Lesson

Newton’s Second Law:

1 Acceleration
Perhaps you have already had the knowledge and understanding about force
and this is not new to you. The push or pull force being acted or exerted to a certain
body or an object will basically serve as your foundation in understanding the new
lesson. In this lesson, the concept as well as the theory about Newton’s second law
which is acceleration will be discussed.

What’s In

Activity 1: Think of an answer!

A certain empty bottle at rest caught your attention while walking at

Talacanen beach, you were being rude for a moment and kicked the bottle towards
the shore. The bottle flew for a couple of seconds before landing on the shore and
suddenly the waves repeated what you’ve done by pushing the bottle slowly back to
the beach. This scenario made you realized that though the waves moved the bottle
it was different when it comes to distance and the time taken by the bottle before it
completely stopped.

1. What do you think is/are the reason/s?

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2. Does applied force has something to do with it?

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What’s New

Activity 2: Newton’s Second Law!

The second law states that, “when a net force acts on a body or an object, it
will be accelerated in the same direction with the force”.

Have you ever wondered how directly related is acceleration to the net force
and inversely proportional to the mass of the body or an object?

Think about this illustration!

2N 20.0g
Calculate for the acceleration of a
ball?

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What is It

There are a lot of ways to write the equation/kinematic equation of Newton’s

second law. Depending on what is/are the unknown variable/s and what is/are
given, the general equation can be derived

Mathematically, Newton’s second law can be written this as

F = ma

where F is the force applied to an object

m is the mass of the object
a is acceleration
The unit for force is N (newton). 1 N = 1 kg m/s 2. Remember that the force in this
equation is a net force.

Example: How much force is exerted to an object whose mass is10 kg and
acceleration is 2.5 m/s2?
Given: m=10 kg, a= 2.5 m/s2, F=?
Solution: F=ma; F=(10 kg)( 2.5 m/s2); F= 25N

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The first part of the second law tells us that the greater the unbalanced force
acted upon a body is, the greater the acceleration of the body will be.
�1 �1
=
�2 �2
So, if we push a motorcycle with a certain force F1 and then push it twice as
hard as the first push for the second time; we will have an acceleration that is twice
as the first time it is pushed.
The second part of Newton’s second law tells us that the greater the mass of
a body or of an object the lesser the acceleration is.
m1a1=m2a2
The second law can be stated in another way. Just recall that acceleration
�− �
=
�
If F = ma, then F = �

F=

Ft = � � − � �
In some cases, when displacement is related to acceleration and time; then,
the equation will be
d = ½ at2
When we know the acceleration in a system and if distance and initial velocity
are given, the kinematic equation below can be used:
vf2 – vo2 = 2ad; vf2 = vo2 + 2ad
vf2 = √2ad

Tension is also a force that may act on a certain mass (kg).

Mathematically, tension T = ma

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What’s More

Activity 3: Concept application and Problem Solving!

Learning the Skill: Application of concept and problem solving
1. Use your knowledge about the concept of Newton’s second law. Understand
each statement to correctly answer them.
2. Apply the different equation about Newton’s second law or derive the
equations if needed in answering the problems. Find the given and calculate
for what is being asked in every problem.
Fill in the blank using your understanding of Newton’s second law.
1. A man pushes a box to slide it up the plane and exerted 10N on the first push
then 5N on the next push. Then, the first push would give us _________
acceleration and the second push will result to ________ acceleration.

2. Refer to the illustration below. The box on the right will slide _______________
than the box on the left. The box on the right experiences ________ as much
force is directed to the right.

m1 m2

F F2

3. If the same amount of force is applied to two objects with different masses,
then, the less massive object is expected to move ________ when experiencing
a net force.

4. Stalled vehicle requires _______ push to accelerate from rest.

5. If block1 whose mass is 12kg and block2 whose mass is 15kg are joined by
an inextensible light cord over a frictionless pulley. As shown below, block 1
will move _______ and block 2 will move _________.

Block 1
Block 2
) 30°

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What I Have Learned

Activity 4: Complete each statement!

Directions: Try to recall what you have just learned and complete the following
statements. Fill in the blanks with the term that will best complete the
thought.
1. The massive the object the ______________________________ to accelerate.
2. Acceleration acts in the same direction as the ________________________.
3. The acceleration of an object is _____________________________ to the mass of an
object.
4. When an object does not accelerate, it does not mean that __________________.
5. If mass is (kg) and acceleration is (m/s 2). Then, force is _____________________.
6. The direction of acceleration tells us that _________________________________.
7. A 20N force is exerted to a ball whose mass is 0.75kg, this has an acceleration
of ___________?
8. A motorcycle and a tricycle are both moving at 35km/h. Which of the two vehicles
is harder to stop? Why? __________________________________________.
9. A force of 7N gives an object an acceleration of 3.5m/s 2. What force is needed to
give the same object an acceleration of 2m/s2? _________________.
10. An acceleration of 25m/s2 is produced when an object whose mass is 2000g is
exerted with a force of _________.

What I Can Do

Directions: Analyze the following situations and fill in the blank/s with necessary
word/s that will complete the whole statement. Make sure to choose the
best word that will make the whole statement correct.
1. A 50kg sack of rice is _______ to push compared to a 25kg sack of rice.
2. The forces that may act on a stalled/stationary vehicle are ______ and _______.
3. When an object experiences no net force, it means that the product of mass and
acceleration is ______.
4. The ground exerts ________ force to the force given by a stationary vehicle.
5. If a truck weighs massive than the tricycle, then the truck requires ________ force
to stop.