Preliminary Physics Module 3:

Moving About
Vehicles do not travel at a constant speed
1.1

Identify that a typical journey involves speed changes:

1.2

Motion can be described: as uniform motion constant

speed/velocity and as non-uniform motion
acceleration/deceleration/change in direction
A typical journey involves speed changes, eg. speeding up
after the engine is turned on

Distinguish between instantaneous speed and average

speed of vehicles and other bodies:

Instantaneous speed is the speed at a particular instant of

time
Average speed is distance travelled divided by time
taken; s=d/t

1.3 Distinguish between scalar and vector quantities in

equations:

1.4

Compare instantaneous speed and average speed with

instantaneous velocity and average velocity:

1.5

A scalar quantity specifies size but not direction

A vector quantity specifies size and direction
Scalar: mass, speed, distance, work, energy
Vector: force, velocity, displacement, acceleration,
momentum

Instantaneous speed is speed at a particular instant in

time
Average speed is total distance divided by time taken
Instantaneous velocity is the velocity at a particular
instant in time
Average velocity is total displacement (vector) divided by
time taken

Define average velocity as:

v av = r / t

Average velocity is calculated using the formula

v av = r / t , where v = average velocity, r =
displacement (change in position) and t = time taken

An analysis of the external forces on vehicles helps to

understand the effects of acceleration and deceleration
2.1

Describe the motion of one body relative to another:

2.2

Relative velocity is the difference between the velocity of

the object relative to the ground and the velocity of the
observer relative to the ground
Identify the usefulness of using vector diagrams to
assist solving problems:

2.3

Explain the need for a net external force to act in order

to change the velocity of an object:

2.4

Change in velocity = final velocity initial velocity

Force (F) is measured in Newtons (N); it is a vector

quantity
Newtons first law of motion: an object will remain at rest
or move at a constant velocity unless acted upon by a net
external force (inertia is the tendency of an object to
resist a change in motion)
As Newtons first law of motion states that an object will
remain at a constant velocity unless acted upon by a net
external force, a net external force is required to change
the velocity of an object

Describe the actions that must be taken for a vehicle to

change direction, speed up or slow down:

For a vehicle to change direction, speed up or slow down

there must be an unbalanced net force acting on the car

2.5

Describe the typical effects of external forces on

bodies including: friction between surfaces, air
resistance:

2.6

Define average acceleration as:

2.7

aav =

v vu
=
:
t
t

Acceleration is a vector quantity that measures the rate

of change of velocity in ms-2
a = v / t = (v-u)/t
v = u + at
r = ut + 0.5at^2
r = 0.5(u+v)t
v^2 = u^2 + 2ar

Define the terms mass and weight with reference to

the effects of gravity:

2.8

Friction is a force that opposes motion and allows tyres to

get traction and allows a car to turn
Air resistance is a type of friction that opposes car motion

Mass is the quantity of matter that an object contains,

measured in kilograms
Weight is the force applied to an object due to
gravitational attraction (gravity), measured in Newtons
W=mg (where g is 9.8N kg=1 or 9.8ms-2)

Outline the forcing involved in causing a change in the

velocity of a vehicle when: coasting with no pressure
on the accelerator, pressing on the accelerator,
pressing on the brakes, passing over an icy patch on
the road, climbing and descending hills, following a
curve in the road:

Coasting with no pressure on the accelerator: gradually

the vehicle will slow down until it reaches a velocity of

zero. This is caused by friction from the road and air

resistance
Pressing on the accelerator - the tyres exert a greater
force to the road and the road applies an equal and
opposite reaction force to the car. This net force causes
the car to accelerate
Pressing on the brakes - frictional force is applied to the
wheels, the tyres apply a force to the road and the road
applies an equal and opposite force to the car which
causes it to slow down. If we call the direction of motion
positive applying the brakes produces a net force on the
car in the negative direction.

Passing over an icy patch on the road - if there is no

friction between the road and the tyres the driver cannot
apply braking, accelerating or turning forces to the road.
Because there is no net force on the car it would continue
in a straight line at constant velocity; the car will gradually
come to rest after a long time due to air resistance
Climbing and descending hills - weight of the car due to
gravity, is in direction of motion. This means that that to
maintain a constant velocity the engine must exert a
greater force to overcome this gravitational force pulling it
down; when descending the force of gravity is acting in
the direction of motion, to maintain a constant speed the
brakes must be applied to produce a negative force to
counteract this gravitational force acting down the hill
Following a curve in the road - to drive around a corner a
net force must be applied to the car towards the centre of
the corner. Turning the steering wheel to the right causes
the tyres to push the road to the left, so that the resulting
reaction force on the car is towards the centre of the curve
and causes the direction of the velocity to change to the
right
Following a curve in the road requires acceleration to
travel at a constant speed, this is centripetal acceleration
(directed towards the centre of the circle) and can be
calculated using the formula:

a=

v2
r

where a is the

magnitude of acceleration (ms-2), v is the constant speed

(ms-1) and r is the radius of the curve/circle (m)
Centripetal force (net force on an object travelling in a
circular path at a constant speed) is calculated by the
m v2
where F is the centripetal force (N),
r
m is the mass of the object (kg)
formula:

2.9

F=ma=

Interpret Newtons Second Law of Motion and relate it

to the equation:

F=ma :

The acceleration of an object is proportional to the net

force and inversely proportional to the mass
Newtons second law of motion: F=ma, F is force in
newtons (N), m is mass in kilograms (kg) and a is
acceleration in meters per second (m/s^2)

2.10 Identify the net force in a wide variety of situations

involving modes of transport and explain the
consequences of the application of that net force in
terms of Newtons Second Law of Motion:
Net force is the sum of all the forces acting on a body. In
transportation the net forces is in the direction of where
the vehicle is travelling. The net force depends upon the
mass and the acceleration of the vehicle, as stated by
Newtons second law of motion. So if the acceleration is
kept the same for all vehicles, heavy vehicles will exert a
greater force than lighter ones
Moving vehicles have kinetic energy and energy
transformations are an important aspect in understand
motion
3.1

Identify that a moving object possesses kinetic energy

and that work done on that object can increase that
energy:

Energy can be defined as the capacity to do work. It is a

scalar quantity

Work is done when an object moves in the direction of a

force applied to it. It is a scalar quantity
W=Fs, where W is work measured in joules (J), F is
magnitude of the force measured in Newtons (N) and s is
displacement in the direction of the force (m)
Kinetic energy is the energy associated with the
movement of an object
m v2
, where E is the kinetic energy of an object (J),
Ek =
2
m is the mass of the object (kg) and v is the speed of the
object (ms-1)

3.2 Describe the energy transformations that occur in

collisions:

3.3

When a collision occurs, some kinetic energy is

transferred to other objects, but the remainder of the
energy is transformed into other forms of energy. They
are transformed into: potential energy of deformation:
this is stored energy in an object as a result of changing
its shape. Sometimes this energy can be transformed into
other forms when the object returns to original shape.
Sound energy: is transmitted through the air because of
vibrating particles. E.g. sound energy released when two
cars collide, Thermal or heat energy: it is the energy that
a substance posses as a result of the random motion of
particles within the substance
Define the law of conservation of energy:

The law of conservation of energy states that energy

cannot be created or destroyed. However energy can be
transferred from one object to another or transformed
from one form of energy to another

Change of momentum relates to the forces acting on the

vehicle or the driver
4.1

Define momentum as: p=mv:

Momentum is the quantity of motion of a moving body; it

is a vector quantity

4.2

Define impulse as the product of force and time:

4.3

p=mv, where p is momentum (kg m s-1), m is mass (kg)

and v is velocity (ms-1)
Momentum is conserved

Impulse is the product of force and the time interval over

which it acts, it is a vector quantity and is measured in N s
Impulse = Ft
Impulse is also change in momentum, therefore change in
momentum is equal to the product of force and time

Explain why momentum is conserved in collisions in

terms of Newtons Third Law of Motion:

Newtons third law of motion: for every action there is an

equal and opposite reaction
The interaction between two cars which collide can be
summarised as follows: the total momentum of the system
of the two cars remains constant, the total change in
momentum is zero, the change in momentum of the first
car is equal and opposite to the change in momentum of
the second car, the force that the first car exerts on the
second car is equal and opposite to the force that the
second car exerts on the first car
Momentum is always conserved.
Total momentum before collision = total moment after
collision:
m1 u1 + m2 u2 = m1 v1 + m2 v2

Momentum lost = momentum gained

Safety devices are utilised to reduce the effects of changing
momentum
5.1

Define the inertia of a vehicle as its tendency to remain

in uniform
motion or at rest:

5.2

Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist change in its

motion. Inertia is not a force but it is a property of all
objects. The inertia of an object depends on the objects
mass

Discuss reasons why Newtons First Law of Motion is

not apparent in many real world situations:

Newtons first law is not apparent in real life situations

because there will always be forces acting upon us or a
vehicle for example: when we are in motion in a vehicle
we do not continue at motion and we will eventually come
to a stop because other forces such as friction, air
resistance, etc, keep us from continuing at motion
5.3

Assess the reasons for the introduction of low speed

zones in built-up areas and the addition of air bags and
crumple zones to vehicles with respect to the concepts
of impulse and momentum:

Speed bumps makes it difficult for drivers to travel at

higher speeds since they would damage their cars if they
hit the bump too fast, this reduces the impulse or change
in momentum that a person would experience in a
collision, thus reducing the impact and risk of injury
Air bags increase the time taken for the change in
momentum of a persons head to occur, this reduces the
impact or force experienced
Crumple zones change momentum more gradually,
reducing the impact or force experienced

5.4 Evaluate the effectiveness of some safety features of

motor vehicles:

Seatbelts reduce momentum more gradually, reducing

the impact or force experienced. If a person did not wear
a seatbelt in a collision, they would continue to move at
the speed of the car before it began to break and the
change in the persons momentum would occur very
suddenly when they hit the windscreen, etc, causing
severe injury

Other: motion graphs, E p=mgh, where E is potential energy

(J), m is mass (kg), g is acceleration of gravity (9.8ms-2), h is
height (m)