Physics REVISION Forces

Types of Forces:
Push
Pull
Friction
Air Resistance/Drag
Buoyancy/Upthrust
Gravity
Twist
Elastic/stretch
Static Electricity
Magnetism
Reaction

A force is a push or pull on an object.

Force is a vector (magnitude and
direction).
Forces cause an object
1. Speed up - Like kicking a football
2. Slow down - Like drag or air
resistance
3. Change direction - Like hitting a ball
with a bat
4. Turn - Like turning a spanner
5. Change shape - Like stretching,
twisting,
compressing,
bending
forces
are called
newtons (N)

The unit for measuring

For example:

The weight is the force of gravity pulling on you. Weight is force so

it is measured in newtons.

Mass is the amount of matter which makes something up. The units
for measuring mass are grams (g) and kilograms (kg)

Friction
There are two kinds of friction, based on
how the two surfaces are moving relative to
each other:
Static friction
The friction that exists between two
surfaces that are not moving relative to
each other.
Kinetic/sliding friction
The friction that exists between two
surfaces that are moving relative to each
other.
In any situation, the static friction is greater
than the kinetic friction.
Have you ever tried to push a really big
object? It feels easier to push the object
than it did just to get it started. When it was
still, you were trying to overcome the static
friction (bigger force).

Physics REVISION Newtons 1st laws

Newtons First Law

A body in motion stays in motion at

constant velocity and a body at rest
stays at rest unless acted upon by a
net external force.

This law is commonly referred to as

the Law of Inertia.

People used to believe that force

has to be acting on an object to
keep it moving however this is
not the case.

In forces it is all out the net-force

(or balance of the forces acting on
What
does
Newtons First Law mean:
the
object.

If there is zero net force on a body, it

cannot accelerate, and therefore must
move at constant velocity, which
means
it cannot turn,
it cannot speed up,
it cannot slow down.
It cannot change shape

The Book
When an item touches a surface there
is always a reaction force. If there
wasnt, the book would fall through
the table.
The forces on the book are equal. We
know this because it is accelerating,
changing direction or shape.
Forces are shown by arrows in the
direct the force is acting. The size
(either width or length) can show the
size of the force. The longer the length
or bigger the width the bigger the
force.
The top diagram is a force diagram
where as the bottom diagram a free
body diagram.
Both demonstrate the direction and
size of the force.

The Railway Trucks

In the first diagram the forces on the truck are equal. This means
we know the truck isnt accelerating or changing direction.
It means it is either moving at constant speed or stationary (not
moving).
In the second diagram the forward push (engine thrust) is bigger
than the force stopping it moving such as friction and air
resistance, meaning the truck is accelerating.

Physics REVISION Newtons 2nd law - F=ma and Hookes Law

F = ma

Where F is Force in Newtons, m

is mass in Kg and a is
acceleration in m/s2

Newtons 2nd law of Motion: an object with

unbalanced forces acting on it will
accelerate in the direction of the
resultant force.
The acceleration is proportional to the
net force and is in the direction which
the net force acts.

If an object is a rest it takes a

force to move it. If it is moving it
requires a force to change its
speed or direction. The resistance
to this change in velocity is
inertia. The bigger the mass of an
object the more inertia it has.
Therefore the more mass an
object has the more difficult it is
to make it accelerate.

Motion in a Circular Path

If you place a ball on the end of string and swirl
it around your head an inward force is required
to keep the ball moving in a circular path. This
force is provided by the tension in the string
and without the ball would travel in a straight
line.
The inward force needed to make an object
follow a circular path is called the Centripetal
Force.
More force is needed if the mass of the object
increases, the speed increases and the length of
the string (radius) increases.
Hookes Law F = K x X
Where the spring
constant is K
F = load (N) and X =
extension (mm)

Elastic and Plastic

If you use a ruler to flick a rubber across the room, the ruler will bend
slightly then return to its original shape. Plastic is an elastic material
however if you bend it too far it will snap or bend permanently out of shape.
In comparison, if you stretch or bend plasticine, it retains its new shape.
Materials like this are called plastic materials.
Stretching a Spring
As a force (N) or load is applied to a spring it stretches. The difference
between the original and stretched length is its extension. When you plot
Load vs Extension you get a straight line showing that extension and force
are proportional to the limit of proportionality of the spring. Each spring
has an elastic limit. Before this point when a spring is stretched it will
return to its original length and shape. Beyond this the spring is
permanently stretched and will eventually break.

Hookes Law Robert Hooke investigated springs in

the 1600s. If a material supports Hookes law, then
below its elastic limit, the force applied is
proportional to the load. This means if you divide the
load by the extension you get the same value. This is
know as the spring constant K.

Physics REVISION F=ma and Hookes Law - Graphs

Hookes Law - F = k e
F is the force in newtons, N
k is the 'spring constant' in newtons per metre, N/m
e is the extension in metres, m
This equation works as long as the elastic limit (the limit of proportionality) is not exceeded. If a
spring is stretched too much, for example, it will not return to its original length when the load is
removed.
The spring constant k
The spring constant k is different for different objects and materials. It is found by carrying out an
experiment. For example, the unloaded length of a spring is measured. Equal masses (force) are
added to the spring, one at a time, and each time its new length measured. The extension is the
new length minus the unloaded length. You then plot a graph of extension (e) by force (f) provided
by the masses. (Remember mass x 10 = force 1kg x 10 = 10N).
Once plotted you can find the spring constant k by finding the gradient. Rise/run or y/x.
If F= k x e then k = F / e so if Force is on the Y axis then the gradient gives k (spring constant). If
Force is on the X axis then the gradient give 1/k so you need to invert your answer to get the k
(spring constant).
Forces, mass and acceleration
When an object accelerates it does so because an extra force
is acting on it. For example:
Gravity causes a falling apple to speed up as it falls.
Air resistance causes a parachutist to slow down just after
opening the parachute.
The brake pads on a bike cause extra friction, which slows
the bike down.
The graphical relationships between force, mass and
acceleration show:
For the same mass: more force causes more acceleration
less force causes less acceleration, the gradient can be used
to find the mass m =f/a and mass increases as force and
acceleration increase
For the same force: more mass causes less acceleration
less mass causes more acceleration, , the gradient can be
used to find the acceleration a = f/m and force decreases as

Physics REVISION Newtons 3rd Law Action and Reaction Forces

Newtons third law of motion:
If object A exerts a force on object
B, then object B will exert an
equal and opposite force on object
A.
For every action there exists an equal
and opposite reaction. If A exerts a
force F on B, then B exerts a force of -F
on A.

Resultant Force is the

overall force acting on an
object. It is the single force
which has the same effect as
all the other forces acting on
reaction
it.
500N

100N

Resultant =
400N

Use opposite forces:

Opposite forces are very useful!!
The large downward thrust of a rocket engine
force results in it moving vertically upwards to
overcome the weight of the rocket. Lift off!!!!
Consider the flying motion of birds. A bird flies
by use of its wings.
The wings of a bird push air downwards. Since
forces result from mutual interactions, the air
must also be pushing the bird upwards.
The size of the force on the air equals the size of
the force on the bird; the direction of the force
on the air (downwards) is opposite the direction
of the force on the bird (upwards). For every
action, there is an equal (in size) and opposite
(in direction) reaction.
Action-reaction force pairs make it possible for
birds to fly.

weight

Forces always act in pairs.

Paired forces are known as
the action and the reaction,
one cannot exist without the
other.
e.g when a bullet fires from a
gun it recoils in the opposite
direction of bullet.
As a skydiver falls due to
gravity air resistance acts on
it.

Physics REVISION Scalars,Vectors & Parallelogram Rule

The Monkey
A monkey hangs on to a branch with both
hands. If he isnt moving then the forces
acting on him must be balanced. The upward
tension in the arms must being equal
downward pull of his weight.
Using the free body diagram F G = Fa1 + Fa2

Calculating Resultant Forces

To calculate the resultant forces you
simply add up the forces. Forces in the
opposite direction have opposite signs.
This is because force is a vector and
has size and direction. Forces to the
right could be positive which would
make forces to the left negative.
This means they can cancel each other
out resulting in a zero resultant force.

It is possible to show the resultant force of 2

forces by using the Parallelogram Rule. You
draw out a force diagram to scale.
E.g 3N and 4N then the 3N could be drawn as
3cm and the 4N for would be drawn as 4cm.
You then make a parallelogram as shown
below using the force diagram. The diagonal
of the parallelogram Is the resultant force.

Alternatively
vectors can
be solved by
trigonometry
when the
angles are
given.

Scalars and Vectors

There are mathematical quantities that are used to
describe the motion of objects. The quantity is either a
vector or a scalar.
Scalars only have magnitude or size. Vector quantities
have both magnitude (size) and direction. For
example, 11 m east and 15 ms-1 at 30 to the
horizontal are both vector quantities.
Scalar quantities include distance, speed, time and

The size of the force is decided by the length

of the diagonal. Use your original scale E.G.
1cm is 1N so if it 6.4cm long then the
resultant force is 6.4N.

Physics REVISION Turning effects and moments

Calculating Moments M (Nm)

= the Force F (N) x distance
from the pivot d (m)

Principle of Moments
If a system is in equilibrium (balanced), the sum of
clockwise moments about any point is equal to the
sum of anticlockwise moments about that point.
Also if an object is in equilibrium, the forces on the
object must be balance meaning the sum of the
forces in one direction must equal the sum of forces
in the opposite direction.
Crane Issues
Anticlockwise moment
= 25m x 4000N =
100,000 Nm
Clockwise moment =
5m x 20,000N =
100,000Nm
The crane is in
Equilibrium, any more
load or if the load
moved further from
the pivot the

Anticlockwise moment = 2m x
300N = 600 Nm
Clockwise moment = 1.5m x
400N = 600 Nm
So the see saw is in Equilibrium.

A Balancing
Beam Act
Moments about A
= 3m x 400N =
1200 Nm
Moments about B
=The
4mbeam
x 400N
=
is moving
therefore the forces are equal and
1600Nm
split between the 2 supporting girls.
If force X acts upward from girl B we know M (Nm) = F
(N) x d (m) then M/d = F so force X = 1200/7 = 171.4N
Because the forces are equal force Y acting up from girl
B must be 400N 171.4N = 228.6N. We can check this
using the moment about B 1600Nm = 7 x 228.6N which

Physics REVISION Centre of Mass

Locating the Centre of Mass

You can use a plumb line to work out the centre of
mass of an irregular 2D shape.
1. Make a hole in the edge of the shape and
suspend the shape from one edge
2. Hang a plumb line and use it to draw a vertical
line on the object.
3. Rotate the object, make another hole and
suspend it again.
4. Again hang a plumb line and mark a vertical line
on the object.
5. Repeat this 3 or 4 times.
6. Where the lines meet give the objects centre
of mass.

States of Equilibrium
In stable equilibrium when the ball is
rolled it will return to the original
position. In an unstable state the ball
is stable on briefly. In a neutral state
the centre of mass of the ball always
lies over the base.

Stability If the centre of

mass remains over the base
then an object will remain
stable. As the COM passes over
the edge of the base it will
topple. The wider the base the
more stable an object.

Finding the centre of mass for symmetrical

objects
The centre of mass for a symmetrical object can be
found easily. The axes of symmetry are marked on the
object. The centre of mass is where the axes of
symmetry cross.