meaning of magnitude in force?

Answer 1

Simply put, how big it is as opposed to the direction it goes in.

Answer 2

You have two balls moving in opposite directions at the same rate, 20 m/s.

One ball is moving at 20 m/s, so the other one is moving at -20 m/s.

Both have a magnitude of just 20 m/s.

It's the same thing for Forces.

If you're answering a question that asks for magnitude, just don't include any (-)ve signs, or a direction.

Answer 3

Force may be briefly described as that influence on a body which causes it to accelerate. In this way, force is defined through Newton's second law of motion.

This law states in part that the acceleration of a body is proportional to the resultant force exerted on the body and is inversely proportional to the mass of the body. An alternative procedure is to try to formulate a definition in terms of a standard force, for example, that necessary to stretch a particular spring a certain amount, or the gravitational attraction which the Earth exerts on a standard object. Even so, Newton's second law inextricably links mass and force. See also Acceleration; Mass.

One may choose either the absolute or the gravitational approach in selecting a standard particle or object. In the so-called absolute systems of units, it is said that the standard object has a mass of one unit. Then the second law of Newton defines unit force as that force which gives unit acceleration to the unit mass. Any other mass may in principle be compared with the standard mass (m) by subjecting it to unit force and measuring the acceleration (a), with which it varies inversely. By suitable appeal to experiment, it is possible to conclude that masses are scalar quantities and that forces are vector quantities which may be superimposed or resolved by the rules of vector addition and resolution.

In the absolute scheme, then, the equation F = ma is written for nonrelativistic mechanics; boldface type denotes vector quantities. This statement of the second law of Newton is in fact the definition of force. In the absolute system, mass is taken as a fundamental quantity and force is a derived unit of dimensions MLT?2 (M = mass, L = length, T = time).

The gravitational system of units uses the attraction of the Earth for the standard object as the standard force. Newton's second law still couples force and mass, but since force is here taken as the fundamental quantity, mass becomes the derived factor of proportionality between force and the acceleration it produces. In particular, the standard force (the Earth's attraction for the standard object) produces in free fall what one measures as the gravitational acceleration, a vector quantity proportional to the standard force (weight) for any object. It follows from the use of Newton's second law as a defining relation that the mass of that object is m = w/g, with g the magnitude of the gravitational acceleration and w the magnitude of the weight. The derived quantity mass has dimensions FT2 L?

Answer 4

the amout of force,

pushing a car at 100 newtons towards the mall has the same magnitude as pushing a car 100 newtons away from the mall

but has different directions

Answer 5

by the term magnitude of force we take the scalar portion of force
force has 2 components mass n acceleration...acceleration is vector quantinty n can be in any dirn