Force and Newton’s Law of Motion

The Meaning of Force


A force is simply a push or a pull. The unit of force is the Newton (N). Force is a

vector quantity.
 
 Effects of a force
• change the shape of an object
• move or stop an object
• change the direction of a moving object.

All forces (interactions)
 between objects can be placed into two
broad categories:
 contact forces, and

 non contact forces

Contact forces are those types of forces that result when the two interacting
objects are perceived to be physically contacting each other.
Examples of contact forces are:
• the force that is used to push or pull things, like on a door to open or close it
• the force that a sculptor uses to turn clay into a pot
• the force of the wind to turn a windmill

Non-contact forces [Action-at-a-distance forces] are those types of
forces that result even when the two interacting objects are not in
physical contact with each other, yet are able to exert a push or pull
despite their physical separation.
Examples of non-contact forces are:
• Gravitational Force: like the Earth pulling the Moon towards itself

• Electrical Force: like a proton and an electron attracting each other

• The force due to magnetism, like a magnet pulling a paper clip towards

itself despite their physical separation.

Examples of contact and non-contact forces are listed below.
Contact Forces:
1. Frictional Force [Ff]

Ff
2. Tension Force

3. Normal Force

4. Applied Force

5. Spring Force
 Non-contact forces:
1. Gravitational Force

2. Electrical Force

3. Magnetic Force

NEWTON’S FIRST LAW

Newton’s first law of motion is often stated as


In the absence of external forces, an object at rest remains at rest and an object
in motion continues in motion with a constant velocity (that is, with a constant

speed in a straight line).
 In simpler terms, we can say that when no force acts on an object, the
acceleration of the object is zero.

Mass and Inertia


The tendencyof an object to resist any attempt to change its velocity is
 called inertia.

Mass is that property of an object that specifies how much resistance an object
 exhibits to changes in its velocity.

All objects resist changes in their state of motion. All objects have this tendency
so they have inertia. But do some objects have more of a tendency to resist
changes than others? Absolutely yes! The inertia of an object depends on its

mass. The greater the mass of an object, the greater its inertia.
NEWTON’S SECOND LAW
Newton’s second law:

The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional
to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and

inversely proportional to the mass of the object.
F=ma
Where,
‘F’ is the force applied to the object
‘m’ is the mass of the object, Unit of mass is kilograms (kg).
‘a’ is the acceleration of the object
Acceleration is always in the direction of the net force.

Note:”Force is not the cause of motion; force is the cause of changes in motion.”
THE FORCE OF GRAVITY AND WEIGHT

Mass is measured in units such as grams and kilograms (g, kg). Weight is measured
in Newton (N), as it is a type of force. Your weight can be determined
by the following formula:
W = mg

Where W is weight, m is mass and g is the acceleration due to gravity. On Earth,
the acceleration due to gravity is about 9.8 meters per second per second

(m/s2). A person with a mass of 50 kg would have a weight of 50 x 9.8 = 490 N.
Common Misconceptions: Mass versus Weight

Mass and weight are often used interchangeably in everyday language. 
 However, in science, these terms are distinctly different from one another.

 Mass is the quantity of matter.
- It is a scalar quantity.
- Mass is constant everywhere.
 
 Weight is of course related to the mass, but, it has a little bit different definition.
- Weight is the force of gravity acting upon the things.
- Weight is a vector quantity.
- Weight depends on the acceleration due to gravity.
NEWTON’S THIRD LAW

If you press against a corner of this textbook with your fingertip, the book pushes
back and makes a small dent in your skin. If you push harder, the book does the
same and the dent in your skin gets a little larger. This simple experiment illustrates

 a general principle of critical importance known as Newton’s third law:

If two objects interact, the force F12 exerted by object 1 on object 2 is equal in
magnitude to  and opposite in direction to the force F21 exerted by object 2
 on object 1:

 F12 = F21

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

This is equivalent to stating that a single isolated force cannot exist (Forces always
come in pairs). The force that object 1 exerts on object 2 is sometimes called the
action force, while the force object 2 exerts on object 1 is called the reaction
force. In reality, either force can be labeled the action or the reaction force. The
action force is equal in magnitude to the reaction force and opposite in

direction. In all cases, the action and reaction forces act on different objects.


Consider the flying motion of birds. A bird flies by use of its wings. The wings of a
bird push air downwards. Since forces result from mutual interactions, the air must
also be pushing the bird upwards. The size of the force on the air equals the size
of the force on the bird; the direction of the force on the air (downwards) is
opposite the direction of the force on the bird (upwards). For every action, there
is an equal (in size) and opposite (in direction) reaction. Action-reaction force
pairs make it possible for birds to fly.
In case of inflated balloon,
 the air rushing outward is action while the balloon
going upward is reaction.

Frictional Force
When an object moves over the surface of another object, it experiences a resistance or opposing force
against the relative motion of the objects. This opposition or resistance to the motion of objects is called
friction.
Friction force is the force that opposes the relative motion of two bodies in contact. If we try to
push a block of wood across a table, there are two opposing forces that act on the block of
wood. The force related to the push, and a force that is related to the friction. These two forces
act in the opposite direction.
As frictional forces are decreased (for example, by placing oil on the table) the object moves
further and further before stopping. This demonstrates Galileo's law of inertia which states: “an
object in a state of motion possesses an inertia that causes it to remain in that state of motion
unless an external force acts on it”. Friction force always arises when one body tries to slide on
another. The frictional force depends on;
i) The roughness of the surfaces in contact.
ii) The normal force (the force perpendicular to the surface). The normal force is the same
as the weight of a body when it lies along a horizontal plane.
Normal
Force

Pulling
Friction Force
Force
Weight of block Normal force = weight of a block
Types of frictional force
There are two types of friction;
i. Static friction ii. Kinetic friction.
Static frictional force is the maximum frictional force which enables to start the relative motion of two
objects.
Kinetic frictional force is the force which arises when one body slides or moves over the other. The
term “kinetic” means ‘moving’.
Once the object begins to move, the force required is not so great. This shows that kinetic friction on
a body is smaller than the static friction.
N
At rest
Moving
Pulling
force F

Fs Fk W
W
Fig Relationship between Fs and Fk

If Fs = static friction and Fk = kinetic friction

Static friction is greater than kinetic friction, Fs > Fk
The two major factors that affect friction are;
1. The nature of contacting surfaces.
2. The normal force between the surfaces.
A normal force is a force that presses two surfaces together. It is perpendicular to the pressed
surfaces. For a flat surface the normal force is equal to the weight of the sliding body.
Frictional force is proportional to the normal force. Mathematically;
Fs ~ N and Fk ~ N
Or Fs= μsN and Fk = μk N
Where, μs is coefficient of static friction and k is coefficient of kinetic friction.  is a Greek
letter read as miu.
The values are positive and less than one. Since Fs > Fk then μs> μk.
Example
The coefficient of static friction between a block of wood and the floor is 0.2. The mass of
the block is 20 kg. What is the static friction between the block and the level floor? (Take g
2
= 9.8 m/s )
Given Required Solution
μs = 0.2 Fs = ? F = μs N
m = 20 kg N = w = mg
N = 20 kg  9.8 N/kg = 196 N
 Fs = 0.2  196 N
Fs = 39.20 N
2. The force of static friction between a body of mass 50 kg and a horizontal floor is measured
to be 103N. What is the coefficient of static friction between the body and the table?
Given Required Solution
Fs = 103 N since N = mg
m= 50 kg = 50kg × 9.8 N/kg
= 490 N
μs = Fs/N
Thus μs = 103N/ 490 N
μs = 0.21

Note: Coefficient of friction /s / is unit less.

Effects of Friction
There are some common effects of friction. Friction-
Increases the work necessary to operate a machinery; i.e it causes wastage of
energy.
Causes wearing out of a surface

Generates heat, etc.

Causes walking possible on roads
Advantages of friction
The followings can be mentioned as examples.
i. Walking: The friction between your foot (shoes) and the ground enables you to walk. Where
friction is very low like slippery mud surface, you will find it difficult to walk on it.
ii. Tires: The friction between the car tires and the road allows a car to move or to stop.
iii. Brakes: When the brakes of a car are applied, the brake shoes are pushed apart. This brings
the brake lining and the drum into contact and the friction between them stops the car.
Disadvantage of Friction
If you rub the palms of your hands together, they will become warm. This is because of friction.
The same thing applies to all machines which have moving parts.

Heat is developed in the moving parts when the machine works. This is because some of the
energy supplied to drive the machine is changed into heat. This is a wastage of energy. It is not
used for the desired purpose. Some parts of machines also wear out because of friction.
Reducing Friction
In order to increase the efficiency of machines and reduce the wearing out of machine parts,
friction has to be reduced.
Some of the most commonly used methods of reducing friction are the following.
A. Removing of roughness of the surfaces Smooth surfaces have less friction than rough surfaces.
B. Lubricating; If you introduce liquid film such as oil between the surfaces, friction will be
reduced. The oil fills the valleys and separates the surfaces so that the hills and valleys do not hold
each other.
C. Rolling bodies: The most effective and commonly used method of reducing friction is to use
rolling bodies instead of sliding bodies. That is wheels, roller bearings and the ball bearings are
used to reduce friction. Fig 3.18 illustrates the difference between sliding and rolling bodies.