Forces & Newton's Laws

Forces & Newton’s 1st law Objectives:

N1.1  Draw a properly labeled free body diagram showing all forces acting on an object including magnitude and direction

N1.2   Tell whether the forces are balanced or unbalanced for an object based on its motion

N1.3   Calculate net force for different situations

N1.4   Use Newton’s 1st law to quantitatively determine the forces acting on an object moving at a constant velocity

N1.5   Recognize/apply Newton’s 1st law to different situations and relate it to the terms equilibrium and inertia

N1.6   Identify and apply standard contact forces to a free body diagram:  weight, normal, friction, applied, tension, buoyancy, applied

Uniform Acceleration Objectives:

UA.1   know the difference between acceleration and velocity

UA.2   describe the motion of an object given its acceleration

UA.3   calculate the acceleration of an object with direction and proper units

UA.4   interpret the meaning of the sign of the acceleration

UA.5   identify/draw related plots of motion maps, position, velocity and acceleration vs time graphs for uniform acceleration

UA.6   identify the meaning of the slope and y-intercept for a velocity vs time graph

UA.7   use the acceleration of gravity as 9.8 m/s2 to solve freefall problems


Newton’s 2nd  & 3rd law Objectives:

N2.1   explain the relationships between acceleration, force and mass

N2.2   identify when the forces must be unbalanced for an object based on its motion

N2.3   use Newton’s 2nd law to determine the forces acting on an object moving at a constant acceleration

N2.4   draw a force diagram for an object experiencing a net force not equal to zero

N2.5   make calculations for acceleration based on a force diagram

N2.6   apply Newton’s 2nd law wording to different situations

N2.7   describe forces on an object falling in freefall and with air resistance

N2.8   distinguish between weight and mass

N2.9   identify Newton’s 2nd law situations and use it to solve problems

N2.10   identify Newton’s 3rd law situations and the action-reaction force pairs involved

Concepts the test will be checking to see if you understand:

Graphs for all types of motion: Position vs time, velocity vs time, and acceleration vs time

Forces: types, balanced vs unbalances, net force, equilibrium, free-body diagrams

Ist law: use law to explain situations

Acceleration:  what is it conceptually, find acceleration from v vs t graph or free-body diagrams (2nd law)

Gravity: mass vs weight, free-fall and falling with air resistance

3rd law: use law to explain situations