Newtons Law of Motion

 Law of Inertia
 Law of Force and Acceleration
 The Equal and Opposite Reaction
First Law of Motion:
Law of Inertia
Statement:
Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of
motion unless an external force is applied to it.

Explanation:
According to Newton's first law, an object in motion continues in motion with
the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an
unbalanced force.
Example:
As the car accelerates, the passengers accelerate with it; as the car decelerates,
the passengers decelerate with it; and as the car maintains a constant speed, the
passengers maintain a constant speed as well.
If the car were to abruptly stop and the seat belts were not being worn, then the
passengers in motion would continue in motion.
Second Law of Motion:
Law of Force and Acceleration
Statement:
The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the
applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors (as indicated by
their symbols being displayed in slant bold font); in this law the direction of
the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector.
Explanation:
The acceleration of an object is dependent upon two variables - the net
force acting upon the object and the mass of the object. The acceleration of an
object depends directly upon the net force acting upon the object, and inversely
upon the mass of the object. As the force acting upon an object is increased, the
acceleration of the object is increased. As the mass of an object is increased, the
acceleration of the object is decreased.
Newton's second law of motion can be formally stated as follows:

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.
This verbal statement can be expressed in equation form as follows:

a = Fnet / m

The above equation is often rearranged to a more familiar form as shown

below. The net force is equated to the product of the mass times the
acceleration.
Fnet = m • a

Units:
1 Newton = 1 kg • m/s2
Example (Solving):
Net Force(N) Mass(kg) Acceleration(m/s^2)
1. 10 2 ?
2. 20 2 ?
3. 20 4 ?
4. ? 2 5
5. 10 ? 10
Answers:

1. 4.

2. 5.

3.
Example:
1. If you use the same force to push a truck and push a car, the car will have
more acceleration than the truck, because the car has less mass.
2. It is easier to push an empty shopping cart than a full one, because the full
shopping cart has more mas than the empty one. This means that more force
is required to push the full shopping cart.
Third Law of Motion:
For Every Action There is an Equal and
Opposite Reaction
Statement:
It means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on the two
interacting objects. The size of the forces on the first object equals the size of
the force on the second object. The direction of the force on the first object
is opposite to the direction of the force on the second object.
Forces always come in pairs - equal and opposite action-reaction force pairs.
Example:
1. While driving down the road, a firefly strikes the windshield of a bus and
makes a quite obvious mess in front of the face of the driver. This is a clear
case of Newton's third law of motion. The firefly hit the bus and the bus hits
the firefly. Which of the two forces is greater: the force on the firefly or the
force on the bus?
Answer:
-Trick Question! Each force is the same size. For every action, there is an equal
... (equal!). The fact that the firefly splatters only means that with its smaller
mass, it is less able to withstand the larger acceleration resulting from the
interaction. Besides, fireflies have guts and bug guts have a tendency to
be splatterable. Windshields don't have guts. There you have it.
2. Many people are familiar with the fact that a rifle recoils when fired. This recoil is
the result of action-reaction force pairs. A gunpowder explosion creates hot gases that
expand outward allowing the rifle to push forward on the bullet. Consistent with
Newton's third law of motion, the bullet pushes backwards upon the rifle. The
acceleration of the recoiling rifle is ...
a. greater than the acceleration of the bullet.
b. smaller than the acceleration of the bullet.
c. the same size as the acceleration of the bullet.
Answer:
B
The force on the rifle equals the force on the bullet. Yet, acceleration depends on
both force and mass. The bullet has a greater acceleration due to the fact that it has
a smaller mass. Remember: acceleration and mass are inversely proportional.