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G9. 1.2 Forces and Shape

### Forces are pushes or pulls that one body exerts on another. Forces can change the way
things are moving, make things start to move or stop moving and change the shape of things.

Force is a vector quantity. It has both magnitude and direction. The unit of force is Newton (N)

There are various different types of forces. Example: Gravitational, Electrostatic

###1 Newton: A force of one Newton will make a mass of one kilogram accelerate at one meter
per second squared.

F = m (kg) × a (ms-2)

1N= 1kgms-2

F ∝ a (when m is constant) …………….(1)

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a∝ (when F is constant)……………..(2)
m

### Mass: Mass is the quantity of matter in a body. It means how much matter is in an objects.

### Weight: The force that acts on a body because of gravity. The weight of an object acts
through its centre of gravity. OR The force acting on an object in the Earth’’s gravity is called its
weight.

The unit of weight is the same as unit of force. (newton N)

W = mg where g= 10N/kg (gravitational field
strength)

Weight = mass x gravitational field strength

NOTE: Acceleration due to the gravity (g) varies only slightly from one place to another. It is
assumed to be constant in calculation.

### Air Resistance or Drag: Friction between an object and the air (or gas) that is moving
through. (Parachute)
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### Viscous drag: Similar to air resistance, but occurs when an object is moving through the
liquid.

### Upthrust: The upward force that liquids and gases exert on objects. (hot air balloons)

### Normal Reaction: The special name for the contact force that acts on an object pressing
down on another object.

### Tension: In strings, cables, ropes, etc, those are being stretched.

### Electrostatic Force: If you comb your hair, your hair sticks to the comb because of this
force.

### Magnetic Forces: If the compass is brought near the magnet, the compass needle is
affected by the magnetic force.

### Balanced and Unbalanced Forces

To find the resultant of two or more forces acting along the same line, they should be added
together if in the same direction and subtracted if in the opposite direction.

Example: Which one(s) of the following force diagrams depict an object moving to the right
with constant speed? Write all possible answers (if any) in the blank: ________________

If the forces add up to zero, the forces are said to be balanced. If not the forces are said to be
unbalanced.
NOTE: Unbalanced forces acting on an object will cause a change in the way the object is
moving.
1. It will speed up (accelerate) 3. Change the direction in which it is moving
2. Slow down (decelerate)

Newton’s Laws of Motion

1. First Law (or) Law of Inertia

When no net external force acts upon it, an object at rest will remain at rest and an
object in motion at a constant velocity will continue to move with the same constant
velocity.
If F=0 , then a= 0 , v= constant or zero

2. Second Law ( Law of force and acceleration)

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The net external force acting upon an object is equal to the product of the mass and the
acceleration of the object.

F=m×a where F = net external force

m = mass, a = acceleration

3. Third Law (or) Law of Action and Reaction

Every action force has an equal and opposite reaction force.

### Friction: Friction is a force between two surfaces which impedes (opposes) motion and
results in heating.
The kinetic energy of the moving object is transferred to heat as work is done by the friction
force.
Air resistance is the form of friction. . We could not walk if there was no friction between the
soles of our shoes and the ground. Our feet would slip backwards, as they tend to if we walk on
ice.
The friction force between two surfaces depends on:
1. The contact force (normal reaction) between the two surfaces.
2. The area of surfaces in contact.
3. The type of surfaces in contact.
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Hooke’s Law
The increase in length (extension) of a spring is directly proportional to the force pulling on it.
The straight part of the graph shows Hooke’s Law.

F∝ x F=kx
F=k x
F= Force apply to the spring

k = spring constant

x = extension

NOTE: If stretched beyond the elastic limit, the spring will not return to his original length. In
graph the line starts to curve.

SPRING
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ELASTIC or RUBBER BAND

If elastic bands is stretched with increasing load forces, will get the following graph.

The graph is not a straight line, showing that elastic bands do not obey Hooke’s law.
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Elastic Limit

The elastic limit of a material is the furthest point it can be stretched or deformed while being
able to return to its previous shape. Once a material has gone past its elastic limit, its
deformation is said to be inelastic. The higher the spring constant, the stiffer the spring.