3.

Laws Governing Motion

Motion is all around uspeople walk, clouds move, rain falls, and water flows. Things are moving wherever we look, and motion seems to be associated with all the changes we observe. Understanding motion is an important starting point in understanding the world. Newton helped us to understand motion in terms of the three laws he published in 1687. Although his laws of motion appear relatively simple, his perspective is not intuitively obvious and requires a retraining of the way we think. We will now describe these laws of motion and try to understand their meaning, illustrating them with common experience, but common experience seen in a new way. The First Law of Motion Before dealing with all kinds of motion, we must first ask: How do objects move if they are left alone? What is the natural motion of free objects? Only when we know the answers to these questions do we know what remains to be explained. If free objects move in a particular way, objects that move in some other way are not free and their motions must be explained by another law. The First Law of Motion correctly describes the motion of free objects: Every object continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line with unchanging speed, unless compelled to do otherwise by forces acting upon it. It seems obvious that an object at rest remains at rest if it is left alone, yet the consequence can sometimes be startling. A magician depends on this law when he pulls the tablecloth from a table, leaving the dinner service undisturbed. The plates and goblets are at rest and remain at rest unless the tablecloth compels them to do otherwise. A less entertaining manifestation of the law occurs when a stopped car with passengers is struck from behind. The passengers heads momentarily remain at rest while the car and the rest of their bodies are compelled to move forward by the force of the impact. This results in stretching and bone dislocation known as whiplash injury. This First Law also states that moving objects, if left to themselves, will continue to move in a straight line without changing speeduniform motion. At first this seems contrary to our experience. Moving objects always seem to slow down and stop if nothing is done to keep them moving. Is this not a violation of this statement of the law? Our problem is that the objects with which we deal are not free. Friction acts on them and, if it is not opposed by other forces, compels these objects to change from their state of uniform motion. We can test the validity of the First Law, however, by considering the motion of objects in situations where friction is greatly reduced. One can easily imagine, for example, that an ice skater could glide on and on without ever slowing down if friction could be eliminated totally (Fig. 3.1).

Figure 3.1. An ice skater could go on forever without effort if friction were not present. Those who drive on icy roads are acutely aware of the consequences of the law. It is a frightening experience to approach an intersection, apply the brakes because of a red light, and then proceed through without slowing down. Turning is also a problem because, without friction, the car continues in a straight line no matter how the wheels are turned. After two or three such experiences, one is easily convinced that the First Law of Motion is valid.

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Even so, the consequences of the law still catch us unaware. A common auto injury occurs when a passenger strikes the windshield when the car in which he is

Figure 3.2. Both drivers lose their heads in a rear-end collision. Why?

riding suddenly stops. The passenger keeps moving in accordance with the First Law of Motion (Figure 3.2). A final example suggests another consequence of the law. A car makes a left turn at modest speed. A package next to the driver slides across the seat, away from the center of the turn, and continues its straight-line motion in accordance with the First Law of Motion, while the car turns under it (Fig. 3.3). Incidentally, none of these examples proves that the First Law of Motion is valid, but all suggest that it might be. Considering other consequences of the law seems reasonable. As we gain additional experience we gain increasing confidence in the validity of the law. Acceleration Uniform motion in a straight line without changing speed is the natural motion of free objects. Any object that is not in uniform motion is said to be accelerating. An object accelerates if its speed changes, either to increase or decrease, or if its direction changes. It is sometimes useful to assign specific words to describe some simple types of acceleration. Deceleration, for example, denotes a decrease in speed whereas a direction change is properly designated as a centripetal (center-seeking) acceleration. Any change from uniform motion, however, is an acceleration (Fig. 3.4 and 3.5).

Figure 3.3. Why does the passenger feel thrown to the outside of a turn?

Figure 3.4. Successive pictures, taken at equal time intervals, of a car in four different kinds of motion. Why do we say that the car is accelerating in c and d but not in a and b?

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Figure 3.5. A coin rests on a moving turntable. How do you know it is accelerating? Acceleration may be defined more precisely as the rate at which speed or direction is changing. The acceleration of a car might be designated properly as 5 mi/hr/sec. This car would increase its speed from 30 to 50 mi/hr in 4 sec. It would have the same amount of acceleration if its speed increased from 10 to 30 mi/hr in the same amount of time. If it slowed from 50 to 40 mi/hr in 2 sec the acceleration would be the negative sign denotes deceleration. Force Your intuitive understanding of force is probably adequate for our present purposes. Force is simply a push or pull exerted on one object by another. A more sophisticated definition of force is implied by the First Law of Motion: force is anything that causes acceleration. All accelerations are caused by forces. Forces are acting whenever an object moves faster, moves slower, changes direction, or experiences any combination of speed and direction change. The kind of acceleration caused by a particular force depends on the direction of the force. If a force pushes on an object in the same direction as its motion, the object speeds up. The object slows down if the force opposes its motion (Fig. 3.6). Lateral forces cause change in direction with the object turning toward the direction of the force (Fig. 3.7). 5 mi/hr/sec;

Figure 3.7. The puck slides in a circle on an air-hockey table without friction. In what direction is the force exerted on the puck by the string? (Hint: Have you ever seen a string that could push on anything?) The strength of forces is measured in pounds (lb) in the English system of units and newtons (N) in the metric system. The amount of acceleration produced by a particular force is determined partly by its strength. Stronger forces produce greater accelerations. If a particular force causes an object to accelerate from 20 to 30 mi/hr in 10 sec, a force twice as strong would cause the same change in half the time. A force half as strong would take 20 sec to produce the same effect. Most objects we deal with are influenced by more than one force. These forces may oppose each other so that the resulting acceleration is reduced, or they may act in the same direction so that the acceleration is greater than for either one by itself. The sum of all the forces acting on an object is called the net force or resultant force. The strength and direction of the net force determine the acceleration of the object. Forces cannot be summed like ordinary numbers, however. Forces have both a magnitude (strength) and a direction. Such quantities, called vectors, can be represented by an arrow whose length has been scaled to represent the magnitude and whose direction is that of the pointed arrow. Two vectors can be added by forming a parallelogram with the two properly scaled and oriented vectors forming the adjacent sides. The diagonal of the parallelogram is the resultant force (sum of the two) and will have both the proper length and direction. Mass Not all objects experience the same acceleration when acted upon by similar forces. An ordinary car, for example, might be able to provide significant acceleration to a small empty trailer but considerably less when the trailer is full. If a truck is loaded, the time and distance required for a safe stop increases significantly (Fig. 3.9). The property of objects that determines how much they accelerate in response to applied forces is called mass. If mass is large, acceleration will be less than if mass were smaller. The smaller the mass, the greater the acceleration.

Figure 3.6. Both pitcher and catcher exert forces that accelerate the baseball. In which direction is each force applied?

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Figure 3.8. Two vectors, A and B, are added to give the resultant, C. What is the resultant of D and E? Mass does not depend on location. A particular force causes the same amount of acceleration no matter where the object is located: near the earth, in interstellar space, or anyplace else (Fig. 3.10). If the same object experiences different accelerations at different places, it is because the forces acting on it are different, not because its mass has changed.

To be useful, the concept of mass must be made quantitative. We want to know, for example, whether a sack of potatoes has a mass of one kilogram or two kilograms. Quantities of mass are defined by comparison to some arbitrarily defined standard. The standard kilogram is decreed to be the mass of a piece of platinumiridium which is kept under the watchful care of the Bureau Internationals des Poids et Measures at Sevres near Paris. If you want to know whether you have one kilogram of potatoes, you must directly or indirectly compare the mass of your potatoes with the mass of this piece of metal. To make this process practical, copies of the standard kilogram are supplied to the bureaus of standards of the various nations. They, in turn, make copies-some of which are split in halves, quarters, etc. You may have seen a box of weights in a chemistry laboratory which is the result of this process. One way to compare your potatoes to the standard mass is to place potatoes and standard mass on opposite sides of a balance (scales) and let gravity serve as a standard force. Put your potatoes on one side and keep adding standard masses to the other until balance is achieved. Now add up the standard masses you have used and this is equal to the mass of the potatoes. You have made your comparison (indirectly) with the standard kilogram near Paris. Length and time must also be given quantitative meaning by comparison to standards. For many years

Figure 3.9. The same force applied to different objects produces different accelerations. Which of these trucks is empty? Which has the greater mass?

SPACE

EARTH

MOON

Figure 3.10. A rocket (or any other object) is just as hard to accelerate no matter where it is. Why?

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the standard meter was a long bar of metal kept alongside the standard kilogram. The second was defined as some fraction of the day. Today we have more precise standards of time and distance which are based on certain characteristics of atoms. The equations we present in this book are usually presented in a form which requires that a certain consistent set of units be adopted when using the equation. The metric system uses meters for length, seconds for time, and kilograms for mass; the English system uses feet for length, seconds for time, and slugs for mass. (While almost all civilized nations have adopted the metric system, the United States remains an official user of the foot-pound-second system. This will almost surely change because it works to our disadvantage in world trade.) The Second Law of Motion Perhaps briefly summarizing what we know about motion so far will help: 1. 2. 3. 4. If an object is left to itself, it will remain at rest or move with its initial uniform motion. Forces cause objects to accelerate. The stronger the net force, the greater the acceleration. Accelerations are less if mass is larger. Acceleration is in the same direction as the net applied force (forward, backward, sideways, or some combination of these).

The Third Law of Motion Forces act on all objects. To understand objects motion, or lack of motion, we must consider where forces come from, in what situations they occur, and what determines their strength and direction. Otherwise, we can neither explain nor predict motion. The first important observation about forces is that they occur only when two things interact with each other. Nothing can exert a force on itself. For example, the wheels of a car touch the road. If the interactions between drive wheels and road do not occur, perhaps because of ice on the road, there is no force and the car does not accelerate. A boat propeller touches the water; an airplane propeller, the air. The forces that accelerate a rocket result from the contact between the rocket itself and the fuel that burns inside. No object or system that can exert a net force on itself has ever been found or invented. Forces occur only when two objects are associated with each other, the most common association being actual contact. The next important observation is that two forces act in every interaction, one on each of the interacting objects. In some cases, the two forces are both apparent. As a man steps from a small rowboat to a dock, he is accelerated toward the dock and the boat accelerates in the opposite direction. A rifle recoils (accelerates) whenever a bullet is fired. Sometimes, however, the second force is less obvious and we may not recognize its presence. When you start to walk, for example, the force that accelerates you comes from the interaction between your foot and the floor. You push backward on the floor (using your leg muscles), the floor pushes forward on you, and you accelerate in the direction of this force exerted on your foot by the floor. The forward force on your foot in this example is obvious. It causes your foot and its attachments to accelerate. The backward force is not quite so apparent. Nothing seems to accelerate in that direction. We usually do not notice that the floor is rigidly attached to the earth, and so its effective mass is quite large. The floor is, in fact, accelerated backward, but the amount of acceleration is immeasurably small because of the floors large mass. The presence of this backward force would easily be revealed if the floor were covered with marbles. Their backward acceleration as you walked on them would make the backward force readily apparent. By now you should have noticed that the two forces that interacting objects exert on each other always act in opposite directions. When a man steps from a rowboat, he is accelerated one way while the boat moves in the opposite direction. A bullet is fired in a particular direction, and the gun recoils oppositely. You push backward on the floor and the floor pushes forward on you. The two forces in every interaction are always oppositely directed.

The second, third, and fourth of these statements constitute the Second Law of Motion. In addition, the law specifies the exact relationship between the mass of an object, the strength of the net force applied to it, and the amount of acceleration caused by the force. The relationship is acceleration or, equivalently, net force mass acceleration. net force mass

With the First and Second Laws of Motion, you can begin to study the motion of anything you observe. Remember, the important question is not why an object keeps moving but why its motion changes. This question directs our attention to a search for forces and their causes. An understanding of the forces enables us to determine if the accelerations we observe are consistent with the forces and with the objects mass. If they are, we can go on to other interesting problems; if not, we have more to learn.

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All forces result from interactions between pairs of objects, each object exerting a force on the other. The two resulting forces have the same strength and act in exactly opposite directions. As you can see, the Third Law of Motion is a rule about forces. It is a law of motion only to the extent that forces and motion are related through the Second Law of Motion. Nevertheless, the law seems to be obeyed by all the forces in nature that can be studied in detail. There are apparently no exceptions. Notice that the Third Law does not tell everything about forces. It gives no information about how strong the forces will be for any given interaction. This information is expressed by force laws that describe the kinds of interactions that occur in nature and the resulting forces. These are described in the next chapter. Applications Figure 3.11. Identify the interaction, the two resulting forces, and the accelerations that are produced when a person kicks a rock. It can be shown by careful measurements that the two forces in any interaction have the same strengtha rule always obeyed by nature. For example, if you forcefully kick a stone, your toe receives the benefit of a force that has the same bone-breaking strength. If you kick more gently, the force on your toe is also more gentle by exactly the same amount (Fig. 3.11). You can probably imagine how this rule might be tested. Arrange for two objects, whose masses you know from another experiment, to interact with each other; measure the accelerations caused by the forces of interaction; and use the Second Law of Motion to calculate the forces. Thousands, perhaps millions, of experiments of this kind have been performed since Newton first suggested the rule. In every case, the forces the interacting objects exert on each other have been shown to have exactly the same strength (Fig. 3.12). The properties of forces described above are collectively known as the Third Law of Motion, which is stated as follows: The First Law of Motion can be used to explain auto whiplash and windshield injury, the sensation of being thrown outward during a turn, the almost effortless motion of an ice skater, and other common experiences. The Second Law of Motion can be used to explain the nearly circular motion of the planets, why sliding objects slow down, why it is hard to stop or turn on slick roads, the behavior of electrons in a TV tube, the operation of electric and gasoline motors, why it is easier to accelerate a motorcycle than a truck, and much, much more. Indeed, every mechanical device involving internal or external motion is based on the Second Law. The Third Law of Motion can be used to explain the operation of a rocket engine, the kick of a rifle or shotgun, the operation of a jet or propeller-driven aircraft, the motion of a boat when a person steps off it, and many other phenomena. In each case, the Third Law of Motion describes some features of the relevant forces. The resulting motions are then predicted by the Second Law of Motion.

Figure 3.12. Why is gravel thrown backward when a car accelerates? What force accelerates the car?

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Summary The three laws of motion provide important insights as we attempt to understand the changes that occur around us. The First Law directs our attention to changes from uniform motion, or accelerations. The Second Law suggests that these are caused by forces and that the motion change in any situation is determined by two factors: the strength and direction of the applied forces and the mass of the accelerating object. Finally, the Third Law identifies interactions as the source of all forces. It also provides certain details about the forces resulting from any interaction that we might discover. You may have noticed that all three laws are needed to understand the motion of any real object. In every case we must direct our thoughts to acceleration and force and to the relationship between them. Forces in turn lead us directly to interactions. Each law is of limited use without the insight that the others provide. The genius and insight of Isaac Newton were required to discover all three laws at once. Newton led the way for each of us to discover the order and harmony in the motions we observe. STUDY GUIDE Chapter 3: Laws Governing Motion A. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 1. The First Law of Motion: Every object continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line with unchanging speed, unless compelled to do otherwise by forces acting upon it. 2. The Second Law of Motion: (a) Forces cause objects to accelerate. The stronger the net force, the greater the acceleration. (b) Accelerations are less if mass is larger. (c) Acceleration is in the same direction as the net applied force (forward, backward, sideways, or some combination of these). More precisely, acceleration = force/mass. 3. The Third Law of Motion: All forces result from interactions between pairs of objects, each object exerting a force on the other. The two resulting forces have the same strength and act in exactly opposite directions. B. MODELS, IDEAS, QUESTIONS OR APPLICATIONS 1. The Newtonian Model (sometimes, the Newtonian Synthesis): The model based on Newtons three laws of motion and the Universal Law of Gravitation which explains the motions of the heavens as well as the terrestrial motions of common experience. The Newtonian Model when applied to the motions of the planets replaces the medieval model which placed the earth at the center of the solar system and the universe.

C. GLOSSARY 1. Acceleration: Change from uniform motion. Acceleration in this broader sense may be acceleration (speeding up), deceleration (slowing down), centripetal (change of direction) or a combination of these. 2. Force: A push or pull. All forces result from interactions between two objects (Third Law), so that the terms force and interaction are often used interchangeably. 3. Friction: A force arising from contact between surfaces of materials that prevents or retards relative motion of the surfaces. 4. Mass: A characteristic of objects which determines the degree to which they can be accelerated by applied forces. Mass is also a characteristic of objects that determines the strength of their gravitational interaction with matter, specifically with other objects with mass. 5. Net Force (sometimes, resultant force): The single force which can be used to replace two or more individual forces on an object for purposes of determining its motion. 6. Uniform Motion: Motion in a straight line with unchanging speed. 7. Standard: An arbitrarily chosen object of comparison for purposes of defining units of measurement. Units of length, mass, and time are defined by comparison to standards. For example, the standard kilogram is a particular piece of platinum-iridium metal belonging to the International Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris. D. FOCUS QUESTIONS 1. In each of the following situations: a. Describe what would be observed. b. Name and state in your own words the fundamental principle(s) that could explain what would happen. c. Explain what would happen in terms of the fundamental principle(s). (1) A styrofoam ball and a steel ball of equal size are each suspended from a cord and subjected to about the same amount of force from a blunt-nosed dart fired horizontally from a spring-loaded gun. (2) Suppose an elephant and an ant are both moving at the same speed on a level, frictionless surface: which would stop first (or neither)? Assume air friction to be unimportant for both. (3) A large truck moving at high speed collides with an unsuspecting mosquito that before the collision is hardly moving at all.

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What happens to the motion of both the mosquito and the truck? (4) Suppose a man jumps forward toward a dock from a small boat that is not securely anchored. What happens to the horizontal motion of both the man and the boat if the boat has less mass than the man? E. EXERCISES 3.1. Suppose you have a friend who does not believe the First Law of Motion is true. How would you proceed to convince the friend otherwise? 3.2. If an elephant and an ant are both moving at the same speed on a level, frictionless surface, which would stop first? Assume air friction to be unimportant for both. 3.3. An unrestrained child is standing on the front seat of a car traveling at 20 mi/hr in a residential neighborhood. A dog runs in front of the car and the driver quickly and forcefully applies the brakes. The childs head strikes the windshield. (a) Explain this result in terms of the First Law of Motion. (b) If the car stopped before the child reached the windshield, with what speed would the childs head strike the windshield? 3.4. Using the First Law of Motion, explain why a passenger in a turning car feels thrown away from the center of the turn. 3.5. State the First Law of Motion in your own words. Explain its meaning. 3.6. What do the words uniform motion mean as part of the First Law of Motion? 3.7. A car travels in a large circle (in a parking lot, for example) without changing speed. Is the car in uniform motion? Explain your answer. 3.8. In each of the following situations, describe (1) what actually happens or would be expected to happen and (2) how these results can be accounted for by the First Law of Motion. (a) A car is struck from behind by a faster moving vehicle. A passenger later complains of whiplash injury. (b) A car experiences a head-on collision with a lamppost. A front-seat passenger is not wearing a seat belt. (c) A ball is placed on a level table fixed to the floor of a train at rest in a station. The train suddenly

starts moving. (d) A ball is placed on a level table fixed to the floor of a train which is moving with uniform motion. The train suddenly stops. (e) Same as (d) except the train speeds up. (f) Same as (d) except the train goes around a curve in the track. 3.9. The driver of a car has three accelerators (controls that can cause the car to accelerate). What are they? 3.10. Suppose you see an object traveling in a circle with constant speed. What can you say for sure about the force or forces acting upon it? 3.11. Describe an experiment you could perform that would determine which of two objects has the larger mass. Be sure that your experiment is consistent with the definition of mass given in this chapter. 3.12. A constant force is continuously applied to an object that is initially at rest but free to move without friction. No other forces act on the object. Describe what would be observed under these conditions and explain how the observed results can be accounted for by the Second Law of Motion. Finally, explain why real objects-cars for example-do not behave in this way. 3.13. Describe the three simple types of acceleration which are governed by the Second Law of Motion. 3.14. Does a car accelerate when it goes up a hill without changing speed? Explain your answer. 3.15. Describe the accelerations which occur as an elevator rises, starting from rest at the first floor and stopping at the twentieth floor. 3.16. Imagine an object resting on a horizontal surface where there is no friction (an air-hockey table, for example). A force is applied to it so that it accelerates, sliding along the surface. Now imagine that the whole apparatus is taken to the moon where the same experiment is performed using the same object and the same force. How would the acceleration of the object near the moon compare with that near the earth? 3.17. Now suppose that the object in the previous question is taken to a place, a long way from the earth or moon, where it is weightless. Again, the same force is applied to it (using a small rocket engine, for example). What does it do? 3.18. State the Second Law of Motion and explain its meaning.

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3.19. An object is traveling on a smooth horizontal surface where the friction can be ignored. A force is applied (perhaps by a rocket engine or propeller attached to the object) in a direction opposite to the objects velocity. Describe what would happen and explain how this is consistent with the Second Law of Motion. 3.20. A rocket in deep space requires less and less force to accelerate it at the same rate, even though the gravitational and frictional forces on it do not change. What can you conclude? 3.21. A car turns a corner at constant speed. Is there a force acting on the car? Explain your answer. 3.22. Show how the recoil or kick of a rifle or shotgun can be accounted for by the Second and Third Laws of Motion. 3.23. How would the accelerations of a gun and bullet compare if the gun had 500 times more mass than the bullet? How would they compare if the gun and bullet had the same mass? Explain your answers in terms of the Second and Third Laws of Motion. 3.24. Describe the force which causes a car to accelerate as it starts from rest. Identify the important interaction, describe the two forces in the interaction, and indicate the directions of both forces. Finally, describe the resulting accelerations. 3.25. Explain the operation of a rocket engine in terms of the Second and Third Laws of Motion. 3.26. (a) Describe what happens when a man jumps from a small boat if the boat is not securely anchored. (b) Explain how the observed result can be accounted for by the Second and Third Laws of Motion. (c) What would be different if he jumped from a large boat? Why would this situation be different? 3.27. A balloon is filled with air and then released. (a) What do you imagine the balloon does? (b) Explain the imagined motion of the balloon by using the Second and Third Laws of Motion. 3.28. A truck moving at a high speed collides with a mosquito. (a) Describe and compare the forces in the interaction.

(b) If the truck hits the mosquito from the blind side, so that the mosquito couldnt get ready, could it exert a greater force on the mosquito than the mosquito exerts on the truck? Explain your answer in terms of a fundamental law. 3.29. Describe the force (or forces) which cause you to accelerate when you start to walk. That is, identify the interaction, describe the two forces in the interaction, and indicate the directions of both forces. Finally, describe the resulting accelerations. 3.30. Do we arrive at the Third Law of Motion through an inductive or a deductive process? Can the law be proved to be true? How could it be proved to be false? 3.31. Person X stands on a level, frictionless surface. Which is true? (a) X cannot start moving, but if moving can stop. (b) X cannot change horizontal speed or direction. (c) X can change speed or direction gradually. (d) X can change speed, but cant stop. (e) X can change horizontal motion via vertical motion. 3.32. While riding your bicycle you collide head-on with a moving car. The acceleration you experience is (a) the same as that of the car (b) slightly greater than that of the car (c) slightly less than that of the car (d) much less than that of the car (e) much greater than that of the car

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