Unit 2 · Force and Translational Dynamics

Chapter 2.1

Systems, the Center of Mass, and Free-Body Diagrams

A tumbling diver is a whirl of limbs, yet one point inside her traces a perfect parabola. Which point, and why does it get to ignore all the whirling?

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By the end

  1. 01Choose a system, sort forces into internal and external, and say when the system can be treated as a single object
  2. 02Locate the center of mass of a few particles, and of a uniform body by symmetry
  3. 03Draw a free-body diagram: external forces only, never components
  4. 04Explain every force as an interaction between two objects, and contact forces as the net effect of atomic-scale electric interactions

In unit 2

  1. 2.1Systems, the Center of Mass, and Free-Body Diagrams
  2. 2.2Newton's Third Law, Tension, and Equilibrium
  3. 2.3Newton's Second Law and Connected Systems
  4. 2.4Gravitation, Weight, and Apparent Weight
  5. 2.5Friction and Spring Forces
  6. 2.6Circular Motion and Circular Orbits
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