AP Physics C: Mechanics

Unit 2: F = ma

Section 2.1 – Newton’s Laws………………………………………….…………………….…………29

Section 2.2 – F=ma………………………………………………….………………….………………31

Section 2.3 – Resistive Forces……………………………………………………….……..………..…37

Section 2.4 – Forces in Circular Motion……………………………………………………….…….…40

Section 2.5 – Accelerated Reference Frames ……………………………………..……………………44

28
AP Physics C: Mechanics Unit 2 – Newton’ Laws
2.1 Laws of Motion (Chapter 5)
Focus Question: What does a force do?
 Kinematics – Study of motion without regard to forces causes it.
 Dynamics – Study of motion and the forces causing the motion.
 Contact Force – A push or pull (the object exerting the force makes contact with the object it exerts the
force onto.
 Forces are a vector quantity. Forces can be represented by specifying their components:

 The resultant is the vector sum of all forces acting on a body. When multiple forces act, the forces
produce the same result as a single force equal to the vector sum of the forces. The resultant force can be
found by adding components or law of cosines (for two vectors only).
Example A: Find the resultant of adding the two forces.

𝐹 = (120 cos 60° + 0) = 60 𝑁

𝐹 = (120 sin 60° + 100) = 60√3 + 100 𝑁
𝐹 = (60)𝚤̂ + 60√3 + 100 𝑁

Newton’s Laws

 Newton’s First Law: If ∑ 𝑭⃑ = 𝟎, a = 0.

*Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist acceleration.

 Newton’s Second Law: ∑ 𝑭⃑ = 𝒎𝒂⃑

A force causes an acceleration in the direction of the force. Mass resists force.

 Newton’s Third Law: Every action has equal and opposite reaction.
*A single isolated force is not possible.

Example B: A particle of mass 𝑚 has a velocity given by 𝑣(𝑡) = 10 − 2𝑡 . Determine an expression for the
force on the particle as a function of time.
𝑑𝑣
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 = 𝑚
𝑑𝑡
𝑑(10 − 2𝑡 )
→𝐹=𝑚 = 𝑚(−4𝑡)
𝑑𝑡
→ 𝑭(𝒕) = −𝟒𝒎𝒕

29
Example C: A man ties a rope to a box and pulls the box across the floor with the rope with increasing
velocity. Identify all the action-reaction pairs. Apply F=ma for all three directions.

Box Action-Reaction Pairs: FTension and FFriction

Man Action-Reaction Pairs: FTension and FFriction

*Notes on the forces

 FGravity – This is the force of weight, pulling the box/man down to the ground.
 FNormal – When you push on a surface, the surface pushes back. This is called a normal force.

*Common Physics Misconception* Gravity and Normal force are not action-reaction pairs since gravity
is a force between the center of mass of the object and the Earth’s center of mass. The normal force acts
only at the point of contact. This is will explored more later in Physics 1.

 FTension: A pulling force in a rope is called tension. This force pulls the box forward, but tries to pull the
man backwards. Think about tug of war, the rope pulls on both sides.
 FFriction for the Box: The box is sliding, so friction resists this sliding motion.
 FFriction for the Man: When you walk, you push back on the ground with your foot. Friction acts against
this pushing backward force, pushing you forward as a result. This is why you can’t walk well on ice;
there’s no friction to push back on the ground.

*Newton’s Laws are only valid in inertial reference frames. An inertial reference frame is a set of coordinate
axes attached to a body with a constant state of motion (not acceleration). If a reference frame is acceleration,
Newton’s Laws do not apply.

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AP Physics C: Mechanics Unit 2 – Newton’ Laws
2.2 Application of Newton’s Laws (Chapter 5)
Focus Question: What does a force do?
Review: Drawing a Free Body Diagram (FBD)!
 Represent each object as having all its mass concentrated at a single point. This is possible since this
section only deals with translational motion, and not rotation.
 Draw a labeled arrow to represent each force acting on the object. The arrow indicates the force’s
direction and the length is proportional to the magnitude of the direction.
 Only draw the forces as they act on an “official” FBD response. It is useful to separate forces into
components in pseudo-free body diagram, but do not include when a question asks for a FBD.
 Set the vector sum of the forces (that act in the direction of motion) equal to mass times acceleration. If
the system is in equilibrium, the vector sum will be zero.

Tension

Example A: Given the mass supported by three ropes as shown in the diagram, find the tension in each rope.
Any problem involving F=ma must be started with a free-body diagram:

*A free-body diagram does not include components.

*When solving, the x and y directions will be
considered separately.

The previous examples assume there was no mass in the ropes, which is a common assumption in AP Physics.
If a rope has mass, the part of the rope supported more of its mass have higher tension (the closer to the point
the rope is being pulled will have more tension). The example below demonstrates this.

31
Example B: The system shown below accelerates upward at 2.0 m/s 2. Find the tension in each rope.
T1 > T2 since T1 has to pull more weight. Since both blocks move together, the acceleration for
each has to remain the same.
T1 pulls a total mass of 8 kg so 𝑚𝑎 = 𝑇 − 𝑚𝑔 → 𝑇 = 𝑚𝑎 + 𝑚𝑔
𝑚 𝑚
→ (8 𝑘𝑔) 2 + (8 𝑘𝑔) 10 → 𝑻𝟏 = 𝟗𝟔 𝑵
𝑠 𝑠
T2 only pulls a mass of 5 kg so 𝑚𝑎 = 𝑇 − 𝑚𝑔 → 𝑇 = 𝑚𝑎 + 𝑚𝑔
𝑚 𝑚
→ (5 𝑘𝑔) 2 + (5 𝑘𝑔) 10 → 𝑻𝟐 = 𝟔𝟎 𝑵
𝑠 𝑠

Elevators

 When at rest or moving at constant velocity in an elevator, a scale would give a normal reading.
 If an elevator accelerates upward (moving up and speeding up or moving down and slowing down) the
elevator will push up on the rider, causing them to push down, making apparent weight more.
 If an elevator accelerates downward (moving down and speed up or moving up and slowing down),
apparent weight will be less. (If free fall, apparent weight is zero).

The weight you feel yourself weighing, or “apparent weight” is based on the normal force. The relationship
between normal force and weight on an accelerating elevator is given below:
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 = 𝐹 − 𝑚𝑔 → 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 + 𝑚𝑔

𝑭𝑵 = 𝒎(𝒂 + 𝒈)
 If acceleration is up (going up and speeding up or going down and slowing down) : Apparent
weight is greater than mg
 If acceleration is down (going down and speed up or going up and slowing down): Apparent
weight is less than mg.
 If acceleration is zero: Apparent weight is equal to mg.
 If acceleration is g (free fall): Apparent weight is zero.

Friction

 Normal force – perpendicular force applied by a surface in contact with an object.

 Frictional force – parallel force exerted on an object by a surface that resists motion.
 The force of friction proportional to the normal force:
𝐹 𝛼 𝜇𝐹
The pressing force between the two surfaces in contact, which is the normal force F N, increases friction.
Friction is also affected by the property of materials in contact. The material and roughness of surfaces in
contact determines the value of 𝜇.

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  Static friction:
𝐹 ≤𝜇 𝐹
*Static friction is only as large as it needs to be to stop motion (only cancels out applied force; if it can’t
cancel out applied force, kinetic friction acts)
 Kinetic friction : When force becomes great enough to over static friction, an object being pushed/pulled
will begin to slide. At this point, kinetic friction acts:
𝑭𝒇 = 𝝁 𝒌 𝑭𝒏
*always less than static friction

Example D: For the block being pulled shown on the right, the coefficient of sliding
friction is 𝜇 and the block is pulled at constant speed on a constant horizontal surface. A
force acts an angle 𝜃 above the horizontal. What is the magnitude of 𝐹?
Free Body Diagram

The normal force will be needed when using friction. Since there is an upward force pulling up on the block, the
normal force will be less than the block’s weight since the normal force does not have to counteract all the
block’s weight. The normal force can be found by setting the sum of forces in the y-direction to zero.

*If the force was directed downward, the normal force would be 𝑚𝑔 + 𝐹 sin 𝜃
The x-direction can now be considered to solve for F. Since the block moves at constant speed, the forces in the
horizontal direction add to zero.

33
Inclines

 When an object is on an incline, the forces acting on it are broken up into components:

Example E: Consider an incline as shown with a block of mass 𝑚, and coefficients of friction 𝜇
and 𝜇 .
a) What is the maximum angle for which the block does not slide down the incline?

b) At the angle from part a), the block starts to slide down the incline. At what rate does the block side?

Example F: Mass 𝑚 is pushed up the incline by a horizontal force 𝐹. The incline

makes an angle of 𝜃 with the horizontal and the coefficient of sliding friction is 𝜇.
Derive an expression for the magnitude of the force F for which the block will
slide up the incline at constant velocity.

34
  Forces Perpendicular to Incline (out of the incline is defined as the positive direction)

𝐹⊥ = 𝐹 − 𝐹 sin 𝜃 − 𝑚𝑔 cos 𝜃 = 0 → 𝑭𝑵 = 𝑭 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 + 𝒎𝒈 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽

*The normal force has to overcome both the perpendicular component of the block’s weight and the component
of F pushing the block directly into the incline.

 Forces Parallel to Incline

𝐹|| = 𝐹 cos 𝜃 − 𝑚𝑔 sin 𝜃 − 𝐹 = 0

→ 𝐹 cos 𝜃 − 𝑚𝑔 sin 𝜃 − 𝜇𝐹 = 0 → 𝐹 cos 𝜃 − 𝑚𝑔 sin 𝜃 − 𝜇(𝐹 sin 𝜃 + 𝑚𝑔 cos 𝜃) = 0

→ 𝐹 cos 𝜃 − 𝑚𝑔 sin 𝜃 − 𝜇𝐹 sin 𝜃 − 𝜇𝑚𝑔 cos 𝜃 = 0

𝒎𝒈 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 + 𝝁𝒎𝒈 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽

→ 𝐹(𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 − 𝜇 sin 𝜃) = 𝑚𝑔 sin 𝜃 + 𝜇𝑚𝑔 cos 𝜃 → 𝑭 =
𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽 − 𝝁 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽

Pulleys

Example G: For the pulley shown on the right, m1>m2. Find the acceleration of the system.

Pulley problems can be solved by looking at the two blocks as a single system. The tension
of the rope is an internal force. Internal forces do not affect the motion of a system; only
external forces can change the velocity of a system.

Consider the pulley shown with m1>m2. The weight of block two will act in the direction of
motion and will therefore be the positive force. The weight of the heavy block will be a
positive force since it drags the system in the direction of motion while the lighter’s block
weight is a negative force since it opposes the motion of the system.

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚

𝑎=
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚
𝒎𝟏 𝒈 − 𝒎𝟐 𝒈
𝒂=
𝒎𝟏 + 𝒎𝟐

Example H: For the system shown, m < M. The coefficient of sliding

friction between m and the inclined plane is 𝜇, and 𝜃 = 30°. Assume
that M is sufficient so that it falls down, dragging m behind it.

a) Find the magnitude of the acceleration of M.

b) Find the tension in the rope.
𝜃
35
FBD of m FBD of M

 Forces in the direction of system’s motion (positive forces): 𝑀𝑔

 Forces opposing direction of system’s motion (negative forces): 𝐹 , 𝑚𝑔 sin 𝜃

*The tension forces are internal and do not affect the system’s motion.

∑ 𝐹 𝑀𝑔 − 𝐹 − 𝑚𝑔 sin 𝜃 𝑴𝒈 − 𝝁𝒎𝒈 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽 − 𝒎𝒈 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽

𝑎= = →𝒂=
∑𝑚 𝑚+𝑀 𝒎+𝑴

To find the tension, the equation for either block can be used:

m: 𝑚𝑎 = 𝑇 − 𝜇𝑚𝑔 cos 𝜃 − 𝑚𝑔 sin 𝜃

M: 𝑀𝑎 = 𝑀𝑔 − 𝑇

Either equation can be used to solve for T; the second one is easier:
𝑴𝒈 − 𝝁𝒎𝒈 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽 − 𝒎𝒈 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽
𝑇 = 𝑀𝑔 − 𝑀𝑎 → 𝑻 = 𝑴𝒈 − 𝑴
𝒎+𝑴

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AP Physics C: Mechanics Unit 2 – Newton’ Laws
2.3 Resistive Forces (Chapter 5)
Focus Question: What does a force do?
When resistive forces exist, they are often proportional somehow to the object’s velocity, which require setting
up a differential equation. Being asked to write a differential equation sounds scary, but in a problem involving
forces, this usually just means using Newton’s Second Law:
𝑑𝑣
𝐹=𝑚
𝑑𝑡
Example A: A particle of mass 𝑚 has an initial velocity 𝑣 and starts at the origin. The force on the particle is
given by 𝐹 = −𝑘𝑣 . Find an equation for v(t)
There is no driving force, so the differential equation is simple to solve.
𝑑𝑣
𝑚 = −𝑘𝑣
𝑑𝑡
First, separate the variables.
𝑑𝑣 𝑘
= − 𝑑𝑡
𝑣 𝑚
The bounds for each side need to be set. The velocity starts at v 0 and the time starts at 0.
( )
𝑑𝑣 𝑘
= − 𝑑𝑡
𝑣 𝑚

Integrate both sides and solve for v(t).

1 𝑣(𝑡) 𝑘 𝑡
(− )| = − 𝑡 |
𝑣 𝑣 𝑚 0

1 1 𝑘 1 1 𝑘 𝟏
→− + =− 𝑡→ = + 𝑡 → 𝑣(𝒕) = 𝟏 𝒌
𝑣(𝑡) 𝑣 𝑚 𝑣(𝑡) 𝑣 𝑚 + 𝒕
𝒗𝟎 𝒎

Example B: A box of mass 𝑚 initially at rest is acted upon by a constant applied force of magnitude F A, as
shown in the figure above. Friction can be assumed to be negligible, but the box is subject to a drag force of
magnitude 𝑘𝑣 where 𝑣 is the speed of the box and 𝑘 is a positive constant. Assuming the box starts from rest,
derive an expression for the terminal velocity of the box as a function of time.
𝑑𝑣
𝑚 = 𝐹 − 𝑘𝑣
𝑑𝑡
Multiply both sides by -1/k to simplify integration
𝑚 𝑑𝑣 𝐹
− =𝑣−
𝑘 𝑑𝑡 𝑘
Separate the variables:
𝑑𝑣 𝑘
= − 𝑑𝑡
𝑣− 𝑚

37
 The velocity starts at v and goes to some velocity 𝑣(𝑡) and time t. The time starts at t =0 and goes until
some variable time t.
( )
𝑑𝑣 𝑘
= − 𝑑𝑡
𝑣− 𝑚

Integration with 𝑢 = 𝑣 − and 𝑑𝑢 = 𝑑𝑣

𝐹 𝑣(𝑡) 𝑘 𝑡
(ln 𝑣 − | = − 𝑡 |
𝑘 𝑣 𝑚 0
𝐹 𝐹 𝑘 𝑣(𝑡) − 𝑘
→ ln 𝑣(𝑡) − − ln 𝑣 − = − 𝑡 → ln =− 𝑡
𝑘 𝑘 𝑚 𝑣− 𝑚

𝑣(𝑡) − 𝐹 𝐹
→ =𝑒 → 𝑣(𝑡) − = 𝑣− 𝑒
𝑣− 𝑘 𝑘
𝒌
𝒕 𝑭𝑨 𝒌
𝒕
→ 𝒗(𝒕) = 𝒗𝒆 𝒎 + (𝟏 − 𝒆 𝒎 )
𝒌
Example C: A rubber ball of mass m is thrown up with speed v0. As the ball is in the air, it is subject to drag
The drag force on the ball has magnitude bv2.

a) Draw a free-body diagram of the ball

i. on the way up and ii. on the way down.

*the drag force will always go opposite direction of motion.

b) Does the ball take long to go i. from the ground to max height or ii. from the max height to the ground?
Justify your answer.

The ball will take longer to go down. On the way up, both forces act to stop the ball’s upward motion. On the
way down, there is opposing forces on the ball. Also, there will be a higher average speed on the way up than
the way down since there is energy lost before the ball goes down.

c) Determine an expression for the ball’s terminal velocity.

𝑑𝑣
𝑚𝑎 = 𝑚𝑔 − 𝑏𝑣 → 𝑚 = 𝑚𝑔 − 𝑏𝑣
𝑑𝑡
At terminal velocity, 𝑣 , the speed does not change, =0
𝒎𝒈
𝑚(0) = 𝑚𝑔 − 𝑏𝑣 → 0 = 𝑚𝑔 − 𝑏𝑣 → 𝑚𝑔 = 𝑏𝑣 → 𝒗𝑻 =
𝒃
38
d) Derive an expression for the velocity of the ball as a function of time on its way down. Assume max height
of the ball is t = 0.

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AP Physics C: Mechanics Unit 2 – Newton’s Laws
2.4 Forces in Circular Motion (Chapter 6)
Focus Question: What force keeps moving objects on a circular path?
 When an object moves in a circle, it centripetal accelerates keeps changing the direction of velocity to
keep it in a circle. By Newton’s second law, a force must cause this acceleration:

∑ 𝐹 =Sum of all forces acting perpendicular to the circular path of motion

Forces in Circular Motion

 Do not include “centripetal force” as a force acting on the system when applying ∑ 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎. Rather, the
vector sum of the forces acting on the system equal the centripetal force.
𝒎𝒗𝟐
𝑭 = 𝒎𝒂𝒄 =
𝒓
 Some force in the world must cause centripetal force. Common sources are tension, gravity, and friction.

Example A: Banked Curve - Civil engineers

generally bank curves on roads in such a manner
that a car going around the curve at the
recommended speed does not have to rely on friction
between its tires and the road surface in order to
round the curve. Suppose that the radius of curvature
of a given curve is 60 m, and that the recommended
speed is 40 km/hr. At what angle should the curve be banked?

 The car is in a horizontal circle. The horizontal component of the normal

force keeps the car in a circle.

𝑚𝑣
𝐹 = 𝑁 → 𝑁 sin 𝜃 =
𝑅
 In the vertical direction, normal force cancels out weight so the car does
not slide up or down the incline of the curve.

𝐹 = 𝑁 − 𝑚𝑔 → 𝑁 cos 𝜃 − 𝑚𝑔 = 0
𝑚𝑔
𝑁=
cos 𝜃
Substituting the value of normal force from the y-equation into the x-equation:
𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑣
sin 𝜃 =
cos 𝜃 𝑅
𝑚𝑣
→ 𝑚𝑔 tan 𝜃 =
𝑅
𝑣
→ 𝜃 = tan
𝑔𝑟
40
Example B: Gravitron – In the ride “Spindletop” at Six Flags, people stand on the inner wall of a hollow
vertical cylinder of radius 3 m. The cylinder starts to rotate and when it reaches 0.5 Hz, the floor at which
people are standing drops and the riders remain pinned against the wall. What is the minimum coefficient of
static friction so the riders do not drop down?

The rider does not slide down the wall due to friction:
𝐹 = 0 = 𝐹 − 𝑚𝑔 → 𝜇𝐹 =mg
The normal force on the rider is equal to the centripetal force. 𝐹 =
This is not an actual force on the rider, but is caused by an acceleration of the reference
the rider is in; this is an example of a fictitious force.
𝜇𝑚𝑣 𝑔𝑅
= 𝑚𝑔 → 𝜇 =
𝑅 𝑣
𝑔𝑅 (10 )(3 𝑚)
→𝜇= = =. 𝟑𝟒
(2𝜋𝑅𝑓) 2𝜋(3 𝑚)(. 5 𝐻𝑧)

Motion in a Vertical Circle

 When an object travels in a vertical circle, uniform circular motion does not occur. Objects travel faster
on the way down the vertical circle and slow down when traveling upwards.

At the top of the circle, tension and gravity both act to keep the object in a circle. At the bottom of the circle,
gravity tries to bring the object out of the circle, and tension has to both keep the object in a circle and
overcome gravity.

 Critical speed: Minimum speed the object must have at the top of the loop in order to reach the top.
Think about a mass going around at the end of the string in a circle. The minimum tension the rope can have
before going slack and the circular motion ending is T = 0 N.

41
  Vertical Loops on Roller Coasters – Finding the normal force between seat/rider.
o *Centripetal force requirement: There must always be an inward force acting on
the rider equal to
o Top – Normal Force and gravity both act towards center.
*normal force less than weight
o Bottom – Normal Force acts towards center and gravity acts away.
*normal force greater than weight

Example D: A block of mass m is released from rest at a height R above a horizontal

surface. The acceleration due to gravity is g. The block slides along the inside of a
frictionless circular hoop of radius R. What is the magnitude of the normal force
exerted on the block by the hoop when the block reaches the bottom of the hoop?

 Other Parts of a Vertical Circle (angles)

 Normal component, 𝐹⊥ : Component of weight that acts outward,
normal to the circle (affects the direction of the velocity).
𝑚𝑔cos𝜃

 Parallel component of weight, 𝐹|| : Component of weight that acts

tangent to circle (affects the speed of the object).
𝑚𝑔sin𝜃

*Consider the case of a thing on a string in a vertical circle. To find

the tension at the point shown in the diagram, the equation would be:
𝑚𝑣
𝐹= = 𝑇 − 𝑚𝑔 cos 𝜃
𝑅
42
*The previous equation is only valid for the lower half of the circle, where the weight of the object acts away
from the center. In the top half, the equation becomes:

𝑚𝑣
𝐹= = 𝑇 + 𝑚𝑔 cos 𝜃
𝑅
Example E: A 0.5 kg rock is whirled in a vertical circle. The speed of the rock at the instant
shown is 4.0 m/s with R = 1.5 m and 𝜃 = 40°.

a) What is the magnitude of the rock’s acceleration?

b) What is the tension in the rope?

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AP Physics C: Mechanics Unit 2 – F=MA
2.5 Accelerated Reference Frames (Chapter 6)
Focus Question: What is a fictitious force?
Suppose a bus is initially traveling north at constant speed as shown. The bus makes a
left turn without changing speed, causing a box on the floor of the bus to slide towards
the right. From the perspective of an observer on the bus, in the same reference frame
as the box, there is no force causing the box to move; the box is moving due to an
acceleration of the reference frame the box is in.

 A non-inertial reference frame is one that is accelerating. Newton’s Laws do not apply in non-inertial
reference frames.
 To solve accelerated reference frame problems: Set the sum of the forces equal to ma, where a is the
acceleration of the reference frame itself.

Example A: A pendulum is placed on a cart that is accelerating in the x-direction as shown. The deflection of
the bob is 𝜃 = 30°. Find the magnitude and direction of the cart’s acceleration.

The free-body diagram shows an unbalanced force in the x-direction,

even though the bob is not accelerating within its reference frame. To
solve for the acceleration, the unbalanced force will be set equal to
mass times the acceleration of the non-inertial reference frame.

In the vertical direction, the forces simply cancel out:

∑ 𝐹 = 𝑇 cos 𝜃 − 𝑚𝑔 = 0 → 𝑇 =

In the horizontal direction, the unbalanced force is set equal to ma.

𝐹 = 𝑇 sin 𝜃 = 𝑚𝑎

The direction of the acceleration is to the left. The acceleration of the reference
frame is the direction of unbalanced force within the frame.

Substituting the tension expression from the vertical direction equation:

→ sin 𝜃 = 𝑚𝑎 → 𝑚𝑔 tan 𝜃 = 𝑚𝑎

→𝑎 = 𝑔 tan 𝜃 = 10 tan 30°

𝒂𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒕 = 𝟓. 𝟖 𝒎/𝒔𝟐

 Note that the tension in the rope in the problem above does not actually cause the deflection of the bob.
There are no net forces inside the cart to cause the deflection. A fictitious force, or an outside apparent
force cause balances the horizontal component of the bob.
 Fictitious Force – The acceleration of the reference frame itself acts as a force in the system, even
though the force does not act on the system.

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Example B: A car shaped incline as shown below is accelerating to the left. The coefficient
of static friction between the block of mass 𝑚 and the incline is 𝜇. Find the maximum
acceleration the car can have before the block begins to slide up the incline.

The unbalance force in the free-body diagram is to the

left, so each of the forces are broken into their horizontal and vertical
components.

𝐹 = 𝐹 cos 𝜃 − 𝐹 sin 𝜃 − 𝑚𝑔 = 0

→ 𝐹 cos 𝜃 − 𝜇𝐹 sin 𝜃 − 𝑚𝑔 = 0
𝑚𝑔
→ 𝐹 (cos 𝜃 − 𝜇 cos 𝜃) = 𝑚𝑔 → 𝐹 =
cos 𝜃 − 𝜇 cos 𝜃

The acceleration is to the left, so the sum of the forces in the x-direction will be set equal to mass times this
acceleration. Left will be taken as the positive direction.

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 = 𝐹 cos 𝜃 + 𝐹 sin 𝜃

→ 𝑚𝑎 = 𝜇𝐹 cos 𝜃 + 𝐹 sin 𝜃

→ 𝑚𝑎 = 𝐹 (𝜇 cos 𝜃 + sin 𝜃)
𝑚𝑔
→ 𝑚𝑎 = (𝜇 cos 𝜃 + sin 𝜃)
cos 𝜃 − 𝜇 cos 𝜃

𝒈(𝝁 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽 + 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽)

𝒂𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆 =
𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽 − 𝝁 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽

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