0.2 Force, momentum and impulse

Introduction

In Grade 10 we studied motion but not what caused the motion. In this chapter we will learn that a net force is needed to cause motion. We recall what a force is and learn about how force and motion are related. We are introduced to two new concepts, momentum and impulse, and we learn more about turning forces and the force of gravity.

Force

What is a force ?

A force is anything that can cause a change to objects. Forces can:

• change the shape of an object
• accelerate or stop an object
• change the direction of a moving object.

A force can be classified as either a contact force or a non-contact force .

A contact force must touch or be in contact with an object to cause a change. Examples of contact forces are:

• the force that is used to push or pull things, like on a door to open or close it
• the force that a sculptor uses to turn clay into a pot
• the force of the wind to turn a windmill

Write down 5 examples (excluding those given above) of contact forces that you see on your way to school.

A non-contact force does not have to touch an object to cause a change. Examples of non-contact forces are:

• the force due to gravity, like the Earth pulling the Moon towards itself
• the force due to electricity, like a proton and an electron attracting each other
• the force due to magnetism, like a magnet pulling a paper clip towards itself

The unit of force is the newton (symbol N ). This unit is named after Sir Isaac Newton who first defined force. Force is a vector quantity and has a magnitude and a direction. We use the abbreviation F for force.

This chapter will often refer to the resultant force acting on an object. The resultant force is simply the vector sum of all the forces acting on the object. It is very important to remember that all the forces must be acting on the same object. The resultant force is the force that has the same effect as all the other forces added together.

Examples of forces in physics

Most of Physics revolves around the study of forces. Although there are many different forces, all are handled in the same way. All forces in Physics can be put into one of four groups. These are gravitational forces, electromagnetic forces, strong nuclear forces and weak nuclear forces. You will mostly come across gravitational or electromagnetic forces at school.

Gravitational forces

Gravity is the attractive force between two objects due to the mass of the objects. When you throw a ball in the air, its mass and the Earth's mass attract each other, which leads to a force between them. The ball falls back towards the Earth, and the Earth accelerates towards the ball. The movement of the Earth towards the ball is, however, so small that you couldn't possibly measure it.