Force & Motion Vocab

Front

What are balanced forces?

Back

Equal forces acting on an object in opposite directions, resulting in no change in motion.

Front

What is friction?

Back

The force that one surface exerts on another when the two surfaces rub against each other.

Front

What are unbalanced forces?

Back

Forces that produce a nonzero net force, which changes an object's motion.

Front

What does Newton's 3rd Law of Motion state?

Back

If one object exerts a force on another object, then the second object exerts a force of equal strength in the opposite direction.

Front

What is momentum?

Back

The product of an object's mass and velocity.

Front

What is inertia?

Back

The tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion.

Front

What is gravity?

Back

The force that attracts two bodies towards each other, proportional to their masses.

Front

What is Newton's 1st Law of Motion?

Back

An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by a net external force.

Front

What is Newton's 2nd Law of Motion?

Back

The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass.

Front

What is the formula for calculating force?

Back

Force = Mass x Acceleration (F = ma).