FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

BALANCED AND UNBALANCED FORCES:

Force: From experience we know that to make something move we must push or pull it.
We call this applying a force.
Force is the cause for a change in the speed of a body.
One simple way of applying a force to a body is to attach a string and pull it.
Imagine a sphere floating in space with two strings attached; the sphere will not start to
move unless one of the astronauts pulls the string as in Figure

If A pulls the string then the body will move to the left, and if B pulls it will move
to the right. We can see that force is a vector quantity since it has direction.
We have seen that an object needs a force to move it from rest, or to change its
motion. To move a body from rest or to bring it to rest or to change its speed, all required
is force. Force can also change the shape of an object.
Force of contact: in all the cases of push, pull, impulse, stretch and squeeze, force is
being applied by actually touching the body. This is called force of contact.
Exa: stretching a rubber band or pushing a trolley

Force at a distance: it is also possible to produce the same effects by applying the force
without touching the object. This is called force at a distance.
Exa: iron filings attracted towards the magnet due to magnetic force
Effects of force:
a. to affect change in dimension
i.
when a force is applied to stretch a spring, its length changes
ii.
the shape of a sponge can be changed by applying a force
b. to start motion
i.
a football when kicked begins to move
ii.
a ball can be set rolling by pushing it with hand or with a bat
c. to stop motion
i.
a moving ball can be stopped by the force of the hand
ii.
a car can be stopped by the force due to its brakes.
d. To change the speed or direction of motion
i.
A cricket ball when hit changes the speed and direction of its speed

If a force is applied on a moving body in the direction of its motion, its speed increases
continuously.

NEWTONS FIRST LAW OF MOTION:

If an object is at rest it will remain at rest, or of it is in motion it will continue to move in
a straight line with a constant velocity, unless some external force acts on the object.
Newtons first law can be split into two parts.
a. If an object is at rest, it continues to remain at rest unless an external, unbalanced force
acts on it.
b. If a body is in motion, it continues to move with uniform velocity in the same straight
line unless an external, unbalanced force acts on it.

The first law of motion tells us of a certain property of all matter called inertia. The
quantitative measure of inertia is known as mass.

Inertia:

The tendency of a body to keep moving when no other body acts upon it is called
Inertia
Types of inertia:
Inertia of rest: a body at rest continues to remain at rest unless an external force is
applied to it.
Exa: when a bullet is fired in a glass window, a hole is formed in it. This is because only
that part of the glass moves with the bullet, where the bullet hits the glass. The remaining
part due to the inertia remains in its position.
Inertia of motion: a body in uniform motion continues to travel along a straight line
unless an external force acts on it.
Exa: when a person jumps out of a running bus or a train, then he runs along it for some
distance before stopping, otherwise he would fall in the forward direction.
Note: the mass of a body is a measure of its inertia. A larger mass possesses greater
inertia. Therefore, a larger force will be needed to overcome inertia.
Note: Newtons first law is also called as Law of Inertia
Linear Moment (P):
Linear moment of an object is the product of mass and velocity.
P = mass x velocity
It is a vector quantity and units are kg m/sec
Change in Linear Momentum:
When the velocity of the moving object is changed then there is a change in its linear
momentum

It can be represented as

P m(v2 v1 )

P m v

NEWTONS SECOND LAW OF MOTION:

Net force acting on an object is directly proportional to the rate of change of its linear
momentum.
Let a ball is moving with an initial velocity of u hit a wall and bounced with a final
velocity of v. The object is in contact with the wall for a small interval of t.
If the ball has mass m we can calculate the change of momentum of the ball.
Initial momentum = mu
Final momentum = mv
Change in momentum = mv mu
The time taken is t so the rate of change of momentum = (mv mu)/t
This is the same as m (v u)/t = ma

P
t

Therefore, Newtons second law can also be written as

Units of force: Newton (N)
1 N is the force that acts on an object of mass 1 kg and produce an acceleration of 1
m/sec2 in it.
CGS Units of force are dyne;

1 N = 105 dyne

NEWTONS THIRD LAW OF MOTION:

In the first two laws of motion the motion of a single object was considered. Newtons
third law deals with the mutual forces between two bodies. The third law of motion gives
rise to the idea of cause and effect.
To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. If action is on one body,
the reaction will be on the other body
Newtons third law is applicable only when two different objects are involved.
Example:
1. When a book is placed on a table, it exerts a force downwards equal to its weight on the
table and the table balances it by an equal reaction acting upwards on the book.
2. When a boy jumps from the boat to the bank, the boat moves in the direction opposite to
the jump.
3. In case of jet planes and rockets, the gases are ejected backwards with a high velocity,
that is, the jet plane or the rocket applies a force on the gases giving them a backward
velocity and the gases apply the reacting forces sending the rocket forward.

IMPULSE:

When you get hit by a ball the effect it has on you is greater if the ball bounces off you
than if you catch it. This is because the change of momentum is greater when the ball bounces, as
shown in Figure.

Mathematically, Impulse is equal to change in momentum.

It can be written as,

I P

I P F t

From Newtons second law of motion, it can also be written as,

Impulse is a vector.
Units of Impulse are; kg m/sec (or) Ns

CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM:
When there is no external force is acting on the object when it is in motion, the linear
momentum of the object remains same i.e. if Fnet = 0 then P = constant.
Alternatively, if two objects of masses m1, m2 are moving with velocities of u1, u2 and collide
each other. After the collision, their velocities become v1 & v2 respectively.
The total momentum before collision is equal to the total momentum after collision.
Hence, m1u1 + m2u2 = m1v1 + m2v2