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7: Force and Motion

  • Page ID
    104146
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    In this chapter we take a different approach. We focus on the details of what happens during interactions, not just at net changes that occur as a result of interactions. We explicitly look at the time-dependence of the change of various parameters. We have already spent considerable time in the last two chapters learning how to work with forces to determine work and impulse and both translational and rotational motion. Here, we augment this knowledge to develop an approach to predict the detailed time dependence of motion from a knowledge of the net force and vice versa.

    • 7.1: Overview
      This chapter shifts from analyzing net changes before and after interactions to examining the details of interactions over time. By focusing on time-dependent changes in motion, work, and impulse, we build on our understanding of forces. This approach allows us to predict precise motion outcomes based on net force, expanding beyond general conservation laws to explore dynamic processes in detail.
    • 7.2: Graphing Motion
      We analyze motion over time by graphing acceleration, velocity, and position. Constant forces produce constant acceleration, leading to linear velocity and parabolic position changes. When force and initial velocity are aligned, an object speeds up; when opposite, it slows, stops, and reverses direction. Key insights include interpreting slopes and areas of these graphs to understand how forces influence continuous motion over time.
    • 7.3: Kinematics
      We explore kinematics with a focus on constant acceleration, deriving equations for velocity and position as functions of time. These equations simplify motion analysis for objects experiencing constant forces, such as free-falling bodies. Using initial conditions, we apply these kinematic equations to one-dimensional motion and extend them to two-dimensional scenarios like projectile motion, showing how horizontal and vertical motions combine independently.
    • 7.4: Wrap-up
      This chapter explored how forces influence motion over time, using Newton’s laws as a powerful but limited model. At atomic scales, Newtonian mechanics gives way to quantum mechanics, where particles behave as probability waves. At high speeds, special relativity modifies our concepts of space and time. Newton’s laws remain useful for most everyday phenomena, though quantum and relativistic effects reveal the boundaries of classical physics.


    This page titled 7: Force and Motion is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Dina Zhabinskaya.

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