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Laws of Motion
Force:

Force is a pull or a push which produce acceleration in the body.

 If the body is in rest, when the force is applied the body began to move.

 If the body is in motion, when the force is applied the body come to rest.

Inertia:

Inertia is the property of the body due to which it resists to change its state of rest or uniform motion, when
external force is applied on it.

Examples:

 A passenger sitting in the bus feels a backward jerk when the bus suddenly starts moving. This is
because, the lower part of passenger moves with the bus, while the upper part remains at rest due to
inertia of rest.

 A passenger sitting in the bus feels a forward jerk when the moving bus suddenly stops. This is
because, the lower part of the passenger comes to rest with the bus, while the upper part moves
forward due to inertia of motion.

Types of inertia

 Inertia of rest

 Inertia of Motion

 Inertia of direction

Inertia of rest

It is the inability of the body to change by itself its state of rest.

Example:

 A passenger sitting in the bus feels a backward jerk when the bus suddenly starts moving. This is
because, the lower part of passenger moves with the bus, while the upper part remains at rest due to
inertia of rest.

 The horse rider feels backward jerk when the horse suddenly stares running. This is because the
lower part of rider moves with horse, while the upper part remains at rest due to inertia of rest.

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Inertia of motion

It is the inability of the body to change by itself its state of uniform motion along a straight line.

Example:

 A passenger sitting in the bus feels a forward jerk when the moving bus suddenly stops. This is
because, the lower part of the passenger comes to rest with the bus, while the upper part moves
forward due to inertia of motion.

 The horse rider feels forward jerk when the running horse suddenly comes rest. This is because, the
lower part of rider comes to rest with the horse, while the upper part moves forward due to inertia
of motion.

Inertia of direction

It is the inability of the body to change by itself its direction of motion.

Example:

 When a bus rounds a curve suddenly, the person sitting in the bus thrown outwards. This is because
the person tries to maintain his direction of motion due to inertia of direction.

Newton’s first law of motion

Statement: Every body continues in its state of rest or uniform motion along a straight line unless it is
compelled to change that state by an external force applied on it.

Explanation:

 Consider a passenger sitting in a bus at rest. The passenger remains at rest until the bus moves. This
is the first part of the law.

 Consider a passenger sitting in a bus moving with uniform velocity. If the bus is suddenly stopped,
the passenger feels forward jerk. This is because, the passenger is initially in uniform motion and tries
moving forward. This is the second part of the law.

Linear momentum (p)

The momentum of a body is defined as the product of mass and velocity of the body.

Momentum = mass X velocity

p=mV

 Newton introduced the concept of momentum to measure the effect of force.

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 Momentum depends on mass and velocity of the body.

 It is a vector quantity.

 ⃗ ⃗⃗

 Its SI unit is Kg m/s.

Newton’s Second law

The rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the force applied on the body and it
takes place in the direction of applied force.

F=ma

Where F is force

m is mass

a is acceleration

Derive F = ma

Consider a body of mass “m” moving with a initial velocity u.

Initial momentum of body = mu

Let a force “F” is acted on the body for time interval “t” second to change its velocity from u to v.

Final momentum of body = mv

According to Newton’s 2nd law of motion

F ∝ rate of change of momentum

∝ ( )

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SI unit of force is Newton (N).

One Newton: The force is said to be one Newton if it causes an acceleration of 1 m/s 2 in a body of mass 1 Kg.

Consider F = ma

If m = 1 kg and a = 1 m/s2

Then F = 1 N

Application of Newton’s 2nd law applied to variable mass system

If mass of a body is not constant but changes continuously with time, the Newton's 2 nd law cannot be
applied directly.

Example:

 For a moving rocket its mass continuously decreases.

 The truck loaded with sand moving in rain it mass increases.

F + Ft = ma

Ft = Thrust force

Newton’s third law

Statement: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Explanation: A swimmer pushes the water back (action = F) and water pushes him forward (reaction = - F).

From Newton’s 3rd law F = - F

The above equation shows that the two forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.

Examples of Newton’s 3rd law

 When a bullet is fired from a gun, the bullet moves forward (action), while the gun moves backwards
(reaction).

 While walking we will press the ground with our feet in the backward direction (action) and the floor
pushes us in the forward direction with an equal force (reaction).

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 Birds in flight, pushes the air downward with their wings (action) and the air pushes the birds
upwards (reaction).

Impulsive Force

A large force acting on a body for a short interval is called an impulsive force.

Example:

 Kicking of a foot ball.

 Hitting a nail by a hammer.

Impulsive forces are variable forces beginning with zero, reaching maximum value and ending with zero in a
short interval of time.

Impulse of the force or Impulse

It is defined as the product of average force acting on the body and the time for which the force acts on the
body.

Impulse = average force X time

 Impulse is a vector quantity.

 Its SI units is Ns (Newton second).

 Its dimensional formula is [M1 L1 T-1]

Impulse of a force is equal to the change in momentum

We have impulse = F X t

= ma t

= m (v - u)

= mv – mu

Impulse of a force = change in momentum

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Law of conservation of Linear Momentum

Statement:

The total momentum of an isolated system of interacting particles is conserved.

(OR)

When two or more bodies collide each other in a closed system, the momentum of the bodies before
collision and after collision remains constant.

(Isolated system or closed system: It is the system with no external force.)

A B
A B A B
U1 U2
m1 m2 m1 m2 m1 V1 m2 V2

Before Collision After Collision

In the above figure

 A and B are the two bodies moving in the same direction.

 m1 and m2 are the mass of the bodies A and B.
 U1 and U2 are the velocity of the bodies A and B before collision.
 V1 and V2 are the velocity of the bodies A and B after collision.

From Newton’s second law

( )

From Newton’s third law

( ) ( )

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Practical applications of the principle of conservation of linear momentum (Recoiling of a gun)

When a bullet is fired from a gun, the gun recoils in a direction opposite to the direction of motion of the
bullet.

“The recoil velocity of the gun can be calculated from the principle of conservation of linear momentum.”

Let M and m be the masses of gun and bullet respectively. Before firing, both the gun and the bullet are at
rest, therefore, the initial momentum is zero. Just after firing, the momentum of the system (gun and bullet)
should also be zero.

Let V and v be the velocities of gun and bullet respectively just after firing

According to lae of conservation of linear momentum

Where negative sign shows that the direction of recoil of the gun is opposite to that of the bullet.

Common forces in mechanics

 Weight

 Tension

 Spring force

 Normal force

Friction

Friction is the force that arise when surfaces of two bodies in contact.

(OR)

Friction is the force which opposes the relative motion between two surfaces of bodies in contact.

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Normal force

Force
Friction

Weight

Types of Friction

 Static friction

 Limiting friction.

 Kinetic friction

 Rolling friction

Static friction (fs)

It is the frictional force which comes into effect when a body tends to move over surface of another body.

Limiting friction

It is the maximum value of static frictional force for which a body just begins to move over surface of
another body.

Kinetic friction (fk)

It is the frictional force which comes into effect when a body moves over surface of another body.

Rolling friction (fr)

It is the frictional force which comes into effect when a body roles over surface of another body.

Laws of friction

 Frictional force is directly proportional to the normal reaction.

 The frictional force depends upon the nature of surfaces of bodies in contact.

 The frictional force does not depend on the area of surfaces of bodies in contact.

 The direction of frictional force is parallel to the surfaces of bodies in contact and opposite to the
motion of the bodies.

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 The kinetic frictional force does not depend on the relative velocity between the bodies in contact.

Laws of static friction

The static frictional force is directly proportional to the normal reaction between two surfaces in contact.

FS ∝ N

FS ≤ μS N

Where N is the normal reaction

μS is the co – efficient of static friction

Laws of limiting friction

If the applied force exceeds FS, the body begins to slide and

FS = (FS)max. It is limiting friction.

(FS )max = μS N

Where N is the normal reaction

μS is the co – efficient of static friction

Co – efficient of static friction

It is the ratio of magnitude of limiting value of static friction to the magnitude of normal reaction.

Law of kinetic friction

The kinetic frictional force is directly proportional to the normal reaction between two surfaces in contact.

FK ∝ N

FK = μK N

Where N is the normal reaction

μK is the co – efficient of Kinetic friction

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Co – efficient of kinetic friction

It is the ratio of magnitude of kinetic friction to the magnitude of normal reaction.

Advantages of friction (or) Use of friction

 Friction is used for writing on a paper.

 Friction is used for walking and playing.

 Friction is used for driving the vehicles.

 Friction is used for breaking the vehicles.

 Friction is used for lightning a mach box.

 Friction is used to climb a tree.

 Friction is used for stitching of cloths.

 Friction is used to hold things.

Disadvantages of friction

 Friction reduces the efficiency of a machine.

 Friction always opposes the relative motion. Thus, extra energy has to be spend in overcome the
friction.

 Heat is produced between different movable parts of a machine due to friction and cause damage to
the machine.

 Speed of automobiles can not be increased beyond a certain limit due to friction.

Methods of reducing friction

 Friction can be reduced by polishing.

 Friction can be reduced by using ball bearings.

 Friction can be reduced by lubricants.

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 Friction can be reduced by stream lining.

Angle of friction

It is the angle between the normal drawn to the surface and the resultant of normal reaction and limiting
friction.

Expression for angle of friction (or) Show that the tangent of the angle of friction is equal to the co –
efficient of static friction

Consider a body just sliding on a horizontal surface. The forces acting on the body are shown in the above
figure.

 Weight W acting vertically downwards.

 Normal reaction N acting vertically upwards.
 Limiting friction Fs max acting parallel to the surface of contact.
 Applied force F acting parallel to the surface of contact but opposite to FS max

The angle between N and R is the angle of friction. Where R is the resultant of N and F S max.

From triangle ABC,

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Angle of sliding

It is the minimum angle of inclination at which a block placed on the inclined surface starts sliding down.

Inclined surface

θ Horizontal surface
It can be shown that, angle of friction = angle of sliding

tan α = tan θ = μS

Centripetal force

It is the force required to move a body in a circular path. This force acts along the radius and directed
towards the centre of circular path.

Banking of Roads

To provide necessary centripetal force to a vehicle on a curved road, the outer edge of the road is suitably
raised above the inner edge. This process is called banking of roads.

Necessity of banking of roads

When a cyclist goes round a curved road, he leans inward to provide centripetal force himself. To provide
necessary centripetal force to a vehicle on a curved road, banking of roads is required.

Angle of banking

It is the angle between the inclined surface of the road and the horizontal.

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Derive an expression for maximum safe speed of a vehicle on a banked road in circular motion

 Consider a vehicle of mass m is moving round a curved path of radius r with speed V.
 If θ is the angle of banking.
 Let μ be the co efficient of friction between road and tires of vehicle.
 If FS is the force of friction between banked road and tires then

Centripetal force = N Sin θ + FS Cos θ

( ) ( )

From figure, we have

( )

( )

Substitute eqn (2) in eqn (1)

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( )( )

( )

Divide the numerator and denominator by Cos θ, we get

( )

( )

√ ( )

Derive an expression for maximum velocity for an automobile on a level circular road

√ ( )

In level road θ = 0 then tan 0 = 0

A body in equilibrium

A body is said to be in equilibrium if it is either at rest or in uniform motion.

Condition for equilibrium of a particle

The vector sum of all the forces acting on the body must be zero.

What is the condition for equilibrium of two force acting on a particle?

A particle is said to be in equilibrium under the action of two concurrent forces, if they are equal and
opposite.

⃗⃗⃗⃗ ⃗⃗⃗⃗ ( ) ⃗⃗⃗⃗ ⃗⃗⃗⃗

When do we say that the body is in equilibrium under the action of three concurrent forces?

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A body is said to be in equilibrium under the action of three concurrent forces, if the resultant of any two
forces is equal and opposite to the third force.

When do we say that the body is in equilibrium under the action of n number of concurrent forces?

A body is said to be in equilibrium under the action of n number of concurrent forces, if the vector sum of
these forces is zero.

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