FORCE

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Force
A force is a push or pull It has both magnitude and direction SI Unit is Newton (N)
1 N defined as the force that gives a 1kg mass an acceleration of 1ms-2

A force can
Make stationary objects move Make moving objects speed up, slow down, or stop Make moving objects change direction Change the shape and size of objects

Examples of forces
Gravitational force: force due to pull of gravity Frictional force: force which opposes motion Centripetal force: force which keeps a body on its circular path

Electrical force: force of attraction or repulsion between electrical charges

Magnetic force: force of attraction or repulsion between magnetic materials

Centripetal force
The direction of motion of a body in circular motion is continually changing.

Hence the body in circular motion is accelerating and this acceleration is produce by centripetal force The centripetal force
Acts towards the centre of the circle Acts perpendicularly to the objects direction of motion Increases when the mass/speed of the object is increased

Effects of force on motion

Newtons first law of motion: a body will remain at rest whilst a body in motion will continue its motion at constant speed in a straight line unless a resultant force acts on it
Also known as the law of inertia Inertia is a property of mass resisting any change from its original state of rest or motion The greater the mass of a body, the greater will be its inertia

Equilibrium of forces
Forces are said to be in equilibrium if the resultant force is zero

When the forces acting on a body are in equilibrium, the acceleration of the body is zero

Terminal velocity

Relation between Force, Mass, and Acceleration

F = MA
F = force, M = mass, A = acceleration SI unit: newton (N)

W = MG
W = weight, M = mass, G = gravitational acceleration SI unit: newton (N)

Effect of friction on motion of body

Presence of friction from air resistance Eg a book falling from a building F=wR F = resultant force, w = weight, R = air resistance

Friction
Friction between 2 solids on a horizontal surface
Acts in the direction opposite to the motion or applied force Depends on the material and nature of the surfaces in contact rough surfaces give more friction Is proportional to the force pressing the surfaces together Is independent of the area of contact Is independent of the speed of motion
Disadvantages Reduces speed of motion Causes rapid wear and tear Energy is wasted as work done to overcome friction

Advantages

Able to start or stop motion Prevents slipping when one is walking For fastening action of adhesive stickers, nails and screws

Methods to reduce friction

Lubricate the surfaces in contact Smoothen surfaces eg by polishing Use materials with low frictional resistance eg graphite

Place ball bearings, rollers, or wheels between surfaces

Use an air cushion between surfaces eg in hovercraft

Combining forces
2 or more forces when combined produce a single force known as the resultant force The effect on a body produced by 2 or more forces acting on it will be the same as that produced by their resultant force

Since forces are vectors, they combine as follows:

Non-parallel forces: when 2 forces act at an angle to each other find resultant force by using parallelogram law of vector addition Parallel forces

forces in the same direction Forces in opposite directions

Parallel forces
Same direction: just add the forces

Opposite direction: subtract the forces to find the resultant

Non-parallel forces

Adding forces at right angle

Step 1: choose a suitable scale eg 1cm to rep. 1N

Step 2: Draw lines PS and PQ, Angle SPQ = 90

Step 3: Draw lines SR and RQ to form a rectangle Step 4: Draw PR the diagonal and measure this length Step 5: Find the force based on this length and find the angle it makes with the SP force Or calculate force using Pythagoras Theorem a2 + b2 = c2

Adding forces at an angle

Step 1: choose a suitable scale eg 1cm to rep 1N Step 2: draw lines PS and PQ, Angle SPQ=40 Step 3: draw lines SR and RQ to form a parallelogram

Step 4: draw PR the diagonal and measure this length and the angle

Forces on a parachute

F=wR
Resultant force, F = ma

Turning Effect of a force

The Principle of Moments states that for an object to be in equilibrium, the sum of clockwise moments about any point (pivot) must equal the sum of anticlockwise moments about the same point
Anti-clockwise moments = Clockwise moments

F1D1 = F2D2 (F = force, D = distance)

Moment of a force
Moment = Force x Distance* *distance: perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the pivot

Moments
Anti-clockwise moments = Clockwise moments

Anticlockwise

Clockwise

Examples of turning effect in daily life

Opening a bottle with a bottle opener Tightening a nut using a spanner Opening a classroom door by pulling the door knob

Hookes Law
States that the extension of a material is proportional to the stretching force if the limit of proportionality of the material is not exceeded F = ke
k is the spring constant, e is the extension

Work
Work done = Force x Distance moved in the direction of force

SI unit is joules (J)

1 J = 1 N X 1 m = 1 Nm

Energy
Energy is the capacity to do work

SI unit is joules (J)

Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It can be converted from one form to another Principle of Conservation of Energy: The total amount of energy in the system remains constant

Efficiency = (useful power output/energy input) x 100%

Energy
Examples of energy
Chemical energy Electrical energy Kinetic energy
K.E. = (mv2)

Potential energy
P.E. = mgh

Nuclear energy

Power
Power is the rate of work done or energy converted

Power = work done/time

SI unit is watt (W)

1 W = 1 J/s

Questions
1. a. b. c. d.

A constant force does not produce a change in Displacement Speed Velocity Acceleration

2. Which of the following forces is required to keep the moon in its orbit? a. Frictional b. Centripetal c. Magnetic d. gravitational

Questions
3. The parallelogram law of forces is used to determine the a. Minimum force b. Resultant force c. Average force d. Constant force 4. A toy car of mass 500g is moving with an acceleration of 2ms-2. What is the resultant force acting on the toy car? a. 0.25N b. 1N c. 4N d. 250N