Physics Classroom: Force and Its Representation

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written by Tom Henderson

This webpage provides a detailed introduction to Force and its meaning. This is one of the sections of the tutorial on Newton's Laws and Forces. Emphasis is laid on the basic understanding of Force as a vector quantity.

The descriptions are supplemented by classic examples of forces in our day to day lives. The website also defines the unit of force, Newton. An introduction to free body diagrams are also provided, where balanced and unbalanced forces are briefly discussed.

This item is part of The Physics Classroom, a comprehensive set of tutorials and multimedia resources for high school physics.

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https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l2a.cfm

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Classical Mechanics - Applications of Newton's Laws = Friction - Newton's Second Law = Force, Acceleration = Interacting Objects	- High School - Middle School - Lower Undergraduate	- Instructional Material = Tutorial - Audio/Visual = Image/Image Set

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Learners	- text/html - image/gif	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 1996 Tom Henderson
Keywords:: FBD, Types of Forces, Unit of Force, action at a distance, applied force, contact force, friction, non-contact force
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created March 27, 2011 by Tom Henderson
Record Updated:: March 17, 2014 by Caroline Hall
Last Update when Cataloged:: July 1, 2011
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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Next Generation Science Standards

Disciplinary Core Ideas (K-12)

Forces and Motion (PS2.A)

For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (Newton's third law). (6-8)
The motion of an object is determined by the sum of the forces acting on it; if the total force on the object is not zero, its motion will change. The greater the mass of the object, the greater the force needed to achieve the same change in motion. For any given object, a larger force causes a larger change in motion. (6-8)
Newton's second law accurately predicts changes in the motion of macroscopic objects. (9-12)

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

4. The Physical Setting

4F. Motion

6-8: 4F/M3a. An unbalanced force acting on an object changes its speed or direction of motion, or both.
9-12: 4F/H1. The change in motion (direction or speed) of an object is proportional to the applied force and inversely proportional to the mass.
9-12: 4F/H4. Whenever one thing exerts a force on another, an equal amount of force is exerted back on it.
9-12: 4F/H7. In most familiar situations, frictional forces complicate the description of motion, although the basic principles still apply.
9-12: 4F/H8. Any object maintains a constant speed and direction of motion unless an unbalanced outside force acts on it.

9. The Mathematical World

9B. Symbolic Relationships

9-12: 9B/H4. Tables, graphs, and symbols are alternative ways of representing data and relationships that can be translated from one to another.

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<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=11090">Henderson, Tom. Physics Classroom: Force and Its Representation . July 1, 2011.</a>

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T. Henderson, (1996), WWW Document, (https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l2a.cfm).

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T. Henderson, Physics Classroom: Force and Its Representation (1996), <https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l2a.cfm>.

APA Format

Henderson, T. (2011, July 1). Physics Classroom: Force and Its Representation . Retrieved May 1, 2025, from https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l2a.cfm

Chicago Format

Henderson, Tom. Physics Classroom: Force and Its Representation . July 1, 2011. https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l2a.cfm (accessed 1 May 2025).

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Henderson, Tom. Physics Classroom: Force and Its Representation . 1996. 1 July 2011. 1 May 2025 <https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l2a.cfm>.

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@misc{ Author = "Tom Henderson", Title = {Physics Classroom: Force and Its Representation }, Volume = {2025}, Number = {1 May 2025}, Month = {July 1, 2011}, Year = {1996} }

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%A Tom Henderson %T Physics Classroom: Force and Its Representation %D July 1, 2011 %U https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l2a.cfm %O text/html

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%0 Electronic Source %A Henderson, Tom %D July 1, 2011 %T Physics Classroom: Force and Its Representation %V 2025 %N 1 May 2025 %8 July 1, 2011 %9 text/html %U https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l2a.cfm

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