Unit 2 - Forces
Overview:
A force is a push or pull on an object caused by an interaction with another object. Forces can be seen in every physical action we make and are always affecting us. Forces are also vectors meaning that they have both magnitude and direction. There are two types of forces, contact and non-contact. Contact forces include friction, spring, air/water resistance applied forces, etc. Examples of non-contact forces include gravitational and electromagnetic forces.
A force is a push or pull on an object caused by an interaction with another object. Forces can be seen in every physical action we make and are always affecting us. Forces are also vectors meaning that they have both magnitude and direction. There are two types of forces, contact and non-contact. Contact forces include friction, spring, air/water resistance applied forces, etc. Examples of non-contact forces include gravitational and electromagnetic forces.
Newtons Laws
1st Law: This law states that an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by an unbalanced force and that an object moving at a constant velocity will continue to move at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an un balanced force. 2nd Law: This law states that force is equal to mass times acceleration. 3rd Law: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. (There is a better version that I cant remember right now. Ill update this) |
Illustrating Forces
Interactions (forces) can be shown using force diagrams and system schemas. System schemas show the the type of force between the two objects. Force diagrams show the the direction and vaguely the magnitude of forces on an object or system. The diagrams below both describe the forces acting on a puck on ice. We know this puck has a Net Force of zero because the normal and gravitational forces are balanced as seen in the force diagram. |
Force Problems and Calculations
In this unit, we learned to solve problems with forces in 2 axes. We first drew a force diagram, system schema, and force table. Then we solved for net force, coefficient of friction, or what ever the problem asked for using these equations: -------------------------------------------------------> When solving for problems with objects moving in two dimensions, you first had to solve separately for the forces of each dimension. |
Works Cited:
- https://stickmanphysics.com/physics-equations/
- AP Physics 1 OneNote
- https://stickmanphysics.com/physics-equations/
- AP Physics 1 OneNote