KINETICS

OF A PARTICLES:
FORCE & ACCELERATION
 NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

The motion of a particle is governed by Newton’s three laws of

motion.
First Law: A particle originally at rest, or moving in a straight
line at constant velocity, will remain in this state if the resultant
force acting on the particle is zero.
Second Law: If the resultant force on the particle is not zero, the
particle experiences an acceleration in the same direction as the
resultant force. This acceleration has a magnitude proportional to
the resultant force.
Third Law: Mutual forces of action and reaction between two
particles are equal, opposite, and collinear.
 Cont..

The first and third laws were used in developing the

concepts of statics. Newton’s second law forms the
basis of the study of dynamics.

Mathematically, Newton’s second law of motion can be

written
F = ma
where F is the resultant unbalanced force acting on the
particle, and a is the acceleration of the particle. The
positive scalar m is called the mass of the particle.
Newton’s second law cannot be used when the particle’s
speed approaches the speed of light, or if the size of the
particle is extremely small (~ size of an atom).
 Newton’s Law of Gravitational Attraction

Any two particles or bodies have a mutually attractive

gravitational force acting between them. Newton postulated
the law governing this gravitational force as

F = G(m1m2/r2)

where F = force of attraction between the two bodies,

G = universal constant of gravitation ,
m1, m2 = mass of each body, and
r = distance between centers of the two bodies.
When near the surface of the earth, the only gravitational
force having any sizable magnitude is that between the earth
and the body. This force is called the weight of the body.
 Mass and Weight

It is important to understand the difference between the

mass and weight of a body!

Mass is an absolute property of a body. It is independent of

the gravitational field in which it is measured. The mass
provides a measure of the resistance of a body to a change
in velocity, as defined by Newton’s second law of motion
(m = F/a).
The weight of a body is not absolute, since it depends on the
gravitational field in which it is measured. Weight is defined
as
W = mg
where g = acceleration due to gravity, 9.81 m/s2.
 SI System of Units

• The mass of body is specified in kilograms, and the weight must

be calculated using the equation of motion, F = ma.
• Hence, if the body has a mass m (kg) and located at a point where
acceleration due to gravity is g (m/s2), then the weight is express
in Newtons as W = mg (N).
• In particular, if the body located at the ‘standard location’, the
acceleration due to gravity is g = 9.80665 m/s2. For calculation,
the value g = 9.81 m/s2 will be used, so that:

W = mg, where g = 9.81 m/s2

• Therefore, a body of mass 1kg has a weight 9.81 N, 2kg body

weights 19.62 N.
 EQUATION OF MOTION
If more than one force acts on the particle, the equation of
motion can be written
F = FR = ma
where FR is the resultant force, which is a vector summation of
all the forces.

To illustrate the equation, consider a

particle which has a mass, m subjected to
the action of two forces, F1 and F2.

We can graphically account for

the magnitude and direction of
each force acting on the particle
by drawing the particle’s free-
body diagram.
 Cont..

The resultant of these forces

produces the vector ma, its
magnitude and direction can be
represented on the kinetic
diagram.

If FR = ∑F = 0, then the acceleration is zero, so that the

particle either remain at rest or move along the straight-line
path with constant velocity – static equilibrium, Newton’s
First Law of motion.
 EQUATION OF MOTION FOR A SYSTEM OF PARTICLES

• The equation of motion can be extended to

include a systems of n particles isolated within
an enclosed region in space. This includes the
motion of solids, liquids, or gas systems.
• Consider the ith particle, having a mass mi is
subjected to a system of internal force, fi and a
resultant external force, Fi .
• Internal force, fi – determined from the
force which the other particles exert on the
ith particle.
• Resultant external force, Fi – represent the
effect of gravitational, electrical, magnetic
or contact force between the particle and
adjacent bodies or particles not included
within the system.
 Cont..
• Applying the equation of motion yields:
∑F = ma ; Fi + fi = miai
• When the equation of motion is applied to each of the particles of
the system, we obtain: ∑Fi + ∑ fi = ∑ miai
• The summation of internal forces will equal zero, since internal
forces between particles all occur in equal but opposite collinear
pairs. The sum of external forces will remain, therefore the
equation of motion becomes: ∑Fi = ∑ miai
• If r is a position vector which locates the
centre of mass G of the particles, by the
definition of the centre of mass, mrG = ∑ miri,
where m = ∑ mi is the total mass of particles,
differentiate twice with respect to time,
yields:
maG = ∑ miai ; or ∑ F = maG
 Key Point

1) Newton’s second law is a “Law of Nature”--experimentally

proven and not the result of an analytical proof.

2) Mass (property of an object) is a measure of the resistance

to a change in velocity of the object.

3) Weight (a force) depends on the local gravitational field.

Calculating the weight of an object is an application of
F = ma, i.e., W = m g.

4) Unbalanced forces cause the acceleration of objects. This

condition is fundamental to all dynamics problems!
 EQUATIONS OF MOTION:
RECTANGULAR COORDINATES

• When particle is moving relative to an

inertial x, y, z frame of reference, the force
acting on the particle, as well as its
acceleration, may be express in term of
their i, j, k components.

• Applying the equation of motion, we have:

F = ma or Fx i + Fy j + Fz k = m(ax i + ay j + az k)

or, as scalar equations,
Fx = max , Fy = may , and Fz = maz

• If the particle move only in x-y plane, the 1st two equations are used to
specify the motion.
 Procedure for the Application of the Equation of
Motion
1. Select the inertial coordinate system. Most often, rectangular or x, y, z
coordinates.
2. Draw a free-body diagram showing all external forces applied to the
particle. Resolve forces into their appropriate components,
3. Apply the equations of motion in their scalar component form and
solve these equations for the unknowns,
4. If the velocity or position is to be found, it will be necessary to apply the
proper kinematic equations once the particle’s acceleration is
determined from ∑F = ma.

- If acceleration is a function of time,

use a = dv/dt, which when integrated yield the particle’s
velocity and position.

- If acceleration is constant,
use v = v0 + act,
s = s0 + v0t + 1/2act2,
v2 = v02 + 2ac (s – s0)
to determine the velocity and position of the particle.
• Example 2:
• The baggage truck A shown in the photo has a mass of 450 kg
and tows a 275 kg cart B and a 160 kg cart C. For a short time,
the driving frictional force developed at the wheels of the truck
is FA = (200t) N, where t is in seconds.

• If the truck starts from rest, determine its speed in 2 seconds.

• Also, what is the horizontal force acting on the coupling
between the truck and the cart B at this instant? Neglect the
size of the truck and carts?