Helpful Terms and Background Information

Newton's Laws of Motion:

1. When the forces acting on an object are equal and opposite they cancel each other out
2. If the object is at rest it will stay at rest, if it is moving it will continue to move and it will move at a constant velocity. If an unbalanced force acts on an object it accelerates in the direction in which the force acts
3. For every force there is an equal and opposite force.

Potential Energy - Stored Energy

Kinetic Energy - Energy in motion, energy that is being used - the energy caused by motion.

Mass - The  measure of how much matter an object or body has

Weight - Multiply your mass by the pull of Earth's gravity

Energy - The ability of a body (for example, the roller coaster) to do work

Acceleration -The rate of change in velocity (the speed of an object in a certain direction) is known as acceleration. Whether an object is speeding up, slowing down, or changing direction, it is accelerating.

Speed - Speed is distance divided by time or the rate at which an object (the roller coaster) moves.

Inertia - If a body, for example a roller coaster, is standing still, it won't want to move unless some force pushes or pulls it. This resistance of the roller coaster to move is called inertia. The more mass a body has the more inertia it has. If the roller coaster is moving, it will want to keep moving, along the direction of motion, unless something causes it to speed up or slow down. This resistance of the moving roller coaster to changing its velocity is another example of its inertia. Again, the greater the mass of the body, the more inertia it has.

Gravity - The constant downward pulling force toward the Earth

Velocity - Velocity is the speed of an object in a certain direction. When direction changes, velocity changes.

Friction - Force that opposes motion.  Friction is a force that works in the opposite direction of an object that is moving along a surface

Force - A push or a pull.

Created by Linda Mika, Mt. Gallant Elementary, Rock Hill, South Carolina 29732, York District # 3

 

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