The Basic Concept of Classical Mechanics Essay

Submitted By keatons121
Words: 658
Pages: 3

Frame of Reference
A frame of reference is an object or point from which movement is determined.

Distance & Displacement
Distance is a measurement that describes how far an object has traveled, whereas displacement measures the shortest distance between an object and its starting point.

Speed & Velocity
Speed is a measurement of how fast an object is going. Velocity is speed with direction.
Average Speed is a measurement of the distance traveled within a given time. Speed and velocity are typically measured with units such as meters per second (m/s), kilometers per hour (km/hr), feet per second (ft/s), miles per hour (mi/hr), etc.
Velocity is usually positive if an object is moving away from its origin.
Moving in the opposite direction means that the velocity is negative.

Acceleration
Acceleration describes a change in velocity over time.
Acceleration is positive when an object is speeding up.
Acceleration is negative when an object is slowing down.
Acceleration may be calculated according to the following formula:
Acceleration= fv –iv / time

Newton's 1st Law of Motion
Newton's first law of motion is also known as the law of inertia. It states that an object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest remains at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced outside force.
The more massive the object, the greater its inertia.
When an unbalanced force causes the motion of an object to change, we say there is a net force acting on the object. Net force is the sum of all forces acting on an object. If the sum is zero, the forces acting on the object are balanced and the motion of the object will not change. If the forces are unbalanced, however, a net force will be acting on the object.

Newton's 2nd Law of Motion
Newton's second law relates the net force on an object (F) to the object's mass (m) and acceleration (a). Note that F and a are both vectors.
As demonstrated by many everyday examples, a force can set a stationary object in motion. A force can also change the motion of a moving object. Pay attention to the word net. An object may have two or more forces acting upon it, but if the forces cancel one another, then the net force will be zero.
As a linear equation, Newton's 2nd law is:
Newton's Second Law states that an object that is subject to a non-zero net force (often called an unbalanced force) will accelerate. When an object accelerates, its speed and/or its direction