Definitions / Key words in Physics unit

Energy - Energy is the ability to do work. The standard unit of measuring energy is
‘joule’.
Work - Work occurs in physics when a force acts on an object to move it some
distance. Work is equal to the force times the distance. Work is measured in joules.

Force - Force is the measurement of a push or pull on an object. Force is a vector

measured in newtons.

Friction - Friction is the resistance of motion when one object rubs against another.
It is a force and is measured in newtons.

Gravity - Gravity is a force caused when the mass of physical bodies attracts each
other. On Earth gravity pulls at objects with an acceleration of 9.8 m/s2.

Mass - Mass is a measurement of how much matter is in an object. It is usually

measured in kilograms.
Weight - Weight is the force of gravity on an object. In physics, weight is measured
in Newton. It is calculated by multiplying mass to gravity (Mass x Gravity = weight)

Newton - The newton is the standard unit of measure for force.

Pressure - Pressure is the force over a given area (force per unit area, i.e. Pressure
= Force/Area). Pressure is measured in pascals.
Vector - A vector is a quantity that has both a magnitude and a direction.

Scalar - A scalar is a measurement that only measures the magnitude. Unlike a

vector, a scalar does not have direction.

Speed - Speed is the measurement of how fast an object moves relative to a

reference point. It is a scalar quantity measured by distance over time.

Velocity - Velocity is the rate of change in an object's position. Velocity is a vector

quantity. The magnitude of velocity is the object's speed.

Momentum - Momentum is a measurement of mass in motion. Momentum is equal

to the mass times the velocity of an object. It is a vector measured in newton-
seconds.

Acceleration - In physics, acceleration is the rate of change of velocity of an object

with respect to time. The SI unit for acceleration is metre per second squared
(m⋅s−2).

Example: if the velocity of a car is changing every second by 2m/s then acceleration
of the car would be 2m/s/s (2ms-2)
Force and its effects:

A ‘Force’ can be described as a push or pull on an object resulting from the object’s
interaction with another object. Force only exists as a result of an interaction. If there
is no interaction, the objects no longer experience the force. Force is measured in
units called Newtons (N), named after the famous scientist Sir Issac Newton.
Force is a vector quantity that has both magnitude and direction.
Types of Forces:
Forces can be divided into primarily into two types of forces:

Contact Forces
Non-contact Forces
Contact Forces
Any types of forces that require being in contact with another object come under
‘Contact Force’. All mechanical forces are contact forces. Contact forces further
divide into following types of forces:

(a) Muscular Forces

Muscles functions to produce a resulting force which is known as ‘muscular force’.
Muscular force exists only when it is in contact with an object. We apply muscular
force during the basic day to day work of our life such as breathing, digestion, lifting
a bucket, pulling or pushing some object. Muscular force comes in handy to simply
our work.
 (b) Frictional Forces
When an object changes its state motion, ‘frictional force’ acts upon. It can be
defined as the resisting force that exists when an object is moved or tries to move a
surface. The frictional force acts as a point of contact between two surfaces that is it
arises due to contact between two surfaces. Examples lighting a matchstick or
stopping a moving ball come under frictional force.

(c) Normal Force

When a book is lying on the table, even though it seems that it’s stationary, it’s not.
An opposing upward force is still acting on the book wherein the force from gravity is
pulling is towards the earth. This upwards force is the ‘normal force’.

(d) Applied Force

When you push a table across the room, you apply a force that acts when it comes
in contact with another object. This is ‘applied force’; i.e. a force that is applied to a
person or object.

(e) Tension Force

Tension is the force applied by a fully stretched cable or wire anchored on to an
object. This causes a ‘tension force’ that pulls equally in both directions and exerts
equal pressure.

(f) Spring Force

Force exerted by a compressed or stretched spring is ‘spring force’. The force
created could be a push or pull depending on how the spring is attached.

(g) Air Resisting Force

Air resisting forces are types of forces wherein objects experience a frictional force
when moving through the air. These forces are resistive in nature.

(h) Buoyant force

The buoyant force is the upward force exerted on an object wholly or partly
immersed in a fluid. This upward force is also called Upthrust.

Buoyancy is the tendency of an object to float in a fluid. All liquids and gases in the
presence of gravity exert an upward force known as the buoyant force on any object
immersed in them.

Buoyancy is important in swimming because it helps the swimmer to stay closer to

the surface. This is because the pressure experienced by the swimmer under the
water is more than the pressure experienced above. This is also the reason why
swimmers can float on the surface of the water.
Non-Contact Forces
The types of forces that can be exerted without requiring any contact with any object
are ‘non-contact forces’. They further divide into following types of forces:

(a) Gravitational Force

Gravitational force is an attractive force that can be defined by Newton’s law of
gravity which states that ‘gravitational forces between two bodies are directly
proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square
of the distance between them’. It is a force exerted by large bodies such as planets
and stars.
Example: water droplets falling down, fruits falling down from trees, anything falls

(b) Magnetic Force

The types of forces exerted by a magnet on magnetic objects are ‘magnetic forces’.
They exist without any contact between two objects.

(c) Electrostatic Force

The types of forces exerted by all electrically charged bodies on another charged
bodies in the universe are ‘electrostatic forces’. These forces can be both attractive
and repulsive in nature based on the charge of the bodies.

Effects of Force
A force acting on an object causes the object to change its shape or size, to start
moving, to stop moving, to accelerate or decelerate. When there’s the interaction
between two objects they exert a force on each other, these exerted forces are equal in
size but opposite in direction. When an object has several forces acting on it, the
effects of force is same as one force acting on the object in a certain direction and this
overall force is called the ‘resultant force’ / ‘net force’. The resultant force is essential
to change the velocity of an object.

 If the forces on the object are balanced, then the resultant force will be zero.
 If the resultant force acting on the object is ‘zero’ then the object will remain
stationary. In such a case the object will move at a steady speed in a straight line.
 If the resultant force acting on the object isn’t zero, then the object will either
accelerate or decelerate depending on the direction and magnitude of the net
force.

As a result of applying force:

1. State of motion changes, i.e. stationary object can move and moving object
can stop.
2. Force may change the direction of a moving object
 3. Force may change the speed of a moving object. If the force is in the same
direction, then the object moves faster and if the force is in opposite direction
then the speed of the moving slows down or it stops.
4. Force may change the shape and size of an object.

Laws of motion by Newton (Resource: http://www.physics4kids.com/files/motion_laws.html)

A painting of Sir Isaac Newton by Sir Godfrey Kneller, (Image: © Sir Godfrey Kneller)

Sir Isaac Newton's three laws of motion describe the motion of massive
bodies and how they interact.
Newton’s first law of motion:
The first law says that an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion
tends to stay in motion, with the same direction and speed unless an external
unbalanced force act on it. This law explains ‘inertia’.

Inertia: The tendency of being in the same state of motion until an unbalanced force
changes the condition.

Newton’s second law of motion

An object's acceleration is the net result of all forces acting on the object, as
described by Newton's Second Law
OR in other words –
Newton's second law says that when a constant force acts on a massive body, it
causes it to accelerate
This is written in mathematical form as:
F = ma This also means a=F/m
(That means acceleration is directly related to force and is inversely related to
mass of the object.)
Explanation - The second law shows that if you exert the same force on two objects
of different mass, you will get different accelerations (changes in motion). The effect
(acceleration) on the smaller mass will be greater (more noticeable). The effect of a
10 newton force on a baseball would be much greater than that same force acting on
a truck. The difference in effect (acceleration) is entirely due to the difference in their
masses.

Newton’s third law of motion

The third law says that for every action (force) there is an equal and opposite
reaction (force).
Explanation - Forces are found in pairs. Think about the time you sit in a chair. Your
body exerts a force downward and that chair needs to exert an equal force upward
or the chair will collapse.
_____________________________________

Time period: The time taken by the simple pendulum to complete one oscillation is
called its time period.
Time period = Total time in seconds / Total number of oscillations
For example: The time taken by pendulum to complete 5 oscillation = 15sec
The time taken by pendulum to complete 1 oscillation = 15/5= 3 sec
So time period = 3 sec

Force and motion units

Terms related to speed:

Average speed: When we travel in a vehicle the speed of the vehicle changes from
time to time depending upon the conditions existing on the road. In such a situation,
the speed is calculated by taking the ratio of the total distance travelled by the
vehicle to the total time taken for the journey. This is called the average speed.

Uniform Speed: An object is said to be moving with uniform speed if it covers equal
distances in equal intervals of time.

Odometer and Speedometer:

Odometer is used in a vehicle to measure distance covered by the vehicle.
The speedometer of a vehicle measures the speed of the vehicle in km/h.

Distance-Time Graphs
Motion of an object can be represented by its distance-time graphs. It tells us about
speed. It gives information about the nature of the motion of an object like uniform or
non-uniform motion.
The following points should be kept in mind while choosing most suitable scale for
drawing a graph:
(a) The difference between the highest and the lowest values of each quantity.
(b) The intermediate values of each quantity to mark the values on the graph.
(c) To utilize the maximum part of the paper on which graph is to be drawn.

The graph showing uniform motion

Non-uniform motion: An object is said to be moving with variable speed or non-

uniform speed if it covers equal distances in unequal intervals of time or vice-versa.
Have a look at the following images of distance time graphs and comment on the
variation in speed.
To calculate speed or distance or time taken to travel:
Speed = distance/ time
Distance = speed X time
Time taken to travel = Distance / speed

Practice questions
Q 1. Compare Distance and displacement?

The distance covered by a moving object is the actual length of the path followed by
the object. Distance is a scalar quantity. SI unit of distance is meter.

Displacement is the shortest distance covered by a moving object from the point of
reference (initial position of the body), in a specified direction. Displacement is a
vector quantity. SI unit of displacement is also meter.
Q2 What is the nature of distance-time graph for the motion of an object moving with
(i)a constant speed (ii)Changing speed?
Answer: (i) straight line and (ii) curved line

(Resource: https://www.toppr.com/guides/physics/force-and-pressure/force-and-its-effects/
Types Of Forces - Electrostatic Force | Spring Force | Physics (byjus.com)

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