Force is a pushing or pulling action applied to an object to initiate motion, arrest motion or cause change in acceleration (Gentner & Stevens, 1983). Force is thus measured in Newtons. No motion can be initiated without the application of a force. There are two variables of force, which encompass mass and acceleration. Mass refers to the quantity of matter in a body and is measured in kilograms (Koh and Tan, 2006). Mass is thus a measure of a body's inertia. In 1684 Isaac Newton established three laws of motion, The Law of Inertia, The Law of acceleration and The Law of Action and Reaction, in which demonstrate how force, mass and acceleration correlate with one another to move an object (Stevens-Smith, 2002). This rate of change in position experienced by a body is known as the velocity. According to McLester and Pierre (2008) counter-force in striking activities and temporarily stored counter-force explain Newtons Third Law of Action and Reaction. An example of a study of mass and force is to investigate the velocity of a tennis ball when struck with instruments of varying mass and properties.
To investigate the influence of force on objects of varying mass by conducting task B and task C. Task B striking a tennis ball, to demonstrate the counter-force in striking activities and temporarily stored counter-force as explained by Newton's Third Law of Action and Reaction, and task C, catching a hard plastic ball over varying distances.
1. For task B, mark out 3m from a wall (stage 1) and run a tape measure from the wall to approximately 30m back (stage 2).
2. From the 3m marker, using your hands and a tennis ball bounce it as hard as you can on the ground so it hits the wall and bounces back in line with the tape measure.
(a) Using a stop watch, time the flight from which the ball is released from the hand to the point of contact with the wall (stage 1) and the time taken between making contact with the wall and b...