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Forces PDF

Forces come in pairs and can be either contact or non-contact forces. Contact forces exist only when two objects are touching, while non-contact forces like gravity and magnetism act over a distance. To predict an object's motion, one must identify all forces acting on the object, add them to find the overall resultant force, and determine if it is balanced or unbalanced based on whether the object's motion changes. Friction arises from the contact between two surfaces in motion and acts to oppose their relative motion.

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Yuni Mulia
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119 views

Forces PDF

Forces come in pairs and can be either contact or non-contact forces. Contact forces exist only when two objects are touching, while non-contact forces like gravity and magnetism act over a distance. To predict an object's motion, one must identify all forces acting on the object, add them to find the overall resultant force, and determine if it is balanced or unbalanced based on whether the object's motion changes. Friction arises from the contact between two surfaces in motion and acts to oppose their relative motion.

Uploaded by

Yuni Mulia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Key scientific ideas – Forces

Forces come in pairs.

Contact forces
One object exerts a force on another as long
as they are touching.

Contact forces exist for as long as the


objects are touching. Once the objects are
apart, the forces no longer exist and the
interaction has ended.

Non-contact forces
Some forces affect an object without
touching it. The forces of gravity, magnetism
and electrostatics are all examples of
non-contact or field forces.

Predicting and explaining motion


1. Identify the size and direction of all the
When there are several forces acting, the
forces acting on the object you are
overall force is called the resultant force.
interested in.
2. Add the forces acting on the object
together to find the overall ‘resultant’
If an object is moving at a steady speed in a force on it.
straight line, the overall (resultant) force 3. Use the following rules:
acting on it is zero. – if there is a total (resultant) force
acting on the object, this will change the
motion of the object, in the direction of
If an object is not moving, the resultant the force;
force acting on it is zero. - if the resultant force is zero, the
motion of the object will not change.

Friction arises when two surfaces move


over one another. Air resistance and water Identifying forces
resistance are friction forces caused by ● Which forces are acting?
the movement of something through air ● Where are the forces acting?
or water. ● What are the size and direction of the
forces?

In the ‘perfect’ world… scientists often find


it easier to think of what would happen if we A force cannot be ‘put into’ or ‘stored in’
lived in a world without friction. an object.
Based upon an idea and approach developed by The Cams Hill Science Consortium

Useful
vocabulary

BOX Contact force


This arrow shows the size and
Exerted by
direction of the force exerted
Constant
by the box on the floor
Tension
This arrow shows the size and Opposing
direction of the force exerted Unbalanced
by the floor on the box FLOOR Weight
Balanced
Mass
Acting on
‘Force arrows’ help to show the forces Pressure Stationary
Forces can be spread out Friction
acting in a particular situation.
Attraction
over a larger area to reduce
Newton
The length of a ‘force arrow’ can be the pressure on the surface.
Reaction
used to indicate the size of the force. Moving
The direction of a ‘force arrow’ is When forces are Gravity
often more important than the precise concentrated on a small Surface
point at which it acts. area the pressure is bigger. Pair

Force exerted by person on the box


BOX

FLOOR

Force exerted by the floor on the box,


(friction – tries to stop the box moving)

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