What is a force?
A force is any push or pull on an object that can change the current motion of an object.
What is a newton?
A newton is a unit of measure for force.
What are balanced forces?
Forces are balanced on an object when the sum of forces acting on the object is zero. This implies that the forces acting on an object have equal strengths and act in opposite directions. The motion of an object remains unchanged when the forces acting on the object are balanced.
What are unbalanced forces?
Forces are unbalanced on an object when the sum of forces acting on the object is not zero. The motion of an object changes when the forces acting on the object are unbalanced.
What is a change in motion?
A change in motion is when an object speeds up, slows down, or changes its direction.
What is gravity?
Gravity is an attractive force that pulls two or more masses together. The force of gravity (also called weight) depends on the masses of the interacting objects and their separation distance.
What is mass?
Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object.
What is a kilogram?
A kilogram is a common unit of measure for mass.
What is equilibrium?
Equilibrium is a condition or state when the forces (or torques) acting on a system are balanced and no changes in the motion of the system occur.
What is a seesaw?
A seesaw consists of a board placed on a fulcrum. The fulcrum is located in the center of the board so the board balances evenly on both sides of the fulcrum.
What is a lever?
A lever is a rigid material such as a rod or board that can be used to apply a force or torque. The lever is supported by a fulcrum.
What is a fulcrum?
A fulcrum is a point of balance for a lever generally located at the midpoint of the lever.
What is torque?
Torque is the rotational equivalent of force for a rotating system, such as an object rotating about an axis. Torque is defined as the force applied times the lever arm.
What is rotational work?
Rotational work is a measure of the work done on an object or rigid body due to the sum of torques over an angle through which the object or body rotates. Rotational work is defined as the torque times the angular displacement of a rotating object.
What is angular displacement?
Angular displacement is a measure of the angle through which an object rotates from a fixed or starting position.
What is a radian?
A radian is a unit of measure for angular displacement of a rotating system. One radian equals about 57.3 degrees and there are about 6.28 radians in one revolution.
What causes an object to rotate or spin? In this module, you explore different rotational motion changes of objects and their cause. Get started now investigating torque and work using a seesaw.
