The ‘turning effect of a force’, also called the moment of a force, is calculated from:
You can justify the equation in a slightly ‘hand waving’ manner by demonstration (try opening a door by pushing near the hinges), or experiment (balancing things on a sea-saw). Most students readily appreciate that the turning effect of a force will depend on its size, and the distance between its line of action and the point around which things turn, or tend to turn.
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