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The document discusses Newton's Second Law in the context of forces acting at angles, focusing on vector resolution and the analysis of forces on a horizontal surface. It explains how to break down angled forces into their horizontal and vertical components using trigonometric functions, and provides examples of calculating net force and acceleration. Additionally, it addresses the normal force and how to analyze situations where forces are directed downward at an angle.

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4 views

LessonNotes

The document discusses Newton's Second Law in the context of forces acting at angles, focusing on vector resolution and the analysis of forces on a horizontal surface. It explains how to break down angled forces into their horizontal and vertical components using trigonometric functions, and provides examples of calculating net force and acceleration. Additionally, it addresses the normal force and how to analyze situations where forces are directed downward at an angle.

Uploaded by

asrilhusaini10
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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© The Physics Classroom www.physicsclassroom.

com/Physics-Video-Tutorial/Forces-in-Two-Dimensions

Newton's Second Law and Forces at Angles


Lesson Notes

Learning Outcomes
• How do you analyze a situation where an angled force causes an acceleration along a
horizontal surface?

Vector Resolution - A Quick Review


Vectors directed at angles to the coordinate axes can be thought of
as having two parts or components. On the diagram at the right,
Ax and Ay are the components of vector A.
Using tirgonometric functions, they can be calculated as follows:

Ax = A•cosine Q Ay = A•sine Q Q
Easy vs. Difficult Fnet = m•a Analyses
Situations are relatively easy to analyze when all the forces are directed opposite to or at
right angles to each other.

Easy
∑F = Fapp - Ffrict

Difficult
Fnet can not be easily
determined since Fapp is
at an angle.

SOH CAH TOA


Use trigonometry to simpligy the difficult problem by resolving the angled force into x- and
y-components.

Horizontal Analysis: Fnet = Fx - Ffrict


Vertical Analysis: ∑F = 0 N. ... so Fgrav = Fy + Fnorm
An Example with Numbers
A 150-N force at 30° above the horizontal is used to accelerate a 20-kg object across a
level surface. There is 60 N of friction. Determine the acceleration.

Normal Force
Normal force (Fnorm) is the force resulting from two surfaces
being pressed against each other. When objects rest upon or
move across the floor, they experience an Fnorm from their
interaction with the floor.

When ∑Fy = 0 and there are only 2 vertical


forces, … Fgrav = Fnorm

When ∑Fy = 0 and there are 3 vertical


forces (like here), ... Fgrav = Fnorm + Fy

What if the Angled Force is Downward?


How do you analyze a situation where a force is at an angle to the horizontal but directed
downward?

When ∑Fy = 0 and there are 3


vertical forces (like here), …

Fgrav + Fy = Fnorm

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