FORCES AND

NEWTONS LAWS

What is force?
A force is a push or pull (with magnitude and direction)
Catching a baseball
Hitting a baseball
Unit of force is a Newton (N)
Some forces are exerted that we dont even notice
You are exerting a force on your chair right now, and your chair is
exerting a force on you as well!
You are staying in your seat because of the force caused by gravity
A force exerted on an object can change its motion

Net Force
The net force is the sum of all of the forces acting on an

object (much like adding velocities)

Unbalanced Forces
Balanced Forces

Friction
Friction is the force that opposes the sliding motion of

two surfaces that are touching each other.

What causes friction?
All surfaces (even those that appear smooth) have many bumps
and dips at the microscopic level
The larger the bumps and dips the greater the frictional force

When two surfaces are in contact welding (sticking) occurs

Microwelds are the source of friction

Static Friction
Static- a fixed or stationary condition
Static friction prevents two surfaces from sliding past each

other due to the microwelds formed between the surfaces

The exerted force is not large enough to break the microwelds

Sliding Friction
Sliding friction is a force continually applied between two

surfaces opposite the direction an applied force.

F= 1000 N

Rolling Friction
Mainly we think of friction as a bad thing
Trying to reduce friction
However, wheels would not work properly without friction
Cars stuck in the mud lack proper rotational friction

Gravity
Gravity is an attractive force between any two objects
Dependent on the mass of the objects and the distance between them.

Law of Universal Gravitation

Isaac Newton used data from the motion of planets to derive

What happens to the gravitational force when you

increase the distance between the two objects?

The Gravitational Field

A field is a region of space that has a physical quantity

(such as force) at every point

Weight
The gravitational force exerted on an object is the objects weight
We can calculate weight using the following equation

weight (N) = mass (kg) x gravitational strength (N/kg)

Weight on Earth: g = 9.8 N/kg

Newtons First Law of Motion

States that an object moves at a constant velocity unless

an unbalanced force acts on it

Commonly referred to as inertia
Tendency of an object in motion to resist any change in its motion

Newtons Second Law of Motion

The net force exerted on an object is related to the mass

and acceleration of the object

F (N) = m(kg) x a(m/s2)

Newtons Third Law of Motion

When one object exerts a force on a second object, the

second object exerts a force of equal strength and

opposite direction.

Isaac Plays Hockey

http://science360.gov/obj/video/642db496-

d506-432e-85b4-4e38f75d9142/newtons-three-lawsmotion