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Welcome to our Physics lesson on How are forces classified?, this is the second lesson of our suite of physics lessons covering the topic of What Causes Motion? The Meaning of Force, you can find links to the other lessons within this tutorial and access additional physics learning resources below this lesson.
How are forces classified?
Forces are divided in two main categories regarding the way on how they act in objects. They are:
- Contact forces. These kinds of forces cause their effect on an object only when they touch it. For example, moving an object by pulling a rope is an example of contact forces as if you don't pull the rope, the object doesn't move from its place.
- Field (distant) forces. These kinds of forces are produced by objects, which are able to extend their effect in the space around them (known as "fields") and as a result, all the other objects which enter inside the range of these fields, are affected by their pushing or pulling effect. Therefore, the force is produced indirectly through the field, not through the object itself. For example, Earth attracts objects near its surface through the gravitational field it produces in the space around. As a result, objects that are flying near the Earth surface fall on the ground when the moving force stops.
You have reached the end of Physics lesson 4.1.2 How are forces classified?. There are 4 lessons in this physics tutorial covering What Causes Motion? The Meaning of Force, you can access all the lessons from this tutorial below.
More What Causes Motion? The Meaning of Force Lessons and Learning Resources
Dynamics Learning Material| Tutorial ID | Physics Tutorial Title | Tutorial | Video
Tutorial | Revision
Notes | Revision
Questions |
|---|
| 4.1 | What Causes Motion? The Meaning of Force | | | | |
| Lesson ID | Physics Lesson Title | Lesson | Video
Lesson |
|---|
| 4.1.1 | What causes motion? | | |
| 4.1.2 | How are forces classified? | | |
| 4.1.3 | What is Resultant Force? | | |
| 4.1.4 | Expressing Forces in Components | | |
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