Lesson 2: Forces & Acceleration

Key Definitions:

• Force: A push or pull on an object.

• Net force: All or the sum of forces acting on an object.

• Acceleration: An increase in speed or rate.

• Mass: The quantity of matter in an object.

• Velocity: How fast an object is moving and the direction.

Formula:

Force = Mass x Acceleration

This is because the push or pull of an object is determined by the how heavy and object is by the speed it is given. For example, if a bottle of water was given a lot of acceleration, it would go faster than a boulder given the same amount of acceleration.

Key Notes:

• The more force applied to an object, the faster the acceleration

• The more mass an object has, the slower the acceleration

Learning Example:

Bella and her family are at a bowling arena. Her family chooses different sized balls labelled with a number from 10 to 14. Then, they each take turns bowling with the same amount of force. Which ball is likely to have the smallest acceleration and which one will have the greatest, knowing they all are given the same amount of force?

• Ball Sized Number 11

• Ball Sized Number 14

• Ball Sized Number 12

  
  

Solving:

Using our key notes, we can understand that in dot point number two, the more matter an object has, the slower the acceleration. Therefore, we can rule out that ball sized number 14 would have the smallest acceleration and ball sized number 11 would have the strongest acceleration because they are the lightest and heaviest balls.