newtons second law

• Newton's second law of motion

  The acceleration of an object is proportional to the resultant force acting on the object and inversely proportional to the mass of the object
• Calculating the force required to accelerate an object

  Force (N) = Mass (kg) x Acceleration (m/s^2)
• Cars travel around 13 m/s on a main road in the UK
• Cars travel around 30 m/s on a motorway
• Typical acceleration from a main road to a motorway is around 2 m/s^2
• A typical family car would require a force around 2,000 N to accelerate
• Inertia


  An object will stay stationary or continue moving at the same speed and direction unless a resultant force is applied
• Inertial mass


  A measure of how difficult it is to change the velocity of an object, defined as the ratio of the force needed to accelerate an object over the acceleration produced
• An object with a large inertial mass will require a larger force to produce a given acceleration
• An object with a smaller inertial mass will require a smaller force to produce a given acceleration