What is a newton?
1. A non-contact force
2. The unit in which force is measured
3. A force that pulls objects toward the ground
4. A force that changes the motion of an object
2. The unit in which force is measured
A newton is:
2. The unit in which force is measured. The newton is the standard unit of force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after Sir Isaac Newton, the physicist who formulated Newton's laws of motion.
1. A non-contact force. While the definition of a force is a push or a pull, a newton is specifically a measure of force and does not determine whether the force involves contact or not.
4. A force that changes the motion of an object. According to Newton's second law of motion, a force applied to an object causes it to accelerate, which means it changes its speed, direction, or both.
3. A force that pulls objects toward the ground. This statement is not entirely accurate. The force that pulls objects toward the ground is gravity. The force of gravity is measured in newtons, but a newton itself does not exclusively refer to the force of gravity.
The correct answer is 2. A newton is the unit in which force is measured. To understand what a newton is, we need to know a bit about force. Force is a physical quantity that can change the motion of an object. It can make an object move, stop, or change direction.
Now, the unit used to measure force is called a newton, abbreviated as "N". It is named after Sir Isaac Newton, a famous scientist who made significant contributions to the field of physics. One newton is defined as the amount of force required to accelerate a 1 kilogram mass by 1 meter per second squared.
So, when we say that a force is measured in newtons, it means we are quantifying the amount of force applied to an object. For example, if someone pushes an object with a force of 10 newtons, it tells us how much force is being exerted on that object.
To summarize, a newton is not a non-contact force (option 1), a force that pulls objects toward the ground (option 3), or a force that changes the motion of an object (option 4). It is specifically the unit in which force is measured (option 2).