Forces and Dynamics – the study of WHY bodies move

• worksheet

• A force can cause changes in shape and size (deformation).

HOOKE’S LAW for springs

Within the limit of proportionality, the tension T in a spring is proportional to the
extension ∆x:

T = k∆x (The stiffer the spring, the greater the spring constant k.)

Question 1
(a) The total lengths of spring A are 16.0 cm and 20.0 cm
respectively when a 1.0-kg and a 2.0-kg load are hung separately
from it. Next, a 10.0-kg load is hung from the bottom.

What will be the total length of spring A?

10.0-kg

(b) Spring A is cut into two equal parts. Each part is a new
spring called spring B. Identical spring Bs are arranged as shown
and a 10.0-kg load is hung from the bottom.

What is the total extension?

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Question 2
In which rope is there a larger tension? 10.0-kg

Question 3
(a) A painter of weight 800 N swings from a chair suspended with a rope, as shown in the left
diagram. (The painter and chair are in a state of translational equilibrium.) The rope can
withstand a maximum tension of 600 N. Is this safe?

(b) For a change, the painter decides to secure the free end of the rope to a flagpole instead of to his
chair, as shown in the right diagram. Is this safe?

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Question 4
Which is the odd one out among all the forces described so far? Why?

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Friction opposes ………………………………………….. and depends on:
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………

TRUE or FALSE: Friction acts opposite to the motion of a body.

Question 5
Suppose it is necessary to exert a horizontal force of 100 N before the crate begins to slide.

50 N

What is the frictional force acting on the crate?

Question 6
Draw the frictional forces between the road and the tyres. The car engine drives all four wheels.

Accelerating forward Skidding forward and braking

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Drag force (e.g., air resistance, water resistance, etc.) depends on:
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………

Aerodynamic lift force is generated when air is

pushed downward by the airfoil-shaped wing.

Buoyant force orupthrust has a magnitude:

…………………………………………………………………………………………

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How do you explain the party tricks to be demonstrated by your instructor? (How can you improve
your chances of success?)

Question 7
Why are seat belts and headrests important for the safety of a driver?

Question 8
If the lower string is pulled downward, which string will break first,
the upper string or the lower string?

Question 9
A rocket is moving sideways in deep space from X to Y with its engine off, far away from any stars
or planets. Its engine is fired at Y and continues to fire for a few seconds while the rocket moves
from Y to Z. After Z, the engine is off again.

What is the path of the rocket from Y to Z, and after Z?

X Y

• All bodies have a property called ………………………… which resists change in motion.

• The greater the mass of a body, ……………………………………………………

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NEWTON’S FIRST LAW
A body will either remain at rest or continue moving at constant velocity unless it is
acted upon by a resultant force.

To apply Newton’s laws, it is absolutely essential to identify all of the forces acting on the body in
question by drawing a free-body diagram.

• Represent the body in question by a dot •

• Identify all of the external forces from the environment that act on the body, such as contact
forces (pull of a string, push from a table, etc.) and long-range forces (due to gravity, etc.).
You should be able to answer the question, “What agent is exerting this force on the body?”
• Don’t include forces which the body exerts on anything else.
• Represent each force by a vector with the tail on the body and label the force clearly.

Question 10
(a) Draw the free-body diagram for each of the bodies (in bold).

(b) Suppose all of the bodies in bold are in a state of translational equilibrium. (In reality, they
need not be.) Write equations to relate the magnitudes of the forces in each case.

Skydiver

Cruising aircraft

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 Bag Table

Car being towed up a ramp

Link connecting the chains

Ladder on a rough floor,

leaning against a rough wall

For a body (or system) in translational equilibrium:

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1. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

• A force can cause changes in motion (acceleration).

Applying the same force to a second

object of double the mass results in an
acceleration that is half of that before.

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Special form of NEWTON’S SECOND LAW
The acceleration of a body is proportional to the resultant (unbalanced) external
force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass.
 
ΣF = ma

The newton N (SI) is the force that will give a body having an (inertial) mass of 1 kg
an acceleration of 1 m s-2.

• A gravitational field is a region where a mass experiences a force of gravitational attraction.

• The gravitational field strength g is the gravitational force per unit mass. Near the surface of
the earth, g = 9.81 N kg-1 (10 N kg-1 for ease of calculation).

Within a gravitational field, a mass (measured in kg) experiences a gravitational

force or weight W (measured in N):

W = mg

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Question 11
The diagram shows horizontal forces P and Q acting on a trailer of mass 5000 kg being pulled
along a level road. Describe the motion of the trailer.

P = 2000 N Q = 1200 N P = 1500 N Q = 1500 N

Question 12
The diagram shows the important forces acting on a jet fighter in flight.

Find the acceleration of the jet fighter.

Question 13
A plastic ball of volume 4000 cm3 is held under the water by a child in a swimming pool. The
density of water is 1000 kg m-3.

(a) Find the upthrust on the ball.

(b) The mass of the ball is 250 g. Find the acceleration of the ball when it is released. Why will the
ball have a smaller acceleration in reality?

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Question 14
A clown of mass 80 kg clinging onto a bunch of helium balloons is
suspended in the air. What is the tension in the string holding the
balloons in each of the situations?

(a) He is suspended in the air without going up or down.

(b) He descends steadily at 1.0 m s-1.

(c) He ascends and accelerates at 0.5 m s-2.

(d) He ascends but decelerates at 0.5 m s-2.

Question 15
A woman of true weight 500 N steps onto a set of
weighing scales in an elevator. What is the woman’s
apparent weight as recorded by the scales in each of the
situations?

(a) The elevator ascends steadily at 2.0 m s-1.

(b) The elevator descends and accelerates at 2.0 m s-2.

(c) The elevator descends but decelerates at 1.0 m s-2.

(d) Under what situation will she feel weightless?

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Question 16
Two blocks (m1 = 2.0 kg, m2 = 3.0 kg) are joined by a rope of negligible mass that passes over a
frictionless pulley, also of negligible mass.

How much time will it take m1 to rise by a distance of 10.0 m?

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 
Momentum p of a body is the product of its mass and its velocity:
 
p = mv (SI: kg m s-1 or N s)

Question 17
A 150-g baseball is moving horizontally at 20 m s-1 when it is hit by a bat and rebounds
horizontally at 10 m s-1.

(a) Find the initial and final momenta of the baseball.

(b) Find the magnitude of the change in momentum of the baseball. (This is the impulse imparted
to the baseball.)

General form of NEWTON’S SECOND LAW

The rate of change of momentum of a body is proportional to the resultant
(unbalanced) external force acting on it and takes place in the same direction.

 ∆p
ΣF =
∆t

Can you reconcile the general and specific forms of Newton’s Second Law?


Impulse J is the change in momentum:
   
J = ∆p = ∆(mv ) = F∆t (SI: kg m s-1 or N s)

Question 18

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(a) A 150-g lump of plasticine is moving horizontally at 20 m s-1 when it hits a vertical wall and
sticks to the wall. The collision with the wall lasts for 0.1 s. Use Newton’s Second Law to find the
force that the wall exerted on the plasticine.

(b) A jet of water sprayed out from a hosepipe is moving horizontally at 20 m s-1 when it hits a
vertical wall and doesn’t rebound, instead forming a puddle at the bottom of the wall. If the wall
exerted the same force on the water as it did on the plasticine, find the mass of water ejected by the
hosepipe in one second.

Question 19
A 150-g baseball is hit toward the right by a bat. The force of the bat on the ball is shown.

(a) Find the impulse that the bat imparts to the ball.

(b) Find the magnitude and direction of the ball’s horizontal velocity just after it is hit by the bat if
it was initially (i) at rest, and (ii) moving to the left at 30 m s-1.

Question 20

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A 200-g rubber ball is released from a height of 2.0 m. It falls to the floor and makes contact with
the floor for a duration of 10 ms before rebounding. The force of the floor on the ball is shown.

(a) In the space above, sketch a graph to show how the force of gravity on the ball varies with time.

(b) Find the speed of the ball just before hitting the floor.

(c) Find the impulse imparted by the floor to the ball during its contact with the floor.

(d) Find the total impulse imparted to the ball during its contact with the floor.

(e) Deduce the rebound speed of the ball, i.e., just after it leaves the floor.

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Question 21
Explain your answers to the following questions in terms of momentum and impulse.

(a) Why do long-range cannons have long barrels?

(b) How would you throw a projectile as far as you can?

(c) If a truck goes out of control, will it be safer to slam into a concrete wall or a haystack?

(d) How should you jump from an elevated position to a floor below?

(e) Why are the cords used for bungee jumping so elastic?

(f) If a boxer cannot avoid a punch, what is the best response?

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NEWTON’S THIRD LAW
If body A exerts a force on body B, then body B exerts an equal and opposite force
on body A.

Question 22
(a) A mosquito collides into an elephant. Which exerts a larger force of impact on the other?

(b) Which, (A) or (B), is an action-reaction

pair, i.e., which is an example of Newton’s
Third Law being applied?

Question 23
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(a) Your instructor will be relating to you the (b) What is the secret to winning a tug-of-war?
curious case of the intellectual horse…

Question 24
Blocks A (m1 = 6.0 kg) and B (m2 = 4.0 kg) are placed on a frictionless horizontal surface. An ant is
squeezed between the two blocks. A force F = 20 N is applied to block A.

How differently, if any, would the ant feel if the same force had been applied to block B instead?

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Study the collision between two bodies:

CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM if there is no resultant force

For a system of isolated bodies, the total momentum is constant.

Question 25
A big fish of mass 5.0 kg swims at 2.4 m s-1 relative to the ground towards a smaller fish of mass
1.0 kg and gobbles it up.

What would be the velocity of the big fish after the meal, if the smaller fish had initally been (a) at
rest, (b) swimming away from the big fish at 1.2 m s-1 relative to the ground, and (c) swimming
toward the big fish at 3.0 m s-1 relative to the ground?

Question 26
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Squids propel themselves by expelling water. They take the water into a cavity and contract the
cavity suddenly, forcing the water out in a jet. A 6.50-kg squid (including 1.75 kg of water in its
cavity) that is at rest notices the approach of a dangerous predator.

At what speed must it expel the water so as to achieve a speed of 2.50 m s-1 relative to the ground
and escape from the predator?

Assessment Statements:
• Calculate the weight of a body using the expression W = mg.
• Identify the forces acting on a body and draw free-body diagrams
representing the forces acting.
• Determine the resultant force in different situations.
• State Newton’s first law of motion.
• Describe examples of Newton’s first law.
• State the condition for translational equilibrium.
• Solve problems involving translational equilibrium.
• State Newton’s second law of motion.
• Solve problems involving Newton’s second law.
• Define linear momentum and impulse.
• Determine the impulse due to a time-varying force by interpreting a
force-time graph.
• State the law of conservation of linear momentum.
• Solve problems involving momentum and impulse.
• State Newton’s third law of motion.
• Discuss examples of Newton’s third law.

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