CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY SCIENCE:

Physics Year 7
Unit 9: Forces and Motion

9.1 Seeing forces

By Ms Nurul Ain
 9.1 Seeing forces
Learning objectives
Must understand that forces can’t be seen
Should be able to explain the effects of force
Could be able to label force arrows
Force
What is force?
Effects of force
Effects of force
Effects of force
Effects of force
Effects of force
How can forces be represented?
The forces acting on any object can be shown using a force diagram.
A force diagram uses labelled arrows to show all the forces acting on the
object.
air resistance
 The direction of each arrow shows
the direction of each force.

 The length of each arrow is

proportional to the size of the force.

What is the force diagram for this

ball when it first starts to fall? weight

Forces are measured in newtons (N)

What forces act on a swimming fish?
What forces are acting on this fish as it swims at a constant speed?
upthrust

thrust friction

weight

Upthrust is the upwards force on the fish caused by the water around the
fish. This is sometimes called buoyancy.
Thrust is the forwards force created by the fish.
What forces act on a moving boat?
What forces are acting on this accelerating boat?
air
resistance
upthrust thrust

drag weight

Air resistance is friction caused by movement through air.

What are resultant forces?
There are usually several different forces acting on an object. The overall
motion of the object will depend on the size and direction of all the forces.

The motion of the object will depend on the resultant force. This is
calculated by adding all the forces together, taking their direction into
account.

50 N 30 N

Resultant force on the crate = 50 N – 30 N

= 20 N to the left
 9.2 Forces big and small
Learning objectives
Must know that Newton is the unit of force
Should understand that force can be measured
Could know how to use force meter to measure force
Force

A force can be a push or a pull.

For example, when you push open a door you

have to apply a force to the door.

You also have to apply a force to pull open a

drawer.
Measuring forces

Forces can be measured using a force meter.

Force meters contain a spring connected to a metal

hook. The spring stretches when a force is applied to
the hook. The bigger the force applied, the longer the
spring stretches and the bigger the reading

The unit of force is called the newton, and it has the

symbol N. So 100 N is a bigger force than 5 N.
Measuring forces
 9.3 Mass and weight
Learning objectives
Must know that weight is a force
Should distinguish between mass measured in kilograms
(kg) and weight measured in Newtons.
Could recognise and use units of mass and weight and
identify the direction in which forces act.
Introduction

What conclusions can you make about this?

Weight, mass and gravity
People often confuse mass and weight.
Remember that,

Weight is a force, and is measured in newtons, N.

Mass is measured in kilograms, kg.

Mass
The mass of an object is the amount of matter or "stuff" it contains.
The more matter an object contains, the greater its mass.
An elephant contains more matter than a mouse, so it has a greater mass.
Mass is measured in kilograms, kg.

Remember an object's mass stays the same wherever it is

Gravity
All objects have a force that attracts them towards each other. This is called gravity.
Gravitational force increases when:
1. the masses are bigger
2. the objects are closer

We are pulled down towards the ground because of gravity.

The gravitational force pulls in the direction towards the centre of the Earth.
Weight
Weight is a force caused by gravity.
The weight of an object is the gravitational force between the object and
the Earth.
The more mass the object has the greater
its weight will be.
On the surface of the Earth an object with a
mass of 1 kg has a weight of about 10 N.
 Mass and weight
The mass of an object stays the same wherever it is, but its weight can
change.
This happens if the object goes somewhere where gravity is stronger, or
weaker, such as the Moon.
The Moon has less mass than the Earth, so its gravity is less than the
Earth's gravity.
This means that objects weigh less on the Moon than they do on the Earth.

Remember that mass is measured

in kilograms, kg, and weight is measured
in newtons, N.
 Mass and weight
The Moon's gravity is one sixth of the Earth's gravity.
A 120 kg astronaut weighs 1200 N on Earth.
On the Moon they would weigh only 200 N.
The astronaut's mass is 120kg wherever they are.