Sir Isaac Newton’s Laws of motion describe how forces cause changes to the motion of an object, how gravity gives weight to mass; how forces cause acceleration and how forces work in collisions.
Forces and their effects are all around us. They keep us firmly rooted to the ground, they make us move and they stop us slipping and sliding. Forces are vital to life and the universe.
However, forces only do three very simple things. They change:
If you crumple up a piece of paper, you have changed its shape. If you throw the paper ball, you have changed its speed. If you ask a friend to bat it away, they have changed its direction.
Force is measured in the unit called Newtons \((N)\) – named after the first scientist to quantify forces, Sir Isaac Newton.
We can measure force using a special piece of equipment called the Newton Balance.