contact and non-contact forces

what is a vector quantity?

a quantity that has both magnitude and direction

name three examples of vector quantities

force, velocity, acceleration

what is a scalar quantity?

a quantity that has only magnitude and no direction

name three examples of scalar quantities

speed, mass, temperature

how are vectors usually represented?

by arrows, where the length shows the magnitude and the direction shows the direction of the quantity

what is a force?

a push or pull on an object caused by its interaction with something

what are the two types of forces?

contact forces and non-contact forces

what is a contact force?

a force that requires objects to be touching

give three examples of contact forces

friction, air resistance, tension in ropes

what is a non-contact force?

a force that acts without objects needing to touch

give three examples of non-contact forces

gravitational force, electrostatic force, magnetic force

what is an interaction pair?

a pair of forces that are equal and opposite, acting on two interacting objects

according to newton’s third law, what happens when two objects interact?

they exert equal and opposite forces on each other

name one contact and one non-contact force acting on a tennis ball as it falls

contact force: air resistance; non-contact force: gravity

give two examples of scalar quantities

mass, distance

give two examples of vector quantities

force, velocity