Forces Flashcards
Scalar
Magnitude only
Vector
Magnitude and direction
Examples of contact forces
Friction, air resistance, tension
Examples of non-contact forces
Gravitational force, electrostatic force and magnetic force
Weight
The force acting on an object due to gravity
How is weight measured
Newtonmeter
Why must more than one force be applied to compress, bend or stretch and object
Because if there was only one force acting in the object, it would accelerate in the direction of that force
Elastic deformation
When an object is deformed and returns back to its original shape once forces are removed
Inelastic deformation
When an object is deformed and doesn’t return to its original shape when forces are removed
Hooke’s Law
The extension of an elastic object, like a spring, is directly proportional to the force applied, provided that the limit of proportionality is not exceeded
Moment
Turning effect of a force
How does rotation occur
When forces are applied at a distance from the centre of mass
If an object is balanced..
The total clockwise moment = the total anticlockwise moment
Levers
Used to apple force to an object, by using a smaller force applied at one end of the lever to generate a larger force at the other end
Gears
Used to change the speed of direction of rotation
What happens to the density of the atmosphere with increasing altitude
The atmosphere becomes less dense
Explain why atmospheric pressure decreases with an increase in height
- pressure is created by collisions of air molecules
- the quantities of molecules (weight) decreases as the height increases
- this means atmospheric pressure decreases with increased height
How does pressure in fluids increase with depth
- As the depth increases, the mass of liquid above that depth also increases
- This means that the force due to the mass increases
- since the force has increased whilst the area remained constant, the pressure will increase
Why does pressure in fluids increase with density
- as the density of a fluid increases, the number of particles in a given volume increases
- so the weight of the fluid is greater
- this means that the force from the fluid above a certain point is large
- since the force has increased, so has the pressure
Why are objects in a fluid subject to upthrust
- when an object is submerged in a fluid, it has a higher pressure below it than it does above as there is more weight at the bottom than at the top
- this leads to upthrust
What is upthrust always equal to
The weight of fluid that the object displaces
What factors influence whether an object will sink or float
- upthrust
- weight
- density
Explain why an object with a density greater than water can never float
- upthrust is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid
- if the density of the object is high, there wouldn’t be enough volume displaced to produce an upthrust larger than the objects weight
- this means it will sink
Atmosphere
A thin layer of air round the Earth