FORCES AND

MOTION

SPEED:
Speedis ascalar quantitythat refers to "how
fast an object is moving."
Speed can be thought of as the rate at which an
object covers distance. A fast-moving object
has a high speed and covers a relatively large
distance in a short amount of time.
An object with no movement at all has a zero
speed.

Calculating Average Speed

As an object moves, it often undergoes changes
in speed. For example, during an average trip to
school, there are many changes in speed.
Average speed is a measure of the distance
traveled in a given period of time; it is
sometimes referred to as the distancepertime
ratio, while Instantaneous Speed is the speed
at any given instant in time.
The average speed during the course of a
motion is often computed using the following
formula:

Units of speed include:

metres per second (symbol m s1or m/s), the

SI derived unit;
kilometres per hour (symbol km/h);
miles per hour (symbol mi/h or mph);
knots (nautical miles per hour, symbol kn or
kt);
feet per second (symbol fps or ft/s);

EXAMPLE:
While on vacation, Lisa Car traveled a total
distance of 440 miles. Her trip took 8 hours.
What was her average speed?

Speed-time graphs
A speed-time graph tells us how the speed of an object changes over
time.

Graph showing acceleration and speed

In a speed-time graph:
A horizontal line means a constant speed
A straight line with a positive gradient means a constant positive
acceleration (speeding up)

 A straight line with a negative gradient means a constant negative

acceleration (slowing down)
The greater the gradient of the line (the steeper it is) the greater the
acceleration. In the graph, the blue line represents a greater
acceleration than the red line next to it.
Exampe:
The gradient of the line on a speed-time graph gives the
acceleration. For example, the acceleration represented by the blue
line in the graph is:

Distance travelled
The area under the line on a speed-time graph represents the distance
travelled.

Consider the graph above for example.

The distance travelled in the first 4 seconds is:
Example:
Distance travelled = area under the line = 4 8 = 16 m
(the is because the area is a triangle not a rectangle)

Example:
The distance travelled between 4 seconds and 10 seconds is:

Distance travelled = area under the line = (10 4) 8 = 6 8 =

48 m
The total distance travelled = 16 + 48 = 64 m

Velocity
The velocity of an object is its speed in a particular direction.
This means that two objects could be travelling at the same
speed but have different velocities. For example, two cars are
travelling at 30 m/s along the same road but in opposite
directions:
One of the cars has a velocity of +30 m/s
The other car has a velocity of 30 m/s
The opposite signs show that they are travelling in opposite
directions.
Relative velocities
If two objects are moving in parallel their relative velocity can
be calculated.
For example,

Two cars are moving in the same direction along a road. Car A
is travelling at +30 m/s and Car B is travelling at +20 m/s.
Their relative velocity is 30 20 = +10 m/s.
If the two cars are moving in opposite directions, the velocity
of Car A is +30 m/s and the velocity of Car B is 20 m/s.

Change in velocity
Acceleration is a change in velocity. This means that an object
accelerates if:
Its speed changes
Its direction changes
Both its speed and direction change
QUIZ:
1. What force is needed to accelerate a car of mass 1000kg at a
rate of 2m/s2?
2. An aircraft of mass of 1200 kg starts from rest and accelerates
along a straight horizontal runway. The aircraft engine produces a
constant thrust of 3400 N. A constant frictional force of 400 N acts
on the aircraft.
Calculate the acceleration of the aircraft.

Thinking, braking and stopping distance

To be asafe driveryou need to understand the factors that affect a car's
stopping distance.
The stopping distance depends on two factors:
Thinking distance- It takestimefor a driver toreactto a situation.
During this reaction time the car carries on moving. Thethinking
distanceis the distance travelled in between the driverrealizinghe
needs to brake and actually braking.
Braking distance- The braking distance is the distance taken
tostoponce the brakes are applied.
stopping
= thinking
distance
+ braking distance
Factors
thatdistance
might increase
stopping
distance
Thinking distance can be increased by:
greater speed
tiredness
alcohol and drugs
distractions
Braking distance can be increased by:
greater speed
poor road conditions (icy, wet)
car conditions (bald tyres, poor brakes, full of people)

The diagram shows how, under normal driving conditions, thinking

distance and braking distance depend on the speed of the car.
The stopping distance is muchfurtherforfasterspeeds, which is
why you should:
Keep yourdistancefrom the car in front, especially if the road
conditions are poor.
The Free Fall
Keep to the speed limit.
A free falling object is an object that is falling under the sole
influence of gravity. Any object that is being acted upon only by the
force of gravity is said to be in a state offree fall. There are two
important motion characteristics that are true of free-falling objects:
Free-falling objects do not encounter air resistance.
All free-falling objects (on Earth) accelerate downwards at a rate
of 9.8 m/s/s (often approximated as 10 m/s/s forback-of-theenvelopecalculations)
Because free-falling objects are accelerating downwards at a rate of
9.8 m/s/s, aticker tape traceor dot diagram of its motion would
depict an acceleration.

The Acceleration of Gravity

A free-falling object has an acceleration of 9.8 m/s/s, downward (on
Earth). This numerical value for the acceleration of a free-falling
object is known as theacceleration due to gravity- the
acceleration for any object moving under the sole influence of
gravity.
It is denoted by a symbol g.
The numerical value for the acceleration of gravity is most accurately
known as 9.8 m/s/s,=~ 10 m/s/s

Gravity Force (also known as

Weight)
The force of gravity is the force
with which the earth, moon, or other

massively large object attracts another object towards itself. By

definition, this is the weight of the object. All objects upon earth
experience a force of gravity that is directed "downward" towards the
center of the earth. The force of gravity on earth is always equal to
the weight of the object as found by the equation:
W= m x g
where g = 9.8 N/kg (on Earth)
and m = mass (in kg)

Falling with Air Resistance

As an object falls through air, it usually encounters some degree of
air resistance. Air resistance is the result of collisions of the object's
leading surface with air molecules.
The actual amount of air resistance encountered by the object is
dependent upon a variety of factors.
Two most common factors that have a direct effect upon the amount
of air resistance are:
thespeed of the objectand the
cross-sectional area of the object.
Increased speeds result in an increased amount of air resistance.
Increased cross-sectional areas result in an increased amount of air
resistance.
Quiz:
Why does an object that encounters air resistance eventually reach a
terminal velocity? To answer this questions?

Terminal velocity
The diagrams above illustrates the principle.
As an object falls, it picks up speed. The increase in speed leads to an
increase in the amount of air resistance. Eventually, the force of air
resistance becomes large enough to balances the force of gravity.
At this instant in time, the net force is 0 Newton; the object will stop
accelerating. The object is said to have reached aterminal velocity.
The change in velocity terminates as a result of the balance of forces.
The velocity at which this happens is called the terminal velocity.

Velocity-time graphs for falling objects

The graph is a velocity-time graph for an object falling through a fluid
(eg air, water, oil).

Between A and B
The object accelerates at first because of the force ofgravity. Its
speed increases. The resultant force acts downwards
becausefrictional forceacting against it is less than the weight of
the object.
Between B and C
The object is still accelerating but its acceleration decreases as time
goes by. Its speed still increases but by a smaller amount as time
goes by. The resultant force still acts downwards but is decreasing.
This is because frictional force acting against it is increasing as the
speed increases, but is still less than the weight of the object.
Between C and D
The object is not accelerating any more. It has reached itsterminal
velocityand is falling at a steady speed. The resultant force is zero
because the frictional force acting against it is now the same as the
weight of the object.
Take care: the object does not stop falling once its resultant force is
zero (unless it has hit the ground!).