FORCE & PRESSURE

 Force: A push or a pull that changes or tends to change the state of rest or of uniform motion of an object
or changes its direction or shape. A force arises due to the interaction between two objects.
 Force has magnitude as well as direction. The SI unit of force is Newton.
 A change in the speed of an object or the direction of its motion or both implies a change in its state of
motion.
 Force acting on an object may cause a change in its state of motion or a change in its shape.
 A force can act on an object with or without being in contact with it.
 Types of Forces: 1. Contact Forces ; 2. Non-Contact Forces
Contact Forces: The forces act on a body when the source of force is in actual contact with the body. The
point where the force is applied on an object is called the point of application of force (or point of contact).
 (i) Muscular Force: The force exerted by the muscles of the body. We make use of muscular force of
animals like bullocks, horses and camels to get our activities done.
 (ii) Mechanical Force: The force produced by a machine.
 (iii) Frictional Force: The force that opposes the motion of an object.
Non-Contact Forces: Forces which do not involve physical contact between two bodies on which they act.
 (i) Magnetic Force: A magnet exerts a non-contact force on objects made of iron, steel, cobalt or nickel.
(ii) Electrostatic Force: The force which results due to repulsion of similar charges or attraction of opposite
charges.
(iii) Gravitational Forces: The force that exists between any two bodies by virtue of their mass.
 Pressure: Thrust acting per unit surface area is called pressure. Thrust is the force acting on an object
perpendicular to its surface. In SI system, pressure is measured in newton per square meter which is equal to
1 pascal (Pa).
 Like solids, fluids (liquids and gases) also exert pressure. A solid exerts pressure only in the downward
direction due its weight, whereas liquids and gases exert pressure in all directions. Hence liquids and gases
exert pressure on the walls of their container.
 The thick blanket of air that covers the earth is termed atmosphere. The pressure exerted by the atmosphere
is called atmospheric pressure. The tremendous atmospheric pressure surrounding us is not felt by us
because the fluid pressure inside our bodies counter-balances the atmospheric pressure around us.
Questions for Revision:

1. How can we decide whether an object is moving faster than the other?
2. What is required for a force to come into play?
3. What happens when two forces act in same direction?
4. A ball is in rest. When it is pushed, why it starts moving?
5. What is role of force on the speed of moving object?
6. Is the gravity a property of earth only?
7. Do liquids and gases also exert pressure?
8. What is atmosphere?
9. How to feel force in daily life?
10. What is electrostatic force? Why is it called non-contact force?
11. We observe that the wheels of buses and trucks are heavier than the wheels of car or scooters. Why?
12. What are the examples of muscular force?
13. Give two examples of a situation in which applied force causes a change in the shape of an object.
14. How to change the speed and the direction of a moving body?
15. What are the effects of force?