force
4.1 Development of Force Concept Dynamics is the study of the forces that cause objects and systems to move. To understand this, we need a working definition of force. Our intuitive definition of forcethat is, a push or a pullis a good place to start. We know that a push or pull has both magnitude and direction therefore, it is a vector quantity and can vary considerably in each regard. For example, a cannon exerts a strong force on a cannonball that is launched into the air. In contrast, Earth exerts only a tiny downward pull on a flea. Our everyday experiences also give us a good idea of how multiple forces add. If two people push in different directions on a third person, as illustrated in Figure 4.3, we might expect the total force to be in the direction shown. Since force is a vector, it adds just like other vectors, as illustrated in Figure 4.3 a for two ice skaters. Forces, like other vectors, are represented by arrows and can be added using the familiar head-to-tail method or by trigonometric methods. These ideas were developed in Two-Dimensional Kinematics.