A load rests on a table. What is the supporting force the table applies called, and in what direction does it act?

1. Whatever supports a load must supply an upward force to counteract its weight. 2. When that supporting force is perpendicular to the surface of contact it is called the normal force. 3. The word normal itself means perpendicular to a surface. 4. Tension is a pull along a rope or cable, so it is not the force a table supplies. _Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 4 "Dynamics: Force and Newton's Laws of Motion", section 4.5 Normal, Tension, and Other Examples of Forces_