Forces and

Interaction
Mr. Ferdinand Michael B. Calo, Jr.
Department of Physics
Caraga State University-Main Campus
 Force - push or pull.
- A Vector quantity, it has both magnitude and
direction

According to Newton’s definition, Forces

are what causes objects to change their:
 Velocity
 Acceleration

 This concept will be explain further when we go to

the Newton’s Laws of Motion. 

3 │ Physics Department, CMNS, Caraga State University

 Force - push or pull.
- A Vector quantity, it has both magnitude and
direction

Classification of forces:
 Contact Forces
 Non-contact Forces or Field Forces

4 │ Physics Department, CMNS, Caraga State University

 Force - push or pull.
- A Vector quantity, it has both magnitude and
direction

Classification of forces:
 Contact Forces
- involve physical contact between two
objects.

5 │ Physics Department, CMNS, Caraga State University

 Force - push or pull.
- A Vector quantity, it has both magnitude and
direction

Classification of forces:
 Non-contact Forces or Field Forces
- refers to forces that acts through
empty space. Does not require physical
contact.
.

6 │ Physics Department, CMNS, Caraga State University

 Fundamental Forces of Nature
Gravitational force/ Weight
 is the force of attraction between all objects that tends to pull them toward
one another.

Electromagnetic forces
 the force causes opposite electric charges to attract each other

Nuclear force
 a force that acts between subatomic particles

Weak forces
 Arise in certain radioactive decay processes

Note: These are all field forces.

7 │ Physics Department, CMNS, Caraga State University

 Some Common Contact Forces
Normal force
 is a force excreted by a surface to an object in which it is in contact. The
direction of force is always perpendicular to the orientation of the surface.

Tension forces
 forces that are acting on strings or the likes.

Friction force
 an opposing force. Excreted by the surface to an object it is in contact. Always
opposite to the direction of the object’s motion.

8 │ Physics Department, CMNS, Caraga State University

 Vector Nature of Forces
 Here a force spring is used to calibrate
the magnitude of a force.
 Doubling the force causes double the
reading on the spring.
 When both forces are applied, the
reading is three times the initial reading.

Simply put, if we recall out concept of

vectors, we say,
Here, the
magnitude Force
is thrice the
⃗
𝑭𝟏 magnitude of
⃗
𝑭𝟐 ⃗
𝑭𝟑

9 │ Physics Department, CMNS, Caraga State University

 Superposition of Forces
“any number of forces applied at a point on a body have the
same effect as a single force equal to the vector sum of the
forces.”

⃗ ⃗ ⃗ ⃗ ⃗ ⃗
∑ 𝑭= 𝑭 𝟏+ 𝑭 𝟐+ 𝑭 𝟑+ 𝑭 𝟒+…+ 𝑭 𝒏

10 │ Physics Department, CMNS, Caraga State University

 Superposition of Forces
Since Forces are vectors, so one must use the rules for
vector addition to find the net force acting on an object.
So if you are asked to determine the resultant
or the net force acting on the spring balance.
We say,
Σ= +

 =+  =+
x-component y-component

10 │ Physics Department, CMNS, Caraga State University

 Vector Nature of Forces
Since Forces are vectors, so you must use the rules for
vector addition to find the net force acting on an object.
So if you are asked to determine the resultant or the
net force acting on the spring. We say,
Σ= +
The Magnitude of the net force

|𝑭|= √(𝑭 𝒙 ) +(𝑭 𝒚 )

𝟐 𝟐

The Direction of the net force

θ = ()

11 │ Physics Department, CMNS, Caraga State University

 Units of Forces
The SI unit of force is Newton, N
1N
It means, that a 1 Newton force can give a 1 kilogram object an
acceleration of 1 m/

The US Customary unit of force is a pound (lb).

1 lb = 1 slug·ft / s2

12 │ Physics Department, CMNS, Caraga State University

References:
• Hugh, D., et al, University Physics with Modern Physics, 14th edition
• Tipler, et al, Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 6th Ed.
• Hewitt, et al, Conceptual Physical Science, 5th Ed.
• istockphoto.com
• pngio.com
Thank you