P2 - Forces Flashcards
What is a vector and scalar?
Vectors : have magnitude and direction (Forces, acceleration, velocity)
Scalar : Only has magnitude (speed, distance, mass)
Speed (Equation):
Speed = Distance / Time
Speed = m/s or km/h Distance = m or Km Time = s or h
Converting units (for speed)
Km –> m = multiply 1000
hr –> s = multiply by 60 (hr –> minutes ) than 60 again (minutes to seconds)
Km/h to m/s:
km/h x 1000 = m/h
m/h / 3600 = m/s
Acceleration (Equation):
Acceleration = change in speed / time
Acceleration = m/s^2
Change in speed = m/s
Time = s
What is contact and non contact forces?
Contact force: When object must be touching for force to occur (push and pull)
Non contact forces: When objects don’t need to be touching for force to occur (eg magnetism)
What is the resultant force?
It is the overall force on an object or point.
An object with zero resultant force (forces are balanced) is stationary or moving at a constant speed.
An object with a resultant force more than zero means forces are unbalanced.
Distance-time graphs:
/ = constant speed - = stationary \ = constant speed Curved line = acceleration Gradient = speed
Velocity-time graphs:
/ = acceleration - = constant speed \ = deceleration curved line = changing acceleration / deceleration Gradient = acceleration Area under lines = distance
What is Newtons 1st law?
- An object will remain stationary or at a constant speed unless external forces act upon it - inertia
What is Newtons 2nd law?
- if object with mass has a resultant force it will accelerate
This means: any resultant force will cause an acceleration
Force (Equation):
Force = mass x acceleration Force = N Mass = Kg Acceleration = m/s^2
What is friction?
Friction slows things down
If friction = driving force –> constant speed
If friction > driving force –> deceleration
If friction < driving force –> acceleration
What is terminal velocity in terms of skydiving example?
1) Skydiver in plane is stationary so there is no air resistance but there is weight
2) When out of plane, skydiver accelerates due to weight > air resistance
3) As acceleration increases, air resistance increases until weight = air resistance (new terminal velocity reached)
4) Skydiver pulls parachute to increase surface area and that increases air resistance - weight < air resistance (deceleration)
5) As skydiver decelerates, air resistance decreases until weight = air resistance (new terminal velocity reached which is slower than 1st terminal velocity)
What is Newton’s 3rd law?
- When two objects interact the forces acted upon each other are equal and opposite.
Skater example:
1) When skater A (with mass 55Kg) pushes skater B (with mass 65Kg) they feel an equal and opposite force from skater B’s hand
2) both skaters feel same force in opposite directions so they accelerate away from each other
3) skater A will accelerate more than B as she has a smaller mass, so smaller inertia (force = mass x acceleration)
What is momentum + equations?
Momentum (Kgm/s) = Mass (Kg) x Velocity (m/s)
Force causes momentum hence:
Force = change in momentum / time
Momentum is always conserved:
Momentum before collision = momentum after collision