Forces Flashcards
What is friction?
Friction is a contact force that can slow things down, wear things away, produce heat, and cause noise.
How can friction be increased?
Friction can be increased by using rough surfaces or materials such as rubber that have a lot of traction.
How can friction be reduced?
Friction can be reduced by using smooth surfaces or lubrication, such as oil and grease.
What is pressure?
Pressure is the amount of force pushing on a certain area.
How does force and area affect pressure?
For a certain area, the bigger the force, the bigger the pressure. For a certain force, the bigger the area, the smaller the pressure.
Give an example of pressure with a small area.
A sharp knife has a small area giving a large pressure.
Give an example of pressure with a large area.
Snow shoes have a large area giving a small pressure.
What is the formula to calculate pressure?
Pressure = Force / Area.
What are balanced forces?
Balanced forces are forces on an object that are the same size but work in opposite directions.
What happens when forces are balanced?
A stationary object stays stationary, and a moving object continues to move at the same speed and in the same direction.
What happens when there are unbalanced forces on an object?
A stationary object will start to move, and a moving object will change its speed or direction.
What happens to a motorbike under unbalanced forces?
The motorbike will speed up.
What happens to a motorbike under balanced forces?
The motorbike will continue to move at a steady speed.
How does a car or motorbike maintain a steady speed?
It uses the energy stored in fuel to move at a steady speed because it needs a force from the engine to balance the forces of air resistance and friction.
