CHAPTER – 9

FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

Force:- A push or pull is termed as force.

Force is an external effort which may move a body at rest or stop a moving body or
change the speed of a moving body or change the direction of a moving body or change
the shape and size of a body.

The SI unit of force is newton (symbol N). This unit is named after Sir Isaac Newton
who first defined force.

Force is a vector quantity and has a magnitude and a direction.

Effects of force:-
i) Force can move a body at rest.
ii) Force can stop a moving body.
iii) Force can change the speed and direction of a moving body.
iv) Force can change the shape and size of a body.

Balanced and unbalanced forces:-

Forces are divided into two types:
1. Balanced Forces
2. Unbalanced Forces

i) Balanced forces :-
 If the resultant of all the applied forces is equal to zero, then the forces are
called balanced forces.

 Example: - In the tug of war, if both the teams apply similar magnitude of forces
in opposite directions, rope does not move in either side. This happens because
of balanced forces in which resultant of applied forces become zero.
 Balanced forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
 Balanced forces cannot change the state of rest or motion of a body.
 Balanced forces cannot change the speed or direction of a moving body.
 Balanced forces can change the shape and size of an object.
 For example - When forces are applied from both sides over a balloon, the size
and shape of balloon is changed.

ii) Unbalanced forces :-

 If the resultant of applied forces is greater than zero, then the forces are called
unbalanced forces.
  An object in rest can be moved because of applying unbalanced forces.
 Unbalanced forces can do the following:
1. Move a stationary object.
2. Stop a moving object.
3. Change the speed of a moving object.
4. Change the direction of a moving body.

NEWTON’S FIRST LAW OF MOTION:

‘An object remains in a state of rest or in uniform motion in a straight
line unless compelled to change that state by an applied force.’ It is also
known as the law of inertia.

 Inertia: The natural tendency of objects to remain in a state of rest or in

uniform motion unless an external force acts on it is called inertia.
OR
Inertia is that property of a body due to which it resists the change in its state of
rest or of uniform motion.
 Mass is a measure of the inertia of a body.
 If a body has more mass, it has more inertia i.e. heavier objects have more
inertia than lighter objects.

Examples on Newton’s first law of motion:

1. When we strike the coins of a carom board which are placed one above the other,
only the bottom coin moves and the remaining coins continue in its state of rest. Give
reason.
Ans: Force is applied only on the bottom coin, so it moves and no force is applied on the
remaining coins, hence they tend to remain at rest due to inertia.

2. When a hanging carpet is beaten with a stick, the dust particles start coming out of
it. Give reason.
Ans: This is because the force of stick makes the carpet move to and fro but the dust
particles tend to remain at rest due to inertia.

3. When a branch of tree is shaken, its fruits and leaves fall down. Give reason.
Ans: Since force is applied on the branch of a tree, it moves and no force is acting on
fruits and leaves. Hence they tend to to remain at rest due to inertia.

4. When a car or a bus starts suddenly, the passengers fall back. Give reason.
Ans: This is because the passengers tend to remain in the state of rest due to inertia as
no force is acting on them.

5. When a running car or bus stops suddenly, the passengers are jerked forward. Give
reason.
Ans: Due to inertia the passengers tend to remain in the state of motion even though the
car or bus has come to rest.
6. It is dangerous to jump out of a moving bus. Give reason.
Ans: Because, the jumping man is moving with the speed of a bus which tend to remain
in motion due to inertia even on falling to the ground.

Momentum of a body:
 The momentum of a body is the product of its mass and velocity.
 Momentum = mass x velocity
p = mv
where, p is the momentum of a body
m is the mass of the body
v is the velocity of the body
 If a body is at rest its velocity is zero and so its momentum is also zero.
 The SI unit of momentum is kg m/s or kg ms-1
 Example: A truck moving at a very low speed can kill a person standing in its path
because of the heavy mass of the truck.
 A bullet of small mass when fired from a gun can kill a person because of the large
velocity of the bullet. So the impact of a body depends upon its mass and velocity.

NEWTON’S SECOND LAW OF MOTION:

‘The rate of change of momentum of an object is directly proportional to the

applied force and takes place in the direction of force.’

Mathematical formulation of Newton’s Second Law of Motion:

If an object of mass ‘m’ is moving along a straight line with initial velocity ‘u’ and is
accelerated to velocity ‘v’ in time ‘t’ by applying a force ‘F, then
Initial momemtum p1 = mu
Final momentum p2 = mv
Change in momentum = p2 – p1
Change in momentum = mv – mu
Rate of change of momentum = m (v – u )/t
According to Newton’s second law of motion,
Force α Rate of change of momentum
F α m (v – u)/t
F = k m (v – u)/t
But a = (v – u)/t
So F = kma where k is proportionality constant
If m = 1kg, a = 1ms-2, F = 1N then, k = 1
F = ma
The SI unit of mass is kg and acceleration is m/s2 or ms-2 so the unit of Force is
kg ms-2 or newton. It’s symbol is N
Newton’s second law in terms of acceleration:
The acceleration produced in a body is directly proportional to the force acting on it and
inversely proportional to the mass of the body.

Examples on Newton’s second law of motion:

1. A cricket player moves his hands backward on catching a fast moving cricket
ball. Give reason.
Answer: This is done to prevent injury to the hands. A fast moving cricket ball has a
large momentum. In stopping the cricket ball its momentum reduces to zero. Now,
when a cricket player moves his hands back, the time taken to reduce the momentum
of the ball to zero is increased. Hence the rate of change of momentum of the ball is
decreased and thus a small force is exerted on the hands of a player and he do not get
hurt.
2. During athletics meet, a high jumping athlete is provided with a cushion or a
heap of sand. Give reason.
Answer: When a high jumper falls on a cushion or a heap of sand it takes longer time to
come to stop. The rate of change of momentum of the athlete is less due to smaller
stopping force acting on the athlete and hence, the athlete does not get hurt.

3. Now a day, all cars are provided with seat belts to prevent injury in case of an
accident.
In a car accident, a fast moving car stops suddenly. Due to this large momentum of the
car is reduced to zero in a very short time. Does stretchable seat belts worn by the
passengers increases the time taken by them to fall forward. Due to longer time, the
rate of change of momentum of the passengers is reduced and hence, less stopping
force on the passengers.

NEWTON’S THIRD LAW OF MOTION:

'For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.'
 Action and reaction are two different forces.
 They are equal and opposite.
 They act on two different bodies.
 They act simultaneously.

Examples on Newton’s third law of motion:

1. If a man jumps, out from a boat, the boat moves backwards. Why?
The man will press the boat with his foot in the backward direction. The boat exerts
an equal amount of reaction force on the man because of Newton's third law of
motion.
2. Explain why a runner presses the ground with his feet before he starts his run.
A running presses the ground in the backward direction, this force is termed as
action. Opposite to this force, the ground applies a forward reaction force on the
runner, hence he can move faster.

3. We walk on the ground, is an example for Newton's 3rd law of motion. Justify.
When we walk on the ground, our foot pushes the ground in the backward direction
and in return the ground pushes our foot forward. This reaction exerted on our foot
makes us move forward.

4. We cannot walk on a slippery ground or on ice. Why?

This is due to the fact that on slippery ground or ice, friction is much less and we
cannot exert a backward action force on a slippery ground or ice which would
produce a forward reaction on us.

5. Swimming of a man is an example for Newton's third law of motion. Give

reason.
A swimmer pushes the water in the backward direction with an action force and he
moves in the forward direction with the same amount of reaction force. Hence, this is
example for Newton's third law of motion.

6. When a bullet is fired from a gun, the gun recoils. Why?

When a bullet is fired from a gun, the force sending the bullet forward is equal to the
force of sending the gun backwards. hence the gun recoils.

7. If a balloon filled with air and its mouth untied, is released with its mouth in
the downward direction, it moves upwards. Why?
The compressed air is released in the downward direction with a high speed. In
opposite to it, the balloon moves in upward direction with an equal amount of
reaction force.

8. Launching of a rocket is an example for Newton's third law of motion. Why?

The compressed gases are released in the downward direction with great speed. In
opposite to it, the rocket moves in upward direction with an equal amount of reaction
force.

9. To take the boat away from the bank of the river, a boat man pushes the bank
with an oar. Give reason.
The oar pushes the bank of the river in backward direction with an action force. The
bank of the river pushes the boat in the forward direction with an equal amount of
reaction force.

10. Explain why, when a fire man directs a powerful stream of water on a fire from
a hose pipe, the hose pipe tends to go in backward direction. Give reason.
The backward movement of hose pipe is due to the backward reaction of water
rushing through it in the forward direction at a greater speed.

11. If action is always equal to reaction, explain why a cart pulled by a horse can
be moved?
According to Newton's third law of motion, the horse exerts some force on the cart
and the cart exerts an equal and opposite force on the horse. Hence, we feel that the
cart would not move. To make the cart move, the horse bends forward and pushes
the ground in the backward direction with its feet. Hence, the ground applies a
forward reaction force on the horse which is greater than the opposing frictional force
of the wheels. Thus, the cart moves.
Law of conservation of momentum:
'Momentum of a system is always conserved, provided no external unbalanced
force acts on them.'
 According to law of conservation of momentum, when two bodies act upon one
another, their total momentum remains constant, provided that no external forces
are act on them.
 Law of conservation of momentum means that whenever one body gains
momentum, then the another body must lose an equal amount of momentum.

Derive the mathematical formula of law of conservation of momentum:

 Suppose two bodies, a truck and a car are moving in the same direction with
different velocities.
 Let the mass and initial velocity of the truck be m1 and u1, so that its initial
momentum is m1 x u1.
 Let the mass and initial velocity of the car be m2 and u2, so that the initial
momentum of the car is m2 x u2.
 Therefore the total momentum of
the truck and car before collision = m1u1 + m2u2 _____ (1)
 Suppose the truck and the car collide for short time 't', the velocities of the truck
and car changes.
 Let the velocity of the truck after collision be v1 and its Momentum is m1v1.
 Let the velocity of the car after collision be v2 and its Momentum is m2v2.
 Therefore the total momentum of
the truck and car after collision = m1v1 + m2v2 ______ (2)
 Suppose, during collision, the truck exerts a force F1 on the car and in return the
car exerts a force F2 on the truck.
 According to Newton's third law of motion, for every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction.
 Action = - Reaction
 F1 = - F2
 m1a1 = - m2a2
 m1(v1 – u1)/t = - m2(v2 – u2)/t
 m1(v1 – u1) = - m2(v2 – u2)
 m1v1 - m1u1 = - m2v2 + m2u2
 m1v1 + m2v2 = m1u1 + m2u2
OR m1u1 + m2u2 = m1v1 + m2v2
Therefore,
total momentum before collision = total momentum after collision
 SHRI MANJUNATHESHWARA ENGLISH MEDIUM SCHOOL,
DHARWAD
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT – II
SUBJECT: SCIENCE
TOOL1: Assignment
Topic: Force and Newton’s laws of motion

Name of the student:

Class & div:

Force and Newton’s laws of motion

1. Newton’s first law of motion and any two examples based on it.
2. Newton’s second law of motion, its derivation and any two examples based on it.
3. Newton’s third law of motion and any two examples based on it.
4. Law of conservation of momentum and its derivation.