FORCES

What is a force?

A force is a push or pull that is exerted by one object on another. The strength of a force
is called its magnitude or size. In science, forces are usually represented by arrows. The
arrow points in the direction of the force, and its length represents its magnitude. The
Newton, N, is the SI unit for force.

Effects of a force:
• Changes the shape and size of an object e.g. stretching a spring.
• Makes a stationary object move e.g. pool balls and cue.
• Stops a moving object e.g. brakes in a car.
• Changes the velocity (speed and/or direction) of a moving object e.g. a tennis
player used his racket to change the direction of the ball.

Forces – The Action-Reaction Principle.

In nature, any force is always accompanied by another force, which is equal in

magnitude but opposite in direction to the first force. We call these two forces an
action-reaction pair, and this is the subject of Newton’s Third Law of Motion; for every
action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Examples of action-reaction pairs:

1. When you sit on a chair you push down on the seat with a force that is equal to
your weight; at the same time, the seat is pushing you upwards with a force equal
to your weight.
2. A rocket moves off by the action-reaction principle. The action is the blasting of
the hot gases from the tail of the rocket, The reaction is the force that moves the
rocket upward.

TYPES OF FORCES

1.) Frictional Force

Frictional force slows down or stops moving objects. We say that frictional force
is a force that opposes motion. The strength o the frictional force acting on an object
depends on the type of surfaces in contact, as well as the weight of the object.
There is friction whenever two moving surfaces come into contact. Although a
surface may appear smooth, there are microscopic bumps and depressions on them.
Rough surfaces have larger bumps and deeper depressions. An object will experience
greater friction moving over a rough surface as compared to a smooth surface. On the
same surface, a heavier object will experience a larger frictional force than a lighter
object of the same material.
 In machines friction causes heat and reduces the efficiency of the machine since
energy is lost as heat or noise. To minimize these energy losses we use ball bearings and
lubricants.

2. Gravity and Weight

Imagine you are holding a ball in your hands. What happens when you let it go? The ball,
which was initially at rest, falls to the ground. There must be a force that is acting on the
ball. This force is known as the gravitational force or simply gravity.

There is a mutual force of attraction between every object in the universe. This mutual
reaction is called the force of gravity. When an object is weighed, the measurement is
actually the pull of the Earth’s gravity on the object. Weight is actually equal to the
gravitational force that is acting on a mass.
You would have probably heard that our weight on the moon is different from our
weight on Earth. Although your mass remains unchanged as you go from the Earth to the
Moon, the Moon, being less massive than the Earth, has a weaker gravity. Thus your
weight on the Moon would only be one sixth of your weight on Earth.

Centre of Gravity:

The centre of gravity of an object is the point at which the whole weight of the object
appears to act. It is the point about which the body will balance when no other force,
except its weight, act.
The centre of mass of an object is the point at which the whole mass of the object
appears to be concentrated. The centre of gravity is usually at the same point as the centre
of mass.

BALANCE: Stable, unstable and neutral equilibrium:

Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3.

An object balances when its force (weight) acting through its centre of gravity does
not fall outside the line of its base.

Consider the cone in the diagram above. When a cone is resting on its base as shown in
figure 1, it is in stable equilibrium. If it is tilted, it bends to return to its former position,
so long as it is not tilted too far.

When the cone is resting on it side as shown in figure 2, no matter how it is pushed, its
weight remains in the same position relative to the surface on which it is resting. The
cone is in neutral equilibrium.

When the cone is resting on its point as shown in figure 3, even a slight disturbance will
cause its centre of gravity to be outside the line of its base; it cannot return to its original
position on its own, it will topple over. The cone is in unstable equilibrium.

Centripetal Force: This is the force that is directed towards the centre of a circular or
curved path.
 FORCES THAT CAUSE “LIFT”

The airplane depends on airflow to give it its lift. It uses the principle that the faster air
moves, the lower its pressure. The wings of airplanes have the cross section profile of an
aerofoil or airfoil as shown below.

The surfaces are curved such that the air passing at the top of the aerofoil moves at a
faster speed than the air at the bottom. Hence, there is higher pressure at the bottom of the
aerofoil than at the top. There is a net upward force due to this pressure difference, and
this is what keeps airplanes up in the air,

SATELLITES

A satellite is an object in space that orbits around another larger object.

Natural satellites are naturally occurring objects that orbit other larger objects in space
e.g. the Moon is a natural satellite of the Earth.

Artificial satellites are man made devices or objects that are put into orbit around the
Earth. Artificial satellites are used for:
• Communication – These receive, store, amplify and transmit radio signals e.g.
cellular phones.
• Scientific research – Use of GPS to enable ships and planes to calculate their
locations.
• Weather satellites – Enable the forecasting of the weather

Problems for humans in space:

1. Space is a very hostile environment. Space is a vacuum, which means there is no
air in space.
2. Humans in space are directly exposed to X-rays, ultra-violet and gamma radiation
from the Sun which is very harmful.
3. In space objects experience weightlessness. This makes tasks such as eating and
drinking very difficult. In addition, due to the lack of body weight, astronauts
muscles weaken and waste away.