Garcia, Angelo Miguel M.
BSEE 1-1 CET 0122A-19
DYNAMICS ACTIVITY
Recall:
1. State the three laws of motion. (5 pts)
The First Law of Motion, or the Law of Inertia, states that an object remains either
at rest or in constant motion unless an external force acts upon it.
The Second Law of Motion refers to the Law of Mass and Acceleration, in which
the acceleration of the object is directly proportional to the net force applied to it
and varies inversely with the object’s mass. The product of acceleration and mass
is the net force applied on the object.
The Third Law of Motion simply states that for every action or force exerted from
an object to another, there exerts an equal and opposite reaction.
2. Why does a child in a wagon seem to fall back when you give the wagon a
sharp pull forward? (5 pts)
As per Newton’s First Law, an object will remain at rest or in constant motion until
an external force is applied. In this case, the force is exerted directly to the wagon.
Since the child’s position is relative to the wagon, the unbalanced force that
occurred has caused the wagon to accelerate under the child at rest, making it
seem that the child is falling backwards as the wagon is pulled.
3. If the acceleration of an object is zero, are no forces acting on it? Explain. (5
pts)
The mass and acceleration of an object are both crucial in determining the net
force acting upon it. Net force can be acquired by getting the product of both,
according to the Second Law of Motion. If the acceleration of an object is zero,
there will be no forces acting on it, and the mass will become irrelevant.
4. If an object is moving, is it possible for the net force acting on it to be zero?
(5 pts)
It is possible for an object to be moving while the net force acting on it is zero. The
motion of the object can be influenced by constant velocity. When the velocity is
constant, the acceleration is zero. Hence, the net force applied is also zero.
5. Only one force acts on an object. Can the object have zero acceleration? Can
it have zero velocity? Explain. (5 pts)
When a force acts on an object, the object cannot have zero acceleration since
their relationship varies directly and to acquire such force, one must get the product
of the object’s acceleration and its mass, in which their values should not be zero.
Otherwise, the acting force will be non-existent. On the other hand, it is possible
to have a zero velocity since the acceleration is the derivative of velocity with
respect to time.
6. When an object falls freely under the influence of gravity there is a net force
mg exerted on it by the Earth. Yet by Newton’s third law the object exerts an
equal and opposite force on the Earth. Does the Earth move? (5 pts)
The Earth does not move since such massive body has a mass significantly
greater to the freely falling object. Due to such difference in masses, the ball cannot
exert equal force towards the Earth that can displace it. This shows that the acting
and reacting forces are dependent not only to the value of acceleration but also on
the mass of the bodies, which is inversely proportional to it. If the mass of an object
is significantly greater than the force exerted—Earth, in this case—the impact of
the reacting force from the freely falling body to the Earth would be negligible.
