INERTIAL REFERENCE FRAMES, ACTION-
REACTION PAIRS AND FREE-BODY
DIAGRAMS
for GENERAL PHYSICS 1/ Grade 12
Quarter 1/ Week 5
OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:
K: define inertial frame of reference;
: identify action-reaction pairs;
S: draw free-body diagrams; and
A: appreciate the application of action-reaction pairs to real-life setting.
LEARNING COMPETENCIES
Define inertial frame of reference (STEM_GP12N-Id-28).
Identify action-reaction pairs (STEM_GP12N-Id31).
Draw free-body diagrams (STEM_GP12N-Id32).
I. WHAT HAPPENED
PRE-TEST:
TRUE OR FALSE: Write the word “true” if the statement is correct, and “false” if otherwise.
Write your answers in your notebook/Answer Sheet.
__________ 1. Newton’s First Law states that an object at rest will suddenly move even if there is
no force acting upon it.
___________ 2. Inertial Frame of Reference should be a moving object.
_________ 3. Earth may not be considered as inertial frame of reference with respect to its
rotation and revolution.
______ 4. If you are riding in a boat, the water current should be considered as inertial
frame of reference instead of the under- water sand.
___________ 5. Newton’s Law of interaction states that in every force applied to an object ,
there is an equal and opposite reaction.
___________ 6. When you push the wall, the force of the wall acting back into your hand is
the action force.
___________ 7. If the force applied to an object is 20N, the object applies exactly 20N back.
__________ 8. A ball that bounces after thrown downward, the floor is an example of
opposite reaction.
___________ 9. If a metal ball falling on the ground that does not bounce, it means that in
the scenario, no reaction force is applied.
___________ 10. In a vector diagram, the size of the force arrow reflects the direction of
the force.
Action-Reaction Pairs
Action-Reaction pair applies to almost all part of our lives which involve force. Newton’s
law of Interaction explains why an egg breaks after hitting an edge of the table, why cue ball in
a billiard bounces back after hitting the sides of the billiard table, and why a car suddenly stops
after bumping with a steady vehicle in front of it. With such understanding on this realty they
may be able to adjust or control the amount of force in their daily activities which involves
pushing or pulling such as in many different sports or work activities.
Suppose that you are trying to hit the wall with the button of a push pen. Note that the
wall is immovable. In this case, it is the pen, which is trying to make a push, but obviously the
push button of the push-pen is pushed inside and thus contracted. This evidence is an illustration
that there is an opposite pushing force from the wall acting back to the pen and thus perfectly
demonstrates action reaction pairs.
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Newton’s third Law as it says, “in every force applied to an object, there is an equal
opposite force acting back on it”. In this particular Interaction, the push made by the pen
against the wall is the action, while the action push made by the wall to the pen is the reaction.
Newton’s Third Law of Motion
Statement: In every action applied, there is an equal and opposite force / reaction acting back.
This means that if a body A exerts a force F1 on a body B, and the body B exerts a force
F2 on body A, then:
F1=F2
That is, they are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.
That is, they are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.
This law can be observed in every around us. Below are some of the action reaction pairs:
1) A man walking on the ground: While walking, a person pushes the
ground in the backward direction, and the ground in return pushes the person in the forward
direction, thus making him/her to walk.
2) When a person is sitting on a chair, his weight is opposed by a
reaction force from the chair (assuming it must be there because of Newton’s third law of
Motion). In turn, both forces cancel each other out, and the person enjoys the equilibrium
position.
There are a million more examples of Newton’s third law of motion in our
environment. If you observe closely, you can find it anywhere and everywhere.
Sample Problem:
An object of weight 45 N rests on the table. (a) What are the forces acting on the object?
(b) What are the reactions to these forces?
Solution:
a. Forces acting on an object are its weight and the upward force by the table.
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Weight is the downward pull of the Earth on the object. Weight is 45N. The reaction to this
b. force is an upward force of 45 N exerted by the object on Earth.
Free-Body Diagrams
Free-body diagrams are diagrams used to show the relative magnitude and direction of
all forces acting upon an object in a given situation. The size of the arrow in a free-body
diagram reflects the magnitude of the force. The direction of the arrow shows the direction that
the force is acting. Each force arrow in the diagram is labelled to indicate the exact type of
force. It is generally customary in a free-body diagram to represent the object by a box and to
draw the force arrow from the center of the box outward in the direction that the force is acting.
Example 1:
A person standing on the ground. (The
free-body diagram)
Example 2:
A student applied a leftward force to a chair in order to move it across the floor at
constant velocity. Considering frictional forces and neglecting air resistance, the free-body
diagram is shown below;
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Steps on How to Draw Free-body Diagrams
Step 1: Know the various types of forces. Symbol
Ffric - Frictional Force
Ftens - Tension Force
1. Contact Forces: Fnorm - Normal Force
Fair - Air Resistance Force
Fapp - Applied Force Fspring -
Spring Force
Fgrav - Gravitational Force Felect -
Magnetic Force
2. Action at a Distance Forces:
Step 2: Determine the direction in which each force is acting.
Step 3: Draw a box and add arrows for each existing force in the appropriate direction.
Step 4: label each force arrow according to its type.
Example 1. A book is at rest on a tabletop. Diagram the forces acting on the book
Step 1: The types of forces present are Gravitational Force for the weight of the book
and Normal Force for the surface exerting an upward force upon the book in order to
support the weight of the book.
Step 2: The direction of Gravitational Force is downward while the Normal Force is
Upward.
Step 3:
Step 4: The complete Free-Body diagram is shown below.
Performance Task:
Directions: Draw the free-body diagram of the following situations. Use the 4-step method.
Do this in your Science notebook/Answer Sheet.
RUBRICS
• Answers with correct list of forces, directions and diagram with correct label of force symbols 10 points
• Answers with correct list of forces, directions and diagram with correct label of force symbols 8 points
• Answers with correct list of forces, directions and diagram with correct label of force symbols 7 points
5
• Diagram only without force symbols 6 points
• With answers but incorrect 5 points
Situations:
1. A dead branch free-falling from a tree. Neglect air resistance.
2. A glider gliding from the top of a mountain to the ground at constant velocity.
3. The girl is pushing a plastic container to the right across the floor.
4. A boy is sitting on a swing, is suspended motionless. (His feet are not touching the ground).
The swing seat is supported by two ropes attached to the branch of a tree.
5. A rightward force is applied to a book in order to move it across a desk with a rightward
acceleration. Consider frictional forces. Neglect air resistance. A free-body diagram for this
situation looks like this:
II. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED
EVALUATION/POST-TEST
I. TRUE OR FALSE: Write the word “true” if the statement is correct, and
“false” if otherwise. Write your answers in your notebook/Answer Sheet.
___________ 1. When you push the wall, the force of the wall acting back into your hand is the action force.
___________ 2. If the force applied to an object is 20N, the object applies exactly 20N back.20
__________ 3. A ball that bounces after thrown downward, the floor is an example of opposite reaction.
___________ 4. If a metal ball falling on the ground that does not bounce, it means that in the scenario, no
reaction force is applied.
___________ 5. In a vector diagram, the size of the force arrow reflects the direction of the force.
___________ 6. Newton’s First Law states that an object at rest will suddenly move even if there is no force acting
upon it.
___________ 7. Inertial Frame of Reference should be a moving object.
_________ 8. Earth may not be considered as inertial frame of reference with respect to its rotation and
revolution.
_________ 9. If you are riding in a boat, the water current should be considered as inertial frame of reference
instead of the under- water sand.
___________10. Newton’s Law of interaction states that in every force applied to an object, there is an equal and
opposite reaction.
II. Identifying Action and Reaction: Write “A” if the force being referred to is the action
force and “R” if the force being referred to is a reaction force. Write your answers on your
Science notebook/Answer Sheet.
_____1. The force from of the ground to a man’s shoes as he walks
_____2. The force of the feet towards the kicked soccer ball
_____3. The force of the punching bag to the gloves of a boxer
_____4. The force from the car hitting a post in an accident
_____5. The force of the water to the boat as the boat propels
