According to Newton's first law, an object at rest (not moving) will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. Also, an object in motion will continue to move at a constant speed in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force.
When a rocket is sitting on the launch pad and not moving, there are forces acting on it, but these forces are balanced. This means that the force pulling it downwards (gravity) is equal to the force pushing it upwards (support force of the ground). These forces are balanced. The rocket will keep on not moving, as described by Newton's first law.
For an object to start moving, there needs to be an unbalanced force. This means that the forces pushing an object in one direction are greater than the forces pushing it in the opposite direction. The resultant force is the difference between the force(s) pushing in one direction and the force(s) pushing in the opposite direction.
Some questions I'd like you to think about:
1. A rocket will launch and keep speeding up as long as? (Think about all the forces acting on the rocket)
2. There are two forces acting on a rocket at the moment of lift-off. What are they?
3. As the rocket increases speed, there is a third force on the rocket that begins to increase. What is it?
4. Once the thrust from the rocket engines finishes, the resultant force is now what direction? According to Newton's first law, an object at rest (not moving) will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. Also, an object in motion will continue to move at a constant speed in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force.
When a rocket is sitting on the launch pad and not moving, there are forces acting on it, but these forces are balanced. This means that the force pulling it downwards (gravity) is equal to the force pushing it upwards (support force of the ground). These forces are balanced. The rocket will keep on not moving, as described by Newton's first law.
For an object to start moving, there needs to be an unbalanced force. This means that the forces pushing an object in one direction are greater than the forces pushing it in the opposite direction. The resultant force is the difference between the force(s) pushing in one direction and the force(s) pushing in the opposite direction.
Some questions I'd like you to think about:
1. A rocket will launch and keep speeding up as long as? (Think about all the forces acting on the rocket)
2. There are two forces acting on a rocket at the moment of lift-off. What are they?
3. As the rocket increases speed, there is a third force on the rocket that begins to increase. What is it?
4. Once the thrust from the rocket engines finishes, the resultant force is now what direction?