Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

TERM I
NAME: ______________________ REF: 2024 -25 / SCI /TI /STD 8 /

CLASS: _____________________ SUBJECT: SCIENCE

DATE: _____________________ TOPIC: Force and Pressure

The interaction between two objects which causes push or pull is called force. Force has both
magnitude and direction. The strength of a force is expressed in magnitude. Force brings about a
change in the direction or state of motion of a body.

Force
• A force can be defined as a push or pull upon an object resulting from the object’s interaction
with another object.
• For example - Picking, Kicking, Shutting, Squeezing, Pushing, Lifting etc.
• Force can also be defined as an influence that brings about a change in the speed, direction
of motion, or shape of the object.
• In order to move an object from one location to another, there must be a net force exerted
on the object.
• More force is required to move a heavy object in comparison to a lighter object.

Push and Pull

A push is a force exerted to move an object away from oneself. e.g.: Hitting a snooker ball,
kicking a football.

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Effects of force

.A force can change the size and shape of an object. For example – When playing with
clay we can change the shape of it by applying force. The shape of a rubber band
changes when it is stretched.
1. A force can change the speed of a moving object. It can slow down or completely stop
a moving object. To do this we need to apply a force in a direction opposite to the direction of
motion.
2. A force can move an object which is at rest. For example – A stationary trolley can be moved
by applying force. So the motion of an object can be halted by application of force.
3. A force can change the direction of motion. For example- A football can changes its direction
when kicked it in a different direction.
Types of Forces

There are two types of forces namely contact force and non-contact force

1. Contact forces

These are the kinds of force that come into action when two interacting bodies are in
physical contact with each other. Muscular forces and frictional forces are example of
contact force.

Types of Contact Force

a. Muscular force

It is a type of contact force. It is the force that is exerted by the muscles of the
body. For example- To lift an object we use hands. If we want to pull a bucket of
water or lift a heavy box it requires muscular force. Like humans, animals also
use muscular force.

Frictional force
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 The force that causes objects to slow down and stop moving is called frictional
force. Friction always acts in the direction opposite to the direction of motion of
the object.
• When a ball comes to rest after some time. This is due to friction between the
ground and the ball.
• It leads to generation of heat as two surfaces come in contact with each
other. For example, when we rub our hands together, heat is produced as a
result of friction between our hands.
• Frictional force also leads to wear and tear of the surfaces of objects that come
in contact with each other. For example, sole of shoes often gets worn-out due
to friction force that acts between them and the ground as we walk.

Force of Friction acting upon a moving object

b. Air Resistance
Whenever an object moves or flies in the air, it experiences a force called air
resistance.

Air Resistance Experienced by Airplane

2. Non-contact forces

These are the kinds of force that is come into action when two interacting bodies are not in
physical contact with each other.

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 Types of Non-Contact Force

a. Magnetic force –
Magnetic force is the force exerted by a magnet on another magnet or on a
piece of iron. Since a magnet is surrounded by an unseen magnetic field, it can
act from a distance.
For example- To separate the iron objects from the garbage, a magnet can be
used to attract the piece of iron as the force between them is an attractive type of
force.

b. Electrostatic force –
The force exerted by a charged body on another charged or uncharged body.
So, the force exerted by an electrostatic charge is referred to as an Electrostatic Force.
For example- Lightning force occurs due to electric charges. It can be both
attractive and repulsive in nature.
It is because of electrostatic forces that bits of paper move towards the comb which
was rubbed through dry hairs. This happens because when comb is rubbed
through your dry hairs it acquires a property called electric charge.

c. Gravitational force –
The attractive force that a body experience towards the centre of the earth is
called the force of gravity due to earth.
Gravity is a property exhibited by every object present in the universe and not
only the earth. Hence, all the planets, the moons and even the sun have a
gravitational force of their own.
For example – The falling of an apple from a tree.

Magnitude of Forces
• By term magnitude of forces, we mean the net amount of all the forces being
applied to the object. It is the sum of all forces operating on a body.
• When two forces act in the same direction, the magnitude of the force
increases. It is equal to the sum of both forces.
• When two forces act in opposite directions, the magnitude of the force
becomes less or decreases. It is the difference between the two forces.

How can we express the force?

• A force is expressed by its magnitude and direction. The magnitude of the force is
a numerical value. The direction of force is away from us when we push
something and towards us when we pull something.
Units of force

• The SI unit (Standard international unit) of force is called Newton symbol N

• The unit of force is named after the renowned scientist Issac Newton.

One newton is therefore the force needed to accelerate one kilogram of mass at the

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 rate of one metre per second squared in the direction of the applied force.

F=m×a
Force = mass x
acceleration Force = m/s2
or ms−2

Pressure

Pressure is defined as the force acting per unit surface area. The effect of force is
measured by pressure.

Pressure is directly proportional to force and inversely proportional to the area over which
it is applied.

So, if we decrease the amount of area, pressure increases and if we increase the
amount of area, pressure decreases.

Unit of pressure

The SI unit of pressure is Pascal.

1Pa=1N/m2

Applications of pressure in our daily life

• Broad Straps of shoulder bags :- The straps of shoulder bags are made
broad which increases the area of contact and reduces the pressure on the
shoulders. We know that pressure is inversely proportional to area, thus the
wider the area, the less pressure is exerted, making it easier to carry a
shoulder bag.
• Elephants have broad feet, which increases the area of contact with the
ground and results in lower pressure and enables the elephants to walk
easily.
• It is easier to hammer a sharp iron nail than to hammer a blunt one because
the area of a sharp iron nail is smaller than that area of a blunt nail. So, it
becomes easier to hammer the nail into the wall.
• The use of skis helps to walk on snow as skis increase the area of
contact between our foot and snow. This reduces pressure on the
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 snow.
• Peeling vegetables with a blunt knife is tough. It is much easier to peel
vegetables using a sharp knife that has sharp edges. This is because the sharp
edge of knife has a small surface area and less force delivers the amount of
pressure needed to cut or peel vegetables.

Pressure Exerted by liquids and Gases

It is the force exerted by liquids or gases per unit area.

Liquids and gases exert pressure in all directions. The pressure inside them increase
with depth.
Pressure Exerted By Liquid
• Liquids exert pressure due to the weight that liquid possesses.
• The liquid possess pressure in the downward direction.
• The pressure exerted by liquids at the bottom depends on the height of
the liquid column. The pressure exerted by liquids increases with depth.
(Figure A)
• For example – The body of the submarine is built by strong material to
withstand high pressure of water in deep-sea.
• Liquids also exert pressure in all directions on the walls of the container.
• For example – Take a container and make holes in it. Now cover the holes
with tape and fill the container with water. Then remove the tape. We will
observe that water comes out of the container through each hole.
• This shows that liquids exert pressure in all direction (Figure B)

FigureA Figure B

Pressure Exerted by Gases

Gases too exert pressure on the walls of container like liquids. Air pressure arises due
to constant collisions of tiny molecules of gases present in the air with the walls of the
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 container it is enclosed.

For example- When air is pumped into a bicycle tube by using a pump, the bicycle
gets inflated due to air pressure exerted by the collisions of gas molecules in air with
the inner walls of the rubber tube. For this reason, bicycle tire’s feel hard.

Pressure exerted by gases on the walls of a container

Atmospheric Pressure

Atmosphere – The blanket of air that surrounds the earth is called the
atmosphere. All fluids (liquids and gases) exert pressure. So the air also exerts
a pressure called atmospheric pressure.
Atmospheric pressure is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. Atmospheric
pressure is due to the weight of air present in the atmosphere above us. This
pressure causes air molecules to be more tightly packed together than those that are
high in the atmosphere. On the surface of the earth, the atmospheric pressure is
maximum at sea level.
Atmospheric pressure also exists in all directions.
The instrument used for the measurement of atmospheric pressure is
known as a barometer.
The value of atmospheric pressure at the sea level is 101325 Pascal.

The amount of atmospheric pressure upon us is quite large due to the large
surface area of the atmosphere around the earth but we do not experience
any of its effects.
This is so because the pressure of the air inside our body is equal to the
atmospheric pressure. There are also fluids present in our body that exert a
pressure inside our body. Hence, our bodies easily obtain a balance with the
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 atmospheric pressure.

However sometimes at higher altitudes where the atmospheric pressure is low as

compared to that at the Earth’s surface (low altitudes), nose bleeding occurs.

This is so because at that time the blood pressure in our body becomes higher than the
atmospheric pressure outside us.

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