eli5 Force and work equaling zero

Question

So if force =mass * acceleration, then an object moving at a constant velocity has zero acceleration, and thus force = zero.
So is f=ma actually mean net force or some other definition?

And I’ve been told work is force * distance, so sn object moving at a constant velocity would also have zero work? Which doesn’t sound correct so I’m confused on what exactly work defines

In: 5

Answer 1

Any object will continue moving at a constant velocity in a straight line unless something does some work on it. If you want it to change direction, speed up or slow down, you’re going to have to apply some force to it. The bigger the distance you apply the force, the more work you do.