Name: ___________________________ Date: ______________

Notes- Force and Friction Class: 8__

Force: Any push or pull. It can cause the following effects:

 Change in direction of motion
 Change in speed (slowing down or speeding up) of an object
 Bringing an object from rest to motion
 Bringing a moving object to rest
 Make the object turn
 Change in shape/size
Types of Forces:
 Muscular Force-force that is applied on an object by a person. If a person is pushing
a desk across the room, then there is muscular force acting upon the object. The
muscular force is the force exerted on the desk by the person. It is a contact force.
 Mechanical Force- force that is applied on an object by another object/machine. A
crane pulling up an object is applying mechanical force on the object. It is a contact
force.
 Gravitational Force- The force of gravity is the force with which the earth, moon, or
other massively large object attracts another object towards itself. All objects on
Earth experience a force of gravity that is directed "downward" i.e. towards the
centre of the earth. The force of gravity on earth is also called as the weight of the
object. Weight of an object changes as per the planet you are on. E.g. when an
object is taken to moon its mass remains the same but the weight reduces because
moon’s gravitational force is less than earths. It is a non-contact force.
NOTE: This force is actually being exerted between any two objects. But its effect is
visible only when a massive object exerts this force on a comparatively smaller
object. Even that small object exerts gravitational force on the bigger one, but its
effect is not visible.
1 kg of mass is pulled by 10 N of gravitational force on earth.
Therefore mass of ‘m’ kg would be pulled by (m x 10) N

Q. A loaded box of mass 60 kg is pulled upwards by a crane with a force of 500 N. Represent
the resultant force with the help of a force diagram. What will be the final effect? By
exerting how much force will the crane be able to actually move it upwards?

 Magnetic Force- This force acts between a magnet and another magnet or magnetic
substance. It can be a force of attraction or repulsion. Two like poles repel and unlike
poles attract. It is a non-contact force.
Q. An iron pin is attracted by a magnet, kept at a horizontal distance, with 10 N force. Which
force is it and what will be its effect? What will happen if a person starts to pull it away with
13N force? What type of force is the person exerting? Represent all of it with a force
diagram.
 Name: ___________________________ Date: ______________
Notes- Force and Friction Class: 8__

 Upthrust/Buoyancy- the upward force that a liquid or gas exerts on a body

submerged in it partially or fully. This causes an object to float or sink. It is a contact
force.
Q. A boat of mass 30kg tries to float in the river but sinks the moment it enters the river.
What range of buoyancy is the river exerting?

 Friction Force- the force exerted by a surface as an object moves across it or makes
an effort to move across it. There are three types of friction forces on solid surfaces-
static, sliding and rolling friction. Though it is not always the case, the friction force
often opposes the motion of an object. For example, if a book slides across the
surface of a desk, then the desk exerts a friction force in the opposite direction of its
motion. Friction results from the two surfaces being pressed together closely,
causing interlocking of the irregularities of different surfaces. As such, friction
depends upon the amount of roughness of the two surfaces and upon the degree to
which they are pressed together. It is a contact force.
 Liquid drag- a type of friction which acts in liquids against the direction of
motion. So, drag is a force acting opposite to the relative motion of any
object moving with respect to a surrounding fluid. Denser the fluid, more is
the drag. More is the speed of the object more is the drag.
 Air resistance- a type of frictional force that acts upon objects as they travel
through the air. The force of air resistance opposes the motion of an object.
A feather falls gently due to air resistance being comparable to its weight.
More is the speed of the object more is the air resistance.
Q. A boat is rowing in a water body and is moving because of a muscular force of 200 N
exerted by each boat man. 4 men are rowing the boat and experience an opposing force of
300 N. Name the opposing force and explain whether the boat will move forward or not.
Show it with a force diagram. If the system(boat and boat men) has a mass of 30kg, tell
whether the boat will sink or float with an upthrust of 400 N acting on it.

 Static Friction- Static friction is the friction that exists between a stationary
object and the surface on which it's resting. This force gets developed when
you try to push the stationary object alongside a surface. More are the
irregularities (rough surface), more is the static friction. Trying to move a
heavy object on floor and not able to move it implies that the static friction
is is cancelling out the muscular force being applied by us. Where there is no
force trying to move the object, there is no static friction force.
 Sliding Friction- The term sliding friction refers to the resistance created by
two objects sliding against each other. This can also be called kinetic
friction. Sliding friction is intended to stop an object from moving thus it
acts opposite to the direction of motion. Specific examples of sliding friction
include:
 Rubbing both hands together to create heat
 Name: ___________________________ Date: ______________
Notes- Force and Friction Class: 8__

 A sled sliding across snow or ice

 Skis sliding against snow
 A person sliding down a slide is an example of sliding friction
 Rolling Friction- Rolling friction is the force resisting the motion when a
curved/spherical body (such as a ball, tire, or wheel) rolls on a surface.
Rolling friction is less than sliding friction.
NOTE: Static friction > Sliding Friction > Rolling Friction

Rolling
Friction
 Friction can be reduced by applying lubricants which fills up the irregularities to
some extent thus making the surface a bit smoother. Examples- Applying Boric
powder on Carrom board, applying grease on the chains of bicycle.
 Friction can also be reduced by smoothening a surface. E.g. by rubbing it with
sandpaper. This reduces the irregularities.
 Friction can also be reduced by introducing rolling friction in place of sliding
friction. Example- use of ball bearings in between two surfaces in contact.
 Friction is a necessary evil as it has its advantages and disadvantages in play.
Taking an example of a bicycle, rolling friction is there between the surface of
the tyre and the track of cycling which is advantageous and allows us to ride the
bicycle. Also for the application of brakes, friction is useful. On the other hand,
the friction between chain and gears is not required and becomes
disadvantageous. So to reduce it, lubricants like grease or oil needs to be
regularly applied. Similarly for the handle to turn smoothly, we need to keep on
applying lubricant for the smooth turning of handle. You should be able to
identify more examples within a bicycle.
 Electrostatic Force- attraction or repulsion of particles or objects because of their
electric charge. Two like electric charges, either both positive in charge or both
negative in charge, repel each other. Two unlike charges, one positive - one negative,
attract each other.
 Elastic Force- As you stretch or compress an elastic material like a bungee cord, it
resists the change in shape. It exerts a counter force in the opposite direction to
come back to its original shape. This force is called elastic force. The farther the
material is stretched or compressed, the greater the elastic force becomes.