How To Find Net Force (An Update of 2022)

The net force is the force that acts on an object in a direction perpendicular to the direction of motion of that object. If you look at a ball and a rope, the net force acting on the ball is the force exerted by the rope. The net force acting on the rope is the force of gravity acting downwards. If you consider a particle’s motion as a particle’s motion, then the net force acting on the particle is the force of gravity acting downwards. Suppose you have a rocket ship accelerating away from the Earth.

The net force acting on the rocket ship is the force of gravity acting downwards. The rocket ship has a mass and a velocity so that we can write Newton’s second law for it: $$F = m \frac{dv}{dt}$$ If we assume that the rocket ship is moving in a straight line at a constant speed $v$ and is not affected by any other forces, then the equation becomes:

Some Examples in Net Force Equation Physics

• Example 1

In a game of rope pulling,  a fat man pulls with a force of 100 N from one side, and a lean man pulls with 90 N from the other side. What will be the net force?

Solution:

Given

Force F₁ = 100 N and

Force F₂ = 90 N

The net force formula is given by

F_Net = F₁ + F₂

F_Net = 100 + (-90)

F_Net = 10 N.

Therefore, the net force is 10 N.

• Example 2

A truck is standing still, and a force of 70 N is applied to it. What will be the net force if the frictional force is 20 N?

Solution:

Given

Applied force F_a = 70 N

Frictional force F_f = 20 N

The net force formula is given by

F_Net= F_a + F_f

F_Net = 70 + (-20)

F_Net = 50 N

Therefore, the net force is 50 N.

How Do You Find Net Force with Mass?

The key is in the word “with.” The net force (N) is equal to the product of the mass (m) and the acceleration (a). For example, if a car is moving at 60 mph, the net force acting on the car is 1,000 newtons (N). This is the same as saying that 1,000 newtons of force are acting on the car. But what does it mean for something to be acting on something else?

If you were to lift a block of wood from the ground, then you would have a force of 1,000 newtons acting on the block of wood. The block of wood has no mass, so it will accelerate away from the force of 1,000 newtons with an acceleration of 1,000 newtons per second squared (N/s²).

Conclusion

Newton’s first law explains the dynamics of a force on a body at rest and in motion very accurately. According to Newton’s second law, the magnitude net force formula is derived by taking into account the body’s mass and is written as FNet = ma.

The equation above can be written as: Fnet = m a ⇒ m a = Fnet. According to this equation, when there is no net force acting on a body, then the body’s mass remains constant. As the net force is zero, the acceleration of the body is also zero. Suppose the mass of the body decreases, then the acceleration of the body increases. Similarly, if the mass of the body increases, then the acceleration of the body decreases.