PHYSICS Vocab Squares

FORCE & MOTION

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FORCE

A PUSH OR A PULL ON AN OBJECT.

ANYTHING THAT CAUSES THE SHAPE OR MOTION

OF AN OBJECT TO CHANGE.

FORCES CAUSE OBJECTS TO SPEED UP, SLOW DOWN, OR CHANGE

DIRECTION. Force =

mass x acceleration

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BALANCED FORCE

OPPOSING FORCES ARE EQUAL SO THAT

NO CHANGE IN MOTION OCCURS.

WHEN FORCES ARE BALANCED THE NET

FORCE IS ZERO.

N/A

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UNBALANCED FORCE

PRODUCE A CHANGE IN MOTION.

THE NET FORCE ON AN OBJECT IS NOT ZERO.

N/A

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INERTIA

The tendency of all objects to resist any

change in motion(based on mass)

Big Mass Small MassBig Inertia Small Inertia

N/A

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THE SI UNIT FOR FORCE.

NEWTON

N/A

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NET FORCE

THE FORCE THAT RESULTS FROM

COMBINING ALL THE FORCES EXERTED ON

AN OBJECT.*Add if in same direction.*Subtract if opposite directions

25 N 10 N

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GRAVITY

THE FORCE OF ATTRACTION

BETWEEN OBJECTS DUE TO THEIR

MASSES.

The larger the mass the greater the

gravity.

N/A

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WEIGHT

A MEASURE OF THE GRAVATIONAL

FORCE ON AN OBJECT.

ITS VALUE CAN CHANGE WITH THE LOCATION OF THE

OBJECT IN THE UNIVERSE. N/A

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MASS

N/A

THE AMOUNT OF MATTER IN AN

OBJECT.

ITS VALUE DOES NOT CHANGE

WITH THE OBJECT’S

LOCATION IN THE UNIVERSE.

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INCLINED PLANE

N/A

A SIMPLE MACHINE MADE OF A FLAT SURFACE SET AT AN ANGLE THAT REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF FORCE REQUIRED TO MOVE AN OBJECT

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PULLEY

N/A

A SIMPLE MACHINE MADE OF A WHEEL AND ROPE USED TO CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF THE FORCE

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Types of friction:

FRICTION

A force that appears whenever two objects touch each other.

Friction opposes motion between two surfaces in contact.

Causes heat, wear & tear, and slows object down.

Sliding, rolling, fluid, static, wind resistance/drag

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Reference Point:

stays still while object moves past it

Motion

an object’s change in position relative to a reference point over a period of time

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Speed

the numeric relationship between a distance…and the time needed to move that distance -or-

Distance divided by Time FORMULA:

S= d t

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Velocity

The speed of an object in a particular direction

Speed + Direction- or - Synonyms:

rapidity, swiftness

DistanceTime

+ Direction

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Acceleration

the rate at which velocity changes; an object accelerates if its speed, direction or both change

Formula: (don’t memorize)