Our Dynamic Universe Flashcards
What sign does motion going up or to the right have?
Positive
What sign does motion going down or to the left have?
Negative
In a velocity-time graph, what does it mean when the graph crosses the x-axis?
The motion has changed direction
In a velocity-time graph, how do you find the displacement of the object?
Area under the graph
In a velocity-time graph, how do you find the acceleration?
Acceleration = gradient of graph
How do you identify an acceleration-time graph?
Only has horizontal lines
In a displacement-time graph, what do horizontal lines mean?
The object is stationary
In displacement-time graphs, what does a positive gradient (upward slope) mean?
The object is moving away from the starting point
In displacement-time graphs, what does a negative gradient (downwards slope) mean?
The object is moving in the opposite direction (usually back towards the starting point)
In displacement-time graphs, what does it mean if the graph crosses the x-axis?
The displacement is overall negative
Has went left/down from the start point further than its gone forward
What equipment is required to measure acceleration?
- Slope
- Two light gates
- Timer
In a graph of a bouncing ball, why does the graph gets smaller?
Energy is being lost to the surroundings
How do you connect vectors?
Nose to Tail
If using trigonometry, where should the angle be read from?
North
How do you resolve vectors (find the horizontal and vertical components) and how do you remember which is which?
horizontal = a x cos x theta vertical = a x sin x theta
Horizontal goes a cos (across)
Vertical goes to the sin (sky)
When an object is on a slope, how do you calculate the force on the object?
How do you remember which is which?
Have a force acting parallel to the slope, and a force acting perpendicular to the slope
Fpara = mg sin theta
Fperp = mg cos theta
- mg = W*
- F = W sin theta* F = W cos theta
‘Live long and cos per’
How do you work out the unbalance force acting on an object parallel to a slope?
Fu = Fpara - Friction Fu = Wpara - Friction
What is the general affect of friction?
Slows objects down
What is the Law of Conservation of Energy?
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another
How do you find out if energy had been conserved?
Find out the energy lost (for a ball, Ep = mgh)
Find out the energy gained (Ek = 1/2 mv^2)
mass can be cancelled out if appears on both sides
Say whether or not the two values are equal
If they are, the energy has been conserved
If not, energy has been lost
How can you find out the velocity of an object?
v = d t
v = u + a t
v^2 = u^2 + 2 a s
Conservation of energy
What is Newton’s first law of motion?
If the forces acting on an object are balanced, then the object will remain at a constant velocity
What is Newton’s second law of motion?
If the forces acting on an object are unbalanced, the object will accelerate
When does terminal velocity occur, and what is it?
Occurs when air resistance = weight of the object (balanced forces)
Constant velocity - no acceleration
What increases when velocity increases?
Friction
Air resistance
What is the equation related to Newtons second law?
Fu = m a
How do connected systems accelerate?
At the same rate
a = Fu / m
How do you work out the force acting on a connected system?
F = total pulling force - total friction
How would you find the tension in the coupling between two objects in a connected system?
Look at the coupling at what it is pulling, ignore anything before it
Tension - Friction of object = mass of object x acceleration of system
T - Fr = m a
Change side, change sign for Fr
What is the symbol for momentum?
p
How do you calculate momentum?
p = m v
What is the Law of Conservation of Linear Momentum?
In the absence of external forces, the total momentum just before a collision/explosion is equal to the total momentum just after the collision/explosion
What is the unit for momentum (p)?
kg ms-1
kilograms per metre per second
What happens during inelastic collisions?
Objects stick together after colliding
Energy is lost
Ek before > Ek after
What is the equation for inelastic collisions?
m1v1 + m2v2 = m3v3
What happens during elastic collisions?
Object bounce apart after colliding
Energy is conserved
Ek before = Ek after
What is the equation for elastic collisions?
m1u1 + m2u2 = m1v1 + m2v2
Remember directions in collision questions
How do you show whether a collision is elastic or inelastic?
Work out the total kinetic energy before the collision
Work out the total kinetic energy after the collision
‘Total kinetic before the collision (!)= total kinetic energy after the collision, therefore the collision is ______’
What are the key characteristics of an explosion?
Starts with one object, splits into two
m1v1 = m2v2 + m3v3
Momentum is conserved (total p before collision = total p after collision)
Kinetic energy increases - no kinetic energy at start (stationary)
What is Newton’s third law of motion?
If A exerts a force on B, B exerts an equal but opposite force on A
What is the symbol for impulse?
Ft
How do you calculate impulse?
Ft = mv - mu
Ft = m (v - u)
Area under a Force-Time graph