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Force and Motion

The document explains the concepts of balanced and unbalanced forces, illustrating how they affect the movement of objects. Balanced forces result in no movement, while unbalanced forces can cause objects to start moving, slow down, or change direction. Force diagrams are used to visually represent these forces, showing their size and direction.

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Ece Elisabeth
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7 views9 pages

Force and Motion

The document explains the concepts of balanced and unbalanced forces, illustrating how they affect the movement of objects. Balanced forces result in no movement, while unbalanced forces can cause objects to start moving, slow down, or change direction. Force diagrams are used to visually represent these forces, showing their size and direction.

Uploaded by

Ece Elisabeth
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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FORCE AND MOTION

Balanced or unbalanced
● The force of gravity is pulling it toward the centre of the Earth.
This force is called its weight.
● The rock does not move toward the centre of the Earth because
the ground is pushing up on the rock. This force is the contact
force.
● These two forces are balanced. This means the forces are
equal in size and opposite in direction.
● Imagine the wind is blowing. The wind will push the rock from
one side. Why does the rock not move sideways? The pushing
force from the wind is balanced by friction between the rock
and the ground.
● These forces can be shown in a force diagrams.
● In a force diagram, the arrows show the size and direction of
each force. The longer the arrow, the bigger the force. So,
when you draw a force diagram with balanced forces, make
sure the arrows are the same length and point in opposite
directions.
Starting to move
● Imagine the rock is now pushed with a much larger force than the wind, such as
a large vehicle.
● The rock will now move because the sideways forces are not balanced.
● The rock will now start to move in the direction of the larger sideways force.
● The rock will not move up or down because the forces acting up and down are
still balanced.
Slowing down
● Unbalanced or unequal forces can also make moving objects slow down.
● A parachute makes a falling object slow down. When an object is falling quickly,
the parachute causes a force of air resistance that is larger than the weight of the
object.
Changing direction
● Unbalanced forces can also make objects change direction.
● This tennis ball will change direction because of an unbalanced force. When the ball
contacts the tennis racket, the ball pushes on the tennis racket. To make the ball go
back in the opposite direction, the hitting force must be larger than the force from the
ball.
Changing direction
● The force of gravity on a planet is a constant, unbalanced force.
● When an object moves in a circle, its direction is always changing. A constant
unbalanced force is needed to keep an object moving in a circle.
SUMMARY
● When forces are equal in size and opposite in direction, the forces are balanced.
● Balanced forces cause no change in movement.
● When forces are not equal in size and/or act in directions that are not opposite, the forces are
unbalanced.
● Unbalanced forces cause change in movement: speeding up, slowing down or changing direction.
FORCE DIAGRAM
FORCE DIAGRAM

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