All High School Physics Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #13 : Newton's Laws
A net force acts on a mass and produces an acceleration . What is the new acceleration if the force is doubled and the mass is quadrupled.
Newton's second law states that force is a mass times an acceleration.
Assuming that all the original values were equal to
We can substitute in new values for a doubled force and quadrupled mass to find the new acceleration.
This shows that the new acceleration will be of the original value or equal to a/2.
Example Question #11 : Newton's Laws
Which of these is necessary for there to be a non-zero net force?
Non-zero frictional force
Non-zero net acceleration
Non-zero net torque
Non-zero net displacement
An equal and opposite reaction
Non-zero net acceleration
Newton's second law states that force is a mass times an acceleration.
In order for a force to exist, there must be an acceleration applied to a mass. A force cannot exist on a massless object, nor can it exist without a net acceleration.
Newton's third law states that for every force on an object, there is an equal and opposite force from the object. These forces frequently cancel out, however, and produce a net force of zero.
Example Question #13 : Understanding Newton's Second Law
A person jumps from the roof of a house high. When he strikes the ground below, he bends his knees so that his torso decelerates over an approximate distance of . If the mass of his torso (excluding legs) is , find the average force exerted on his torso by his legs during deceleration.
To solve this problem we need to divide up the situation into two parts. During the first part the person is jumping from the roof of a house and is therefore undergoing freefall and accelerated motion due to the force of gravity. Therefore we will need to use kinematic equations to solve for the final velocity as the person lands. In the second part of the problem, the person decelerates their torso through a specific distance and comes to a stop. We will then need to calculate the acceleration of the torso during this second part to determine the average force applied.
Let us start with kinematics to determine the speed of the torso as it hits the ground.
Knowns
We can use the kinematic equation
This is the velocity of the torso as it hits the ground. We will know use the same equation with new variables to determine the acceleration of the torso as it comes to a stop.
Knowns
Rearrange to get the acceleration by itself
We can now plug this into Newton’s 2nd Law to find the average force acting on the object.
Example Question #21 : Newton's Laws
A ball rests on a flat table. What is the normal force exerted on the ball by the table?
Newton's second law allows us to solve for the force of gravity on the ball:
Newton's third law tells us that the force of the ball on the table, due to gravity, will be equal and opposite to the normal force of the table on the ball.
Substitute the equation for force of gravity.
Now we can use the mass of the ball and the acceleration of gravity to solve for the normal force. First, convert the mass to kilograms. Then, use the equation to find the normal force.
Example Question #22 : Newton's Laws
Suppose your car was stuck deep in the mud and you wanted to use the method above to pull it out. What force would you have to exert perpendicular to the center of the rope to produce a force of 12,000 N on the car if the angle that the rope is bent from the horizontal is 3 degrees?
To determine this we would first need to determine the vertical component of the force acting on the car. To do this we would use the sine trigonometric function.
The pull in the vertical direction must be at least to pull the car. However, we also know there is another equal force on the tree on the other side of the pull. Therefore the total pull must be double this value in order to pull both the tree and the car equally.