lesson
Updated 1 month ago · 4 views
Imagine you are coasting down the sidewalk on a skateboard. What happens if your friend runs up behind you and gives your back a firm shove forward?
You instantly surge forward faster, but if your friend stands ahead of you and pushes against your chest, you slow right down.
A force is simply a push or a pull on an object, and the direction of that force decides whether speed goes up or down.
Pushing With Motion
When an object is already moving, applying a force in that same direction makes it speed up.
📊Interactive diagram
In 1687, Isaac Newton published his laws of motion to show that an object's speed only changes when an unbalanced force acts on it.
Because the push adds effort in the exact direction the object travels, the object gains speed in that direction.
What happens if a force pushes the other way?
Pushing Against Motion
When a force acts in the opposite direction of an object's movement, it resists the movement and causes the object to slow down.
📊Interactive diagram
Invisible forces like friction from rough ground and air drag act against moving objects every day, constantly slowing them down.