Lecture 3

2 –D motion and The

Laws of Motion
 Outlines
1. Free fall
2. Projectile motion
3. Force
4. Newton’s first law
5. Newton’s second law
 Free Fall
• A freely falling object is any object moving freely
under the influence of gravity alone.
– Free fall does not depend on the object’s original motion
• All objects falling near the earth’s surface fall with a
constant acceleration.
• The acceleration is called the acceleration due to
gravity, and indicated by g.
 Acceleration due to Gravity
• Symbolized by g
• g = 9.80 m/s²
– When estimating, use g ≈ 10 m/s2
• g is always directed downward
– Toward the center of the earth
• Ignoring air resistance and assuming g doesn’t vary
with altitude over short vertical distances, free fall is
constantly accelerated motion
 Free Fall – an object dropped
• Initial velocity is zero.
• Let up be positive.
– Conventional vo= 0
• Use the kinematic equations. a = -g
– Generally use y instead of x
since vertical
• Acceleration is -g = -9.80 m/s2
 Free Fall – an object thrown
downward
• a = g = -9.80 m/s2.
• Initial velocity ≠ 0. vo= -ve
– With upward being positive, a = -g
initial velocity will be negative
 Free Fall – object thrown upward
• Initial velocity is upward, so
v=0
positive.
• The instantaneous velocity at the
maximum height is zero. Actually
• a = -g = -9.80 m/s2 everywhere in straight
the motion. back down
• The motion may be symmetrical. v = +ve
o
– Then tup = tdown and v = -vo
• The motion may not be
symmetrical.
– Break the motion into various parts
Non-symmetrical Free Fall Example

• Need to divide the motion into

segments.
• Possibilities include:
– Upward and downward portions
– The symmetrical portion back to
the release point and then the
non-symmetrical portion
Example 1:
A certain freely falling object, released
from rest, requires 1.50 s to travel the
last 30.0 m before it hits the ground.
(a) Find the velocity of the object when it
is 30.0 m above the ground.
(b) Find the total distance the object
travels during the fall.
Example 2:
A ball is thrown from the top of a building
with an initial velocity of 20.0 m/s straight
upward, at an initial height of 50.0 m above
the ground. The ball just misses the edge of
the roof on its way down, as shown in
Figure. Determine (a) the time needed for
the ball to reach its maximum height, (b) the
maximum height, (c) the time needed for
the ball to return to the height from which it
was thrown and the velocity of the ball at
that instant, (d) the time needed for the ball
to reach the ground, and (e) the velocity
and position of the ball at t = 5.00 s. Neglect
air drag.
Example 3:
A rocket moves straight
upward, starting from rest with
an acceleration of 29.4 m/s2. It
runs out of fuel at the end of
4.00 s and continues to coast
upward, reaching a maximum
height before falling back to
Earth. (a) Find the rocket’s
velocity and position at the
end of 4.00 s. (b) Find the
maximum height the rocket
reaches. (c) Find the velocity
the instant before the rocket
crashes on the ground.
 Projectile Motion
• An object may move in both the x and y directions
simultaneously.
– It moves in two dimensions
• The form of two dimensional motion we will deal
with is an important special case called projectile
motion.
• Assumptions of projectile motion:
– We may ignore air friction
– We may ignore the rotation of the earth
– With these assumptions, an object in projectile motion
will follow a parabolic path
 Rules of Projectile Motion
• The x- and y-directions of motion are completely
independent of each other.
• The x-direction is uniform motion.
– ax = 0
• The y-direction is free fall.
– ay = -g
• The initial velocity can be broken down into its x- and
y-components.
–
Projectile Motion
 Projectile Motion at Various Initial Angles
• Complementary values of the initial angle result in the
same range.
– The heights will be different
• The maximum range occurs at a projection angle of 45o.
 Velocity of the Projectile
• The velocity of the projectile at any point of its
motion is the vector sum of its x and y
components at that point.

– Remember to be careful about the angle’s

quadrant.
 Projectile Motion Summary
• Provided air resistance is negligible, the horizontal
component of the velocity remains constant.
– Since ax = 0
• The vertical component of the acceleration is equal to
the free fall acceleration –g.
– The acceleration in the y-direction is not zero at the top of
the projectile’s trajectory
• The vertical component of the velocity vy and the
displacement in the y-direction are identical to those of
a freely falling body
• Projectile motion can be described as a superposition
of two independent motions in the x- and y-directions
 Problem-Solving Strategy
• Select a coordinate system and sketch the path of the
projectile.
– Include initial and final positions, velocities, and accelerations
• Resolve the initial velocity into x- and y-components.
• Treat the horizontal and vertical motions independently.
• Follow the techniques for solving problems with
constant velocity to analyze the horizontal motion of the
projectile.
• Follow the techniques for solving problems with
constant acceleration to analyze the vertical motion of
the projectile.
 Special Equations
• The motion equations can be combined
algebraically and solved for the range and
maximum height

• Only apply on symmetrical projectile motion.

- symmetrical back to initial height
Example 4:
An Alaskan rescue plane drops a
package of emergency rations to
stranded hikers, as shown in
figure below. The plane is traveling
horizontally at 40.0 m/s at a height
of 1.00×102 m above the ground.
(a) Where does the package strike
the ground relative to the point
at which it was released?
(b) What are the horizontal and
vertical components of the
velocity of the package just
before it hits the ground?
(c) Find the angle of the impact.
Example 5:
A long jumper leaves the ground at an angle of 20.0° to the
horizontal and at a speed of 11.0 m/s.
(a) How long does it take for him to reach maximum height?
(b) What is the maximum height?
(c) How far does he jump? (Assume his motion is equivalent
to that of a particle, disregarding the motion of his arms
and legs.)
Example 6:
A ball is thrown upward from the top of a building at an angle
of 30.0° to the horizontal and with an initial speed of 20.0 m/s,
as in figure. The point of release is 45.0 m above the ground.
(a) How long does it take for
the ball to hit the ground?
(b) Find the ball’s speed at
impact.
(c) Find the horizontal range
of the stone. Neglect air
resistance.
 Forces
• Commonly imagined as a push or pull on some
object.
• Vector quantity.
• May be a contact force or a field force.
– Contact forces result from physical contact between two
objects
– Field forces act between disconnected objects
 Newton’s First Law
• An object moves with a velocity that is constant
in magnitude and direction, unless acted on by
a nonzero net force.
– The net force is defined as the vector sum of all the
external forces exerted on the object
– External force
o Any force that results from the interaction between the
object and its environment
– Internal forces
o Forces that originate within the object itself
o They cannot change the object’s velocity
• Newton’s first law is often called the law of
inertia.
• Inertia is the tendency of an object to continue
in its original motion.
– In the absence of a force
• Mass: A measure of the resistance of an object
to changes in its motion due to a force.
– The larger the mass, the less it accelerates under the
action of a given force
• SI units for mass is kg.
• Mass is a scalar quantity.
 Newton’s Second Law
• The acceleration of an object is directly
proportional to the net force acting on it and
inversely proportional to its mass.

• Can also be applied three-dimensionally.

Example 7:
An airboat with mass 3.50×102 kg, including the passenger,
has an engine that produces a net horizontal force of
7.70×102 N, after accounting for forces of resistance.
(a) Find the acceleration of the airboat.
(b) Starting from rest, how long does it take the airboat to
reach a speed of 12.0 m/s?
(c) After reaching that speed, the pilot turns off the engine
and drifts to a stop over a distance of 50.0 m. Find the
resistance force, assuming it’s constant.
Example 8:

Two horses are pulling a barge with mass 2.00×103 kg along a

canal, as shown in figure. The cable connected to the first
horse makes an angle of θ1 = 30.0° with respect to the
direction of the canal, while the cable connected to the second
horse makes an angle of θ2 = -45.0°. Find the initial
acceleration of the barge, starting at rest, if each horse exerts
a force of magnitude 6.00×102 N on the barge. Ignore forces
of resistance on the barge.
 Some Notes About Forces
• Forces cause changes in motion.
– Motion can occur in the absence of forces
• All the forces acting on an object are added as
vectors to find the net force acting on the object.
• Newton’s Second Law is a vector equation.
• SI unit of force is a Newton (N).

• US Customary unit of force is a pound (lb).

– 1 N = 0.225 lb
 Gravitational Force
• Mutual force of attraction between any two
objects.
• Expressed by Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation:
– Every particle in the Universe attracts every other particle
with a force that is directly proportional to the product of
the masses of the particles and inversely proportional to
the square of the distance between them
 Weight
• The magnitude of the gravitational force acting
on an object of mass m near the Earth’s surface
is called the weight w of the object.
– w = m g is a special case of Newton’s Second Law
• g is the acceleration due to gravity
• g can also be found from the Law of Universal
Gravitation.
• Weight is not an inherent property of an object.
– Mass is an inherent property
• Weight depends upon location.