Every time you push a door, kick a football, or lift a schoolbag, you are applying a Force. But how do scientists measure exactly how much push or pull is being applied? They use a specific scientific unit.
The force of gravity on a standard apple is approximately 1 Newton — which is exactly why the falling apple is so famously linked to Newton's discovery of gravity!
The SI (International System) unit of force is the Newton, abbreviated as N.
It is named after the legendary physicist Sir Isaac Newton, who discovered the laws of motion and gravity.
From Newton's Second Law of Motion: F = ma (Force = mass × acceleration)
1 Newton is defined as the amount of force required to give a mass of 1 kilogram an acceleration of 1 metre per second squared.
1 N = 1 kg·m/s²
Force is a **vector quantity** — it has both magnitude (how much) AND direction (which way). You must always specify both to fully describe a force.
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