Chapters 4 & 5

(Forces and Newton’s Laws of Motion)

Important: Force is a vector quantity…SI unit = Newton,
so if have multiple forces acting upon an object, the net force is
the vector sum of the forces.

Q1) Astronauts with jet packs push a satellite towards the space
shuttle.
Astronaut 1 pushes with 26N along the x-axis.
Astronaut 2 pushes with 41N, 52o above the x-axis.

What is the net force?

Newton’s First Law
Newton’s First Law:
An object will stay at rest, or stay in motion with constant
velocity (i.e. constant speed and constant direction), unless
acted on by a force.
 Which of the following must be true for an object to remain
at rest?
A. there are no forces acting on the object
B. there is only one force acting on the object
C. the net force acting on the object is zero
D. the net force acting on the object is constant and non-zero

If a block is moving to the left with constant velocity, what can

one conclude?
A. there is exactly one force acting on the block
B. the net force applied to the block is zero
C. the net force applied to the block is directed to the left
D. there must be no forces applied to the block
Example of the First Law:
You are in a car at rest, which suddenly accelerates. Hence,
you are pushed back in your seat.
What happened?
Your body wanted to stay at rest (via Newton’s 1st law), and
pushes back, trying to resist the change in velocity.
Newton’s Second Law
When a net external force acts on an object of mass ‘m’, it
will produce an acceleration ‘a’, with:
**** Fnet = m*a ****
 When a cow is pushed across a frictionless surface it
has an acceleration “a”. An identical cow is then duct-taped
to the first cow, and the pair is pushed with twice the force.
The pair of cows will now have an acceleration of:

A. (1/4)a
B. (1/2)a
C. a
D. 2a
E. 4a
 A coffee mug on a frictionless table is being pulled along with
a constant force. It must be
A. moving with constant velocity
B. moving with constant non-zero acceleration
C. moving with increasing non-zero acceleration

A coffee mug on a table is acted upon by two forces, a 7N force

to the left and a 10N force to the right. What can you say about
the mug’s motion?
A. It must be moving to the left.
B. It must be moving to the right.
C. It must be at rest.
D. It could be moving to the left, to the right, or be
instantaneously at rest.
 Two horizontal forces, of magnitudes 4N and 10N, are applied
to the coffee mug. The direction of the forces in the horizontal
plane is unknown. The net force in the horizontal direction
A. cannot have a magnitude of 10N.
B. must have a magnitude greater than 10N.
C. cannot have the same direction as the 10N force.
D. cannot have a magnitude equal to 5N.
 Two forces are exerted on the mass shown in the free-body
diagram shown below. y

15N 10N

x
v A
If these are the only forces exerted on the
mass, which of these curves could be a plot
of the velocity in the x-direction vs. time? B
t

D C

Which of the curves at the right could be a x A

plot of the position of the mass along the
x-axis as a function of time?
B
t
D C
Example of the Second Law:
Foamcrete (a substance which is solid enough to support a car,
but crushes under a large weight like a plane) can be used at the
end of a runway to stop a runaway airplane. It was first
installed in 1998 at JFK airport.
A 747 airliner with a mass of 1.75 X 105 kg
is slowed from 26.8 m/s to a stop in 122m.
What is the force exerted by the foamcrete
on the plane?
0 By Funadium, Marco Bernardini
CC BY-SA 2.0

Soln: vfx2 = vix2 + 2ax*Δx

 ax = -vix2/(2*Δx)
= - (26.8)2/(2*122)
= - 2.94 m/s2
photo by hor Eheik at en.wikipedia,

Fx = max = (1.75 X 10 )(-2.94)

5 JKF Airport released into the public domain

= -5.15X105 N
Q1) A sailboat is sitting at rest on the Glenmore Reservoir.
Suddenly the wind picks up and exerts a force of 20N east on
the boat. The rudder on the boat causes a force of 10N to
be exerted at 60o N of E. What is the displacement of the
boat after 10 seconds?
The mass of the boat + passengers = 1000 kg.

photo by felixion, Gonzalo Pineda Zuniga

CC BY-SA 2.0
Newton’s Third Law
Newton’s Third Law:
Whenever a body exerts a force on a second body, the
second body exerts an oppositely directed force of equal
magnitude on the first body.
or
“For every action force, there is an equal but opposite reaction”.
 Chuck Norris pushes his 3-year-old daughter Danilee in a
small go-cart. As Chuck pushes, the go-cart accelerates.
Which statement is true?
A. The force of Chuck on Danilee is larger than the force of
Danilee on Chuck.
B. The force of Danilee on Chuck is larger than the force of
Chuck on Danilee.
C. Both forces have the same magnitude.
D. It depends on how hard Chuck pushes Danilee.
Example of the Third Law:
Two groups of canoeists are in the middle of a lake.
Mass of canoe 1 + passengers = 150 kg
Mass of canoe 2 + passengers = 250 kg
To separate the canoes, a passenger in canoe 1 pushes
canoe 2 with a constant force of 46N for 1.2s.
a) What are the accelerations of the canoes during the 1.2s.
b) What is the separation of the canoes after 1.2s.
Soln: M1=150 M2=250

F 1on2 = 46N

a) F1on2 = 46 N = m2a2  a2 = F1on2/m2 = 46/250 = 0.184m/s/s

F2on1 = -46 N = m1a1  a1 = F2on1/m1 = -46/150 = -0.307m/s/s
0
b) Δx1 = viΔt+
0
½ a 1 * (Δt) 2
= ½ (-0.307)(1.2) 2
= - 0.22m
2 2
b) Continued…
Δx1 = - 0.22m
Δx2 = 0.13m

M1 0 M2

.22 .13

Separation = .22 + .13 = 0.35m

Note, even though the magnitudes of the forces were the

same (46N), the accelerations were different (0.184m/s/s and
-0.307 m/s/s) because the masses were different.
Q1) Have 2 boxes on a table, with masses m1=2kg, and m2=3kg.
You push on m1 with a horizontal force of 15N.
What is the “contact force” of m2 pushing back on m1?
(With what force does m2 push back on m1)?

15N m2=3kg
m1=2kg
The Gravitational Force (Part I)

WonEarth = |F | = |ma| = mg
grav

Unit of weight = Newtons, direction = towards the ground

Note, scales on Earth measure the force pushing down on them
“the weight”, but then divide by 9.8 to give you your mass (in kg).
Notes: 1) Like “g”, weight (W) is always defined to be positive.
Hence, if define down as negative, Fgrav = - W.
2) On Earth W = mg is only true near the Earth’s surface.
(far from the surface, |agrav| < 9.8 m/s/s)
3) On a planet other than Earth, W = ma, where ‘a’ is the
magnitude of acceleration due to gravity on that planet.
Example: For a 240 lb football player
a) What is the player’s mass?
b) What is the player’s weight?
Kind of a trick question!
The “pound” is a unit of force….not mass.

b) Weight = 240 lb
(or, in SI units)
= 240 lb * 4.45 N = 1068 N
lb
a) W = mg  m= W/g = 1068/9.8 = 109 kg
Note….a commonly seen conversion is 1 kg = 2.2 lb…what is
wrong with this statement?
This conversion should more properly be stated as:
2.2 lb = the weight exerted (by Earth) on 1 kg
Normal Forces
Defn: The normal force is the force perpendicular to a surface
that the surface exerts on an object it is in contact with.

Examples: 1) A mass on a level table:

For the ‘y’ direction:
Σ Forces = FN – W
Normal Force (FN)
Since acceleration in ‘y’ =
0,
Σ Forces in ‘y’ = 0
or FN – W = 0  FN = W
Weight (W)
Normal Force = Weight
 2) A mass on an incline:
FN
Consider the forces
perpendicular
to (┴) the incline. FN is already
θ
perpendicular, need to break W
into components ┴ and ║ to the
W incline.
W┴ 90-θ
θ
W W┴ = Wcosθ
θ
W║
W║ = Wsinθ

┴ to the incline: Σ Forces = FN – W┴

Σ Forces = 0 (since a = 0 ┴ to the incline)
so FN – W┴ = 0  FN = W┴ = mgcosθ
║ to the incline: Σ Forces = W║ (W║ is the only force)
3) A person of mass m=71.4 kg (W=700N) steps on a
scale in an elevator. Calculate the normal force in
each case.
FN
Case 1) Elevator is not accelerating.
Draw a free-body diagram (FBD) for
the person, showing all the forces:
W
Write sum of the forces for the ‘y’ direction:
ΣF = FN – W
y

Use Newton’s 2nd law… ΣF = may y

In this case a = 0, so ΣF = FN – W = 0
y

 FN = W = 700 N
Case 2) Elevator is accelerating upwards at 3 m/s2.
Case 3) Elevator is accelerating downwards at 3 m/s2.
 In all 4 cases the person is pushing down with W on a scale.
The scale is pushing back with FN, and it is the FN that the
scale uses to determine the weight.
In cases 2), 3), and 4), FN ≠ mg. The scale is reading your
apparent weight. mg is called the “true weight”, or just “weight”.
Apparent weight = the magnitude of the normal force that
pushes upwards on a mass

Weightlessness = no apparent weight

≠ no weight
In case 4) (freefall) the person was weightless (but still
“weighed” mg).
 While standing in a tunnel, you push against the ceiling with
a force of 200 N. Your mass is 80 kg.

a) What is the force the ceiling is exerting on you?

b) What (approximately) is the normal force of the floor on you?

A. 10 N
B. 200 N
C. 780 N
D. 980 N
E. 2000 N
Static and Kinetic Friction

fsmax = μs FN μs = constant
= coefficient of static
friction

fK = μK FN μK = constant
= coefficient of kinetic
friction
Notes: 1) For any 2 surfaces in contact μs ≥ μk.
2) μs, μk are unitless.

3) Examples: μs μk
glass on glass 0.94 0.4
steel on ice 0.1 0.05
4) The force of kinetic friction always opposes the motion.
The force of static friction always opposes the applied
force.

5) A plot of applied force vs. frictional force:

FFriction= Fs
max
= μs F N

FFriction FFriction= Fk = μkFN

FApplied
 A 1.0 kg wooden block is pressed against a wooden wall by
a 12N force as shown below. The coefficient of static friction
between wood and wood is 0.5.
If the block is initially at rest will it:
A. move up
B. move down
C. stay at rest

1.0 kg
12 N

30o
Example: A dump truck unloads a 95 kg crate by tilting its bed
upwards. At 23.2o the crate begins to slide. What is the
coefficient of static friction between the bed and the
crate?
Soln: Draw a FBD showing the forces on the crate.
y

s max

N
F
F
23.2o

x W
In the y direction: FN - Wcosθ = 0  FN = Wcosθ
In the x direction: Wsinθ - Fsmax = 0 (no acceleration just before the
crate moves)

 Fsmax = μsFN = Wsinθ

 μs = Wsinθ/FN = Wsinθ/Wcosθ
o
 The four crates shown below have masses and coefficients
of friction as shown. The same external force is applied to
each crate and none of the crates move. Which crate has
the strongest frictional force acting on it?
A. The first crate D. The fourth crate
B. The second crate E. The frictional force is the
C. The third crate same for them all

750 kg 1500 kg 600 kg 750 kg

𝜇s=0.4, 𝜇s=0.3, 𝜇s=0.8, 𝜇s=0.4,
𝜇k=0.3 𝜇k=0.1 𝜇k=0.2 𝜇k=0.1
Q1) A carton of cookies has an initial speed of 3.0 m/s up a 22o
incline plane. μk between the carton and plane = 0.12.
a) How far up the plane will the cookies go?
b) What is the velocity of the cookies when they return to
their starting point?
Q2) A block of mass 10 kg is sitting on a table μs = 0.5, μk = 0.4.
What is the magnitude of the force of friction when:
a) there is no applied force.
b) the applied force = 30N.
c) the applied force = 60N.
Tension
Often have strings/ropes and pulleys in problems in physics.
Tension is the “tautness” in a rope or string.
If you assume massless strings/ropes, the magnitude of the
tension in a string/rope will be the same throughout the
string/rope. However, the direction of the tension will be different,
depending upon which end of the rope/string you are at.
For example, the two dogs below are pulling on a pull-toy.
The dog on the left will feel the force of tension to the right, and
the dog on the right will feel the force of tension to the left.

Photo by basykes, Bev Sykes,

CC BY 2.0
Example : A box of mass 50 kg hangs from a
string. What is the tension in the string?

Soln: Draw a free-body-diagram (FBD) for

m=50 kg
the box.
T

W=mg

Σ F = 0 (since box is not accelerating in the y direction)

y

 T - mg = 0
 T = mg = (50)(9.8) = 490 N
The string is pulling up on the box with 490 N,
and pulling down on the ceiling with 490 N.
Equilibrium / Non-equilibrium Applications
Defn: An object is at equilibrium if acceleration = 0.

For objects at equilibrium can use Σ Fx = 0

and Σ F = 0 .
y

For objects not at equilibrium, use Σ Fx = max

and Σ F = ma .
y y
Q1) Block 1 at the right is at rest
on the ramp. In what direction
is the frictional force?
1
A. Down the slope
B. Up the slope 2
C. The frictional force is zero
D. There is not enough information to tell
Example : A 6.2 kg pot of petunias hangs T2
from 2 wires as shown at right. θ = 40 o T1
Find the tensions T1 and T2 in
the wires. y
6.2kg

T2
Soln: Draw a free-body-diagram 40o
T1
(FBD) for the point of
x
intersection of the 2 wires.
W = mg

Σ F = 0 (since box is not accelerating in ‘y’)

y

 T2sinθ - mg = 0  T2sinθ = mg
or T2 = mg/sinθ = (6.2)(9.8)/sin(40) = 94.5 N
Σ Fx = 0 (since box is not accelerating in ‘x’)

 T1 - T2cosθ = 0  T1 = T2cosθ
= (94.5) cos(40) = 72.4 N
Q1) A variant on the previous problem:
A 6.2 kg pot of petunias hangs T2
θ=? T1= 60N
from 2 wires as shown at right.
T1 = 60 N, but don’t know θ and T2.
6.2kg
Find θ and T2.
T2 y
FBD:
?
T1 = 60 N

x
W = mg
Q2) Consider 2 masses, m1 and m2, (m1=2 kg, m2=3 kg)
connected by a string as shown below. A force F = 10 N
pulls on m1. Use Newton’s 2nd law for each mass
separately to calculate the acceleration of the masses and
the tension (T) in the string.
y

T 10N
m2=3kg m1=2kg
x
Q3) Show that the acceleration of an “Atwood’s Pulley”
(2 unequal masses suspended on either side of a pulley)
is given by:
a = (M1 - M2)g
(M1 + M2)

Atwood’s Pulley
M1 > M 2

M1

M2
Homework Problems for Chapters 4,5
Chapter 4, Pages 125 - 126
#s 17, 21, 23, 35

Chapter 5, Pages 159 - 163

#s 1, 3, 11, 13, 17, 21, 27, 35, 55, 67, 71