QUARTER 1- MODULE 1

FORCES
 WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

1. Investigate the relationship between the

amount of force applied and the mass of the
object to the amount of change in the object’s
motion.
(Week 1 S8FE-Ia-15)
 FORCES
Force can be operationally defined based on observed effects. This means that a
force can be described in terms of what it does. However, forces do not always cause
motion. It does not necessarily follow that forces acting on an object will always cause it to
move. Figures below are examples where forces have tendency of changing the motion of
an object or not.

1. A girl sitting on a 2. A boy pushing a wall 3. A woman throwing a ball

chair
What can forces do? Forces can produce changes in motion. What are these changes in
motion?
 WHAT’S IN

In Grade 7, you learned displacement, velocity, and acceleration. You conducted activities
wherein you understood and made visual representations of the motion of objects such as motion
graphs. The ideas were arrived at by studying examples of uniform motion or objects moving in straight
line at constant speed. Then you were introduced to non-uniform motion where the object covers
unequal displacements at equal intervals of time.

Displacement is a change in position of an object.

Velocity the displacement (covered by it) per unit time in a particular direction.
Acceleration the rate of change of the velocity of an object
 WN

4. A moving car 5. A car slowing

down

When a car starts moving, it speeds up. When a car nears a stop sign, it slows
down. The car is covering different displacements at equal time intervals, hence is not
moving in constant velocity. This means the car is accelerating.
 WHAT’S NEW

Most of the motions we come across in our daily life are caused primarily by FORCE.
To better understand the topic, perform the simple activities that follow.
Activity 1. Effect of force on a ball

6. Effect of force on a
ball
Choose the letter of your answer to the given conditions
below:
 WHAT IS IT

You have observed that the ball moves once you push or pull it. This is
called force. Consider a ball on top of a table as shown in Figure 6. The ball will
not move when there is no force applied to it (Figure 6A). If you push the ball, it
will move or roll across the surface of the table (Figure 6B). And when it is again
pushed in the direction of its motion, it moves faster and even farther (Figure
6B). But when you push it on the other side instead, opposite to the direction of
its motion, the ball may slow down and eventually stop (Figure 6C). Lastly,
when you push it in a direction different from its original direction of motion, the
ball also changes its direction (Figure 6D). In conclusion, force can make the
ball, or any object move, move faster, stop, or change its direction of motion.
But, does this occur always? Can force always effect change in the state of
motion of an object?
 TO ACCURATELY DESCRIBE THE FORCES
ACTING ON AN OBJECT, LET US EXAMINE THE
FIGURE BELOW:
 FIGURE 7 SHOWS HOW FORCE ACTS ON A
BALL, BUT YOU NEED TO BE FAMILIAR WITH
THE FOLLOWING TERMS:
 magnitude – refers to the size or strength of the force. It is commonly
expressed in Newton (N) for Meter-Kilogram-Second (MKS) system, Dyne
(dyn) for Centimeter–Gram–Second (CGS) system and pounds (lbs) for
Foot– Pound–Second (FPS) system. In the International System of Units
(SI), Newton is commonly used which is named after Sir Isaac Newton,
an English physicist and mathematician.
 direction – points to where the object goes. The direction of the
arrowhead indicates the direction of the force. The length of the arrow
represents the amount of force (relative magnitude).
 point of application – the location of where the force is applied.
 line of action – is the straight line passing through the point of
application and is parallel to the direction of force.
 TWO TYPES OF FORCES:

• Contact forces – forces where objects touch or contact

with each other.

• Non-contact forces – forces where objects do not touch

or contact with each other. These forces act over a
zone or area called field.
 CONTACT FORCES
1. Applied – a force given to a person or object by another person or object. Its symbol is F
depending on who or what applies force to the object. If a boy applies a force to a wall, we
denote it with FBOY. Refer to the figure below.
2. Friction – is the force acting against or opposite an object in contact with which makes the
movement of the object slow down. Friction always opposes the motion of an object. Its symbol is
written as Ff. Air resistance denoted by FAIR is an example of frictional force of the air against a
flying kite, airplanes, parachutes or those in skydiving sports. For free-falling objects, this force is
always considered negligible, meaning the magnitude is unnoticeable.
3. Normal – is the force that acts perpendicular to the surface of the object in contact with. Its
symbol is FN.
4. Tension – is the force applied to string, rope, chain or cable. Its symbol is
T.
 NON-CONTACT FORCES
1. Gravitational (Fg) – is the force of attraction between two objects. In the case of the Earth,
this gravitational force causes objects to fall down to the ground. It makes satellites and smaller
objects stay in orbit near the more massive planets. Mass and distance of the two objects affect
the gravitational force that holds them. The bigger the masses of the objects are, the bigger is
the gravitational force between them. The closer the objects are, the greater is the gravitational
force between them. The figure below illustrates gravitational force between the Earth and the
Moon. Earth has bigger gravitational force over the Moon.
 The weight of an object, denoted by W, is an example of the gravitational force of
the Earth towards the object. In figure 13, the weight of a book (WBOOK) is illustrated.

However, the weight of an object depends on the mass of the celestial body where the object
is attracted to. Meaning, we seem to be lighter when we are on the moon than on the Earth.
2. Magnetic– are forces exerted on a field of attraction or repulsion as in the case of magnets
and other magnetic materials. Magnets and magnetic materials have two poles – the north and
south poles. Attraction may occur when two poles are not the same, a positive and a negative
while repulsion takes place with the same poles, positive-positive and negative-negative.
 BALANCED FORCES
• To describe a force, you must know two things. You must know the magnitude and the
direction of the force. Suppose two teams are playing tug-of-war as shown in figure 15.
Each team is pulling with equal magnitude of force, FA and FB , on the rope but in
opposite directions. Neither team can make the other team move. Forces that are
equal in magnitude but opposite in direction are called balanced forces. Balanced
forces do not cause a change in motion. When balanced forces act on an object at rest,
the object will not move.
 UNBALANCED FORCES
• When you push a table and then it moves, unbalanced forces are present. Forces that
cause a change in the motion of an object are unbalanced forces. Unbalanced forces
are not equal and in opposite direction. Suppose that one of the teams in tug-of-war, as
shown in figure 16, exerts greater magnitude of force, FB, on the ground than the other
team, the forces applied on the ground would no longer be equal. One team would be
able to pull the other team in the direction of the larger force.
 NET OR RESULTANT FORCE
In an object, there may be several forces acting on it. Net force or
resultant force is the sum of all forces acting on an object. Two or more
forces in the same line of action exerted on an object are balanced if
their effects cancel each other.

When an object is at rest, a zero net force would make the object
remains at rest. Moreover, when the object is moving, a zero net force
would make the object maintain its velocity at a given time interval.

On the other hand, when the net force is not zero, the object’s
velocity will change. A net force exerted to an object at rest may cause
the object to move. In a moving object, a net force will increase its
velocity when the force is in the same direction of its motion. If the net
force is in the opposite direction of the object’s motion, the force will
reduce the object’s velocity. When the net force acts sideways on a
 WHAT’S MORE

• Forces can be applied to objects in

different directions at the same time.
It is important to identify all the forces
acting on the object which cause
change in the motion.
 Activity 2. Forces on objects at rest
• Objective: After accomplishing this activity, you should be able to identify what
forces are acting on an object at rest.
• Material: picture
• Directions: A. Look and study the picture below.

• Questions:

1. Is the block of wood at rest or in motion? _______________

2. Refer to the figure below. Draw the forces acting on the block of wood. Use
the dot as the origin of the forces.
 Activity 3. Balance of Forces

• Objective: After performing this activity, you should be able to:

1. Examine the situation when the forces are balanced; and
2. Explain the effect of balanced forces on the state of motion of an object.
• Material: pictures
Procedure
• Examine the pictures below:
For question numbers 1-3, refer to Figure 18.
1. If two groups in the game are exerting equal and opposite forces on the rope, will the rope
move? _________________________________________________________
2. In the same condition, what happens to the net force acting on the rope?
_________________________________________________________
3. What are the forces present on the rope? ________________________________________________________
4. Refer to Figure 19. If you place a ball on the floor then push it gently to one side, observe the
motion of the ball as it rolls down the floor.
a. What makes the ball stop rolling after sometime?
______________________________________________________
b. What are the forces that act on the ball? ______________________________________________________
 Activity 4. Unbalance of Forces

• Objective: After performing this activity, you should be able to:

1. Examine the situation when the forces are unbalanced; and
2. Explain the effect of unbalanced forces on the state of motion of an object.
• Material: pictures
Procedure
• Examine the pictures below:
For question numbers 1-2, refer to figure 20.
1. If two groups in the game are exerting unequal and opposite forces on the ground, will the rope
move? ______________________________________________________________
2. Will the net force be equal to zero?
______________________________________________________________
3. To what direction does the rope move?
______________________________________________________________
For question numbers 4 – 6, refer to figure 21.
4. Are the forces acting on the chandelier unbalanced?
_________________________________________________________
5. What force can cause the chandelier to fall?
______________________________________________________________
6. What type of force is your answer in number 4?
 WHAT I HAVE LEARNED
• Fill in the blanks with correct word/s. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Any push or pull is called ________________.

2. ________________ refers to the size or strength of the force while ________________ points to where
the object goes. The direction of the arrowhead indicates the direction of the force. The length of the
arrow represents the amount of force (relative magnitude).
3. There are two types of forces, namely ________________ and ________________.
4. Applied, friction, normal and tensional forces are examples of ________________ forces.
5. Gravitational and magnetic forces are examples of ________________ forces.
6. ________________ are forces that are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.
7. ________________ are forces that cause a change in the motion of an object.
8. The sum of all forces acting in an object is called ________________.
9. If the forces in an object are balanced, the net force is ________________.
 WHAT I CAN DO
When we combine or add forces to determine the net or resultant force,
we will limit to those forces which act along the same line of action. The
algebraic signs + and – are used to indicate the direction of forces. Unlike signs
are used for forces acting in opposite directions, see figure 22 below.
 The force of gravity (Fg) and the normal force (FN) are assigned opposite signs. FN is given a

of 3 N, then the net force along this line (vertical) is represented by ∑ 𝐹 .

positive (+) sign while Fg is given a negative (-) sign. If both Fg and FN are given a magnitude value

To solve for the net force, you get the sum of all the forces exerted in the object. The symbol
sigma, ∑, means you add all the existing forces in the same line of action. You cannot add a vertical
force to a horizontal force. In Figure 20, we can add the two forces, normal and gravitational force
since they are in the same vertical line of action.

If the net force equates to zero, they are considered balanced. If the net force is not equal to
zero, the forces are not balanced. This unbalanced force would cause a change in a body’s state of
motion. Refer to the figure 23.
 In figure 23, suppose one side in the tug-of-war, team A exerts 1,000 N while the other side,
Team B exerts 1300 N. To get the net force,

This means that Team B won the game, since the Fnet = 300 N in the direction of Team
B (to the right). The negative sign (-1000 N) in the solution means the force is exerted in the
opposite side (to the left). Always remember to write the magnitude and direction of the force.
 Read and analyze each problem carefully. Write your answers and solutions in your answer
sheet.
1. Boys A and B, are pulling a heavy cabinet at the same time with 5 N of force each. What is the
net force acting on the cabinet? ______________________
2. What if boy A and boy B pull the heavy cabinet at the same time in opposite directions with 10
N and 5 N of force respectively,

a. what will be the net force on the cabinet? ______________________

b. will the cabinet move? ______________________
c. to what direction will it move? ______________________
3. From problem 2, suppose another boy, Boy C pulls the heavy cabinet with 5 N of force in the same
direction with Boy A,
a. What will be the net force on the cabinet? ______________________
b. Will the cabinet move? ______________________
c. In what direction will the cabinet move? ______________________