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Chapter 5 Forces and Electricity

Chapter 5 discusses the concepts of mass, weight, and the effects of forces, particularly in the context of astronauts experiencing weightlessness in space. It explains how weightlessness affects the body, leading to confusion of spatial awareness and weakening of bones and muscles, necessitating daily exercise for astronauts. The chapter also outlines the various effects forces can have on objects, such as changing their motion or shape.

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Lynn
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9 views9 pages

Chapter 5 Forces and Electricity

Chapter 5 discusses the concepts of mass, weight, and the effects of forces, particularly in the context of astronauts experiencing weightlessness in space. It explains how weightlessness affects the body, leading to confusion of spatial awareness and weakening of bones and muscles, necessitating daily exercise for astronauts. The chapter also outlines the various effects forces can have on objects, such as changing their motion or shape.

Uploaded by

Lynn
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Chapter 5 Forces

5.1 Mass And Weight

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Beam Balance:

Spring Balance / Forcemeter :

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Question:

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Weightlessness
When you are in space, the main thing to get used to is zero gravity.The International
Space Station is permanently in orbit around the Earth. Scientists from many countries
visit the Space Station to carry out research in space. The Space Station is attracted by
gravity to the Earth. Its forward motion just about equals the speed of its ‘fall’ toward
the Earth.
This means that the people who go into space – the astronauts – inside the Space
Station are not pulled in any particular direction. So they float, meaning that they have
a feeling of weightlessness. Floating might sound relaxing. But it is not good
for your bones and muscles to float for a long time! Weightlessness causes several
systems of the body to relax, because it is no longer fighting the pull of gravity.
For example, the astronaut’s sense of ‘up and down’ gets confused.

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Astronauts find it difficult to tell where arms, legs and other parts of the body are. One
astronaut said in an interview, ‘The first night in space when I was drifting off to sleep
I suddenly realised that I had lost track of my arms and legs. For all my mind could
tell, my limbs were not there.’

Astronauts in space for weeks to months can get more health


problems. Calcium in their bones is lost through their urine. This
causes their bones to weaken. They are more likely to break their
bones if they slip and fall. The astronauts’ muscles become weak.
They have to exercise for two hours a day in space to try to
overcome these effects. Exercising is quite difficult to do in such a
small space. In spite of this exercise, after a typical six-month space
mission, astronauts need several months of rehabilitation when they
return to Earth. During this period of rehabilitation, they
re-train their bodies to live on Earth and re-build their strength
Questions:
1. What cause weightlessness ?

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2. List out three ways the weightlessness affects the astraunauts.

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3. Why do astronauts have to exercise every day?

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The Effects of Forces
A force acting on an object can cause the object to change its shape or size, to start
moving, to stop moving, or to go faster or slower. Do the investigation described next
to see these forces in action.
You have found out that forces can:
1 make an object move
2 slow down a moving object
3 stop a moving object
4 change the direction an object is moving
5 change the shape of an object.

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