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Many students in introductory physics courses believe that only active
forces exist. The following is a typical statement: "The table doesn't
exert a force on the falling ball: It simply gets in the way." Physics
education research has shown that addressing this preconception helps
many of these students to better understand normal force, tension and
other passive forces.
.... an active force is a force exerted by an animate organism and a
passive force is a force exerted by an inanimate object. Not all
passive forces are forces of constraint. Gravitational and macroscopic
electrostatic forces are passive forces.