Forces

What are Forces?

1 of 24
20 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 What are Forces?

• A force can be a push or a pull. For

example, when you push open a
door you have to apply a force to
the door. You also have to apply a
force to pull open a drawer.

• You cannot see a force but often

you can see what it does. Forces
can change the speed of something,
the direction it is moving in or its
shape. For example, an elastic band
gets longer if you pull it.
1 of 24
2 20 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 What is a force?
A force is a push or a pull. A force cannot be seen
but you can see how a force affects an object.

1 of 24
3 20 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Measuring Forces
A force meter is used to measure forces. Forces
can be measured using a force meter. Force
meters contain a spring connected to a metal
hook. The spring stretches when a force is
applied to the hook. The bigger the force
applied, the longer the spring stretches and
the bigger the reading.
The unit of force is called the newton, and it has
the symbol N. So 100 N is a bigger force than 5
N.

1 of 24
4 20 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Weight, Mass and Gravity
People often confuse mass and weight. Remember that weight is a force,
and is measured in newtons. Mass is measured in kilograms (kg).
Mass
• The mass of an object is the amount of matter or "stuff" it contains. The
more matter an object contains, the greater its mass. An elephant
contains more matter than a mouse, so it has a greater mass. Mass is
measured in kilograms, kg, or grams, g.
Gravity
• All objects have a force that attracts them towards each other. This is
called gravity. Even you attract other objects to you because of gravity,
but you have too little mass for the force to be very strong.
Gravitational force increases when:
• the masses are bigger
• the objects are closer
Gravity only becomes noticeable when there is a really massive object like
a moon, planet or star. We are pulled down towards the ground because
of gravity. The gravitational force pulls in the direction towards the
centre of the Earth.
Weight
• Weight is a force caused by gravity. The weight of an object is the
gravitational force between the object and the Earth. The more mass the
object has the greater its weight will be.
• Weight is a force, so it's measured in Newtons. On the surface of the
Earth an object with a mass of 1 kg has a weight of about 10 N.
1 of 24
5 20 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Mass and Weight

The mass of an object stays the same wherever

it is, but its weight can change. This happens
if the object goes somewhere where gravity is
stronger, or weaker, such as the Moon.
The Moon has less mass than the Earth, so its
gravity is less than the Earth's gravity. This
means that objects weigh less on the Moon
than they do on the Earth.
The Moon's gravity is one sixth of the Earth's
gravity. A 120 kg astronaut weighs 1200 N on
Earth. On the Moon they would weigh only 200
N. The astronaut's mass is 120kg wherever
they are.

Remember that mass is measured

in kilograms, kg, and weight is measured
in newtons, N.
1 of 24
6 20 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Pressure
You may get told off if you swing around on one
leg of a chair instead of sitting properly. Apart
from the risk that you will damage the chair or
hurt yourself, the chair leg can damage the
floor. This is because it puts too much
pressure on the floor.

Working out pressure

To work out pressure, we need to know two
things:
the force or weight applied
the area over which the force or weight works.
This is the equation for
working out pressure:
pressure = force ÷ area

1 of 24
7 20 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Balanced Forces
Force diagrams
We can show the forces acting on an object using a force
diagram. In a force diagram, each force is shown as a
force arrow. An arrow shows:
the size of the force (the longer the arrow, the bigger the
force)
the direction in which the force acts.
The arrow is usually labelled with the name of the force
and its size in newtons. Text books often show a force
with a thick coloured arrow, but it is best if you just use
a pencil and ruler to draw an arrow with a single line.

Balanced forces
When two forces acting on an object are equal in size but
act in opposite directions, we say that they
are balanced forces.

1 of 24
8 20 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 When forces are balanced

balanced
forces
10 N 10 N

If you link two newton meters and pull equally

hard from both ends, the forces recorded on
both will be the same.
The forces acting on the central hooks cancel each other
out – they are equal in magnitude and opposite in
direction. the forces are balanced the hooks do
Because
not move.

1 of 24
9 20 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 If the forces on an object are balanced
(or if there are no forces acting on it)
this is what happens:
an object that is not moving stays still
an object that is moving continues to
move at the same speed and in the
same direction

So notice that an object can be moving even if

there are no forces acting on it.

1 ofof20
10 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Examples

Here are some examples of balanced forces.

Hanging objects
The forces on this hanging crate are equal in size but
act in opposite directions. The weight pulls down and
the tension in the rope pulls up.

The forces on this hanging crate are balanced.

1 ofof20
11 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Standing on the ground
When an object rests on a surface such as the ground,
its weight is balanced by the reaction force from the
ground. The ground pushes up against the object. The
reaction force is what you feel in your feet as you stand
still. Without this balancing force you would sink into the
ground.

The weight of a book lying on a table is balanced by the reaction force from the table top.

1 ofof20
12 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 When forces are unbalanced

unbalanced
forces
11 N 10 N
movement

What happens if the pull on one end is greater

than the pull on the other end?
The forces acting on the hooks are no longer balanced.
Both hooks will start to move to the left – their speed
will change. This is called acceleration.
Unbalanced forces lead to a change in speed or
direction.
1 ofof20
13 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Balanced or unbalanced
forces?
In which direction will these stationary objects move?

1 ofof20
14 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 What is friction?
If you rub your hands
together they get warm.
There is resistance to the
rubbing motion.
What is the name of
this resistive force?

It is called
friction.
What causes this
force?
Your hands might look smooth, but on a microscopic
level they have rough surfaces. So when you rub
your hands together you feel the resistive force of
friction.

1 ofof20
15 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 More about friction
Friction always tries to slow moving objects
down. We say it opposes motion.

Friction is created whenever two touching

objects or surfaces move past each other.

Friction also occurs when things move through

air. This is called air resistance or drag.

There is a maximum value for the frictional

force which depends on:
 the force pushing the two surfaces together;
 the state of the surfaces in contact.

1 ofof20
16 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Effects of frictional forces

1 ofof20
17 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Ferry forces
Forces acting on a ferry as it sails to France.

upthrust
or
buoyancy
air
resistanc
thrust e
friction

weight

1 ofof20
18 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Changing forces
The ferry arrives at Calais and is loaded with travellers.

What happens to the weight of the ship? increases

What happens to the upthrust on the ship? increases
Which is the largest force - weight or upthrust? both
equal
1 ofof20
19 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 What are mass and weight?

Mass and weight are not the same!

Mass is the amount of matter in an object and

is measured in kilograms. Mass is not a force.
Mass will have the same value anywhere in the
Universe, including space.
Weight is a force and is caused by the pull of
gravity acting on a mass . Like other forces,
weight is measured in newtons and has both
magnitude and direction.
Weight has different values depending on
where you are in the Universe.

1 ofof20
20 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Weight and mass on the Moon
The force of gravity is less on
the Moon than it is on Earth.
This is because the Moon has a
smaller mass than the Earth.
Any object will weigh less on
the Moon than it does on Earth.
An astronaut could jump 20
feet into the air on the Moon
because gravity is less.
However, the astronaut still has
the same body and the same
mass: he just weighs less
because gravity is weaker on the
Moon.
1 ofof20
21 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Talking about weight and mass
One should never say:
“She weighs 50 kilograms,”
but should always say:
“She has a mass of 50 kilograms”.

Alternatively, the one could say:

“The gravitational force acting on her
mass is about 500 newtons”.
This is the same as saying:
“Her weight is about 500 newtons”.

1 ofof20
22 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004
 Glossary
air resistance – A frictional force that acts
against an object moving through air.
force – A push or a pull, measured in newtons
(N).
friction – A force that occurs between two
surfaces rubbing against each other.
gravity – The force of attraction between two
objects.
mass – The amount of matter that an object is
made of, measured in kilograms (kg).
thrust – A force that pushes an object
forwards.
upthrust – A force that pushes an object
upwards.
1 ofof20
23 24 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
2004