4.8: End of Chapter Key Terms
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Definition: Forces
- Force: A vector quantity that causes an object to accelerate, change its velocity, or deform; measured in newtons (N).
- Vector: A quantity that has both magnitude and direction.
- Magnitude: The size or amount of a quantity, often referred to as the "strength" of a force.
- Direction: The line or course along which something is moving or pointing.
- Contact Force: A force that acts at the point of contact between two objects, such as friction, tension, and normal force.
- Non-contact Force: A force that acts over a distance without physical contact, such as gravitational, electromagnetic, and nuclear forces.
- Gravity: The force of attraction between two masses, typically noticeable between Earth and objects on it; measured in newtons (N).
- Weight: The force of gravity acting on an object’s mass, calculated as weight = mass × gravitational acceleration (W = mg).
- Normal Force: The support force exerted upon an object in contact with another stable object, acting perpendicular to the surface.
- Friction: The force that opposes the relative motion or tendency of such motion of two surfaces in contact.
- Tension: The pulling force transmitted along a string, rope, cable, or similar object.
- Spring Force: The restoring force exerted by a spring, proportional to the displacement of the spring from its equilibrium position (Hooke’s Law).
- Air Resistance: The force that opposes the motion of an object through air, a type of frictional force.
- Applied Force: A force that is applied to an object by a person or another object.
- Net Force: The overall force acting on an object when all the individual forces acting on the object are combined.
- Balanced Forces: Forces that are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction, resulting in no change in an object's motion.
- Unbalanced Forces: Forces that are not equal and opposite, causing a change in an object's motion.
- Newton’s First Law of Motion (Law of Inertia): A principle stating that an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion at constant velocity unless acted upon by a net external force.
- Inertia: The tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion.
- Newton’s Second Law of Motion: A principle stating that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass (F = ma).
- Newton’s Third Law of Motion: A principle stating that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
- Centripetal Force: A force that acts on an object moving in a circular path, directed toward the center of the circle.
- Centrifugal Force: An apparent force that acts outward on a body moving around a center, arising from the body's inertia.
- Momentum: The quantity of motion of a moving body, calculated as the product of its mass and velocity (p = mv).
- Impulse: The change in momentum resulting from a force applied over a period of time, calculated as impulse = force × time (J = Ft).
- Torque: A measure of the force that can cause an object to rotate about an axis, calculated as torque = force × lever arm distance (τ = rF sinθ).
- Equilibrium: The state in which the net force on an object is zero, resulting in no acceleration.
- Static Equilibrium: The condition where an object is at rest and the net force acting on it is zero.
- Dynamic Equilibrium: The condition where an object is moving at constant velocity and the net force acting on it is zero.
- Free-body Diagram: A graphical representation used to visualize the forces acting on an object.
- Elastic Force: The force exerted by an elastic material when it is stretched or compressed.
- Gravitational Force: The attractive force that acts between any two masses.
- Electromagnetic Force: The force associated with electric and magnetic fields, responsible for electric and magnetic interactions.
- Nuclear Force: The strong attractive force that binds protons and neutrons together in the nucleus of an atom.
- Action-at-a-Distance Force: Forces that can act on an object without physical contact, such as gravitational, electromagnetic, and nuclear forces.