Practice worksheet

Force and Laws of Motion

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Directions(Q1): In the following questions, a statement of assertion (A) is followed by a
statement of reason (R). Mark the correct choice as:
(a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) (A) is true but (R) is false.
(d) (A) is false but (R) is true.

Q1. (A): If the net external force on the body is zero, then its acceleration is zero.
(R): Acceleration does not depend on force
Q2. Define balanced force.
Q3. State Newton’s third law of motion.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q4. All the cars are provided with seat belts. Give reason.
Q5. A hammer strikes a nail with a hammer of mass 500 g moving with a velocity of 20 m/s. The
hammer comes to rest in 0.02 s after striking the nail. Calculate the force exerted by the nail on
the hammer.
Q6. A cricket player lowers his hands while catching the ball.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q7. Derive the mathematical formulation of second law of motion.
Q8. An iron sphere of 1 kg is moving with a velocity of 20 m/s on a cemented floor. It comes to
rest after travelling a distance of 50 m. Find the force of friction between the sphere and the
floor.
 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION
BALANCED AND UNBALANCED FORCES
ANSWERS
Force and laws of motion-NOTES
Balanced forces

If the net force is zero, the applied forces are called balanced forces.
Example: In the tug of war if both the teams apply same force in opposite directions, rope does not move in
either side.
Unbalanced forces

If the net force is greater than zero, the forces are called unbalanced forces.

Examples: Stationary object can be moved using unbalanced force

Newtons First law of motion ( Law of inertia)

Every object continues in its state of rest or of uniform motion along a straight line unless and untill an
external unbalanced force is applied on it.
Mass and Inertia
Inertia is proportional to the mass. This means that inertia increases with increase in mass and decreases with
decrease in mass.
A heavy object has more inertia than a light object.
Train has more inertia than a bike. This is because train has more mass and inertia is directly proportional to
mass.
Examples of inertia of rest are:-
1. When you shake the branch of a tree leaves get detached.
This is because of inertia of rest. When you shake the branch of a tree, leaves have a tendency to be
at rest due to inertia of rest. So the leaves get detached from the branch.
2. When you beat a carpet dust particles come out.
This is because of inertia of rest. When you beat a carpet, dust particles have a tendency to be at
rest due to inertia of rest. So the dust particles get removed from the carpet.

3. When you sit in a car and it starts you lean backward.

This is because of inertia of rest. When you sit in a car, you are at state of rest. But when the car
starts moving, upper part of your body has a tendency to continue in state of rest. Because of this,
you lean backward.

Examples of inertia of motion are:-

1. When bus applies sharp brakes you fall forward due to inertia of motion.
This is because of inertia of motion. When bus is moving, you are at state of motion. But when the
bus applies brakes, the lower part of your body stops. But upper part of your body has a tendency
to move. Because of this, you fall forward.
2. A man jumping from moving bus falls forward due to inertia of motion.
 This is because of inertia of motion. When the man is in moving bus, he is at state of motion. But
when he jumps out, his feet come to rest when he touches the ground. But upper part of his body
has a tendency to move forward due to inertia of motion. So he falls forward.
Examples of inertia of direction are:-
1. When a car makes a sharp turn at a high speed, you tend to get thrown to other side.
This is because of inertia of direction. When you sit in a moving car, you are at state of motion
along a straight path. But when the car makes a sharp turn, upper part of your body has a tendency
to continue in the same direction. Because of this, you tend to get thrown to other side.
2. It is advised to tie our luggage kept on the roof of a bus with a rope
This is because of inertia of direction. When the luggage is on the roof of a moving bus, it is at
state of motion along a straight path. But when the bus makes a sharp turn, the luggage has a
tendency to continue in the same direction. So the luggage can be thrown sideways.
Momentum and mass
Since momentum is the product of mass and velocity (p=mv) of an object. This means
momentum is directly proportional to mass and velocity. Momentum increases with increase of
either mass or velocity of an object.
This means if a lighter and a heavier object is moving with same velocity, then heavier object will
have more momentum than the lighter one.
If a small object is moving with greater velocity, it has tremendous momentum. And because of
momentum, it can harm an object more severely.
Example: A small bullet having a little mass even kills a person when it is fired from gun.
Usually, road accidents prove more fatal because of high speed than in slower speed. This
happens because vehicles running with high speed have greater momentum compared to a
vehicle running with slower speed.

Newton’s Second law of motion

Rate of change of momentum is directly proportional to applied unbalanced force and the change in
momentum takes place in the direction of force.

F = dp/dt
1 Newton: When an acceleration of 1m/s2 is seen in a body of mass 1kg, then the force applied on the body is
said to be 1 Newton.
Applications of Newtons second law.
1. A cricket player lowers his hands while catching the ball.
This can be explained using Newton’s 2nd law.
While catching a ball, a cricket player lowers his hands, because by doing so, he increases the time
of catch. That is, the person increases the time to bring about a given change in momentum, and
hence rate of change of momentum decreases. Thus, a small force is exerted by ball on the hands.
2. In a high jump athletic event, the athletes are made to fall either on a cushioned bed or sand bed.
This can be explained using Newton’s 2nd law.
This is to increase the time of the athlete's fall to stop after making the jump. This decreases the rate
of change of momentum and hence, the force. As a result, the athlete does not get injured.
 Mathematical formulation of Newton’s Second Law of Motion:
Consider a moving object of mass m.
Let its initial velocity be u and final velocity be v.
We know that momentum (p) = Mass × velocity
Therefore,
Initial momentum of object = mu
And Final momentum of the object = mv
Therefore, change in momentum = mv – mu
Rate of change of momentum=m(v-u)/t

Where k is the proportionality constant

By putting the value of k=1 in equation (ii), we get:

F = ma
i.e., Force = Mass × Acceleration
Numerical problems

1. A motor vehicle has a mass of 1500 kg. How large must the force between the car and the
road be for the car to stop with a negative acceleration of 1.7 ms-2?

Answer 45. Suppose

vehicle mass (m) = 1500 kg

acceleration (a) = -1.7 ms-2

By the second law of motion, F = ma

F = 1500 kg × (-1.7 ms -2) = -2550 N

So the force acting between the car and the road is -2550 N, acting in the opposite direction from the
direction of the car’s motion..

2. A truck starts from a standing start and rolls downhill with constant acceleration. It covers
a distance of 400 m in 20 s. Find its acceleration. Find the force acting on it when its mass
is 7 tons (hint: 1 ton = 1000 kg).

Answer 42. We have,

Distance travelled by truck (s) = 400 metres

The time it takes to travel the distance (t) = 20 seconds

The initial speed of the truck (u) = 0 (since the start of rest position)

From the equation of motion, we already know

s = ut + 1/2at2

So 400 = 0(20) + ½(a)(400)

a = 2 ms-2

For the given condition, the acceleration of the truck is 2 ms-2

According to the second law of motion,

force = mass x acceleration

mass of the truck = 7 tons = 7000 kg

The force acting on the truck is

= 7000 kg x 2 ms -2

= 14000 kg.ms-2

= 14000 N

So 14000 N force acts on the truck

Newton’s 3rd law of motion

Newton’s Third law

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Even though the forces are equal and opposite in direction, they do not cancel each other. This is because action
and reaction are on two different objects.

o A swimmer swimming forward:

▪ The swimmer pushes against the water (action force), the water pushes back on the
swimmer (reaction force) and pushes her forward.
o A ball is thrown against a wall:
▪ The ball puts a force on the wall (action force), and the wall puts a force on the ball
(reaction force) so the ball bounces off.
o A person is diving off a raft:
▪ The person puts a force on the raft (action force) pushing it, and the raft puts a force on
the diver (reaction force) pushing them in the opposite direction.
o A person pushes against a wall (action force), and the wall exerts an equal and opposite force
against the person (reaction force).
o The Space Shuttle engines push out hot gases (action force), and the hot gases put a force on the
shuttle engines (reaction force) so the shuttle lifts.