FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

Galileo Galilei Sir Issac Newton

(1564 – 1642) (1643 -1727)
1. Force
2. Effects of Force
3. Balanced Forces
4. Unbalanced Forces
5. Newton’s First Law of Motion (Inertia)
6. Momentum
7. Newton’s Second Law of Motion
8. F = ma
9. Applications of Second Law of Motion
10. Newton’s Third Law of Motion
11. Applications of Third Law of Motion
12. Law of Conservation of Momentum

Created by C. Mani, Deputy

Commissioner, KVS RO Gurgaon
Force
F

Push

Pull

A push or pull on a body is called force.

Pull Push or Pull?

Push or Pull?
Push
Push
Effects of Force
F

A body at rest can be

moved by a force.

A body in motion can

be stopped by a force.
A body in motion can be changed in its
direction of motion by a force.
F F

A body (spring) can be changed (stretched) in its shape

or size by a force.

F F

A body (spring) can be changed (compressed) in its

shape or size by a force.
Effects of Force: Revisit
1. A force can move a stationary body.
2. A force can stop a moving body.
3. A force can change the speed of a moving body.
4. A force can change the direction of a moving body.
5. A force can change the shape (and size) of a body.

Force
A force is an influencing agency which tends to move a stationary body or
which tends to stop a moving body or which tends to change the velocity
(speed or and direction) of a moving body or which tends to change the
shape (and size) of a body.
Balanced Forces
If the resultant of all the forces acting on a body is zero, the forces are
called balanced forces.
Reaction (R)
(Exerted by the table)

F F

Weight (W)
(Force of gravity)

The block on the table is acted upon by many forces.

Since the block is at rest, the normal reaction R must be equal and opposite
to its weight W.
Force ‘F’ applied by the left hand is being balanced by the force ‘F’ applied
by the right hand.
Note:
1. When a body at rest is acted upon by balanced forces, the
body is not displaced. i.e. the body remains stationary.
2. When balanced forces act on a body moving with constant
velocity (uniform motion), they do not produce any
acceleration on the body. i.e., the body continues to move
with the same speed and direction.
Eg. When rain drops fall from clouds at a greater height, the
drops at first gain velocity due to gravity of the earth.
After falling through some height, a stage called equilibrium
occurs when downward weight of the drops is balanced by
the upward forces such as upthrust and viscous force.
The net force acting on the drops will be zero and hence no
more acceleration is produced on the drops.
Therefore, the rain drops move with constant velocity which
was last gained by the drops just before reaching equilibrium
condition.
Can you imagine the speed of the rain drops while reaching the surface
of the earth, if they continue to move only under the action of gravity?
Suppose the clouds are at the height (h) of 3 km (3000 m). Acceleration
due to gravity (g) is 9.8 m/s2. Initial velocity (u) = 0 m/s.
Then, final velocity is given by v2 = u2 + 2gh
i.e. v2 = 02 + 9.8 x 3000 => v = 171.5 m/s = 617 km/h
A rain drop with such a high velocity is faster than a bullet and can pierce
through a human skull !

3. Though the balanced forces cannot produce motion in a stationary body

or stop a moving body, they can, however, change the shape of the body.

Eg. When a ball is pressed between the hands the forces are balanced
but the ball is changed in its shape and size.
Unbalanced Forces
If the resultant of all the forces acting on a body is not zero, the forces are
called unbalanced forces.
Unbalanced forces can move a stationary body or they can stop a moving
body.
When we talk of a force acting on a body, we usually mean an unbalanced
force.
When the total force on the plane
is in one direction, the force is
called “unbalanced”.

Lift Thrust An unbalanced force changes the

motion of the plane. For instance,
when thrust is greater than drag, it
is the unbalanced force that
Drag causes the plane to speed up, or
accelerate.

Weight In addition, as the velocity of the

plane increases, the lift force
increases and becomes the
unbalanced force that causes the
plane to fly.
 Reaction (R)

≤f
F>

Weight (W)

Since the block is at rest, the normal reaction R must be equal and opposite
to its weight W.
As long as the applied force F is less than the frictional force, the block is
not moved.
When the applied force is just equal to the friction, the body may move with
uniform velocity.
When the applied force is greater than the friction, the body moves with
acceleration.
NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION
F
The block remains at rest…..

unless and until it is acted

upon by an external force.

The ball continues to be in unless and until it is acted

uniform motion…… upon by an external force.

NEWTON’S FIRST LAW OF MOTION

A body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in uniform motion will continue
to be in uniform motion, unless and until it is compelled by an external force
to change its state of rest or of uniform motion.
Inertia
Inertia is the inherent property of a body due to which it resists a change in
its state of rest or of uniform motion.
Inertia can be understood in parts, viz. inertia of rest and inertia of motion.
Mass is a measure of the inertia of a body.
Heavier objects have more inertia than lighter objects.
Eg. 1. A stone of size of a football has more inertia than football.
2. A cricket ball has more inertia than a rubber ball of the same size.

Inertia of rest
Examples of Inertia of rest:
1. A passenger in a bus jerks backward when the bus starts suddenly
because the passenger tends to be in inertia of rest whereas the bus is
moved away forcefully.
2. When a bed sheet is flicked away suddenly dust particles fall away as
they tend to be in inertia of rest.
3. When a branch of a tree carrying a mango is suddenly flicked mango falls
off due to inertia of rest.
Examples of inertia of motion:
1. A passenger in a bus jerks forward when the bus stops suddenly because
the passenger tends to be in inertia of motion whereas the bus is stopped
forcefully.
2. An athlete after reaching the finishing point can not stop suddenly or if
he stops suddenly then he falls toppling head down.
3. A car takes some time and moves through some more distance before
coming to rest even after the application of brakes.
4. A rotating fan continues to do so for some more time even after the
current is switched off.
5. An oscillating simple pendulum bob does not halt at the mean position
but continues to move further.
6. When a car or bus turns around a sharp corner, we tend to fall sideways
because of our inertia to continue to move in a straight line.
7. It is dangerous to jump out of a moving bus because the jumping man’s
body is in the state of inertia of motion but the legs are suddenly stopped
by the ground and hence he topples down.
MOMENTUM
Momentum is the quantity of motion in a body and it depends on its mass
and velocity.
Momentum of a body is defined as the product of its mass and velocity.
i.e. Momentum = mass x velocity or p=mxv

 Momentum is directly proportional to mass.

If a cricket ball and a tennis ball move with same velocity, momentum of
cricket ball is more because its mass is larger than that of the tennis ball.
 Momentum is directly proportional to velocity.
If two cricket balls move with different velocities, then the momentum of
the ball with greater velocity possesses more momentum.
 If a body is at rest, its velocity is zero and hence its momentum is zero.
 But, every moving body possesses momentum.
 Momentum is a vector quantity.
 SI unit of momentum is kg m/s or kg ms-1.
 CGS unit of momentum is g cm/s g cms-1.
NEWTON’S SECOND LAW OF MOTION
The rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the
applied force, and takes place in the direction in which the force acts.
Change in momentum
Force α
Time taken
Δp
Fα
t
mv - mu
Fα
t
m(v – u)
Fα
t (v – u)
Fα mxa since a =
t
F= Kma
If force of 1 N applied on a body of mass 1 kg produces an acceleration of
1 m/s2 on the body, then
1= Kx1x1
or K=1

F= ma Force = mass x acceleration

 F
Acceleration a =
m

The acceleration produced in a body is directly proportional to the force

acting on it and inversely proportional to the mass of the body.

 Force is a vector quantity.

 Force can cause acceleration or deceleration.
Eg.: Accelerator of a car accelerates it and brakes decelerate it.
 SI unit of force is ‘newton’.
 One ‘newton’ is defined as that force which when acting on a body of
mass 1 kg produces an acceleration of 1 m/s2 in it.

Place an 100 g on your outstretched palm. The force you feel is nearly 1
newton !

g
100
Applications of Newton’s Second Law of motion

1. A cricket player (fielder) moves his hands backwards on catching a fast

moving cricket ball.

A fast moving cricket ball has a large momentum.

In stopping the cricket ball, its momentum has to be reduced to zero.
When a player moves his hands back, the time taken to stop the ball
increases and hence the rate of change of momentum decreases.
i.e. the force exerted by the ball on the hands decreases. So, the hands of
the player do not get hurt.
2. A high jumping or long jumping athlete is provided either a
cushion or a heap of sand on the ground to fall upon.
The cushion or sand helps to increase the time in which the
momentum comes to zero. This decreases the rate of
change of momentum and hence the force. So, the athlete
does not get hurt.

3. Packing materials like thermocoal, corrugated sheets,

bubbled plastic sheet, straw, paper strands, etc. are used
while packing glassware, chinaware, electronic devices, etc.
These materials help to increase the time in which the
momentum comes to zero when jolting and jerking take
place. This decreases the rate of change of momentum and
hence the force. So, the articles do not get broken.
NEWTON’S THIRD LAW OF MOTION
To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The statement 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.

Note:
• Action and reaction are just forces.
• The forces always occur in pairs.
• Action and reaction do not act on the same body.
• Action and reaction act on different bodies but simultaneously.
• Though action and reaction forces are equal in magnitude but they
do not produce equal acceleration in the two bodies on which they
act.
Examples / Applications of Newton’s Third Law of motion

F F
Reaction Action
= 58 gwt = 58 gwt

100
60
40
20

80

100
60
20

80
40
0

100

100

60
80

40

20
80

40

20
60

0
0
 F
Action

F
Reaction
F
F
Force on Force on
bullet gun
(Action) (Reaction)

Recoil of a gun
Identify Action and Reaction
 Forward
Motion

Vertical
component
Reaction of reaction Reaction

Horizontal
component
of reaction

Action
Weight Weight
 Action

Reaction
Horse and Cart Problem
A horse is urged to pull a cart. The horse refuses to try, citing Newton’s
third law as his defence. “The pull of me on the cart is equal but opposite to
the pull of the cart on me. If I can never exert a greater force (action and
reaction are always equal) on the cart than it exerts on me, how can I ever
set the cart moving?”, asks the horse.
How would you reply?
 RC

TCH THC

V Reaction R

f H
WC
Action
WH
Why don’t you educate the Horse properly?
Weight of the cart ‘WC’ is balanced by Reaction ‘RC’ on the cart offered by the
ground.
Forward pull of the horse on the cart ‘THC’ is balanced by the Reaction pull of
the cart on the horse ‘TCH’.
If the horse pushes the ground in a slanting manner (Action), the Reaction
offered by the ground is resolved into Vertical and Horizontal components.
The Vertical component ‘V’ balances the weight of the horse ‘WH’.
If the Horizontal component ‘H’ is greater than the Friction ‘f’, then the horse-
cart system will move forward with acceleration.
LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM

When two or more bodies act upon one another, their total momentum
remains constant provided no external forces are acting on them.
Suppose a big and a small car move in the same direction with different
velocities.
Let the mass of the bigger car be ‘m1’ and its initial velocity is ‘u1’.
Let the mass of the smaller car be ‘m2’ and its initial velocity is ‘u2’
such that u2 < u1.
Suppose both the cars collide for a short time ‘t’.
Due to the collision, the velocities will change.
Let the velocities after the collision be v and v respectively.
Suppose that during collision, the bigger car exerts a force F 1 on the smaller
car and in turn, the smaller car exerts a force F2 on the bigger one.
When the force F1 acts on the smaller car, its velocity changes from u2 to v2.
F1 = m2a2
v2 – u2
F1 = m 2 x
t
When the force F2 acts on the bigger car, its velocity changes from u1 to v1.
F2 = m1a1
v1 – u1
F2 = m 1 x
t
According to Newton’s third law, F 1 = - F2
v2 – u2 v1 – u1
m2 x = - m1 x
t t
Cancelling t on both sides, we get

m2(v2 – u2) = m1(v1 – u1) Initial momentum of the bigger car = m1u1
m2v2 – m2u2 = m1v1 – m1u1 Initial momentum of the smaller car = m2u2
m1u1 + m2u2 = m1v1 + m2v2 Final momentum of the bigger car = m1v1
Final momentum of the smaller car = m2v2
Total momentum before collision = Total momentum after collision
 Recoil of a Test Tube (Activity)

Wait…..water is getting heated !

Here, the event of popping up of the cork is considered as collision. Total

momentum before collision is zero. Total momentum after collision also must be
zero. Hence, the velocities of the test tube and the cork are adjusting themselves.
i.e. the cork and the tube fly away in opposite directions; also note that the
velocity of the cork (lighter) is faster than that of the test tube (heavier).
 Acknowledgeme
nt
The objects copied from various sites:
1. Pictures of Galileo, Newton
2. Apple Tree
3. Aeroplane
4. 5 Rupee coin
5. Rocket
6. Body of the car
7. Spirit Lamp