Unofre B Pili
Newton's second law of motion is written as F net = 2ma, while the rectilinear kinetic energy of a particle is written as KE = mv 2 . When this formalism is applied to a number of standard exercise problems, anticipated solutions are obtained. This article details what is perceived as instructionally useful-in teaching students who are non-physics majors in particular-in illustrating that the factor 1 in the product of mass and acceleration for Newton's second law of motion, and the factor 1/2 in the product of mass and square of its speed for kinetic energy are factors not to be construed as fundamental physical constants. © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd.
Department of Physics, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, 6000, Philippines
