Newtons Laws of Motion

Concept for force:

To change the state of rest or of uniform motion or to change the direction of moving
body an external force is required. An external agency which changes or tends to change the
state of rest or of uniform motion is called force.
Inertia:

The inability of the body to change the state of rest or uniform motion along a straight

line is called inertia.

Inertia means resistance to change.
The inability of the body to change the state of rest, unless acted by external force is

called inertia of rest.

The inability of the body to change the state of uniform motion, unless acted by

external force is called inertia of motion.

The inability of the body to change the direction of motion unless acted by external
force is called inertia of direction.
Ex: 1) A book placed on a table continues to be at rest due to inertia. It is displaced
when it is pushed with force. (or)
2) An ivory ball moving on a smooth surface continues to move with uniform
speed due to inertia.

Aristatlean Law of motion:

It states that an external force is required to keep the body in motion.
Law of inertia or Newtons first law of motion:

It states that Every body preserves its state of rest or of uniform motion unless it is

compelled by an external force.

The first part of first law gives principle of inertia and the second part gives definition

of force.
Newtons first law implies that the velocity of the body doesnot change and hence its

acceleration is zero, if the net force acting on the body is zero.

A body will have acceleration only if the net external force on the body is zero.

Momentum:

The momentum of a moving body is defined as the capacity f the body for importing
velocity to another body and it is measured as the product of the mass of the body and its
velocity.
If m is the mass of the body moving with velocity v then momentum is giving by
P=mv

It is a vector quantity.

P=m v

Its unit is kgms1

Its dimensional formula is [M1L1T1]
d v
a = =acceleration of the body
But
dt

F =Km a

(2)

To find K we have to define unit force. Unit force is that force which acts on a body
of unit mass produces on unit acceleration.
i.e. F = 1 when m = 1 and a = 1, then
we get

K=1

F =m a

Unit of force:

S.I. unit of force is Newton.

Force is said to be one Newton of it acts on a body of mass 1 kg and produces an

acceleration of 1m/s2
S.I. unit of gravitational force is kilogram weight i.e. kgwt.
Gravitation unit of force is defined as the gravitational force due to earth on unit mass.
1 kgwt=mg=1 kg 9.8 m/s 2
1 kgwt=9.8 Newton

Impulsive force and Impulse of a force:

A large force acting for short interval of time is called impulsive force.
Ex: Kicking a football, striking a cricket ball with a bat, the blow of hammer on a nail etc.
The produce of average force and the time for which it acts on a body is called
impulse of the force.
Newtons second law of motion:
It states that the state of change of momentum is directly proportional to the applied
force and takes place in the same direction in which the force acts.

Let us consider a body of mass m moving with velocity v under the action of force
F changes to ( v + v ) in time t. according to Newtons second law we have
F

dp
dt

To derive the relation F = ma on the basis of Newtons second law of motion:

Consider a body of mass m moving with velocity
Let a force

v . Its momentum is

acts on a body for a time t, changes its velocity from

During the time interval t, the momentum of the body changes by p=m ( v )
Rate of change momentum =

p
t

According to Newtons second law we have

p
p

F =K .
t
t
Where K is proportionality constant in the limit t 0 we get
p = d p
t 0 t dt
d p

F =K .
dt
d v

F =K .
dt
d v

F =K .m .
dt
If F is the large force acting for short interval of time then
Impulseof the force=I =F t

Its unit is kgms1 (N S)

Its dimensional formula is [M1L0T1]

Show that impulse is equal to change in momentum:

W.K.T.

F=ma

(1)

p=m v .

to

v .

F=m.

( vut )

(1)

W.K.T. I =F t
I =m

( vut ). t

I =m ( vu )
I =mvmu=Change inmomentum
Impulse of a force is the change in momentum caused by the force.