Isaac Newton's Second

Law of Motion

Newton's second law of motion explains how an object will change velocity if it is pushed or pulled upon.

Firstly, this law states that if you do place a force on an object,
it will accelerate, i.e., change its velocity, and it will change its velocity in the direction of the force.

It Accelerates in the direction
that you push it.

Secondly, this acceleration is directly proportional to the force. For example, if you are pushing on an object, causing it to accelerate, and then you push, say, three times harder, the acceleration will be three times greater.

If you push twice as hard,
It will accelerate twice as much.

Thirdly, this acceleration is inversely proportional to the mass of the object. For example, if you are pushing equally on two objects, and one of the objects has five times more mass than the other, it will accelerate at one fifth the acceleration of the other.

If it gains twice that mass
it will accelerate half as much.

Review: 2nd Law of Motion Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object).

The Second Law of Motion can be expressed as a mathematical equation: F=MA or FORCE = MASS times ACCELERATION

Using what we know lets say that on the way to work my vehicle breaks down. My truck weighs 1000 Kg. As I am pushing my truck I am able to make it roll at 0.05 m/s2. Since you know Newton's Second Law of Motion you can calculate how much force (aka NEWTONS) I am pushing (applying to) on my truck. FORCE = MASS times ACCELERATION FORCE = 1000 x .05 FORCE = 50 NEWTONS