Chapter 3 Forces

(i)What is a Force?

The Star Wars fans reading this might know force as “The mysterious ability to levitate objects, tricking
minds and seeing the future”. Well in Physics it means, a push or a pull. Force can produce, stop, speed
up, slow down motion as well as change the direction of motion. For example, if you kick a football (i.e
apply a force to the ball) it will accelerate and move. Forces can be divided into two types –

 Contact Forces (Normal force, friction, tension)

 Non -contact forces (Electrical force, Magnetic Force, Gravitational Force)

(ii)Vector Diagrams

A force is a vector quantity which has magnitude and direction. The SI unit for force is the Newton (N)
named after Isaac Newton. Almost always, there is more than one force acting on an object. We use
vector diagrams to represent these forces acting on an object. We use arrows to represent a force- The
length of an arrow determines the magnitude of the force and where the arrow is pointing represents
the direction of the force.

How to draw a vector-

Step 1

Determine a suitable scale to represent the magnitude of the vector. Such as 1cm-1N. Let’s say that the
magnitude of our vector is 7N. Therefore, the length of our arrow will be 7cm

Step 2

Draw a dotted line at the base of the vector and using a protractor measure out the required angle.The
direction of the vector in the question will usually be given as 70 o to the South-West, or 45o to the
North-East, etc

Step 3

Draw the vector. Make sure to put an arrow at the end of the vector.

Adding Vectors

Scalar quantities have magnitude only and when adding them we can just add up the magnitudes of
each scalar. However, vector quantities have direction and magnitude. We can’t just add up the
individual magnitudes because we have to take into the account the direction as well. All the forces
acting on an object combine to form a single vector called the resultant force. To find the resultant force
we add up the individual forces (vectors). When adding vectors, there are two types- Parallel vectors
(which are vectors acting along the same path) and non-parallel vectors

Adding Parallel Vectors

When adding parallel vectors we assign a certain direction (right) as being positive and the opposite
direction (left) as being negative. So, for example, every force acting to the right is positive and every
direction acting to the left is negative. In the figure below two forces of 3N and 5N are acting on a block
in the right direction. The resultant force will be 8N (5N + 3N = 8N). As the resulting vector is positive it
will act in the right direction

In the figure below, two forces are also acting on the block, but one forces is acting on the left while the
other in the right direction. The resulting vector is 2N (5N +(-3N) = 2N). The resulting vector is again
positive and is therefore acting to the right.

Adding Non-Parallel Vectors

Non-Parallel vectors are vectors which are not acting on the same line. They can be added using the
parallelogram method.

How to add a non-parallel vector-

Step 1

Again, a suitable scale must be determined. Draw arrows to represent the forces

Step 2

Let’s say we have two vectors OB and OC which are not perpendicular or parallel and they are not equal.
Imaginary vector which is represented by a dotted line CD is such that OB=CD and Angle O is equal to
angle D. Another imaginary vector BD is such that BD=OC and angle B is equal to Angle C. The resulting
shape is a parallelogram. The diagonal of the parallelogram is the resulting vector of the vectors OB and
OC. The magnitude of the vector can be determined by the length of the line OD and it’s direction can
be measured by finding the angle it makes with the horizontal baseline. Make sure to put an arrow at
the end of the vector

(iii)Forces and motion

What do you think makes a car move or an aeroplane fly? The answer force. The origin behind all
motion is force. Force can produce, stop, speed up, slows down or change the direction of motion.
When we apply a force to a stationary ball by kicking we are changing the state of motion of the ball.
Before the force was applied the ball was stationary and after kicking it, the ball started moving.

Force can slow down or speed up motion in that it can change the velocity at which an object is moving.
Meaning when a force is applied on an object, it can cause the object to accelerate or decelerate. For
example, gravitational force accelerates a falling object. It also slows down ascending objects in that it
“pulls” them down.

When a cricket ball is hit, it’s direction of motion changed. When the ball is thrown by the bowler it is
moving in a certain direction and when the ball is hit by the batsman it experiences a force in a certain
direction and the ball’s direction changes.

Balanced Forces and Newton’s First Law of Motion

At all times, objects experience numerous natural forces. Though many forces may be acting on an
object, it may remain stationary because the resultant force is zero. When the resultant force of an
object is zero it is called a balanced force.

Though there are two forces acting on the book, it remains still. The magnitude of both forces are equal
but in opposite directions. Therefore, they cancel each other out and the resultant is zero.

The forces acting on moving objects may be balanced as well. If an object is moving at a constant
velocity, the forces acting on it are balanced. It neither accelerates nor decelerates as the resultant force
is zero. This brings us to Newton’s First Law of Motion

If an object is stationary or moving at a constant velocity, it will remain in it’s constant state of motion
unless another force acts on the object which may cause it to accelerate or decelerate.

Unbalanced Forces and Newton’s Second Law of Motion

Let us imagine that a particle with a mass of y grams is travelling at a constant velocity of xms -1.
Suddenly, it experience another force which causes the particle to accelerate at a rate of zms -2. The
object experiences an unbalanced force which is a resultant force that is not equal to zero. The
unbalanced force causes the object to accelerate. Newton’s Second Law of Motion states that the
magnitude of the force is given by the product of the mass and acceleration of the particle, yx.

A object with a constant mass experiencing an unbalanced force, accelerates in the direction of the
force. The magnitude of the force is given by the product of the mass and acceleration of the object.
Newton’s Third Law

Surely, you’ve heard the totally overused saying “Every action has an equal an opposite reaction”. It’s
supposed to be used in a metaphorical manner, but it applies to physics as well. When a force acts on an
object, the object will produce a force of equal magnitude in the opposite direction. That is Newton’s
Third Law of Motion.

(iv)Friction

Friction is what stops a car, allows you to walk and the damned force which makes moving furniture so
difficult. It is what slows everything down. Without friction it would be challenging to do pretty much
anything. But it also makes many processes a lot less efficient.

At the microscopic level, all objects have irregularities on their surfaces. When two objects slide over
each other, the irregularities on the surfaces of the objects slows them down. For example, when you
are walking on a rad, the holes and spikes on your shoes come into contact with the irregularities on the
surface of the road. If there was no friction, you could just slide over the road without having to move
your legs.

Friction is a resistive force, meaning it will oppose every object no matter what direction it is going in.
This is why friction has quite a lot of disadvantages. Air Resistance, a form of friction, greatly slows down
cars and airplanes. Friction in moving parts of machinery greatly reduces their efficiency.