Physic

Motion
Speed
Speed is the distance something travels per unit time
●​ Speed is a scalar quantity
●​ This is because it only contains a magnitude (without a direction)
●​ For objects that are moving with a constant speed, use the equation below to calculate
the speed:

➔​ Speed is measured in meters per second (m/s)

➔​ Distance travelled is measured in meters (m)
➔​ Time taken is measured in seconds (s)
Average Speed
●​ In some cases, the speed of a moving object is not constant
➔​ For example, the object might be moving faster or slower at certain moments in
time (accelerating and decelerating)
●​ The equation for calculating the average speed of an object is:
➔​ Average Speed = distance travelled/ time taken
●​ The formula for average speed (and the formula for speed) can be rearranged with the
help of the formula triangle below:

●​ Formula triangles are really useful for knowing how to rearrange physics equations
Acceleration
●​ Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity
●​ In other words, it describes how much an object's velocity changes every second
●​ The equation below is used to calculate the average acceleration of an object:
➔​ acceleration = change in velocity / change in time
➔​ a = Δv / Δt
●​ a = acceleration in meters per second squared (m/s2)
●​ Δv = change in velocity in meters per second (m/s)
●​ Δt = time taken in seconds (s)
●​ The equation for acceleration can be rearranged with the help of a formula triangle as
shown:

Speeding Up & Slowing Down

●​ An object that speeds up is accelerating
●​ An object that slows down is decelerating
●​ The acceleration of an object can be positive or negative, depending on whether the
object is speeding up or slowing down
➔​ If an object is speeding up, its acceleration is positive
➔​ If an object is slowing down, its acceleration is negative (sometimes called
deceleration)
Example:
●​ A Japanese bullet train decelerates at a constant rate in a straight line. The velocity of
the train decreases from 50 m/s to 42 m/s in 30 seconds.
●​ (a) Calculate the change in velocity of the train.
●​ (b) Calculate the deceleration of the train, and explain how your answer shows the train
is slowing down.
Part (a)
Step 1: List the known quantities Initial velocity = 50 m/s Final velocity = 42 m/s

Step 2: Write the relevant equation change in velocity = final velocity − initial velocity

Step 3: Substitute values for final and initial velocity change in velocity = 42 − 50 = −8 m/s

Part (b)
Step 1: List the known quantities
●​ Change in velocity, Δv = − 8 m/s
●​ Time taken, t = 30 s

Step 2: Write the relevant equation

➔​ a = Δv / Δt
Step 3: Substitute the values for change in velocity and time
➔​ a = −8 ÷ 30 = −0.27 m/s
Step 4: Interpret the value for deceleration
●​ The answer is negative, which indicates the train is slowing down

Distance-Time Graphs
●​ A distance-time graph shows how the distance of an object moving in a straight line
(from a starting position) varies over time:
Constant Speed on a Distance-Time Graph
●​ Distance-time graphs also show the following information:
➔​ If the object is moving at a constant speed
➔​ How large or small the speed is
●​ A straight line represents constant speed
●​ The slope of the straight line represents the magnitude of the speed:
➔​ A very steep slope means the object is moving at a large speed
➔​ A shallow slope means the object is moving at a small speed
➔​ A flat, horizontal line means the object is stationary (not moving)

Changing Speed on a Distance-Time graph

●​ Objects might be moving at a changing speed
➔​ This is represented by a curve
●​ In this case, the slope of the line will be changing
➔​ If the slope is increasing, the speed is increasing (accelerating)
➔​ If the slope is decreasing, the speed is decreasing (decelerating)
●​ The image below shows two different objects moving with changing speeds
Using Distance-Time Graphs
●​ The speed of a moving object can be calculated from the gradient of the line on a
distance-time graph:

●​ The rise is the change in y (distance) values

●​ The run is the change in x (time) values

Example:
●​ A distance-time graph is drawn below for part of a train journey. The train is travelling at
a constant speed.
 ➢​ Calculate the speed of the train.

Step 1: Draw a large gradient triangle on the graph and label the magnitude of the rise and run
●​ The image below shows a large gradient triangle drawn with dashed lines
●​ The rise and run magnitude is labeled, using the units as stated on each axes

Step 2: Convert units for distance and time into standard units
●​ The distance traveled (rise) = 8 km = 8000 m
●​ The time taken (run) = 6 mins = 360 s

Step 3: State that speed is equal to the gradient of a distance-time graph

●​ The gradient of a distance-time graph is equal to the speed of a moving object:

Step 4: Substitute values in to calculate the speed

●​ speed = gradient = 8000 ÷ 360 speed = 22.2 m/s
Worked Example:
●​ Ose decides to take a stroll to the park. He finds a bench in a quiet spot and takes a
seat, picking up where he left off reading his book on Black Holes. After some time
reading, Ose realizes he lost track of time and runs home.
●​ A distance-time graph for his trip is drawn below.

a) How long does Ose spend reading his book?

b) There are three sections labeled on the graph, A, B and C. Which section represents Ose
running home?
c) What is the total distance traveled by Ose?

Part (a)
●​ Ose spends 40 minutes reading his book
●​ The flat section of the line (section B) represents an object which is stationary - so
section B represents
●​ Ose sitting on the bench reading This section lasts for 40 minutes

Part (b)
●​ Section C represents Ose running home
●​ The slope of the line in section C is steeper than the slope in section A
●​ This means Ose was moving with a larger speed (running) in section C
Part (c)
●​ The total distance traveled by Ose is 0.6 km
●​ The total distance traveled by an object is given by the final point on the line - in this
case, the line ends at 0.6 km on the distance axis.
●​ This is shown in the image below:

Velocity-Time Graph
●​ A velocity-time graph shows how the speed of a moving object varies with time
●​ The red line represents an object with increasing velocity
●​ The green line represents an object with decreasing velocity
Acceleration on a Velocity-Time Graphs
●​ Velocity-time graphs also show the following information:
➔​ If the object is moving with a constant acceleration or deceleration
➔​ The magnitude of the acceleration or deceleration
●​ If there is a change in an object's speed, then it is accelerating
●​ An object may accelerate at a steady rate, this is called constant acceleration
➔​ On a speed-time graph this will be a non-horizontal straight line
●​ A straight line represents constant acceleration

●​ The slope of the line represents the magnitude of acceleration

➔​ A steep slope means large acceleration (or deceleration) - i.e. the object's speed
changes very quickly
➔​ A gentle slope means small acceleration (or deceleration) - i.e. the object's speed
changes very gradually
➔​ A flat line means the acceleration is zero - i.e. the object is moving with a
constant speed
●​ The acceleration of an object can be calculated from the gradient of a velocity-time
graph
Example:

●​ A cyclist is training for a cycling tournament.

●​ The velocity-time graph below shows the cyclist's motion as they cycle along a flat,
straight road.

(a) In which section (A, B, C, D, or E) of the velocity-time graph is the cyclist's acceleration the
largest?

(b) Calculate the cyclist's acceleration between 5 and 10 seconds.

Answer:

Part (a)

Step 1: Recall that the slope of a velocity-time graph represents the magnitude of acceleration
 ●​ The slope of a velocity-time graph indicates the magnitude of acceleration​
Therefore, the only sections of the graph where the cyclist is accelerating are sections B
and D
●​ Sections A, C, and E are flat; in other words, the cyclist is moving at a constant velocity
(therefore, not accelerating)

Step 2: Identify the section with the steepest slope

●​ Section D of the graph has the steepest slope

●​ Hence, the largest acceleration is shown in section D

Part (b)

Step 1: Recall that the gradient of a velocity-time graph gives the acceleration

●​ Calculating the gradient of a slope on a velocity-time graph gives the acceleration for
that time period

Step 2: Draw a large gradient triangle at the appropriate section of the graph

●​ A gradient triangle is drawn for the time period between 5 and 10 seconds
Step 3: Calculate the size of the gradient and state this as the acceleration

●​ The acceleration is given by the gradient, which can be calculated using:

●​ Therefore, the cyclist accelerated at 1 m/s2 between 5 and 10 seconds

Area Under a Velocity-Time graph

●​ The area under a velocity-time graph represents the displacement (or distance traveled)
by an object

●​ If the area beneath the velocity-time graph forms a triangle (i.e. the object is accelerating
or decelerating), then the area can be determined by using the following formula:

Area = ½ × Base × Height

●​ If the area beneath the velocity-time graph forms a rectangle (i.e. the object is moving at
a constant velocity), then the area can be determined by using the following formula:

Area = Base × Height

How to find distance from a velocity-time graph

●​ Enclosed areas under velocity-time graphs represent total displacement (or total
distance traveled) in a time interval

●​ If an object moves with constant acceleration, its velocity-time graph will consist of
straight lines
➔​ In this case, calculate the distance traveled by working out the area of enclosed
rectangles and triangles
➔​ The area of each enclosed section represents the distance traveled in that
particular interval of time
➔​ The total distance traveled is the sum of all the individual enclosed areas

Example

●​ The velocity-time graph below shows a car journey that lasts for 160 seconds.
Calculate the total distance traveled by the car.

Answer:

Step 1: Recall that the area under a velocity-time graph represents the distance traveled

●​ In order to calculate the total distance traveled, the total area underneath the line must
be determined

Step 2: Identify each enclosed area

●​ In this example, there are five enclosed areas under the line
●​ These can be labeled as areas 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, as shown in the image below:

Step 3: Calculate the area of each enclosed shape under the line

●​ Area 1 = area of a triangle : Area 2 = area of a rectangle

 ●​ Area 3 = area of a triangle Area 4 = area of a rectangle

Area 5 = area of a triangle:

Step 4: Calculate the total distance traveled by finding the total area under the line

●​ Add up each of the five areas enclosed:

Fourth Equation of Motion

●​

Example

●​ A pilot is landing a small aircraft. The airstrip is only 450 m long and the aircraft
decelerates from 40 m s−1 at a constant rate of 2 m s−2.
 ●​ Determine if the plane will stop before it reaches the end of the runway.

Step 1: List the known values

➔​ Length of the runway, smax = 450 m (this is the maximum value of displacement)
➔​ Initial velocity, u = 40 m s−1
➔​ Final velocity, v = 0 m s−1 (since the plane will stop)
➔​ Acceleration, a = − 2 m s−2 (the negative sign indicates slowing down)

Step 2: Identify the missing values (the unknown answer and the one not given)

➔​ Known quantities: u, v and a

➔​ Unknown quantity: displacement, s
➔​ Time, t is not required in this question

Step 3: Choose the correct equation and rearrange it

➔​ The equation which contains u, v, a and s and omits t is:

v2 = u2 + 2as

➔​ Rearrange to make s the subject:

Step 4: Substitute the values into the equation and calculate s

Step 5: Write the full answer to the question

➔​ The plane stops after 400 m, which is 50 m before the end of the runway
➔​ Note: In this solution, the negative value produced by v2 − u2 is canceled out by
the negative value for acceleration, giving a positive value for displacement
 Forces
●​ A force is defined as:
➔​ A push or a pull that acts on an object due to the interaction with another object
●​ Forces can affect bodies in a variety of ways:
➔​ Changes in speed: forces can cause bodies to speed up or slow down
➔​ Changes in direction: forces can cause bodies to change their direction of travel
➔​ Changes in shape: forces can cause bodies to stretch, compress, or deform

●​ A force is a vector quantity, it has both magnitude and direction

●​ A force is a push or a pull on an object
●​ A force is measured in Newtons

Types of Forces:
●​ Weight is the effect of mass and gravity, it always acts downwards
●​ Tension is a pulling force, it always acts away from an object
●​ Thrust is a pushing force, it always acts towards an object
●​ Friction is a resistive force, it acts to oppose the motion of an object
●​ Every surface will produce a reaction force, it will always act perpendicular to the
surface
●​ Electrostatic Force is a force between two charges
●​ Air resistance is the friction of the air on a moving object
●​ Upthrust is the force of a fluid pushing an object upwards
●​ Compression is forces squashing an object
●​ Water resistance is friction between water and a moving object
●​ Magnetic Force is a current-carrying wire or a moving charged particle in a
magnetic field will feel a magnetic force
Resultant Forces:
- A resultant force is a single force that describes all the forces operating on a body
●​ When many forces are applied to an object, they can be combined (added) to produce
one final force which describes the combined action of all the forces
●​ This single resultant force determines:
●​ The direction in which the object will move as a result of all the forces
●​ The magnitude of the final force experienced by the object

- Forces can combine to produce

●​ Balanced forces
●​ Unbalanced forces

- Balanced forces mean that the forces have combined in such a way that they cancel each
other out and no resultant force acts on the body
●​ For example, the weight of a book on a desk is balanced by the normal force of the desk
●​ As a result, no resultant force is experienced by the book, the book and the table are
equal and balanced

Unbalanced forces mean that the forces have combined in such a way that they do not cancel
out completely and there is a resultant force on the object
- For example, imagine two people playing a game of tug-of-war, working against each other on
opposite sides of the rope
●​ If person A pulls with 80 N to the left and person B pulls with 100 N to the right, these
forces do not cancel each other out completely
●​ Since person B pulled with more force than person A the forces will be unbalanced and
the rope will experience a resultant force of 20 N to the right

Balanced Force:
Unbalanced Force:

Calculating Resultant Forces:

●​ Resultant forces can be calculated by adding or subtracting all of the forces
acting on the object
-​ Forces working in opposite directions are subtracted from each other
-​ Forces working in the same direction are added together
●​ If the forces acting in opposite directions are equal in size, then there will be no
resultant force – the forces are said to be balanced

EXAM TIP:
Remember to always provide units for your answer and to state whether the force is to
the left, to the right, or maybe up or down
●​ Always provide your final answer as a description of the magnitude and the direction
●​ For example: Resultant Force = 4 N to the right
Example:

Force, Mass and Acceleration

●​ Newton's Second Law of Motion tells us that objects will accelerate if there is a resultant
force acting upon them
●​ This acceleration will be in the same direction as this resultant force
Resultant Force
●​ Since force is a vector, every force on a body has a magnitude and direction
●​ The resultant force is therefore the vector sum of all the forces acting on the body. The
direction is given by either the positive or negative direction as shown in the examples
below

●​ The resultant force could also be at an angle, in which case addition of vectors is used to
find the magnitude and direction of the resultant force

Acceleration
●​ Given the mass, Newton’s Second Law means you can find the acceleration of an object
●​ Since acceleration is also a vector, it can be either positive or negative depending on the
direction of the resultant force
●​ Negative acceleration is deceleration
●​ An object may continue in the same direction however with a resultant force in the
opposite direction to its motion, it will slow down and eventually come to a stop
 Friction
●​ Friction always acts in the opposite direction to the way an object is moving
●​ An object will only start to move if the forces applied to it overcome any frictional forces
●​ Whenever you get friction between two objects you always get heat and wearing
●​ You can reduce the effect of friction by using a lubricant

Stopping Distance
●​ The stopping distance of a car is defined as:
➔​ The stopping distance of a car is the total distance traveled during the time it
takes to stop in an emergency
●​ The stopping distance is the sum of the distance traveled as the driver makes the
decision to stop plus the distance traveled as the driver applies the brakes

Stopping distance formula

●​ The stopping distance is calculated using the following formula:

Stopping distance = Thinking distance + Braking distance

Thinking distance
●​ Thinking distance is defined as

Thinking distance is the distance traveled in the time it takes the driver to react to an emergency
and prepare to stop

●​ The main factors affecting thinking distance are:

➔​ The speed of the car
➔​ The reaction time of the driver
 ●​ The reaction time is defined as:

A measure of how much time passes between seeing something and reacting to it

●​ The average reaction time of a human is 0.25 s

●​ Reaction time is increased by:
➔​ Tiredness
➔​ Distractions (e.g. using a mobile phone)
➔​ Intoxication (i.e. consumption of alcohol or drugs)

Braking distance
●​ Braking distance is defined as
➔​ the distance traveled under the braking force in meters (m)
●​ For a given braking force, the greater the speed of the vehicle, the greater the stopping
distance

Calculating stopping distance

●​ For a given braking force, the speed of a vehicle determines the size of the stopping
●​ distance
●​ The greater the speed of the vehicle, the larger the stopping distance
 Weight, Mass and Gravitational Strength
Mass

●​ Mass is defined as:

➔​ A measure of the quantity of matter in an object at rest relative to the observer
●​ Consequently, mass is the property of an object that resists change in motion
●​ The greater the mass of an object, the more difficult it is to speed it up, slow it down, or
change its direction
●​ Mass is a scalar quantity that has magnitude but no direction
●​ Mass is measured in kilograms (kg)

Sometimes mass may be given in grams (g) but this will need to be converted to kilograms
when used in calculations

■​ 1000 g = 1 kg
■​ 1 g = 0.001 kg
➔​ To convert g to kg, divide the mass in g by 1000
➔​ To convert kg to g, multiply the mass in g by 1000

Weight
●​ Weight is a gravitational force on an object with mass
●​ Since weight is a force, it is a vector quantity with both magnitude and direction
●​ Weight is measured in newtons (N)

Weight and Gravity

●​ Weight is the effect of a gravitational field on a mass
●​ Weight is defined as:
➔​ The force acting on an object with mass when placed in a gravitational field
●​ Planets have strong gravitational fields
➔​ Hence, they attract nearby masses with a strong gravitational force
●​ Because of weight:
➔​ Objects stay firmly on the ground
➔​ Objects will always fall to the ground
➔​ Satellites are kept in orbit
Defining gravitational force

●​ Gravitational field strength is defined as:

➔​ The force per unit mass acting on an object in a gravitational field
●​ On Earth, this is equal to 9.8 N/kg

W=mxg

●​ Where:
➔​ g = gravitational field strength, measured in newtons per kilogram (N/kg)
➔​ W = force of weight, measured in newtons (N)
➔​ m = mass of object, measured in kilograms (kg)
●​ An object in free fall in a vacuum, in a uniform gravitational field, will accelerate at a rate
also known as g
➔​ Where g = acceleration of free fall
➔​ In this context, g = 9.8 m/s2
➔​ Gravitational field strength and acceleration of free fall are equivalent quantities

Terminal Velocity
●​ Terminal velocity is the fastest speed that an object can reach when falling
●​ Terminal velocity is reached when the upward and downward acting forces are balanced
➔​ The resultant force on the object reaches zero
➔​ The object no longer accelerates and a constant terminal velocity is reached

Falling objects
●​ Falling objects experience two forces:
➔​ Weight
➔​ Air resistance
●​ The force of air resistance increases as the object's speed increases
●​ This is because the object collides with air particles as it moves through the air
➔​ The faster the object is traveling, the more collisions it has with the air particles
●​ The weight of the object does not change
●​ This is because W = m x g
➔​ The mass, m, of the object does not change
➔​ The acceleration of freefall, g, does not change
Reaching terminal velocity

Skydiver in freefall reaching terminal velocity

The skydiver initially accelerates downward due to the force of weight. The upward force of air
resistance increases as they fall until eventually it equals the weight force and terminal velocity
is reached

●​ At the instant the skydiver steps out of the plane, the support force of the plane is no
longer acting on the skydiver, but they are not yet falling, so the only force exerted them
is the weight force
➔​ There is a downward acting resultant force on the skydiver
➔​ The resultant force is equal to the weight force
➔​ The skydiver accelerates downward at maximum acceleration
●​ As the skydiver begins to fall, the force of air resistance is very small because the
skydiver's speed is small
➔​ There is a downward acting resultant force on the skydiver
➔​ The resultant force is equal to the weight force minus the force of air resistance
➔​ The skydiver accelerates downward but the acceleration decreases
●​ As the skydiver accelerates, their speed increases, so the force of air resistance
increases
 ➔​ There is a downward acting resultant force on the skydiver
➔​ The resultant force is equal to the weight force minus the force of air resistance
➔​ The skydiver accelerates downward but the acceleration continues to decrease
●​ As the skydiver's acceleration decreases, their speed increases at a slower and slower
rate
➔​ Eventually, the skydiver reaches a speed at which the force of air resistance is
equal to the force of weight
➔​ The forces are balanced, so the resultant force is zero
➔​ The skydiver no longer accelerates and a constant velocity is reached
■​ This is terminal velocity

Hooke’s Law
●​ Hooke’s law states that:
➔​ The extension of a spring is proportional to the applied force

●​ F is the force applied

●​ k is the spring constant
●​ x is the extension of the spring

●​ Directly proportional means that as the force is increased, the extension increases
➔​ If the force is doubled, then the extension will double
➔​ If the force is halved, then the extension will also halve
●​ The limit of proportionality is the point beyond which the relationship between force and
extension is no longer directly proportional
➔​ This limit varies according to the material
Force-extension graph
●​ Hooke’s law is the linear relationship between force and extension
➔​ This is represented by a straight line on a force-extension graph
●​ Any material beyond its limit of proportionality will have a non-linear relationship between
force and extension

Elastic Behavior

●​ Elastic behavior is the ability of a material to recover its original shape after the
forces causing the deformation have been removed
●​ Deformation is a change in the original shape of an object
●​ Deformation can be either:
➔​ elastic
➔​ inelastic

Elastic Deformation
●​ Elastic deformation is when the object does return to its original shape after the
deforming forces are removed
●​ Elastic deformation results in a change in the object's shape that is not permanent
●​ Examples of materials that undergo elastic deformation are:
➔​ Rubber bands
➔​ Fabrics
➔​ Steel springs
Inelastic Deformation
●​ Inelastic deformation is when the object does not return to its original shape after the
deforming forces are removed
●​ Inelastic deformation results in a change in the object's shape that is permanent
●​ Examples of materials that undergo inelastic deformation are:
➔​ Plastic
➔​ Clay
➔​ Glass

Elastic behavior of a spring