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What is Force?
Concept of Force
For better understanding of this concept, let’s ask ourselves the following question:
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The answers to these questions, is of course that a force is required to do so. Here, an
applied force to a body can cause the body at rest to move or if already moving a body
application of force can do the following when applied to a body.
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A force is defined as a push or pulls experienced by an object. The force is usually
described in terms of its size (magnitude) and direction.
A Newton (1N) can be defined as the amount of force required to give a mass of one
kilogram (1kg) an acceleration of 1m/s2
The instrument that is used to measure the amount of force that is exerted on an object
is called spring balance.
A spring balance can be used to measure small forces. It consists of a coiled spring fixed
to the other end with a hook at the other end. The body upon which the force acts is
attached to the hook. The distance through which the spring is stretched is directly
proportional to the force applied by the balance.
A pointer is attached to the spring and the force is indicated on a calibrated scale.
Types of Force
1. Fundamental forces
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2. Non fundamental forces
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Fundamental Forces
Fundamental forces are the basic forces in nature that cannot be explained by the action
of another force.
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Force of gravity (weight)
The force of gravity is the pull by which the earth, moon and other very large bodies
attract other objects towards themselves. It is commonly referred to as the weight of the
object that is attracted.
All objects on the earth experience a force of gravity that is directed downwards towards
centre of the earth. The earth’s gravitational pull is so great that it is able to hold most
things firmly on the ground.
In mechanics, a freely falling body in the air moves down irrespective of its mass. This is
due to force of gravity.
Example 1
A fruit fall from a tree because the earth exerts gravitational force on it. The force of
gravity on the earth is always equal to the weight of the object (body).
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W= mg
Conclusion, we can say that the force of gravity has the following properties.
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1. It pulls (attracts) objects towards the centre of the earth.
2. It is directly proportional to the mass of the object. This means that the greater the
mass the greater the pull of gravity.
3. It is strong when the mass is closer to the centre of the earth.
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NB: It should be noted that the weight of an object is directly related to its Mass.
Weight, W = mass x g = mg
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Electromagnetic force
This force includes both electric and magnetic force. It is relatively strong.
Example 2
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Strong nuclear force
This is the force, which holds of the constitutions (sub atomic particles) of the atomic
nucleus. It acts within the nucleus of the atom.
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Properties of electromagnetic force include
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Properties of a strong nuclear force:
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Properties of the weak nuclear force
It is much stronger than the gravitational force but weaker than the strong nuclear
force and electromagnetic force
It acts on small ranges of up to 10 -17m
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Activity 1
CLASS ACTIVITY
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Effects of Force
A force acting on an object may cause the object to change shape, to start moving, to
stop moving, to accelerate or decelerate.
When two objects interact with each other they exert a force on each other, the forces
are equal in size but opposite in direction.
Resultant force
The forces acting on an object can be replaced with a single force that causes the object
to behave in the same way as all the separate forces acting together did, this one overall
force is called theresultant force.
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If the resultant force acting on an object is ZERO then:
The object will remain stationary if it was stationary when the resultant force
became zero.
Move at a constant (steady) speed in a straight line if it was moving when the
resultant force became zero.
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If the resultant force acting on an object is NOT ZERO then:
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The Effects of Forces on Materials
Example 3
Example 4
A circular section cable has a tensile force of 1 kN applied to it and the force produces a
stress of7.8 MPa in the cable. Calculate the diameter of the cable.
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Example 5
A split pin requires a force of 400 N to shear it. The maximum shear stress before shear
occurs is120 MPa. Determine the minimum diameter of the pin.
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