Newton's laws Flashcards
What is a normal force and in which direction does it act?
The normal force is defined as the force that a surface employs on any other body. It is always perpendicular to the surface.
What is frictional force and in which direction does it act?
Frictional force is the force that opposes the motion of an object in contact with a
surface and it acts parallel to the surface the object is in contact with.
What is the equation used to calculate max static friction and kinetic friction?
Fs = &sN
Fk = &kN
When drawing a free body diagram, what are the two things you need to ensure you do?
- Draw the object as a dot
- Make sure all arrows (forces) point away from the dot.
What are the equations used to determine the parallel and perpendicular components of gravitational force on an inclined plane?
F(parallel) = mgsin@
F(perp) = mgcos@
State Newton’s second law of motion
If a resultant force acts on a body, it will cause the body to accelerate in the direction
of the resultant force. The acceleration of the body will be directly proportional to the
resultant force and inversely proportional to the mass of the body.
What are the steps involved in solving Newton’s second law problems?
Step 1: Draw a FBD
Step 2: Establish a positive and negative direction along the direction of motion
Step 3: Find the resultant of all forces acting on the object
Step 4: Solve for whatever is asked.
How would you approach a problem involving two or more objects connected by a string?
Step 1: Isolate each object and draw a force diagram of each object.
Step 2: Apply Newton’s second law on each object
Step 3: Depending on the problem, solve for what is asked for.
What is the expression for the normal force of a body on an inclined plane?
N = mgcos@
In Newton’s universal law of gravitation, what does m1,m2 and d represent?
m1 represents the mass of object 1
m2 represents the mass of object 2
d represents the centre-to-centre distance between the two objects.
