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NON-CONTACT FORCES
GRAVITY - Gravity is a force that pulls objects and people towards the
Earth. It pushes things down wherever they are, whatever their size.
Gravity is the force that gives us weight.
[1]
CONTACT
FORCES
FRICTION - This is the force that resists
things rubbing against each other. It helps
you walk without sliding - except when
you walk on the ice, there is very little
friction and therefore you slip.
FORCES AND MOTION
AIR RESISTANCE - This force slows things
down when they are moving. Have you
ever put your hand out of a car window
when you are travelling along? If so you will
have felt air resistance
(Who am I?)
[2]
BALANCED AND UNBALANCED FORCES
BALANCED OR Forces can be described as being balanced or unbalanced.
If the forces on an object are balanced:
Activity:
Have a look at the images in the panel down the side of the page. Name the
forces illustrated in each image and decide whether the forces are either
balanced or unbalanced.
MEASURING FORCES
Force is measured in Newtons. A force of one Newton will give a mass of one
kilogram, and an acceleration of one metre per second. This means that each
second, its speed will increase by one metre per second. When measuring a
force, you must state its direction, otherwise you do not know what effect it
has.
We can show the forces acting on an object using a force diagram. In a force
diagram, each force is shown as a force arrow. The arrow shows the size of
the force (the longer the arrow the bigger the force) and also the direction in
which the force acts.
Standing Still
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FORCES AND MOTION ACTIVITIES
If you drop an object it will fall to the floor due to the force of gravity. If you place the same
object on a a table it will not fall because the table produces an equal force upwards. However, if
you place the object on a weak paper support, the support crumples and the object will fall to WRITE THE NAME OF THE
the floor because the force created by the paper platform is not as strong as the force of gravity.
So, when the object is on the table, the forces are balanced and when the object is on the paper FORCES IN THE BOXES:
platform the forces are unbalanced (therefore the object moves/changes speed in the direction
of the bigger force).
Activity:
Push a model car along a table, so that it slows down and eventually stops. What forces are
acting on the car as it moves and stops? What are the opposing forces acting on the model car?
When are the forces balanced and unbalanced?
By reducing air resistance and friction forces that act on a car (i.e. stream lining), what effects will
these changes have on the speed, the amount of force required to accelerate the car, and fuel
consumption of the car?
Design activity:
Cars which create less friction use less petrol and are therefore less polluting.
Design and draw a car, labeling and describing features you have changed to reduce air
resistance.
SPEED
Speed is calculated by the number of metres
travelled per second.
Speed (metres per second) = distance (metres) x
time (seconds)
1. Calculate the speed of a car which travels
600m in 30 seconds
[4]
SECOND LAW
NEWTON’S LAWS OF
MOTION
THIRD LAW
FIRST LAW
History Apple Incident
Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was an English physicist, It is said that Newton was inspired to write his theory of gravitation
mathematician and astronomer who many people consider to be the after an apple fell from a tree and hit him on the head. This incident
greatest scientist of all time. In his book, Principia, published in 1687, made him think about why the apple fell to Earth rather than fly off in
he described his 3 laws of motion which have dominated scientific another direction. He concluded that:
study for over 300 years. English poet Alexander Pope wrote ‘the earth draws it...’ and that ‘...the sum of the drawing
a very famous epitaph for Newton after his death: power must be in the Earth’s centre’.
“Nature and nature’s laws hid in night; God said ‘let
Newton be’ and all was light.”
3 Laws of Motion
FIRST LAW OF MOTION
Einstein kept a picture of Newton in his study.
An object continues in its state of rest or uniform
Gravity on the Moon motion in a straight line unless acted upon by a net
Gravity is the force that gives us weight. Everything external force
contains a certain amount of material called its mass. When SECOND LAW OF MOTION
you measure your weight you are really measuring the force of the When a net (or unbalanced) force acts on a body, the body is
Earths gravity pulling on your mass. On the Moon your weight would be accelerated in the direction of the force
about one-sixth of your weight on Earth because the Moon’s gravity is THIRD LAW OF MOTION
about one-sixth of the Earth’s. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction
[5]
30 MINUTE STEM ACTIVITY
WHY NOT TRY THIS FUN ROCKET EXPERIMENT
IN YOUR SCIENCE LESSON OR STEM CLUB.
It’s very messy and can fly a long way! TRY THIS AT
SCHOOL
WHAT YOU NEED:
. One plastic specimen tube with
a tight push fit lid
4) Put the lid on the test tube Try using a greater and smaller amount of
tablet.
5) Put the test tube into the test Try breaking the tablet into smaller pieces
tube rack upside down(Lid on the to increase the surface area.
bottom)
Try using baking powder and vinegar rather
6) Stand back 5 METRES. than water and Alka- Seltzer.
About 10 seconds later you will See if you can get the rocket to go
hear a large pop and your tube will higher by adding fins to the bottom of
launch in the air (up to 10 metres) the tube to increase stability.
[6]
HOW DOES A JET
ENGINE WORK?
Remember Newton’s Third Law of Motion?
Not all of the air sucked in at the front of the The objective of this sort of bypass
engine goes through the engine. Some of the air system is to increase thrust without
flows around the core. This ‘cold’ air passes increasing fuel consumption.
through a low pressure compressor and is mixed with Another benefit is that it produces a
the gas generator exhaust to produce a ‘hot’ jet. much quieter jet engine.
FAN - The large fan at the front of the engine sucks in large amounts of air. The air is speeded up and
split into 2 parts. One part goes through the core or centre of the engine. The second part goes through
ducts which surround the core, to the back of the engine where it produces much of the force that propels
the aircraft forward. This cooler air quietens the engine as well as add thrust.
COMPRESSOR - This is the first part of the engine core. The fans in the compressor squeeze the air into
smaller areas, resulting in an increase in the air pressure. This squashed air is forced into the
combustion chamber.
COMBUSTOR - The squashed air is mixed with fuel then ignited. As many as 20 nozzles spray fuel into the
airstream. As the mixture catches fire, this produces a high temperature, high energy airflow. The heat
can reach 2700 degrees
TURBINE - The high energy airflow coming out of the combustor goes into the turbine which causes the
turbine blades to rotate. These blades are linked to a shaft which drives both the fan at the front of
the engine and the compressor immediately behind it.
MIXER - This is where the ‘cold’ air that has flowed around the outside of the core and the ‘hot’ air
from inside the core are mixed together before being ducted to the nozzle.
NOZZLE - The nozzle is the exhaust duct of the engine. This is the part of the engine where the thrust
is created. The combination of the ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ air are expelled and produce an exhaust, which
causes forward thrust.