A-Level Physics Forces Revision Notes

• 1Forces can be contact or non-contact forces.
• 2Newton's First Law states that an object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by a net external force.
• 3Newton's Second Law relates force, mass, and acceleration (F = ma).
• 4Newton's Third Law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
• 5The resultant force is the vector sum of all forces acting on an object.

Forces are pushes or pulls that can change how fast something is moving or in what direction. They can come from direct contact, like when you push a door, or from a distance, like gravity pulling you down. Understanding forces helps explain why things move the way they do, whether they're speeding up, slowing down, or staying still.