2N

200N200N

200N201N

2N2N4N

2N2N2N

2N2N3N

2N2N5N

200N200N5N

Correct

PartI
Inaninertialframeofreference,aseriesofexperimentsisconducted.Ineachexperiment,twoorthreeforcesareappliedto
anobject.Themagnitudesoftheseforcesaregiven.Nootherforcesareactingontheobject.Inwhichcasesmaytheobject
possiblymoveataconstantvelocityof256 m/s?

Theforcesappliedareasfollows:

Checkallthatapply.

Hint1.Usingthenetforce
Inaninertialframeofreference,movingataconstantvelocityisonlypossiblewhenthenetforceactingontheobject
izzero.

ANSWER:

2N2N

200N200N

200N201N

2N2N4N

2N2N2N

2N2N3N

2N2N5N

200N200N5N

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10/4/2017 MasteringPhysics: Assignment 3 - Forces Part One

Correct
Youshouldhavenoticedthatthesetsofforcesappliedtotheobjectarethesameastheonesintheprevousquestion.
Newton's1stlaw(andthe2ndlaw,too)makesnodistinctionbetweenthestateofrestandthestateofmovingata
constantvelocity(evenahighvelocity).Inbothcases,thenetforceappliedtotheobjectmustequalzero.

Althoughsomeofthequestionsinthisproblemmayhaveseemedtrickyandunfair,thesubtletieshereareimportantin
improvingconceptualunderstanding.Thatunderstanding,inturn,willenableyoutocorrectlysolvecomplex
computationalproblemsusingNewton'slaws.

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