Chapter – 5

LAWS OF MOTION

FORCE
Force may be defined as an agency (a push or a pull) which changes or tends to change the
state of rest or of uniform motion or the direction of motion of a body.
SI unit – N
CGS Unit – dyne 1 N = 105 dyne

Gravitational Unit of Force: It is the force which produces an acceleration equal to ‘g’ in a body of
unit mass.
SI unit – kg wt or kg f 1 kg wt = 1 kg f = 9.8 N
CGS unit – g wt or g f 1 g wt = 1 g f = 980 dyne

INERTIA
The inherent property of a material body by virtue of which it cannot change, by itself, its
state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight line is called inertia.
Different types of inertia:
1. Inertia of rest - The tendency of a body to remain in its position of rest is called inertia of
rest.
2. Inertia of motion - The tendency of a body to remain in its state of uniform motion in a
straight line is called inertia of motion.
3. Inertia of direction - The inability of a body to change by itself its direction of motion is
called inertia of direction.
Mass as the measure of inertia: Mass of a body is the measure of its inertia. If a body has more
mass, it has more inertia.
LINEAR MOMENTUM
It is equal to the product of mass and velocity of the body.
𝑝⃗ = 𝑚 𝑣⃗
SI unit – kg ms-1

NEWTON’S FIRST LAW OF MOTION

Sir Isaac Newton (1643 - 1727), United Kingdom.
Everybody continues in its state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight line unless it is
compelled by some external force to change that state.

Galileo’s Law of Inertia:

Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642), Italy.
A body moving with a certain speed along a straight path will continue to move with same
speed along the same straight path in the absence of external forces.
Note: Inability of a body to change its state of rest or uniform motion along a straight line is called
inertia of a body. Newton’s first law defines inertia and hence it is also known as Law of Inertia.

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NEWTON’S SECOND LAW OF MOTION (Refer notebook for the derivation)
The rate of change of linear momentum of a body is directly proportional to the applied force
and the change takes place in the direction of the applied force.
𝑑𝑝
𝐹∝
𝑑𝑡
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
Impulse of a force: Impulse is the total effect of a large force which acts for a short time to produce
a finite change in momentum. Impulse is defined as the product of the force and the time for which it
acts and is equal to the total change in momentum.
𝐽⃗ = 𝐹𝑎𝑣 × 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑑𝑝
SI unit of impulse – kg ms-1

Applications of the concept of impulse: (Refer book for the explanation)

1. A cricket player lowers his hands while catching a ball.
2. A person falling from a certain height receives more injuries when he falls on a cemented
floor than when he falls on a heap of sand.
3. Automobiles (cars, buses, etc.) are provided with shockers.
4. Buffers are provided between the bogies of a train.
5. China wares/glassware are packed in straw paper/bubble wrappers.

NEWTON’S THIRD LAW OF MOTION

To every action, there is always an equal and opposite reaction.
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐹𝐴𝐵 = − ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐹𝐵𝐴
Second law is the real law of motion: Both first and third laws of motion are contained in the
second law; we can say that Newton’s second law is the real law of motion.

Apparent weight of a man in an elevator/lift: (Refer notebook for the derivation)

1. When the lift moves upwards with acceleration a.

𝑅 = 𝑚(𝑔 + 𝑎)
2. When the lift moves downwards with acceleration a.
𝑅 = 𝑚(𝑔 − 𝑎)
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 3. When the lift is at rest or moving with uniform velocity v downward/upward.
𝑅 = 𝑚𝑔
4. When the lift falls freely.
𝑅 = 𝑚(𝑔 − 𝑔) = 0

CONSERVATION OF LINEAR MOMENTUM

When no external force acts on a system of particles, the total linear momentum is conserved.
If Fext = 0, then ,total momentum = constant
Ie; total momentum before collision = total momentum after collision
𝑚1 𝑢1 + 𝑚2 𝑢2 = 𝑚1 𝑣1 + 𝑚2 𝑣2
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF THE LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM
(Refer book for the explanation)
1. Recoil of a gun
2. While firing a bullet, the gun should be held tight to the shoulder.
3. When a man jumps out of a boat to the shore, the boat slightly moves away from the shore.
4. An astronaut in open space, who wants to return to the spaceship, throws some object in a
direction opposite to the direction of motion of the spaceship.
5. Rocket and jet planes work on the principle of conservation of momentum.

EQUILIBRIUM OF CONCURRENT FORCES

Forces acting at the same point on a body are called concurrent forces. When a number of
forces act on a body at the same point and the net unbalanced force is zero, the body will continue in
its state of rest or of uniform motion along a straight line and is said to be in equilibrium.

FRICTION
Whenever a body moves or tends to move over the surface of another body, a force comes
into play which acts parallel to the surface of contact and opposes the relative motion. This opposing
force is called friction.

Origin of friction: The force of friction is due to the atomic or molecular forces of attraction
between the two surfaces at the point of actual contacts. The actual area of contact is much smaller
than the apparent area of contact. The pressure at the points of contacts is very large. Molecular
bonds are formed at these points. When one body is pulled over the other, the bonds break, the
material is deformed and new bonds are formed. The local deformation sends vibration waves into
bodies. These vibrations finally damp out and energy appears as heat.

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STATIC FRICTION ( 𝒇𝒔 )
The force of friction which comes into play between two bodies before one body actually
starts moving over the other is called static friction.

LIMITING FRICTION (𝒇𝒎𝒂𝒙 𝒔 or 𝒇𝒍 )

The maximum force of static friction which comes into play when a body just starts moving
over the surface of another body is called limiting friction. Clearly 𝑓𝑠 ≤ 𝑓𝑙

KINETIC FRICTION ( 𝒇𝒌 )
The force of friction which comes into play when a body is in state of steady motion over the
surface of another body is called kinetic or dynamic friction.

LAWS OF LIMITING FRICTION

1. It depends on the nature of the surfaces in contact.
2. It acts tangential to the two surfaces in contact and in a direction opposite to the direction of
motion.

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 3. It is independent of the area of the surface in contact as long as the normal reaction remains
the same.
4. It is directly proportional to the normal reaction R.
𝑓𝑙 ∝ 𝑅
𝑓𝑙 = 𝜇𝑠 𝑅
𝑓𝑙
𝜇𝑠 =
𝑅
𝜇𝑠 - coefficient of static friction. It is defined as the ratio of limiting friction to the normal
reaction.

LAWS OF KINETIC FRICTION

1. It depends on the nature of the surfaces in contact.
2. It acts tangential to the two surfaces in contact and in a direction opposite to the direction of
motion.
3. It is independent of the area of contact as long as the normal reaction remains the same.
4. It does not depend on velocity.
5. It is directly proportional to the normal reaction R.
𝑓𝑘 ∝ 𝑅
𝑓𝑘 = 𝜇𝑘 𝑅
𝑓𝑘
𝜇𝑘 =
𝑅
𝜇𝑘 - coefficient of kinetic friction. It is defined as the ratio of kinetic friction to the
normal reaction.

𝑓𝑘 < 𝑓𝑙 𝑜𝑟 𝜇𝑘 𝑅 < 𝜇 𝑠 𝑅 ∴ 𝜇𝑘 < 𝜇𝑠

SLIDING FRICTION
The force of friction that comes into play when a body slides over the surface of another body is
called sliding friction.
ROLLING FRICTION
The force of friction that comes into play when a body rolls over the surface of another body
is called rolling friction.
For the same magnitude of normal reaction, rolling friction is always much smaller than the sliding
friction.

Rolling friction is smaller than sliding friction: When a wheel rolls without slipping over a
horizontal plane, the surfaces at contact do not rub each other. The relative velocity of the point of
contact of the wheel with respect to the plane is zero.
As the wheel rolls, it exerts a large pressure due to its small area. This causes a slight
depression of the road below and a small elevation or mounts in front it. In addition to this, the
rolling wheel has to continuously detach itself from the surface on which it rolls. This is opposed by
the adhesive force between the two surfaces in contact. This retarding force is known as rolling
friction.

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Methods of reducing friction:
1. By polishing
2. Lubrication
3. Streamlining
4. By using ball – bearings
Methods of increasing friction:
1. Treading of tyres
2. Sand is thrown on tracks covered with snow
3. On a rainy day, we throw some sand on the slippery ground.

CIRCULAR MOTION OF A CAR ON A LEVEL ROAD (Refer notebook for the derivation)

The required centripetal force for the turning is provided by friction.

The maximum safe speed with which the car can turn safely is given by,
𝑣 = √𝜇𝑟𝑔
i.e.; 𝜇 ∝ √𝜇
𝜇 ∝ √𝑟

CIRCULAR MOTION OF A CAR ON A BANKED ROAD (Refer notebook for the derivation)
The horizontal component of the normal reaction provides the necessary centripetal force.
The system of raising the outer edge of a curved road above its inner edge is called banking of the
curved road. The angle through which the outer edge of the curved road is raised above the inner
edge is called angle of banking.

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On banked road, the required centripetal force for the turning is provided by both 𝑓 cos 𝜃 and 𝑅 sin 𝜃,
hence centripetal force increases.
The maximum safe velocity to make a turn is given by,
𝜇 + tan 𝜃
𝑣 = √𝑟𝑔 ( )
1 − 𝜇 tan 𝜃

If 𝜇 = 0,then 𝑣 = √𝑟𝑔 tan 𝜃

BENDING OF A CYCLIST (NOT in the syllabus)

Bending produces the effect of banking, hence centripetal force increases.

The maximum safe velocity to make a turn is given by,

𝑣 = √𝑟𝑔 tan 𝜃

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