Force and Motion

2.1 Analysing linear motion

Distance (scalar) or farness, is a numerical description of how far apart objects

are. In physics or everyday usage distance may refer to a physical length, or an
estimation based on other criteria.
Displacement (vector), the difference between the final and initial position of a
point (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path
covered to reach the final position is irrelevant. It can simply be defined as the
shortest path between the final point and initial point of a body.

Speed of an object is the magnitude of its velocity (the rate of change of its
position); it is thus a scalar quantity.
Velocity is the rate of change of the position of an object, equivalent to a
specification of its speed and direction of motion, for example, 60 km/h to the
north.
Velocity is defined as the rate of change of position with respect to time,
v = s/t
where v is velocity and s is the displacement vector.

Acceleration is the rate at which the velocity of an object changes over time. An
object's acceleration is the net result of any and all forces acting on the object, as
described by Newton's Second Law. The SI unit for acceleration is the meter per
second squared (m/s^2). Accelerations are vector quantities.
If the speed of the car decreases, this is acceleration in the opposite direction,
sometimes called deceleration. There is no separate formula for deceleration,
as both are changes in velocity.
Average acceleration over a period of time is the change in velocity divided by
the duration of the period;
a = v-u
t
where a is acceleration, v is the final velocity, u is the initial velocity and t is the
duration of the period.

Calculation of speed and velocity.

Speed:
What is the speed of a sailboat that is traveling 100 meters in 120 seconds?
Answer:
The sailboat traveled a distance of 100 meters and the time it took to travel that
distance was 120 seconds. Since meters per second is the SI unit for speed,
there is no need for conversions in this problem.
v = 100 m = 0.83 m/s
120 s

Velocity:
If a cyclist in the Tour de France traveled southwest a distance of 12,250 meters
in one hour, what would the velocity of the cyclist be?
Answer:
The 1 hour has to be converted to seconds.
v = 12,250 m = 3.83 m/s southwest
3,200 s

Solving problems on linear motion with uniform acceleration using;

I. v = u + at
A skater goes from a standstill to a speed of 6.7 m/s in 12 seconds. The
initial speed of the skater was zero since he was not in motion. The skater
had an acceleration of 0.56 m/s^2
a = 6.7m/s 0m/s = 6.7m/s = 0.56 m/s^2
12 s
12 s
II.

s = ut + at^2

Force and Pressure

3.5 Applying Archimedes principle

Buoyant force is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of
an immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a
result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object
submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the column
than at the top. This difference in pressure results in a net force that tends to
accelerate an object upwards.

The magnitude of that force is proportional to the difference in the pressure

between the top and the bottom of the column, and also equivalent to the weight
of the fluid that would otherwise occupy the column, i.e. the displaced fluid. For
this reason, an object whose density is greater than that of the fluid in which it is
submerged tends to sink. If the object is either less dense than the liquid or is
shaped appropriately, the force can keep the object afloat. This can occur only in
a reference frame which either has a gravitational field or is accelerating due to a
force other than gravity defining a "downward" direction. In a situation of fluid
statics, the net upward buoyancy force is equal to the magnitude of the weight of
fluid displaced by the body.

Archimedes' principle stated that in terms of forces any object, wholly or

partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the
fluid displaced by the object with the clarifications that for a sunken object the
volume of displaced fluid is the volume of the object, and for a floating object on
a liquid, the weight of the displaced liquid is the weight of the object.
Buoyancy = weight of displaced fluid
Archimedes' principle does not consider the surface tension (capillarity) acting on
the body, but this additional force modifies only the amount of fluid displaced, so
the principle that buoyancy = weight of displaced fluid remains valid.

Application of Archimedes principle

a) The submarine
When afloat, water is driven out from the ballast tanks by compressed a
larger buoyant force. The submarine can submerge to a depth where the
buoyant to a depth where the buoyant force is equal to its weight.
b) The ship
The ship would sink to a certain level until its weight is equal to the buoyant
force. To prevent this, a plimsoll line is marked on the hull of all ships to show
the depths which are safe for them to navigate.

Archimedes Principle Formula is given as

F = pgV
Where F = Buoyant force of a given body, v = Volume of the displaced fluid,
g = acceleration due to gravity

Density; p = pf - pg. Here pf is the density of the fluid and pg is density of the
body.
Hence the formula can also be given as
F = (pf pg) gV
Archimedes principle formula is helpful in finding the buoyant force, volume of
displaced body, density of body or density of fluid if some of these quantities are
known.
Problem solving:
Question 1: A ball of mass 2 kg having diameter of 50 cm falls in the swimming pool. Calculate
its buoyant force and volume of water displaced.
Solution:
Given: Mass of water, m = 2 kg,
Diameter of ball, d = 0.5 m r = 0.25 m
Volume of sphere V =
r3
=
0.253
= 0.0208 m3
Hence the density is given by

=
=
= 96 kg/m3.

The force is given by F = mg. Hence buoyant force is

F = 2 kg 9.8 m/s2 = 19.6 N
The archimedes formula is given by F =

g Vdisp

Hence the Volume of displaced fluid is Vdisp =

=
= 0.0208 m3
Hence volume of given body = Volume of displaced liquid.

Question 2: If a stone of mass 250 g is thrown in water. Calculate the buoyant force acting on it?
Solution:
Given: Mass of stone m = 0.25 kg,
The buoyant force is given by F = mg
= 0.25 9.8

= 2.45 N.
Hence 2.45 N of upward force is acting on the stone.