Turning Effect of Forces

Moment

The turning effect of a force is known as the moment. It is the product of the force multiplied by the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the pivot or point where the object will turn.

When undoing a nut fastened to a screw by hand one realises that the amount of force required is a lot greater than when undoing the same nut using a spanner. The spanner increases the distance between the fulcrum and the line of action of the force, thus for the same force a greater moment is obtained.

Forces and Motions

What are Forces?

A force results from the interaction between two objects. A force can be defined as a push or a pull which acts upon an object as a result of its interaction with another object.

When one object exerts a force on another object it always experiences an equal opposing force in return from the object it exerted the force on. Or in other words when two objects interact, the forces they exert on one another are equal and opposite. These forces are referred to as the action and reaction forces.

Forces & Motion

Speed

Speed is defined as a measure of the distance an object travels in a given length of time.

The average speed of an object can be determined from the equation below:

Thus, if a car travels 100 meters in 5 seconds its average speed can be calculated as;