Kung Fu Science

Introduction  |  About Chris  |  About Michelle  |  What is Kung Fu  |  Breaking Blocks  |  Michelle on Physics  |  Newton's Laws  |  Conservation of Energy  |  Aspects of the Technique  |  Analysis  |  Calculations  |  The Final Test  |  Success!  |  Links and Resources

Newton's Second Law of Motion

Newton's second law of motion says that the acceleration of an object is dependent upon two variables: the net force acting on the object and the mass of the object.

The greater the force, the greater the acceleration, and vice-versa. If you double the force, then you double the amount of acceleration.

At the same time, the more mass something has, the harder it is to accelerate. To accelerate a 4kg and a 2kg mass by the same amount, I have to apply twice as much force to the 4kg mass.

The second law is expressed mathematically as a=F/m, where a is acceleration, F is net force, and m is mass. It's more commonly rewritten as F=ma (which means the same thing). To get F=ma you multiply both sides of a=F/m by 'm' (remember: when rearranging equations, you always have to do the same thing to both sides).

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