Science - Physics - Forces- P5 Flashcards
what is a vector quantity ?
magnitude and direction
what is magnitude ?
size
give examples of a vector quantity ?
- force
- velocity
- acceleration
- displacement
- momentum
what is a scalar quantity ?
quantities with magnitude
give examples of scalar quantities ?
- speed
- mass
- time
- temperature
- distance
how are vectors represented ?
as an arrow
what does the length of the arrow show in vectors ?
the magnitude
what does the direction of the arrow show in vectors
the direction of the quantity
what is a force ?
a push, pull or twist on an object that is caused by it interacting with something
what is a contact force ?
where 2 objects have to be touching for a force to act
give examples of contact forces
- friction
- tension
- air resistance
- normal contact force
what is a non - contact force ?
where objects do not need to be touching for the force to act
give examples of non - contact forces
- magnetic force
- gravitational force
- electrostatic force
what is an interaction pair ?
a pair of forces that are equal and opposite, and act on 2 interacting objects
give an example of an interaction pair
earth is attracted to the sun
sun is attracted to the earth
what does gravity do to anything that is attracted to a planet/star - big mass ?
- on the surface of a planet it makes all things accelerate
- it gives everything a weight
what is mass ?
the amount of matter in an object
what is weight ?
the force acting on an object due to gravity
what is the force acting on an object caused by ?
gravitational fields
what does the size of the force acting on an object depend on ?
the gravitational field strength
how does gravitational field strength vary with location ?
the closer you are to the mass causing the field, the stronger it is
what does the weight of an object depend on ?
the strength of the gravitational field at the location of the object
does the objects mass change depending on weather its on the earth or the moon ?
no
does the objects weight change depending on weather its on the earth or the moon
yes
why does an object weigh less on the moon than it does on earth ?
the gravitational field strength on the moon is less
what is weight measured in ?
newtons
is weight or mass a force ?
weight
how is weight measured ?
using a calibrated spring balance, e.g, a newtonmeter
what is mass measured in ?
kilograms, with a mass balance
what is the equation for calculating weight ?
weight = mass x gravitational field strength
how is weight and mass directly proportional ?
if the mass increases, the weight will too, and if the mass doubles, the weight will also double
an object weighs 10 kg on Earth, what is its weight ?
gravitational field strength on Earth = 9.8 N/Kg
98 newtons
what is a resultant force ?
a single force that can replace all the forces acting on an object to give the same effect as the original forces acting all together
a car is driving with a driving (accelerating) force of 1000 N, air resistance of 600 N is acting in the opposite direction, what is the resultant force ?
1000 N - 600 N = 400 N
400 N forwards (accelerating)
what is a free body diagram ?
a diagram that shows all the forces acting on an isolated object , the direction in which the forces are acting on and their magnitudes
how are free body diagrams represented ?
the length of the arrows show the magnitude of the force, the direction the arrow is pointed in shows the direction
what can free body diagrams help you with ?
calculating resultant forces
how do you draw scale drawings ?
- draw all the forces acting on an object
- make sure they’re to scale in the correct directions
- draw a straight line from the start of the first force to the end of the last force, which is the resultant force
- measure the length of this line to find the magnitude
- measure the angle to calculate the direction
what are scale drawings used for ?
finding the resultant force acting on an object
what is equilibrium ?
a state which all forces acting on an object equal zero, so the resultant force is zero
what is a balanced force ?
where the resultant force is zero, as the forces are balanced
what happens to objects that have a balanced resultant force ?
they are either stationary or are moving at a constant speed
how can you resolve a force which acts at awkward angles?
- split it into 2 components at right angles
- Then add the horizontal and vertical components
- use grid lines then measure them
what is work done ?
the energy transferred when a force moves an object through a distance
what is the more simple explanation of work done ?
the energy transferred when a force acts on an object
how do you calculate work done ?
work done = force x distance
1 joule of work is done when a force of 1 newton causes an object to move a distance of 1 metre, so what is equal to what ?
1 joule = 1 newtonmetre
work done and energy transferred are what ?
the same thing
give an example of work done/ an energy transfer question
a brick is pushed along rough ground with a total force of 45 N
the brick moves a distance of 1.4 metres
find total energy transferred
a brick is pushed along rough ground with a total force of 45 N
the brick moves a distance of 1.4 metres
find total energy transferred
force = 45 N
distance = 1.4 M
W = 45 x 1.4
= 63 j
what is work done/ energy transferred measured in ?
joules
what happens if an object has been elastically deformed ?
it can go back to its original shape and length after the force has been removed
what happens if an object has been inelastically deformed ?
it doesn’t return to its original shape and length after the force has been removed
what are elastic objects ?
objects which can be elastically deformed
what is the extension of a stretched spring directly proportional to ?
the load or force applied
what does the spring constant depend on ?
the material you are stretching - a stiffer spring has a greater spring constant
what is the limit of proportionality ?
the limit at which if a spring is stretched too far it won’t return to its original shape
on a graph where is the limit of proportionality ?
where the graph curves
if an object is elastically deformed, what energy is transferred ?
all this energy is transferred to the objects elastic potential energy store
what is elastic potential energy store ?
the energy transferred to the spring as its deformed
how can work done in the elastic potential energy store be found ?
by calculating the area under the linear force-extension graph
when investigating springs using masses, what experiment can you do to check for a fair test ?
check the masses are the same mass and a suitable size
how do you setup the investigating springs using masses experiment ?
- using the spring you are testing load it with masses one at a time up to a total of 5 masses
- using the ruler check that the spring extends by the same amount each time
- if adding one of the masses pushes the spring past its limit of proportionality, use smaller masses and replace the spring
how do you carry out the experiment of investigating springs using masses ?
- using a ruler measure the natural length of the spring at eye level
- add a mass to the spring and allow the spring to come to rest
- measure the springs new length
- record the weight added and work out the extension
- repeat this process recording the total weight attached and calculating the total extension each time until you have enough measurements
what is a moment ?
the turning effect of a force
what is a moment given by ?
force x perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the pivot
what is the line of action ?
a straight line passing through the point at which force acts and in the same direction as the force
what is the perpendicular distance ?
the distance along the line that makes a right angle with the line action of the force
if the total anticlockwise moment equals the total clockwise moment about a pivot - what does this mean ?
the object is balanced and won’t turn
what are levers ?
things that make it easier for us to do work
what does the amount of force needed to produce a particular moment depend on ?
the distance the force is applied from the pivot
what do levers do ?
increase the distance from the pivot at which the force is applied so less force is needed for the same moment
why are levers known as force multipliers ?
they reduce the force that is needed to get the same moment by increasing the distance
what are gears ?
circular discs with ‘teeth’ around their edges
what do gears do ?
their teeth interlock so that turning one causes another to turn in the opposite direction, they are used to transmit the rotational effect of a force from one place to another
what can different sized gears be used for ?
to change a moment of a force, a force transmitted to a larger gear will cause a bigger moment as the distance from edge to the pivot is greater
what will a larger gear do ?
turn slower than a smaller gear
give an example on how gears are used ?
bicycles use gears to transmit the turning effect of the pedals to the back wheel- you can change gear to alter the ratio between how fast you pedal and how fast the wheels turn
what is pressure ?
the force per unit area
what are fluids ?
substances that can flow because their particles are able to move around, either a liquid or gas
what is the unit for pressure ?
pascals Pa
what is density ?
a measure of how close together the particles in a substance are
what is density like in liquids ?
uniform, and doesn’t vary in shape or size
what will a denser liquid have ?
more particles in a given volume
how does pressure increase with density in liquids ?
if a liquid is denser there are more particles to collide so there are more collisions so a higher total force is exerted and there is a higher pressure
what can affect pressure in a liquid ?
depth