13 EXAMPLES OF NEWTON'S SECOND LAW IN EVERYDAY LIFE - PHYSICAL - 2025

In Newton's second law, known as the Fundamental Principle of Dynamics, the scientist states that the greater the mass of an object, the more force will be required to accelerate it. That is, the acceleration of the object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to that of the object.

We know that an object can only accelerate if there are forces on this object. Newton's second law tells us exactly how much an object will accelerate for a given net force.

In other words, if the net force were to double, the acceleration of the object would be twice as great. Similarly, if the mass of the object were to double, its acceleration would be cut in half.

Examples of Newton's Second Law in Real Life

This Newton's law applies to real life, being one of the laws of physics that most impacts our daily lives:

1- Kick a ball

When we kick a ball, we exert force in a specific direction, which is the direction the ball will travel.

Also, the harder that ball is kicked, the stronger the force we put on it and the further it will go.

2- Capture the ball with your hand

Professional athletes move their hand back once they catch the ball, as it gives the ball more time to slow down, while applying less force on their part.

3- Push a car

For example, pushing a supermarket cart with twice the force produces twice the acceleration.

4- Push two cars

On the other hand, when pushing two supermarket carts with the same force, it produces half the acceleration, because it varies inversely.

5- Push the same full or empty cart

It is easier to push an empty supermarket cart than a full one, since the full cart has more mass than the empty one, so more force is needed to push the full cart.

6- Pushing a car

To calculate the force necessary to push the car to the nearest gas station, assuming that we move a one-ton car around 0.05 meters per second, we can estimate the force exerted on the car, which, in this case, will be about 100 newtons.

7- Drive a truck or car

The mass of a truck is much greater than that of a car, which means that it requires more force to accelerate to the same extent.

When, for example, you drive a car 100 km on a highway for 65 km, you will undoubtedly use much less gasoline than if you had to drive at the same speed for the same distance in a truck.

8- Two people walking together

The same reasoning above can be applied to any moving object. For example, two people who walk together, but one person has a lower weight than the other, although they walk exerting the same amount of force, whoever weighs less will go faster because their acceleration is undoubtedly greater.

9- Two people pushing a table

Let's imagine two people, one with greater force than the other, pushing a table, in different directions.

The person with the greatest force is pushing east, and the person with the least force is pushing north.

If we add both forces, we will obtain a resultant equal to the motion and acceleration of the table. The table, therefore, will move in a northeast direction, although with a greater inclination towards the east, given the force exerted by the stronger person.

10- Playing golf

In a game of golf, the acceleration of the ball is directly proportional to the force applied with the club and inversely proportional to its mass. The path is influenced by the force of the air, which can cause a small change in its direction.

11- Open a door

When we open a door we will have to perform different forces depending on the material with which it is made. Although it may have the same proportions, a greater force will have to be exerted on an iron leaf door compared to a wooden door.

12- Bicycle pedaling

According to Newton's law, the acceleration of a bicycle will depend on the force exerted. The more force, the more acceleration. For this reason, cyclists are usually quite thin and professional bikes very light.

13- Use ketchup bottle

To extract the ketchup from its pot we must press it so that it comes out through the slit. Depending on the force applied, the ketchup can come out slowly and fall on the burger or come out at high speed and spread all over the plate.

Newton's Laws

Isaac Newton (January 4, 1643 - March 31, 1727), English physicist and mathematician, famous for his law of gravitation, was a key figure in the scientific revolution of the 17th century and developed the principles of modern physics.

Newton first presented his three laws of motion in the Principia Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis in 1686.

Considered the most influential book on physics and possibly all of science, it contains information on almost all the essential concepts of physics.

This work offers an exact quantitative description of bodies in motion in three basic laws:

1- A stationary body will remain immobile unless an external force is applied to it;

2- The force is equal to the mass multiplied by the acceleration, and a change of movement is proportional to the applied force;

3- For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

These three laws helped explain not only elliptical planetary orbits, but almost every other motion in the universe: how the planets are held in orbit by the pull of the sun's gravity, how the Moon revolves around the Earth, and the moons of Jupiter revolve around it and how comets revolve in elliptical orbits around the sun.

The way almost anything moves can be solved using the laws of motion: how much force it will take to accelerate a train, whether a cannonball will hit its target, how air and ocean currents move, or whether an airplane will fly, are all applications of Newton's second law.

In conclusion, it is very easy to observe this second law of Newton in practice, if not in mathematics, since we have all empirically verified that it is necessary to exert more force (and therefore more energy) to move a heavy grand piano than to slide a small stool across the floor.

Or, as mentioned above, when catching a fast moving cricket ball, we know that it will do less damage if the arm is moved back while catching the ball.

You may be interested in 10 Examples of Newton's First Law in Real Life.

References

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2. Kane & Sternheim. "Physical". Ed. Reverte. 1989.
3. Aguilar Peris & Senent "Matters of Physics" Ed. Reverte, 1980.
4. "Newton's Second Law" Retrieved on: May 9, 2017 from The Physics Classroom at: physicsclassroom.com.
5. "Isaac Newton. Biography ”at: Biography.com Retrieved on May 9, 2017 from Biography / biography.com.
6. "What is Newton's second law?" at: Khan Academy Retrieved from Khan Academy at: khanacademy.org.
7. "Newton's Laws" at SAEM Thales. Andalusian Society of Mathematical Education Thales. Retrieved on: May 9, 2017 from thales.cica.es.