Section A-Mechanics The periodic time T is the time take for one

complete oscillation i.e for the bob to

Galileo - Challenged many of Aristotle’s oscillated forwards and backwards.
views and replaced them with ideas based on
The factors in which affect the periodic time
experiment. His argument was that a body
for the oscillations are; - Length l is the
keeps moving with uniform velocity if no
distance from the fixed end of the string to the
forces oppose it. He predicted that in the
center of the bob. The Amplitude of a swing
absence of friction, if a ball rolls down a
is the angle between the displacement of the
smooth plane onto a horizontal surface the
string from its rest position. Mass of the bob
ball will roll forever until a force stops it.
is also a contributing factor for the time to
This experiment was conducted using two complete an oscillation.
inclined planes in which the ball that rolled
When conducting an experiment, it is wise to
down one smooth slope rose to nearly the
find the time for more than one complete
same height on the other.
oscillation, as to minimize errors and get an
average time for better results.
For experimental purposes graphs are used
to the data for a simple pendulum. Plots of T
vs L and T2 vs L. The average of the T results
is used to obtain better results. The gradient
of a “best fit line” of the graph T2 vs L is used
to find the acceleration due to gravity (g)
1/gradient.
Gradient = Y2-Y1 = s2/m.
X2 -X1
Therefore 1/gradient = m/s2
Simple pendulum – this consists of a piece
string that is fixed at one end and has a small Density – can be described as the mass per
mass or bob (metal ball) at the other end. unit volume of a substance and is calculated
by;
Density = mass
Volume

ρ = m = kg ← SI unit kilogram per

V m3 meter3
Where rho ρ is the symbol used to represent
density.
If 45kg of copper is submerged in 5m3 of
fluid, find the density for the mass of copper.
ρ = 45kg = 9kg/m3
5m3
 Liquid- A known volume is transferred from
a burette, pipette or a measuring cylinder into
a beaker of known mass then reweighed
using a balance scale to obtain a mass of the
liquid.
Relative density- the relative density of a
substance tells you how many times denser
than water the substance is. Recall density of
water is 1gcm-3 therefore
Relative density = Density of Substance
Density of water
Or
Relative density = Mass of Substance
Density measurements Mass of same volume of water

Regularly shaped solids- the density can be Note the SI units cancel out each other so
found by using a balance scale to obtain the relative density has no SI unit.
mass and the volume of the object (length x
width x height). Then putting the values into
the equation. Vectors- Vectors quantities are defined by
both their magnitude (size) and direction.
Irregularly shaped solids- the density of a Examples are Velocity, Force, Weight,
pebble stone can be found by using a balance Displacement and Acceleration. It is not
scale to obtain the mass. Submerging the enough to say, for example, a force of 10N,
pebble in a measuring cylinder filled with a but rather a force of 10N acting vertically
known volume of water and taking record of downwards.
the new volume of water to find volume of
the pebble. (The volume of the pebble can be Scalar- Scalar quantities are defined by only
found by taking the final volume V2 of water magnitude (size) Examples are Mass, Length,
and subtracting it from the initial volume V1 Time and Current.
of water). Adding and subtraction Vectors and Forces
Forces of 5N and 10N act at the same point.

(a) What is the largest resultant they can

produce? Ans 15N

(b) What is the smallest resultant they

can produce? Ans 5N
 + =

10N + (-5N) = 5N
Note since the forces act in the opposite
direction they subtract.

(c) What if they act at 90O (right angles) A Van de Graaff generator produces negative
to each other? charges so when a person touches the
generator their body becomes negatively
5N charged and a person’s hair follicles get the
same negative charge then try to repel each
other causing them to stand up.

Magnetic Forces – Magnetic forces are

attraction or repulsion that arises between
electrically charged particles because of their
motion. Examples are motors, compasses,
10N 11.18N and magnets that stick to the refrigerator.
A compass works by detecting the earth’s
The resultant vector is found by natural magnetic field.
R= √102+ 52 = √100 + 25 = √125 = 11.18N

Forces – A force can be described as a push

or pull. When a force acts on a body it can
cause the body to change shape, change
motion and also change size. If a body is at
rest applying a force can cause a body to
move, or if already in motion a force can
increase the speed (or velocity when the
direction is stated) of the body or cause it to
come to a complete stop.

Types of forces are; -

Electric Forces - an electric force is the force
that exists between all charged particles. This
force is an (action-at-a-distance force or) The magnetized needle on a free rotating
field force which means the electric force acts pivot aligns itself with Earth’s magnetic field
over the distance separating the two objects. and points towards north.
Example static electricity.
Nuclear Forces – Nuclear force is the force
that binds the protons and neutrons in a
nucleus and holds it together.
Example of a nuclear force is the binding of
protons.

Above shows the binding of protons in an

atomic nuclei, the positively charged
particles naturally repel each other which
means it requires a strong nuclear force to
overcome the repulsion between protons.
Without the strong nuclear force, the
complex nuclei cannot form.
 Gravitational force – Is the force due to gravity g - 10ms-2

Contact force (friction) – Is the force which requires a contact to occur. Examples are;-
Below shows a book exerting a force (weight) on the table and the table exerting an equal but
opposite force (normal force) on the book.