Further Mechanics Flashcards
What is the centripetal force
The resultant force that causes acceleration
What direction does the centripetal force act
Towards the centre of the circle
Define angular speed
The angle turned per unit time
When is an object experiences simple harmonic motion
When its acceleration is directly proportional to its displacement and is in the opposite direction
Give the equation for acceleration
A = - w^2 x
For a simple pendulum what is the formula for displacement
X = A cos (wt)
For a simple pendulum what is the formula for velocity
V = +/- w (A^2 - x^2)^1/2
What graph does displacement have
Sin graph
Why must the angle the pendulum be displaced by be less than 10 degrees
The derivation of the formula uses small angle approximations, so for larger angles the approximation isn’t valid
Describe the energy transfers for a vertical spring system
Kinetic is converted to elastic potential and gravitational potential energy
Describe the energy transfers in a horizontal spring system
Kinetic is converted to elastic potential energy
For a simple harmonic motion system when is velocity greatest
At the centre of oscillations
Define damping
When energy is lost to the environment, leading to reduced amplitude of oscillations
Why are the 3 types of damping
- light damping
- heavy damping
- critical damping
Describe light damping / under damping
Amplitude is gradually decreased by a small amount each oscillation
Describe critical damping
This reduces the amplitude to 0 in the quickest time possible without oscillating
Describe heavy damping / over damping
Amplitude reduces slower than critical damping, but without any additional oscillations
