Newton's Laws of Motion

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to Newton's Laws of Motion.

Force

A push or pull on an object with specific magnitude and direction, represented as a vector.

Kinematics

The study of motion describing how objects move without considering the forces causing the motion.

Dynamics

The study of forces and their effects on the motion of objects.

Newton's First Law

An object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will remain in motion at constant velocity unless acted upon by a net external force.

Inertia

The tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion.

Net External Force

The vector sum of all external forces acting on an object, determining its acceleration.

Free-Body Diagram

A visual representation showing all external forces acting on an object.

Weight

The gravitational force acting on an object due to its mass, typically measured in newtons.

Newton (N)

The SI unit of force, defined as the force necessary to accelerate 1 kg of mass at 1 m/s².

Friction

The force opposing the motion of an object, acting parallel to the surface of contact.

Momentum

The product of mass and velocity of an object, representing its motion.

Mass

A measure of the amount of matter in an object, which remains constant regardless of location.

Tension

The pulling force transmitted through a flexible medium such as a rope or cable.

Normal Force

The support force exerted perpendicular to the surface on which an object rests, balancing its weight.

Acceleration

The rate of change of velocity of an object due to a net external force.

Equilibrium

A state in which all forces acting on a system are balanced, resulting in no acceleration.

Newton's Second Law

The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass.

Newton's Third Law

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction; forces act in pairs.

Free Fall

The condition when an object falls under the influence of gravity only, with no other forces acting on it.

Vector

A quantity that has both magnitude and direction, used to represent forces and other physical quantities.

Gravitational Force

The attractive force between two masses; on Earth, it is commonly referred to as weight.

SI Units

International System of Units, a standard set of measurements used around the world.

Contact Force

A force that acts at the point of contact between two objects.

Field Force

A force that acts over a distance without direct contact, such as gravity or electromagnetic forces.

Restoring Force

The force exerted by a spring when it is displaced from its rest position, acting to restore its shape.

Action-Reaction Pairs

In Newton's third law, the forces that two interacting bodies exert on each other.

Static Equilibrium

A condition where an object is at rest, and the net force acting on it is zero.

Dynamic Equilibrium

A condition where an object is moving at constant velocity, and the net force acting on it is still zero.

Vector Sum

The resultant vector obtained by adding multiple vectors together.

Direction of Forces

The orientation in which a force acts, indicated in a free-body diagram by arrows.

Acceleration Due to Gravity (g)

The acceleration of an object in free fall due to Earth's gravitational pull, approximately 9.81 m/s².

Hooke's Law

A principle stating that the force exerted by a spring is directly proportional to its displacement from its rest position.