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YOUR NOTES
IGCSE Physics CIE 

1.4 Effects of Forces

CONTENTS
1.4.1 Resultant Forces
1.4.2 Newton's First Law
1.4.3 Newton's Second Law
1.4.4 Investigating Force & Extension
1.4.5 Hooke's Law
1.4.6 Circular Motion
1.4.7 Friction

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1.4.1 Resultant Forces YOUR NOTES



Forces - Basics
A force is defined as:
A push or a pull that acts on an object due to the interaction with another object

Forces can affect bodies in a variety of ways:

Changes in speed: forces can cause bodies to speed up or slow down
Changes in direction: forces can cause bodies to change their direction of travel
Changes in shape: forces can cause bodies to stretch, compress, or deform

The effects of different forces on objects

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Resultant Forces on a Straight Line YOUR NOTES

A resultant force is a single force that describes all of the forces operating on a body 
When many forces are applied to an object they can be combined (added) to produce one
final force which describes the combined action of all of the forces
This single resultant force determines:
The direction in which the object will move as a result of all of the forces
The magnitude of the final force experienced by the object
The resultant force is sometimes called the net force
Forces can combine to produce
Balanced forces
Unbalanced forces
Balanced forces mean that the forces have combined in such a way that they cancel each
other out and no resultant force acts on the body
For example, the weight of a book on a desk is balanced by the normal force of the
desk
As a result, no resultant force is experienced by the book, the book and the table are
equal and balanced

A book resting on a table is an example of balanced forces

Unbalanced forces mean that the forces have combined in such a way that they do not
cancel out completely and there is a resultant force on the object
For example, imagine two people playing a game of tug-of-war, working against each
other on opposite sides of the rope
If person A pulls with 80 N to the left and person B pulls with 100 N to the right, these
forces do not cancel each other out completely

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Since person B pulled with more force than person A the forces will be unbalanced and YOUR NOTES
the rope will experience a resultant force of 20 N to the right 

A tug-of-war is an example of when forces can become unbalanced

Resultant forces can be calculated by adding or subtracting all of the forces acting on the
object
Forces working in opposite directions are subtracted from each other
Forces working in the same direction are added together
If the forces acting in opposite directions are equal in size, then there will be no resultant
force – the forces are said to be balanced

Diagram showing the resultant forces on three different objects

Imagine the forces on the boxes as two people pushing on either side
In the first scenario, the two people are evenly matched - the box doesn't move
In the second scenario, the two people are pushing on the same side of the box, it
moves to the right with their combined strength
In the third scenario, the two people are pushing against each other and are not evenly
matched, so there is a resultant force to the left

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YOUR NOTES
 Worked Example

Calculate the magnitude and direction of the resultant force in the diagram below.

Step 1: Add up all of the forces directed to the right

4 N + 8 N = 12 N
Step 2: Subtract the forces on the right from the forces on the left
14 N – 12 N = 2 N
Step 3: Evaluate the direction of the resultant force
The force to the left is greater than the force to the right therefore the resultant force is
directed to the left
Step 4: State the magnitude and direction of the resultant force
The resultant force is 2 N to the left

 Exam Tip
Remember to always provide units for your answer and to state whether the force is
to the left, to the right, or maybe up or down
Always provide your final answer as a description of the magnitude and the
direction, for example:
Resultant Force = 4 N to the right

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1.4.2 Newton's First Law YOUR NOTES



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Newton's First Law of Motion YOUR NOTES

Newton's first law of motion states: 

Objects will remain at rest, or move with a constant velocity unless acted on by a
resultant force
This means if the resultant force acting on an object is zero:
The object will remain stationary if it was stationary before
The object will continue to move at the same velocity if it was moving
When the resultant force is not zero
The speed of the object can change
The direction of the object can change
Applying Newton's First Law
Newton's first law is used to explain why things move with a constant (or uniform) velocity
If the forces acting on an object are balanced, then the resultant force is zero
The velocity (i.e. speed and direction) can only change if a resultant force acts on the
object
A few examples with uniform velocity are shown below:

Constant velocity can only be achieved when the forces on an object are balanced - in other
words, when the resultant force is zero

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YOUR NOTES
 Worked Example

Lima did some online research and found out that the Moon orbits the Earth at a
constant speed of around 2000 mph.She says that this is not an example of
Newton's first law of motion.Is Lima correct? Explain your answer.

Step 1: Recall Newton's first law of motion

Newton's first law of motion states that objects will remain at rest, or move with a
constant velocity, unless acted on by a resultant force
Step 2: Determine if the object in the question is at rest, or if it is moving with a constant
velocity
The Moon, in this case, is not at rest
It is moving at a constant speed
But it is not moving in a constant direction - it continually orbits the Earth
Hence, it is not moving with a constant velocity, because velocity is a vector quantity
Step 3: State and explain whether Lima is correct
Lima is correct
The Moon moves with a constant speed, but always changes direction
So it is not moving with a constant velocity, and is not an example of Newton's first
law of motion

 Worked Example
If there are no external forces acting on the car and it is moving at a constant
velocity, what is the value of the frictional force, F?

Step 1: Recall Newton's first law of motion

Newton's first law of motion states that objects will remain at rest, or move with a
constant velocity unless acted on by a resultant force
Step 2: Relate Newton's first law to the scenario
Since the car is moving at a constant velocity, there is no resultant force
This means the driving and frictional forces are balanced
Step 3: State the value of the frictional force
Frictional force, F = driving force = 3 kN
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1.4.3 Newton's Second Law YOUR NOTES



Newton's Second Law

Newton's second law of motion states:
The acceleration of an object is proportional to the resultant force acting on it and
inversely proportional to the object's mass
Newton's second law explains the following important principles:
An object will accelerate (change its velocity) in response to a resultant force
The bigger this resultant force, the larger the acceleration
For a given force, the greater the object's mass, the smaller the acceleration
experienced
The image below shows some examples of Newton's second law in action:

Objects like baseballs and lawnmowers accelerate when a resultant force is applied on
them. The size of the acceleration is proportional to the size of the resultant force

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Calculations Using Newton's Second Law YOUR NOTES

EXTENDED 
Newton's second law can be expressed as an equation:
F = ma
Where:
F = resultant force on the object in Newtons (N)
m = mass of the object in kilograms (kg)
a = acceleration of the object in metres per second squared (m/s2)
The force and the acceleration act in the same direction
This equation can be rearranged with the help of a formula triangle:

Force, mass, acceleration formula triangle

 Worked Example
A car salesman says that his best car has a mass of 900 kg and can accelerate
from 0 to 27 m/s in 3 seconds.
Calculate:
a) The acceleration of the car in the first 3 seconds.
b) The force required to produce this acceleration.

Part (a)
Step 1: List the known quantities
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Initial velocity = 0 m/s YOUR NOTES

Final velocity = 27 m/s 
Time, t = 3 s
Step 2: Calculate the change in velocity
change in velocity = Δv = final velocity − initial velocity
Δv = 27 − 0 = 27 m/s
Step 3: State the equation for acceleration

Step 4: Calculate the acceleration

a = 27 ÷ 3 = 9 m/s2
Part (b)
Step 1: List the known quantities
Mass of the car, m = 900 kg
Acceleration, a = 9 m/s2
Step 2: Identify which law of motion to apply
The question involves quantities of force, mass and acceleration, so Newton's
second law is required:
F = ma
Step 3: Calculate the force required to accelerate the car
F = 900 × 9 = 8100 N

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YOUR NOTES
 Worked Example

Three shopping trolleys, A, B and C, are being pushed using the same force. This
force causes each trolley to accelerate.

Which trolley will have the smallest acceleration? Explain your answer.

Step 1: Identify which law of motion to apply

The question involves quantities of force and acceleration, and the image shows
trolleys of different masses, so Newton's second law is required:
F = ma
Step 2: Re-arrange the equation to make acceleration the subject

Step 3: Explain the inverse proportionality between acceleration and mass

Acceleration is inversely proportional to mass
This means for the same amount of force, a large mass will experience a small
acceleration
Therefore, trolley C will have the smallest acceleration because it has the largest mass

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1.4.4 Investigating Force & Extension YOUR NOTES



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Investigating Springs YOUR NOTES

When forces are applied to materials, the size and shape of the material can change 
The method below describes a typical procedure for carrying out an investigation into the
properties of a material

An experiment to measure the extension of a spring

Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram
A single mass (0.1 kg, 100g) is attached to the spring, with a pointer attached to the
bottom, and the position of the spring is measured against the ruler
The mass (in kg) and position (in cm) are recorded in a table
A further mass is added and the new position measured
The above process continues until a total of 7 masses have been added
The masses are then removed and the entire process repeated again, until it has been
carried out a total of three times, and averages can then be taken
Once measurements have been taken:
The force on the spring can be found by multiplying the mass on the spring (in kg) by
9.81 N/kg (the gravitational field strength)
The extension of the spring can be found by subtracting the original position of the
spring from each of the subsequent positions
Finally, a graph of extension (on the y-axis) against force (on the x-axis) should be plotted

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YOUR NOTES


A graph of force against extension for a metal spring

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1.4.5 Hooke's Law YOUR NOTES


Hooke's Law
EXTENDED
Hooke’s law states that:
The extension of a spring is proportional to the applied force

Where:
F is the force applied
k is the spring constant
x is the extension of the spring

The spring constant is the force per unit extension

The units are N/m
The spring constant is a measure of how stiff the spring is
Many other materials (such as metal wires) also obey Hooke’s law
Hooke’s law is associated with the initial linear (straight) part of a force-extension graph
Objects that obey Hooke’s law will return to their original length after being stretched
If an object continues to be stretched it can be taken past the limit of proportionality
(sometimes called the elastic limit). At this point the object will no longer obey Hooke’s law
and will not return to its original length

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YOUR NOTES


The spring on the right has been stretched beyond the limit of proportionality

 Exam Tip
A relationship is said to be proportional if the graph is a straight line going through
the origin.If a graph is a straight line but does not go through the origin the
relationship is said to be linear.

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1.4.6 Circular Motion YOUR NOTES



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Circular Motion YOUR NOTES

EXTENDED 
Velocity is a vector quantity, and the velocity of an object is its speed in a given direction
When an object travels along a circular path, its velocity is always changing
The speed of the object moving in a circle might be constant - that is, it is travelling the
same distance every second
However, the direction of travel is always changing as the object moves along the
circular path
This means that an object moving in circular motion travels at a constant speed but has
a changing velocity
The image below shows an example of a famous object that moves in a circular path with a
constant speed but changing direction:

The International Space Station’s velocity is always changing - it whizzes around the Earth
at a constant speed of about 7660 m/s but is always changing direction

When a force acts at 90 degrees to an object’s direction of travel, the force will cause that
object to change direction

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YOUR NOTES


When the two cars collide, the first car changes its direction in the direction of the force

If the force continues to act at 90 degrees to the motion, the object will keep changing its
direction (whilst remaining at a constant speed) and travel in a circle
This is what happens when a planet orbits a star (or satellite orbits a planet)

The Moon is pulled towards the Earth (at 90 degrees to its direction of travel). This causes it
to travel in a circular path

The force needed to make something follow a circular path depends on a number of
factors:
The mass of the object
A greater mass requires a greater force when the speed and radius are constant
The speed of the object

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A faster-moving object requires a greater force when the mass and radius are YOUR NOTES
constant 
The radius of the circle
A smaller radius requires a greater force to keep the speed and radius constant

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1.4.7 Friction YOUR NOTES


Friction in Solids
Friction is a force that works in opposition to the motion of an object
This slows down the motion of the object
When friction is present, energy is transferred in the form of heat
This raises the temperature (thermal energy) of the object and its surroundings
The work done against the frictional forces causes this rise in the temperature
Friction in solids is caused by imperfections in the surfaces of the objects moving over
one another
Not only does this slow the object down but also causes an increase in thermal energy

The interface between the ground and the sledge is bumpy which is the source of the
frictional force

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Friction in Fluids YOUR NOTES

Friction in Fluids 
Gases and liquids are known as fluids
Fluids are different to solids because the particles in fluids can move around
Friction acts on objects moving through gases and liquids as the particles collide with the
object
This type of friction is called drag
Air resistance is a type of friction that slows the motion of an object
Particles bump into the object as it moves through the air
As a result, the object heats up due to the work done against the frictional forces

The return module of a rocket heats up due to the work done by air resistance as it travels a
distance through the atmosphere

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