Students will be able to define and understand Forces.

Students will also be able to draw and interpret Free Body Diagrams

Force
Simple Definition of a force : It is a Push or a Pull A little less simple

F m a

This second Definition is known as Newtons second Law of Motion

A force is anything that can cause a change in the velocity of an object. A force is anything that can accelerate a mass.

A force is therefore, a Vector Quantity with the unit being the Newton. Where

1N 1kg 1m

sec

Some Examples of Common Forces

1) Force of gravity (Fg) There is a force of attraction between all objects On earth the force acts downwards It is considered to be an 'action at a distance force' (no physical connection) 2) Normal Force (FN) A force that is perpendicular to two surfaces in contact. It is the force of a surface 'pushing back on the object. 3) Applied Force (FA) A force that is applied directly in order to change the velocity of an object.

4) Tension (FT) An applied force exerted by materials that can be stretched (e.g. Ropes, strings, springs, fibers, cables, rubber bands) The more a material is stretched the greater the tension. 5) Friction (Ff) Force between objects that are in contact with each other Acts in a direction opposite to motion a) Static Friction (Fs) prevents stationary objects from moving.

b) Kinetic Friction (Fk) tries to slow down moving objects

c) Air Resistance or Drag (Fair) opposes an object's motion through the air.

Free- Body diagrams (FBD)

A diagram of only one object showing all of the forces on the object.

Example 1 -Pushing a block across a desk

+y FN

Force of Gravity: Fg Normal Force: FN Force of Friction: Ff Applied Force: Fa

Ff

+x
Fa

Fg

Example #1

Free Body Diagram

Example #2

Free Body Diagram

Definitions and More

A free body diagrams represent all forces acting on that object. Forces, which are along the same line should be added, typically along the X and he Y Axis. The sum of all Forces is referred to as the Resultant Force or Net Force When a system has a net force or resultant force of zero, we say that the system is in Equilibrium. (Dynamic Motion Static No Motion The force which places a system in Equilibrium is referred to as the equilibrant Force An object moving at a constant velocity is considered to be in equilibrium Consider the motion of car as it accelerates away from a red light. At first the force the engine overcomes friction and air resistance. As the velocity of the car increases, friction, especially wind resistance increases until The force of friction is equal and opposite to the force generated by the engine. At this point you have an equilibrium of forces.

Because of this we apply:

Newtons first Law of Motion

An object will remain at rest or in uniform motion unless it is acted on by some external force.

Rules for drawing free body diagrams (FBD's)

a) Always show the object removed from its surroundings b) The force vectors (arrows) show the direction of each force c) The length of each force vector represents its size compared to the other force vectors d) Choose a direction to be the positive direction and show it with an arrow beside the diagram

Heimbecker et al, Grade 12 Physics: Concepts and Connections

Example 17 to 19 Pages 36 to 38

Homework
Heimbecker et al, Grade 12 Physics: Concepts and Connections Page 38: # 1 through 5