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Physics LibreTexts

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.

4.8: End of Chapter Key Terms is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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