inclined planes

Question 1

What are inclined planes in physics?

Answer 1

Ramps and hills used to study vector components of forces

Inclined planes allow the analysis of forces acting on an object as it moves down the slope.

Question 2

What direction does the weight of an object act?

Answer 2

Vertically (or perpendicular to the surface of the earth)

This is true regardless of whether the object is on an inclined plane.

Question 3

What is the motion of objects on inclined planes?

Answer 3

They follow a path down the incline when in motion

This motion is due to the net force acting on the object.

Question 4

According to Newton’s Second Law, what must objects do?

Answer 4

Move in the direction of the net force

This principle applies to objects on inclined planes as well.

Question 5

What is the force acting downward and parallel to the surface of the inclined plane called?

Answer 5

Parallel force

This force is responsible for the object’s motion down the incline.

Question 6

What counteracts the parallel force?

Answer 6

Friction

Friction acts in the opposite direction of the parallel force.

Question 7

What is the force that acts at a right angle to the parallel force?

Answer 7

Perpendicular force

This force is also a component of the object’s weight.

Question 8

What counteracts the perpendicular force?

Answer 8

Normal force

The normal force acts perpendicular to the surface of the inclined plane.

Question 9

What do the parallel force and the perpendicular force together add up to?

Answer 9

The weight of the object

These forces are the two components of the object’s weight.

Question 10

What are the parallel and perpendicular forces considered as?

Answer 10

Vectors

They have both directions and magnitudes.

Question 11

In problems involving inclined planes, what is used as the hypotenuse of the right triangle?

Answer 11

The object’s weight

The right triangle is formed by the parallel and perpendicular forces.

Question 12

What trigonometric functions are associated with the parallel and perpendicular forces?

Answer 12

Sine and cosine

The sine relates to the parallel force, and the cosine relates to the perpendicular force.

Question 13

What is the angle used in inclined plane problems?

Answer 13

The angle of the inclined plane up from the horizontal

This angle is crucial for calculating the forces acting on the object.