FORCES

Grade 9 Natural Sciences

Meridian Pinehurst High School
Introduction
 We cannot see a force, but we can see the effect of forces all around us.
 A force can be a push, a pull, or a twist (when we combine a push and pull force).
 These forces can change the shape, speed or direction of an object.
 We measure forces in Newtons (N), after Sir Isaac Newton.
 FORCE
 Definition: A push or a pull or a twist (when we combine a push and pull force)

 Unit: Newton(s) (N)

 There are two groups of forces:

1. a CONTACT force:
Objects must be in contact (touch one another) to experience a push or pull.
Example: friction, air resistance, tension, compression

2. a NON-CONTACT (field) force:

Objects do NOT have to be in contact (touch one another) to experience a
push or pull. “action-at-a-distance”
Example: magnetic force, gravitational force (weight), electrostatic forces
 How do we draw a force?

 We use an arrow to show the direction of the force and

show the size/magnitude of the force by writing down the
Newtons (e.g. 10N) next to the arrow.
 E.g.

(the greater the force, the longer the arrow)

Forces act in pairs

 Forces always act in pairs.

 When you push against a wall, the wall will resist and push back in the
opposite direction. Because neither you nor the wall move, the forces are
balanced/equal.
 When you kick a soccer ball, the soccer ball will
resist and push back against your foot.
 Force of gravity = Normal force
 The force of your foot on the ball to the right is
bigger than the friction force on the ball left.
 This results in the ball accelerating to the right.
 This is an example of unbalanced forces.

Normal force of
field on ball

Force of foot
Friction force on ball
On ball
Gravitational force
on ball
Quick Quiz

Alan is holding two ropes very tight. The first rope is

attached to a tractor while the other rope is an
elephant that has escaped the zoo. Both the Elephant
and the tractor are pulling, but in opposite directions.
STATE whether Alan moves left, right, or neither.
  Cause distortion of a body – ball bouncing on ground
 Changes the motion of a body – makes it move,
slow down , stop, accelerate or change direction
Effects of force  Change the direction of motion

on a body  Causes the body to rotate

 Has no effect on body – too small

Summary: A force can change the shape, direction

and speed of an object (body).
 Examples of forces exerted on objects

1 The forces exerted on the book are:

 Downward attraction force of the Earth (its weight i.e. gravity)
 Upward force of the table on the book (normal force)

2 Forces exerted on car:

 Downward attraction force of earth on car (its weight / gravity)
 Forward pushing force of man on car (applied force)
 Upward force of ground on car (normal force)

3 Forces exerted on dog:

 Downward attraction force of earth on dog (its weight/gravity)
 Backward pulling force of rope on dog (applied force)
 Upward force of ground on dog (normal force)
Force [ Units & Equation ]
 SI: Newton (N) e.g. 1 N
 Equation:Force (in N) = mass(in kg) x acceleration (in m/sec2 )
𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 = 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 × 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
 One Newton (N) of force is defined as:
The amount of force needed to accelerate 1 kilogram (kg) of mass at a rate
of 1 meter per second squared (m/s2).
Therefore → 1 Newton = 1 kg m/sec2
 A force has both magnitude and direction. [VECTOR quantity]
To fully describe the force acting upon an object, you must describe both
its magnitude (size) and direction.

Thus, 10 Newtons of force is not a complete description of the force

acting on an object. BUT 10 Newtons, downwards is a complete
description of the force acting upon an object.
We must also know what exerts the force and on what the force is being
exerted.
 Force of gravity is measured in Newtons (N)
 The weight of an object is the gravitational force being exerted on it by the
Earth.
 The MASS of an object will stay the same no matter where it is.
 The WEIGHT of an object, however, will change when different gravitational
forces are experienced.
 Example: Gravity on the Moon vs. Earth
 [Think of astronauts as they walk / jump on the moon. Would the same
thing happen here on earth?]

𝑭=𝒎∙𝒈
 Force causes acceleration.
 Newton's Second Law states that:

The acceleration (a) of an object is directly proportional to the force (F)

applied, and inversely proportional to the object's mass (m).

𝑭 = 𝒎𝒂
 That means that the more force you apply to an object, the greater the
acceleration. And, the more mass the object has, the lower the acceleration.

 Newton's Second Law can be written in equation form:

For falling objects, we can write 𝑭 = 𝒎𝒈 where g is the acceleration due to
gravity. The force of gravity is what causes free falling objects to accelerate.
 These objects all accelerate at the same rate of 9.8 meters/ sec2
(sometimes rounded off to 10 meters/ sec2)
NORMAL FORCE
 The support force.
 E.g. a book resting on a table. The table exerts an upwards force
upon the book in order to support the weight of the book.
Remember that weight is just another term for gravitational force.

Normal force

BOOK

TABLE

Gravitational force
There are 2 main groups of forces:
1) Contact forces – when the two objects are in contact or
touch each other e.g. tension, compression and friction.
FRICTION
 What happens when you rub your hands together?
What observation can you make?

 There are two types of friction: static & sliding

 A friction force opposes the motion of an object i.e. it

works against the movement of that specific object.
 E.g. If a book slides along the surface of a table, then
the desk exerts a friction force in the opposite
direction of its motion.
 FRICTION
 The friction force always acts in
the opposite direction to the
moving object. The surface rubs
against the object and can either
slow the object down or bring it to
a complete stop.
 When the friction force in smaller
than the objects force, then the
object slows down.
 If the frictional force of the surface
is equal or larger than the object,
then the object will stop moving.
[Link]
Tension

 Tension – When you pull something from both ends, you create tension.
Sometimes this will result in the object stretching.
 If the tension force is strong enough, the object will break.
Compression
 Compression – When you push an objects from both ends, you create compression.
A compressive force can cause a change in the objects shape (dent), or squeeze
something through a smaller space (squeezing toothpaste out of the tube)
2)Field Forces – Two objects exert field forces on each other without
touching each other. Field forces act over a distance e.g. gravity, magnetism
and electrostatic forces.
NON-CONTACT FORCES
aka FIELD FORCES
 We will be investigating three types:
1. Gravitational force
2. Magnetic force
3. Electrostatic force
GRAVITATIONAL FORCE
 Gravityis the force of attraction (pull) that
objects / bodies have on one another due to
their masses.
E.g. People being attracted to the surface of the
earth.
 Objects with a greater mass have more
gravitational pull on them.
 The force will DECREASE as the distance
between the objects INCREASE.
 [Link]
m/watch?v=-C_jPcUkVrM

 [Link]
m/watch?v=LEs9J2IQIZY

 [Link]
m/watch?v=xfGll1REu2A
A WORLD WITHOUT GRAVITY

[Link]
[Link]
 Relationship between weight and mass

Weight is the magnitude of the

Mass is the amount of
downward force exerted on an matter an object consists of
object near or on the surface of the and is measured with mass
Earth (gravitational force of earth meter (balance) in kg.
on object) and is measured with a
Mass has magnitude but no
spring balance in newton (N) direction.
(a = 9,8 m/s2 OR 10 m/s2)
Conversion of weight to mass
Conversion of mass to weight
𝑭
𝐦=
𝑭=𝒎∙𝒂 𝒂
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 =
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = mass × 9,8𝑚/𝑠𝑒𝑐 2 𝑂𝑅 10𝑚/𝑠𝑒𝑐 2 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 (𝑖𝑛 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑡𝑜𝑛)

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 = 𝑚
Let’s do some examples on the 9,8 2 𝑂𝑅 10𝑚/𝑠𝑒𝑐 2
𝑠𝑒𝑐
board!
 WEIGHT versus MASS
𝐹
𝐹 =𝑚∙𝑎 𝑚=
𝑎
 Calculate the weight of the  Calculate the mass of the following
following objects: objects:
1. 63 kg 1. 350 N

2. 0,4 kg 2. 6N

3. 91,7 kg 3. 2349 N

4. 2500 g 4. 0,5 N

5. 60 000 000 mg 5. 91 N

Use: 𝑎 = 9,8 𝑚 ∙ 𝑠 −2 Use: 𝑎 = 10 𝑚 ∙ 𝑠 −2

 Mass is the amount of Here is a picture of a triple beam balance

matter an object has.

 We often use a triple-
balance beam to measure
mass.
 A triple-beam balance gets
its name because it has three
beams that allow you to
move known masses along
the beam.
 What is the mass of the object ?
(to the closest tenth of a gram)
Remember to find the mass using a triple beam balance you must add
the mass values of each of the three beams.

70 g + 0 g + 9,4 g = 79,4 grams

 MAGNETIC FORCE
 Magnets attract magnetic substances including
iron, steel, cobalt & nickel.
 Important: Copper is not magnetic!
 All magnets have two ends/poles:
 North pole & South pole
 Opposite poles attract each other (pull force)
(N+S) or (S+N)
 Likepoles repel each other (push force)
(N+N) or (S+S)
Magnetic fields
 Magnetic Fields
 Just like a bar magnet, the Earth also has a magnetic field (north & south poles)
aurora borealis
- northern lights
Magnetism Experiment
 Amazing Magnetic Force Video (watch video)
 Hand-out magnets & iron filings & clean A4 sheets of
paper to learners. Allow learners to see how the metal
is attracted to the magnet.
 Place magnet below A4 page.
 Distribute a thin layer of iron filings on the paper
area that is covering the magnet.
 Caution: Do not touch the iron filings with your bare
hands as it could end up as a splinter in your finger!
Magnetism Experiment
ELECTROSTATIC FORCE
ELECTROSTATIC FORCE
 Static electricity is the charge that stays on an object.
 Static electricity can cause sparks or give you a shock of
static electricity (especially when the air is dry).
 Friction (rubbing) between 2 materials (e.g. plastic & wool)
cause electrons to transfer between the atoms of the two
materials being rubbed together.
 Electrons move from one material (causing a positive charge
on its surface) to the 2nd material (causing a negative
charge on that material’s surface)
 The protons & neutrons DO NOT move!
 ELECTROSTATIC FORCE
1. Objects/materials with same / like charges repel
each other.
2. Objects/materials with opposite/unlike charges
attract each other.

 Charged objects in an electrostatic system possess

potential energy. The energy comes from the
work done during rubbing.
 ELECTROSTATIC FORCES & WEATHER
 A thunder cloud becomes charged by the rubbing
together of air and water particles moving past each
other in the atmosphere.

 Lightning strikes occurs when there is a massive

discharge (release of energy) between the cloud & the
ground.
 Lightning is a GIANT SPARK of electricity.
 Safety precautions in a thunder storm:
stay away from water & also very tall trees.
WHY??
 Lightning (nature’s electrostatic force)

Lightning is a very large

electrostatic shock. Inside a
thundercloud, many small bits of
ice particles and water droplets
bump into each other as they move
around in the air. All of those
collisions create an electrostatic
charge. After a while, the whole
cloud fills up with electrical
charges.

DO NOT COPY (extra info)

The positive charges or protons form at the top of the cloud and the negative charges
or electrons form at the bottom of the cloud. Since opposites attract, that causes a
positive charge to build up on the ground beneath the cloud. Eventually the charge
becomes large enough to create a giant spark which will strike the ground. We call
this giant spark Lightning. The sound that the spark makes is called thunder.

DO NOT COPY (extra info)

Questions [Classwork]
For all calculations use: 𝑎 = 9,8𝑚 ∙ 𝑠 −2
1. Provide a definition for the concept of force.
2. What is the S.I. unit of force?
3. There are two groups of forces.
Contact forces and _________________ ?
4. Provide two examples of field forces.
5. State the general formula for calculating force.
6. Name three effects of a force on a body.
Questions [Classwork]
For all calculations use: 𝑎 = 9,8𝑚 ∙ 𝑠 −2
7. Calculate the force with which an object of 3kg is
attracted by the earth.
8. Calculate the force with which an object of 100kg is
attracted by the earth.
9. Calculate the force with which an object of 828kg is
attracted by the earth.
10. Calculate the force with which an object of
2500grams is attracted by the earth.
Questions [Classwork]
11. What is the mass of the following object if you know
it has a weight of 250 N and 𝑎 = 9,8𝑚 ∙ 𝑠 −2 ?
Interesting Video Clips
(Static Electricity)
 Bending water
[Link]
 Flying plastic object
[Link]