direct object

(noun)

A word that answers the question, "What is being acted upon?" In "Danielle ate fruit," fruit is a direct object of the verb ate.

Related Terms

Examples of direct object in the following topics:

  • Nouns as Subjects and Objects

    • There are two types of object: direct and indirect.
    • In a sentence, the direct object receives the action of the subject.
    • See the italicized direct objects in the examples below:
    • (“Mathilda” is the subject and “the sandwich” is the direct object.)
    • (Answer: They are the direct object.)

  • Constant Velocity

    • An object moving with constant velocity must have a constant speed in a constant direction.
    • To have a constant velocity, an object must have a constant speed in a constant direction.
    • Constant direction constrains the object to motion to a straight path.
    • This tells us in which direction the object moves.
    • When an object is moving with constant velocity, it does not change direction nor speed and therefore is represented as a straight line when graphed as distance over time.

  • Centripetial Acceleration

    • When an object speeds up or slows down this is a change in the objects velocity.
    • However, because velocity is a vector, it also has a direction.
    • Therefore, any change in the direction of travel of an object must also be met with an acceleration.
    • However, the direction is constantly changing as the object traverses the circle.
    • As an object moves around a circle, the direction of the velocity vector constantly changes.

  • Two-Component Forces

    • In equilibrium, the net force and torque in any particular direction equal zero.
    • A motionless object still has constant (zero) velocity, so motionless objects also have zero acceleration.
    • This rule also applies to motion in a specific direction.
    • Consider an object moving along the x-axis.
    • In static systems, in which motion does not occur, the sum of the forces in all directions always equals zero.

  • Zero Launch Angle

    • An object is launched at an initial speed of 10 m/s.
    • The path followed by the object is called its trajectory.
    • Since the object travels distance $H$ in the vertical direction before it hits the ground, we can use the kinematic equation for the vertical motion:
    • In the horizontal direction, the object travels at a constant speed $v_0$ during the flight.
    • Therefore, the range $R$ (in the horizontal direction) is given as:

  • Force at an Angle to Displacement

    • A force does not have to, and rarely does, act on an object parallel to the direction of motion.
    • Up until now, we have assumed that any force acting on an object has been parallel to the direction of motion.
    • A force does not have to, and rarely does, act on an object parallel to the direction of motion.
    • In the past, we derived that W = F d; such that the work done on an object is the force acting on the object multiplied by the displacement.
    • When along the same direction, they equal one.

  • Circular Motion

    • An object in circular motion undergoes acceleration due to centripetal force in the direction of the center of rotation.
    • On the other hand, uniform circular motion requires that the velocity vector of an object constantly change direction.
    • Since the direction of the velocity is continuously changing, the direction of the force must be as well.
    • The perpendicular direction to the circular trajectory is, therefore, the radial direction.
    • where $m$ is the mass of the object, $v$ is the velocity of the object, and $r$ is the radius of the circle.

  • Drag

    • The drag force is the resistive force felt by objects moving through fluids and is proportional to the square of the object's speed.
    • You feel a smaller drag force when you tilt your hand so only the side goes through the air—you have decreased the area of your hand that faces the direction of motion.
    • When taking into account other factors, this relationship becomes $F_D = \frac{1}{\frac{2C}{rho A v^2}}$, where $C$ is known as the drag coefficient, a unit-less number that represents the aerodynamic properties of the object, $A$ is the cross-sectional area of the object which is facing the direction of motion, and $\rho$ is the density of the fluid the object is moving through.
    • This video walks through a single scenario of an object experiencing a drag force where the drag force is proportional to the object's velocity.
    • Relate the magnitude of drag force to the speed of an object

  • The Third Law: Symmetry in Forces

    • If an object experiences no net force, its velocity will remain constant.
    • The acceleration of an object is parallel and directly proportional to the net force acting on the object, is in the direction of the net force and is inversely proportional to the mass of the object.
    • When a first object exerts a force on a second object, the second object simultaneously exerts a force on the first object, meaning that the force of the first object and the force of the second object are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
    • If object A exerts a force on object B, because of the law of symmetry, object B will exert a force on object A that is equal to the force acted on it:
    • She pushes the wall in the direction behind her, therefore the wall will exert a force on her that is in the direction in front of her and propel her forward.

  • Reading Points on a Graph

    • A graph is a representation of a set of objects where some pairs of the objects are connected by links.
    • In mathematics, a graph is a representation of a set of objects where some pairs of the objects are connected by links.
    • Graphs are one of the objects of study in discrete mathematics.
    • The edges may be directed or indirected.
    • This latter type of graph is called a directed graph and the edges are called directed edges or arcs.Vertices are also called nodes or points, and edges are also called lines or arcs.