NEWTON (LAWS 1 AND 2) EXERCISE

1. A tug is capable of pulling a ship with a force of 100 kN. If two such tugs are pulling on
one ship, they can produce any force ranging from a minimum of 0 N to a maximum of
200 kN. Give a detailed explanation of how this is possible. Use diagrams to support
your result.

2. A car of mass 850 kg accelerates at 2 m·s−2. Calculate the magnitude of the resultant
force that is causing the acceleration.

3. Find the force needed to accelerate a 3 kg object at 4 m·s−2.

4. Calculate the acceleration of an object of mass 1000 kg accelerated by a force of 100 N.

5. An object of mass 7 kg is accelerating at 2,5 m·s−2. What resultant force acts on it?

6. Find the mass of an object if a force of 40 N gives it an acceleration of 2 m·s−2.

7. Find the acceleration of a body of mass 1 000 kg that has a 150 N force acting on it.

8. Find the mass of an object which is accelerated at 2 m·s−2 by a force of 40 N.

9. Determine the acceleration of a mass of 24 kg when a force of 6 N acts on it. What is the
acceleration if the force were doubled and the mass was halved?

10. A mass of 8 kg is accelerating at 5 m·s−2.

a. Determine the resultant force that is causing the acceleration.
b. What acceleration would be produced if we doubled the force and reduced the
mass by half?

11. A motorcycle of mass 100 kg is accelerated by a resultant force of 500 N. If the

motorcycle starts from rest:
a. What is its acceleration?
b. How fast will it be travelling after 20 s?
c. How long will it take to reach a speed of 35 m·s−1?
d. How far will it travel from its starting point in 15 s?

12. A force acting on a trolley on a frictionless horizontal plane causes an acceleration of

magnitude 6 m·s−2. Determine the mass of the trolley.
13. A force of 200 N, acting at 60º to the horizontal, accelerates a block of mass 50 kg along
a horizontal plane as shown.

a. Calculate the component of the 200 N force that accelerates the block
horizontally.
b. If the acceleration of the block is 1,5 m·s−2, calculate the magnitude of the
frictional force on the block.
c. Calculate the vertical force exerted by the block on the plane.

14. A toy rocket of mass 0,5 kg is supported vertically by placing it in a bottle. The rocket is
then ignited. Calculate the force that is required to accelerate the rocket vertically
upwards at 8 m·s−2.

15. A constant force of 70 N is applied vertically to a block of mass 5 kg as shown. Calculate

the acceleration of the block.

16. A stationary block of mass 3kg is on top of a plane inclined at 35_ to the horizontal.

a. Draw a force diagram (not to scale). Include the weight (Fg) of the block as well
as the components of the weight that are perpendicular and parallel to the
inclined plane.
b. Determine the values of the weight’s perpendicular and parallel components.
Fg(x) and Fg(y).
 c. Determine the magnitude and direction of the frictional force between the block
and plane.

17. A student of mass 70 kg investigates the motion of a lift. While he stands in the lift on a
bathroom scale (calibrated in newton), he notes three stages of his journey.
a. For 2 s immediately after the lift starts, the scale reads 574 N.
b. For a further 6 s it reads 700 N.
c. For the final 2 s it reads 854 N.

Answer the following questions:

a. Is the motion of the lift upward or downward? Give a reason for your
answer.
b. Write down the magnitude and the direction of the resultant force acting
on the student for each of the stages I, II and III.
c. Calculate the magnitude of the acceleration of the lift during the first 2s.

18. A car of mass 800 kg accelerates along a level road at 4 m·s−2. A frictional force of 700 N
opposes its motion. What force is produced by the car’s engine?

19. Two objects, with masses of 1 kg and 2 kg respectively, are placed on a smooth surface
and connected with a piece of string. A horizontal force of 6 N is applied with the help of
a spring balance to the 1 kg object. Ignoring friction, what will the force acting on the 2
kg mass, as measured by a second spring balance, be?

20. A rocket of mass 200 kg has a resultant force of 4000 N upwards on it.
a. What is its acceleration in space, where it has no weight?
b. What is its acceleration on the Earth, where it has weight?
c. What driving force does the rocket engine need to exert on the back of the rocket
in space?
d. What driving force does the rocket engine need to exert on the back of the rocket
on the Earth?

21. A car going at 20 m·s−1 accelerates uniformly and comes to a stop in a distance of 20 m.
a. What is its acceleration?
b. If the car is 1000 kg how much force do the brakes exert?
MEMORANDUM

Question 1: Forces of Two Tugs on a Ship

Answer: The two tugs can produce a force ranging from 0 N to 200 kN depending on the
direction in which they pull.

• If both tugs pull in the same direction, their forces add up to a maximum of 200 kN.

• If they pull in exactly opposite directions, their forces cancel out, resulting in a net force
of 0 N.

• If they pull at an angle to each other, the resultant force will be between 0 N and 200 kN,
depending on the angle.

Diagram representation can be drawn with vectors showing different angles of forces applied by
the tugs.

Question 2: Resultant Force on a Car

Given:

• Mass = 850 kg

• Acceleration = 2 m/s²

Solution: Using Newton’s Second Law:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
𝐹 = (850)(2)
𝐹 = 1700 𝑁
Answer: The resultant force is 1700 N.

Question 3: Force on a 3 kg Object

Given:

• m = 3 kg

• a = 4 m/s²

Solution:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
𝐹 = (3)(4)
𝐹 = 12 𝑁
Answer: The force needed is 12 N.
Question 4: Acceleration of a 1000 kg Object

Given:

• m = 1000 kg

• F = 100 N

Solution:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
100 = (1000)𝑎
𝑎 = 0.1 𝑚/𝑠-2

Answer: The acceleration is 0.1 m/s².

Question 5: Resultant Force on a 7 kg Object

Given:

• m = 7 kg

• a = 2.5 m/s²

Solution:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
𝐹 = (7)(2.5)
𝐹 = 17.5 N
Answer: The resultant force is 17.5 N.

Question 6: Mass of an Object Given Force and Acceleration

Given:

• F = 40 N

• a = 2 m/s²

Solution:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
40 = 𝑚(2)
𝑚 = 20 𝑘𝑔
Answer: The mass is 20 kg.
Question 7: Acceleration of a 1000 kg Body

Given:

• F = 150 N

• m = 1000 kg

Solution:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
150 = (1000)𝑎
𝑎 = 0.15 𝑚/𝑠2

Answer: The acceleration is 0.15 m/s².

Question 8: Mass of an Object

Given:

• F = 40 N

• A = 2 m/s2

Solution:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
40 = 𝑚(2)
𝑚 = 20 𝑘𝑔
Answer: The mass is 20 kg.

Question 9: Acceleration of a 24 kg Mass

Given:

• F=6N

• m = 24 kg

Solution:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
6 = (24)𝑎
𝑎 = 0.25 m/s²

If force is doubled and mass is halved: 12 N, 12 kg, 1 m/s²

Answer: The acceleration is 0.25 m/s², and if force is doubled while mass is halved,
acceleration is 1 m/s².
Question 10: Acceleration and Resultant Force

Given:

• m = 8 kg
• a = 5 m/s2

Solution:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
𝐹 = (8)(5)
𝐹 = 40 𝑁
If the force is doubled and mass is halved: 80 N, 4 kg, 20 m/s2

Answer: The resultant force is 40 N, New acceleration is 20 m/s2

Question 11: Motion of a motorcycle

Given:

• m = 100 kg
• F = 500 N

Solution:

a. Acceleration: 5 m/s2
b. Velocity after 20 s:
𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡
𝑣 = 0 + (5)(20)
𝑣 = 100 m/s2
c. Time to reach 35 m/s:
𝑣−𝑢
𝑡=
𝑎
35 − 0
𝑡=
5
𝑡 =7𝑠
d. Distance travelled in 15 s:
1
𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2
2
1
𝑠 = 0 + (5)(152 )
2
𝑠 = 562.5 𝑚
Question 12: Mass of a Trolley

Given:

• a = 6 m/s2
• F (unknown)

Solution:
𝐹
Assuming force is given or measurable, mass can be found using: 𝑚 = 6
If force is unknown, we need more data to solve.

Question 13: Block Accelerated by a Force at an Angle

Given:

• F = 200 N at an angle of 60º

• m = 50 kg
• a = 1.5 m/s2

Solution:

a. 𝐹(𝑥) = 𝐹. 𝑐𝑜𝑠Ɵ
𝐹(𝑥) = 200. 𝑐𝑜𝑠60º
𝐹(𝑥) = 200(0.5)
𝐹(𝑥) = 100 𝑁

Answer: The horizontal component is 100 N.

b. 𝐹(𝑥) − 𝑓 = 𝑚𝑎
100 − 𝑓 = (50)(1.5)
100 − 𝑓 = 75
𝑓 = 25 𝑁

Answer: The frictional force is 25 N.

c. 𝐹(𝑦) = 𝐹. 𝑠𝑖𝑛Ɵ
𝐹(𝑦) = 200. 𝑠𝑖𝑛60º
𝐹(𝑦) = 200. (0.866)
𝐹(𝑦) = 173.2 𝑁 (𝑢𝑝𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒)

Normal force exerted by the plane:

𝑁 = 𝑚𝑔 − 𝐹(𝑦)
𝑁 = (50)(9.8) − 173.2
𝑁 = 490 − 173.2
𝑁 = 316.8 𝑁

Answer: The vertical force exerted by the block on the plane is 316.8 N.
Question 14: Force Required to Accelerate a Toy Rocket

Given:

• m = 0.5 kg
• a = 8 m/s2
• g = 9.8 m/s2

Solution:

Total force required:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 + 𝑚𝑔
𝐹 = (0.5)(8) + (0.5)(9.8)
𝐹 = 4 + 4.9
𝐹 = 8.9 𝑁
Answer: The force required is 8.9 N.

Question 15: Acceleration of a Block Under a Constant Force

Given:

• F = 70 N
• m = 5 kg

Solution:

Using Newton’s Second Law:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
70 = (5)𝑎
𝑎 = 14 𝑚/𝑠2

Answer: The acceleration of the block is 14 m/s².

Question 16: Block on an Inclined Plane

a. Force Diagram:
A force diagram should be drawn showing the weight force , and its components
perpendicular and parallel to the plane.

b. Components of Weight:
𝐹(𝑔) = 𝑚𝑔
𝐹(𝑔) = (3)(9.8)
𝐹(𝑔) = 29.4 𝑁

𝐹(𝑥) = 𝐹(𝑔). sin 35º

𝐹(𝑥) = 29.4 × 0.5736
𝐹(𝑥) = 16.86 𝑁

𝐹(𝑦) = 𝐹(𝑔). cos 35º

 𝐹(𝑦) = 29.4 × 0.8192
𝐹(𝑦) = 24.08 𝑁

Answer: Parallel component 16.86 N, perpendicular component 24.08 N.

c. Frictional Force:

If the block is stationary, friction equals the parallel component: 16.86 N, acting up the
incline.

Question 17: Motion of a Lift

Given:

• m = 70 kg
• Readings from the scale:
o Stage I: 574 N
o Stage II: 700 N
o Stage III: 854 N

Solution:

a. Direction of Lift Motion:

The lift must be moving upward because the normal force (scale reading) fluctuates due
to acceleration.

b. Resultant Forces:
Using 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎

Stage I:
𝐹 = 𝑁 − 𝑚𝑔
𝐹 = 574 − (70)(9.8)
𝐹 = − 112 𝑁 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑

Stage II:
𝐹 = 𝑁 − 𝑚𝑔
𝐹 = 700 − (70)(9.8)
𝐹 = 14 𝑁 𝑢𝑝𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑

Stage III:
𝐹 = 𝑁 − 𝑚𝑔
𝐹 = 854 − (70)(9.8)
𝐹 = 168 𝑁 𝑢𝑝𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑

c. Acceleration in First 2 Seconds:

Using Newton’s Second Law 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
−112 = (70)𝑎
 𝑎 = −1.6 𝑚/𝑠2

Answers for the following questions:

a. The lift moves upward.

b. Resultant forces:
• Stage I: 112 N downward
• Stage II: 14 N upward
• Stage III: 168 N upward
c. Acceleration during the first 2s is – 1.6 m/s2

Question 18: Force Produced by a Car’s Engine

Given:

• m = 800 kg
• a = 4 m/s2
• f = 700 N (opposing motion)

Solution:

Using Newton’s Second Law:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
𝐹 = (800)(4)
𝐹 = 3200 𝑁
Since friction opposes motion:

𝐹 = 𝐹 + 𝑓𝐹
𝐹 = 3200 + 700
𝐹 = 3900 𝑁
Answer: The force produced by the car’s engine is 3900 N.

Question 19:

Given:

• Mass of object 1 = 1 kg
• Mass of object 2 = 2 kg
• Force applied to object 1 = 6 N
• There is no friction between the objects and the surface.

Solution:

The total mass of the system is the sum of the masses of the two objects.

𝑚(𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙) = 𝑚(1) + 𝑚(2)

𝑚(𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙) = 1 + 2
𝑚(𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙) = 3 𝑘𝑔
Since the same force is applied to the entire system and the objects are connected by a string,
the acceleration is the same for both objects. Using Newton's second law

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
6 = (3)𝑎
𝑎 = 2 𝑚/𝑠2

Now that we know the acceleration of the system, we can find the force on the 2 kg object by
using the formula

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
𝐹 = (2)(2)
𝐹 =4𝑁
Answer: The force acting on the 2 kg mass, as measured by the second spring balance, is 4 N.

Question 20:

Given:

• Mass of the rocket = 200 kg

• Resultant force of the rocket = 4000 N (upwards)

Solutions:

a. Acceleration in Space (where the rocket has no weight):

In space, where there is no gravitational force acting on the rocket (i.e., no weight), the
only force acting on the rocket is the upward resultant force.

Using Newton's second law:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
4000 = (200)𝑎
𝑎 = 20 𝑚/𝑠2

Answer: The acceleration in space is 20 m/s².

b. Acceleration on Earth (where the rocket has weight):

On Earth, the rocket has both the upward resultant force and the downward gravitational
force (weight). The weight can be calculated using the formula

𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 = 𝑚𝑔
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 = (200)(9.8)
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 = 1960 𝑁

The net force on the rocket will now be

𝐹(𝑛𝑒𝑡) = 𝐹(𝑢𝑝𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑) − 𝐹(𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑)

𝐹(𝑛𝑒𝑡) = 4000 − 1960
𝐹(𝑛𝑒𝑡) = 2040 𝑁
 Now we can calculate the acceleration using Newton's second law

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
2040 = (200)𝑎
𝑎 = 10.2 𝑚/𝑠2

Answer: The acceleration on Earth is 10.2 m/s².

c. Driving Force Exerted by the Rocket Engine in Space.

In space, the rocket only needs to overcome inertia to accelerate. The force required is
simply the resultant force applied

𝐹(𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒) = 4000 𝑁

Answer: The driving force the rocket engine needs to exert on the back of the rocket in
space is 4000 N.

d. Driving Force Exerted by the Rocket Engine on Earth.

On Earth, the rocket needs to overcome both inertia and gravity. Therefore, the total
force required is the sum of the upward force (to overcome gravity) and the force needed
for acceleration.

The force needed to overcome gravity is equal to the weight of the rocket, which is 1960
N, and the force needed to accelerate is 4000 N. Therefore, the total force required is

𝐹(𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒) = 4000 + 1960

𝐹(𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒) = 5960 𝑁

Answer: The driving force the rocket engine needs to exert on the back of the rocket on
Earth is 5960 N.

Question 21:

Given:

• Initial velocity = 20 m/s

• Final velocity = 0 m/s (since the car comes to a stop)
• Distance travelled = 20 m
• Mass of the car = 1000 kg

Solution:

a. What is its acceleration:

To calculate the acceleration, we can use the kinematic equation

𝑣 2 = 𝑢2 + 2𝑎𝑐
(0)2 = (20)2 + 2(𝑎)(20)
0 = 400 + 40𝑎
 𝑎 = −10 𝑚/𝑠2

Answer: The car's acceleration is -10 m/s² (negative because it is decelerating).

b. How much force do the brakes exert?

To calculate the force exerted by the brakes, we can use Newton's second law

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
𝐹 = (1000)(−10)
𝐹 = −10 000 𝑁

Answer: The force exerted by the brakes is -10000 N (negative because the force is
acting in the opposite direction of motion, decelerating the car).