newton meter balanced forces unbalanced forces contact forces friction
FORCES
lubrication non-contact forces gravity weight
terminal velocity
In this chapter, you will learn to: / describe, measure and calculate different forces / identify friction and its effects / describe and calculate gravity / understand the difference between mass and weight
/ investigate the effect of force on a spring.
Force
A force is anything that causes an object to move, speed up, slow down, change shape or go in a different direction. For example, it is a force that makes a car start moving, or a bike come to a stop.
There are many types of force, but they all cause movement.
The SI unit of force is the newton (N). Force can be measured in the laboratory using a newton meter.
Calculating force To calculate the force (N) acting on an object, multiply the object’s mass (kg) by its acceleration (m/s2
).
force = mass × acceleration F = ma
EXAMPLE
Question Calculate the force required to cause a 3 kg mass to be accelerated by 2 m/s2
Solution force = mass × acceleration force = 3 kg × 2 m/s2 force = 6 N
.
:Fig. 28.1 A newton meter
FIGURE IT OUT! 1. Calculate the force when a 20 kg mass is pulled with an acceleration of 4 m/s2 .
2. A car of 2000 kg has a force of 4000 N applied to it by the engine. Calculate the acceleration of the car.