UNIT FORCE AND NEWTON'S

3 LAWS OF MOTION

Unit outcomes: After completing this unit you should be able to:
 develop a qualitative understanding of Newton’s laws of motion
and force in static situations.
 develop introductory skill of manipulating numerical problems
related to Newton’s law of motion and force.
 appreciate the interrelatedness of all things.
 use a wide range of possibilities for developing knowledge of
the major concepts with in physics.

Introduction
In unit two of this book you learned important concepts that describe motion.
The concepts such as speed, velocity and acceleration are used for describing
various types of motion around you.

Activity 3.1
Discuss with your friends or parents.
• The concepts: speed, velocity and acceleration.
• The difference between uniform and accelerated motions.
• Do you think that force and motion have a relation? Explain.

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
The motion of bodies (relative to a chosen reference system) is either uniform or
accelerated or slowed down, or change in directions. In the last three cases, the
velocities of moving bodies are changing. That is, acceleration is produced.
Clearly it is very important to be able to study acceleration. However, to
understand acceleration in its full sense you must know how it emerges or is
produced.

3.1. Force
Activity 3.2
Discuss the followings with your friends.
i. What is a force?
ii. Mention some examples of forces from your daily activities.
iii. explain the following phrases
- Social force,
- Political force,
iv. Explain the following actions.
- A push you exert on a wall,
- A pull exerted to drag a box on a table.
v. Do you think that forces in iii) and iv) are the same? Explain

The term force is used in different situations in the English language. Force is a
technical term in physics. The term force in physics is different from the term
force in political and social.

Force is a very important physical quantity. It is used to describe interactions

between two bodies in nature. For example, when you kick a ball, tear a piece of
paper, hold your exercise book and walk on the floor you apply forces. Hence, in
physics the term 'force' is used to describe a 'push' or a 'pull' exerted on a body.

A force is a push or a pull exerted on a body by another body.

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 Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion

Types of forces
Activity 3.3
i. Throw a ball vertically upward and observe its motion. What will happen
to the ball? Will it continue to move upward forever? Why?
ii. Take a magnet and pieces of iron fillings. Move the magnet over the iron
filings without a physical contact between the magnet and the iron
fillings. Describe your observation for your teacher.
iii. Move your desk from its current position. Can you do it without a
physical contact? Why?
iv. Explain the types of forces that exist in the above 3 activities.

You know that a force is a push or a pull. But do all bodies push or pull other
bodies by making a physical contact only? From your Activity 3.3, you might
have noticed that bodies could be in contact to each other or they could be
without contact or at a distance from each other. Therefore, forces are classified
into two broad categories known as: (i) Contact forces and (ii) Non-contact
forces
i. Contact forces are forces exerted when two objects are in touch or contact.
For example;
- A force exerted by a stretched or compressed spring.
- An upward force exerted by a table on a box resting on it.

a) Pushing a table b) Stretching a spring c) A box resting on a floor

Fig.3.1. Examples of contact forces
ii. Non-contact forces are forces exerted without body contact. They are forces
acting at a distance. Gravitational force, magnetic force and electrical forces
are examples of non – contact forces.
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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion

A falling ball Attraction or repulsion of two magnets Electrostatic forces

Fig. 3.2 Different types of non contact forces

Challenging Questions
1. Discuss examples of contact forces in Fig 3.1
2. Discuss the differences between gravitational force, magnetic force and electric
forces. (Fig 3.2)

Effects of a force
When a force is exerted on a body, the body may change its shape or size.
Activity 3.4

Observe the activities shown in Fig 3.3

a. Explain the effects of forces in each activity.
b. Can you summarize the effects of force?

b) When the engine applies a force the

car moves.
a) When the person kicks the ball the ball
moves in the direction of the force

c) When a spring is stretched the size

and the shape change. d) When a ball roles over the table and
falls off the table forces are exerted.
Fig.3.3 Different effects of forces
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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
It is not simple to describe a force as you can
The change in shape describe some material objects such as a chalk,
or size of a body is
known as pen, orange etc. You can only say what a force
deformation. There can do. For example when a body at rest is
are two types of
deformation; acted upon by a force it will begin to move. If a
I. Permanent
body is already moving a force may change its
II. Temporary.
velocity. That is, a force produces motion or
changes motion of a body.

Force produces an acceleration of a body.

A force has the following main effects, when it is exerted on an object:

i. It changes the shape and size of the objects.
ii. It changes the magnitude or direction of motion of the objects. i.e.
when a force is exerted on a body:
a. a stationary body starts to move
b. a moving body increases its speed,
c. a moving body decreases its speed and gradually stops moving
d. a moving body changes it direction.

Measuring a Force
Activity 3.5
Do the following tasks with your friends.
i. Describe methods of measuring a force.
ii. What is the instrument used to measure a force?
iii. Mention the SI unit of force.

A force is measured using an instrument called a spring balance (Fig 3.4 a). As
you can observe from Fig 3.4 there is a stretch (increase in length) of the spring
when it is pulled. We can use this increase in length of a spring to measure the
magnitude of the force stretching the spring.
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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion

W=0 1
2
F1
W1

W2
a) b)
Fig 3.4 Spring balance

Each time an extra weight is added you find that there is the same extension
because each object is identical.
They are attracted to the earth with the same force, so what we have found is that
equal force produced equal extensions of the spring. Newton meter is the
scientific instrument used to measure a force. The SI unit of force is newton
symbolized by N. The unit newton is named, after the great scientist Sir Isaac
Newton.

Fig 3.5 (a) illustrate the structure of a Newton meter. It is made up of a spring
attached to a hook and a scale leveled in newton.

Fig 3.5 (b) measures the weight of stone in gram. When the spring balance is
held by the hand it shows a certain weight for the piece of stone. Here the weight
is 500 grams. To know the weight of the stone in newton you have to multiply
by 10 m/s2.

Describing a Force: A force is a vector quantity. (A vector quantity is a

quantity which has both magnitude and direction.) To fully describe the force
acting upon an object, you must describe both its magnitude and direction. For
example, “10 N of force” is not a complete description of the force acting on an
object. ‘10 N downwards’ is a complete description of the force acting upon an
object.

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion

Support Spring
balance
held by
hand
Pointer 500 g
Scale (Newton)
Spring
Stone weighs
500 g
Hook
b) Spring balance
a) Newton meter
Fig 3.5 Force measuring instruments

Check points 3.1

1. What is a force in physics?
2. Name two types of force and give example for each type.
3. Describe some effects of a force.
4. Write the unit of force both in word and symbol.
5. Read the weight of a body from the spring balance.

3.2. Newton's Laws of Motion

In unit two of this book you learned about the motion of bodies in a straight line.
In the first section of this unit, you learned the major effects of a force.
Combining these two backgrounds, it is now necessary to study the relationship
between force and motion.
Galileo Galilee (1564-1642 AD) and Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727 AD) tried to
explain the causes of motion of bodies in a certain direction or why bodies stop
their motion. These ideas were put together by Sir Isaac Newton in the form of
laws of motion called Newton's laws of motion.

Newton's First Law of Motion

Activity 3.6
Discuss the following questions with your friends.
i. Place any object (text book, or pen, or eraser) on a floor.
ii. What happens to the state of motion of the object, when you don't
exert a force on it?
iii. Exert a force (push or pull) on the objects. What happens to their
states of motion?
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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
Based on the discussion of activity 3.6 you can generalize that unless you or
someone else exerts a force on the object, an object at rest will remain at rest.
But when a force is applied it starts to move.
Similarly, a body moving with a constant velocity along a straight line will not
increase or decrease its speed unless an external force is applied on it. These
conditions led Newton to state the important law called Newton’s first law of
motion.

Newton’s first law of motion states that: "an object continues in its state of
rest or of uniform motion in a straight line unless it is forced to change
that state by the application of an external force."

This means, in the absence of an external force, a body at rest will remain at rest
and a body in motion will continue its motion in a straight line with uniform
velocity. This law is also called the Law of Inertia.
This law points out that force is something that changes the state of a body. In
other words we can say that if the state of a body changes, a force is acting on it.
A force may be defined as a push or a pull which produces or tends to produce
motion, stop or tend to stop motion.
Activity 3-7
i. Discuss with your friends and report to your teacher. ( Fig 3.6)
a. pull both cans with the same force. Which can is easy to move? Why?
b. If both cans are moving towards you, which is easier to stop its
motion?
c. What do you call the property
of a body to resist change in
its motion?
ii. What is the use of seatbelt/safety belt
in a car? Ask a driver or a traffic
a) Empty can b) Can full of Sand
police and discuss your findings with
Fig 3.6 Bodies having different masses
your group members.
iii. When you are standing in a moving bus, you fall or tend to fall forward when it
suddenly stops. How can you explain this effect? What are the forces acting on
you?
iv. Explain the term 'inertia' using practical examples.

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
From your Activity 3.7 you noticed that an object at rest would insist to be at
rest. A moving object would like to continue its uniform motion in a straight
line. This is the property of all objects and it is known as inertia.

Inertia is the property of a body to retain its state of rest or state of uniform
motion in a straight line in the absence of an external force.

Activity 3.8

i. Place your pen on the surface of a floor. Push the pen and observe its
motion. Similarly apply the same amount of force on a table; standing on a
floor. What effects do you notice in both activities?
ii. Is the speed of the table the same as that of the pen?
iii. Do you think that for the same applied force the change in velocity is the
same? Explain your answer.

From the above two activities you noticed that mass and inertia are the same. To
move a large mass, a large force is required for motion to begin; and if the mass
is small, a small force is required. We use the term mass instead of inertia in this
book.

Generally large masses have greater inertia and smaller masses have
less inertia.

Activity 3-9
Do the following activity to understand the effects of inertia. (Fig 3.7)
i. Pile of four or five smooth wooden
blocks on the top of a table.
ii. Give a sharp kick with a hammer on
the bottom block.
iii. What did you observe?
iv. Why do the blocks of wood drop
vertically down when the bottom block
is kicked with the hammer? Fig.3. 7 A pile of wooden blocks

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
When the bottom block is given a sharp kick it causes out of the stack while the
top three blocks drop vertically down as shown in Fig. 3.7. Do the rest in the
same manner as the first. You will observe that when the kicked block moves
away the remaining will be dropped vertically down.

Activity 3.10
i. Apply a force to move a heavy box placed on a smooth floor, it will resist
to stay at rest or don't move. This means you didn't bring a change in
motion even though you applied a force.
ii. Why do you think the body does not move when you apply a force?

The above activities show that mass and inertia are the same. To move a large
mass, a large force is required, and to move a small mass, a small force is
required. In this book we use the term mass instead of inertia.

Newton's second law of motion

Newton's first law describes the qualitative property of a force. It describes how
force changes the state of rest or uniform motion of a mass of body. In other
words, it states that every change in the magnitude or direction of a body's
velocity is caused by applying an external force.
In Newton's second law you will learn how to measure the magnitude of a force
required to bring a given body to rest or set in motion.

Activity 3-11
• Consider two boxes 'A' and 'B' as in Fig 3.8. Let the mass of 'A’ is 20 kg
and that of 'B’ is 40 kg. Both are at rest.
• Suppose you push separately the two boxes with the same force of 10 N.
which box change its motion easily? Explain it.

F=10 N
F=10 N A B

Fig.3.8 Different masses acted by the same force

Activity 3.11 helps you to know that, when the same force is applied on two
bodies of different masses, the smaller mass accelerates more than the larger
mass.
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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
Mathematically you can state as follows. Acceleration is inversely proportional
to the mass of a body for a given applied force. i.e. a α where 'm' is the mass
of the body and 'a' is the acceleration. α is proportionality symbol.

Activity 3-12
a.

i. Consider two bodies of equal masses and different forces are applied to
make them move. (Fig 3.9)
• Which one of the masses do you think will accelerate more?
• What do you conclude about force and acceleration?

100 N A 20 N B

Fig. 3.9 Equal masses acted by different forces

Activity 3.12 helps you to observe that as the force increases the acceleration
increases for a given constant mass.

Acceleration is directly proportional to the force applied. i.e. a α F. This means

that the greater force you apply to an object the greater the acceleration is.

Combining Activities 3.11 and 3.12 together we get the following important law
known as Newton’s second law of motion.

Newton’s second law of motion states that: "the acceleration of a body is

directly proportional to the force ‘(F)’ acting on the body and inversely
proportional to the mass ‘(m)’of the body.”
Mathematically expressed as:

Acceleration (a) =

Force = mass × acceleration

F = ma
The SI unit of force is newton, represented by 'N'. 1 N = 1 kg m/s2
1 newton is the force needed to give an acceleration of 1m/s2 to a mass of 1kg.

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
This law is valid for objects ranging from the size of atoms to size beyond the
distances of galaxies and everything in between. This is why Newton's second
law of motion is called the ‘universal’ law. It describes the way objects in the
universe move.

Activity 3-13
a.

i. Can you mention any other physics laws you know that applies
universally?
ii. Discuss them with your friends.

Example 3.1
1. How large a force is required to set a 10 kg toy car in motion with an
acceleration of 2 m/s2.

Given Required
m = 10 kg F=?
a= 2m/s2
Solution
According to Newton's 2nd law of motion
F = ma
= 10 kg × 2m/s2
= 20 kg m/s2
= 20 N

2. A force of 30 N is applied on a box of unknown mass to set it with an acceleration

of 5m/s2. What is the mass of the box?
Given Required
F= 30N m=?
a = 5m/s2

Solution
From F = ma, we get
m= = = 6 kg
∴ m = 6 kg
• Verify that N/ (m/s ) = kg
2

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
3. A girl pulls a box on a horizontal floor by applying a horizontal force of 100N. The
mass of the box is 20 kg. What is the acceleration of the box?

Given Required Solution

F = 100 N a=? from F = ma, we have:
m = 20 kg a= = 5 N/kg
• Can you verify that N/kg = m/s ?
2
∴ a = 5m/s2

4) How much external force is required to accelerate a 1500 kg car at the rate of 6m/s2?
Given Required Solution
m = 1500kg F=? F = ma
a = 6 m/s 2
= 1500 kg × 6 m/s2
F = 9000 N
Activity 3.14
a.

i. What is mass?
ii. What is weight?
iii. Explain the difference between mass and weight.

Mass and weight

You learnt in unit one that the mass of a body depend
on the quantity of matter it contains and being
Fig. 3.10. A man measuring
his weight on a balance. measured using a beam balance everywhere.

Mass is the amount of matter in a substance. The mass of a body

characterizes its inertia and it is a scalar quantity which is measured in
kilogram (kg). Thus the mass of a given body is the same everywhere.
Whereas weight is the pulling force of the earth towards its center and it is
a vector quantity.

If you throw a stone vertically upward, it will fall back to the earth. The same
thing will happen every time you throw an object in any direction. The pulling of
objects by the earth towards its center is called the force of gravity.

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion

The pull of gravity acting on a body towards the centre of the earth is
called the weight of a body. Thus the weight of a body is a force.

What is the Difference between Mass and Weight?

Fig. 3.11 a and b shows two types of scales commonly used in the science
classroom. These are spring scale and a beam balance scale.

a) Spring scale b) Beam balance scale

Fig 3.11 Two types of scales for measuring mass

For example on earth the spring scale reads 100g with a mass attached to the
hook (Fig 3.11 (a)). When a beam balance scales is used, you balance the scale
on the right by a 100 g mass of substance.
If we were to take both scales to the moon, what would the spring scale read?
How much mass would be needed to balance the 100g mass on the balance
beam? Can you explain your answer?

In science or physics you need to recognize between 'weight' and ‘mass’. They
are two different physical quantities in physics.

Activity 3.15
b.

i. Have you noticed that people are using the terms ‘mass’ and
weight interchangeably? Comment on it.
ii. What is the reading you get from a balance when you stand on
it? Is it your weight or your mass?

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
According to Newton's second law, force equals to the product of mass and
acceleration, that is F= ma. Similarly the force of gravity of the earth equal to the
product of mass and acceleration due to gravity 'g', thus;

Weight (W) = mass (m) × gravitational acceleration (g) ⇒ W = mg

Where 'm' stands for mass and 'g' is acceleration due to gravity.

Example: 3.2

1. The mass of one quintal of 'teff' is 100 kg. What is its weight? Take g = 10m/s2.

Given Required Solution

m= 100 kg W=? From W = mg, we have
2
g = 10 m/s = 100 kg m/s2
= 1000 N
2. How much does a 100 kg body weight on the surface of the moon whose
acceleration due to gravity is equal to 1.63 m/s2?

Given Required Solution

m = 100 kg W=? Using the definition of weight, we get,
g = 1.63m/s2 W = mg
= 100 kg × 1.63 m/s2
= 163 N

Newton's Third Law (Law of Action and Reaction)

Activity 3.16
a) Kick a ball with your bare foot, what do you feel?
b) Hold your physics book by placing it on your palm. Do you feel that a
force is exerted by the book on your palm? What about the reverse? Is
there a force exerted by the palm on the book?
c) Push the wall of your classroom; do you feel that the wall is pushing
against you?
d) Place a box on a table and let it stay at rest. What are the forces acting
between the box and the table?
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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion

Fwp

Fpw

a) A book resting b) A rocket moving c) A girl pushing a d) Two persons

on a palm upward box on a floor pushing each other
Fig. 3.12 Action and Reaction forces
From Activity 3.16 you noticed that, it is not possible to exert a force on a body
without the body exerting a force in the opposite direction. These forces are
called the action and reaction forces.

Newton's third law states that "To every action there is always an equal and
opposite reaction”. That is, whenever one body exerts a certain force on a
second body, the second body also exerts an equal and opposite force on
the first. This law is also called the law of Action and Reaction.

Action and reaction forces always act on two different bodies and always exist in
pairs. In Fig 3.12 the force exerted by the palm on the book is F wp . It is applied
to the book and is directed upwards. In return the weight will act on the palm
with the force F pw. This force is applied to the palm and is directed down ward.
In this and in all other action and reaction cases it can be summarized
mathematically as: is the action force and
FA = - FR where
The negative (-) sign indicates the reaction force is opposite in direction to the
action force.
Challenging Questions
1. When you push a wall with your hand you exert a force on the wall. Explain the forces
between the wall and your hand
2. What are the forces exerted by the bodies indicated in Fig 3.12 (a, b, c and d)?
3. Indicate the action and reaction forces in the following actions.
a) A student carrying his school bag.
b) A horse pulling a cart.
c) A bullet shot from a gun.
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Check point 3.2

1. Define the term inertia.
2. What is the relationship between mass and inertia?
3. State a) Newton's first law of motion.
b) Newton's second law of motion.
c) Newton's third law of motion.
4. What are the relationships between force, mass and acceleration?
5. What is the difference between mass and weight?

3.3. Frictional Force

In the previous sections you learnt about a force. You apply a force when you kick a ball
and when you hold your physics book. A force is applied when a body accelerates.

Activity 3.17 Discuss with your friends on the following questions.

i. Have you ever walked on a muddy road or on a smooth polished floor?
ii. Is it more difficult to walk on these surfaces than on a rough road (surface)?
Why?
iii. What makes easier to walk on a rough road?
iv. What type of force is a friction force?

The two surfaces used in Activity 3.17 will slip you away since there is no
sufficient friction force to prevent you from slipping. The force of friction is
important for walking.

Pushing force
on the bicycle

Friction force
Friction
force
a) Motion of a bicycle on a b) A walking person
straight road
Fig 3.13 Fiction force on a bicycle and walking man

When an object moves over the surface of another object, it experiences a

resistance or opposing force against the relative motion of the objects.
This opposition or resistance to the motion of objects is called friction.

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
Friction force is the force that opposes the relative motion of two bodies in
contact. If we try to push a block of wood across a table, there are two opposing
forces that act on the block of wood. The force related to the push, and a force
that is related to the friction. These two forces act in the opposite direction.
As frictional forces are decreased (for example, by placing oil on the table) the
object moves further and further before stopping. This demonstrates Galileo's
law of inertia which states: “an object in a state of motion possesses an inertia
that causes it to remain in that state of motion unless an external force acts on it”.
Friction force always arises when one body tries to slide on another. The
frictional force depends on;
i) The roughness of the surfaces in contact.
ii) The normal force (the force perpendicular to the surface). The normal
force is the same as the weight of a body when it lies along a horizontal
plane.
Normal
Force
Pulling
Friction
force Pulling
force •
Friction Force
Force

Weight of block
a) Rough surface
b) Normal force = weight of a block
Fig 3.14 Factors affecting frictional force

Activity 3.18
Prepare two boxes which have different masses. Try to push each
box separately across a rough floor. Which one is difficult to push?

From activity 3-18 you learnt that heavier (bigger) objects are more difficult to
move on a rough surface. i.e. because as the weight increases, the friction force
also increases. That is because there is an increase in the force that presses the
two sliding surfaces together. This force is the normal force reacting the floor on
the block.

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion

. Activity 3.19
What causes friction?

Types of frictional force

There are two types of friction;

i. Static friction ii. Kinetic friction.

Fk
Block at Moving
rest block

a) Static friction b) Kinetic friction

Fig 3.15 Types of friction

Activity 3.20
i. Try to pull a heavy box across a floor; explain the force you needed, to start the
motion and the force required during the motion to continue it moving.
a) First pull it slowly and notice the force just needed to start it moving.
(Fig 3.15 a)
b) Then continue to pull it. (Fig 3.15 b)
ii. Which one has greater value? Starting force or force that keeps it moving?
From the Activity 3.20 you notice that the force required in setting the box into
motion is larger than the force required to continue the motion of the box.
The friction force that opposes motion just before the box starts its motion is
called the static friction. The force that is being constantly over come during the
motion of the box is called the kinetic friction. Activity 3.20 shows that static
friction is greater than kinetic friction.

Static frictional force is the maximum frictional force which enables to

start the relative motion of two objects.
Kinetic frictional force is the force which arises when one body slides or
moves over the other. The term “kinetic” means ‘moving’.
Once the object begins to move, the force required is not so great. This
shows that kinetic friction on a body is smaller than the static friction.

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion

N If F s = static friction and

At rest
Moving
F k = kinetic friction
Pulling
force F Static friction is greater than kinetic
friction, F s > F k
Fs Fk
W W

Fig 3.16 Relationship between Fs and Fk

Factors affecting frictional force between two contacting

surfaces

Activity 3-21
i. Try to slide your physics text on your mathematic textbook.
ii. Observe what force you apply to start the motion of the physics book.
iii. Next try to slide the physics textbook on your table. What do you notice?
iv. Are the forces you require to push the physics textbooks in the two situations
the same?
a. What is a normal force?
b. How is friction affected by a normal force?

The two major factors that affect friction are;

1. The nature of contacting surfaces.
2. The normal force between the surfaces.
A normal force is a force that presses two surfaces together. It is
perpendicular to the pressed surfaces. For a flat surface the normal
force is equal to the weight of the sliding body.

How does a normal force affect the force of static or kinetic friction?
From the Activity 3.18 you have observed that both static friction and kinetic
friction increases as the weight of the sliding body increases. Further the static
frictional force, is greater than the kinetic frictional force. Therefore, frictional
force is proportional to the normal force. Mathematically;
F s ~ N and F k ~ N
Or F s = μ s N and F k = μ k N
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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
Where, μ s is coefficient of static N
friction and k is coefficient of
kinetic friction. µ is a Greek
letter read as miu. 20kg Pulling force
Fs
The values are
positive and less than one.
Since F s > F k then μ s > μ k . W = mg
Fig 3.17 The normal force N is equal to mg

Example 3.3
The coefficient of static friction between a block of wood and the floor is
0.2. The mass of the block is 20 kg. What is the static friction between the
block and the level floor? (Take g = 9.8 m/s2)

Given Required Solution

μ s = 0.2 Fs = ? F = μs N
m = 20 kg N = w = mg
N = 20 kg × 9.8 N/kg = 196 N
F s = 0.2 × 196 N
F s = 39.20 N
2. The force of static friction between a body of mass 50 kg and a horizontal
floor is measured to be 103N. What is the coefficient of static friction
between the body and the table?
Given Required Solution
F s = 103 N since N = mg
m= 50 kg = 50kg × 9.8 N/kg
= 490 N
μ s = Fs/N
Thus μ s = 103N/ 490 N
μ s = 0.21

Note: Coefficient of friction /µ s / is unit less.

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion

Effects of Friction
There are some common effects of friction. Friction-
• Increases the work necessary to operate a machinery; i.e it causes
wastage of energy.
• Causes wearing out of a surface
• Generates heat, etc.
• Causes walking possible on roads
Are these effects of friction useful or harmful? Which ones are harmful and
which ones are not?

Activity 3.22
i. Discuss some useful effects of friction from your daily experience (e.g. How
fire is generated using friction).
ii. Mention also some harmful effects of friction.

Advantages of friction
Your discussion in Activity 3. 22 might have helped you to understand that there
are some uses of friction. Among these uses or advantages of friction, the
followings can be mentioned as examples.
i. Walking: The friction between your foot (shoes) and the ground enables
you to walk. Where friction is very low like slippery mud surface, you will
find it difficult to walk on it.
ii. Tires: The friction between the car tires and the road allows a car to move
or to stop.
iii. Brakes: When the brakes of a car is applied, the brake shoes are pushed
apart. This brings the brake lining and the drum into contact and the
friction between them stops the car.

Disadvantage of Friction

Activity 3.23
Discuss with your friends or parents. Describing the disadvantages of
friction. Example the making of fire in factories, vehicles, forests, etc.
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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
If you rub the palms of your hands together, they will become warm. This is
because of friction. The same thing applies to all machines which have moving
parts.

Heat is developed in the moving parts when the machine works. This is because
some of the energy supplied to drive the machine is changed into heat. This is a
wastage of energy. It is not used for the desired purpose. Some parts of machines
also wear out because of friction.
Challenging Question
Give some other advantages and disadvantage of friction.

Reducing Friction
In order to increase the efficiency of machines and reduce the wearing out of
machine parts, friction has to be reduced.
Some of the most commonly used methods of reducing friction are the
following.
A. Removing of roughness of the surfaces Smooth surfaces have less friction than
rough surfaces.
B. Lubricating; If you introduce liquid film such as oil between the surfaces,
friction will be reduced. The oil fills the valleys and separates the surfaces so that
the hills and valleys do not hold each other.
C. Rolling bodies: The most effective and commonly used method of reducing
friction is to use rolling bodies instead of sliding bodies. That is wheels, roller
bearings and the ball bearings are used to reduce friction. Fig 3.18 illustrates the
difference between sliding and rolling bodies.

a) A sliding body b) A rolling body

Fig 3.18 Rolling reduces friction

I think in this unit you have acquired the knowledge of force and you have also
got some answers for your doubts which you always ask yourself why I fell

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
when something hits me. Why I tend to be pushed forward when the bus
suddenly stops, etc.

You might have asked yourself why do I fell when I step on a banana scrap. This
is because of friction. As friction is necessary for motion it is also harmful for
machines. You have a responsibility as a citizen to keep machines not to wear
out due to friction, and do the necessary things to reduce friction.

Since this topic is very important and more applicable in all aspects of life you
have to have an active participation in the class and outside in the community to
give awareness how to reduce friction in machines.

Check point 3.3

1. What is a frictional force?
2. Name examples where frictional force plays an important role in our daily life.
3. State the factors on which a frictional force depend on.
4. What is the difference between static friction and kinetic friction?
5. Describe two methods of reducing friction.

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion

Summary

In this unit you learnt that:

 force is a push or a pull that produces motion, stops or tends to stop
motion.
 the relationship between a force and the motion produced is described
by Newton's three laws of motion.

The Newton's laws of motion are:

1st law: A body at rest remains at rest, and a body in motion
continue to move with a uniform speed in a straight
line unless it is acted upon by an external force.
2nd law: The acceleration is directly proportional to the
applied force and inversely proportional to the mass
of the body, (F=ma).
3rd law: For every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction.
 the unit of force is Newton, 1N is defined as a force that acts on a mass
of 1 kg and produces an acceleration of 1 m/s2.
 weight of a body is the gravitational force acting on the body. The
weight of an object of mass 'm' is W= mg.
 frictional force is directly proportional to the normal force and is
directed parallel to the surfaces of the moving bodies.
Ff = μ FN
 the coefficient of friction 'μ' is defined as the ratio of the frictional force
to the normal force.

μ=

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion

Review Questions and Problems

I. Fill in the blank spaces with the appropriate word(s).

1. The cause for the change in the state of rest or motion of an
object is_______________.
2. According to Newton's 2nd law of motion, force is the product
of ________and __________.
3. Action and reaction forces are always _______ in magnitude
and ________in direction.
4. The pull of gravity on a 1 kg body on the surface of the earth
is _________Newton.
5. The gravitational force with which the earth attracts a body
is called __________.

II. Short answer questions

1. Define a force.
2. Explain how the weight of a body changes as the body is taken
farther away from the surface of the earth.
3. What are the units of g, F N and μ?
4. Explain why the friction between two pieces of wood is reduced
when they are smooth and polished.

III. Solve the following problems.

1. How much force is needed to accelerate a toy car of mass 8 kg at
2m/s2?
2. A trolley of mass 20 kg was originally at rest on a smooth horizontal
surface. By how much will it accelerate if a pulling force of 22 N is
applied on it horizontally?
3. What is the weight of a 60 kg boy on the surface of the Earth? Take
g = 10 m/s2.
4. A 90 kg body is taken to a planet where the acceleration due to
gravity is 2.5 times that of the earth. What is the weight of this body
on the surface of this planet? Take g = 10 m/s2.

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Grade 7 Physics 3 Force and Newton’s Law of Motion
5. A car of mass 1500 kg starting from rest can reach a speed of 20
m/s within 10 seconds. Calculate the accelerating force of the car
engine.
6. If the force acting on a body of mass 40 kg is doubled. By how
much will the acceleration change? N
7. A block of mass 5 kg is being
pulled along a board horizontally
with a constant velocity; the 5kg F
coefficient of friction between the k F
two surfaces is 0.25.
a) What is the normal reaction W = mg

force between the board and Fig 3.19

the block?
b) What is the frictional force that opposes the motion?

8. A 75 N horizontal force is sufficient to move a 150 N box on a level

road at a uniform speed. What is the coefficient of friction between
the box and the road? N

F = 75N
Fk

mg = 150N

Fig 3.20

9. A space woman has a mass of 65kg on the earth surface. What is her
weight on:
a) the earth, where g = 10 m/s2?
b) the moon, where g = 1.6 m/s2?

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