Force

Force is defined as an action that causes something to move, stop or change direction. The symbol for force is F and its SI unit is the Newton (N).

Force is equal to mass multiplied by acceleration.

Force = Mass x Acceleration

Examples of forces

Relationship between Force, Mass and Acceleration

The action of a force on an object can produce an acceleration of an object. The magnitude of acceleration depends on (a.) the mass of an object (b.) the magnitude of the force acting on the object. When the force is increased, the acceleration will increase When the mass is increased the acceleration will decreased.

Newtons First Law of Motion ~ Inertia

An object at rest will stay at rest, an object in motion will stay in motion at constant velocity, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

Inertia
The inertia of an object is the tendency of the object to remain at rest or, if moving, to continue its uniform motion in a straight line.

These pumpkins will not move unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

Newtons First Law and You

Dont let this be you. Wear seat belts. Because of inertia, objects (including you) resist changes in their motion. When the car going 80 km/hour is stopped by the brick wall, your body keeps moving at 80 m/hour.

The relationship between Mass and Inertia

All body have mass. The mass of an object is the quantity of matter contained in the body. The SI unit of mass is kilogram. A bigger mass will have a bigger inertia. A smaller mass will have a smaller inertia.

Newtons Second Law

2nd Law
The net force of an object is equal to the product of its mass and acceleration. F= ma

2nd Law
When mass is in kilograms and acceleration is in m/s/s, the unit of force is in newtons(N).
One newton is equal to the force required to accelerate one kilogram of mass at one meter/second/second.

Newtons 2nd Law proves that different masses accelerate to the earth at the same rate, but with different forces. We know that objects with different masses accelerate to the ground at the same rate. However, because of the 2nd Law we know that they dont hit the ground with the same force.
F = ma 98 N = 10 kg x 9.8 m/s/s F = ma 9.8 N = 1 kg x 9.8 m/s/s

Newtons Third Law of Motion

Newtons third law of motion states that for any action, there is a reaction which has the same magnitude but acts in the opposite direction.

3rd Law
According to Newton, whenever objects A and B interact with each other, they exert forces upon each other. When you sit in your chair, your body exerts a downward force on the chair and the chair exerts an upward force on your body.

3rd Law
There are two forces resulting from this interaction - a force on the chair and a force on your body. These two forces are called action and reaction forces.

Newtons 3rd Law in Nature

Consider the propulsion of a fish through the water. A fish uses its fins to push water backwards. In turn, the water reacts by pushing the fish forwards, propelling the fish through the water.

* The size of the force on the water equals the size of the force on the fish; the direction of the force on the water (backwards) is opposite the direction of the force on the fish (forwards).

 Consider the flying motion of birds. A bird flies by use of its wings. The wings of a bird push air downwards. In turn, the air reacts by pushing the bird upwards.
The size of the force on the air equals the size of the force on the bird; the direction of the force on the air (downwards) is opposite the direction of the force on the bird (upwards). Action-reaction force pairs make it possible for birds to fly.

Other examples of Newtons Third Law

The baseball forces the bat to the left (an action); the bat forces the ball to the right (the reaction).

3rd Law

The reaction of a rocket is an application of the third law of motion. Various fuels are burned in the engine, producing hot gases. The hot gases push against the inside tube of the rocket and escape out the bottom of the tube. As the gases move downward, the rocket moves in the opposite direction.

Gravity

 Sir Isaac Newton was the first person who studied the force of gravity. He got the inspiration when an apple fell from a tree, hitting his head.
In Newtons opinion, the falling apple was acted on by a force of attraction, i.e the force of attraction due to gravity from the centre of the earth.

Free Fall
Any object which falls only under the influence of the force of attraction due to gravity and without any influence of other forces.

Acceleration due to gravity

All object which experience free fall with the same acceleration, i.e the acceleration due to gravity. The symbol for the earths acceleration due to gravity is g and the unit is meter per second/second ( usually g is taken as 10 meter per second/second )

If a coin and a feather drop simultaneously from the same position in air (which is not a vacuum) The coin will hit the ground first. This is because the acceleration of the coin is bigger than that of the feather.

The air resistance which acts on the feather is higher. Besides the force of gravity, there are other factors which is act such as air resistance. Therefore the motion of the coin and that of the feather are not regarded as examples of free fall.