Force – Summary Notes

 A force is that physical cause which changes or tends to change the state of rest or of
uniform motion of a body.
 Force can produce the following effects on a body:
 It can change the speed of a moving body.
 It can change the direction of motion of a moving body.
 It can make a body move or can stop a moving body.
 It can change the shape and the size of a body.
 The forces which act on bodies when they are in direct contact are called contact forces,
e.g., frictional force, normal reaction force, tension force, collision force, and the force
applied as a push or pull.
 The forces which act on bodies without being in contact with each other are called
noncontact forces, e.g., gravitational force, electrical force, and magnetic force.
 The magnitude of noncontact forces depends on the distance of separation of bodies. It
increases as the separation decreases and vice-versa.
 The SI unit of force is newton (N). One newton is that force which acts on a body of mass
1 kg and produces an acceleration of 1m s 2 in it in the direction of force.
1N  1kg 1ms 2
 The CGS unit of force is dyne. One dyne is that force which acts on a body of mass 1 g
and produces an acceleration of 1cm s 2 in the direction of force.
1 dyne  1g 1cms 2
1N  105 dyne
 The gravitational units of force are kgf and gf.
1 kgf = 1000 gf = 9.8 N and 1 gf = 980 dyne
 Frictional Force: The force which opposes the relative motion between two surfaces in
contact is called the force of friction or frictional force. It arises due to the interlocking
of irregular projections on the two surfaces of contact.
 The force of friction is of three types: static friction, kinetic friction and rolling friction.
 The factors that affect the force of friction are:
 The materials of bodies
 The roughness of surfaces
 The weights of bodies.
 Disadvantages of Friction:
 In machines, some energy dissipates in the form of heat and sound due to friction.
 Friction causes wear and tear of moving parts of a machine.
 It reduces the efficiency of machine.
 Friction may seize the moving parts of a machine due to excessive heat produced by it.
 Unwanted friction can be reduced by:
 using lubricants,
 polishing,

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  using roller or ball bearings, and
 streamlining.
 Advantages of Friction:
 Without friction, it would be impossible for us to walk on a road or the ground.
 All vehicles are able to run on the road because of friction between the tyres and the
road.
 The friction helps us in holding objects with our hands, gripping, climbing a ladder,
sitting in a chair, etc.
 It helps us while writing on a paper with a pen or a pencil.
 It is the friction between the belt and the pulley that helps in the rotation of various parts
of a machine.
 The ropes and strings cannot tie knots and hold objects without friction.
 A billiard player depends on the force of friction between the ball and the end of his cue
for a good shot.
 Friction can be increased by:
 making the surfaces rough,
 using dry surfaces, and
 increasing the weight.
 The motion of a body moving in a straight line in the direction of force is called the
translational motion.
 When a body is pivoted at a point and the applied force rotates it about a certain axis, the
motion is called the rotational motion.
 Turning Force: The force which when applied at a point of a fixed body and rotates the
body about the fixed point is called the turning force.
 The turning effect of a body by a force depends on the.
 magnitude of the force applied, and
 distance of line of action of the force from the axis of rotation.
 Moment of Force: The turning effect of the force acting on a body about an axis is called
the moment of force or torque. It is a vector quantity.
 The moment of force is measured as the product of force and the perpendicular distance of
the point of application of the force from the axis of rotation, i.e.,
Moment of force,   F  d
 The SI unit of moment of force (torque) is newton metre (N m). Its CGS unit is dyne cm.
1N m  107 dyne cm
 The gravitational units of moment of force in MKS and CGS systems are kgf m and gf cm
respectively.
1 kgf m = 9.8 Nm and 1 gf cm = 980 dyne cm
 When a body does not change its state of rest or of uniform motion on the application of a
number of forces on it, the body is said to be in equilibrium. When the body remains in
the state of rest under the influence of an applied force, it is said to be in static equilibrium.
When the body remains in the state of uniform motion under the influence of an applied
force, it is said to be in dynamic equilibrium.

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 The principle of moments states that when a body is in equilibrium, the sum of the
clockwise moments about any turning point is equal to the sum of anticlockwise moments
about that point. Clockwise moment = Anticlockwise moment
 Two equal and opposite parallel forces not acting along the same line form a couple. The
turning effect of couple around a fixed point or axis is called the moment of couple. It is
measured as the product of either force and the perpendicular distance between the line of
action of both the forces.
 The SI unit of moment of couple is newton metre (Nm). In CGS system, it is measured
in dyne cm.
 The centre of gravity of a body is a point where the entire weight of the body is supposed
to act. The position of the centre of gravity of a given mass depends on its shape, i.e., on
the distribution of mass in it.
 When a body moves on a circular path with a constant speed, its motion is said to be the
uniform circular motion. The circular motion is accelerated even though the speed of a
particle (body) is uniform.
 The motion in circular path is under the action of a force which is called the centripetal
force. This force is always directed towards the centre of the circle at each point of its path.
For example, turning of a car on a road, revolution of planets around the sun, electrons in
an atom, etc.
 An apparent force that acts outwards on a body moving about a centre, caused by body’s
inertia is called the centrifugal forces. It is assumed equal and opposite to the centripetal
force.

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