1. Introduction to force

In previous classes, you have learnt how objects move.

 

  

You are also aware that a moving object slows down, such as a ball rolling on the ground. The ball has the ability to change its direction of motion at any time. It is also possible that the ball will slow down and change course.

 

  

 

Let us think about some of our everyday encounters. What are the steps to making a football move? How do you get a moving ball to move faster? What is the best way for a goalkeeper to stop a ball? How does a fielder prevent a batsman from hitting a ball? With a flick of the stick, a hockey player can change the direction of the moving ball. In each of these cases, the ball is either made to move faster or slower, or its direction of motion is changed.

 

When a ball is kicked, pushed, thrown, or flicked, we say it has been subjected to force. What exactly is a force? What can it do to bodies on which it is applied? In this chapter, we will look for answers to such questions.

 

Picking, opening, closing, kicking, hitting, lifting, flicking, pushing, and pulling are all actions that are commonly used to describe certain tasks. Each of these actions usually causes an object's motion to change in some way. Is it possible to substitute one or more terms for these?
 

Do you see how each of these actions can be classified as a pull, a push, or both? Is it possible to deduce from this that an object must be pushed or pulled to move?