FORCES AND ENERGY

CHAPTER 3
DENSITY

 Density is defined as:

 The mass per unit volume of a material

 Objects made from low density materials typically have a low mass
 Similarly sized objects made from high density materials have a high mass
 For example, a bag full of feathers is far lighter compared to a similar bag
full of metal
 Or another example, a balloon is less dense than a small bar of lead
despite occupying a larger volume
DENSITY

 Gases, for examples, are less dense than solids because the molecules are more
spread out (same mass, over a larger volume)

 The units of density depend on what units are used for mass and volume:
 If the mass is measured in g and volume in cm3, then the density will be in g/cm3
 If the mass is measured in kg and volume in m3, then the density will be in kg/m3
CALCULATING DENSITY

 A paving slab has a mass of 73 kg and dimensions 0.04 m × 0.5 m × 0.85 m. Calculate the
density, in kg/m3, of the material from which the paving slab is made.

Step 1: List the known quantities

Mass of slab, m = 73 kg
Volume of slab, V = 0.04 m × 0.5 m × 0.85 m = 0.017 m3
Step 2: Write out the equation for density
Step 3: Substitute in values
ρ = 73 ÷ 0.017 = 4294 kg/m3
Step 4: Round the answer to two significant figures
ρ = 4300 kg/m3
MEASURING DENSITY OF IRREGULAR
OBJECTS
1. Place the object on a digital
balance and note down its mass
2. Fill the eureka can with water
up to a point just below the spout
3. Place an empty measuring
cylinder below its spout
4. Carefully lower the object into
the eureka can
5. Measure the volume of the
displaced water in the measuring
cylinder
6. Repeat these measurements and
take an average before calculating
the density
MEASURING DENSITY OF REGULAR
SHAPED OBJECTS
 Place the object on a digital balance and note down its mass
 Use either the ruler, Vernier calipers or micrometer to measure the
object’s dimensions (width, height, length, radius) – the apparatus
will depend on the size of the object
 Repeat these measurements and take an average of these readings
before calculating the density
 Remember to convert from centimetres (cm) to metres (m) by
dividing by 100
1 cm = 0.01 m
50 cm = 0.5 m
 Using the mass and volume, the density of each can be calculated
using the equation: density= mass/ volume
FLOATING UPTHRUST

 Upthrust is a force that pushes upwards

on an object submerged in a fluid i.e.
liquids and gases
 It is always in the opposite direction to
the object's weight
 This is why boats, and objects that are
less dense than water, float
 The size of the upthrust depends on the
density of the fluid as well as the
volume of fluid that is displaced (which
is equal to the volume of the object)
 The denser the liquid, the greater the
upthrust it will exert on an object
FACTORS AFFECTING FLOATING AND
SINKING
 Whether an object sinks or floats depends on the
upthrust:
 If the upthrust on an object is equal to (or greater than)
the object’s weight, then the object will float
 If the upthrust is smaller than the weight then the object
will sink
 The outcome also depends on the object's density:
• A polystyrene block will float in water
 If it has a density less than the density of the fluid it is This is because polystyrene has a density of 0.05 g/cm3
immersed in, the object will float which is much less than the density of water (1.0
g/cm3)
 If it has a density more than the density of the fluid it is
• A wooden block will be partially submerged but will
immersed in, the object will sink
still float
 This is because if the density of the object is greater than This is because the density of a wooden block (0.9
the density of the fluid, the object can never displace g/cm3) is slightly less than the density of water
enough fluid to create an upthrust that will hold its • An iron block will sink
weight up (and therefore sinks) This is because iron has a density (7.9 g/cm3) that is
much higher than water
FLOATING LIQUIDS

 A liquid with a lower density will float on a liquid with a higher density if the
liquids do not mix
HEATING OBJECTS

 When materials are heated, they expand

 This expansion happens because the molecules start to move around (or
vibrate) faster, which causes them to knock into each other and push each
other apart
 When this happens, it is the space taken up by the molecules that increases.
The molecules themselves remain the same size.
 Thermal expansion occurs in solids, liquids and gases
 When temperature is increased (at constant pressure);
 Solids will tend to expand the least
 Gases expand the most
 Liquids fall in between the two
INTERNAL ENERGY

 Heating a system changes a substance's internal

energy by increasing the kinetic energy of its
particles
 The temperature of the material, therefore, is
related to the average kinetic energy of the
molecules
 This increase in kinetic energy (and therefore
internal energy) can:
 Cause the temperature of the system to increase
 Or, produce a change of state (solid to liquid or
liquid to gas)
HEAT VS TEMPERATURE

 Heat (symbol: Q) is energy. It is the total amount ABSOLUTE ZERO:

of energy (both kinetic and potential) possessed by the It is the temperature at which particles
molecules in a piece of matter. Heat is measured in Joules. Stop moving. It is the lowest temperature.
 Temperature (symbol: T) is not energy. It relates to Absolute zero= -273 degrees celcius
the average (kinetic) energy of microscopic motions of
a single particle in the system per degree of freedom. It
is measured in Kelvin (K), Celsius (C) or Fahrenheit (F).

 When you heat a substance, either of two things can

happen: the temperature of the substance can rise
or the state of substance can change.
EVAPORATION

 Evaporation is a change in state of a liquid to a gas

 It happens;
❑ At any temperature
❑ Only from the surface of a liquid
 The molecules in a liquid have a range of energies
❑ Some have lots of energy, others have very little
❑ Their average energy relates to the temperature of the liquid
 Evaporation occurs when more energetic molecules moving near the surface of
the liquid have enough energy to escape
❑ The average energy of the liquid is reduced
❑ Therefore liquids are cooled down by evaporation
COOLING BY EVAPORATION

 The process of evaporation can be used to cool things down:

 If an object is in contact with an evaporating liquid, as the liquid cools the
solid will cool as well
 This process is used in refrigerators and air conditioning units
ENERGY
 Energy is a property that must be transferred to an object
in order to perform work on or heat up that object
 It is measured in units of Joules (J)
 Energy will often be described as part of an energy system
 In physics, a system is defined as:
An object or group of objects

 Therefore, when describing the changes within a system,

only the objects or group of objects and the surroundings
need to be considered
 Energy can be stored in different ways, and there are
changes in the way it is stored when a system changes
 The principle of conservation of energy states that:
 Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be
transferred from one store to another
This means that for a closed system, the total amount of
energy is constant
CONSERVATION OF ENERGY

 Diagrams are used to represent energy transfers

❑ These are sometimes called Sankey diagrams
 The arrow in a Sankey diagram represents the transfer of
energy:
❑ The end of the arrow pointing to the right represents the
energy that ends up in the desired store (the useful energy
output)
❑ The end(s) that point(s) down represents the wasted energy
 The width of each arrow is proportional to the amount of
energy going to each store
 As a result of the conversation of energy:
 Total energy in = Useful energy out + Wasted energy
SANKEY DIAGRAMS

 A Sankey diagram for a modern efficient light bulb will look very different from that for an old filament light
bulb
 A more efficient light bulb has less wasted energy
 This is shown by the smaller arrow downwards representing the heat energy
CONDUCTION

 Conduction is the main method of thermal energy transfer in solids

 Conduction occurs when:
❑ Two solids of different temperatures come in contact with one another, thermal energy is
transferred from the hotter object to the cooler object
 Metals are the best thermal conductors
❑ This is because they have a high number of free electrons

 Conduction can occur through two mechanisms:

❑ Atomic vibrations
❑ Free electron collisions
 When a substance is heated, the atoms, or ions, start to move around (vibrate) more
 The atoms at the hotter end of the solid will vibrate more than the atoms at the cooler
end
 As they do so they bump into each other, transferring energy from atom to atom
 These collisions transfer internal energy until all the particles in the substance same the
same energy.
 This occurs in all solids, metals and non-metals alike
CONVECTION
 Convection is the main way that heat travels through liquids and gases
❑ Convection only occurs in fluids
❑ Convection cannot happen in solids
 Remember, density= mass/ volume
❑ This means if volume increases, density decreases.
 When a liquid (or gas) is heated (for example by a radiator near the
floor):
 The molecules push each other apart, making the liquid/gas expand,
hence volume increases
 This makes the hot liquid/gas less dense than the surroundings
 The hot liquid/gas rises, and the cooler (surrounding) liquid/gas moves
in to take its place
 Eventually the hot liquid/gas cools, contracts and sinks back down
again
 The resulting motion is called a convection current
RADIATION

 All objects give off thermal radiation

 The hotter an object is, the more thermal radiation it emits
 Thermal radiation is the only way in which heat can travel through a vacuum
 This is because radiation does not depend on particles to travel.
 It is the way in which heat reaches us from the Sun through the vacuum of
space
ABSORBERS AND EMITTER

 An good absorber is a material which has the ability to take in a lot of thermal radiation
 A good emitter is a material which has the ability to give off a lot of thermal radiation.

 Black objects are very good at absorbing thermal radiation, for example black clothes make you
feel hotter in sunny weather
 Black objects are also very good at emitting thermal radiation, which is the reason that chargers
for laptops, and radiators in cars are coloured black - it helps them to cool down
 Shiny objects reflect thermal radiation and so absorb very little
 They also emit very little, though, and so take longer to cool down