Force and Motion I The equations of motion developed in the past few weeks are useful in describing how

a body moves. The description of motion is sometimes referred to as kinematics. Dynamics is the study of why particles move. In dynamics, we introduce the concept of a Force. A force is an interaction between two bodies. The forces can be contact forces, such as a pull or a push. There are also non-contact forces, such as the gravitational force, where contact between the two bodies, (One of them being the earth in this case), is not required. Up until the time of Galileo, natural philosophers thought that the "natural" state of a body was at rest and a force was required to set an object in motion. From our everyday experiences, this seems intuitive, but it is also incorrect. One of the major hurdles in the study of physics is these "intuitive" ideas that have been with us since the time of the Greeks. Galileo was able to show that there is no fundamental difference between a particle at "rest" and a particle moving at a constant velocity. Whether or not you say a particle is moving depends on your particular reference frame. To someone in a train moving at a constant velocity, a book on the seat is "at rest" where an observer on the earth would say it is moving with the same velocity as the train. However, we were able to show that while both observers will not agree on the velocity, they will measure the same acceleration.

SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

Upon further examination, it turns out that the physics of Galileo is actually simpler than the "intuitive" system of the Greeks. Let's take a simple example. Suppose you are on the mast of a ship and you drop a ball onto the deck below. The Greeks would have predicted, (and many people still believe), that the ball will land behind the mast and the amount depends on the velocity of the ship. Galileo would predict that the ball would land at the base of the mast, just as it would have if the ship were stationary.

v SS Aristotle I

v SS Aristotle II

v SS Galileo

Now, we take the Greek model and follow it to its logical conclusion. Suppose you and a friend are traveling on a train moving at constant velocity. If you wanted to throw something to your friend, it would make a difference if your friend was behind you, or in front of you, or even to the side of you. How hard you threw the object, (how much force you would apply), would also depend on how fast the train was moving. It would be almost impossible to calculate how fast and in what direction an object would have to be thrown to reach your friend. According to the physics of Newton and Galileo, the problem is simple, you throw the ball just as you would if you were standing on the earth. This is really quite an amazing thing. While we often complain that "physics is too hard," it turns out that physics is about as simple as it possibly could be.

SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

Newton's First Law of Motion Sir Isaac Newton built upon the work of Galileo. He developed his three Law's of Motion which are used today in nearly all problems of particle dynamics. Newton's First Law is just a restatement of the results obtained by Galileo: Consider a body on which no net force acts. If the body is at rest, it will remain at rest. If the body is moving at a constant velocity, it will continue to do so. An important thing to remember is that the first law requires you to consider the net or sum of all the forces acting on the system. Often, two or more forces will cancel each other out, so that the net force is zero. If the velocity of an object is changing as a function of time, i.e. if it is accelerating, then there must be a net force acting on the system.

Force and Acceleration At this point, we know that if we apply a particular force to a particular object, the object will accelerate. If we apply twice as much force, then the object will have twice the acceleration. Through experiments, physicists have determined that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force acting on the object. Since acceleration is a vector, then force must also be a vector quantity. Therefore, we can write F = Ca, where C is a yet to be determined constant which may depend on the object. What happens if we apply the same force to two different objects? Will their accelerations be the same? In general, the answer is no.

SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

Mass Suppose we have a truck and a Geo Metro which are both coasting at a speed of 10 mph, (5 m/s). We want to apply a force so that each of them to comes to a stop in 5 s. The average acceleration is the same for both a = vf - vi = (0m/s -5m/s) = -5m/s = -1 m/s2 tf - ti (5s-0s) 5s Which one would you rather step in front of?

HELP!

Here Id go with the Geo. Even though both are traveling at the same speed, the truck has a greater resistance to a change in velocity. This resistance to change of velocity, or resistance to acceleration, is called the inertia of the body. The mass of a body is a measure of its inertia. Here we have a case where the accelerations are the same, but we need a larger force to stop the more massive object. The greater the mass, the greater the force required.

SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

Off the Beaten Path Intuitively, we know what mass is. It is the amount of "stuff" in a piece of material. Two objects may have the same size but different masses. If two objects are made of the same "stuff," the mass will be proportional to the volume of the object. The ratio of mass to volume is the density of a material. However, mass is one of the properties of matter that gets "fuzzier" when you look at it closely. We know matter is made up of atoms, but atoms are mostly empty space. Well, that's OK because atoms are made of protons, neutrons, and electrons and each of them have a mass. But now things get weird. Let's look at the electron. We know the electron has a mass of 9.11x10 -31 kg. What is its density? No one knows, but it seems to be infinite. This is because no experiment has ever been able to determine the "size" of an electron. In fact, the electron seems to be a "point particle" that has no spatial extent whatsoever. The electron doesn't seem to be made up of any "stuff." Things get worse. There are two other particles in the same class as the electron. They are called the muon and the tau. Both of these particles are identical to the electron in every way except they all have different masses. The mass of the muon is approximately 200 times the mass of the electron. The tau particle is heavier still. The muon and the tau are not any "bigger" than the electron. No one knows why these particles, which are identical in every other way, have different masses. In fact, no one knows why these particles should exist at all. What mass "is" and why each particle has the mass that it does is one of the biggest unanswered questions in all of physics.

SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

Newton's Second Law of Motion Newton's Second Law of Motion allows us to determine the motion of a body subjected to a given force. The Second Law states that: The sum of all the external forces action acting on a body is equal to the product of the mass and the acceleration. In mathematical terms we write: F =ma, or just F = ma This is a vector equation which must hold true for the x, y, and z components. Therefore: Fx = max, Fy = may, Fz = maz. Note: If there is no acceleration this does not mean that there are no forces acting on the system. It just means that the sum of the forces add up to 0. In the SI system the unit of force is the Newton, (N). A force of 1 N is the force required to give an acceleration of 1 m/s2 to a mass of 1 kg. 1N = 1 kg m/s2. Mass and Weight A special example of Newton's second law is the weight of an object. While the mass of an object is a constant number, the weight of an object is not. We know that an object "weighs" less on the moon, even though it has the same mass. The weight of an object is just the force caused by the gravitational attraction of different bodies, in this case, the earth or moon. What is the Force on an object near the surface of the earth? We write down F=ma. From our previous one-dimensional motion studies, we know that a body accelerates toward the earth and the magnitude of the acceleration is given by g = 9.8 m/s2. Therefore: Fgrav = magrav = mg = W (Toward the earth) The weight of an object is just the product of the mass and the acceleration due to gravity.
SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

Newton's Third Law of Motion Newton's Third Law states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that forces always come in pairs. If you push on an object with a given force, the object pushes back on you with a force equal in magnitude but opposite in direction. Mathematically, if there is a force between objects A and B, then F AB = - FBA A Few Loose Ends We need to look at a couple more things before we're ready to start some problems. (Oh Goodie!) The Normal Force Suppose we place a book on the table. If the table is flat, the book does not move so there is no acceleration. This means that the sum of all the forces on the book must equal 0. Let's draw a diagram of the forces acting on the book. One force on the book is the gravitational force mg (m is the mass of the book) which points down. If it were not for the table, the book would experience a downward acceleration as it fell toward the earth. Since the book does not fall, the table must exert a force on the book that cancels gravitational force. This force by the table on the book is called the normal force. Here the word "normal" is not used as the opposite of "unusual," but rather refers to the direction of the force. A vector that is perpendicular to a plane is called a normal vector. In this context, the normal force is always perpendicular to the supporting surface. N mg

SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

It is important to understand that the normal force is not the equal and opposite force in Newton's third law. According to Newton's third law, if the earth exerts a force on the book of mg, down, then the book must exert a force on the earth of mg, up. Therefore, one would expect that the earth should experience an acceleration toward the book. However, since the mass of the earth is so much greater than the mass of the book, the acceleration of the earth is too small to ever be measurable. The normal force that the table exerts on the book is balanced by the compressional force of the book on the table. If we replaced the book with an elephant, the resulting compressional force would exceed the strength of the table legs. The legs would collapse, (of the table, not the elephant), and the elephant would accelerate towards the earth. Tension Now suppose we take our book and suspend it from the ceiling with a rope. Since there is no "supporting surface," there is no normal force. Yet the book does not accelerate. Therefore, the rope must also exert a force on the book that is equal and opposite to the gravitational force, mg. This counter force is called the tension in the rope. Just as in the case of the table, the rope will support any object until the gravitational force on the object exceeds the tensile strength of the rope. If this occurs, the rope will break and the object will accelerate toward the earth with an acceleration of g. The tension is always transmitted along the string.

T a=0 mg

SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

Our First Example: A One-Dimensional Tension Problem Consider two masses suspended by strings in the figure below. Here m1 and m2 have different masses and the tensions T1 and T2 may not be equal. How do we find the tension in each string? T2 m2 T1 m1 m 1g Free Body Diagram for Mass 1 T1 m1 T2

m2 T1 m 2g

Free Body Diagram for Mass 2

Before we solve the problem, let's guess as to what we thing the solution should be. Let's suppose that m2 is a bowling ball. The string connected to the ceiling would need a high tensile strength. Now suppose m1 is a marble attached to the bowling ball. It should be obvious that this string would not have to be a strong as the string supporting the bowling ball. However, the addition of mass 1 also increases the tension T2. (If the tensile strength of the upper string were slightly larger than the force of the bowling ball, then hanging an additional mass from the bowling ball would break the string). So before solving any equations, we would guess that the upper string would have to support both masses while the lower string would only have to support the mass m1. Let's see if this is true.

SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

T2 m2 T1 m1 m 1g Free Body Diagram for Mass 1 T1 m1 T2

m2 T1 m 2g

Free Body Diagram for Mass 2

We use Newton's Second Law, F=ma. This is a one dimensional problem and there is no acceleration. Therefore, we can drop the vectors and we know that the sum of the forces on each body must add up to zero. We start with mass m1 and draw a free-body diagram for the system. Let's call "up" the positive y-direction. The two forces are m1g down and T1 up. Since there is no acceleration, we have F1 + F2 = 0 (For system m1) T 1 + (-m1g) = 0 or T1 = m1g. The tension in the string must support the mass m1 as expected. What about the mass m2? There are three forces on m2. Two of the forces are T2 and m2g, just as before. The third force is the tension -T1 which is equal and opposite of T1 from Newton's third law. Again, since m2 does not accelerate, we have F1 + F2 + F3 = 0 (For system m2) T 2 + (-m2g) + (-T1) = 0. But from above, we know T1 = m1g. Making this substitution we obtain: T 2 + (-m2g) + (-m1g) = 0 or T2 = m2g + m1g = (m1 + m2)g This is just the result predicted by our guess.
SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

Example 2: A Two Dimensional Problem Let's look at a more complicated example. Here a mass M= 2kg, is suspended from three cords as in the figure below. We want to find the tension in each cord. 45 o T1 T3 T3 Mg We start by looking at the free body diagram for the mass M. The two forces are Mg down and T3 up. Since the acceleration is 0, T3 = Mg. Now we look at the point where the three cords meet. Again we draw a force diagram. (We can draw force diagrams anyplace there are forces acting, there doesn't have to be a mass there) Since the junction point doesn't accelerate, we know that M T2 T 1 T2 T3 30 o

x-axis

F = 0
so that T1 + T2 + T3 = 0 (All T's are vectors) This means that both the x-components and y-components of the force must add to zero. The Force equations for the x and y components are: T 1 cos 135o + T2 cos 30o = 0 (x component, angles measured from positive x axis) T 1 sin 135o + T2 sin 30o + T3 sin (-90o) = 0 (y-components)

SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

45 o T1 T3 T3 Mg M T2

30 o

T 1 T2 T3

x-axis

From the x equation we have T 1(-0.707) + T2(0.866) = 0 T 2 = (0.817) T1 Substitute this value into the y equation, along with T3 = Mg gives: T 1(0.707) + T2(0.5) + T3(-1) = 0 or (0.707)T1 + (0.5)(0.817)T1 = Mg 1.115 T 1 = Mg T 1 = .897 Mg = (.897)(2 kg)(9.8 m/s2) = 17.6N So that T2 = .817 (17.6N) = 14.4N and T3 = Mg = 19.6N

SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

Example 3: A One Dimensional Problem with Acceleration We now examine a case where the bodies are not in equilibrium. In this case there will be an acceleration of the y system. Consider two masses connected by a cord which passes over a massless, frictionless pulley as in the diagram on the right. We call the upward direction the positive y direction. If the two masses are equal, then there will be no net motion. Let's assume that M > m. We expect that mass m will accelerate in the positive y direction whereas mass M will fall (accelerate in the -y direction). We apply F = ma to each mass. There are two forces on m. One is the Fgrav = mg down and the other is the tension in the cord T. The sum of the forces is then Fm = T - mg. Since F = mam, we have T-mg = mam, or T = m(am+g). Now we look at the mass M. Again we find the sum of the forces. FM = T-Mg.

T m mg M T

Mg

This, again must equal MaM(i.e. T-Mg = MaM ). Note that the magnitude of the accelerations for m and M must be the same since they are connected together, but they have opposite sign, since they move in different directions (aM = -am). If we substitute our previous value for T into the force equation for the large mass, we obtain: m(am+g) - Mg = MaM Now we substitute aM = -am into the equation. mam + mg -Mg = M(-am) or (m+M)am = (M-m)g The acceleration of mass m is then just am = (M-m)g/(m+M) This value is positive as long as M>m as expected.
SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

A Final Example: Motion on an Inclined Plane As a final example, we consider motion N on an inclined plane. The plane is y T considered to be a frictionless surface (We will relax this assumption in the x next chapter). We let be the angle of Fy = Mgcos inclination of the plane above the horizontal. A diagram for the system is F = Mg Fx = Mgsin shown on the right. There are some important differences that you should notice right away. The most important thing is that we have chosen the positive xaxis to be along the direction of the plane and not along the horizontal. The ydirection is perpendicular to the x-direction. It turns out that this choice of coordinate system greatly simplifies the problem.

How does this choice simplify the problem? To begin with, there are three forces acting on the block. Two of them, the tension T and the normal force N lie in the same directions as these new coordinate axes. Therefore, only one of the forces is "tilted," that being the force of gravity. More importantly, we know that if we set the block in motion by cutting the cord, the block will slide in the x-direction. (It will not float above the plane or break through it.) Therefore, we can describe the equation of motion for the block in terms of the distance traveled down the plane. Describing the motion in our more familiar horizontal-vertical system would be much more difficult.

SIU Board of Trustees, 1999

Now, let's set up the problem. We write down Newton's second law for both the xand y components. The three forces are T, in the -x direction, N which is in the y direction, and the gravitational force Mg which is vertical. We first must break up Fgrav into its components along the new x and y directions. We can let Mg be the hypotenuse of a right triangle whose small angle is the same as the angle (Similar Triangles) N T Fy = Mgcos F = Mg Fx = Mgsin y x

The component of the force Mg in the x direction is Mgsin . The component of the force Mg in the y direction is -Mgsin. Now we can write down the equations of motion. There is no acceleration in the ydirection so that N = Mgcos. There is also no motion in the x direction so that T = Mgsin. Now, we cut the string, (Let T = 0), and we expect the block to slide down the plane. The equation of motion in the x direction is Max = Mgsin or ax = gsin Note that the acceleration is in the positive x-direction as we have drawn our system. The acceleration is a constant. We could use this result to obtain the equation of motion down the plane. If the block starts at x=0 when the cord is cut, then x(t) = 1/2 (gsin)t 2 (Independent of Mass)
SIU Board of Trustees, 1999