stretching and pressing. CALIFORNIA BEFORE, you learned NOW, you will learn Content Standard • Forces act in pairs • About forces that stretch or 8.2.d Students know how • Gravity is the attractive force press objects to identify separately the masses exert on each other • How objects transfer a force two or more forces that • Gravity is the force that keeps • How forces affect strings and are acting on a single objects in orbit springs static object, including gravity, elastic forces due to tension or compression in matter, and friction.
EXPLORE Elastic Forces (8.2.d)
VOCABULARY How does a force affect shape?
elastic force p. 79 PROCEDURE MATERIALS tension p. 80 • sponge 1 Try to change the shape of the sponge by compression p. 81 • clay applying different forces to it. For example, try stretching, squeezing, or gently twisting the sponge. For each force, describe the force and record your observations about the shape of the sponge. 2 Repeat step 1 using a lump of clay. Try to use the same forces as you used on the sponge. Write down your observations about the shape of the clay.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Compare your observations about the sponge and the clay. Which observations were similar? Which were different?
Objects resist changing shape.
You have read how forces can affect an object’s motion. Forces can also affect an object’s shape. For example, if you pull on a rubber band, the VOCABULARY Create a four square rubber band stretches and becomes longer. You can change the shape diagram for elastic force of a lump of clay by pulling it or by squeezing it. in your notebook. When you apply a force to an object by pressing or stretching it, the object resists changing shape. You know from Newton’s third law that as you pull on a rubber band, the rubber band pulls back on you. Where does the force from the rubber band come from? As you try to stretch the particles in the rubber band apart, the forces between the particles try to pull the rubber band back to its original position. The force in an object that resists stretching or pressing is called the elastic force.
Chapter 3: Gravity, Elastic Forces, and Friction 79