3/30/2021 Topic 2: Mechanics – IB Physics

IB PHYSICS

Topic 2: Mechanics
See the guide for this topic.

2.1 – Motion

Distance and displacement

Distance Displacement

Scalar Vector

A scalar quantity which measures A vector quantity defined by the

how far two locations are apart length and direction of the line
from each other along a certain segment joining the initial and final
path. positions of an object.

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Speed and velocity

Speed Velocity

Scalar Vector

Rate of change of distance to time. Rate of change of displacement to

time.

Velocity is a measure dependent on the motion of the observer. The

relative velocity of A to B is equal to the vector subtraction of the velocity
of B from the velocity of A.

Acceleration

Acceleration

Vector

Rate of change of velocity

Acceleration due to gravity of any free-falling object is given by

g=9.81m/s^2. This value does not depend on the mass of the object.

Take note that acceleration is a vector and thus has a direction. If we

assume the upwards direction to be positive, the acceleration due to
gravity would have a negative value of g=-9.81m/s^2.

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Graphs describing motion

Displacement-time graph

The slope gradient indicates the velocity.

Straight lines imply constant velocity.

Velocity-time graph

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The slope gradient indicates the acceleration.

Straight slanted lines imply constant acceleration or deceleration.

The area under the lines indicates the change in displacement.

Acceleration-time graph

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Horizontal lines imply constant acceleration.

The area under the lines indicates the change in velocity.

Equations of motion for uniform

acceleration

s= u = initial v = final a= t = time

displacement velocity velocity acceleration taken

If acceleration is constant (uniform), the following equations can be used

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Projectile motion

An object is said to undergo projectile motion when it follows a curved

path due to the influence of gravity.

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If we assume air resistance to be negligible in a projectile motion:

The horizontal component of velocity is constant

The vertical component of velocity accelerates downwards at
9.81m/s^2
The projectile reaches its maximum height when its vertical velocity
is zero
The trajectory is symmetric

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The presence of air resistance changes the trajectory of the projectile by

the following

The maximum height of the projectile is lower

The range of the projectile is shorter
The trajectory is not symmetric

Fluid resistance and terminal speed

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Air resistance limits the maximum velocity an object could attain from
free-falling. For example:

If you jump out of a plane and undergo free-falling, you will feel an
upward force exerted on you by the surrounding air due to air
resistance.
As you fall faster and faster due to gravity, this upward force exerted
by air becomes greater and greater until it balances your weight. At
this point, the net force acting on you becomes zero, and you no
longer accelerate.
This specific velocity at which you stop accelerating during a free-fall
is called the terminal velocity.

2.2 – Forces

Objects as point particles

Forces change the velocity or shape of objects.

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The unit of force is newton (N).

Objects are represented as a point mass to enable the representation for

forces as arrows in free-body diagrams.

Free-body diagrams

On a free body diagram, forces acting on an object are represented as

arrows which stem from a point mass.

The length and direction of the arrows corresponds to the magnitude

and the direction of the forces acting on the body of interest.

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Determining the resultant force

1. Resolve all acting forces into horizontal and vertical components

2. Add up the horizontal components

3. Add up the vertical components

4. Combine the sum of horizontal components and the sum of vertical

components

Translational equilibrium

A body is said to be in translational equilibrium if it the net force acting

on the body is zero. This means the body is either at rest or travels at
constant velocity. For example:

Mass hanging at rest

Elevator moving upwards at constant velocity
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Parachutist reaching terminal velocity

Newton’s laws of motion

Newton’s First Law (Law of Inertia) states that a body remains at rest or
travels with constant speed along a straight line unless acted upon by an
external force. (Net force = 0)

Newton’s Second Law states that net force is directly proportional to

acceleration and to mass. (F=ma)

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Newton’s Third Law states that if a body A exerts a force on body B, then
body B exerts a force of the same magnitude but in the opposite
direction of body A.

This pair of forces is called an action-reaction pair, which must act on two
di erent bodies.

Solid friction
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Friction is a non conservative force which opposes motion. If there is no

motion, then there will be no force caused by friction.

For two solid surfaces moving over each other, the friction will be
a ected by the nature (roughness etc) of the two surfaces. However, the
surface area and velocity of the object does not a ect the friction.

There are also two types of friction for solid surfaces: static friction and
kinetic friction. Static friction is that which stops objects from beginning
to move. Kinetic friction is that which slows objects down when they are
moving. Static friction is always larger than kinetic friction.

These two types of friction are defined individually by their constants

µs and µk respectively.

The forces of friction are also dependent on the normal force the surface
is applying, leading to Friction force (static) =< µs * Normal force for
objects that are not moving and Friction force (static) = µs * Normal force
for objects that are moving.

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2.3 – Work, energy and power

Kinetic energy

Kinetic energy (KE) is the energy of a body due to its motion and is given
by the equation

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Gravitational potential energy

The gravitational potential energy (GPE) of an object changes with its

height and is given by the equation

Elastic potential energy

Elastic energy is potential energy stored as a result of the deformation of

an elastic object such as the stretching of a spring and is given by the
equation

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Work done as energy transfer

Work done measures the transfer of energy due to a force and is a scalar
quantity.

The work done W by a force F on an object is given by the equation

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In a force-displacement graph, work done is the area under the curve.

Power as rate of energy transfer

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Power (P) is the work done or the energy output per time given by the
equation:

For constant force acting on an object with constant velocity, the power
is given by the equation: P=Fv.

Principle of conservation of energy

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be changed

from one form to another. For example:

An electrical heater transforms electrical energy to thermal energy.

A falling object transforms potential energy to kinetic energy.

Total energy of an isolated body remains constant. In other words,

ΔKE+ΔPE=0

E iciency
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E iciency is the ratio of useful energy output to energy input as a

percentage given by the equation

2.4 – Momentum and impulse

Newton’s second law expressed in terms of

rate of change of momentum

The linear momentum (p) is given by the equation

The linear momentum (p) is a vector with the same direction as the
velocity of an object.

The change of momentum of an object is called impulse.

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Rearranging the formula describing Newton’s second law results in the

following expression

Impulse and force–time graphs

Impulse is given by the area of a force-time graph.

Conservation of linear momentum

The law of conservation of linear momentum states that the sum of

initial momentum is equal to the sum of final momentum in a closed
system and can be given by the equation
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Elastic collisions, inelastic collisions and

explosions

Type Total momentum Total kinetic energy

Elastic Conserved Conserved

Inelastic Conserved Not conserved

Explosion Conserved Not conserved

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