All Flashcards
Define Newton's Second Law.
An object's acceleration is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass.
What is 'net force'?
The vector sum of all forces acting on an object.
Define 'acceleration'.
The rate of change of velocity of an object with respect to time.
What is 'mass'?
A measure of an object's resistance to acceleration (inertia).
Define 'external force'.
A force that originates from outside the system being considered.
Define 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:
What is 'net force'?
The vector sum of all forces acting on an object or system. It determines the acceleration of the object.
Define acceleration in the context of Newton's Second Law.
The rate of change of velocity of an object, directly proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to the mass.
What are unbalanced forces?
When the net force acting on a system is not zero, causing the system to accelerate in the direction of the net force.
Define 'net external force'.
The sum of all forces acting on a system from outside the system, determining if the velocity of the system's center of mass will change.
What is the effect of a non-zero net force acting on an object?
The object accelerates in the direction of the net force.
What happens when the net external force on an object is zero?
The object's velocity remains constant (it either stays at rest or continues moving at a constant velocity).
What is the effect of increasing the net force on an object, assuming mass is constant?
The acceleration of the object increases proportionally.
What is the effect of increasing the mass of an object, assuming the net force remains constant?
The acceleration of the object decreases proportionally.
What happens if the forces acting on an object are balanced?
The object maintains a constant velocity (or remains at rest); there is no acceleration.