PHYSICS

1 Motion
Describing motion

speed =
ms-1

distance
time

A distance-time graph can make it easier to represent motion

A velocity (speed in a given direction) time graph can show the instantaneous speed
DISTANCE-TIME:

VELOCITY-TIME:

Shows distance from start

Curved line is acceleration
Straight line means its stopped moving
Gradient represents the speed at that
point

Gradient shows acceleration

Straight line is constant speed
Velocity means its stopped
Area under the graph is the distance
travelled

Gradient = change in Y
Change in X

Distance and displacement

DISTANCE the length of the path you have taken
DISPLACEMENT the straight line distance between two places
To describe displacement, you need to say how far you are away from the start and
Scalar only size or magnitude
Vector quantity size and direction

displacement
velocity =
time taken
ms-1

Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with time, so it is also a vector. Acceleration
happens when there is:
A change in SPEED, or
A change in DIRECTION, or
A change in speed AND direction
If an objects speed is constant but its velocity is changing, we say it is also accelerating

average acceleration =
ms-2

inal velocity initial velocity

time taken for change

With a train travelling at a constant speed in a circle, it is considered to be accelerating but

its average velocity as it goes round the track back to its starting point is zero, as its
DISPLACEMENT is ZERO
SI units (Systme Internationale): Metre (m)
Kilogram (kg)
Seconds (s)
Ampere (A)]
Kelvin (K)
Candela (cd)
Mole (mol)

Graphs of motion
When something decelerates, it is negative acceleration, so -1 ms-2
A straight line on a velocity time graph is UNIFORM acceleration
ACCELERATION the rate of change of velocity with time

The graph shows the motion of a ball being

thrown up in the air, falling, and then being
caught.
A The ball is at rest
A to D the ball is thrown up with a
uniform upward acceleration
D to B it has a negative acceleration as
the ball accelerates downwards until
resting at B
B to E the same velocity as D to B but it
is negative as it accelerates down
E The ball is caught and brought to rest
by C

Non-linear graphs (curved graphs) make strips/rectangles under the graph, calculate the
area and add it up this is less accurate than a linear graph

Equations of motion

SUVAT
s = displacement (m)
u = initial velocity (ms-1)
v = final velocity (ms-1)
a = acceleration (ms-2)
t = time (s)

Using vectors
Vectors the length of the arrow represents MAGNITUDE and the direction of the arrow
represents the DIRECTION of the vector
You can either MEASURE the displacement
(labelled the resultant) or use trigonometry or
Pythagorass theorem to calculate it
The sum of two or more vectors quantities is
called their RESULTANT

THE PARALLELOGRAM RULE:

This rule can be applied whenever vectors act at the same time or from the same point.
Relative motion when an object is moving, it is important to give some sort of information
about what its motion is relative to.

Eg. If someone is running along a moving walkway with a velocity of 2 ms -1 relative to the
walkway, but if the walkway has a velocity of -2 ms-1, the person will remain in the same
positive relative to the ground.

1.2 Forces
Causes of motion
THE BALL AND THE PENDULUM:

Galileo did the pendulum experiment and found that it rose nearly the same height each
time.
He reasoned that if a ball rolls down a slope onto an infinitely long flat surface, it will
continue moving until something else causes it to stop.
GALILEO realised the importance of distinguishing between motions horizontally and
vertically in a gravitational field

Newtons first law of motion

Motion on earth is opposed by frictional forces
Newton formed three laws of motion (which sometimes break down under certain
conditions) which are very nearly correct under all circumstances

The first law:

Every object continues in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless made to
change by the total force acting on it
So, an object has a constant velocity until a force acts on it. This law defines what a force
IS and DOES a force is something which can cause acceleration
The sum of ALL THE forces acting on the body (sigma F)
If a body has a number of forces, F1, F2 Fn acting on it, it will remain in a state of constant
motion only if:
. (That is the sum on all the forces from F1 to Fn) is equal to zero
This can be calculated separately for HORIZONTAL and VERTICAL FORCES
Because a force can cause acceleration, it is a vector quantity, with both magnitude and
direction. It therefore requires a way of representing both direction and magnitude on a

diagram. A diagram which shows all the forces acting on a body in a certain situation is
called a FREE BODY DIAGRAM. This doesnt show forces acting on objects other than
the one being considered.
CENTRE OF GRAVITY the weight of an object acting through a single point (the centre)
The centre is the point at which gravity appears to act, similar to an objects centre of mass
For uniform objects, the centre of the mass will be at the intersection of all lines of
symmetry, especially in the middle of the object

Drag forces
Drag forces are made up of two types of forces FRICTION and AIR RESISTANCE a
result of matter in contact with matter

FRICTION always occurs when two surfaces rub on each other. Although appearing
smooth, they are slightly rough, causing friction.
Friction OPPOSES any motion, but cannot actually CAUSE motion. When an object stops,
so does friction
Friction can be measured using a force meter and moving something across a surface at a
constant velocity
For an object which is not accelerating,

= meaning that the frictional

force resisting motion must be exactly

balanced by the pulling force of the hand
AIR RESISTANCE (or aerodynamic drag)
caused when a body moves through air.
Caused by an object having to push air
out of the way in order to move through
it. Air resistance depends on speed, the
faster the object moves, the greater the
aerodynamic drag (think of a car)
As aerodynamic drag increases, objects
with a constant driving force tend to
reach a max. velocity when they
accelerate
Free fall and terminal velocity if
someone jumps from a height, they will
accelerate due to their own weight (N)
and air resistance will affect them
Acceleration of free fall or acceleration
due to gravity (9.81 ms-2)

Newtons second law of motion

=

In an experiment, the acceleration can be measured for various values of the resultant
force acting on the trolley while its mass is kept constant. On a graph of acceleration
against resultant force, a straight line will show that ACCELERATION IS
PROPORTIONAL TO THE RESULTANT FORCE.
There is a DIRECT RELATIONSHIP between F and a (a is proportional to F) i.e. F a
a and m are INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL (a 1/m)

Fa
a 1/m

a F/m

Force = kg ms-2 or N

or

F ma

of F=kma

k=1

so

F=ma

Inertia, mass and weight

INERTIA the tendency of an object to stay in its state of rest or uniform motion
- A car is harder to move than a smaller (in comparison) bike
- Without a seatbelt, it can be hard to stop yourself moving in a car when the
brakes are applied

An objects INERTIA depends on its MASS. Mass has only size, with no direction (scalar)
WEIGHT the force acting on an object due to gravitation
All masses have a gravitational field around them. A mass is said to have a Gravitational
field around it which causes the mass to attract another mass which is close to it. The size
of the field depends on the size of the mass and whereabouts in the field you are.
If another mass is put in this field, a force will pull it towards the first mass.
Weight caused by gravitation. The size of the force varies with the strength of the
gravitational field.

MASS is CONSTANT, WEIGHT VARIES

WEIGHT - force with both magnitude and direction (vector)

g= F/m
W = mg

g is Nkg-1

Electrical scale a piece of conducting metal is compressed or deformed by an objects

weight, changing its electrical resistance. It measures WEIGHT
A beam balance measures MASS as the FORCES have to be balanced

Newtons third law of motion

Forces come in pairs

The third law:

If body A exerts a force on body B, then body B exerts a force of the same size on body A but in
the opposite direction
These forces act on different bodies (i.e. a trolley and the person)
The missing force is the force of the ground on the person (which would be shown on a
free-body diagram)
The push of the ground upwards o our feet is not a member of three thirds law pair,
involving the pull of the earth downwards on us. The two third law pairs in this case are
different types of force pairs. One is a gravitational pair, the other is caused by contact
between two surface (so if you jump, the contact pair doesnt exist but the gravitational
pair does).
Third law pairs of forces are always of the same type gravitational, electrostatic, contact
etc.

Statics
When two forces are equal, they cancel each other out and the object theyre acting on is
stationary or in EQUILIBRIUM

VELOCITY diagrams are used to add forces, and to get them into or out of a triangle, then
use Pythagoras theorem.
Principles for adding forces:
Draw the forces acting at the same point
Construct the parallelogram
Draw in the diagonal from the point at which the forces act to the opposite corner
of the parallelogram
Measure or calculate the size and direction of the resultant

RESOLVING FORCES

The bunting and rope pull on the pole as a

result of being pulled tight. The bunting
pulls horizontally to the left while the
bracing rope pulls down and to the right.
When you resolve the forces and work out
what components are acting vertically and
what are acting horizontally, you can see
the effects of the bunting. It pulls the pole
sideways and downwards. This is a STATIC EQUILIBRIUM
As the pole is at REST it fulfils Newtons first law. If something changes, then the pole will
fall over as the forces arent balanced
Equilibrium: when an object has balanced forces acting on it and is in a state of rest

Projectiles
ACCELERATION IN THE EARTHS GRAVITATIONAL FIELD
Projectile a force acts on an object which starts it moving then it is subject to a constant
force while it moves. In most cases this means the object is in free fall in the earth
gravitational field
An object dropped accelerates vertically downward due to its weight.

2.1 Fluid flow

Fluid a substance that can flow normally a gas or liquid, but some solids can sometimes
behave like this

Density

Fluid density is also

mass per unit volume

When an object is SUBMERGED in fluid, it feels an upward force caused by the fluid
pressure UPTHRUST
The size of the force is equal to the weight of the fluid that has been displaced by the
object. ARCHIMEDES PRINCIPLE
The mass of the fluid displaced is equal to the volume of the object x the density of the
fluid

= =
UPTHRUST is then:

= =

Why does a brick sink?

How to answer: (see page 53)

Mass of water displaced is:

Density of water: 1000 kg m-3

If the volume of the brick is: 1.61 x 10-3

This has a weight of:

Weight of brick: 3.38kg

So the upward force on the brick is:

If we compare the weight of the brick with the upthrust when it is submerged, the
resultant force will be downwards.
Weight = 3.38 x 9.81 = 33.2N downwards
Upthrust = 15.8N upwards
Resultant = 33.2 15.8 = 17.6 N downwards
The brick will accelerate downwards until it is at rest and balanced at the bottom

Floating
An object floats when it DISPLACES its own weight in fluid. When an object is at the
surface of a fluid, there is NO UPTHRUST as no fluid has been displaced. As the object
SINKS DEEPER in the fluid, it displaces a greater volume of fluid, thus INCREASING
THE UPTHRUST acting upon it. When the upthrust and weight are BALANCED equally,
the object will FLOAT. So if it wants to float, it has to sink and displace enough fluid to
match its weight.

Hydrometer
Used to determine the density of a fluid. The device has a constant weight, so it will sink
lower in fluids of lesser density because a greater volume of less dense fluid must be
displaced to balance
the counterweight of
the hydrometer. Scale
markings indicate the
density.
If used with alcoholic
drinks, it shows how
much alcohol there is in
it. The lower the
density, the greater the
alcohol content, as
alcohol has a lower
density than the water
it is mixed with.

Fluid movement
LAMINAR (streamline) occurs a lower speeds, and changes to
TURBULENT as the fluid velocity increases past a certain value
This changeover velocity will vary depending on the fluid in question and the shape of the
area through which it is flowing
If water is flowing through a pipe slowly, it is
LAMINAR flow. Look at the laminar diagram, the
arrows closest to the edge of the pipe are shorter
than the rest due to friction, meaning this layer
moves slower than the other layers. The next
layer will experience friction from the outermost
one, and so on until we get to the middle layer.
Each layer closest to the centre will experience
less friction, thus allowing it to move faster. The
inner-most layer moves the fastest, as

THE VELOCITY INCREASES THE NEARER YOU GET TO THE CENTRE

If a liquid follows Newtons formulae for the frictional force between the layers in
streamline flow, then is known as a NEWTONIAN LIQUID
The laminar flow of water in a pipe continuous UNIFORMLY over time
Laminar flow in the same place within the fluid, the velocity of the flow is
CONSTANT over time.
The lines of laminar flow are called STREAMLINES, at any point on any of these
streamlines; the velocity of the flow will be constant over time.

In turbulent flow, the fluid velocity in any given place CHANGES over time. The
flow becomes chaotic and eddies form, causing unpredictable higher and lower
pressure areas. Turbulent flow increases the drag on a vehicle and so increases
fuel consumption
Streamline flow produces much less air resistance than turbulent. Thus by altering
the aerodynamics of their suits, skiers can raise the velocity at which the air
movement past their body will change from laminar flow to turbulent flow. This is
the principle behind all streamline designs, such as sports cars and boats

Drag act
VISCOUS DRAG (the friction against you) is greater in water than in air. The frictional
force is due to the fluids viscosity.
Low viscosity = low frictional force (e.g. air)
High viscosity = high frictional force (e.g. treacle)
Newton developed a formula for the friction in liquids which includes several factors, one
of which is THE LIQUID.
The FLUID-DEPENDENT factor is called the COEFFICIENT OF VISCOSITY, ()
The rate of flow of a fluid flowing through a pipe is inversely proportional to the viscosity
of the fluid.
In industry, the rate of flow of liquid chocolate through pipes in the manufacture of
sweets will vary with the chocolates viscosity.
TEMPERATURE also affects viscosity. In general, liquids have a lower coefficient of
viscosity at higher temperature. For gases, viscosity increases with temperature.

Terminal velocity
In order to calculate an objects actual acceleration when falling, we refer to Newtons
second law.

From this, we can calculate the resulting acceleration for falling objects; we need to
include WEIGHT, UPTHRUST caused by the object being fluid in air and the VISCOUS
DRAG force caused by the movement. The changing velocity makes the viscous drag
difficult to calculate, so we consider the equilibrium situation, in which the weight exactly
balances the sum of upthrust and drag, meaning that the falling velocity remains
CONSTANT, thus it is the TERMINAL VELOCITY.

Viscous drag
Viscous drag is the friction force between a solid and a fluid. Calculating this can be
simple, so long as it is a SMALL REGULARLY SHAPED OBJECT (otherwise it is difficult
as the turbulent flow creates and unpredictable situation)

Stokes Law
Viscous drag (F) on a small sphere at low speeds:

= 6
r Radius of the sphere (m)
v Velocity of the sphere (ms-1)
- coefficient of viscosity of the fluid (Pa s)
In such a situation, the drag force is directly proportional to the radius of the sphere and
directly proportional to the velocity, neither of which is necessarily an obvious outcome.

Consider this: a ball bearing is dropped through a column of oil

Terminal velocity:

weight = upthrust + stokes law

= + 6
Ms is the mass of the sphere and vterm is the terminal velocity
Mass of the sphere, ms:

= =

Weight of the sphere, Ws:

= =

For the sphere, the upthrust = weight of fluid displaced

Mass of fluid, mf:

= =

Weight of fluid, Wf:

= =

Rearrange:

vterm =

Terminal velocity is proportional to the square of the radius. Therefore, a larger sphere
falls faster. More complex situations have more complex equations. This isnt however a
common situation, however the principle that larger objects generally fall faster holds true
for most objects without a parachute.

2.2 Strength of materials

Hookes Law
There is a direct relationship between stretching a
spring and the force it exerts
The law states that the force F exerted by a spring is
proportional to its extension, x
K is negative as the force exerted by the spring is in the
OPPOSITE DIRECTION to the extension
This law only applies up to a certain point, when this limit is reached, the extension
increases more rapidly and the spring remains more permanently deformed when the load is
removed. This is called the ELASTIC LIMIT
The spring constant, k, is different for different springs. The larger the value of k, the
stiffer the spring.
Hookes law isnt usually used when considering the stiffness of a particular material; solids
do show very similar behaviour to springs. This provides evidence for a model of solids in
which the attractive and repulsive forces behave a little like springs.
Beyond the elastic limit, materials no longer obey the law and the permanent deformation is
called plastic deformation. Some materials have a VERY low elastic limit and do not obey
the law at all. Plasticine for example.

Elastic strain energy

The average force used to stretch the spring is:
F
So work done:
(-kx)x = kx2
Elastic energy:
Eela = Fx = kx2

This is the same thing as working out the area under the force-extension graph

Stress, strain and the Young modulus

TENSILE FORCE puts something in tension, i.e. tends to pull it apart
If we consider tensile force per unit area, this takes into account the samples area
of cross-section
If we consider extension per unit length, this takes into account the length of the
sample
Tensile force per unit area = tensile stress (Nm-2 or Pa) =

Tensile strength = the tensile stress at which the material breaks

Extension per unit length = tensile strain =

Many materials, mainly metals, are found to obey Hookes

law for small tensile strains. Under these circumstances,
the quantity:

This quantity is the YOUNG MODULUS (Nm-2 or Pa)

The STIFFER a material, the GREATER its Young modulus

Characteristics of solids

As the stress increases, the sample begins NECKING narrowing at one point
Elastic limit at this point the material stops behaving elastically and begins to
behave plastically. When the stress is removed, the material does not return to its
original length
Yield point the material shows a large increase in strain for a small increase in
stress
Plastic zone the extension increases rapidly for small increase in force in this
region. Solids which behave in this way are DUCTILE
Fracture or breaking strength If the average strength along the material is
plotted, the graph slopes down and breaks at E

Deforming solids
Stiffness the ability for a material to resist a tensile force
Tensile strength the tensile stress at which a material fails
In many situations, the force on a material will be tending to reduce the volume, to squash
the material. This is known as a COMPRESSIVE force and puts the material under
COMPRESSION

Compressive force per unit area =compressive stress (Nm-2 or Pa) =

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH = the compressive strength at which the MATERIAL BREAKS

Extension per unit length = compressive strain =

Some materials have a very low tensile strength, but are strong when they are subjected to
compressive strength such as brick and concrete. The strength of a material under sheer
strength is related to some extent its tensile strength.
STRENGTH a materials ability to withstand stress, whether is it tensile, compressive or
shear
DUCTILE show plastic deformation
BRITTLE materials that crack or break with little deformation
TOUGH materials able to withstand impact forces without breaking and require a large
force to produce a small plastic deformation
COMBINATION more than one material, often gain the best properties of both. Carbon
fibre and living wood are good examples
HARD materials which resist plastic deformation, usually by denting, scratching or cutting
MALLEABLE materials which show large plastic deformation before cracking or
breaking. The most malleable material is Gold
You can measure hardness by measuring the size of a dent produced by pushing a diamond
into the surface with a certain force.

A mineral scale by FRIEDRICH MOHS was used to compare hardness, based on the
principle that a material which could scratch another material should be higher (or at least
the same) on the scale of hardness. This doesnt provide accurate values so isnt often used
in engineering

Materials in the real world

For climbing ropes, the material must be a compromise between stiffness, breaking stress,
cost and density.
Climbing helmets have also been developed. Traditional, uncomfortable helmets were made
from HDPE (high density polyethene) but newer ones are made from CFRP (carbon-fibre
reinforced polymer. These materials are HARD, STRONG and not too BRITTLE
The helmets are tested thoroughly,
investigating temperature, dropping it from a
height with a weight inside it. The compressive
stress produced MUST NOT be more than the
breaking stress of the material or it will fail.
ALSO, by law there must be no more than 8kN
of peak force transmitted to the head.
The design is also important, the shell will
transfer force out evenly over the skull due to
the internal webbing straps. The material it is made out of must also have enough strength
in itself. The toughness shows its ability to absorb energy during fracture. The higher, the
more energy it can absorb.