Edexcel AS Physics

STUDENTS’ BOOK
 How to use this book

This book contains a number of great features that will help you find UNIT 1 Physics on the go

your way around your AS Physics course and support your learning. C

Introductory pages Topic 1 Mechanics

Each topic has two introductory pages to help you identify how the main This topic explains the movements of objects. It looks at
how movement can be described and recorded, and then
What are the implications?
Combining the mathematical rules presented in this
moves on to explaining why movement happens. It covers

text is arranged to cover all that you need to learn. The left-hand page gives velocity and acceleration, including how to calculate these
in different situations. Additionally, the effect of gravity
topic allows us to describe and predict the motion of all
things. This statement must always be tempered by the
on the movement of an object leads into consideration of limitations that the objects involved must be macroscopic

a brief summary of the topic, linking the content to three key areas of How the energy a body may possess or transfer. (everyday sizes) and must be moving at reasonable
speeds. Above about 10% of the speed of light, Newton’s
laws lose their accuracy and it becomes clear that they
What are the theories? C
Science Works: We only consider objects moving at speeds that could
are, in fact, only an approximation of Einstein’s more
complete explanations of motion. Furthermore, if we
be encountered in everyday life. At these speeds (much consider subatomic particles, of which Newton knew
What are the theories? What is the evidence? What are the implications? less than the speed of light) Sir Isaac Newton succinctly
described three laws of motion. With a knowledge of
nothing, we discover that quantum mechanics throws a
probability spanner in the works.

The right-hand page of the introduction consists of a topic map that shows basic geometry, we can identify aspects of movement
in each dimension. These three laws then allow us to
At the end of the chapter we see the power of the
equations in action as they describe the motion of the
calculate accurately the motion of any object over time
ball in a game of hockey.
you how all the required content of the Edexcel specification for that topic and in three dimensions.

There are also equations for calculating kinetic energy

The map opposite shows you all the knowledge and skills
you need to have by the end of this topic. The colour

is covered in the chapters, and how that content all interlinks. Links to other and gravitational potential energy, and the transfer of
energy when a force is used to cause the transfer. These
in each box shows which chapter they are covered in
and the numbers refer to the sections in the Edexcel
formulae and Newton’s laws can be used together to
specification.
topics are also shown, including where previous knowledge is built on within work out everything we might wish to know about
the movement of any everyday object in any everyday
situation.

the topic. What is the evidence?

C

Newton’s laws of motion have been constantly under test

Main text
by scientists ever since he published them in 1687. Within
constraints established by Einstein in the early twentieth
century, Newton’s laws have always correctly described
the relationships between data collected. You may have a

The main part of the book covers all you need to learn for your course. The chance to confirm Newton’s laws in experiments of your
own. With modern ICT recording of data, the reliability
of such experiments is now much improved over

text is supported by many diagrams and photographs that will help you traditional methods.

Whilst it is difficult for scientists to describe or identify

understand the concepts you need to learn. the exact nature of energy, the equations that describe
energy relationships have also consistently held up to
experimental scrutiny.

Key terms in the text are shown in bold type. These terms are defined in 8

the interactive glossary that can be found on the software using the ‘search
glossary’ feature. Introductory pages

Unit 2 Topic 3 Waves Unit 2 Topic 3 Waves

X-rays HSW Astronomy and the electromagnetic spectrum

Very high energy electromagnetic waves can be
Stars produce electromagnetic waves in all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. or agricultural improvements – things
produced by colliding high-speed electrons with a metal
In some cases, different types of stars produce a particular type of electromagnetic that could obviously and directly help
target. When these electrons decelerate rapidly, they
wave that can be observed for a particular reason. For example pulsars, which are people now. At present, global society
give off energy as X-rays. This is how a hospital X-
some of the most distant stars that can be observed, are very strong radio emitters. is generally supportive of astronomers
ray machine produces its electromagnetic waves. These
In fact, the emissions they produce are so strong that scientists have yet to work and we are willing to feed and clothe
waves will affect photographic film, which causes the
out how they can produce them. Pulsar emissions can be observed using radio them in return for nothing more than
cloudy picture you may be familiar with in medical X-
telescopes on Earth. Visible light from the heavens can also be observed at ground knowledge. Should it be this way?
rays. Recently, X-ray detectors have been developed
level using an ordinary telescope. Most parts of the electromagnetic spectrum
that do not rely upon a chemical reaction. These can
fig. 3.3.5 Visible light is totally internally reflected within glass. This are absorbed by the atmosphere before reaching the ground and can thus only
produce digital images of the X-rays detected without
allows images to be transported directly from one place to another. For be observed by astronomers using satellite-based detectors. The development
example, a surveillance camera can send its images to a monitor in a needing to use up a constant supply of photographic
of satellites has opened up vast new areas of research in astronomy, as it is now
nearby room. film. X-ray scanning can also be used in any industry
possible to scan the skies at wavelengths that were previously invisible.
in which the integrity of metal parts needs to be tested
Any application that includes our vision relies upon
– aeroplane engines, for example. The part is not -rays
ultra-
using visible light. X-rays violet visible infrared microwave radio longwave radio
damaged by the test, but can be checked for cracks 100
Transmission through
the atmosphere (%)

and other flaws. Dense materials, like metals, will

Ultraviolet absorb X-rays, and can produce a shadow image, just 50
N2 O2 O3
absorption
H2O CO2
O2 ionosphere
Ultraviolet (UV) waves have higher frequencies than like a medical X-ray image. If the metal is cracked,
visible light, ranging from about 7.5 × 1014 Hz up to more X-rays will pass through without being absorbed
0
3 × 1016 Hz. Some of the higher-energy groups of and this will show up on the image. 0.1 nm 1 nm 10 nm 100 nm 1
m 10
m 100
m 1 mm 1 cm 10 cm 1 m 10 m 100 m 1 km
ultraviolet waves are used in the treatment of sewage Wavelength
to kill bacteria. In the same way that ultraviolet can fig. 3.3.8 The atmosphere absorbs most wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, protecting
cause sunburn in humans, the energy of the ultraviolet life at the surface of the Earth from high-energy waves, but limiting the scope for astronomy.

waves ranging from 100 nm up to about 315 nm Some people claim that, apart from interesting knowledge, astronomers contribute
(UV-B and UV-C) can be used to destroy harmful nothing productive to society. These people feel that, for example, detecting radio
organisms in wastewater. The DNA of various types wave pulses from spinning neutron stars is not a good way to use our resources.
of microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses, can fig. 3.3.9 Throughout history, societies have
The brains of such clever scientists, along with their time, and the money and chosen to support the work of astronomers who
be damaged enough to kill these organisms and make energy that they use in their research, might be better spent on medical research seemingly contribute nothing in return. Why?
the wastewater safe for human consumption (fig.
3.3.6). This is a good way of recycling precious water
as it does not add chemicals to the water. On the
other hand it is very energy intensive, and energy is a Gamma rays Questions
similarly precious resource. Generated by energy shifts inside the nuclei
1 a Calculate the wavelength range of radio waves that
of atoms, gamma rays form the very highest
suffer reflection by the ionosphere.
energy EM waves. At lower energies, there is a
b Explain why communications with satellites must use
crossover between the frequency ranges of X-
radio/microwaves with a wavelength shorter than
rays and gamma rays, but the distinction comes
1 metre.
from how the electromagnetic waves were
produced. Most gamma-ray applications come 2 Explain why the human eye did not develop so that it
from their property of being fatal to biological could detect UV light with a wavelength of 100 nm.
cells. They are used in the sterilisation of 3 Give a similarity and a difference between X-rays and
surgical instruments and soft fruits. Gamma gamma rays.
rays are also used to kill cancerous cells in the 4 Draw a diagram to illustrate how X-rays could be used in
body. This can be a dangerous procedure, a machine to produce images that could be scrutinised to
as the interaction between healthy cells and detect flaws in vehicle engine parts.
fig. 3.3.6 Ultraviolet light can be used to kill harmful organisms in fig. 3.3.7 X-rays can show us inside metal objects without breaking gamma rays is not very good for the body.
wastewater. them open.

Main text 106 107

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 UnitUnit
2 Topic 3  Waves
2 Topic 3  Waves
UNIT 1 Physics on the go

Chapter 1.1 Examzone: Topic 3 Waves

identify and use the physical quantities derived distinguish between combine two coplanar
from the slopes and areas of displacement–time scalar and vector vectors at any angle to 1 The diagram below shows a loudspeaker which sends a note Copy the diagram and mark the point on the
and velocity–time graphs, including cases on quantities and give each other by drawing of constant frequency towards a vertical metal sheet. As the rope whose motion is exactly out of phase with
non-uniform acceleration (3) examples of each (5) (part of 7) microphone is moved between the loudspeaker and the metal the motion at point A. Label this point X.
sheet the amplitude of the vertical trace on the oscilloscope
Mark on your diagram a point on the rope
continually changes several times between maximum and
which is at rest at the instant shown. Label this
minimum values. This shows that a stationary wave has been
point Y.
set up in the space between the loudspeaker and the metal
understand how ICT can be used to collect data use the equations of sheet. Draw an arrow on your diagram at point C to
for, and display, displacement–time and velocity– uniformly accelerated show the direction in which the rope at C is
metal
time graphs for uniformly accelerated motion and motion in one loudspeaker sheet moving at the instant shown. (4)
compare this with traditional methods in terms of dimension (1) microphone
reliability and validity of data (2) The wave speed is 3.2 m s–1. After how long will
the rope next appear exactly the same as in the
c diagram above? (2)
signal
generator to oscilloscope             (Total 6 marks)
(time base off)
s 3 A microwave generator produces plane
Chapter 1.2 How has the stationary wave been produced? (2) polarised electromagnetic waves of wavelength
Calculate the speed with which the stone leaves the 29 mm.
catapult. (2) a (i) Calculate the frequency of this
use ΣF = ma in situations where draw and interpret free-body combine two coplanar vectors What measurements would you take, and how would radiation. (1)
m is constant (Newton’s first law force diagrams to represent at any angle to each other by you use them, to calculate the speed of sound in air? (4)
of motion (a = 0) and second law forces on a particle or on an drawing, and at right angles by (ii) Name the missing parts of the
Suggest why the minima detected near the sheet are electromagnetic spectrum labelled a–e.
of motion) (9) extended rigid body, using the calculation (7)
much smaller than those detected near the loudspeaker.(2)
concept of centre of gravity (8)
a
(Total 10 marks) Not to scale

2 The diagram shows the shape of a wave on a stretched b

c
identify pairs of use the expressions recognise and make resolve a vector into rope at one instant of time. The wave is travelling to the right. Increasing
frequency VISIBLE
forces constituting for gravitational field use of the two components at LIGHT
direction of travel of wave
s an interaction strength g = f/m independence of right angles to each X
d
between two bodies and weight W = mg vertical and horizontal other by drawing
(Newton’s third law (10) motion of a projectile and calculation (6) A e
of motion) (11) moving freely under
(iii) State a typical value for the wavelength
gravity (4) C
of radiation at boundary X. (1)

b Describe, with the aid of a diagram,

0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40 how you would demonstrate that these
Distance/m microwaves were plane polarised. (4)
Chapter 1.3
Determine the wavelength of the wave.             (Total 8 marks)

apply the principle of use the expression for work calculate power from the rate
conservation of energy including W =FΔS including calculations at which work is done or energy
use of work done, gravitational
potential energy and kinetic
energy (14)
when the force is not along the
line of motion (15)
transferred (17) 114
Examzone page

HSW boxes
use the relationship use the relationship understand some recognise and use the
Ek = ½mv2 for the ΔEgrav = mgΔh for applications of expression efficiency
kinetic energy of a the gravitational mechanics to sports = useful energy (or
body (12) potential energy (16) power) output / total
transferred near the energy (or power)
Earth’s surface (13) input
t From Topic 5 (70)
How Science Works is a key feature of your course. The many HSW boxes
within the text will help you cover all the new aspects of How Science Works
9

that you need. These include how scientists investigate ideas and develop
theories, how to evaluate data and the design of studies to test their validity
and reliability, and how science affects the real world including informing
decisions that need to be taken by individuals and society.

Practical boxes
Your course contains a number of core practicals that you may be tested on.
These boxes indicate links to core practical work. Your teacher will give you
opportunities to cover these investigations.

Question boxes
At the end of each section of text you will find a box containing questions
that cover what you have just learnt. You can use these questions to help you
check whether you have understood what you have just read, and whether
there is anything that you need to look at again.

Examzone pages
At the end of each topic you will find two pages of exam questions from past
papers. You can use these questions to test how fully you have understood
the topic, as well as to help you practise for your exams.
The contents list shows you that there are two units and five topics in the
book, matching the Edexcel AS specification for physics. Page numbering in
the contents list, and in the index at the back of the book, will help you find
what you are looking for.

A02_PHYS_SB_AS_6382_FM.indd 3 30/5/08 18:05:01

 How to use your ActiveBook Find Resources

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A02_PHYS_SB_AS_6382_FM.indd 4 30/5/08 18:05:21

 Glossary

Click this tab to see all of the key words and what
they mean. Click ‘play’ to listen to someone read
them out to help you pronounce them.

Help

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A02_PHYS_SB_AS_6382_FM.indd 5 30/5/08 18:05:39

 CONTENTS

Unit 1 Physics on the go

Topic 1 Mechanics Topic 2 Materials

TOPIC 1 Mechanics 8 TOPIC 2 Materials 50

1.1 Motion 10 2.1 Fluid flow 52

Describing motion 10 Fluids 52
HSW Straight line graphs 11 Eureka! 53
Distance and displacement 12 HSW The Plimsoll Line 54
HSW Units 13 Fluid movement 56
More information from graphs of motion 14 Drag act 58
Equations of motion 16 Terminal velocity 60
Moving in more than one direction – HSW Stokes’ Law 60
using vectors 18
2.2 Strength of materials 62
1.2 Forces 20 The physical properties of solids 62
Causes of motion 20 HSW Plotting graphs 63
Newton’s first law of motion 22 Stress, strain and the Young modulus 65
Drag forces 24 HSW Climbing ropes 65
Newton’s second law of motion 26 HSW Uncertainties in measurements 67
Inertia, mass and weight 28 Characteristics of solids 68
HSW Measuring g 30 HSW The Mohs hardness scale 71
Statics 32 HSW Materials selection charts 71
Projectiles 34 Materials in the real world 72
HSW Real world materials 72
1.3 Energy and power 38
The concept of energy 38 Examzone: Topic 2 practice questions 74
HSW Laws and theories 39
Energy transformations 40
Energy and efficiency 42
Power 44
HSW The mechanics of hockey 46

Examzone: Topic 1 practice questions 48

A03_PHYS_SB_AS_6382_CON.indd 6 30/5/08 18:06:31

 Unit 2 Physics at work

TOPIC 3 Waves TOPIC 4 DC electricity

TOPIC 3 Waves 76 TOPIC 4 DC electricity 116

3.1 The language of waves 78 4.1 Electrical quantities 118

Types of wave 78 Introducing electricity 118
The vital statistics of a wave 81 Electric current 120
An introduction to the behaviour of waves 84 Energy and electricity 122
Reflection at the end of a string 88 HSW The flow model for electricity 123
Resisting current flow 124
3.2 The behaviour of waves 92
Models of waves and their properties 92 4.2 Complete electrical circuits 128
Diffraction and interference 96 Power and work in electric circuits 128
HSW The nature of electrons 97 Circuits containing resistors 129
HSW Radio inteferometers 99 HSW Solving problems in multiloop circuits 132
Polarisation 100 The potential divider 134
Sources of emf – internal resistance 136
3.3 Light and sound 102
Understanding conduction 138
Light as a wave 102
Sensing and control circuits 142
HSW Maxwell’s work on electromagnetic
HSW Automation 142
waves 103
Applications of electromagnetic waves 105 Examzone: Topic 4 practice questions 144
HSW Astronomy and the electromagnetic
spectrum 107
The Doppler effect 108
Ultrasound 111 4 Nature
TOPIC 5 DC electricity
of light
HSW How safe is antenatal scanning? 113

Examzone: Topic 3 practice questions 114 TOPIC 5 Nature of light 146

5.1 What is light? 148

A brief history of light 148
Wave or particle? 150
HSW Black body radiation 150
The photoelectric effect 152
HSW Remote sensing 155

5.2 Spectra and energy levels in atoms 156

Types of spectra 156
Atomic electron energies 158
HSW Franck and Hertz’s experiment 160
Solar cells to light the world? 162
HSW Photovoltaic technology for the future 163

Examzone: Topic 5 practice questions 164

Index 166

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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

Topic 1 Mechanics
This topic explains the movements of objects. It looks at What are the implications?
how movement can be described and recorded, and then
moves on to explaining why movement happens. It covers Combining the mathematical rules presented in this
velocity and acceleration, including how to calculate these topic allows us to describe and predict the motion of all
in different situations. Additionally, the effect of gravity things. This statement must always be tempered by the
on the movement of an object leads into consideration of limitations that the objects involved must be macroscopic
the energy a body may possess or transfer. (everyday sizes) and must be moving at reasonable
speeds. Above about 10% of the speed of light, Newton’s
laws lose their accuracy and it becomes clear that they
What are the theories? are, in fact, only an approximation of Einstein’s more
We only consider objects moving at speeds that could complete explanations of motion. Furthermore, if we
be encountered in everyday life. At these speeds (much consider subatomic particles, of which Newton knew
less than the speed of light) Sir Isaac Newton succinctly nothing, we discover that quantum mechanics throws a
described three laws of motion. With a knowledge of probability spanner in the works.
basic geometry, we can identify aspects of movement
At the end of the chapter we see the power of the
in each dimension. These three laws then allow us to
equations in action as they describe the motion of the
calculate accurately the motion of any object over time
ball in a game of hockey.
and in three dimensions.
The map opposite shows you all the knowledge and skills
There are also equations for calculating kinetic energy
you need to have by the end of this topic. The colour
and gravitational potential energy, and the transfer of
in each box shows which chapter they are covered in
energy when a force is used to cause the transfer. These
and the numbers refer to the sections in the Edexcel
formulae and Newton’s laws can be used together to
specification.
work out everything we might wish to know about
the movement of any everyday object in any everyday
situation.

What is the evidence?

Newton’s laws of motion have been constantly under test
by scientists ever since he published them in 1687. Within
constraints established by Einstein in the early twentieth
century, Newton’s laws have always correctly described
the relationships between data collected. You may have a
chance to confirm Newton’s laws in experiments of your
own. With modern ICT recording of data, the reliability
of such experiments is now much improved over
traditional methods.

Whilst it is difficult for scientists to describe or identify

the exact nature of energy, the equations that describe
energy relationships have also consistently held up to
experimental scrutiny.

M01_PHYS_SB_AS_6382_U01.indd 8 30/5/08 17:34:46

 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

Chapter 1.1

identify and use the physical quantities derived distinguish between combine two coplanar
from the slopes and areas of displacement–time scalar and vector vectors at any angle to
and velocity–time graphs, including cases on quantities and give each other by drawing
non-uniform acceleration (3) examples of each (5) (part of 7)

understand how ICT can be used to collect data use the equations of
for, and display, displacement–time and velocity– uniformly accelerated
time graphs for uniformly accelerated motion and motion in one
compare this with traditional methods in terms of dimension (1)
reliability and validity of data (2)

Chapter 1.2

use ΣF = ma in situations where draw and interpret free-body combine two coplanar vectors
m is constant (Newton’s first law force diagrams to represent at any angle to each other by
of motion (a = 0) and second law forces on a particle or on an drawing, and at right angles by
of motion) (9) extended rigid body, using the calculation (7)
concept of centre of gravity (8)

identify pairs of use the expressions recognise and make resolve a vector into
forces constituting for gravitational field use of the two components at
an interaction strength g = f/m independence of right angles to each
between two bodies and weight W = mg vertical and horizontal other by drawing
(Newton’s third law (10) motion of a projectile and calculation (6)
of motion) (11) moving freely under
gravity (4)

Chapter 1.3

apply the principle of use the expression for work calculate power from the rate
conservation of energy including W =FΔS including calculations at which work is done or energy
use of work done, gravitational when the force is not along the transferred (17)
potential energy and kinetic line of motion (15)
energy (14)

use the relationship use the relationship understand some recognise and use the
Ek = ½mv2 for the ΔEgrav = mgΔh for applications of expression efficiency
kinetic energy of a the gravitational mechanics to sports = useful energy (or
body (12) potential energy (16) power) output / total
transferred near the energy (or power)
Earth’s surface (13) input
t From Topic 5 (70)

M01_PHYS_SB_AS_6382_U01.indd 9 30/5/08 17:34:57

 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

1.1 Motion

Describing motion
Movement is a central part of our world and the Universe in which we live,
whether you look for it at the scale of atoms – around 10–9 metres – or at
the scale of our planet orbiting the Sun – around 1011 metres. To
understand movement is to understand one of the most fundamental aspects
of us and our world. This is where we shall start.

Speed and distance

Before we can attempt to begin to understand movement and what causes it,
we need to be able to describe it. Let us look at the most obvious aspect of
motion – speed.

How fast is something moving? An object’s speed is calculated by dividing

the distance moved by the time taken to move that distance. In the language
of physics, we say that speed is distance moved in unit time, or:
distance
speed =
time

So what was your speed on your way to your home yesterday? If you
travelled 3 km in 15 minutes (0.25 h), your answer to this might be 12 km h–1
(3 km ÷ 0.25 h). But this isn’t the whole story, as fig. 1.1.1 shows.

It is clearly unlikely that anyone will cycle at a constant speed, even without
hills and stops at a shop to cope with. So the calculation of distance ÷ time
in the example above tells us simply the average speed for the journey. It
doesn’t tell us anything about the speed at any given instant, as would be
measured by a speedometer, for example. In fact, instantaneous speed is
often more important than average speed. If you drive at a speed of 40 mph
along a street with a 30 mph speed limit and are stopped for speeding, the
police officer will not be impressed by the argument that your average speed
in the last 5 minutes was only 30 mph!

It is often very useful to represent motion using a graph. This graph could
fig. 1.1.1 Average speed does not describe plot distance against time or it could plot speed against time. Fig. 1.1.2 shows
the speed at any particular instant. two graphs for a journey.

O – left home D to E – slowing down H J

O to A – accelerating E to F – stopped
G
A to B – travelling at F to G – accelerating again G H
D E F
Distance

steady speed G to H – travelling at steady C

Speed

B to C – slowing down as speed, faster than A B B

going uphill between A and B D
C to D – travelling at steady H to J – slowing down C A
speed, slower than J – reached destination O O
E F J Time
between A and B Time
fig. 1.1.2 Speed–time and distance–time graphs for the same journey.

1
10

M01_PHYS_SB_AS_6382_1_1.indd 10 30/5/08 17:37:13

 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

Look at the shapes of the two graphs very carefully.

Recording motion
Remember that the second graph shows how far has
been travelled from home, while the first graph shows Sensors connected to a computer can be used to record
the instantaneous speed of the person. Where the the position and velocity of an object over time. With
speed–time graph is horizontal between two points, the these detailed and accurate measurements, computer
distance–time graph has a steady slope between the software can produce graphs of the data automatically.
same points because the distance travelled per unit time
is constant. Where the speed–time graph has a value motion sensor

of zero, the distance–time graph is horizontal because

the person is stationary. In other words, the slope or
gradient of a distance–time graph represents the speed
at that particular point, the instantaneous speed.
laptop
Notice that steady speed corresponds to a straight data logger
line on the distance–time graph. Where an object has
a steady speed, the slope of the distance–time graph
fig. 1.1.4 Data logging motion
is constant, and the object’s average speed and its
instantaneous speed are the same. Measurements made with electronic sensors will be
more precise and more accurate than measurements
In the world of physics, speed is usually measured in
made by people using stopwatches and rulers, for
metres per second (m s–1) – although we are probably
example. The electronic measurements will not suffer
more used to using miles per hour (mph) in our
from human errors such as reaction time or misreading
everyday lives.
of scales. This means that the results and any
conclusions drawn will be more reliable.
HSW Straight line graphs

Graphs are extremely useful in physics for finding and

confirming relationships between different variables (for Questions
example, the stretching of a piece of metal wire and
the load applied to it). The simplest type of relationship 1 A horse travels a distance of 500 m in 40 s. What is
is one which is linear, in which a graph of one variable its average speed over this distance?
against another is a straight line. 2 Nerve impulses travel at about 100 m s–1. If a
Fig. 1.1.3 is an example of a linear relationship, showing woman 1.8 m tall steps on a drawing pin:
how the speed of an object varies with time. Speed is a roughly how long is it before she knows
plotted on the vertical axis (referred to as the ‘y-axis’ or about it?
the ‘ordinate’) and time is plotted on the horizontal axis b If she is walking along with a speed of 2 m s–1,
(referred to as the ‘x-axis’ or the ‘abscissa’). The straight how far will she have travelled in this time?
line here shows that the speed of the object increases
3 Fig. 1.1.3 shows a speed–time graph for an object
steadily with time.
which starts from rest and then steadily increases
The general form of the speed. Sketch speed–time graphs to show the
equation for a straight line is: motion of an object which:
Speed

y = mx + c
a has an initial speed of 5 m s–1 at t = 0 and
where m is the slope or which then increases speed at a steady rate
gradient of the line
Time b starts at rest at t = 0, stays at rest for 5 s and
and c is the intercept on then increases speed at a steady rate.
the y-axis (the point fig. 1.1.3 A speed–time
graph where the speed
where the line crosses increases steadily with
the y-axis). time.

11

M01_PHYS_SB_AS_6382_1_1.indd 11 30/5/08 17:37:23

 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

Distance and displacement

Take a look at the map of the Southampton area in This can also be written in symbol form as:
fig. 1.1.5. How far is it from Hythe to Southampton s
v=
Town Quay? Of course, the distance depends on the t
route you take. By ferry the journey is only 1.5 miles,
Like speed, velocity has magnitude. Like displacement,
but by road you would need to travel 12 miles between
it also has a direction – it is a vector.
the two places.

Speeding up and changing

Southampton
velocity
We are quite used to saying that an object
accelerates as its speed increases. However, the word
accelerate has a very precise meaning in physics. As
ro
ad

town we have just seen, velocity is the rate of change of

quay ferry
displacement. Acceleration is the rate of change of
velocity, so it is a vector too.
Hythe A car moving away from rest increases its speed – it
accelerates. Approaching some traffic lights at red,
the car slows down – this is also acceleration, but a
fig. 1.1.5 The distance between two places depends on the route you negative one, because speed is taken away as the car
take. The displacement of one relative to the other does not vary.
slows down.
Clearly we need a way of distinguishing between these
B
two meanings of distance. In physics we use the terms vB
distance and displacement to do this. If you travel
from Hythe to Town Quay by road, the distance you
have travelled is defined as the length of path you have vA
taken, as measured by the mileometer in your car.
However, your displacement is defined as the straight
line distance between Hythe and Town Quay, as if you
A C
had taken the ferry. To describe fully the distance
travelled, we only need to say how far you have gone.
To describe your displacement, we not only need to vC
specify how far you are from where you started, but
also in what direction you would need to travel to get
there. Distance is a scalar quantity – it has only size
or magnitude. Displacement is a vector quantity vD
D
– as well as size, it has direction.
fig. 1.1.6 Movement around a circular track.

Displacement and velocity Imagine the model train in fig. 1.1.6 moving round
the track from point A through points B, C and D
We have seen that speed is defined as distance moved and back to A again at a steady speed of 0.25 m s–1.
in unit time. In the same way, we can now use the Although its speed is the same at A, B, C and D its
definition of displacement to calculate a new quantity, velocity is not, because the direction in which it is
velocity: moving is different. So although its speed is constant,
displacement the train’s velocity is changing – and under these
velocity =
time taken circumstances we also say that it is accelerating.

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Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of This can also be written in symbol form as:
velocity with time, and happens when there is: v–u
a=
a change in speed t
or a change in direction Notice one other thing about the model train.
or a change in speed and direction. Although its average speed between two points is
always 0.25 m s–1, its average velocity as it goes
final velocity – initial velocity
average acceleration = round the track from A and back to A again is
time taken for change
zero, because its displacement is zero.

HSW Units

A great deal of science is based on measuring physical quantities, such The units of distance, speed and acceleration
as length and mass. The value of a physical quantity consists of two show how the base units and derived units are
things – a number, combined with a unit. For example, a length may be related:
quoted as 2.5 km or 2500 m. In order that scientists and engineers can • Distance is a length, and therefore has units
more easily exchange ideas and data with colleagues in other countries, of metres in the SI system.
a common system of units is now in use in the world of science. This
• Speed is distance travelled in unit time – so the
system is called the Système Internationale (SI), and consists of a set
units of speed (and of velocity too) are metres
of seven base units, with other derived units obtained by combining
per second. This may be written as metres/
these. The base SI units are the metre (m), the kilogram (kg), the
second, m/s or m s–1. Each of these means the
second (s), the ampere (A), the kelvin (K), the candela (cd) and the
same thing – metres ÷ seconds. Because s–1 =
mole (mol). Each of these base units relates to a standard held in a
1/s, m s–1 means the same as m/s.
laboratory somewhere in the world, against which all other
measurements are effectively being compared when they are made. • Acceleration is change in velocity in unit time,
and is measured in (m/s)/s – written as m/s2
or m s–2.
For vector quantities like displacement, direction
must also be considered. A direction in which
displacement is to be measured in a given
situation is decided and displacements in this
direction are then taken as positive. Velocities
and accelerations then take the same sign as
displacement. The choice of direction is quite
arbitrary – when solving problems, the direction
is usually chosen so that the mathematics
fig. 1.1.7 This platinum–iridium cylinder is the standard kilogram – it is defined
as having a mass of exactly 1 kg. When you buy 1 kg of apples at the supermarket involved in the solution is as simple as possible.
you are effectively comparing their mass with the mass of this cylinder!

Questions

1 A travel brochure says that two airports a the distance travelled by the aircraft as it flies from airport A to
are 34 km apart, and that airport A lies airport B
due south of airport B. The navigation b the displacement of the aircraft at the end of the journey.
system on board an aircraft travelling 2 An athlete running in a sprint race crosses the finishing line and slows
from airport A to airport B shows that it from a speed of 10 m s–1 to rest in 4 s. What is her average
covers 380 km. Write down: acceleration?

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More information from graphs of motion

Velocity–time graphs are particularly useful in providing We can use this information to work out how far it
information about motion. The slope of a distance–time travelled (its change in displacement) in this time:
graph gives us information about an object’s speed, change in displacement
because speed is rate of change of distance with time. In velocity =
time taken
the same way, the slope of a velocity time graph gives us
information about an object’s acceleration. so change in displacement = velocity × time taken
=8×5
= 40 m
8
If you look carefully, you will see that this change in
displacement represents the shaded area under the flat
part of the graph. Because the area under the graph is
Velocity/m s–1

calculated by multiplying together a velocity (in m s–1)

and a time (in s):
m
×s=m
s

0 4 9 17 the answer is in metres, and so represents a

Time/s
displacement.
fig. 1.1.8 Velocity–time graph showing acceleration, a steady velocity,
and then negative acceleration. In the same way, the area under the other parts of the
graph represents displacement too:
Look at the velocity–time graph in fig. 1.1.8. It tells
us that: change in displacement during initial
acceleration = ½ × 8 × 4 = 16 m
• the object accelerates from rest to 8 m s–1 from 0 s to
change in displacement during final
4 s. So:
acceleration = ½ × 8 × 8 = 32 m
change in velocity
acceleration =
time The total displacement for the whole 17 s is:
8–0 16 + 40 + 32 = 88 m
= = 2 m s–2
4–0

• there is no change of velocity from 4 s to 9 s – Direction of acceleration

the acceleration is zero
Velocity–time graphs can give information about more
• the object accelerates to rest from 9 s to 17 s. complicated situations too, as fig. 1.1.9 shows.
So:
A
change in velocity
acceleration = The ball is thrown upwards in
time this direction. Displacements,
Velocity

0–8 velocities and accelerations in

= = –1 m s–2 this direction are counted as
17 – 9 positive in this example.

Where a velocity–time graph is a straight line, the O The ball is thrown from here.
O B D Time
acceleration is uniform. Acceleration may be
represented as the rate of change of velocity with Displacements, velocities and
accelerations in this direction
time. are counted as negative in
this example.
The graph in fig. 1.1.8 also gives information about the C
distance travelled. Between 4 s and 9 s the object
travelled with a uniform (constant) velocity of 8 m s–1. fig. 1.1.9 A highly simplified velocity–time graph for a ball being
thrown upwards and then caught again.

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The graph shows the motion of a ball thrown The area under the line in fig. 1.1.10 can be calculated
upwards, and falling back to Earth again to be caught. by adding together the area of all the strips under
The ball starts from rest at time = 0. The graph is a the line, each of which is a rectangle. The narrower
straight line with a positive slope between O and A the strips, the more accurately they represent the
– this is because the person throwing the ball gives area under the line – but the more of them there are
it a uniform upwards acceleration between these two to add up. It is important to remember to take into
points. The graph is a straight line with a negative account whether a strip is above or below the x-axis
slope between A and B – between these points the ball when adding its area to the area of the other strips
accelerates in a downward direction (slows down) at between the line and the axis.
a steady rate, until it comes to rest at B, the highest
As an example, consider the graph in fig. 1.1.10 again.
point of its trajectory. Between B and C the graph
The area between the x-axis and the line above it
has the same slope as it did between A and B, but
is the sum of the areas of all the strips – say 350 m.
its velocity is increasingly negative – it is steadily
(Remember the area represents a displacement.) The
accelerating downwards (speeding up) between these
area between the x-axis and the line below it is once
points on the graph. At C the ball is caught. Between
more the sum of the strips – say −50 m. The area is
C and D the graph has a large positive slope as the
negative because it represents a displacement in the
person gives the ball a large upward acceleration to
opposite direction to the first displacement. So the
bring it back to rest.
total displacement is the total area between the x-axis
Notice how the slope of each part of the graph tells us and the line, which is 350 m + –50 m = 300 m.
about the acceleration of the ball, while the line itself
shows how the velocity of the ball changes. Careful
Questions
measurement of the two areas of the graph OAB and
BCD shows that they are equal, although area OAB 1 A train travelling along a straight track starts from
is positive and area BCD is negative. Since the area rest at point A and accelerates uniformly to
under the line represents the ball’s displacement, 20 m s–1 in 20 s. It travels at this speed for 60 s,
this shows that the ball’s displacement upwards (in then slows down uniformly to rest in 40 s at point
a positive direction) is equal to its displacement C. It stays at rest at C for 30 s, then reverses
downwards (in a negative direction) – in other words, direction, accelerating uniformly to 10 m s–1 in
the ball falls back to Earth the same distance as it 10 s. It travels at this speed for 30 s, then slows
rises, and finishes up where it began. down uniformly to rest in 10 s when it reaches
point B.
Non-linear graphs a Plot a graph of the motion of the train.
Although it may not be as straightforward to do, b Use your graph to calculate:
the method of measuring the area under a graph i the train’s displacement from point A when
to determine the distance travelled may be used for it reaches point C
graphs which are non-linear (not straight lines) too.
ii the train’s displacement from point A when
it reaches point B
iii the train’s acceleration each time its speed
changes.
Velocity

0 Time

fig. 1.1.10 Finding distance travelled from a non-linear velocity–time graph.

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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

Equations of motion

Since the object’s average speed can be calculated

from its displacement and time, we can also calculate
the object’s displacement from its average velocity:
v+u
v B average velocity =
2
Velocity

So:
(v + u) t
s= (equation 3)
2

Finally, equations 1 and 3 can be combined.

A Rearrange equation 1:
u C
v–u
t=
a
O t Substitute this expression for t into equation 3:
Time
fig. 1.1.11 Velocity–time graph showing initial velocity u and final (v + u) (v − u)
s=
velocity v after time t. 2 a

The information shown in fig. 1.1.11 enables us to Multiply each side by 2a:
write a set of four equations which can be applied in 2as = (v + u)(v – u)
virtually all situations when objects are moving with
constant acceleration, no matter what their size. Multiply out the brackets:
2as = v2 – u2
The slope of the graph tells us the acceleration of the
object. If we use the symbol a for acceleration, then we which gives:
can write: v2 = u2 + 2as (equation 4)
v–u (initial velocity – final velocity)
a= i.e.
t time taken for change Using the equations of motion
which we can rewrite as: The four equations of motion are used in a wide
v = u + at (equation 1) range of situations, and it is therefore very important
that you know how to apply them. There are five
The area under the graph is the area of the rectangle
symbols in the equations – if you know the numerical
OACD (which has height u and length t), plus the
value of any three of these, the numerical value of the
area of triangle ABC on top of it. This area is the
other two can always be found.
object’s displacement, s:
s = ut + ½ (v – u)t Always begin problems by writing down the numerical
values you know.
Equation 1 gives us a relationship between u, v, t
and a, so we can substitute at for (v − u) in the new
equation:
s = ut + ½ (at)t
or
s = ut + ½ at2 (equation 2)

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Worked examples Questions

Example 1 1 A car is travelling along a road at 30 m s–1 when a

A girl running in a race accelerates at 2.5 m s–2 for the pedestrian steps into the road 55 m ahead. The
first 4 s of the race. How far does she travel in this time? driver of the car applies the brakes after a reaction
time of 0.5 s and the car slows down at a rate of
Information known:
10 m s–2. What happens?
u = 0 m s–1 (the athlete starts from rest)
2 The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the
v=?
world. It can accelerate from rest to 20 m s–1 in 2 s,
a = 2.5 m s–1 t = 4 s
and has a top speed of about 30 m s–1 although it
s=?
can only maintain this for a distance of about
Use equation 2: 450 m before it has to stop to rest. In contrast, an
s = ut + ½ at2 antelope can run at around 22 m s–1 for long
= 0 × 4 + ½ × 2.5 × (4)2 periods.
= 20 m a What is a cheetah’s average acceleration
Example 2 between rest and 20 m s–1?

The driver of a train travelling at 40 m s–1 applies the b Assume that a cheetah accelerates up to its
brakes as the train enters a station. The train slows down top speed with the acceleration in your answer
at a rate of 2 m s–2. The platform is 400 m long. Will the to a.
train stop in time? i How far will the cheetah travel when it
Information known: accelerates from rest up to its top speed?

u = 40 m s–1 v = 0 m s–1 ii How long does this acceleration take?

a = –2 m s–2 (the acceleration is negative as it is in the c If the cheetah continues at top speed, how
opposite direction to the velocity) long will it be before it has to stop to rest?

t=?s d If an antelope starts from rest and accelerates

to its top speed at the same rate as a cheetah,
s = ? m (the actual stopping distance of the train is not
how far will it travel in the time obtained in
known – only the length of the platform)
your answer to d?
Use equation 4:
e If a cheetah chases an antelope and both start
v2 = u2 + 2as from rest, what is the maximum head start the
Substitute values: cheetah can allow the antelope?
(0)2 = (40)2 + 2 × –2 × s
so 0 = 1600 – 4 × s
and s = 1600 = 400 m
4
The train stops just in time.

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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

Moving in more than one direction – using vectors

So far we have confined ourselves to situations which are real enough, but
which do not necessarily cover every type of motion found in our everyday
lives. Think carefully about all the examples of motion you have seen so far
and you will realise that they have all been concerned with things moving
in a straight line. Whilst motion in a straight line does happen, it is usually
more complex than that.

Vectors give us a fairly simple way of handling motion when it is not in

a straight line. Vectors can be represented by arrows drawn to scale. The
length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the vector, while the
direction of the arrow represents the direction of the vector.

Combining vectors – the triangle rule

The triangle rule can be applied whenever one vector acts followed by
another. For example, suppose you travel 30 m due south, and then 40 m
due east – what is your displacement from your starting position?

1 S 2 S 3 S

fig. 1.1.12 Adding displacement vectors using a scale diagram. 1 cm represents 10 m.

You can find your final displacement by making a scale diagram of the
vectors involved. The diagrams in fig. 1.1.12 illustrate the process:

1 Draw an arrow 3 cm long from starting point S to show a displacement

of 30 m south.
2 Draw an arrow 4 cm long at right angles to the first arrow to show a
displacement of 40 m east.
3 Join the starting point S to the end of the second arrow. This vector is
your displacement from your starting point.

You can then measure the distance and direction of the displacement from
your scale diagram. Alternatively you can use trigonometry to calculate it. In
the example in fig. 1.1.12, the final displacement is 50 m at an angle of 53˚
east of the first displacement.

The sum of two or more vector quantities is called their resultant.

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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

The resultant velocity of the woman in fig.

1.1.13 is the sum of the vectors for her velocity
relative to the walkway and the velocity of the
walkway relative to the ground. Adding vectors
in this type of situation, when both vectors
act along the same line is easy – but a slightly
different method is needed when they act along
different lines.

Think about a man on a ship walking from

one side of the ship to the other. If the ship
is steaming forwards with a speed of 5 m s–1
and the man walks from one side to the other
fig. 1.1.13 Getting nowhere fast! vwoman + vwalkway = 0 with a speed of 3 m s–1, what will be the man’s
movement relative to the Earth’s surface?
Combining vectors – the As the man walks across the ship in fig. 1.1.14,
parallelogram rule the ship carries him to the right. In 1 s the man
moves 3 m across the boat, and in this time the
The parallelogram rule can be applied whenever vectors act
ship carries him 5 m to the right. The vector
at the same time or from the same point. If you have ever
diagram shows his displacement 1 s and 5 s after
walked or run up a down escalator, you will have some idea
starting to walk. The man’s resultant velocity
of what relative motion is. When an object is moving, it is
relative to the Earth is the vector shown. This is
often very important to give some sort of information about
the resultant of the ship’s velocity relative to the
what its motion is relative to. For example, someone running
Earth’s surface and the man’s velocity relative
along a moving walkway may have a velocity of
to the ship. The resultant velocity is 5.8 m s–1
2 m s–1 relative to the walkway – but if the walkway has a
in a direction making an angle of 31° with the
velocity of –2 m s–1 (note the negative sign, showing that the
velocity of the ship.
walkway is moving in the opposite direction to the person),
the person will remain in the same position relative to
the ground. Questions

motion of man 5ms–1 1 Why do aircraft take off and land into
relative to ship the wind?
2 A ball on a snooker table is hit by another
ball and travels a distance of 50 cm due
15m resultant
displacement west. It is then hit again and travels a
after 5s
distance of 30 cm due north. Using a scale
drawing, or by calculation, work out the
snooker ball’s displacement from its
resultant
starting position.
displacement
after 1s
3 A ship is travelling at 5 m s–1 with a bearing
of 20° east of north. There is a current of
3m 1 m s–1 flowing from the west. What is the
Resultant velocity is represented by this vector resultant velocity of the ship?
– the resultant displacement per unit time.
5m 25m

fig. 1.1.14 Adding velocity vectors to find the resultant velocity.

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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

1.2 Forces

Causes of motion
Having looked at ways of describing motion, let us look at what causes motion.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle, who lived from 384 to 322 BC, said that the
answer to this question was simple – motion was maintained by forces. When
the force which made something move stopped acting, the object came to a
standstill. In modern contexts, this idea seems quite reasonable when you think
about pulling a heavy box along the floor, or pushing a car along a flat road.
But what about the situation when you kick a football, for example? Once
your foot ceases to be in contact with the ball, it can no longer exert a force
on it, and yet the ball carries on moving for some considerable time before it
eventually comes to rest.

The Italian scientist Galileo Galilei thought about problems like this, nearly
2000 years after Aristotle (Galileo was born in 1564). Galileo understood
that the idea of force is central to the understanding of motion, but realised
that Aristotle’s explanation was incomplete. According to one story, Galileo’s
interest in moving objects began as a result of attending a mass in the
cathedral at Pisa. During the sermon, he noticed that a cathedral lantern
suspended from the roof by a long chain always took the same time to
swing, whether it was swinging through a large arc or a small one. (Not
having a clock, he used his own heartbeat to time the swings.) Carrying out
further experiments with a pendulum, Galileo noticed that a pendulum bob
always rose to very nearly the same height as it had been released from on
the opposite side of its swing. Carrying this investigation further, he fixed a
pin below the point of support of a simple pendulum. He raised the bob to
one side and released it. The bob still rose to the height from which it was
released.

pin

fig. 1.2.1 Galileo’s pendulum experiment, which confirmed his ideas on forces and motion.

1
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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

The ball and the pendulum

Galileo extended his experiment with the pendulum by carrying out a
‘thought experiment’, that is, one which he carried out in his head. He
reasoned that if a ball rolls down a slope onto an infinitely long flat surface,
by simple analogy with the pendulum experiment it will continue moving
until something else causes it to stop.

Fig. 1.2.2 outlines Galileo’s thought experiment.

(a) (b)

(c)

fig. 1.2.2 The diagrams show Galileo’s thought experiment. The track and balls are perfectly smooth,
so that there are no frictional forces between them.

By careful analogy with his pendulum experiment, Galileo reasoned

that the ball would always tend to rise to the same height as it had been
released from, even if it had to travel a greater horizontal distance to do so
– diagrams (a) and (b) in fig. 1.2.2 show this happening. When the rising
track on the right-hand side is replaced by a flat track (c), the ball carries on
moving indefinitely in an attempt to rise to its original height.

This is in direct conflict with Aristotle’s explanation of the motion of

objects – although it took the work of Newton to carry forward Galileo’s
explanation and put it on a basis that we would today recognise as being
‘scientific’. Galileo had realised the importance of distinguishing between
motion horizontally and vertically in a gravitational field, and had laid the
foundations of the journey to the Moon, over 300 years later.

Questions

1 Aristotle argued that a force was needed in order to keep an object moving.
Describe some everyday situations that are consistent with this argument.
Suggest a more scientific explanation for each case that you describe.
2 ‘Galileo had … laid the foundations of the journey to the Moon.’ Write a short
piece for a newspaper aimed at a non-scientific audience, showing why
Galileo’s work was so important.

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Newton’s first law of motion

Forces and changing motion

The key to understanding motion is to understand forces and their
interactions. The reason why we appear to need to push something to keep
it moving steadily is because the motion of any object here on Earth is
opposed by friction forces – and in many cases these are quite considerable.
If there were no friction forces, then one push would cause an object to
move indefinitely along a flat surface at a steady speed. Galileo had noticed
that the concept of force was important when thinking about changing
motion rather than motion in its own right. Galileo’s work was taken up and
developed by Isaac Newton, born in Lincolnshire, England in 1642, the year
of Galileo’s death. Building on Galileo’s work, Newton framed three simple
rules governing the motion of objects, which he set out as his three laws of
motion in his work the Principia, published in 1687.

Although we now know that Newton’s laws of motion break down under
certain conditions (in particular, as the velocity of an object approaches
the velocity of light), the laws are very nearly correct under all common
circumstances.

The Principia was written in Latin, the language of scholarship of the time.
Translated into modern English, the first law can be stated as:

Every object continues in its state of rest or uniform motion in a

straight line unless made to change by the total force acting on it.

In other words, an object has a constant velocity (which may be zero) until
a force acts on it. So the first law of motion defines for us what a force is, or
rather what it does – a force is something which can cause acceleration.

Newton’s first law in mathematical terms

Since Newton’s first law expresses motion in terms of the total force acting
on a body, it can be written down involving mathematical terms. If we wish
to write down ‘the sum of all the forces acting on a body’ we can use the
mathematical expression ΣF (sigma F) to do this. So to state Newton’s first
law we can say:

If a body has a number of forces F1, F2 ... Fn acting on it, it will

remain in a state of constant motion only if:
ΣF = 0
(that is, the sum of all the forces from F1 to Fn is equal to zero).

This can be calculated separately for horizontal and vertical forces. The
effects of all horizontally acting forces are completely independent of those
for all vertically acting forces. You will see later that this is also true for
horizontal and vertical velocities, and for any pair of vectors at right angles
to each other.

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Free-body diagrams reaction

force of
finger
Before considering the first law further, it is worth
looking at how we can represent clearly the forces
acting on a body. weight of
ruler
Because a force can cause acceleration, it is a
vector quantity, with both magnitude and direction.
It therefore requires a way of representing both
fig. 1.2.4 A balanced ruler.
magnitude and direction on a diagram. A diagram
which shows all the forces acting on a body in a certain This diagram assumes that we can think of the
situation is called a free-body diagram. A free-body weight of the ruler as acting at its midpoint. We
diagram does not show forces acting on objects other can justify this is by thinking of the Earth pulling
than the one being considered. vertically downwards on each particle of the ruler. As
each particle on one side of the ruler has a similar
particle on the other side of the ruler exactly the same
Reaction force of Earth on wheelbarrow. distance away from the ruler’s centre, the ruler will
This acts at right angles (or normally) to
the pavement – it is often referred to as balance when it is suspended at its midpoint.
the normal reaction force.

drag forces acting

forward force of woman on wheelbarrow
on wheelbarrow
centre of gravity
fig. 1.2.5 The centre of gravity of some uniform objects.

The centre of gravity of an object is the point at

which the weight of the object appears to act. An
pull of Earth on wheelbarrow (its weight)
object’s centre of mass has a similar definition – it
fig. 1.2.3 A simplified free-body diagram of a wheelbarrow being is the point at which all the object’s mass may be
pushed at a steady speed along a flat surface. Notice how each force
acting is cancelled out by a force exactly equal in size but opposite in considered to be concentrated. In most common
direction to it. This is what Newton’s first law tells us – the resultant circumstances (in a uniform gravitational field) an
force acting on something with constant velocity is zero. object’s centre of mass and centre of gravity are at the
same place, although this is not always so.
Centre of gravity and centre
For uniform objects, the centre of mass will be at the
of mass intersection of all lines of symmetry, essentially in the
In problems involving solid objects, we often draw the middle of the object.
weight of an object as acting through a single point.
This point is called the centre of gravity, and the Questions
justification for doing this is quite straightforward.
1 Draw a free-body diagram showing the forces acting
If we think of a ruler balanced at its midpoint, we
on a racing car moving at constant velocity along a
would draw a free-body diagram of the forces acting
track. Explain how Newton’s first law is satisfied for
on the ruler like that shown in fig 1.2.4.
this racing car.
2 Draw a free-body diagram of a wooden block
balanced on a person’s finger. Label the forces acting
on the block and its centre of gravity.

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Drag forces

Once we see the situation represented in a free-body

diagram like that for the wheelbarrow in fig. 1.2.3, it
becomes quite obvious why an object stops moving
when you stop pushing it. Remove the forward force
acting on it and the forces on an object are no longer
balanced. The resultant force now acts backwards,
so the wheelbarrow accelerates backwards – that is, it
slows down and eventually stops.

So why doesn’t an object start moving backwards oil

once it has stopped if there is now a resultant force
acting on it? The answer to this question is because
of the way that drag forces work. Drag forces in an fig. 1.2.7 When two surfaces move over each other, this roughness
example like the wheelbarrow are made up of two makes it more difficult to move the surfaces – this is what we
types of force – friction and air resistance – both due experience as friction. Oil between the surfaces pushes them apart and
so reduces the frictional force between them.
to matter in contact with other matter.
This frictional force acts simply to oppose any motion
Where two solid surfaces rub on each other (for
that takes place – it cannot actually cause motion, as you
example in a wheel bearing or axle) friction always
will see if you think about the cause of the force. When
occurs. Even though they may appear perfectly
an object comes to rest, the frictional force stops acting
smooth, the surfaces in contact are slightly rough (fig.
– it will only become important again when the object
1.2.6). It is this roughness that is the cause of friction,
begins to move again.
as the two surfaces rub over one another (fig. 1.2.7).

Measuring frictional forces

Experiments between surfaces rubbing over each other

show that there are two situations when friction is
acting, depending on whether the surfaces are sliding
over one another or not. Consider the situation shown
in fig. 1.2.8, in which a block is dragged along a flat
surface whilst a forcemeter shows the force needed to
keep it moving at constant velocity.

constant velocity

fig. 1.2.8 At constant velocity, the net force is zero.

Newton’s first law tells us that, for an object which is

not accelerating, ΣF = 0. This means that the frictional
force resisting the motion of the box must be exactly
balanced by the pulling force from the hand.
fig. 1.2.6 Even the smoothest of surfaces is rough, as this high
magnification photograph of a metal surface shows.

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Air resistance At the top of the jump, the man

is instantaneously stationary, so
his air resistance is zero. The
The other drag force which acts in this example is resultant force acting on him is
not important – but it is very important in many greatest at this point, so his
acceleration at this point has its
other examples. Air resistance or aerodynamic drag maximum value. weight
is caused when a body moves through air. In the
example with the wheelbarrow, this is so small as to A little later the man is moving
more rapidly and his air resistance air
be insignificant. is now significant. The magnitude resistance
of his weight is still greater than
Aerodynamic drag is caused by the fact that an object his air resistance, so he is still
has to push air out of the way in order to move accelerating downwards, but not
as quickly as at first. weight
through it – and this requires a force. The force that
is exerted by two surfaces rubbing together does not Later still his velocity has reached
a point where his air resistance is
depend on the speed at which the two surfaces move air
equal to his weight. Now the
over each other. However, the aerodynamic drag resultant force acting on him is resistance

caused by an object moving through air does depend zero – and he is no longer
accelerating. The velocity at which
on speed – the faster the object moves, the greater the this happens is called the terminal
aerodynamic drag. You will learn more about this in velocity. For a human being
weight
without a parachute, terminal
chapter 2.1. velocity is about 56 m s–1.

On opening the parachute, the air

resistance increases dramatically air
due to the parachute’s large resistance
surface area. Now the air resistance
is greater than the weight – so the
resultant force on the man is
upwards. The man accelerates
upwards and his velocity decreases.
weight

fig. 1.2.9 Air resistance becomes more important the faster you want to
go. Careful design can reduce aerodynamic drag, by producing shapes that Eventually the man’s velocity
can ‘cut through’ the air and cause as little disturbance to it as possible. decreases to a new terminal
velocity. This terminal velocity
is much lower than the previous air
Because aerodynamic drag increases as an object’s terminal velocity – about 10 m s–1. resistance
velocity increases, objects with a constant driving force Hitting the ground at this speed
still requires some care – it is like
tend to reach a maximum velocity when they accelerate
jumping off a wall 5 m high!
– whether they are a parachutist falling through air or a weight
car travelling along a race track.

Free fall and terminal velocity fig. 1.2.10 Free fall and terminal velocity.

Someone who jumps out of a tethered balloon some

way above the ground accelerates towards the ground Questions
under the influence of their own weight. They will
1 Draw a free-body diagram showing the forces
suffer air resistance which is not insignificantly small
acting on a skydiver at the instant they jump from
– ask any skydiver! The acceleration with which they
a plane.
start to fall is called the acceleration of free fall or
the acceleration due to gravity. At the surface of 2 Describe and explain how the resultant force on a
the Earth the value of this acceleration is 9.81 m s–2. skydiver varies from the moment they jump from
The acceleration of such a falling object is not a plane.
uniform, as fig. 1.2.10 shows.

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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

Newton’s second law of motion

Having established a connection between force and Mass/kg Acceleration/m s–2

acceleration which is qualitative, Newton went on to
0.5 1.00
find a quantitative connection between these two. He
claimed that: 0.6 0.83

ΣF = ma 0.7 0.71
0.8 0.63
Investigating the relationship 0.9 0.55

between F, m and a 1.0 0.50

data logger laptop table 1.2.2 Values of acceleration resulting from an applied force of
0.5 N when the mass of the glider is varied.

It is clear from table 1.2.1 that there is a direct

relationship between F and a, and that a is
light card light
gate gate proportional to F (i.e. as F increases by a factor x, so
1 2 does a). This can be represented as F ∝ a.

The results in table 1.2.2 show that there is a

trolley in motion different relationship between a and m. Here a ∝ 1/m
(i.e. as m increases by a factor x, a changes by a factor
of 1/x). We say that a is inversely proportional to m.

These two relationships can now be combined:

fig. 1.2.11 Experimental setup for investigating the relationship
between F, m and a. a∝F
a ∝ F / m or F ∝ ma
Using the setup shown in fig. 1.2.11, the acceleration
a ∝ 1/m
}
Another way to express this is:
can be measured for various values of the resultant
force acting on the trolley while its mass is kept F = kma
constant (table 1.2.1). By plotting a graph of
where k is a constant.
acceleration against resultant force, a straight line will
show that acceleration is proportional to the resultant By using SI units for our measurements of mass and
force. A graph could also be plotted for varying acceleration, the units of force become kg m s–2 (the
masses of trolley while the resultant force is kept units of mass and acceleration multiplied together). If
constant (table 1.2.2). we define the unit of force in such a way that one unit
of force accelerates a mass of one kilogram at a rate of
Force F/N Acceleration a/m s–2 one metre per second per second, then the constant in
0.1 0.20 the equation must also have a value of one, and so:

0.2 0.40 F = ma

0.3 0.60 The unit of force in this system is of course better

known as the newton. This equation defines the
0.4 0.80
newton as being the resultant force which produces an
0.5 1.00
acceleration of one metre per second per second when
0.6 1.20 it acts on a mass of one kilogram. The mathematical
statement F = ma is sometimes referred to as
table 1.2.1 Values of acceleration for different forces acting on a glider Newton’s second law of motion.
of mass 0.5 kg.

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Worked examples using F = ma

Example 1 Example 2
A runner in a sprint race reaches 9 m s–1 in 3 s from the An aeroplane lands with a velocity of 55 m s–1. ‘Reverse thrust’
start of the race. If her mass is 50 kg, what force must from the engines is used to slow it to a velocity of 25 m s–1 in
she exert in order to do this? a distance of 240 m. If the mass of the aeroplane is 3 × 104 kg,
Information known: what is the size of the reverse thrust supplied by the engines?

u = 0 m s–1 v = 9 m s–1 Information known:

a = ? t = 3s u = 55 m s–1 v = 25 m s–1
s=? a=? t=?
Use equation 1: s = 240 m
v = u + at Use equation 4:
Substitute values: v2 = u2 + 2as
9=0+a×3 Substitute values:
9–0 (25)2 = (55)2 + 2 × a × 240
so a =
3 625 – 3025
so a =
= 3 m s–2 2 × 240

Now apply F = ma: –2400

=
480
F = 50 × 3
= 150 N = –5 m s–2

So the athlete needs to exert a force of 150 N in order Now apply F = ma:
to accelerate at this rate. (Will she exert this force F = 3 × 104 × –5
constantly over the first 3 s of the race? Why?) = –1.5 × 105 N
The reverse thrust of the engines is 150 000 N (or 150 kN).
(Why was the answer obtained from the equations negative?)

Questions

1 a Use the results in table 1.2.1 to plot a graph of acceleration against

force.
b Calculate the value of 1/mass for each entry in the first column of
table 1.2.2, and plot acceleration against (1/mass) for this set of results.
c Calculate the gradient of the best fit line for each graph.
d What conclusions can you draw from your graphs?
2 A railway locomotive with a mass of 70 tonnes accelerates at a rate of
1 m s–2. What force does the locomotive exert?
3 A 60 kg woman involved in a car accident is accelerated by her seatbelt from
14 m s–1 to rest in 0.15 s.
a What is the average horizontal force acting on her?
b How does this force compare with her weight?

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Inertia, mass and weight

Newton’s first law of motion is useful in considering what we mean by the

term force – but it can do more too.

The tendency of an object to stay in its state of rest or uniform motion is

called its inertia. Inertia is something that we all experience in our everyday
lives.

• A large, massive object like a car is harder to get moving than a

relatively small, light one like a bicycle.

• Without the help of a seatbelt, it can be hard for someone sitting in a

moving car to stop moving when the driver of the car applies the brakes
sharply.

Both of these are examples of inertia.

An object’s inertia depends only on its mass. The definition of mass is very
difficult, and you will probably have met the idea that ‘mass is a measure
of the amount of matter in a body’. While this statement is not false, it is
not the whole truth either. The most satisfactory definition of mass uses the
idea of inertia. So if two objects A and B have the same acceleration, but
the resultant force on object A is 2F while that on object B is F, then object
A must have twice the mass of object B.

Mass has only size, with no direction; it is a scalar quantity.

fig. 1.2.12 Newton’s first law in action. It is important to know about changes in body mass
happening to astronauts during long periods in orbit. Obviously bathroom scales are useless in this
situation. This device uses the inertia of the astronaut’s body to affect the way in which oscillations
happen – the oscillations are then timed and used to calculate the mass of the astronaut.

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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

We often use the term weight in everyday life Measuring mass and weight
– sometimes we mean mass, rather than weight, at other
times we really do mean weight. An object’s weight
is a force acting on it. Following Galileo’s work, in
Book III of the Principia Newton set out his theory on
how masses attract one another in a process termed
gravitation. Newton argued that it was this attractive
force that we call weight. Our modern interpretation of
this theory says that all masses have a gravitational
field around them. A field is a model which physicists
use to explain ‘action at a distance’ – the way in which
two objects not in contact exert a force on each other.
Using this model, a mass is said to have a gravitational
field around it which causes the mass to attract another
mass which is close to it. The size of the field around
a particular mass depends on the size of the mass and
whereabouts in the field you are.

If another mass is brought into this field, it experiences

a force which pulls it towards the first mass. Weight
is thus the force which is caused by gravitation – the
process which occurs when one mass is brought up
to another mass. The size of this force varies with the
strength of the gravitational field – and as we shall see
later, this varies with the position of the mass in the
field. So while mass is constant no matter where it is
measured, weight varies according to the strength of
the gravitational field an object is in. Because weight
is a force, it has both magnitude and direction – it is a
vector quantity.

Gravitational field strength g and fig. 1.2.13 You might think that both these objects are being weighed.
In one case you would be wrong.
weight The digital balance in fig. 1.2.13 relies on a piece of
Because the weight of an object varies according to the conducting material being compressed or deformed
strength of the gravitational field it is in, this enables us by a force which changes its shape and hence its
to define the strength of a gravitational field. electrical resistance. The reading given therefore
depends on the force an object exerts on the pan
Gravitational field strength g at a point in a
of the balance, and will be different on the Earth
gravitational field is defined as the force per unit mass
from the reading on the Moon – in other words, it
acting at that point. In mathematical terms:
measures the object’s weight.
F
g= The beam balance compares the force exerted by the
m
object on one side of the beam with the force exerted
where F is the force acting on the object with mass m. by an object of known mass on the other side of
Gravitational field strength has SI units of N kg–1, and the beam. This comparison does not depend on the
is a vector quantity. The weight of an object may be strength of the gravitational field that the balance is in,
calculated from this relationship, giving an expression and the balance will give the same reading whether it
that you will certainly have used before: is used on Earth or on the Moon – so this instrument
W = mg measures the object’s mass.

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HSW Measuring g

start switch solenoid

This is one way of measuring g, by analysing the free fall of
an object. The iron ball is released by operating the switch,
which also starts the timer. The time taken for the ball to
fall the vertical distance s is measured as it passes through
electronic iron ball the timing gate. Since:
timer
s = ut + ½ at2 and u = 0
s
we can write:
s = ½ gt2
This equation can be used to calculate g directly from
timing gate one measurement of the falling ball. However, it is better
fig. 1.2.14 Apparatus for measuring g by free fall. to take several readings of the time to fall, take the most
consistent ones, average these and then use the average to
calculate g, since this should lead to a more reliable result
(fig 1.2.15).
Even better is to notice that s ∝ t2. If we vary s, and plot
the values of t2 we obtain against s, the slope of the graph
will be ½ g:
s = ½ gt2
Compare this with y = mx + c (the equation for a straight
line graph). The graph will be a straight line through the
origin with a gradient equal to ½ g.
fig. 1.2.15 Free fall results

Questions

Assume g = 9.81 m s–2.

1 A person standing on a bus is thrown towards the rear of the bus as it starts
to move forwards, and to the front as it slows down. Why?
2 A person standing on the side of a ship drops a coin and sees it splash into
the water 2 s later. How far above the water is the person standing?
3 An astronaut on the Moon has a weight of 128 N and a mass of 80 kg. What
is the gravitational field strength on the Moon?
4 In 2002 the Canary Wharf tower in London was scaled by French urban
climber, Alain Robert, using no safety devices of any kind. The top of the
tower is 235 m above street level. If Robert had dropped an apple as he
reached the top of the tower:
a how long would it have taken the apple to fall to street level, assuming
that air resistance is neglected?
b assuming that he could shout loudly enough, would it be any use if
Robert had shouted to warn people below? (Speed of sound in air =
340 m s–1.)

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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

Newton’s third law of motion

Forces come in pairs In the situation shown in fig. 1.2.16, only the forces FTP
and FPT (representing the force of the trolley on the person
Our everyday experience tells us that forces and the force of the person on the trolley, respectively) are
come in pairs. Push a laden supermarket trolley a third law pair. The ‘missing force’ is the other member
and you can feel it pushing backwards against of the pair to which FGP (the force of the ground on the
you. Lift a heavy bag and you can feel it pulling person) belongs. This would be shown on a free-body
down on you. diagram for the Earth, as in fig. 1.2.17 – and would be
Newton realised this, and stated it in his third represented by FPG using this terminology.
law of motion. This is probably the most widely
known and quoted of his laws – and it is also the
most widely misunderstood! Nowadays, the law is
stated as:
FEP FPG
If body A exerts a force on body B, then FGP
body B exerts a force of the same size on
FPE
body A, but in the opposite direction.

It is vital to realise that these third law pairs of

forces act on different bodies, so that a free-body
diagram will only ever contain one of a given pair.

(a)
fig. 1.2.17 These diagrams show the vertical forces acting on someone standing
still on the Earth.

It is tempting to assume that the push of the ground upwards

on our feet is the other member of the third law pair involving
the pull of the Earth downwards on us – but the free-body
diagrams show that this is not so. Notice that the two third
law pairs in this case are different types of force pairs. One
(b)
is a gravitational pair, the other is a pair caused by contact
between two surfaces. If you jump in the air, the contact pair
cease to exist while you are airborne – but the gravitational
FTP
pair continue to exist, to bring you (literally) back to Earth.
Third law pairs of forces are always of the same type
– gravitational, electrostatic, contact, etc.
FGP

(c)

Questions

FPT
1 A car is being towed by means of a rope connected to
another car. Draw free-body diagrams showing the
horizontal forces acting on:
a the car being towed
fig. 1.2.16 Think about the forces acting as you do the weekly
shopping. Diagram b shows the free-body diagram for you as b the car doing the towing
you start the trolley moving, while diagram c shows the free- c the rope.
body diagram for the trolley. Only those forces which act in a
horizontal direction have been shown.

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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

Statics

So far we have looked at motion and the way in which Work it out!
forces cause it. There are many situations where motion
and forces are connected in another way too – that is, In the example above, it is not too difficult to work out
where forces cancel each other out and the object on the resultant force, because the two forces acting are at
which they act is stationary or, more correctly, is in right angles to each other and are simple numbers to use.
equilibrium. This situation is dealt with in a branch of We can find out the size and direction of the resultant
physics sometimes referred to as statics – the study of force by using a scale drawing. A scale drawing with 1 N
bodies which are not moving. = 0.5 cm shows that the length of the line representing the
resultant force is 2.5 cm, giving a resultant force of 5 N.
Statics is obviously important to civil engineers designing The angle θ can be measured as 37˚.
a structure (for example, a large bridge), but surprisingly,
it is also important to aeronautical engineers ensuring the
stability of a new design of aircraft in flight. In both cases 3N
there needs to be a good understanding of the forces θ
acting in order to ensure the strength and stability of the 4N
object being designed. fig. 1.2.19 Scale drawing to find the resultant of two forces.

Alternatively, we can use trigonometry. Pythagoras’

Adding forces theorem relates the length of the hypotenuse to the length
Since force is a vector quantity, when we add forces together of the other two sides in a right-angled triangles. In this
we must be careful to take into account both their case it tells us that:
magnitude and their direction. To do this easily we draw (resultant force)2 =
vector diagrams, like those used when dealing with velocities. (3)2 + (4)2 = 92 + 162 = 25 N2

When adding two forces together the parallelogram so that:

rule is used, as the vectors act at the same point – like the resultant force = √(252) = 5 N
example of adding two velocities in chapter 1.1. In this
case we use a parallelogram of forces. Fig. 1.2.18 shows To find out the angle we can use the fact that:
a ball which has two forces acting on it at right angles tan = 3/4 (from the property of the right-angled
to each other (the forces are not balanced, so the ball is triangle)
accelerating). so:
= tan–1 (0.75) = 37˚

Although it is not always as easy as this, the principle of

3N adding two forces (or any other vector quantity) is always
5N the same:
• draw the two forces acting at the same point

4N • construct the parallelogram

fig. 1.2.18 Example of a parallelogram of forces. • draw in the diagonal from the point at which the
forces act to the opposite corner of the parallelogram
The sum of the 4 N force acting horizontally and the 3 N
force acting vertically is the resultant force acting on the • measure or calculate the size and direction of the
ball – in this case 5 N at an angle of 37˚ to the horizontal. resultant.
You can find the resultant force by a carefully constructed
scale drawing, from which the size of the resultant and its
direction can be measured, or you can use trigonometry.

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Fbunting – this force pulls the Frope (horizontal) – this component pulls
Where two forces act in the same direction, the pole horizontally to the left the pole horizontally to the right
parallelogram of forces ‘collapses’ to become a straight
line, and the resultant force is simply the size of the two
forces added together, acting in the same direction as it
was in the case of the two velocities acting in the same
direction on page 19. Fig. 1.2.20 shows this happening.
Frope (vertical) – this
component pulls the pole
vertically downwards

fig. 1.2.22 The force is resolved into its components by drawing a

parallelogram of forces in which the angles between the sides are all
90˚ – in other words, a rectangle.

By resolving the forces in this way it becomes clear

that the tension in the bunting and the rope has two
fig. 1.2.20 The resultant of two forces acting in the same direction is effects:
simply the sum of the forces. 1 pulling the pole sideways
2 pulling the pole downwards.
Resolving forces
The example of the bunting provides us with a good
There are times when it is necessary to examine the opportunity to gain an understanding of the idea of
way in which a force acts on something in a particular static equilibrium. Look again at fig. 1.2.21 and
direction or pair of directions. fig. 1.2.22. As the pole is at rest, Newton’s first law
Side view force of bunting Top view force of bunting of motion tells us that the forces acting on it must be
on pole on pole zero, that is:
ΣF = 0
force of bracing force of
rope on pole bracing If this were not the case, for example if one of the ropes
30° rope on attached to the pole were to snap, then the pole would
pole
be pulled to one side and would fall over. This means
that Fbunting = –Frope (horizontal) and that Frope (vertical)
must also be balanced by an equal and opposite force
– supplied by the ground pushing upwards on the base
of the pole.

This simple example illustrates the important physical

fig. 1.2.21 Forces acting on a pole. idea of equilibrium, when an object has balanced
forces acting on it (the word equilibrium comes from
Fig. 1.2.21 shows a pole with a line of bunting attached
two Latin words meaning ‘even balance’) and is in a
to it, together with a bracing rope. For simplicity we shall
state of rest as a result.
assume that the bunting is horizontal, even though this
is actually impossible. The bunting and the rope pull on
the pole as a result of being pulled tight. The bunting Question
pulls the pole horizontally to the left, while the bracing
rope pulls it downwards and to the right. This becomes 1 If the bunting support rope from fig 1.2.21 is at
obvious if we resolve the forces into their components 30° to the vertical and its tension force is 400 N,
acting at right angles to each other. In this case we shall what is vertical component of the tension, and
use components which act horizontally and vertically what is the horizontal pull from the bunting?
(fig. 1.2.22).

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Projectiles

Acceleration in the Earth’s gravitational field

A projectile is an object which is projected – that is to say a force acts on it to
start it moving and it is then subjected to a constant force while it moves. In most
cases this will mean that the object is in free fall in the Earth’s gravitational field.

An object which is dropped from rest a small distance above the surface of
the Earth accelerates vertically downwards under the influence of its weight.
Theoretically the acceleration of an object in free fall is independent of its mass,
although this is strictly true only in a vacuum – air resistance affects the motion
of objects unequally, according to their cross-sectional area.

At the surface of the Earth, the rate at which an object accelerates under the
influence of the Earth’s gravitational field is usually known as the ‘acceleration
due to gravity’. The Earth’s gravitational field strength and the acceleration due
to gravity are usually both represented by the symbol g, although the units of the
two constants are different – N kg–1 and m s–2, respectively.
fig. 1.2.23 Galileo’s famous experiment
in which he dropped two unequal masses g gets smaller
from the top of the leaning tower of as you go up.
Pisa. The independence of an object’s
mass and its acceleration in free fall
was first deduced by Simon Stevinus in
1586, although this observation is usually
attributed to Galileo. However, Galileo
was the first to clearly state the need for
The radius of the Earth is
the objects in question to be falling in a
greater at the equator,
vacuum for this to be true rather than an and g is smaller here.
Above dense mineral
approximation. deposits g is greater
(this fact is sometimes
used by geologists
prospecting for minerals).
fig. 1.2.24 g is generally taken to be about 9.81 m s–2, although it varies at
different places on the Earth’s surface.

Vertical projection
Initial velocity of
ball = 20 m s–1 What can the equations of motion (page 16) tell us about the motion of the
vertically upwards.
ball in fig. 1.2.25? Taking g to be 9.81 m s–2 and using the information we
have been given, we can write:
u = 20 m s–1
v = 0 m s–1 (taking the ball’s velocity as zero at the top of its trajectory)
a = –9.81 m s–2 t=? s=?
Using equation of motion 4:
v2 = u2 + 2as
Substitute values:
(0)2 = (20)2 + 2 × –9.81 × s
so:
fig. 1.2.25 Vertical projection. 0 = 400 – 2 × 9.81 × s

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and: The key variable that links the vertical and

400 horizontal motion of the ball as it travels
s=
2 × 9.81 through the air is the time, which is normally
= 20.4 m measured from the instant of launching
The ball rises to a height of 20.4 m. the object. If we represent the horizontal
displacement by the symbol s, and the vertical
We can use equation 1 in the same way:
displacement by the symbol h, the position of
v = u + at
the ball can be plotted as the coordinates (s, h)
Substitute values: on a graph. The equations of motion enable
0 = 20 + –9.81 × t us to express s and h in terms of the other
so: variables u and α.
20
t= Using equation 2:
9.81
= 2.04 s Horizontal motion:
s = (u cos α)t + ½at2
The ball takes 2.04 s to rise to its maximum height.
or:
Similar use of equation 2 and equation 1 should enable you s = ut cos α as a = 0
to show that: Vertical motion:
1 the ball takes 2.04 s to return to its initial height from the h = (u sin α)t – ½gt2 (g is in the opposite
top of its trajectory direction to h and u)
2 its final velocity before being caught again is –20 m s–1. or:
h = ut sin α – ½gt2
Projection at an angle The trajectory of a projectile thrown at an angle
in this way is a parabola, as shown in fig. 1.2.28.
Now consider an object projected at an angle rather than
vertically upwards, as shown in fig. 1.2.26.

The velocity of the ball can be resolved into a horizontal s = ut cos α

Vertical displacement h

and a vertical component. The force diagram shows the

force acting on the ball. This acts only in a vertical direction, (s, h)
so the ball will accelerate in a vertical direction only. As a
result, the horizontal motion of the ball is not subject to any h = ut sin α – –12 gt2

acceleration, and so the horizontal component of the ball’s

velocity is constant. In this example the horizontal velocity
is u cos α, where α is the angle with the horizontal at which
the ball is projected. The vertical component of the ball’s Horizontal displacement s
velocity is subject to an acceleration of –g. fig. 1.2.27 Trajectory of a projectile thrown at an angle.

Resolving the velocity

Force diagram
u sin α u

α
u cos α

fig. 1.2.26 In each time interval the ball travels a constant horizontal distance but a varying vertical distance.

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Projection horizontally Monkey and hunter demonstration

u

‘gun’ ‘monkey’

fig. 1.2.29 The ‘monkey and hunter’. If the monkey drops from the branch at
exactly the same time as a bullet is fired horizontally at it, the bullet will hit
the monkey. This is because both monkey and bullet have the same downward
acceleration.

You can set up a demonstration of the monkey and hunter thought

experiment using a catapult which fires a ball bearing horizontally
through a tin foil contact. Breaking the foil breaks a circuit, releasing
a target which was held up electromagnetically. The ‘bullet’ should
hit the ‘monkey’. If you video record this from the side and play the
footage back frame by frame, you can observe that the vertically
Trajectory Force diagram falling monkey drops at exactly the same rate as the bullet.
h

0 s
The range of a projectile
The equations which govern the vertical and horizontal displacements
of a projectile can be combined to show how the angle of projection of
W
a projectile affects its flight.
fig. 1.2.28 The trajectory and force diagram for a h = ut sinα – ½ gt2
projectile thrown horizontally.
The projectile will hit the ground again at time t, when h = 0:
Fig. 1.2.28 shows a projectile thrown 0 = ut sinα – ½ gt2 or ut sinα – ½ gt2
horizontally. In this case α = 0˚, so u sin α = So: 2u sinα
t=
0. This means that the equation for vertical g
displacement: Since:
h = ut sinα – ½ gt2 s = ut cosα
becomes: the projectile will have a horizontal displacement or range, R, when it
h = – ½ gt2 hits the ground once more, given by:
whilst the horizontal displacement is still: 2u sinα
s = ut cosα ut R=u× × cosα
g
The vertical motion and the horizontal u2 × 2 sin a cosα
=
motion can be considered quite separately. g
This leads to the surprising (but u2 sin 2α (since sin 2α = 2 sinα cosα)
nevertheless true) conclusion that the time =
g
of flight (the time taken for a dropped
For a given initial velocity, the maximum range will be when sin 2α has
object to reach the ground) of an object is
its maximum value. This is when 2α = 90°, that is, when α = 45°.
the same whether it is dropped or projected
horizontally – in both cases the initial
vertical component of velocity is zero.

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Worked example

A darts player throws a dart at the dartboard with an initial The vertical component of the dart’s initial velocity is
speed of 10 m s–1. The distance from the player’s hand to 10 × sinα. This component is subject to a downward (and
the board at the moment of releasing the dart is 2.0 m, and hence negative) acceleration of 9.81 m s–2. The dart finishes
the dart strikes the bull’s eye, which is at the same height as at the same height as it started (that is, zero vertical
the player’s hand as the dart leaves it. At what angle to the displacement) and so:
horizontal must the dart be thrown? (Take g as 9.81 m s–2.) s = ut + ½ at2
0 = (10 × sinα) × t + ½ × –9.81 × t2

2.0 m That is:

10 × sinα = ½ × 9.81 × t
But we know that:
2.0
t=
10 × cosα
Resolving the velocity
u
so
2.0
10 × sinα = ½ × 9.81 ×
u sin α

10 × cosα

α
Rearranging this, we get:
u cos α sinα cosα = 0.0981
fig. 1.2.31 Dart velocity Therefore:
The horizontal component of the dart’s initial velocity is 2 sinα cosα = 2 × 0.0981
10 m s–1 × cosα. This velocity is constant throughout the sin 2α = 0.1962
flight of the dart, so: 2α = 11.3° and α = 5.66°
2.0 = (10 × cosα) × t
So the dart must be thrown at an angle of just under 6° to
and: the horizontal.
2.0
t=
10 × cosα

Questions

1 A ball is thrown from ground level with a velocity of 3 One record suggests that the maximum horizontal
15 m s–1 at an angle of 30° to the horizontal. distance an arrow has been shot on level ground is
Calculate: 889 m. Assuming that the arrow was shot at an angle
a its time of flight (the time between the point at of 45°, at what speed was it launched?
which it leaves the thrower’s hand and when it hits 4 An aeroplane carrying out a parcel drop releases a
the ground) assuming that the ground is level parcel while travelling at a steady speed of 90 m s–1 at
b its range an altitude of 200 m. Calculate:

c its maximum height. a the time between the parcel leaving the aeroplane
and it striking the ground
2 At Acapulco, divers jump from a cliff 36 m high into
the sea. At the base of the cliff there is a ledge which b the horizontal distance travelled by the parcel in
sticks out a distance of 6.4 m. What must be a diver’s this time
minimum horizontal velocity in order to miss this c the speed at which the parcel strikes the ground.
ledge and enter the sea safely?

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1.3 Energy and power

The concept of energy

So far we have examined the laws of motion described by Newton, and used
these ideas together with those which began their development with Galileo to
describe and explain the motion of objects.

The laws and rules which come from these sources are powerful tools to
use in the investigation of the interactions between objects. No description
of the tools that physicists use in this way would be complete without an
introduction to one of the most powerful ideas that physicists have devised
– the concept of energy.

The law of conservation of energy

We commonly think of energy as coming in a number of forms, such as
chemical, electrical, kinetic and so on. Investigations of energy and its forms
lead us to conclude that although energy may appear in different forms
when a change occurs (for example, when a battery – containing stored
chemical energy – causes an electric current – electrical energy – to flow
through a wire, lighting a light bulb – producing heat energy and light
energy), the total amount of energy remains constant. This rule has the
status of a law in physics, and is called the law of conservation of energy.
This is often expressed as:

Energy cannot be created or destroyed.

thermal
energy

light
energy

electrical
energy

sound
energy
kinetic energy
(moving fan)

fig. 1.3.1 The total amount of energy in a system remains constant.

The law of conservation of energy, together with the idea of energy existing
in different forms, make up an area of physics that is the most powerful and
the most misunderstood of all. Essentially, the concept of energy helps us to
understand and explain the way the Universe behaves – just like any other
law or theory of physics.

1
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HSW Laws and theories

At its simplest, a law of physics can be thought of as a published in a scientific journal so that other scientists
summary of observations that physicists have made. A law is can read about it and decide whether it is true or not
of course built on a limited number of observations, so that – a process called peer-review. Hypotheses that survive
it is necessary for physicists to assume that it is possible to the process of peer-review become accepted scientific
predict the behaviour of the Universe in the future based on knowledge – that is, they become theories.
observations made in the past. This is an assumption common It is important not to confuse use of the term ‘theory’
to the whole of science, and the success of science as an area in a scientific context with its use in everyday life,
of study certainly seems to justify it. where it is often used to mean ‘guess’. (For example,
A law supplies us with information about how the physical I may have a ‘theory’ about why a particular football
world may be expected to behave based on past experience, team is unlikely to win any competitions next year.)
but it does not tell us why the physical world behaves in this A theory in science is not a guess, but a very well-
way. For example, the ‘energy law’ we have just met says that established framework that explains many observations
we cannot create or destroy energy, but does not explain and experimental results. A good theory will produce
very much about what energy actually is or why it cannot be new hypotheses that can be tested, and so on.
created or destroyed.
It is the job of theories in science to tell us about the
behaviour of things in rather more depth. Strangely, scientists
and philosophers find it very hard to agree on the way in which
scientific theories come about, although most would accept
that they are best described as being ‘invented’ (that is, made
up by people) rather than simply ‘discovered’.
One way in which theories are produced, based on the ideas
of the philosopher Sir Karl Popper, runs as follows. A scientist
wishing to explain something about the behaviour of the
world will formulate a tentative idea, called at this stage
a hypothesis. This hypothesis must be based on existing
scientific knowledge, but as long as it does not contradict this
knowledge, it can be as bold and imaginative as the scientist
wishes. The scientist then tests the hypothesis by carrying fig. 1.3.2 Superstring theory suggests that we live in a
out a number of experiments. If it survives this testing, an Universe in which there are ten dimensions, six of which are
‘coiled up’ on each other. This is a very bold and imaginative
account of the hypothesis and the tests it has survived is then theory, but it is based on far more than simple guesswork.

Questions

1 We have seen that when a driving force is removed, a moving object’s drag
will slow it down to a stop. This means it loses all its kinetic energy. Explain
how this disappearance of energy can be in keeping with the law of
conservation of energy.
2 One way of storing surplus electrical energy from a power station is to use it
to raise water from a lower reservoir to a higher one. This water can then be
released to generate electricity again later. (This system is referred to as
‘pumped storage’.) Explain how this system might be limited by the law of
conservation of energy.

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Energy transformations

The ideas behind the concept of energy represent A scientific understanding of the situation (that is, one
a model for understanding the way the world (and that fits with physicists’ current understanding of the
the whole Universe) behaves. We talk about chemical Universe) is that once the weight has been raised the
energy being transferred to kinetic energy by a petrol person’s muscles contain less of the chemicals that can
engine. This way of talking is a quick way of saying be used to do something useful (like raise a weight).
that the petrol – because of the way the bonds in its The raised weight, however, now has something which
molecules are arranged – may be burned in an engine will let it do more than it could before. Energy is simply
to produce movement, and that in doing this there is a the ‘accounting system’ which we use to keep track of a
relationship between the amount of petrol used and the system’s ability to do something useful – rather like we
movement produced. We do not mean that the engine use money to keep track of our ability to buy things.
literally, as if by magic, takes something out of the
An alternative explanation says that chemical
petrol and uses it to turn the wheels.
potential energy in the person’s muscles has been
used to lift the weight and that, as a result, the
chemical energy has been transformed into
gravitational potential energy stored in the raised
weight. This implies that something has gone from the
person’s muscles into the weight and has changed in
some way – ‘chemical energy has been transformed into
potential energy’. Whilst this might seem to be a
satisfactory explanation, it is not, because of the idea of
energy transformation that it uses – a much better term
to use is energy transfer. Fig. 1.3.4 shows how energy
transfers can be compared to transferring money.

fig. 1.3.3 Winding a grandfather clock.

Consider the example of winding a grandfather clock

shown in fig. 1.3.3. The clock is driven by a falling
fig. 1.3.4 When you pay a cheque into the bank you increase your ability
weight. This weight can be regarded as a source of to buy things by transferring money into your account! When you pay
energy, in just the same way as the spring in an old- for something using your debit card later, you decrease it again – but no
fashioned watch or the battery in a modern digital actual money changes hands in the transfer. In the same way, energy may
be transferred. The energy in a system can be changed without anything
watch. Where does this energy come from in the case actually flowing into or out of it. This is why it is better to talk about
of the grandfather clock? energy being transferred rather than to say that it is transformed.

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Transferring energy – heating and This simple relationship leads to the definition of the
unit of energy, in the same way as Newton’s second
working law of motion led to the definition of the unit of force.
Transferring energy is compared to transferring money In this case, the SI unit of energy, the joule (J), is
in fig. 1.3.4. There are many ways of transferring money defined as being the energy transferred when a force
(cash, cheque, credit card, postal order, direct debit …), of 1 newton is displaced a distance of 1 metre, that is,
but far fewer ways of transferring energy. In this section 1 J = 1 N m.
of the book we are concerned only with two of these Although in calculating work we are multiplying two
– the ways which physicists call heating and working. vectors together (force and displacement), the result is
The difference between heating and working lies a scalar. Energy has magnitude only.
in the way that energy is transferred. If we heat an If the force and the displacement are in different
object, we transfer energy to it using a temperature directions, the force must be resolved in order to
difference – perhaps by means of a flame. If we wish calculate the work done. Fig. 1.3.6 shows how this is
to transfer energy without making use of a temperature done. In this figure the force is resolved so that one
difference, we do it by doing work – for example, by component (F cosθ) lies in the same direction as the
lifting an object off the floor onto a table. The terms displacement. This is the component of the force that
‘heat’ and ‘work’ therefore describe energy which has is involved in transferring energy. The component of
been transferred in a particular way – by means of a the force perpendicular to the displacement does no
temperature gradient or by means of moving a force. work, as it does not move in the direction in which it
is acting.
F

F
F sin

F cos
fig. 1.3.6 Resolving a force to calculate work done. In this case, work
done = F cos × s.

fig. 1.3.5 In many cases it is much easier to say ‘heat energy’ than
Questions
‘energy transferred by means of a temperature difference’ or ‘work
done’ rather that ‘energy transferred by means of moving a force’.
1 Give an example of a transfer of energy which

Work and the units of energy could be classified as:

a heating b working.
As we have just seen, when energy is transferred it 2 A delivery driver lifts a carton with a mass of
may be transferred by doing work, for example when 6.5 kg onto the back of the lorry, a height of 1.5 m
you push a supermarket trolley across a car park. The from the ground. How much work is done in this
amount of work done is calculated simply as: energy transfer?
work done = force × distance moved in direction
of force

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Energy and efficiency

Kinetic and potential energy so

v2
We are used to saying that an object has gravitational Δh =
2a
potential energy when it is raised through a distance
Now:
Δh. In this case we write:
kinetic energy gained = work done on falling weight
ΔEgrav = m × g × Δh
= F × Δh
where m is the object’s mass and g is the gravitational v2
=F×
field strength of the Earth. (Strictly, mgΔh is the change 2a
in something’s potential energy.) Since F = ma, we have:
In the same way, we talk about a moving object v2
kinetic energy gained = ma ×
possessing kinetic energy, and write the amount of 2a
this energy as: = ½ mv2
Ek = ½ mv2

where m is the object’s mass and v its velocity. Pendulum energy exchange

The idea of work as a means of transferring energy by Galileo’s pendulum experiment in which he determined
moving a force lies behind both of these expressions that the pendulum would always return to the same
for the energy an object has in a particular situation. height illustrates the conservation of gravitational and
The grandfather clock example (see fig. 1.3.3 on page potential energy nicely.
40) can show us this.
simple pendulum

When the weight in the clock is raised, a force equal

and opposite to the gravitational force of attraction on
the weight is applied to it. Therefore, the work done
on it (‘the energy transferred by means of moving a
force’) is equal to the weight W of the weight
multiplied by the distance it is raised. metre rule

work done = W × Δh
balance
= mgΔh
light gate
= gravitational potential energy stored in
weight (ΔEgrav)

This potential energy may be released slowly as the laptop

weight does work on the clock mechanism (‘transfers data logger

energy to the mechanism by means of a moving fig. 1.3.7 You can investigate energy changes for a swinging
force’), driving the hands round. pendulum in a school laboratory.

If the wire supporting the weight breaks, the weight will By careful measurement of the height a pendulum
fall. Instead of doing work on the clock mechanism, rises and falls through its swing, we can determine
the weight now does work on itself (because the weight the gravitational potential energy it loses and gains
is not connected to anything, the energy transferred throughout one oscillation. This can then be compared
by the moving force has only one place to go – it with the kinetic energy it has as it passes through
stays with the weight), and its potential energy will be the lowest point. This experiment will show that the
transferred to kinetic energy. In this case: energy is constantly being transferred from kinetic to
v2 = u2 + 2as = 2aΔh (as the weight falls from rest, gravitational potential and back again.
u = 0, and it falls a distance Δh)

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Efficiency Since efficiency is calculated by dividing one quantity

in joules by another also in joules, it has no units – it
The idea of efficiency is a useful one when we are is simply a ratio. It may, of course, be expressed as a
considering energy transfers. With some thought it comes percentage by multiplying the ratio by 100%.
as little surprise to find that it is often impossible to take
all the energy in an energy store (for example a litre of
petrol) and transfer it so that it does something useful.
Worked examples
Fig. 1.3.8 shows the energy transfers in this situation.
A central heating boiler supplies 250 kJ of energy to
... is converted into about hot water flowing through the boiler. In order to supply
65 J of thermal energy...
this energy to the water, the gas burned in the boiler
must produce 400 kJ of energy. What is the efficiency
100 J of energy in the petrol
and in oxygen from the air ...
of the boiler?
useful energy output
efficiency = × 100%
energy input
250 × 103
= × 100%
400 × 103
... and about 35 J = 62.5%
of kinetic energy.
fig. 1.3.8 Energy transfer in a car.

Clearly this process is not 100% efficient, since in

Questions
burning petrol in a car engine we want to end up with
as much kinetic energy as possible – we certainly do 1 Legend has it that Galileo was only 17 years old
not want thermal energy. The efficiency of this when he started thinking about pendulum
process can be calculated as: movements, whilst watching a lamp hanging on a
useful energy got out (the kinetic energy) long cable in the cathedral in Pisa, Italy. If the lamp
efficiency =
energy put in had a mass of 1.2 kg and a draught imparted 10 J
35 of kinetic energy to it:
= × 100%
100 aa) how fast would the lamp move initially?
initially
= 35%
b) how high could the lamp rise in a swing?
b
If we think of a machine or a process as a box which 2 A cricketer hits a ball straight up in the air. It
has energy going into it and energy coming out of it, leaves the bat at 16.8 m s–1 and has a mass of
as in fig. 1.3.9, then we define efficiency in the 160 g.
way we have just seen, that is:
aa) What is the kinetic energy of the ball as it
useful energy output leaves the bat?
efficiency = × 100%
energy input
b) Assuming air resistance is negligible, what is
b
the maximum height the ball reaches above
the point it left the bat?
Ein E(useful)out
cc) If, in reality, flying up in the air and back down
again is a process with an efficiency of 88%,
E(useful)out
then how fast will the ball be travelling when it
efficiency =
E(unwanted)out Ein returns to the start point?
fig. 1.3.9 Energy transfer by a machine

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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

Power

In physics, the definition of power relates energy transferred

to the time taken to do it. So:
energy transferred
power =
time taken
In symbols:
E
P =
t

Power may be measured in joules per second (J s–1) in the

SI system. The unit J s–1 is also known as the watt (W).

Since we often refer to the power developed when work is

done, power may also be defined as:
work done
power =
time taken

If a force is being moved at a steady rate, provided we know

the velocity at which the force is moving and the size of the
force, we can calculate the power:
work done = force × distance moved in direction of force
and work done
power =
time taken
so distance moved in direction of force
power = force ×
time taken
fig. 1.3.10 Which car has more power? The idea of power is = force × velocity at which force is moving
common in everyday life. Physicists use the word ‘power’ to
mean much the same thing as we understand when comparing In symbols:
the performance of cars. P = Fv

Worked examples

Example 1 This work was done in a time of 50 s, so:

An athlete of mass 75 kg runs up a steep slope, rising a 22 100
power developed =
vertical distance of 30 m in 50 s. Neglecting the effect of 50
any drag forces acting on the athlete, what power must = 442 W
his leg muscles develop in order to do this? (Assume
Example 2
g = 9.81 N kg–1.)
A car towing a caravan travels along at a steady speed of
The athlete’s muscles must supply a force to lift the athlete
20 m s–1. If the force exerted by the engine is 2 kN, what is
through a vertical distance of 30 m. Assuming that this is
the power output of the engine?
done at a steady rate, then the force exerted will be equal
in size to the athlete’s weight. power = force × velocity
= 2000 × 20
So:
= 40 000 W
work done by athlete = weight × vertical distance raised
= 75 × 9.81 × 30 The power output of the engine is 40 kW.

= 22 100 J (3 s.f.)

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Horsepower
The power output of car engines is often expressed in horsepower – a method
of measuring the rate of doing work dating from before the industrial revolution.
1 HP ≈ 750 W, so the power output of the car engine in Example 2 above is about
53 HP. In Example 1, what is the power output of the athlete’s leg muscles in HP?

Investigating power and efficiency

You could investigate your own power by forcemeter light gates data logger
running up a hill of known height like the
athlete in our example. A bit less tiring would be
a lab investigation in which a brick is pulled up a
ramp (fig. 1.3.11).
laptop
By pulling the brick up at a constant velocity, metre rule
and using a constant force, you could calculate card

the power from P = Fv. If you also measured stopclock brick

the time taken and the height the brick rises
vertically, the efficiency of the process could be
calculated. fig. 1.3.11 Experimental setup for investigating power and efficiency.

Relating power and efficiency

We saw previously that:
useful energy output
efficiency = × 100%
energy input

This means that in a given time, comparing the energy output with the energy
input would be the same as comparing the power output with the power input.
Thus:
(useful energy output/time)
efficiency = × 100%
(energy input/time)

Note that mathematically these two equations are the same – dividing the first
equation by time/time (which is the same as dividing by one) gives us the second
equation.
As E/t = P:
useful energy output/time
efficiency = × 100%
power input

Questions

1 What is the power of a kettle which transfers 264 kJ of energy in two minutes?
2 What is the power of a luxury motorboat which is moving at a constant
22 m s–1 if the total drag forces on it are 123 kN?
3 A crane lifts a steel girder with a mass of 800 kg. The girder rises 21 metres
in 6 s. What is the power of the crane?

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HSW The mechanics of hockey

Hockey is the second most popular sport on Earth in terms

of numbers of people playing. It is a fast-moving, skilful sport
in which the ball may fly at 100 miles per hour. Here we will
consider how the mechanics covered in Unit 1 can apply to
events in hockey.

fig. 1.3.13 The goalkeeper has to react quickly to save the goal.

We know the start velocity and the distance, so this is a

straightforward question.
v= s so t = v
t s
t = 15
14
= 1.07 s
fig. 1.3.12 Great Britain vs. Mexico The protective padding that goalkeepers wear has
The shot at goal developed rapidly with improved materials technology.
It is now much lighter and yet provides better
If we want to calculate how fast a hockey ball would be
protection than ever before. If the goalkeeper reacts
moving after being hit hard at goal from rest, we need to think
quickly enough to get a leg pad in the way, how
about its acceleration through Newton’s second law. A standard
deeply will this shot squash into the foam padding
hockey ball has a mass of 0.14 kg. If the stick applies a force of
which is normally around 8 cm thick? The maximum
70 N for a twentieth of a second, we can work out the answer:
decelerating force the foam can provide to slow the ball
F is 1000 N.
F = ma so a =
m
To answer this we should consider the removal of all
70
= the ball’s kinetic energy as work being done.
0.14
Ek = ½mv2
= 500 m s–2
= ½ × 0.14 × 252
v = u + at (the ball is initially stationary,
so u = 0 m s–1, a = 500 m s–2, t = 0.05 s) = 43.8 J

= 0 + 500 × 0.05 W = FΔs

= 25 m s–1 Δs = ΔW
F
A goal only counts if the ball is hit from inside the shooting
circle. This means the ball must be no more than about 14 43.8
=
metres from the goal. Assuming zero drag forces, what would 1000
be the longest time the goalkeeper has to react to this shot? = 4.38 × 10–2 m

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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

So the pad depresses by just over 4 cm. The goalkeeper is As the angle of flight is
likely to feel this but it should not be painful. According to 45° from the ground, this
Newton’s third law, when the pad exerts a force of 1000 N means the overall initial
on the ball, the ball exerts a force of 1000 N on the pad. velocity can be found by vtotal
If the goalkeeper’s leg were not protected, this force could trigonometry:
cause a serious injury. In this case:
vh 45°
The aerial ball cos 45° =
vtotal vh = 12.5 m s–1
A modern development in hockey is the aerial ball, a long vh
pass in which a player flicks the ball high in the air in order vtotal = fig. 1.3.15 Finding the horizontal
cos 45° component of the velocity.
to avoid it being intercepted. If successful, the ball may fly
12.5
for four seconds and land 50 metres further downfield. To =
0.71
maximise the range, the player will attempt to send the
ball up at an angle of 45° to the pitch surface. = 17.6 m s–1

With this information, we can calculate many things about With a 45° initial flight angle, the vertical velocity starts
the flight of this long pass. What is the initial velocity the the same as the horizontal velocity: vV = 12.5 ms–1. If we
player gives the ball; and how high does the ball travel consider only the vertical motion, we can find the kinetic
vertically upwards? energy due to vV:
Ek = ½ mvv2
= ½ × 0.14 × 12.52
= 10.9 J
h
45°
All the kinetic energy due to the vertical velocity of the
ball is transferred into gravitational potential energy at the
range, s = 50 m highest point in its flight. Remember the horizontal velocity
remains constant throughout, so its contribution to the
fig. 1.3.14 Trajectory of the aerial ball. total kinetic energy is always present as kinetic energy and
can be ignored in this calculation.:
The horizontal velocity is easily found from the distance
ΔEgrav = mgΔh
and time:
ΔEgrav
s Δh =
vH = mg
t 10.9
=
50 0.14 × 9.81
= = 12.5 m s–1
4 = 7.96 m

Questions

1 A hockey player passes the ball at 15 m s–1 to a team 3 The study of mechanics in sport is a popular and often
mate who stops it completely in 0.1 s. What force does profitable new area of scientific study. Describe how a
the receiver’s stick have to apply to the ball? sports scientist could use ICT to collect data to study
2 A penalty stroke is flicked from a distance of 6.40 m the movement of players and equipment over time.
from the goal line. The striker scoops it so that the ball Explain why technological developments have made
leaves the ground at a 45° angle and a speed of 8 m s–1. the data collected more valid and reliable than with
How long does the goalkeeper have to make a save traditional methods of studying mechanics.
before the ball crosses the goal line?

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 UNIT
UNIT
1 Topic
1 Topic
1 Mechanics
1 Mechanics

Examzone: Topic 1 Mechanics

1 A man is pushing a shopping trolley at a speed of 30 m s–1 30 ms–1

1.10 m s–1 along a horizontal surface. There is a B A
constant frictional force opposing the motion. The
man stops suddenly, letting go of the trolley, which
d
rolls on for a distance of 1.96 m before coming
to rest. Show that the deceleration of the trolley is The driver of car A sees a slower vehicle move out in
approximately 0.3 m s–2. (3) front of him, and brakes hard until his speed has fallen to
22.0 m s–1. The driver of car B sees car A brake and, after
The total mass of the trolley and its contents is 28.0 kg.
a reaction time of 0.900 s, brakes with the same constant
Calculate the frictional force opposing its motion.
deceleration as A.
(2)

Calculate the power needed to push the trolley at a Velocity/m s–1

steady speed of 1.10 m s–1. (2) 30

The man catches up with the trolley. Calculate the 25

steady force he must now apply to it to accelerate it A B
from rest to 1.10 m s–1 in 0.900 s. (3) 20
(Total 10 marks)
15
2 A catapult fires an 80 g stone horizontally. The
graph shows how the force on the stone varies with
10
distance through which the stone is being accelerated
horizontally from rest.
5
Force/N
0
200 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time/s

The diagram above shows velocity–time graphs for car A

100
(solid line) and car B (broken line).

Find the deceleration of the cars whilst they are braking.

0 (3)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Distance/cm What does the area under a velocity–time graph represent?
(1)
Use the graph to estimate the work done on the stone
by the catapult. (4) Determine the shaded area. (2)

Calculate the speed with which the stone leaves the Suppose that, instead of only slowing down to 22.0 m s–1,
catapult. (2) the cars had to stop. Copy the graph above and add lines
to the grid above to show the velocity–time graphs in this
(Total 6 marks)
case. (Assume that the cars come to rest with the same
3 Two cars, A and B, are travelling along the outside lane constant deceleration as before.) (1)
of a motorway at a speed of 30.0 m s–1. They are a Explain why a collision is now more likely. (2)
distance d apart. (Total 9 marks)

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 UNIT 1 Topic 1 Mechanics

4 Explain how a body moving at constant speed can be accelerating. (3)

The Moon moves in a circular orbit around the Earth. The Earth provides
the force which causes the Moon to accelerate. In what direction does this
force act? (1)
There is a force which forms a Newton’s third law pair with this force on the
Moon.
On what body does this force act and in what direction? (2)
(Total 6 marks)

5 The diagram shows part of a roller coaster ride. In practice, friction and air
resistance will have a significant effect on the motion of the vehicle, but you
should ignore them throughout this question.

30.0 m C

12.0 m

A
The vehicle starts from rest at A and is hauled up to B by a motor. It takes
15.0 s to reach B, at which point its speed is negligible. Copy and complete
the box in the diagram below, which expresses the conservation of energy for
the journey from A to B. (1)

Useful work
done by motor

The mass of the vehicle and the passengers is 3400 kg. Calculate
(i) The useful work done by the motor.
(ii) The power output of the motor. (4)

At point B the motor is switched off and the vehicle moves under gravity for
the rest of the ride. Describe the overall energy conversion which occurs as it
travels from B to C. (1)

Calculate the speed of the vehicle at point C. (3)

On another occasion there are fewer passengers in the vehicle; hence its total
mass is less than before. Its speed is again negligible at B. State with a reason
how, if at all, you would expect the speed at C to differ from your previous
answer. (2)

(Total 11 marks)

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