Unit 1: Section 1 - Mechanics

Abdul waheed 2012-2013

Scalars & Vectors

Each of the physical quantities can be categorized as
either a scalar quantity or a vector quantity
Scalar:
A scalar is a physical quantity that has magnitude(size)
but no direction.
Vector:
A vector is a physical quantity that has both magnitude
and direction.
Scalars

1)Mass
4) time
2)Temperature 5) speed
3)distance
6)
energy(work)
7) Power

Vectors

1) Displacement 4)
acceleration
2) Force
5)
momentum
3) Velocity
6) weight

Base units
Physical Quantity

S.I

Mass

Kilogram (Kg)

Time

Second (s)

length

Meter (m)

Electric current

Ampere(A)

Temp.

Kelvin(K)

Luminous intensity

Candela (cd)

Amount of a substance

Mole (mol)

Derived units
Quantity

Equation

Derived
unit

Base unit

Speed

Distance / time

m s-1

Acceleration

Change in velocity /
time

m s-2

Force

mxa

Newton (N)

Kg m s-2

Pressure

F/A

Pascal (Pa)

Kg m-1 s-2

Work

Fxs

Joule (J)

Kg m2 s-2

Prefixes
Prefix

Symbol

Multiple

Pico

10-12

nano

10-9

micro

10-6

milli

10-3

kilo

103

mega

106

giga

109

Adding Vectors

Adding to or more vectors is called finding the

resultant of them.

You find the resultant of two vectors by drawing them

tip-to-tail

Vectors can be added either by (graphical method)

or Pythagorean theorem and the trigonometry.

The Pythagorean theorem

R 2 a 2 b2
(hypotenuse) 2 (side 1) 2 ( side 2) 2

opposite side
tan gent of angle =
adjacent side

Example
A truck driver is attempting to deliver some furniture.
First, he travels
3 km north, and then travels 4 km east.
a. What distance has the driver traveled?
b. Find the magnitude and direction of the
displacement?
Solution:
a. Total distance = 3 + 4 = 7 km

km tail of
b. First draw tip-to-tail. Then draw a line from 4the
the first vector to the tip of the last vector to give the
resultant.
3 km
R, resultant vecto

To get the magnitude use Pythagorean theorem.

R2 = a2 + b2 = 32 + 42 = 25
R = 5 km
To find the direction use Trigonometry.
tan gent

4
3

4
tan 1 53.10
3

E of N

Same method is used for resultant velocities and forces

Add vectors

2N

2N

Tip-to tail
2N

2N

To get the magnitude use Pythagorean theorem.

R2 = 22 + 22 = 8
R = 2.83 N
The angle is 450 (both forces are of the same size)

Splitting vector into Horizontal & vertical

component

You can often describe an objects motion more

conveniently by breaking a single vector into two
components, or resolving the vector.

The components of a vector are the projections of

the vector along the axes of a coordinate system.

Resolving a vector allows you to analyze the motion

in each direction

Example
Consider an airplane flying at 95 km/h.

The hypotenuse (vplane) is the resultant vector that

describes the airplanes total velocity.

The adjacent side represents the x component (vx),

which describes the airplanes horizontal speed.

The opposite side represents the y component

(vy), which describes the airplanes vertical speed.

The sine and cosine functions can be used to find

the components of a vector.
The sine and cosine functions are defined in terms of
the lengths of the sides of right triangles.

sine of angle =

opposite side
hypotenuse

cosine of angle =

adjacent side
hypotenuse

Example
Find the components of the velocity of a helicopter
traveling 95 kmh-1 at an angle of 350 to the ground.
opposite
sin
hypotenuse
vy
sin 35
; v y 54.4 kmh 1
95
adjacent
cos
hypotenuse
vx
cos 35
; vx 77.8kmh 1
95

Y-axis
vX
vY

vY

35
vX

X-axis

Speed & Distance

Speed:
Rate at which an object moves, or how fast an object
moves. The average speedvof an object may be
calculated by dividing the distancesit has travelled by
the timettaken to do so, and may be expressed as:

dis tan ce
Speed
time
Units:
Distance: meter (m)
Time: sec (s)
Speed: m/s (m.s-1) or km/h (km.h-1)

Average Speed versus Instantaneous Speed

Since a moving object often changes its speed during its
motion, it is common to distinguish between the
average speed and the instantaneous speed. The
distinction is as follows.
Instantaneous

Speed: the speed at any given

instant in time.
Average Speed: the average of all instantaneous
speeds; found simply by a distance/time ratio.
You might think of the instantaneous speed as the speed
that the speedometer reads at any given instant of time.

Distance and Displacement

Distance and displacement are two quantities that may
seem to mean the same thing yet have distinctly
different definitions and meanings
Distance:
is ascalar quantitythat refers to "how much ground an
object has covered(the length of the path) during its
motion.
Displacement:

is avector quantitythat refers to "how far out of place

an object is"; it is the object's overall change in position.
Its measured in meters (m).

Test your understanding

(Distance and Displacement) Example 1
A physics teacher walks 4 meters East, 2 meters South,
4 meters West, and finally 2 meters North determine the
resulting displacement and the distance traveled

The

physics teacher has walked a total distance of:

4 + 2 + 4 + 2 = 12 meters
The displacement is zero meters

Test your understanding

(Distance and Displacement) Example 2
The diagram below shows the position of a cross-country
skier at various times. At each of the indicated times, the
skier turns around and reverses the direction of travel. In
other words, the skier moves from A to B to C to D.
Use the diagram to determine the resulting displacement
and the distance traveled by the skier during these three
minutes.
Distance:
(180 m + 140 m + 100
m) =420 m
Displacement:
(180 m -140 m +100
m)
=140 m to the right

Velocity & Displacement

Velocity:
is avector quantitythat refers to "the rate at which an
object changes its position. The average velocityvof
an object may be calculated by dividing the
displacementsit has travelled by the timettaken.

displacement
Velocity
time taken

Test your understanding

(Average speed and Average velocity) Example 1
consider a football coach walking back and forth along
the sidelines. The diagram below shows several of
coach's positions at various times. At each marked
position, the coach makes a "U-turn" and moves in the
opposite direction. In other words, the coach moves from
position A to B to C to D.
What is the coach's average speed and average
velocity?

Speed
Velocity

dis tan ce 35 20 40 95

9.5 m min 1
time
10
10
displacement 35 20 40 55

5.5 m min 1 , left

time taken
10
10

Acceleration
Acceleration:
Is a vector quantity that refers to the rate at which
velocity changes over time.
v
final velocity initial velocity
a

t
time taken for the change
vu
a
t

Where:
a : acceleration (ms-2)
v : final velocity (ms-1)
u : initial velocity (ms-1)
t : time (s)

An

object accelerates if its speed, direction, or

both change.

From the fig to the right:

1)Speed

is constant

2)Direction
3)Velocity

is always changing

is also changing

Under these circumstances we also say that it is

accelerating.

Note:
When the velocity is increasing, the acceleration is
positive.
When
the velocity is constant, there is no
acceleration.
When the velocity is decreasing, the acceleration is
negative.

Displacement-Time Graphs

A graph of displacement against time for an

accelerating object always produces a curve
If the object is moving at a uniform rate, then the
rate change of the gradient will be constant
Whether its straight line or curve, the steeper it is ,the
greater the velocity

Case 1: (constant velocity)

consider

a car moving with aconstant, rightward

(+) velocity(say of +10 m/s).

the graph below, note that a motion described as

a constant, positive velocity results in a line of constant
and positive slope.
From the graph :

change in y ( y )
gradient
change in x ( x )

To get velocity from(s-t) graph

Just find the gradient

Displacement (m)

From

Example 1
Determine the velocity for the graph below:
(1 s , 10 m) & (5 s , 50 m)

change in y ( y )
change in x ( x )

50 10
10
5 -1

V = 10 m/s or 10 ms-1

Displacement (m)

gradient

Case 2 (speeding up oraccelerating).

Now consider a car moving with arightward (+),

changing velocity

If
the
gradient
isnt
constant(curved line) It means
that the object is accelerating.
To find the velocity at certain
point you need to draw a
tangent to the curve at the point
and find its gradient

Example 1
From the graph below find the velocity at t=2.5 sec
t (s)

s (m)

16

25

Note
In the previous example ,if the acceleration changes, this
will change the gradient of the curve as shown below

The line has a decreasing gradient and curves the other way

Velocity-Time Graphs
Speedtime graph Vs velocity-time graph
Speedtime graph and velocity-time graph are pretty
similar. The difference is that the velocitytime graphs
can have a negative part to show that the object is
travelling in the opposite direction
Velocity
of
the
ball
thrown in air

Speed of the
ball thrown in
air

Time

Time

Uniform acceleration

acceleration

change in velocity
time taken

Velocity

Greater acceleration

Smaller acceleratio
Time

So the acceleration is just the gradient of a velocitytime graph

1)Uniform acceleration is always a straight line
2)The steeper
acceleration

the

gradient

,the

greater

the

Example
An object is moving at 1.5 ms-1 for 4 s and then
accelerates uniformly at a rate of 2.5ms-2 for 4 s .Plot this
information on a velocity-time graph.
For the first four second the velocity is 1.5ms-1,then it
increases by 2.5ms-1 every second:
t (s)

v(ms-1)

0-4

1.5

6.5

11.5

11.5 1.5
a
2.5ms 2
84

The gradient of the line is constant between 4 s and 8 s and

has a value of 2.5ms-2 representing the acceleration of the
object

Distance Travelled = Area under Speed-time Graph

From before:
Distance travelled = average speed x time
So we can find the distance travelled by working out the
area under a speed-time graph
Example
A racing car accelerates uniformly from rest to 40ms -1 in
10 s .It continues with same speed for further 20 s before
coming to rest by decelerating at constant rate over the
next 15 s.
Draw a velocity-time graph for this journey and calculate
the total distance travelled by the car

Solution
Split the graph into three
sections
For A:
Area = base x height =
= x 10 x 40 =200m
For B:
Area =length x width =
=20 x 40 =800m
For C:
Area = base x height =
= x 15x 40 =300m
Total distance travelled =
1300 m

Non-Uniform Acceleration
1)
2)

Velocity

3)

If the acceleration in changing, the gradient in V-T graph

will also change(so you wont get a straight line)
Increasing acceleration in shown by increasing
gradient(curve 1)
Decreasing acceleration in shown by decreasing
gradient(curve 2)

Time

Equations of motion
There are four main equations that you use to solve
problems involving uniform acceleration
1) Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity.
a

vu
t

So

Where:
a : acceleration (ms-2)
v : final velocity (ms-1)
u : initial velocity (ms-1)
t : time (s)

v=u+at

2) s

= average velocity x time.

If the acceleration is constant, the average velocity is
just the average of initial and final velocities, so

(u v)
s
t
2

Where: s: displacement(m)

3) Substitute

expression for v from equation 1 into

equation 2 :

(u u at )
(2ut at 2 )
s
t
2
2
1 2
s ut at
2

4) The

fourth equation comes from equation 1 and

2:
vu
Use equation 1 in a form : t
a

(u v)
s
t
Multiply both sides by s: 2
v u (u v )
as

t
t
2

2as (v u )(u v)
2as v 2 uv uv u 2

v2 = u2 + 2as

Example 1
A car accelerate steadily from rest at a rate of 4.2 ms-2
for 6seconds.
a) Calculate the final speed
b) Calculate the distance travelled in 6 seconds
Solution:
a)
Given:
u = 0 ms-1
a = 4.2 m.s-2
t=6s
v=?
v = u + a t = 0 + 4.2 x 6 = 25.2 ms-1

b)
s=?

(u v)
s
t
2
0 25.2
s
6 75.6 m
2
1 2
at
2
1
s 0 (4.2)(6) 2 75.6 m
2
s ut

Example 2
A train accelerated from rest to a velocity of 40 ms-1 in a
time of 1 minute and 20 seconds.
What was the average acceleration of the train?
A) 0.33 m s-2
3ms-2

B) 0.5ms-2

C) 2 ms-2

What was the distance travelled by the train?

A) 48m
B) 1600 m
C) 3200m
D)4800m

D)

Example 3
The road-test information for a car states that it can
travel from 0-60 mph in 8.0s.
Estimate the average acceleration of the car during this
time.
Why is the acceleration unlikely to be uniform? (1 mph
=0.4 m s-1)

Answer:
Gear changes are likely to affect the
acceleration.

Example 4
A cyclist travelling at 4.0 m s-1 accelerates at a uniform
rate of 0.4 ms-2 for 20 s. Calculate:
The final velocity of the cyclist
The distance travelled by the cyclist in this time.

Free Fall
Introduction
Aristotle believed that if two objects of different
mass were dropped from the same height, the
heavier object would always hit the ground first
In

the absence of air resistance, all objects, whatever

their mass, will fall freely with the same acceleration.
Galileo testes this hypothesis by dropping different
masses from the leaning tower of Pisa. Similarly the
astronauts in the Apollo spacecraft showed that a
hammer and a feather fall at the same rate.

Free fall is defined as the motion of a body when

only the force due to gravity is acting on the body
Remember that:
A

free-falling

object

has

an

acceleration

of

9.81

m/s/s(ms-2) downward (on Earth)

This

numerical value for the acceleration of a free-falling

object is known as theacceleration of gravity g

The

only force acting on the object in free fall is its

weight

Replacing a with g in Equations of Motion

For objects in free fall. Since g is a constant acceleration
you can use the constant acceleration equations. But g
acts downwards, so you need to be careful about
directions.

v u gt

(u v)
s
t
2
1 2
s ut gt
2
v 2 u 2 2 gs

g:

Sign conventions
always downward so its usually
negative

t:

always positive

u&
v:

can be either positive or

negative

s:

can be either positive or

negative

Case 1: No initial velocity (it just falls)

Initial velocity: u = 0
Acceleration: a = g = - 9.81 ms-2
So the constant acceleration equations become

v gt
v
s t
2
1 2
s
gt
2
v 2 2 gs

Case 2: An initial velocity upwards

The constant acceleration equations are just as normal,
but with:
a = g = -9.81 ms-2

Case 3: An initial velocity downwards

Example:
Alex throws a stone down a cliff. She gives it a downward
velocity of 2ms-1 .It takes 3 s to reach the water below.
How high is the cliff?

Solution
Given:
u = - 2ms-1
a = g = -9.81 ms-2
t=3s
s=?
1 2
gt
2
1
s (2 3) (9.81)(3) 2 50.1 m
2
s ut

The cliff is 50.1 m high

Example 1
A stone was dropped down a well. The splash was heard
2.2 s later.
Calculate:
a)The depth of the well
b)The velocity of the stone when it hit the water.

Example 2
A ball was thrown vertically upward with a velocity of
12ms-1 on
release. Calculate:
a)The maximum height from point of release reached by
the ball
b)The time taken by the ball to reach the maximum
height
c)The velocity of the ball 2 s after it was released

Projectiles

Objects that are thrown or launched into the air and

are subject to gravity are called projectiles.

Projectile motion is the curved path that an object

follows when thrown, launched, or otherwise projected
near the surface of Earth.

If air resistance is disregarded, projectiles follow

parabolic trajectories.

Projectile motion is free fall with an initial horizontal

velocity.

Projectiles Launched Horizontally

The initial vertical velocity is zero.
The initial horizontal velocity is the initial velocity
the presence of gravity does not affect the
horizontal motion of the projectile.
The force of gravity acts downward and is unable to
alter the horizontal motion. There must be a horizontal
force to cause a horizontal acceleration.
The projectile travels with aconstant horizontal
velocityand adownward vertical acceleration.

Notes

Use the vertical component to work out how long

its in the air and/or how high it goes

Use the horizontal component to work out how far

it goes while its in air

Example(Horizontal projection)
A ball is thrown horizontally at 100ms-1 from 1.5 m above
the ground. How long does it takes to hit the ground, and
how far does it travel?(assume air resistance is
neglected)
Solution:
Think about vertical motion first:
a = g = -9.81 ms-2 ; h = -1.5 m ; u = 0 ms-1
1 2
h

ut

gt
t=?
2

1
( g )(t ) 2
2
2h
t
0.55s
g
h

So it hits the ground after 0.55s

For horizontal motion:

The horizontal motion is not affected by gravity or any
other force, so it moves at constant speed.
Given:
a = 0 ; vh = 100 ms-1 ; t = 0.55 s ; sh = ?
So use
1
Speed

dis tan ce
time

sh
vh
t
sh
100
0.55
s 55m

s ut
s ut

gt 2

Example 2
A soccer ball is kicked horizontally off a 22.0-meter
high hill and lands a distance of 35.0 meters from
the edge of the hill. Determine the initial horizontal
velocity of the soccer ball.
Answer: vx = 16.5 ms-1

Example 3
A pool ball leaves a 0.60-meter high table with an
initial horizontal velocity of 2.4 m/s. Predict the time
required for the pool ball to fall to the ground and
the horizontal distance between the table's edge
and the ball's landing location.

Projectiles Launched At An Angle

Resolve the initial velocity into x and y components.

The initial vertical velocity is the y component.
The initial horizontal velocity is the x component
velocity
Use the vertical component to work out how long its in
the air and/or how high it goes
Use the horizontal component to work out how far it
goes while its in air

The horizontal displacement is represented by s and

vertical displacement by h
For horizontal motion:
For vertical
motion: 1
1 2
s ut gt 2
h ut gt
2
2
s (u cos )t 0
1
h ut sin gt 2
2
s ut cos

Projection angle vs Range

At projection angle of 450 : Range is
maximum
At projection angle of 750 : Range =
maximum height
When the projectile hit the ground
again
sin 2 h=0
2sin cos

Example(Projectiles Launched At An Angle)

Robin fires an arrow into the air with vertical velocity of
30ms-1 and horizontal velocity of 20ms-1 ,from 1m above
the ground. Find the maximum height from the ground
reached by the arrow.(use g=9.81ms-2 and ignore air
resistance)

v 2 u 2 2 gs

Solution:
Vertical component:
u= 30ms-1
h=?

0 30 2 2(-9.81) s
900 19.62 s
h 45.9m

v = 0 (maximum height)
a = g = -9.81 ms-2

Maximum distance = 54.9 +1 = 4

Example
A daredevil tries to jump a canyon of width 10 m. To
do so, he drives his motorcycle up an incline sloped
at an angle of 15 degrees. What minimum speed is
necessary to clear the canyon?

HW
Worked example: Page 37
Question 1:
a) 1.52 sec
b)19.9 m
Question 2:
2.4 ms-1
Question 3:
93.4 ms-1
Question 4:
a) 6.4 s
b)570 m

c) 2.87 m

c) 110 ms-1

Mass, Weight
Mass:
Is the amount of matter in it.
Its measured in Kg
Its a scalar quantity
The mass is constant every where (doesnt change if
the field strength changes)
Weight:
Weight is a force.
Its measured in Newton N
Weight is the force experienced by a mass due to
gravitational field
The weight of an object does vary according to the size
of the gravitational field acting on it

Weight = mass x gravitational field strength

w=mxg
Where:
g: 9.81 N kg-1 on earth
Name

Quantity

Earth
Moon
(g = 9.81Nkg-1 (g = 1.6Nkg-1 )
)

Mass

Scalar

120 Kg

120Kg

Weight

Force(vector)

1177.2N

192N

Experiment
Measuring the acceleration due to gravity:

For an object dropped from rest, The acceleration due to

gravity can be calculated by using the equation of motion:

1 2
h ut gt
2
Initially

the electromagnet is turned on and it hold the ball

up
When the button on the electronic timer is pressed, the
electromagnet will turn off and the ball will fall down. As
soon as the electromagnet turns off, the timer will start
counting. The ball will continue to fall until it hits the trap
door. As soon as the ball hits the trap door, a signal will be
sent to the electronic timer to stop it counting.

Obviously if the distance h is changed then the

time t taken for the ball to fall will change.
The equipment is set up as shown in the diagram
and the distance s recorded.
The timer is pressed and the time taken for the ball
to fall is recorded.
This process is repeated a further two times and the
average fall time is calculated.
The distance s is changed a further 2 or 3 times and
the process repeated.

A typical results table is shown below.

1 2
gt
2

Use

these results to plot h against t2

The graph should be a straight line passing
through the origin

Precautions:
1)

2)

Place a piece of paper between the ball and the

electromagnet to ensure that the ball falls
immediately when the switch is flicked
Use large distances as much as possible so that
measurement errors (distance and time) are
relatively small

Center of Gravity
Is

the point at which the whole weight of an object

can be considered to act and, therefore, at which
all parts of an object are in balance.
The position of the centre of gravity varies
according to the shape of the object.
In objects with a regular shape, the centre of
gravity coincides with its geometric centre.
In objects with an irregular and variable shape (as
in the human body), the centre of gravity cannot
be defined easily and changes with every change
in position of the body

77

Finding the centre of mass using Plumb

Line
For Irregular objects
we need :
Plumb line
Pen
Ruler

1) Hang

the object freely from a point, then draw a vertical

line from the point of suspension using a plumb bob
2) Hang the object from a different point and draw another
vertical line
3) The centre of gravity is the point where the two lines
cross
78

Stability
An

object will be stable if it has a low centre of

mass(gravity) and wide base area.
Stable

The

higher the centre of mass, and the smaller the

base area, the less stable the object will be.
Critical angle

if

the vertical line of the weight vector passes out

of the base area, the body will fall down

Forces
Introduction:
You exert a force on a ball when you throw or kick the
ball, and you exert a force on a chair when you sit in the
chair. Forces describe the interactions between an object
and its environment.

Force can cause objects to (a) start moving, (b) stop moving,
(c) change direction.

Forces

A force is an action exerted on an object which may

change the objects state of rest or motion.

Forces can cause accelerations.

The SI unit of force is the Newton, N.

The Newton (N) is defined as the amount of force

that, when acting on a 1 kg mass, produces an
acceleration of 1 ms-2.
Therefore, 1 N = 1 kg 1 ms-2.

All forces (interactions) between objects can be placed

into two broad categories:

1)

Contact forces
Forces resulting from action-at-a-distance(Field
forces)

2)

Contact Forces

Action-at-a-Distance
Forces

Frictional Force

Gravitational Force

Tension Force

Electrical Force

Normal Force

Magnetic Force

Air Resistance Force

Applied Force

Force is a vector quantity and so the arrow

labels should show size and direction of the
force

If the body is in equilibrium(not accelerating)

the forces acting on it will be balanced

The tension force is the force that is transmitted

through a string, rope, cable or wire when it is
pulled

Free body force diagrams

Free body force diagrams show a single body on its
own and include all the forces acting on it
Example on Free body force diagram.
Drag

R
mg (hand)

mg
friction
mg

mg (book)

mg

Gravity pulls the objects down (mg)

Earth push the objects up (R ; reaction)
Friction is opposite to the direction of motion

Force

mg (weight)

Resolving the Force

Resolving force is breaking it down into horizontal and
vertical components( fH and fv )
F

From before:

cos

FH
F

FV
sin
F

FH

or FH F cos

or FV F sin

FV

Example
A box is pulled along the ground by a girl as shown below
by a force of 200 N at 250 to the horizontal. Calculate the
component of the force ?

FH
cos 25
200

FH 200 cos 25 181.2 N

FV
sin 25
200

FV 200 sin 25 84.5 N

200
25

FH

FV

Component of weight on Incline plane

Weight on the x-axis (horizontal component)
(Weight)H = mg sin = 5x9.81sin35=28.1 N
Weight on the y-axis (vertical component)
5 Kg
(Weight)V = mg cos = 5x9.81cos35=40.1
N box
mg

35

mg
0

350
mg

Newtons First Law

An object at rest remains at rest, and an object in

motion continues in motion with constant velocity (that
is, constant speed in a straight line) unless the object
experiences a net external force.

In other words, when the net external force on an

object is zero, the objects acceleration (or the change
in the objects velocity) is zero.

F 0

Inertia

Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist being

moved or, if the object is moving, to resist a
change in speed or direction.(not to accelerate)

Newtons first law is often referred to as the law of

inertia because it states that in the absence of a net
force, a body will preserve its state of motion.

Mass is a measure of inertia.

Inertia 1 - Jerking a Card

When the cardboard is jerked quickly, the coin will fall

into the glass.
Explanation:
The inertia of the coin resists the change of its initial
state, which is stationary.
As a result, the coin does not move with the cardboard
and falls into the glass because of gravity.

Relation ship between mass and inertia

Larger Mass - Greater Inertia

Bucket filled with sand ismore difficult to be moved.

It's alsomore difficult to be stopped from swinging.
Explanation:
Object with more mass offers a greater resistance to
change from its state of motion
Object withlarger masshaslarger inertiato resist
the attempt to change the state of motion.

Empty cart is easier to be moved

An empty cart is easier to be moved compare with a cart

full with load. This is because a cart with larger
masshaslarger inertia to resist the attempt to
change
the
state
of
motion.

Inertia 2 - Pulling a Book

When the book is pulled out, the books on top will fall
downwards.
Explanation:
Inertia tries to oppose the change to the stationary
situation, that is, when the book is pulled out, the
books on top do not follow suit.

Newtons Second Law

If an object is subjected to several external forces of Non
zero resultant ,then the object will move with
Acceleration (a) such that :
F = ma

resultant force = mass acceleration

Notes:
The

resultant force is a vector sum of all forces

measured in (N)
The

mass is measured in (Kg)

The

acceleration is always in the same direction as

the resultant force measured in (ms-2)

The

more force you have acting on certain mass, the

more acceleration you get. And the for a given force

the more mass you have the less acceleration you
get

All Object fall at the same rate

(If Air resistance is neglected)

w1

Resultant force = ma
w1= ma
m1 g = m1 a
a1 = g

w2

Resultant force =
w2= ma
m2 g = m2 a
a2 = g

In other words, the acceleration is independent of th

It makes no difference whether the ball is heavy or li

Example Page 27
A runner in a sprint race reaches 9ms-1 in 3 s from start of
the race. If her mass is 50 kg , what force must she exert in
order to do this
Solution:
Given:
u = 0 ms-1 ; v = 9 ms-1 ; t = 3 s ;m = 50 kg ;F = ?
Start with first equation of motion:
v=u+at
9=0+ax3
a = 3ms-2
Now apply
F= ma
F = 50 x 3 = 150 N

Drag force and Terminal Velocity

Newtons Third law

If an object A exerts a force on object B , then

object B exerts an equal but opposite force on
object A

In other words, for every action, there is an equal

and opposite reaction.
But this confuses who
wrongly think the forces are both applied to the same
object

if there are two skaters pushing against each

other,the skaters' forces on each other are equal
in magnitude, and opposite in direction.Although
the forces are equal, the accelerations are not: the
less massive skater will have a greater acceleration
due to Newton's second law.
Newtons third law applies in all situations and to all
types of force. But the pair forces are always the
same type , e.g.(both electrical or gravitational)
Note:

This fig. to the right looks like

N.3rd law. But its not. Because
both forces acting on the book
and are not of the same type.
The forces are equal and
opposite
resulting
zero
acceleration (Newton first law)

Stopping Distance
The total distance a car requires to stop is called the
total stopping distance. This is the sum of the distance
covered in the time it takes for the driver to react known
as thethinking distanceand the distance the car
travels before coming to rest after the brakes are
pressed called thebraking distance.
Thinking distance + Braking distance =
Stopping distance

Factors affecting the total stopping distance

1)The

drivers reaction time

Reactions are strongly influenced by the state of the
mind. Thus, reaction time is increased by tiredness,
alcohol or other drug.
2)Velocity
braking distance increases with velocity.
3)Mass
The mass of the vehicle is also related to kinetic energy.
The greater the mass the greater the kinetic energy,
thus a heavier car will require a longer braking distance.
Road surface, tyre condition and brake conditions
also affect the braking distance.

 The

average reaction time of a driver is about 0.7s as

the velocity of the car increases so will the thinking
distance from the relationship;
Thinking distance=speed x reaction time

The

braking distances increases because at a faster

velocity the car possesses more kinetic energy. This
energy has to be transferred to the brakes; this is
transferred as heat and is the reason why brakes
become hot.
Therefore if the car travels three times the velocity
it has 9 times the kinetic energy which means the
braking distance will be nine times longer

Work & Power

Work is done whenever Energy is Transferred
The table below shows some examples of work being
done and the energy changes that happens
Activity

Work Done Against

Final Energy Form

Lifting a box

Gravity

Gravitational
potential energy

Pushing a box
across a level
floor

Friction

Heat

Stretching a
Hardness(stiffness) of
Elastic potential
1)spring
You need a force
to move an something
spring
energybecause youre

having to overcome another force

2) The object being moved has kinetic energy while its
moving and this energy is transferred to another form of
energy when the movement stops

Work means the amount of energy transferred from

one form to another when a force causes a movement of
an object
Work done = force causing motion x distance
moved
W=fs
Where:
W: measured in joules(J)
F: measured in Newton's (N)
s: measured in meters(m)

Remember
1)

Work is the energy thats been changed from one form to

another(its not necessarily the total energy)

Ex: moving a physics book from low shelf to higher shelf (the
work here is the increase in gravitational potential
energy not the total potential energy)
2)

The equations assumes that the direction on the force is

the same as the direction of movement.

3)

1 Joules is the work done when a force of 1 Newton moves

an object through a distance of 1meter (1 J = 1 Nm)

4)

Sometimes the direction of movement is different from

direction of force

Example
To calculate the work in the
situation here:
1)Consider
the
horizontal
and
vertical component of the force
2)The only movement is in the
horizontal
direction.
So the
vertical
any motion(no
work);its
balancing
some of the weight
force
is not
causing
so the
reaction
force is less.
3)The horizontal force is causing the motion so to
calculate the work
W = f s cos
200

F cos

Power
Power is the rate of doing work (the amount of energy
transformed from one form to another per second)

work
Power
time

W
P
t

Where: P measured in watts(W)

1 HP =750 W
W: measured in joules(J)
Before the industrial revo
t : time in seconds (s)
Watt is the rate of energy transfer ( 1 joule per
second)
From this definition we can learn another equation for power

Power is also Force x velocity

W
P
t
Fs
P
t

;
;

W Fs
v

s
t

P Fv

If the force and the motion are in different directions,

you can replace F with Fcos to get:
P = F cos

Energy Transformation
Energy

cannot be created or destroyed. Energy

can be transferred from one form to another but the
total amount of energy will Useful
not change
output energy
MOTOR

Input
energy

Energy converted to other forms

Efficiency: is the measure of how well a system

transfers work or energy
Efficiency

po
pi

useful power outputwork

power input

; : has no unit

Kinetic Energy: Is the energy of a body due to its motion

Ek = mv2
v: velocity ; m: mass
Gravitational potential energy: Stored in an object due
to its height above the ground
Ep = m g h
h: height lifted ; g: (9.81 Nkg-1 on Earth)
Elastic Potential energy: stored in a stretched elastic
band as the case of a catapult
E = K e2
k: stiffness constant (Nm-1); e: extension of the
spring(m)

Examples

1) A

he throws the ball upwards, (EK) is converted to (Ep). When it

comes back again, gravitational potential is converted to
Kinetic energy

2) As
3) As

he goes down the slide, (Ep) is converted to (EK)

he bounce upward from trampoline , elastic potential

energy is converted to (Ek) to (Ep) , as he come back down
again Ep is converted back to EK to elastic potential energy.

Note
In real life there are frictional forces, so in case 3 he
would have to use force from his muscles to keep
jumping to the same height. You are usually told to
ignore friction in exam questions, so we can say that
the sum of kinetic and potential energies is
constant

Example 1
A 755 N diver drops from a board 10.0 m above the
waters surface. Find the divers speed 5.00 m above
the waters surface. Then find the divers speed just
before striking the water
(neglect air resistance)
Given:
w = 755 N ; m = 77 Kg
h = 10 m
v=?
h=5 m

Solution
At 10m:
EK = 0
EP = mgh = 755 x 10 = 7550 J
Total energy = 7550 J
At 5m:
Ep = mgh = 755 x 5 = 3775 J
Ek = mv2
Total energy = 3775 J + 77 v2
Since air resistance is neglected the sum of energies is
constant
7550 = 3775 + 38.5v2
3775 = 38.5 v2 ;
v = 9.87 m/s