Vesu, Surat
Class-9
Subject- Physics
Prepared by:-Darshil Patel
8. Laws of Motion
Force
The push or pull on an object with mass that causes it to change its velocity. Force is an
external agent capable of changing the state of rest or motion of a particular body. It has a
magnitude and a direction.
Characteristics of force:
• Force has both magnitude and direction, making it a vector quantity.
• It is measured in the SI unit of Newton
• It is represented by the symbol F.
Effects of Force:
• It can change the speed of a body.
• It can change the direction of motion of a body.
• It can change the shape and size of a body.
Balanced and Unbalanced Forces
(i) Balanced Forces: If the resultant of applied forces is
equal to zero, it is called balanced forces.
For example: In the tug of war game when the
force applied by both teams is equal in magnitude
then the rope does not move in either side. This is
due to the balanced forces in which resultant of
applied forces comes out to be zero.
Characteristics:
• Balanced forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
• Balanced forces do not cause any change of state of motion of an
object.
• Balanced forces can change the shape and size of an object. For
example: When we press a balloon from opposite sides, the size and
shape of balloon is changed.
• Couple In mechanics: a couple refers to two parallel forces that are equal
in magnitude, opposite in sense and do not share a line of action. Its
effect is to create rotation without translation, or more generally without
any acceleration of the centre of mass.
(ii) Unbalanced Forces: If the resultant of applied forces is greater than zero, the forces are
called unbalanced forces. In case of unbalanced forces acting on a body, it moves a in the
direction of the resultant force.
Unbalanced forces can:
• Change the state of motion of an object. Rest -> Motion or Motion -> Rest
• Change the velocity of an object.
• Change the shape and size of an object.
Some Common Forces
• Muscular Force: The force exerted by the human body muscles is called muscular force.
• Gravitational Force: The force of attraction applied by earth on an object in downward
direction is called gravitational force.
• Frictional Force: The force which opposes the Force and Laws of Motion of an object
while being in contact with another object is known as frictional force.
• Air Resistance: Force which is exerted on the objects while flying in air is named as air
resistance. It acts in a direction opposite to the velocity of the object.
Newton’s Laws of Force and Laws of Motion:
There are three laws of Force and Laws of Motion those formed by Newton. They are
explained below:
(i) Newton’s First Law of Force and Laws of Motion or Law of Inertia
It states that any object will remain in the state of rest or in uniform motion along a straight
line, until it is compelled to change the state by applying external unbalanced force.
Inertia: Definition: Inertia is a property or tendency of every object to resist any change in its
state of rest or of uniform Motion. It is measured by mass of an object. The heavier the object,
the greater will be its inertia. S.I. unit of inertia is kg.
Application of Newton's first law of Force and Laws of Motion:
• When a straight moving bus suddenly stops
down, the passengers sitting inside fall in
forward direction. This is because the body
of the passenger initially moving in straight
line tends to move the same way due to
inertia even after the brakes are applied ,
making the passenger fall in forward
direction.
• When we hit a carpet it moves. But the
dust in it remains at rest due to inertia of
rest and is left behind. Thus dust and
carpet are separated.
• When a tree is shaken, it moves to and fro.
But fruit remains at rest due to its inertia of
rest. Due to this fruit breaks off the tree.
Momentum: The momentum of a body is defined as the product of its mass and velocity.
Thus, momentum = mass × velocity or, p = m x v
Where, p = momentum, m = mass of the body, v = velocity of the body
The Sl unit of momentum is kilograms meters per second (kg.m/s)
Change in momentum: It is defined as the difference between final momentum and initial
momentum. Let u be the initial momentum of a body and v be its final momentum,
Then, Change in momentum = mv – mu
Rate of change of momentum: The rate at which the momentum of an object is changing is
known as rate of change of momentum.
𝑚𝑣 – 𝑚𝑢
Rate of change of momentum =
𝑡
Applications of Momentum:
• A small bullet can penetrate into the body of a
man and kill him when fired from a gun because it
has a large momentum due to its great velocity.
• Even very slow train is difficult to stop because of
its large mass, it carries large momentum.
• A person gets severely injured when hit by a fast
moving vehicle which is due to the momentum of
vehicle due to large mass and high velocity.
Newton's Second Law of Motion
It states that the rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the applied
(external) unbalanced force and takes place in the direction in which the force acts.
Mathematical formulation of Newton’s Second Law of Motion:
Let mass of a moving object be m. Let is initial velocity be u and final velocity be v.
We know that momentum (p) = Mass × velocity.
Therefore, Initial momentum of object = mu
And Final momentum of the object = mv
Therefore, change in momentum = Final momentum - Initial momentum = mv – mu
𝑚𝑣 – 𝑚𝑢
⟹ Rate of change of momentum =
𝑡
⟹ Now, from Newton’s Second law of motion,
We have Force ∝ Rate of change of momentum
𝑚𝑣–𝑚𝑢
⟹ F ∝
𝑡
𝑚(𝑣–𝑢)
F ∝ ______________________________(1)
𝑡
(𝑣–𝑢)
But we know that = a (Acceleration)
𝑡
Using above relation in equation (1) we get,
F ∝ ma
⟹ F = kma (Where k is the proportionality constant) _______(2)
Now, unit of force is defined in such a way that value of k becomes 1.
One unit of force is defined as the amount force which produces the acceleration of 1m/s2 in
object of mass 1kg.
Thus, according to equation (2),
1 unit of force = 1 newton force = k ×1kg ×1m/s2 ⟹ k = 1
By putting the value of k=1 in equation (2), we get;
F = ma i.e., Force = Mass × Acceleration
The SI unit of Force :SI unit of force is Newton (N).
Since Force = Mass x Acceleration
Since the unit of mass is kg and the unit of acceleration is m/s2. One unit of force is defined as
the amount of force that produces an acceleration of 1 m/s2 in an object of mass 1 kg.
So If mass is 1 kg and acceleration is taken as 1 m/s2.
1 newton (N) = 1kg x 1m/s2 Thus, newton (N) = kg m/s2
Applications of Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion
• A fielder pulls his hand backward; while catching a cricket ball
coming with a great speed. Actually, while catching a cricket ball
the momentum of ball is reduced to zero. If the ball is stopped
suddenly, its momentum will be reduced to zero instantly causing
the instant rate of change in momentum due to which ball will
exert great force on the hands of player due to which the player’s
hand may get injured. Therefore, by pulling the hand backward a
fielder gives more time to the change of momentum to become
zero. This prevents the hands of fielder from getting hurt.
• For athletes of long and high jump, sand bed or cushioned bed is provided at the place of
landing. This is because when an athlete falls on the ground after performing a high or
long jump, the momentum of his body is reduced to zero. If the momentum of an athlete
will be reduced to zero instantly, it will result in the production of a large force which may
hurt the player. Whereas, by providing a cushioned bed, the momentum of player’s body
is reduced to zero in a delayed period due to which less force acts on his body hence,
preventing the athlete from getting hurt.
• Seat belts in a car are provided to prevent the passenger from getting thrown in the
direction of motion. In case of sudden braking or any accident, passengers may get
thrown in the direction of motion of vehicle and may get fatal injuries. Whereas, the
stretchable seat belts prevent the passenger’s body to fall suddenly and thus increase the
time of the rate of momentum to be become zero. This will reduce the effective force
hence preventing the passenger from getting any fatal injury.
• When objects experiences same amount of force :-
1 1
F = ma =constant ∴ m ∝ or a∝
𝑎 𝑚
∴ Lighter object will have more acceleration than heavier object
• When objects have same masses :-
m = constant, F = ma ∴a∝F
∴ Object experiencing more force will undergo more acceleration.
• When objects undergo same acceleration :-
a = constant, F = ma ∴F∝m
∴ If objects experience force proportional to their masses they undergo same acceleration.
𝑚(𝑣−𝑢)
Impulse of force : As F = ∴ Ft = m(v-u) = Pf – Pi = change in momentum = impulse.
𝑡
Impulse is the product of force applied to an object and the amount of time for which it is
applied OR Impulse is the amount of change in an object’s momentum.
Newton's Third Law of Motion
Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that there is always reaction for every action in
opposite direction and of equal magnitude, i.e., action and reaction forces are equal and
opposite. Or in other words
When one object exerts a force on another object, the second object instantaneously exerts
a force back on the first. These two forces are always equal in magnitude but opposite in
direction. These forces act on two different objects and for same interval of time.
Applications of Newton's Third Law of Motion:
• Recoil of gun: When bullet is fired from a gun, it
moves ahead. By the Newton’s 3rd law of motion, the
bullet apply same force on gun in backward
direction. Due to this force, gun moves back giving a
jerk to the shoulder of the gunman. This is called
recoil of gun. Here, gun moves back only by small
amount due to its heavy mass.
• Walking of a person: A person is able to walk due to
the Newton’s Third Law of Motion. During walking, a
person pushes the ground in backward direction and
in the reaction the ground also pushes the person
with equal magnitude of force but in opposite
direction. This enables him to move in forward
direction against the push.
• Propulsion of a boat in forward direction – Sailor
pushes water with oar in backward direction;
resulting water pushing the oar in forward
direction. Consequently, the boat is pushed in
forward direction.
• The reaction of a rocket is an application of the third law
of motion. Various fuels are burned in Engine producing
hot gases. The hot gases push against nozzle of the
rocket and escape out. As gas experiences force
downward, the rocket experiences force upward.
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Conservation of Momentum: In physical science, conservation refers to the conditions before
and after some event. If two or more objects apply force on each other with no external force,
their final momentum remains same as initial momentum.
In an isolated system, the total momentum remains conserved.
Mathematical Formulation of Conservation of Momentum:
Suppose, two objects A and B each of mass mA and mass mB are moving initially with velocities
uA and uB (uA >uB), collide each other for duration of time t and start moving with velocities
vA and vB respectively. And there are no other external unbalanced forces acting on them.
We know that, Momentum = Mass x Velocity
Therefore,
Initial momentum of object A = mAuA Initial momentum of object B = mBuB
Final momentum of object A = mAvA Final momentum of object B = mBvB
Force acting on object A = The rate of change of its momentum of object A during the collision
∴ FAB = (∵ Second law of motion)
Force acting on object B =The rate of change of its momentum of object B during the collision
∴ FBA = (∵ Second law of motion)
According to the third law of motion, the force FAB on ball A exerted by B (action) and the
force FBA on B exerted by ball A (reaction) must be equal and opposite to each other.
Therefore, FAB = – FBA
∴ mAvA - mAuA = - (mBvB - mBuB) (Equal and opposite Change in momentum)
∴ mAvA - mAuA = - mBvB + mBuB
∴ mAvA + mBvB = mAuA + mBuB OR mAuA + mBuB = mAvA + mBvB
Thus, Initial Total momentum of system = Final Total momentum of system
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