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Understanding Friction and Forces

Forces can be contact forces, like normal reaction, friction, and tension, or non-contact forces like gravity, electric, and magnetic. Scalars are added by magnitude only, while vectors require finding the resultant vector. Forces cause motion, changes in speed or direction. Newton's First Law states an object remains at rest or in motion unless a net force acts. Newton's Second Law relates force and acceleration. Newton's Third Law states every action has an equal and opposite reaction between two objects. Friction opposes motion but also allows braking and gripping surfaces. It can be reduced by wheels, lubricants, and polishing.

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33 views3 pages

Understanding Friction and Forces

Forces can be contact forces, like normal reaction, friction, and tension, or non-contact forces like gravity, electric, and magnetic. Scalars are added by magnitude only, while vectors require finding the resultant vector. Forces cause motion, changes in speed or direction. Newton's First Law states an object remains at rest or in motion unless a net force acts. Newton's Second Law relates force and acceleration. Newton's Third Law states every action has an equal and opposite reaction between two objects. Friction opposes motion but also allows braking and gripping surfaces. It can be reduced by wheels, lubricants, and polishing.

Uploaded by

det
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CH#2: Forces

Force: a push/pull exerted by an objected on an another. SI unit: N

 Contact forces: forces b/ween objects in contact


 Normal Reaction: push exerted by a surface on an object pressing on
it. Always perpendicular to surface.
 Friction: force that opposes/tends to oppose motion between
surfaces in contact.
 Tension: pull exerted by a stretched spring, string or rope on an
object attached to it.
 Non-contact forces: forces that do not req. objects to be in contact to exist
 Gravitational force: pull exerted by the Earth's gravity on any object;
weight
 Electric force: attractive(pull) or repulsive(push) b/ween electrical
charges.
 Magnetic force: attractive(pull) or repulsive(push) b/ween magnets.

?Addition of Scalars and Vectors

Scalars: eg. distance and speed. When adding scalars, add magnitudes only.

Vectors: eg: weight. To add vectors, you need to find the resultant vector; a
single vector equivalent to the individual vectors combined.?

Effects of a Force:

 a body at rest moves


 a moving body speeds up
 a moving body slows down
 a moving body changes direction

Zero acceleration implies the object is stationary or moving at a constant velocity.


Does not mean there are no forces acting on it; the resultant of these are zero.
Forces and Newton's Laws
Balance: is achieved when the resultant force acting on an object is zero.

Newton's First Law of Motion: states every object will continues in its state of
rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless a resultant force acts on it.

Unbalance: is achieved when the resultant force acting on an object not is zero.

Newton's Second Law of Motion: states when a resultant force acts on an object
of a constant mass, the object will accelerate in the direction of the resultant
force. The product of the mass and acceleration gives the resultant force.
F=ma

Newton's Third Law of Motion: states if body A exerts a force FAB on body B, then
body B will exert an equal and opposite force FBA on body A.

From this law we can deduce:

 Forces always occur in pairs; action/reaction


 Action and reaction are equal in magnitude
 They act in opposite directions
 They act on mutually opposite bodies

Friction
Friction: the contact force that opposes or tends to oppose motion b/ween
surfaces in contact.

Positive Effects Negative Effects


Prevents slipping Cars are less efficient
Allows moving vehicles to slow down when needed. Moving parts in machinery are subject to wear and tear.
Mitigating Friction
Wheels/Ball bearings: greatly reduce friction b/ween surfaces as their spherical
shape roll around, preventing parts from rubbing.

Lubrication/polishing: applying a lubricant (eg. oil/grease) greatly lowers friction.


Polishing removes surface irregularities, thus reducing friction.

Enhancing Friction's Positive Effects


Without friction, vehicles cannot move, as tires will just spin on the same spot.
Friction enables the tires to grip the road surface and roll w/out slipping.

Treads: grooves that quickly channel water out from beneath the tires. Improves
tire grip on wet roads, prevents skidding.

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