GS5 Vocab

gravitational force

an attractive force that acts between any two objects with mass

force

push or pull; it requires an interaction between 2 objects

friction

a force that resists/opposes motion (goes opposite the motion of the object)

air resistance (drag)

force of air pushing against the motion of an object; form of friction in the air

metric unit for force

Newton (N)

balanced forces

Equal forces acting on an object in opposite directions; leads to objects staying still or moving at a constant speed; net force = 0N

unbalanced forces

Forces that produce a nonzero net force, which changes an object's motion; results in an object speeding up, slowing down, or changing directions

motion map

a diagram that represents the motion of an object where arrows represent the speed (longer arrows mean faster speed) and direction of motion

speeding up or slowing down (picture question)

what could this object possibly be doing?

sitting still or moving at a constant speed (picture question)

what could this object possibly be doing?

net force

sum of all the forces acting on an object

subtract

when 2 forces act on an object in opposite directions, _____ them to find net force

add

when 2 forces act on an object in the same direction, _____ them to find net force

3 Newtons (N) (picture question)

what is the net force acting on the object?

400 Newtons (N) (picture question)

what is the net force acting on the object?

applied force

a force which is applied to an object by a person or another object

spring force

The force exerted by a compressed or stretched spring upon any object that is attached to it

normal force

the perpendicular contact force exerted by a surface on object sitting on it

acceleration

change in speed and direction

velocity

an object’s speed and direction

speed

how much distance an object moves over a certain amount of time (meters per second)

mass

the total amount of matter in an object

weight

the force of gravity acting on an object

motion map

a diagram that shows the speed and direction of an object using dots and arrows

force diagram

a diagram showing the forces acting on an object using a box with arrows