F is the resultant of all forces on the system acting at the mass center.
We can differentiate between two subclasses of dynamics problems depending upon which quantities are known and which are to be found. The "forward dynamics problem" is the one in which we know everything about the external loads (forces and/or torques) being exerted on the system, and we wish to determine the accelerations, velocities, and displacements which result from the application of those forces and torques. This subclass is typical of the problems you probably encountered in an introductory dynamics course, such as determining the acceleration of a block sliding down a plane, acted upon by gravity. Given F and m, solve for a.
The second subclass of dynamics problem, called the "inverse dynamics problem" is one in which we know the (desired) accelerations, velocities, and displacements to be imposed upon our system and wish to solve for the magnitudes and directions of the forces and torques which are necessary to provide the desired motions and which result from them. This inverse dynamics case is sometimes also called kinetostatics. Given a and m, solve for F.
Whichever subclass of problem is addressed, it is important to realize that they are both dynamics problems. Each merely solves F = ma for a different variable. To do so we must first review some fundamental geometric and mass properties which are needed for the calculations.