Forces Flashcards
(78 cards)
Vector
Magnitude and direction
Scalar
Only have magnitude
Examples of vector quantities
Force, velocity, displacement, acceleration, momentum
Examples of scalar quantities
Speed, distance, mass, temperature, time
How are vectors represented
- arrow
- length of arrow= magnitude
- direction of arrow= direction of quantity
What is a contact force an examples of it
- when 2 objects are touching for a force to act
- eg. Friction, air resistance, tension in ropes, normal contact force
What is non contact force and examples of it
- if objects don’t need to be touching for a force to act
- magnetic force, gravitational force, electrostatic force
Sun and earth example of non contact force
- they’re both attracted to eachother by the gravitational force
- this is a non contact force
- an equal but opposite force of attraction is felt by both the sun and the earth
Chair ad floor example of contact force
- a chair exerts a force on the ground, whilst the ground pushes back at the chair with the same force (the normal contact force)
- equal but opposite forces are felt by both the chair and the ground
2 important effects of gravity
- on the surface of a planet, it makes all things fall towards the ground
- it gives everything a weight
What is gravity
- gravitational force is the force of attraction between masses
- gravity attracts all masses, but you only notice it when one of the masses is really really big, eg. A planet
What is mass
- just the amount of stuff in a object
- for any given object, this will have the same value anywhere in the universe
What is weight
- the force acting on an object due to the pull of the gravitational force on the object)
- close to earth, this force is caused by the gravitational field around earth
Gravitational field strength
- it varies with location
- its stronger the closer you are to the mass causing the field
What is the weigh of an object dependent of
- the strength of the gravitational field at the location of the object
- this means that the weight of an object changes with its location
What is mass’s unit and how is it measured
- kg
- mass balance
Unit of weight and how is it measured
- force measured in newtons, N
- the force is acting from a single point on the object, called its centre of mass. For a uniform object (one thats the same density throughout and is a regular shape) this will be at the centre of the object
- measured with calibrated spring balance or newton meter
Relationship between mass and weight
Directly proportional
What is a free body diagram
- diagram showing all the forces acting on an object using arrows
What happens when a resultant force moves an object
- when a force moves an object through a distance, energy is transferred and work is done on the object
- to mark something move, a force must be applied. The thing applying the force needs a source of energy. The force does work to move the object and energy is transferred from one store to another
How to use scale drawings to find resultant forces
- Draw all the forces acting on an object, to scale
- Then draw a straight line from the start of the first force to the end of the last force - thats the resultant force
- Measure length of the resultant force on the diagram to find the magnitude and the angle to find the direction of the force.
It should look like a triangle
How to calculate force if object is in equilibrium
- If all the forces acting on an object combine to give a resultant force of 0, the object is in equilibrium
- On a scale diagram, this means that the tip of the last force you draw should end where the tail of the first force you drew begins (for three forces, the diagram will form a triangle
- If told to find a missing force, draw on the forces you know, and then draw a line to fill the gap and work out the force
Calculating a force by splitting a force into components
- some forces are at awkward angles
- to make it easier, it can be split into two components at right angles to eachother (usually horizontal or vertical)
- actin together, the components have the same effect as the single force
- draw the force to scale, then add the horizontal and vertical components along the same grid lines (should form a right angle triangle). The jus tmeasure them
Elastic deformation
-an object has been elastically deformed if it can go back to its original shape and length after the force has been removed
- objects that can be elastically deformed are elastic objects
- an object has been inelastically deformed if it doesn’t return to its original shape and length after the force has been removed