BIRLA PUBLIC SCHOOL, DOHA

QATAR 2025 - 2026

Class VIII Science
CH- 5 Exploring Forces

What is a Force?
● A force is a push or pull on an object resulting from the object’s interaction with
another object.
The SI unit of force is newton (written with a small ‘n’) and its symbol is N.
● A force can change the state of an object from rest to motion or vice versa.
● To let a force come into play two or more objects must interact with each other.

Effects of Force
● A Force Can Change the State of Motion
● Force can stop a moving body.
● Force can change the direction of motion of the moving body.
● Force can change the speed of a moving body.
● Force can change the shape and size of a body.
Balanced force: Balanced forces are two or more forces of equal strength (magnitude)
that act in opposite directions on an object, resulting in a net force of zero. When
balanced forces act on an object, the object's state of motion remains constant; it will
either stay at rest or continue to move at a steady speed without accelerating.
Classification of Force :
On the basis of the nature of the interaction between two or more objects, forces can be
classified as Contact Force and Non- Contact Force
Contact Force –
Contact forces are forces which act only when objects are in physical contact with each
other. Some examples of contact forces are
1) Muscular Force- The force resulting due to the action of muscles is known as
muscular force.
2) Frictional Force - The force acting along two surfaces in contact which opposes
the motion of one body over the other is called friction. Friction arises due to the
irregularities in the two surfaces in
contact.
the
irregularities of two surfaces lock into each other and oppose
any effort to move one surface over the other.
Air, water, and other liquids also exert force of friction on the objects
moving through them which is known as drag. Hence the objects, such as aeroplanes,
ships,
boats, or high-speed trains are designed with specific shapes to
reduce the force of friction due to the air or water around them.

Non-Contact Force
Non- Contact forces are forces which can act even when the objects are not in physical
contact with each other. Some examples of non-contact forces are
1) Magnetic Force- The force exerted by any magnetic object is called magnetic
force.When two magnets are brought close to each other, like poles (North–North,
South–South) repel each other while unlike poles (North–South) attract each other.
Attraction and repulsion between objects are also a form of push and pull,that is, a
force.

2) Electrostatic force- The force exerted by a charged body on another charged body
or uncharged body is known as electrostatic force. The two kinds of static charges are
said to be ‘positive’ and ‘negative’. When two objects of certain materials are rubbed
together, electrical charges build up on their surfaces. These charges are called static
charges as they do not move by themselves. The object that acquires static charges is
said to be a charged object.

3) Gravitational force- The force with which two objects attract each other is called
gravitational force. The gravitational force acts without contact with the object it
attracts, it is a non-contact force. Gravitational force is always an attractive force,
unlike magnetic force or electrostatic force, which can either be attractive or
repulsive. We say that the object undergoes a vertical motion when it moves in
a vertical direction under the influence of the gravitational force.

The force with which the Earth pulls an object towards itself is called the weight.
Therefore, the SI unit of weight is also newton (N).
The Earth pulls different objects with different forces, that is, the weight of different
objects is different.

Mass is the amount of matter in an object and is measured in grams (g) or kilograms
(kg). Therefore weight can change, but mass does not.

The gravitational force of different planets on an object is different. Thus, the weight
of an object is different on different planets, even though its mass remains the same.
The force applied by a liquid on an object in the upward direction is known as upthrust
or buoyant force.
When an object is placed in a liquid, the gravitational force due to the Earth acts on it
downwards. But a buoyant force is applied on it by the liquid in the upward direction. If
the gravitational force is more than the buoyant force, the object sinks, but if the two
forces are equal, the object floats.

A spring balance is a simple device used to measure weight (force). The smallest
value that the spring balance can read is 0.2 N.
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