Ch 2 Newtons laws of Motion

Newton's First Law of Motion

Every object continues in a state of rest or of uniform speed in a straight line unless acted on by a nonzero force.

Inertia

The tendency of an object to maintain its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force.

Newton's Second Law of Motion

The acceleration produced by a net force on an object is directly proportional to the net force, is in the same direction as the net force, and is inversely proportional to the mass of the object.

Free fall

Motion under the influence of gravitational pull only.

Terminal speed

The speed at which the acceleration of a falling object terminates when air resistance balances its weight.

Force vector

An arrow drawn to scale representing the magnitude and direction of a force.

Velocity vector

An arrow drawn to scale representing the magnitude and direction of motion.

Resultant

The net result of a combination of two or more vectors.

Vector components

Parts in which a vector can be separated and act in different directions from the vector.

Newton's Third Law of Motion

Whenever one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force on the first.

Air resistance

The force acting opposite to the relative motion of an object moving through the air.

Net force

The vector sum of all the forces acting on an object.

Acceleration

The rate at which an object changes its velocity.

Weight

The force exerted by gravity on an object, typically measured in newtons.

Mass

The amount of matter in an object, usually measured in kilograms.