MECHANICS:

Vectors, Units and prefixes

SI base units are:

Metres (m)
Seconds (s)
Moles (mol.)
Kilograms (kg)
Amperes (A)
Kelvin (K)

Derived quantities and units:

Formula
Speed= Distance/Time
Acceleration=
velocity/time
Force =mass X
acceleration
Pressure = force/area
Work done (energy
transfer)= force X
distance
Power = work
done/time
Charge= current x
time
Potential difference =
work done/charge
Resistance = potential
difference/ current

Derived unit
Ms-1
Ms-2

Unit

Kgms-2

Newtons

Kgm-1s-1
Kgm2s-2

Pascals
Joules

Kgm2s-3

Watts

As

Coulombs

Kgm2s-3A-1

Volts

Kgm2s-3A-2

Ohms

A physical quantity is something that can be measured.

A scalar has magnitude
A vector has magnitude and direction
A resultant vector of a horizontal and vertical component can
either be found by calculation (Pythagoras and trigonometry) or by
scale drawing and measurement.
When combining vectors, if one of them is subtracted, then reverse
the direction.
You can find the separate vector components by using
trigonometry to find the vertical and horizontal components.

Prefixes:
Prefix
Pico
Nano
Micro
Milli
Centi
kilo
Mega
giga
Terra

symbol
p
n

m
c
k
M
G
T

multiple
10-12
10-9
10-6
10-3
10-2
103
106
109
1012

Velocity= displacement/time
Velocity is the rate of change of displacement.
Instantaneous velocity: V/ t

Acceleration= velocity/time
Acceleration is rate of change of velocity.
a=(v-u)/t

Projectiles and SUVAT equations

Velocity is rate of change of distance

Acceleration is rate of change of velocity
The SUVAT equations for motion are:

Gravitational acceleration can be calculated using a setup of an

electromagnet which releases a steel ball and a hinged flap which detects
when it drops, at a set distance and connected to a digital timer this can
be used to obtain a value for g.
An object is in free-fall when it accelerates at g
Projectile motion the motion of something that is travelling both
horizontally and vertically.
Trajectory- the predicted path of a moving object.
There are 2 components of motion on a projectile: Vertical and horizontal.
These are independent of each other, so horizontal and vertical speeds are
independent.
In type 1 projectile motion questions you are required to resolve initial
velocity into vertical and horizontal velocity and use these values in SUVAT
equations.
In type 2 projectile motion questions you are required to resolve the initial
velocity into vertical and horizontal components, then calculate the total
time taken by the vertical component, and use this to calculate total
distance horizontally.
The projected path and the actual path of a projectile differ because of air
resistance causing it to decelerate in the horizontal component also.
(Theoretically horizontal motion remains constant):

Newtons Laws

The centre of mass of an object is the point through which all of the mass
of an object appears to be concentrated at.
The centre of gravity is the point at which the weight of an object appears
to be concentrated at.
COM and COG are usually the same, objects balance at this point. The
lower the COG is the more stable the object is, as an object will topple
over when the COG is not over the base.

Newtons First Law: the law of inertia

If a body has a number of forces acting on it, it will remain in a state of
constant velocity if the sum of all the forces is zero.

F=0

This is called being in a state of equilibrium, and it means that the sums of
components of forces in opposite directions are balanced, and the overall
resultant force on the object is zero.
Remember: stationary is still a constant velocity, so if something is
stationary it is in equilibrium.
The reaction force to weight is always perpendicular to the surface that an
object is resting on.
The gravitational force between two objects depends on their masses and
separation, and acts over distance. The force of attraction is only large
when one or both masses are very large.
Tension is the state of an object subjected to a stretching force.
In equilibrium down a slope, weight can be resolved into components that
are perpendicular and parallel to the slope, to calculate friction and
reaction forces.

Newtons Second Law

The acceleration of a body of constant mass is proportional to the
resultant force applied to it and in the direction of the resultant force.
When F 0

F=ma

for constant mass.

This can be used to calculate tension in ropes between objects when both
are accelerating.

Newtons Third Law the law of conservation of force

If body A exerts a force on body B, then body B will exert a force, which
is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction, on body A.
The forces are:

Equal in magnitude
Opposite in direction
Act on two different bodies
Are the same type of force
Have the same line of action

Act in the same instant

The types of forces of nature:

Electromagnetic forces
Gravitational forces
Strong force (nuclear)
Weak force (nuclear)

Work done and energy changes

There are 2 types of energy :

o Potential energy (GPE and EPE)- the ability of an object to do work
by virtue of its position or state.
o Kinetic energy- the ability of an object to do work by virtue of its
motion.
Thermal energy is sometimes referred to as internal energy.
Energy is the ability to do work
Work done is the energy transferred; it is equal to the area under a
force distance graph.
Work done (J) = Force (N) * distance in direction of force (m)
It requires less force to move an object up a slope than to lift it vertically
because the work done against gravity remains the same, but the distance
is increased.
GPE=mgh
KE=1/2 mv2
Law of conservation of energy: energy is neither created nor
destroyed, but only changes from one form to another.
If there is no frictional force or air resistance, the energy loss in GPE will be
equal to energy gain in KE.
Maximum velocity occurs for maximum KE.
If air resistance and friction are present, then some energy is converted
into heat or sound energy.
Air resistance has a greater effect if the mass is smaller.
Power (W) = Work done(J)/ time taken(S)
Also, Power (W)= Force(N) * velocity (ms-1)
Efficiency is the ratio of useful work done to the total work done.
Efficiency = useful work done/total work done
Efficiency = useful energy output/total energy input
Sankey diagrams show the energy outputs from a system.

MATERIALS

Error

Random error is due to lack of precision

Systematic error is due to lack of accuracy
%difference = difference between two values/average of two values
X 100%
%difference= difference/actual value X100%
Uncertainty is a realistic estimate of the amount of error in your
measurement
%uncertainty= uncertainty (absolute value)/accepted value X 100%
Combined uncertainty is all of the uncertainties for different factors
in an experiment

added

together.

Density and pressure

Density = mass (kg)/vol (m3 )

Pressure (Pascals) = Force(N)/Area(m2 )

Upthrust

Upthrust is the buoyant force that counters weight.

Upthrust (N)=weight of displaced fluid (N)

- Archemides
principle
Therefore, an object will float if the fluid it displaces weighs more
than (or the same as) it does.
Upthrust results from pressure being greater under an object than
above it. It is the difference between the force due to pressure at
the bottom of an object (F1) and at the top (F2).

Important to note: Up thrust is dependent on the amount of fluid

displaced, not the weight of an object. Only the resultant force is
dependent on the weight of an object.
Therefore, when it floats at a constant height, the upthrust on an
object must equal its weight.
Plimsoll lines on ships use Archimedes principle to determine what
height the ship will have to float at in the water in order to displace
enough water to float safely when full of cargo.

Laminar Flow:

When a fluid flows past a solid surface, a thin layer develops adjacent to
the surface where frictional forces tend to retard the motion of the fluid
this is called the boundary layer.
Laminar flow is flow where fluid particles travel along well-ordered nonintersecting paths or layers.
Laminar flow tends to occur at lower velocities.

Transitional layer is where disturbances become amplified, causing the

smooth layered flow to become disrupted with some mixing of particles
between layers.
Turbulent flow is flow where fluid particles from adjacent pathways mix
totally.
Turbulent flow tends to occur at faster velocities, and it increases the
resistance to flow rate.

Viscosity

Viscosity is related to the thickness of a liquid-due to friction between

particles.

Stokes law relates viscosity to drag force on an object.

A shear thickening materials viscosity increases with increasing shear
rate.
Shear thinning is an effect where a fluids viscosity decreases with
increasing shear rate.
Viscosity is measured in poise or centipoise.

The rate of flow of a liquid in a uniform tube depends of pressure, viscosity

and radius of tube:

Viscosity can be calculated by:

Terminal Velocity

Terminal velocity is reached when the forces acting on a falling or rising

object are balanced:
This can be put into a formula to calculate terminal velocity:

Elastic and plastic deformation

Elastic deformation is deformation of a material such that it can return to

its original length. It is not permanent.
Plastic deformation is deformation of a material such that is cannot return
to its original length. It is permanent.

A material is amorphous if it does not exhibit long range order.

A material is crystalline if it exhibits long range order, such as a polymer,
which is made upof long chain molecules.

Material properties

The hardness of a solid is measured by its resistance to local surface

deformation. If a solid is hard, it does not dent or scratch easily.
The stiffness of a material is its resistance to bulk deformation. If a
material is stiff, it will not deform much under moderate force. This is
measured by Youngs modulus of elasticity.
A tough material is one that can absorb a lot of energy upon impact.
A brittle material does not deform much prior to breaking. It breaks
without plastic deformation.
A strong material can withstand a large applied force before it breaks.
A malleable material can be easily deformed in compression.
A ductile material can be easily elongated under tension.

Force displacement graphs and Hookes law

Stiffness is shown by the gradient of a force-extension graph or stress

strain graph.
The elastic limit is how far the material can deform elastically until it
becomes plastically deformed.

If a spring is stretched far enough, it reaches its limit of proportionality and

then its elastic limit.
The limit of proportionality is the point beyond which behaviour of the
material no longer obeys Hookes law.

F=kx

Hookes Law is:

Where k is the spring constant.

A stretched or compressed material has Elastic potential energy (or elastic
strain energy) stored in it.
EPE is the energy stored in the body due to a load causing deformation.
Work done is equal to EPE in materials.
This is also equal to the area under a force extension graph for a wire.
The restoring force is the force a spring exerts when a force is exerted on
it (tension or compression).

Youngs modulus and stress strain graphs

Force
Area

stress=

Strain=

l
l

stress is a unit of pressure, measured in Pascals.

strain has no units.

Hookes law represents the linear relationship between force and

extension and stress and strain.

E=

where E is the youngs modulus.

True stress takes into account the changing cross sectional area of a
material, whereas engineering stress does not.
The area under a stress stain curve is equal to the energy absorbed on
loading of a material.

Hysteresis in rubber

In rubber, the energy will not return along the same path (same line on the
graph) when it is unloaded, as the one it took when loading. Instead it
created a hysteresis loop. The area between the curves represents energy
loss.

Latent heat is heat absorbed by a material and given to the molecules as

kinetic energy, because it is not yet enough to cause a change in state of
the material. This means the temperature of the material will not rise even
as energy is input.
Rubber is made of long chain molecules that are bunched up when there is
no load applied to the material. These chains are pulled taught and
straightened out when load is applied , and then return to being
disorganised afterwards.

Polymers (such as rubber) do not follow Hookes law at all, so they dont
have a linear region in their stress-strain curve.