Newton's Second Law of Motion

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture on Newton's Second Law of Motion.

Acceleration

The rate at which velocity changes with time, symbolized as a = Δv/Δt.

Force

A push or pull exerted on an object, measured in newtons (N).

Net force

The overall force acting on an object when all individual forces are combined.

Friction

The resistive force that opposes the motion of an object in contact with another object or through a fluid.

Mass

The quantity of matter in an object, which is a measure of its inertia.

Weight

The force upon an object due to gravity, calculated as weight = mass × gravity (mg).

Newton's Second Law of Motion

States that acceleration is directly proportional to the net force acting on an object and inversely proportional to its mass (a ∼ F/m).

Free fall

Motion under the influence of gravitational pull only, with no other forces (like air resistance) acting on the object.

Terminal velocity

The constant speed that a freely falling object eventually reaches when the resistance of the medium prevents further acceleration.

Inertia

The tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion; related to mass.