Chapter 6: How Forces Affect Motion Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, units, definitions, and laws of motion from Chapter 6.

Newton

The SI unit of force, written with a small 'n' and represented by the symbol N.

Balanced forces

Two forces acting on an object that are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.

Weight

The gravitational force with which the Earth pulls an object towards itself.

Normal force

The force exerted by a surface on an object placed on it, acting in the upward direction perpendicular to the surface.

Inertia

The tendency of objects to resist a change in their state of rest or uniform motion.

Newton’s first law of motion

The law stating that an object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion continues to move with a constant velocity, unless a net force acts upon the object.

One newton of force

The force that produces an acceleration of $1\,\text{m\,s}^{-2}$ on an object of mass $1\,\text{kg}$.

Momentum

The physical quantity defined as the product of an object's mass and its velocity.

Newton’s second law of motion

The law stating that when a net force acts on an object, the object accelerates in the direction of the net force, with an acceleration magnitude proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to the object's mass.

Newton’s third law of motion

The law stating that whenever one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object simultaneously exerts an equal and opposite force on the first object.