Definitons Flashcards
Balance forces
A resultant force of zero
Contact force
A force that acts on an object through physical contact
Electric field
A region where a charge will experience a non-contact electrostatic force
Equilibrium
An object in equilibrium has a zero resultant force and a zero resultant movement
Force Field
A region where an object will experience a non-contact force
Force Vectors
An arrow that represents a force. The length represents the force’s magnitude and the arrowhead shows the direction that it acts
Free body diagram
A visual representation of the forces that act on an object
Friction
A resistive contact force that acts to oppose the relative motion between two surfaces
Gears
A simple mechanism that can transmit the rotational effect of a force
Gravitational Field
A region where a mass will experience a non- contact gravitational force
Lever
A simple mechanism that can transmit the rotational effect of a force
Lubrication
The application of a lubricant (such as oil) to reduce the friction that acts between surfaces. This may improve the efficiency of a system.
Magnetic field
A region where a magnetic material will experience a non-contact magnetic force
Scalar
Have a magnitude - no direction
Vector
Have magnitude and direction
