1

Name Date

Forces and Motion Reading

Directions: Please read and annotate the following passage below about force and motion. In
order to receive full credit you need to do the following: circle words you don’t know, highlight
main concepts/ big ideas and provide me with a 7 sentence summary for the first page and a 7
sentence summary for the second page.

A Force (F) is energy that is created by a push or pull. You

generate a force when you push against a box to move it across the
floor, or when you pull a wagon. You generate a force when you push
down on the pedals of your bike. You generate a force when you lift a
book off a table, “pulling” the book up with the lever of your arm.

In order to create motion from an object, the energy you apply

must be greater than any force(s) resisting motion. Motion is a change
in position or location of a body. Another word for motion is
movement. When a force causes motion, work is done. Work is by
definition W=F x d, where F=force applied and d=the distance the
object is moved, also called displacement.

Think about this: if you push against a refrigerator and cannot

move it any distance, have you still done work? The answer is no. You
have produced no motion in the refrigerator, and in the equation above,
the displacement is zero. Therefore the work is zero. Have you
generated a force? Yes. If you apply force to something and it does not
move, you can still feel the effect of that force. You feel tired! The force
you generated was not enough to overcome the mass of that refrigerator
at rest.

To create motion, you must supply enough work to

overcome resistant forces. One resistant force is called inertia.
Inertia is an object’s resistance to changes in motion. If an
object is not moving, it resists being moved. If an object is
moving, it resists being stopped. But what causes the force of
inertia? If an object is at rest, the force of inertia that must be
overcome to move it is a combination of gravity pulling down
on the object and friction resisting a push ahead. If an object is
in motion, the force of the object’s speed moving in a direction
will oppose a force stopping the object.
 2

Try the following experiment: mark off a distance of 25 feet with tape or chalk, either
indoors or outdoors. Mark off midpoint distances at 10 feet and 20 feet. Begin running at
the first marker, and stop at the 10-foot marker. Begin running again and stop at the 20-
foot marker. Run again and stop at the 25-foot marker. What you will observe is that each
time you stop, your feet will stop while your upper body continues to move forward. This
is especially true if you try to stop really fast. The phenomenon you observe is inertia.
Your body resists being stopped.

If two forces are equal, such as two people of equal weight and strength pulling on opposite ends
of a rope, then no motion takes place. The forces are balanced. If we add a second person to one
side of the tug of war, then the force generated by the two people will be greater than that
generated by the one person, and that force will cause motion. So, another thing to note is that
motion will occur when one force is greater than another. Otherwise, if no motion takes place, we
say that the forces are balanced, or in equilibrium.

Look now at another example of resistant forces. Say you are pushing a box across the floor from
your teacher’s desk to your desk. No matter whether you push across linoleum or carpet, you will
encounter the resistant force of friction. Friction is a force that resists the relative motion of two
bodies in direct contact, such as the box and the carpet.

How can you observe friction? Try the following experiment: rub your hands rapidly together.
You will observe heat from the rubbing of your hands. The heat is caused by friction. Try another
experiment: place two thin blocks of wood one on top of the other. Try to slide the top block over
the bottom block. You will observe some resistance. Try placing 2 teaspoons of dishwashing
liquid between the two blocks. Now try again to slide the top block over the bottom block. What
did you observe? The blocks slide easily. The force of friction has been reduced by adding the
dishwashing liquid between the blocks.

Imagine that now your teacher wants you to move a large table, triple the
weight of the previous box, across the room. You will experience that it takes
more energy to move this table. This is because greater force is needed to
move larger objects. Similarly, if your teacher asks you to move the previous
box much faster across the floor, you will find that greater force is needed.
This is because larger objects require greater force to move. Also greater
force is needed to move the same object at a faster rate.
 3

Now that you know that force and motion are related, you can look for force whenever you see
motion in your world. Now that you know that every force has a counteractive force against it,
you may appreciate why it takes extra effort to move objects, especially large ones. You may even
notice that inertia is what makes it hard to get up off the couch to do your homework!
Force and motion are all around us. When you see motion, look for the force that is causing it.

Forces and Motion Exercises

Completion: Choose the word that completes the sentence Word Bank
given below. Friction Inertia
Equilibrium Force
1. When forces are balanced, pulling in opposite Motion Displacement
directions with equal size, we say they are Work Effort
in .
2. A force which resists the relative motion of two bodies in direct contact is
called .
3. When work is done, we know because there is .
4. A is any push or pull in a direction.
5. There is a force which resists changes in motion, called .
6. We know we have exerted a force even when we have done no work. This is
called .
7. Force x Displacement equals .
8. When a force causes , we know work has been
done.

Questions: Answer each questions in complete sentences.

1. Explain what inertia is. What causes inertia in an object that is at rest? In an object that is
moving? Draw a picture which shows an example of inertia.

2. Why has no work been done if there is no displacement? Use the equation W= Fx D to
explain your answer.
 4

3. What is one example of a resistant force? Explain why it is called resistant.

4. Why does no motion occur in an object at equilibrium?

5. Why is the force of friction between two blocks reduced by adding dishwashing liquid
between them?

6. Why does your upper body want to keep moving when you stop running suddenly?

Crossword Puzzle

Across 1 2

1. When forces are of equal size and

opposite direction.
6. The effect of work on an object.
8. The result of work done, felt by 3 4
sweating. 5 6 7
9. The effect of motion on an object.

Down
2. The way forces are when in
equilibrium.
3. Force multiplied by displacement. 8
4. The force of resistance by rubbing two bodies rubbing
together.
5. A push or pull. 9
 5

7. The principle by which objects resists changes in motion.

Answer Key

Completion
1. C
2. B
3. G
4. F
5. A
6. H
7. E
8. D

Questions
1. Inertia is an object’s resistance to changes in motion. Inertia for a body at rest can be
understood as a combination of the force of gravity pulling down on an object, and the
force of friction which opposes relative motion between the body and whatever other
object(s) or surfaces it is touching. A moving object has inertia because the force of
velocity in a direction will oppose other force to stop that object. Drawings will vary, but
should show an object with forces in opposition.
2. No work has been done if there is no displacement because in the equation W=F x D, If
D is zero, then W becomes zero. We measure work by whether or not motion has
occurred, and motion has occurred if the object has been displaced, or has moved some
distance.
3. Examples of resistant forces are gravity, friction, and any other motion in a direction
opposing a force applied. We use the term resistant because these forces slow down or
restrain the direction and/or strength of the applied force.
4. No motion occurs in an object at equilibrium because the two opposing forces are evenly
matched and in opposite directions. Like a tug of war between two people of equal size
and strength, the forces cancel each other out.
5. The force of friction is reduced between the blocks by adding the dishwashing liquid
because the liquid is slippery and this makes it difficult for the two surfaces to contact
each other directly. Thus the blocks slip past each other rather than grinding against each
other, producing less friction.
6. Your upper body wants to keep moving when you stop running suddenly because it has
been moving strongly forward and has inertia, or wants to resist a change in motion.
 6

Crossword Puzzle

E Q U I L I 2B R I U M
1

A
L
3 A 4
F
W
M O T 7I O N R
5 6
F
O R N C I
R K E E C
C R D T
8
E F F O R T I
I O
9
D I S P L A C E M E N T