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Forces + Acceleration

The document discusses the concepts of resultant force, friction, acceleration, mass, and weight in physics. It explains how resultant forces affect an object's motion, the nature of friction, and the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. Additionally, it clarifies the distinction between mass and weight, emphasizing the significance of mass in relation to inertia and gravitational force.

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Shehrbano Jafri
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15 views4 pages

Forces + Acceleration

The document discusses the concepts of resultant force, friction, acceleration, mass, and weight in physics. It explains how resultant forces affect an object's motion, the nature of friction, and the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. Additionally, it clarifies the distinction between mass and weight, emphasizing the significance of mass in relation to inertia and gravitational force.

Uploaded by

Shehrbano Jafri
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PHYSICS BY AHTESHAM JAFRI

Forces
Resultant Force:
When several forces act on a body, the resultant (overall) force on the body can be found by adding together forces which act in the same
direction and subtracting forces which act in opposite directions.
Diagram showing the resultant forces on three different objects:

When the forces acting on a body are balanced (i.e. there is no resultant force), the body will either remain at rest or continue to move in a
straight line at a constant speed.
Diagram showing the resultant forces on three different objects:
When the forces acting on a body are balanced the body will remain at rest or
continue to travel at a constant speed in a straight line.

Friction:
Friction is a force that opposes the motion of an object caused by the contact (rubbing)
of two surfaces. It always acts in the opposite direction to the direction in which the
object is moving.

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PHYSICS BY AHTESHAM JAFRI
Friction opposes the motion of an object.
Air resistance (sometimes called drag) is a form of friction caused by a body moving through the air. Friction (including air resistance)
results in energy loss due to the transfer of energy from kinetic to internal (heat).

Resultant force:
The resultant force is sometimes also known as the net force or the unbalanced force.

Friction:
Avoid referring to air resistance as wind resistance or air pressure – these are incorrect terms and will lose you marks if you use them when
you actually mean air resistance.

Forces & Motion:


When an unbalanced (resultant) force acts on an object, it can affect its motion in a number of ways:
The object could speed up.

When an unbalanced (resultant) force acts on an object, it can affect its motion in a number of ways:
The object could slow down.

When an unbalanced (resultant) force acts on an object, it can affect its motion in a number of ways:
The object could change direction.

A resultant force can cause an object to speed up, slow down or change direction.

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PHYSICS BY AHTESHAM JAFRI
Acceleration:
Force, mass and acceleration are related by the following equation:
force = mass × acceleration
f=m×a

The greater the force, the greater the acceleration (for a given mass).
For a given force, the smaller the mass the greater the acceleration

If you are trying to find the acceleration check that you know both the unbalanced (resultant) force and the mass of the object. If you don’t,
you might need to calculate the acceleration using a different equation.

Mass & Weight:


Mass (measured in kilograms, kg) is related to the amount of matter in an object.

Weight (measured in Newton, N) is the force of gravity on a mass.


The size of this force depends on the gravitational field strength (often called gravity, g, for short).

Weight = mass x gravitational field strength


W=mxg
The value of g (the gravitational field strength) varies from planet to planet.

On Earth: The value of gravitational field strength is 9.81 N/kg but for calculations we use 10 N/kg.
On Moon: The value of gravitational field strength is 1.7 N/kg.

The weight (and hence mass) of two objects can be compared using a balance.
Mass is usually measured in kilograms in Physics. If it is given in grams, you might need to convert to kilograms by dividing the mass by
1000.
It is easy to confuse mass and weight. – take care to use each term appropriately.
When referring to the force of gravity: “be careful to call it weight, gravitational force or gravitational attraction”

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PHYSICS BY AHTESHAM JAFRI
When referring to the force of gravity:
Don’t refer to it as just gravity and certainly don’t call it gravitational field strength or gravitational potential (both of which mean different
things).

The Significance of Mass:


Mass has two significant effects in Physics:
The mass of an object’s opposed any attempt to change that object’s motion.

Mass has two significant effects in Physics:


The greater the mass of an object, the more difficult it is to speed it up, slow it down or change its direction This property of mass is
sometimes referred to as inertia.

Mass is also the source of an object’s weight – the force of gravity on a mass.
The greater the mass, the greater the weight.

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