What are forces?

A force can be a push or a pull. For example, when you push open a door you have
to apply a force to the door. You also have to apply a force to pull open a drawer.

You cannot see a force but often you can see what it does. Forces can change the
speed of something, the direction it is moving in or its shape. For example, an elastic
band gets longer if you pull it.

Measuring forces

Forces can be measured using a force meter.

Force meters contain a spring connected to a
metal hook. The spring stretches when a force
is applied to the hook. The bigger the force
applied, the longer the spring stretches and
the bigger the reading.

The unit of force is called the newton, and it

has the symbol N. So 100 N is a bigger force
than 5 N.

Springs

When a spring is stretched or squashed, it

creates a force in the opposite direction
because the spring tries to get
back to its original shape.

For example, when you

squash a spring downwards
on a table, you will feel a push
upwards on your hand. The
more you squash the spring, the bigger the push you will feel
What happens when you push or pull an object?

If you give a push or a pull to a stationary (not moving) object you can make it

 Start to move
 Change its shape

If you push or pull a moving object you can make it:

 Stop moving or slow down;

 Move quicker;
 Change direction;
 Change its shape even more.

What do you mean by force?

A push or pull acting on an object in a particular direction is known as force.

Forces can affect motion in several ways.

Effects of Forces

 They can make objects start moving.

 They can make objects stop moving.
 They can make objects move faster.
 They can make objects move slower.
 They can change the direction of an object.
 They can change the shape of an object.

Facts of Forces
 Forces are measured in Newton (N).
 Forces usually act in pairs.
 Forces act in a particular direction.
 Forces are invisible, but their effects can be seen.
 Types of Forces

1. Gravitational Force (Gravity).

2. Frictional Force.
3. Magnetic Force.
4. Normal Force.
5. Spring Force.

Weight and mass

Weight is not the same as mass. Mass is a measure of how much matter in an object.
Weight is a force of gravity acting on that object.
Weight is the result of gravity. The Earth's gravity attracts objects towards the centre
of the Earth and you feel forces like this as weight.
Here is the equation that links weight, mass and gravitational field strength
 weight = mass × gravitational field strength
 Weight is measured in newton, N
 Mass is measured in kilograms, kg
 The gravitational field strength is measured in newton per kilogram, N/kg
For example, the gravitational field strength is:
10 N/kg on Earth
 1.6 N/kg on the Moon
You would weigh less on the Moon because the gravitational field strength of the
Moon is about one-sixth of that of the Earth. But note that your mass would stay the
same. For example, what is the weight of an 80 kg person on Earth and on the
Moon?
On Earth, weight = 80 × 10 = 800 N
On the Moon, weight = 80 × 1.6 = 128 N
Gravity
Gravity is a force that attracts objects
towards each other. Any object with mass
exerts a force of gravity. The greater the
mass, the greater the force. The force of
gravity between two objects decreases as
the objects move further apart.

Gravitational force increases when:

 the masses are bigger

 the objects are closer

Gravity only becomes noticeable when

there is a really massive object like a moon,
planet or star.

Force diagrams

We can show the forces acting on an object using a force diagram. In a force
diagram, each force is shown as a force arrow. An arrow shows:

 the size of the force (the longer the arrow, the bigger the force)
 the direction in which the force acts.

The arrow is usually labelled with the name of the force and its size in newton. Text
books often show a force with a thick coloured arrow, but it is best if you just use a
pencil and ruler to draw an arrow with a single line.
Balanced forces and Unbalanced forces

When two forces acting on an object are equal in size but act in opposite directions,
we say that they are balanced forces.

If the forces on an object are balanced (or if there are no forces acting on it) this is
what happens:

 an object that is not moving stays still

 an object that is moving continues to move at the same speed and in the same
direction

Examples
Here are some examples of balanced forces.

Hanging objects

Floating in water Book on a table

Unbalanced forces

When two forces acting on an object are not equal in size, we say that they are
unbalanced forces.

If the forces on an object are unbalanced this is what happens:

 an object that is not moving starts to move

 an object that is moving changes speed or direction

The resultant force

An object may have several different forces acting on it, which can have different
strengths and directions. But they can be added together to give the resultant force.
This is a single force that has the same effect on the object as all the individual forces
acting together.

When all the forces are balanced, the resultant force is zero. In this case:
 a stationary object remains stationary
 a moving object keeps on moving at the same speed in the same direction

When all the forces are not balanced, the resultant force is not zero. In this case:
 A stationary object begins to move in the direction of the resultant force.
 A moving object speeds up, slows down or changes direction depending on
the direction of the resultant force.
Resultant force is zero

Resultant force is not zero

Frictional forces

Whenever an object moves against another object, it feels frictional forces. These
forces act in the opposite direction to the movement. Friction makes it harder for
things to move.

Useful frictional forces

Friction can be useful:

 friction between our shoes and the floor stop us from slipping
 friction between tyres and the road stop cars from skidding
 friction between the brakes and wheel help bikes and cars slow down

Frictional forces are much smaller on smooth surfaces than on rough surfaces, which
is why we slide on ice.

Not useful frictional forces

Friction can also be unhelpful. If you don't lubricate your bike regularly with oil, the
friction in the chain and axles increases. Your bike will be noisy and difficult to pedal.

When there is a lot of friction between moving parts, energy is lost to the surroundings
as heat. Think of what happens when you rub your hands together quickly. The
friction warms them up.
Reducing friction

Sometimes we want to reduce friction. For example, we use oil to reduce the friction
between the moving parts inside a car engine. The oil holds the surfaces apart, and
can flow between them. The reduced friction means there is less wear on the car's
moving parts, and less heat produced

Air resistance
Air resistance is a force which acts against the movement of an object in air.
Bikes, cars and other vehicles experience air resistance as they move. Air resistance
is caused by the frictional forces of the air against the vehicle. The faster the vehicle
moves, the bigger the air resistance becomes. The top speed of a vehicle is reached
when the force from the cyclist or engine is balanced by air resistance.

Streamlining

Racing cyclists bend down low on their bikes to reduce the air resistance on them.
This helps them to cycle faster. They also wear streamlined helmets. These have
special, smooth shapes that allow the air to flow over
the cyclist more easily. Modern cars are also
streamlined. Their smooth shapes make the air resistance
smaller, which allows them to travel further on the same
amount of fuel.

A streamlined racing cyclist

Falling safely

Falling objects increase their speed as they fall, because

their weight (the force of gravity) pulls them to Earth.
They also experience an upward force called upthrust
of air or air resistance which slows them down.
 Objects with large surface areas, such as parachutes or shuttlecocks
fall more slowly because they experience more air resistance.
Frictional forces such as air resistance, friction and drag act against the direction of
motion, so tend to slow the object down.
This fact is put to good use in the design of the parachute and shuttlecock.
The size of frictional forces can be reduced by streamlining the object or lubricating
any moving parts.

Weight

In the above picture the forward force (thrust) pushes the airplane forward, while the
air resistance acts opposite to the thrust and reduce the speed.

Water resistance
Floating in water

Objects float in water when their weight is balanced by the upthrust from the water.
The object will sink until the weight of the water it pushes out of the way is the same
as the weight of the object.

 Upthrust is an upward push exerted by the fluid molecules, on an object when

the object is inside the fluid.
 Upthrust is opposite to gravity(weight).
 Upthrust can cause reduction in weight of an object, since it cancels some
amount of gravity acting on the object.
 Due to the effect of upthrust an object can float or partially submerge. .
  An object will float when the object is light, thus the upthrust is strong enough
to push the object upward or an object will float when the upthrust is greater
than the weight of the object.

 An object will be partially submerged if the weight and upthrust are equal in size.

 An object will sink when the weight is greater than the up thrust acting on the
object
 WATER RESISTANCE:
 Water resistance acts opposite to the direction of movement of the object (thrust)
 Water resistance will reduce the speed of objects moving in water.
 Water resistance is a type of friction experiencing in the water.

Thrust

Water resistance

 The forward force pushing the boat is called thrust and water resistance acts
against thrust and reduces the speed of the ship.
 Water resistance can be reduced by streamlining of the body.