Edexcel Physics A-level

Topic 4: Materials
Notes
4 - Materials

4.49 - Density
The density (ρ) of a material is its mass per unit volume, and it’s a measure of how compact a
substance is. You can calculate density using the following equation:
m
ρ= V
Where m is the mass of the object and V is its volume.

4.50 - Upthrust
Objects in fluids may experience a force called upthrust due to different pressures being exerted
on the surface of the object.

In order to fully understand the origin of upthrust, you should be aware of the following equation
used to calculate pressure (p):
(Note: you are not expected to be aware of or use this equation, it is just being used to illustrate
the origins of upthrust).
Δp = ρgΔh
Where ρ is the density of the fluid, g is the gravitational field strength and h is the depth of the object in the
fluid.

Consider a cylinder which is submerged in water. The

bottom of the cylinder is deeper down in the fluid, therefore
h is larger than it is for the top of the cylinder. This
means that the pressure at the bottom of the cylinder
will also be larger. As the two faces of the cylinder have
an equal area, and P = F/A, the force experienced by the
bottom of the cylinder is larger than the top of the cube and
it is pushed upwards. The force pushing the cylinder
upwards is upthrust.

Image source (right): OpenStax College,CC BY 4.0

Archimedes’ principle states that the upthrust experienced by an object is equal to the weight of
the fluid it displaces.
Upthrust = weight of f luid displaced

The weight of the displaced fluid can be calculated by finding the product of the density of the
fluid, the volume of the displaced fluid and gravitational field strength:
Upthrust = weight of f luid displaced = ρ V g
Where ρ is the density, V is the volume of displaced fluid and g is the gravitational field strength.

If an object is fully submerged, then the volume of the displaced fluid is just equal to the volume
of the object.
Below are two example questions where you have to use the formulas given above:

A steel pendulum bob is submerged in a beaker of water. The pendulum bob has a volume of 5
cm3, the density of steel is 8.05 × 10-3 kg/cm3 and the density of water is 1000 kg/m3.
Calculate the mass of the pendulum bob and the upthrust it experiences.

Calculate the bob’s mass by using the formula for density, rearranged so
that mass is the subject. (Be sure to take note of the units for volume and
density).
m = ρV
m = 8.05 × 10−3 × 5 = 0.04025 kg

You can find the value of the upthrust by using Archimedes’ principle.
(Making sure to convert the volume into m3).
Upthrust = ρ V g
Upthrust = 1000 × 5 × 10−6 × 9.8 = 0.049 N

A cube is floating (partially-submerged) in a tub of water. The mass of the cube is 1000 kg, the
length of its sides are 2 m, and the density of water is 1000 kg/m 3.
Calculate the height (h) to which the water reaches on the cube (as shown on the diagram).

Firstly, find the weight of the cube using the formula below.
Weight = mg
Weight = 1000 × 9.8 = 9800 N

As the cube is floating on the surface of the water, its weight must
be equal to the upthrust of the water, so you can set them equal to
each other.
Weight = upthrust

Using Archimedes’ principle you can write:

Weight = ρ V g

You can simplify the volume of the displaced fluid by writing:

V = 2 ×2×h = 4h
Where the first “2” represents the width, while the second represents the breath of the cube.

Finally, you can substitute the equation for volume that we just derived into the equation we got by
using Archimedes’ principle. Using this you can substitute in known values and rearrange to find h.
Weight = ρ × 4h × g
9800 = 1000 × 4h × 9.8
1000 = 4000h
h = 1/4 = 0.25 m
4.51 - Stokes’ law
The resistive force experienced by an object moving in a fluid is known as viscous drag force.
This force is labelled as Fd on the diagram below.

Image source: Kraaiennest, CC BY-SA 3.0, Image is cropped

The viscous drag force exerted on an object can be calculated using Stokes’ law if the following
conditions apply:
● The object is small + spherical
● The object moves at a low speed with laminar flow.

Laminar flow (a in the diagram below) is where the particles in a fluid move by following smooth
paths with little to no mixing between adjacent layers of the fluid.
On the other hand, turbulent flow (b in the diagram below) is where particles in the fluid mix
between layers and form separate currents, because of this, turbulent flow is often described as
chaotic.

Stokes’ law states that the viscous drag force (F) experienced by a small, spherical object
moving slowly with laminar flow can be calculated as shown below:
F = 6πηrv
Where η is the viscosity of the fluid, r is the radius of the object and v is the terminal velocity of the object.
Viscosity is a measure of how resistant a fluid is to deformation (e.g. caused by an object moving
through it). A fluid’s viscosity is determined by the internal frictional forces that occur between
adjacent layers of the fluid.

It is important to note that viscosity is temperature dependent:

● In (most) liquids -
As temperature increases, the viscosity of a liquid decreases.
● In gases -
As temperature increases, the viscosity of a gas increases.

The reason that viscosity varies differently with temperature in liquids as opposed to gases, arises
from the fact that the frictional forces between layers are formed by different means in them.

4.53 - Hooke’s law

Hooke’s law states that extension is directly proportional to the force applied, given that the
environmental conditions (e.g temperature) are kept constant.

Hooke’s law can be described using the equation:

ΔF = kΔx
Where k is the stiffness of the object, and Δx is the extension.

4.54 - Young modulus

Stress - Force applied per unit cross-sectional area.
Stress = FA

Strain - This is caused by stress, and is defined as the change in length over the original length.
Strain = ΔL
L

The Young modulus is a value which describes the stiffness of a material.

It is known that up to the limit of proportionality (explained below), for a material which obeys
Hooke’s law, stress is proportional to strain, therefore the value of stress over strain is constant,
this value is the Young modulus.
Stress
Y oung Modulus = Strain

4.55 - Force-extension and force-compression graphs

Force-extension graphs show how the extension of an object varies with the force applied to it.

Hooke’s law can be demonstrated by a force-extension graph which is a straight line through
the origin as this shows that force and extension are directly proportional.
The limit of proportionality (P) is the point after which Hooke’s law is no longer obeyed.

The elastic limit (E) is just after the limit of proportionality and if you increase the force applied
beyond this, the material will deform plastically (be permanently stretched).

The yield point is the point at which the material begins to stretch without an increase in load.

Elastic deformation is where a material returns to its original shape once the force applied is
removed. This is because all the work done is stored as elastic strain energy.

Plastic deformation is where a material’s shape is changed permanently. This is because work is
done to move atoms apart, so energy is not only stored as elastic strain energy but is also
dissipated as heat.

Force-compressions graphs show how the compression of an object varies with the force
applied to it.

Solids usually behave similarly when tensile and compressive forces are applied, therefore
force-extension and force-compression graphs often look very similar. The main difference being
that beyond the elastic limit, compressed solids will buckle (suddenly change shape) and break
instead of extending plastically.
 Image source: INFLIBNET Centre, CC BY-SA 4.0

4.56 - Stress-strain graphs

Stress-strain graphs are similar to force-extension graphs, however they describe the behaviour
of a material rather than the behaviour of a specific object.

Their shape can also show whether a material is:

● Ductile - can undergo a large amount of plastic deformation before fracturing
● Brittle - where a material will
undergoes
extend very
little to
little,
no and
plastic
therefore
deformation
is likely
before
to fracture
fracturing
(break
(break
apart) at a low strain
● Plastic - where a material will experience a large amount of extension as the load is
increased.

The breaking stress of a material is the value of stress at which the material will break apart, this
value will depend on the conditions of the material e.g its temperature.

4.58 - Elastic strain energy

When work is done on a material to stretch or compress it, this energy is
stored as elastic strain energy. This value cannot be calculated using the
formula W = F Δs because the force is variable, however you can find it
by calculating the area under a force-extension graph or by using the
formula below:
 ΔEel = 12 F Δx
Where F is the force applied and x is the extension.

Once a material is stretched beyond its elastic limit, a force-extension graph showing loading and
unloading will not return to the origin, however the loading and unloading lines will be parallel
because the material’s stiffness is constant, as shown below. The area between the loading and
unloading line is the work done to permanently deform the material.