Contact Forces
What is an example of a contact force?
Any example that includes touching an object that is having a force acted on it!
What is an example of a non-contact force?
Anything example that pushes or pulls without touching!
What is an example of gravity?
Any example that explains that gravity pulls us down and pulls objects towards the core.
Any example that explains the attraction of charges.
What is an example of magnetism?
Anything that explains that magnets attract to certain objects/materials.
What is the contact forces that is 'away from you'?
Push!
What are the four non-contact forces?
Magnetism, gravity, static electricity and electrical force!
Does the pull of gravity change between Earth and Space?
Yes! This is because the pull of gravity isn't as strong in space as it is on Earth. This is why we can float around in space and would feel alot lighter!
Define repulsion and attraction.
Repulsion: to push away from eachother
Attraction: to pull towards eachother
What are magnets made up of?
Iron, Nickel and/or Cobalt.
What is the contact forces that is 'towards you'?
Pull!
What is the definition of a non-contact force?
A force that doesn't touch the object it is acting on!
Do humans have a gravitational pull?
Yes, we attract others because we have a gravitational pull, it isn't very strong though!
What charges attract? What charges repel?
Opposite charges attract and like charges repel.
What kinds of materials are magnets attracted to? What materials are they not attracted to?
Magnets attract most kinds of metal (not all)! Magnets do not attract materials like plastic and rubber.
What is the definition of a contact force?
A push or pull force that touches the object it is acting on.
What non-contact force keeps us on the ground and stops us from floating around?
Gravity!
If an object weighs more, is the attraction/pull of gravity stronger? (Hint: Think of dropping a marble and a feather from the same height at the same time, do they land at the same time.)
Yes, mass/weight does impact the strength of the attraction of gravity.
Explain why a balloon will stick to the wall after rubbing it against a sweater.
When the balloon is rubbed against a sweater it takes extra charges from the sweater. When this happens the balloon becomes charged. When an object is charged it wants to lose the extra charges. It can do this by attracting to the opposite charges in the wall.
Explain how magnets work.
Magnets have two poles, North and South. Opposite poles attract, like poles repel. Magnets are attracted to most metallic materials and will use magnetism to attract them without contact.
Is a static balloon pulling your hair towards it a contact force?
No. It may look like it, but the balloon is pulling your hair without actually touching it, this is because the balloon attracts the opposite charges in your hair invisibly. Static electricity is a non-contact force!
What non-contact force causes a 'zap' when you touch another person after shuffling on the ground? Bonus: Explain why this happens!
Static electricity! This happens because as we shuffle on the ground we are collecting extra charges. Once we touch someone else the extra charges want to escape from our body and are attracted to the opposite charges of another person or object, so that jump!
Does the moon have a stronger or weaker gravitational force/pull than the Earth?
The moon has a weaker gravitational force than the Earth. These means we weight a lot less on the moon compared to the Earth.
Knowing that a thunder/storm cloud has lots of negative charges at the bottom, explain why you think lightning occurs.
Storm clouds have a buildup of negative charges at the bottom. When the bottom is so super charged it really wants to lose those negative charges so it attracts to the nearest positive charges and this is what happens when we see electricity strike.
Are some magnets stronger than others? What does it mean for a magnet to be stronger or weaker?
Yes, some magnets are stronger than others. Stronger magnets can pull items from further away because they pull with a stronger force/attraction where weaker magnets need to be closer to the item to attract it.