Chapter 3

Newton’s Laws of
Motion
and Applications
Chapter 2 Review on Motion

1D Uniform Acceleration 2D Projectile

𝑣𝑣0𝑥𝑥 = 𝑣𝑣0 cos 𝜃𝜃0
𝑣𝑣0𝑦𝑦 = 𝑣𝑣0 sin 𝜃𝜃0

𝑣𝑣⃗0
𝜃𝜃0

= 𝑣𝑣0 cos 𝜃𝜃0

Chapter 2 Review on Motion

Uniform Circular Motion Constant speed v

• No change in speed  𝑎𝑎∥ = 0 Radius r

• Centripetal acceleration：
𝑣𝑣 2
𝑎𝑎⊥ = 𝑎𝑎𝑐𝑐 =
𝑟𝑟 The period T is the time
for one revolution, so
𝑣𝑣 is the constant speed
v = 2πr/T, and ac = 4π2r/T2.
𝑟𝑟 is the radius of circle
 Uniform circular motion revisited: vector component calculus method
Two-dim motion: 𝑅𝑅 = 𝑥𝑥 𝑡𝑡 𝚤𝚤̂ + 𝑦𝑦(𝑡𝑡)𝚥𝚥̂ 𝑣𝑣 ≡ 𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔
Uniform
𝑣𝑣⃗ 𝑣𝑣𝑦𝑦
𝑥𝑥 𝑡𝑡 = 𝑅𝑅cos𝜃𝜃 = 𝑅𝑅cos(𝜔𝜔𝑡𝑡) Motion 𝜃𝜃 𝑣𝑣⃗
𝑦𝑦 𝑡𝑡 = 𝑅𝑅sin𝜃𝜃 = 𝑅𝑅sin(𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔) 𝜃𝜃 = 𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔 𝜃𝜃
𝑣𝑣𝑥𝑥 (𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦)
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑣𝑣𝑥𝑥 𝑡𝑡 = = 𝑥𝑥 ′ = −𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔sin 𝜔𝜔𝑡𝑡 = −𝑣𝑣 sin𝜃𝜃 𝑎𝑎⃗ 𝑅𝑅
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝑦𝑦
𝑣𝑣𝑦𝑦 𝑡𝑡 = = 𝑦𝑦 ′ = 𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔cos(𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔) = 𝑣𝑣 cos𝜃𝜃
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

So, the v-vector (tangent) also rotates an angle of θ

𝑑𝑑𝑣𝑣𝑥𝑥 𝑣𝑣 2
𝑎𝑎𝑥𝑥 𝑡𝑡 = = 𝑥𝑥 ′′ = −𝜔𝜔2 𝑅𝑅cos 𝜔𝜔𝑡𝑡 = − cos𝜃𝜃
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑅𝑅
𝑑𝑑𝑣𝑣𝑦𝑦 𝑣𝑣 2
𝑎𝑎𝑦𝑦 𝑡𝑡 = = 𝑦𝑦 ′′ = −𝜔𝜔2 𝑅𝑅sin(𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔) = − sin𝜃𝜃
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑅𝑅

Magnitude of 𝑎𝑎⃗ = 𝑎𝑎𝑐𝑐 = 𝑎𝑎𝑥𝑥2 + 𝑎𝑎𝑦𝑦2 = 𝑣𝑣 2 /R cos 2 𝜃𝜃 + sin2 𝜃𝜃 = 1

.
Chapter 3

Newton’s Laws of
Motion
and Applications
 Topics for chapter 3 Part 1

• The cause of motion: force

• The Newton’s Laws of Motion
• Learn different types of forces
• Finding and analyzing the forces

.
 What causes motion?

• We studied motion in chapter 2

• What causes motion?
This man
• Answer: Force causes change of motion, and thus pushes
causes motion car with a
force
• Newton’s laws of motion describe the relation
between force and motion.
• Discovered by Isaac Newton in 1600s
• Newton formulated three laws from huge amounts
of experimental evidence.
.
 Characteristics of force
• Force causes change in the motion of an push
object (e.g. from not moving to moving)
• A force is an interaction between two
objects, it involves two objects push

• It is a vector quantity, (has direction and

magnitude)
pull
• Examples of force: a push and a pull are
forces

.
 Newton’s First Law

• Establish a qualitative relation between force and motion

• Simple version : “Not under any force, a stationary object
remains at rest, and a moving object stays in uniform
motion.” Uniform motion means constant velocity

• Proper version “If there is no force or no net force on a

body, the body will remain its state of motion: it moves
with constant velocity or remain at rest”
All the forces on the
• No net force=all forces added up to zero= forces cancel airplane cancel, so it
each other moves with a constant
velocity
• Mathematical version: ∑ 𝐹𝐹⃗ = 0 ⟹ 𝑣𝑣⃗ = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑎𝑎⃗ = 0
.
 Newton’s Second Law: change of the state of motion

• If there is a non-zero net force on

an object, it causes the object to
accelerate (change in motion).
• Example, If you push a car with a
force F, the car move faster ( it
has acceleration).

what is the mathematical relation between

force and acceleration (quantitative)?
This is given in the second law
.
 Relation between Mass, Force and acceleration

• From many experimental studies, 2nd law establishes the mathematical

relation between force and acceleration
• The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force
(the resultant force) on the object. 𝑎𝑎⃗ ∝ ∑ 𝐹𝐹⃗
• The object’s acceleration is inversely proportional to the object’s mass
1
if the net force remains fixed. 𝑎𝑎⃗ ∝
𝑚𝑚

⃗
• Combining the two relations above, we obtain 𝑎𝑎⃗ = ∑ 𝐹𝐹/𝑚𝑚
or Newton’s 2nd 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿: ∑ 𝐹𝐹⃗ = 𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑎⃗

• The SI unit for force is the newton (N) ; 1 N = 1 kg·m/s2

.
 What is mass?
• A physical quantity of an object tells you the amount
of matter in the object.
• Mass is proportional to the amount of matter.
More matter means larger in mass. (the mass of 2 litres
of coca cola is 2 times the mass of 1 litre )
The amount of gold
• 2nd law  larger mass means larger resistance to atoms in 1kg gold bar
change of motion, which means smaller acceleration is double the number
1 of gold atoms in 0.5kg
under the same force (𝑎𝑎⃗ ∝ ) bar
𝑚𝑚
• In physics, mass is the characteristic of a body that resists
the change of motion, a tendency to stay unchanged.
SI unit for mass is kilogram = kg
.
 Newton’s Third Law

• This law is about the relationship of the forces between two objects,
which exert forces on each other.

• If you exert a force (action) on an object, the

object always exerts a force (the “reaction”)
back upon you.
• It is called “the action-reaction pair.”
(see figure)
The swimmer is accelerated by
the force from the wall on the
• A force and its reaction force have the same swimmer. In the meantime, she
magnitude but opposite directions. These also exerts a force on the wall
forces act on different bodies.

.
 Example of action and reaction pair

The weight of the book

exerts a force on the table,
the table give the book a
normal force
.
 Will action and reaction forces cancel each other?

Third law:
𝐹𝐹⃗𝐻𝐻 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑊𝑊 𝐹𝐹⃗𝑊𝑊 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐻𝐻
𝐹𝐹⃗𝐻𝐻 on 𝑊𝑊 = − 𝐹𝐹⃗𝑊𝑊 on 𝐻𝐻

𝐹𝐹⃗𝑊𝑊 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐻𝐻 𝐹𝐹⃗𝐻𝐻 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑊𝑊

cancel each other?

𝐹𝐹⃗𝑊𝑊 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐻𝐻 is the force on the hand (H)

but 𝐹𝐹⃗𝐻𝐻 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑊𝑊 is the force on the wall (W)

The two forces are on different objects, so they cannot cancel each other.
.
 What is the reaction force of weight (the gravity force on an object)?
𝑁𝑁
Is the reaction force for weight 𝑊𝑊
the normal force 𝑁𝑁 ?
𝑊𝑊
What if there is no the normal force 𝑁𝑁
in the example of projectile motion?
𝑊𝑊
reaction force of 𝑊𝑊? Who gives 𝑊𝑊?
Actually, there is a gravitational pulling force 𝐹𝐹⃗𝐺𝐺 from
the football on earth! That is the reaction force of 𝑊𝑊.
𝐹𝐹⃗𝐺𝐺
They act on different objects and cannot cancel each other.
.
 The use of Newton’s Laws

• Newton’s law tell you relation between force

and acceleration
• If you find the net force, you can find
acceleration and then find the motion (position
vs time from acceleration)
• To find the net force, we add all the forces on
the object
• So, we need to know how to find and identify
the different types of forces in real life
.
 Common forces found in real life 1
Non-contacting Forces
• Weight: The pull force of gravity on Weight is a force
an object. The force is gravitational on an object due to
gravitational force
attraction from earth. This is a long- 𝑊𝑊 = 𝑚𝑚𝑔𝑔⃗
range force. No contact with the
earth is needed.

weight 𝑊𝑊 = 𝑚𝑚𝑔𝑔⃗
𝑚𝑚 𝑖𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑜𝑓𝑓 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑜𝑜𝑏𝑏𝑗𝑗𝑒𝑒𝑐𝑐𝑡𝑡
𝑔𝑔⃗ 𝑖𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑔𝑔𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑎𝑣𝑣𝑖𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑎𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑖𝑜𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑎𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑖𝑜𝑜𝑛𝑛
(g = 9.8 m/s2)

• Electromagnetic Forces (later in PHY1202)

.
 Common forces found in real life 2

Contacting Forces Deformed spring will exert a

force to restore the original
• Spring force: A restoring force.
This is a contact force.

• Tension force: A pulling force

Tension in the rope cause a
exerted on an object by a rope or force on the box
cord. This is a contact force.

.
 Common Forces found in real life 3

Push force: You can exert a force on an object by

pushing it. This is also a contact force. Push is
exerted by another object by contact.

push

.
 Common Forces found in real life 4
Surface Contacting Forces
• The normal force: When an object is
placed on a surface, it pushes against the
surface, the surface pushes back on the
Normal force by the surface
object. There is force from the surface to on the object, equal and
the object which is perpendicular to the opposite to the force from
object on the surface, action-
surface. This is a contact force. reaction pair
• Friction force: This force occurs between
the rough surface and an object, when a Friction force motion
surface resists sliding of an object. It is
parallel to the surface. Friction is a contact
force. (smooth surface can have negligible
friction (zero friction))
.
 Frictional forces

• When two surfaces want to move relative

to each other, a friction force exists
Push or pull
between the two surfaces resisting this
motion or tendency of motion
friction
• It is parallel to the surfaces.

• Friction between two surfaces arises from

interactions between the uneven surfaces
due to roughness of the surfaces – the teeth
from the roughness lock together and try to
block and prevent the relative motion.
.
 Two types of friction: kinetic and static friction
• The friction is called Kinetic friction when there is
relative motion between the two surfaces N 𝑣𝑣⃗ ≠ 0

• The kinetic friction force is proportional to the normal

force between the surface, the proportional constant is
called coefficient of kinetic friction, fk = µkN. (N is the
normal force)

• Friction exists even when there is no relative motion but N 𝑣𝑣⃗ = 0

a tendency of relative motion. It is called static friction.
fs
• The static friction force can vary between zero and its
maximum value: fs ≤ f s,𝑀𝑀 =µsN. (N is the normal force)
.
 Static friction

In the beginning, there is a gridlock, Push or pull

the object does not move and the static friction
Fapplied force
friction always balances the force applied
to move the object
𝑓𝑓static friction= Fapplied force Magnitude of frictional force | f |
as a function of applied force
until the gridlock is broken and the
maximum static friction = 𝜇𝜇𝑠𝑠 𝑁𝑁 is reached.

Once the gridlock is broken and the object is

in motion, the motion makes it easier to
break further and move forward. So, we
have
𝑓𝑓k < 𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑠,𝑀𝑀 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝜇𝜇k < 𝜇𝜇s
.
 Static friction in our daily life
Compared to kinetic friction, which is bad Walking on ice
is not easy
because it is against the motion most of
time and consumes energy, static friction Slippery!
can hold things together (like glue) and
Lack of friction!
therefore is good in our daily life.

Static friction provides force for walking, car acceleration Car wheel
slipping in
snow

relative relative
motion static
friction motion
static
friction Car skidding
No slipping
in a curve
Static friction provides tracking without slipping
.
 Some coefficients of friction
• Give you a feeling
about the values of
the coefficients of
different materials.
• No need to memorize

• This is why all tires

are made of rubbers

Why f ∝ N all the time?

 The gridlock is N
tighter when pressed
harder from sides

.
 Static vs kinetic friction
10kg N
1. What is the friction force if F = 10N? Will
the crate move? 𝑓𝑓𝑆𝑆 F
N = W = 98N → 𝑓𝑓𝑆𝑆𝑀𝑀 = 𝜇𝜇𝑆𝑆 N= 20N 𝜇𝜇𝑆𝑆 = 0.20 𝜇𝜇𝑘𝑘 = 0.18
W= mg=10x9.8 = 98N
F = 10N < 𝑓𝑓𝑆𝑆𝑀𝑀  No motion, 𝑓𝑓𝑆𝑆 = F =10N

2. What is the minimum Fm to make it move? Fm = 𝑓𝑓𝑆𝑆𝑀𝑀 = 20𝑁𝑁

3. Once moving, what is the acceleration if the force is kept at Fm?

𝐹𝐹𝑚𝑚 − 𝑓𝑓𝑘𝑘 = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

𝐹𝐹𝑚𝑚 −𝑓𝑓𝑘𝑘 20−18
But 𝑓𝑓𝑘𝑘 = 𝜇𝜇𝑘𝑘 N= 18N → 𝑎𝑎 = = = 0.2m/s2
𝑚𝑚 10
.
 Application of Newton’s Law

Newton’s 2nd law is about forces and

acceleration: 𝐹𝐹⃗𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 = 𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑎.
⃗

• Usually, there is not just one force

 force analysis

• Draw a free body (force) diagram of all the

forces acting on each object.
• Below we learn how to draw the free body
(force) diagram
.
 Drawing force vectors in force diagram
• Isolate the object (ball)

• Use a vector arrow to

indicate the magnitude
and direction of the forces
in a free body diagram or
force diagram.

• Draw all the forces in the

problem. Then you have the
force diagram which helps
you to solve the problem

.
 Example of free body (force )diagram

Man push a car

The jet engine pushes the

gas out. The outgoing gas
push back on the engine.
For engine, it experience a
thrust from the gas

.
 Finding all forces

• For non-contact forces, it is

straightforward:

Gravity 𝑊𝑊 = 𝑚𝑚𝑔𝑔⃗

• For contact forces, a rule of

thumb is to look for
“contacts”

.
 Adding forces together

Newton’s 2nd law is about net force: 𝐹𝐹⃗𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 = 𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑎.

⃗
When we have several forces acting on an object,
what is the total effect of these forces on an object?

• The effect of the resultant force of all the forces on

the object is the same as the total effect of all the
forces on the object.

• The sum of the forces is the resultant force.

• 𝑅𝑅 has the same effect of 𝐹𝐹1 and 𝐹𝐹2

.
 Decompose forces in a convenient coordinate system
• After you draw the force diagram, choose a convenient coordinate
system and find the components of all the forces along the x and y
direction
• Then find the components of the resultant force or the net forces by
adding the components of all the forces
The y component of the
resultant is the sum of the y F1y
components of all the forces Ry = F1y + F2y + F3y + … .
F2y

The x component of the F2x F1x

resultant is the sum of
the x components of all
the forces Rx = F1x + F2x + F3x + … ,
.
Adding the forces using the components: more than two forces

• Find components of each force and add the

components. Expression for more than two forces

• 𝑅𝑅 = 𝐹𝐹1 + 𝐹𝐹2 + 𝐹𝐹3 + ⋯ = ∑ 𝐹𝐹𝑖𝑖

• Rx = F1x + F2x + F3x + … , 𝑅𝑅𝑥𝑥 = 𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑎𝑥𝑥

• Ry = F1y + F2y + F3y + … . 𝑅𝑅𝑦𝑦 = 𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑎𝑦𝑦

.
 Consideration in choosing the convenient coordinate systems

• F1x + F2x + F3x + … = 𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑎𝑥𝑥 Too many quantities

and unknowns
• F1y + F2y + F3y + … = 𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑎𝑦𝑦

• We can make some components zero by choosing a

convenient coordinate system
𝐹𝐹𝑥𝑥 = 𝐹𝐹cos𝜃𝜃
choose 𝜃𝜃 = 0 or 90𝑜𝑜
𝐹𝐹𝑦𝑦 = 𝐹𝐹sin𝜃𝜃

• We choose a coordinate system with one axis, say x, as the

direction of motion. Then 𝑎𝑎𝑦𝑦 = 0  one less unknown
.
 Another free body (force) diagram

⊥ 𝑦𝑦

𝑎𝑎
𝑥𝑥
∥ 𝜃𝜃
=𝜃𝜃

𝑥𝑥: 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚sin𝜃𝜃 − 𝑓𝑓 = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

𝑁𝑁𝑥𝑥 = 0 𝑓𝑓𝑥𝑥 = −𝑓𝑓 𝑊𝑊𝑥𝑥 = 𝑊𝑊sin𝜃𝜃
𝑊𝑊 = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑦𝑦: 𝑁𝑁 − 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚cos𝜃𝜃 = 0
𝑁𝑁𝑦𝑦 = 𝑁𝑁 𝑓𝑓𝑦𝑦 = 0 𝑊𝑊𝑦𝑦 = −𝑊𝑊cos𝜃𝜃
𝑓𝑓 = 𝜇𝜇𝑁𝑁

𝑎𝑎 = 𝑔𝑔(sin𝜃𝜃 − 𝜇𝜇cos𝜃𝜃)

.
 Two common free-body diagram errors

• The normal force must be perpendicular to the surface.

𝑁𝑁 = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚cos𝜃𝜃

= 𝜃𝜃

• Don’t mix up force and acceleration. There is no “𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑎⃗

force.” 𝑎𝑎⃗ is a vector showing the acceleration to remind us
of the consequence of the net force

.
 Application of Newton’s Law to a system of multiple objects

F B • Isolate the objects into individual one

A

NB
• Then, draw a free body (force) diagram
NA of all the forces acting on each object.
N2 F N’2 • Use the third law for action and reaction
A B
fA fB
N2 = N’2
WA=mAg WB=mBg
• Write Newton’s equation for each object
A𝑦𝑦: 𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴 − 𝑊𝑊𝐴𝐴 = 0 A𝑥𝑥: 𝐹𝐹 − 𝑓𝑓𝐴𝐴 − 𝑁𝑁2 = 𝑚𝑚𝐴𝐴 𝑎𝑎 𝑓𝑓𝐴𝐴 = 𝜇𝜇𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴 𝑓𝑓𝐵𝐵 = 𝜇𝜇𝑁𝑁𝐵𝐵
B𝑦𝑦: 𝑁𝑁𝐵𝐵 − 𝑊𝑊𝐵𝐵 = 0 B𝑥𝑥: 𝑁𝑁′2 − 𝑓𝑓𝐵𝐵 = 𝑚𝑚𝐵𝐵 𝑎𝑎 𝑎𝑎 = 𝐹𝐹/(𝑚𝑚𝐴𝐴 + 𝑚𝑚𝐵𝐵 ) − 𝜇𝜇𝑔𝑔
.
 Summary of Steps for applying Newton’s Law
• Find and draw the forces of the free body (force) diagram (looking for contacts)
• Set up coordinates according to convenience
• Decompose all the forces into components and find the resultant force (vector
sum) of all the forces in terms of the components.
• A. If it is a static problem (the object is not moving, or with constant velocity),
the resultant force should be zero, according to Newton’s 1st Law
• B. If it is a dynamic problem (the object is moving), the resultant force equals
mass time acceleration according to Newton’s 2nd Law.
• Apply one of the conditions, A & B, to your problem to get some equations
• Solve the equations to find your required answers (solving unknowns).
.
 Dynamics of circular motion

.
 Dynamics of circular motion

• In uniform circular motion, the object’s

acceleration (centripetal) is directed toward
the center of the circle.

• By Newton’s 2nd law, a net force is required

for this acceleration and the net force points
towards the center of the circle

• Here, the force is the cause not the result.

.
 What if the string breaks?

• The string provides a force, which

causes the acceleration to keep the
ball in circular motion

• If the string breaks, no net force

acts on the ball, so it obeys Newton’s
first law and moves in a straight line
(red dashed line with arrow).

.
 Don’t use “centrifugal force”

• When you are in a rotating merry go-

round, you think you experience a
“centrifugal force”.
• If you do not hold the hand of your
friend you will be thrown out from
the merry go-round. It seems like a
force that throws you out.
• If you do not hold tight, there is no
• In fact, there is no such a force called centripetal force to keep you in the
“centrifugal force”. It is “fictious” circular motion, then you appear to be
thrown out from the merry-go-round.

• Actually, without the centripetal force,

you keep your linear uniform motion,
which is away from the merry-go-around
.
 Working on circular motion

• The net force on the object is Fnet = m ac

with centripetal acceleration ac = v2/R

• To find Fnet, we again need to do a free

body diagram.

• We can use center direction as one of

the axes (𝑥𝑥-axis is along 𝑎𝑎⃗𝑐𝑐 ) 𝑥𝑥
𝑣𝑣 2
𝐹𝐹𝑠𝑠 − 𝐹𝐹1 = 𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑎𝑐𝑐 = 𝑚𝑚
𝑙𝑙

𝑣𝑣 2
𝐹𝐹𝑠𝑠 = 𝑚𝑚 + 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚cos𝜑𝜑
.
𝑙𝑙
Chapter 3 part 2

Examples of applying
Newton’s Laws
 Goals for part 2

• This part contains some examples in

which the Newton’s laws are applied
• They cover from easy to hard problems
on one or many objects
• We work on circular motion

.
 Summary of steps for problem solving

• Draw a free body diagram (force diagram)

• Add all the forces, best approach is to resolve the force into
components and add all the components and find the resultant
force
• Apply Newton’s Law (first law for uniform motion, static
equilibrium), (second law for constant acceleration) to the
resultant force.
• This will give you some equations. Solve the equations for
the unknowns.
• These steps are followed more or less in the examples below
.
 Two-dimensional equilibrium
• A car engine hangs from several chains.
• Follow Example 5.3.

.
.
.
.
.
.
 Two-body Problem

Tension in a massless string is same everywhere

.
 Two-body Problem

.
 Pulling a crate at an angle

• The angle of the pull affects

the normal force, which in
turn affects the friction force.

.
 𝑛𝑛 ≠ 𝑤𝑤 = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚!
𝑓𝑓 ≠ 𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇!

𝑓𝑓 = 𝜇𝜇n always true

.
.
.
 A car rounds a flat curve
Car skidding
• A car rounds a flat unbanked curve. What is in a curve
its maximum speed without skidding?
• Follow Example 5.21.

.
.
.
 𝑓𝑓𝑆𝑆𝑀𝑀 𝜇𝜇𝑆𝑆 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝑎𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑀𝑀 = = = 𝜇𝜇𝑆𝑆 𝑔𝑔
𝑚𝑚 𝑚𝑚

.
 Banking of a curved track – no need for friction

Use acceleration direction

as x-axis: ay = 0

y
= mac
x

For a race track of R = 300 m and v = 100 mi/hr = 45m/s, θ = 45o

.
 Acceleration down a hill
• What is the acceleration of a toboggan sliding down a
friction-free slope? Follow Example 5.10.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Thinking questions
 TQ3.1

A person pulls horizontally on block B,

causing both blocks to move horizontally as a
unit. There is friction between block B and
the horizontal table.
If the two blocks are moving to the right at
constant velocity,

A. the horizontal force that B exerts on A points to the left.

B. the horizontal force that B exerts on A points to the right.
C. B exerts no horizontal force on A.
D. not enough information given to decide

.
 TQ3.1’

A person pulls horizontally on block B,

causing both blocks to move horizontally as a
unit. There is friction between block B and
the horizontal table.
If the two blocks are moving to the right at
constant acceleration,

A. the horizontal force that B exerts on A points to the left.

B. the horizontal force that B exerts on A points to the right.
C. B exerts no horizontal force on A.
D. not enough information given to decide

.
 TQ 3.2

A lightweight crate (A) and a heavy crate

(B) are side-by-side on a horizontal
floor. You apply a horizontal force F to
crate A. There is friction between the F B
crates and the floor. A

If the two crates are accelerating to the right,

A. crate A exerts more force on crate B than B exerts on A

B. crate A exerts less force on crate B than B exerts on A
C. crate A exerts as much force on crate B as B exerts on A
D. Answer depends on the details of the friction force
.
 TQ3.3

A woman pulls on a 6.00-kg

crate, which in turn is connected
to a 4.00-kg crate by a light rope.
The light rope remains taut.

Compared to the 6.00-kg crate, the lighter 4.00-kg crate

A. is subjected to the same net force and has the same acceleration.
B. is subjected to a smaller net force and has the same acceleration.
C. is subjected to the same net force and has a smaller acceleration.
D. is subjected to a smaller net force and has a smaller acceleration.
E. none of the above
.
 TQ3.4

A lightweight crate (A) and a heavy crate (B) are side by side on
a frictionless horizontal surface. You are applying a horizontal
force F to crate A. Which of the following forces should be
included in a free-body diagram for crate B?

F B
A. the weight of crate B A

B. the force of crate B on crate A

C. the force F that you exert
D. the acceleration of crate B
E. more than one of the above

.
 TQ3.5

Blocks A and C are connected by a string as

shown. When released, block A accelerates to
the right and block C accelerates downward.

There is friction between blocks A and B, but not enough to prevent

block B from slipping. If you stood next to the table during the time
that block B is slipping on top of block A, you would see
A. block B accelerating to the right.
B. block B accelerating to the left.
C. block B moving at constant speed to the right.
D. block B moving at constant speed to the left.
.
 TQ3.6

A pendulum bob of mass m is attached to the

ceiling by a thin wire of length L. The bob
moves at constant speed in a horizontal circle
of radius R, with the wire making a constant
angle β with the vertical. The tension in the
wire

A. is greater than mg.

B. is equal to mg.
C. is less than mg.
D. is any of the above, depending on the bob’s speed v.