Introduction of mechanics

Lecture notes 3
 Force
 Inertia
 Newton’s laws of motion
 Tension, Normal Reaction, Friction
and Weight
1 Force

Unit: newton, N
It can be measured by
spring balance.
2 Is a force needed to keep a body moving?

Will the cart move even if the man stops

pushing it? NO!

⇒ it seems that
a
force is
needed to
moving.
keep things
3 Inertia
Galileo’s law of Inertia
Inertia is the tendency of a body
to
maintain its state of rest
or of constant speed along a
straight line. flick off
e.g.
sharply
4 Newton’s first law of motion
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)

Every object
remains in a stateor uniform
speed
of restalong a straight line
unless acted on by a net
force. * net force = sum of
forces

...similar to Galileo's law,

but I give a meaning of
force
5 Newton’s idea of force

Force changes the state of rest or

uniform motion of an object.

don't need force to move at constant

speed

But in everyday life, it doesn’t seem

right.
∴ Why?
friction opposes motion
∴ need to apply a force to oppose
6 Newton’s second law of motion
F ∝ ma

F = constant × ma

Newton’s 2nd law

a of an object is
directly proportional to & in same direction as F
inversely proportional to m
 Example 1

A driver braked a car moving at 72 km

h−1 to stop. The braking distance,
measured by the brake marks on the
road, was 40 m. The mass of the car
was 1000 kg.

What was the

ave. braking
force?
 Example 1

Finding the acceleration of car:

By v 2 = u 2 + 2 x a___ xs___,
72 x 1000 2
( 3600 )
0 = _____________+
___ 2(a)(40
_________
)
a = __________
−5 m s−2
By F = ma,
______ x(−5)
Ave. braking force =1000 ______
= −5000
_________
N
7 Tension in a string
Tension– force in a string
– either left/right
(depending on what it acts
on)
tension

Tension can act in opposite

directions.
8 Normal reaction
The force acting on a boy by the
surface in contact with him is normal
reaction. Any force to
balance
normal the weight?
reaction

weight
An upward force provided by the surface
acting perpendicular (normal) to the boy
Net force acting on the boy = 0
8 Normal reaction
No matter he stands at
A (a horizontal surface)
or
B (an inclined surface)

normal normal
reactio reactio
n n

the normal reaction acting on boy is

perpendicular (normal) to the road
 9 Friction
a Where does friction come from?

When the block the tiny bumps catch

moves,
each other friction (opposing motion)

bumps of
surfaces Likewise…
v v friction
friction

Friction arises when object slides

(or tends to slide) over another
9b Reducing friction and using friction

Friction opposes or prevent the

motion of an object.
People find ways to reduce it, for
example:
10 Weight  the pull of gravity
Weight is the gravitational force
acting on an object by the Earth.
Measured in newton (N)
if an object falls freely, its weight W
gives it an acceleration of g.

Applying F =
ma , W =
mg
10 Weight  the pull of gravity
W=
mg
Taking g to be 10 m s−2,
the weight of a 1-kg mass is
W = 1 kg × 10 m s−
2
= 10 N
11 Newton’s third law of motion
Newton’s third law of motion states
that...
to every action there is an equal &
opposite reaction.

It applies to two objects interacting

with one another. It does not apply to
one object by itself.
 Example 2
The motion of a fan cart is ‘stolen’ by a sail!
A fan cart is switched on, blowing air
in the forward direction.
(a) When the cart is placed on the
bench, it moves Explain why.
backwards.
 Example 2
The motion of a fan cart is ‘stolen’ by a sail!

By Newton's 3rd law,

force on air by
the fan F
air exerts an
equal and
opposite force F’
on the fan

This pushes the cart backwards.

 Example 2
The motion of a fan cart is ‘stolen’ by a sail!
sail

(b) When a ‘sail’ is

mounted on the cart
as shown, the cart
does not move.
Explain why.
 Example 2
The motion of a fan cart is ‘stolen’ by a sail!
sail

force on the
card by air
force on air F’’
by the card
F’’’

net force on cart = 0 ⇒ it does not move