The Pythagorean theorem is a useful method for determining the result of adding two (and only two) vectors that make a right angle to each other. The method is not applicable for adding more than two vectors or for adding vectors that are not at 90-degrees to each other. The Pythagorean theorem is a mathematical equation that relates the length of the sides…
A variety of mathematical operations can be performed with and upon vectors. One such operation is the addition of vectors. Two vectors can be added together to determine the result (or resultant). This process of adding two or more vectors has already been discussed in an earlier unit. Recall in our discussion of Newton’s laws of…
Vectors can be directed due East, due West, due South, and due North. But some vectors are directed northeast (at a 45 degree angle); and some vectors are even directed northeast, yet more north than east. Thus, there is a clear need for some form of a convention for identifying the direction of a vector that is not due East, due…
Vectors: Fundamentals and Operations Vectors and Direction A study of motion will involve the introduction of a variety of quantities that are used to describe the physical world. Examples of such quantities include distance, displacement, speed, velocity, acceleration, force, mass, momentum, energy, work, power, etc. All these quantities can by divided into two categories –vectors…
According to Newton’s third law, for every action force there is an equal (in size) and opposite (in direction) reaction force. Forces always come in pairs – known as “action-reaction force pairs.” Identifying and describing action-reaction force pairs is a simple matter of identifying the two interacting objects and making two statements describing who is pushing on…
Newton’s Third Law A force is a push or a pull that acts upon an object as a results of its interaction with another object. Forces result from interactions! As discussed in Lesson 2, some forces result from contact interactions (normal, frictional, tensional, and applied forces are examples of contact forces) and other forces are the result of…
Our study thus far has been restricted to the analysis of single objects moving under the influence of Newton’s laws. But what happens if there are two objects connected together in one way or another? For instance, there could be a tow truck hauling a car down a highway. How is such an analysis conducted?…
As learned in an earlier unit, free fall is a special type of motion in which the only force acting upon an object is gravity. Objects that are said to be undergoing free fall, are not encountering a significant force of air resistance; they are falling under the sole influence of gravity. Under such conditions, all objects…
In a previous unit, it was stated that all objects (regardless of their mass) free fall with the same acceleration – 9.8 m/s/s. This particular acceleration value is so important in physics that it has its own peculiar name – the acceleration of gravity – and its own peculiar symbol – g. But why do all objects free fall at…
Two students are discussing their physics homework prior to class. They are discussing an object that is being acted upon by two individual forces (both in a vertical direction); the free-body diagram for the particular object is shown at the right. During the discussion, Anna Litical suggests to Noah Formula that the object under discussion could be…