What is a Force?

A force is a push or pull acting

on an object that changes the
motion of the object.
 Types of Forces

 Contact Force – Forces that act

through direct contact between two
objects
 Applied Forces, Friction
 Long Range Forces – Forces that
can act over distances
 Gravity, Electromagnetic Force (EMF)
 FORCES

Force (N)
 A push or pull that produces displacement

Displacement (m)
 A vector that points from an objects initial
position to its final position

Equilibrium
 No movement due to equal forces
 Types of Forces

Primary sources of force

 Muscles  Internal Force
 Gravity
External
 Externally applied resistance
Force
 Friction
 FORCES

Mass
 Amount of matter contained within an
object
Weight
 Force of gravity acting on the object
Moment
 Result of force acting at a distance
from the point of motion
 M=d × F
 FORCES

Lever arm
 The perpendicular distance from the
force vector to the center of motion
 Distance (d) translational forces
Moment arm
 The perpendicular distance from the
force vector to the joint’s axis of
motion
 Distance (d) rotary forces
 Newton’s Law of Motion

I. Equilibrium
II. Mass and acceleration
III. Action and reaction
 I. Inertia

 Law of inertia or law of

equilibrium
 If a body is at rest, it ill remain
at rest, and I a body is in
uniform motion, it will remain
in motion, until an outside
force acts upon it
Inertia
 Property of a body that resists
change in motion equilibrium
 Inertia

 Inertia measures the tendency of an

object to resist changes in motion.
 Galileo came up with the idea of inertia
 Objects do not want their motion to change
 Mass measures how much inertia an object
has (More mass = More inertia)
Newton’s First Law of Motion
(Law of Inertia)

 If no unbalanced forces act on a moving object,

then the object will continue to move with a
constant velocity (constant speed in a straight
line). If an object is at rest it will stay at rest.
 Newton took his concept of forces and
combined it with Galileo’s idea of inertia
 Equilibrium

First Condition for Equilibrium

 If the Net Force acting on the object is zero
FNET = 0 a = 0
 The object is either stationary (v = 0) or
traveling with a constant velocity (v = constant)
 Free Body Diagram (FBD)

 A diagram that looks at all the forces acting

on a single object. A FBD has all the forces
labeled with their magnitude and direction as
well as the motion of the object.
 Mass and Weight

 Mass is amount of matter that an object

possess. Mass does not change with location.

 Weight is the gravitational force that a large

body (such as a planet) exerts on another
object.
 Weight

 Weight is a Force! It is measured in Newtons.

 Weight = Mass x Acceleration due to Gravity
(Newton’s 2nd law)
 W = mg
 Weight does change with location! (“g” will
change with location)
Solving Net Force Problems

 Make a Free Body Diagram (Label all forces

and the acceleration of the object)
 Use the following Equations to solve for the
unknown
 FNET (x-direction) = max
 FNET (y-direction) = may
 f = m Fn
 Friction

 Friction resists motion.

 Friction causes moving objects to slow down.
 Friction produces heat.
 Friction

 Static Friction – occurs between stationary

surfaces in contact.
 Sliding Friction – occurs when one surface
slides over another.
 Rolling Friction – occurs when a rounded
surface rolls over another.
 Ways to Reduce Friction

 Use wheels or rollers

 Lubricants - produce a smooth layer between
the surfaces
 Sanding the Surfaces – smooth the surfaces
Friction and Newton’s Laws

 Friction is a force (Newton’s laws apply)

 Friction causes an acceleration (slowing down
the motion of an object)
 Friction always acts parallel to the surface in
the opposite direction of motion
Calculating the Frictional Force

 Friction depends on:

 Forces acting between the surfaces (Normal
Force)
 Nature of the surfaces (Coefficient of Friction)
Calculating the Frictional Force

 Normal Force (FN) – Force that acts

perpendicular to the surface and away from
the surface
 The Normal Force (FN) is usually found by
summing the forces in the y-direction
 Air Resistance

 Free Fall – The situation where gravity is the

only force acting on an object (Assume No Air
Resistance)
 Air Resistance – The force the air applies on a
moving object. It attempts to slow down
falling objects (similar to friction)
 Air Resistance and
Terminal Velocity

 Terminal Velocity – The maximum speed a

falling object reaches when dropped from rest
 An object reaches terminal velocity when the
force of gravity is balanced with the force of
air resistance
II. Acceleration

“The acceleration of a body is

proportionate to the magnitude of
the net forces acting on it and
inversely proportionate to the mass
of the body”
Newton’s Second Law of Motion

 Newton discovered the idea of a Force

 He found the Force is proportional to the
Acceleration of an object (more Force = more
Acceleration)
 He found the Force is proportional to the mass
of the object (more mass = more force
needed).
Newton’s Second Law of Motion

 Moving objects accelerate when an

unbalanced force (F) acts on them. The
stronger the force, the greater the acceleration
(a). Also, the greater the mass (m) the greater
the force required to change the motion.
 Force = mass x acceleration
 F = ma
Newton’s Second Law of Motion

 Force is a Vector Quantity and therefore has

magnitude and direction.
 The direction of the force is the same as the
direction of the acceleration.
 S.I. Unit For Force

 The Unit for Force is a Newton (N)

 1N = 1kg m/s2
 A Newton (N) is defined as the amount of force
required to accelerate 1 kg of mass at a rate of
1 m/s2.
 Net Force

 When Multiple forces are acting on an object.

The Net Force is the amount of force that is
left after adding all the forces on the object.

 Net force (FNET) = Resultant Force (FR)

 Balanced Forces

 Balanced Forces are forces that are equal and

opposite so that they cancel out.
10 N East 10 N West
 
Net Force = +10 N + -10 N = 0
 Unbalanced Forces

 Unbalanced Forces are forces that when

added do not cancel out and cause a change
in the motion of the object.
30 N East 10 N West
 
Fnet = +30 N + -10 N = +20 N East
III. Action-Reaction

For every action there is an equal

and opposite reaction
 Four Fundamental Forces of
Nature

1. Gravity – Force of attraction between any two

masses. Weakest of the fundamental forces but
acts over the largest distances.

2. Electromagnetic Force (EMF) – force between

charged particles. Stronger than gravity but
does not reach as far. (Like charges repel,
opposite charges attract)
 Four Fundamental Forces of
Nature

3. Strong Nuclear Force – Force of attraction

between subatomic particles inside the nucleus.
Strongest force in Nature but only acts inside
the nucleus (shortest distance). Holds the atom
together.
 Four Fundamental Forces of
Nature

4. Weak Nuclear Force – is the force observed in

the radioactive decay of some elements

 Unification Theory – This theory looks to unify

all the fundamental forces to a single unified
force.
Forces on Ropes and Strings

 Tension (T) – is the force acting along a rope

or wire.
 Tension always acts away from the object
along the rope.
 Newton’s Third Law applies to Tension when
looking at two objects.
 Only One Tension needs to be drawn on a Free
Body Diagram