PHYSICS TOPIC 2 –

MECHANICS

Study Guide Notes

2.1 Motion KEY CONCEPTS
Distance & Displacement
Distance - How far something an object has travelled without regarding the direction (scalar)

Displacement - A quantity that describes not only distance travelled but also the direction
(vector), ∆𝑥 = 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 − 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 displacement Unit: meters (m)

Speed & Velocity

Speed - A measure of how fast something is moving. Speed could also be defined as distance
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
covered per unit time, 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 Unit: ms-1

Velocity - A measure of how fast an object moves through a displacement. Velocity could be
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
defined as displacement per unit time 𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = Unit: ms-1
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒

Acceleration
∆𝑣 𝑣−𝑢
Acceleration - the change of velocity over time, 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = = Unit: ms-2
∆𝑡 𝑡

Motion Graphs

SUVAT Equations (Uniform Acceleration Equations)

 s – displacement (m)
u – initial velocity (ms-1)
v – velocity (ms-1)
a –acceleration (ms-2)
t – time taken (s)

Free Fall Motion

Free Fall - when the only force acting on the object is gravity. Ball Falling to the ground is an
example of free fall motion. Air resistance is usually negligible

Gravitational Acceleration: g = 9.81 ms-2

1. 𝑣 = 𝑔𝑡 v – velocity (ms-1)
𝑣
2. ℎ = 2 × 𝑡 h – height (m)
1
g – gravitational acceleration (g = 9.81 ms-2)
3. ℎ = 2 𝑔𝑡 2 t – time taken (s)
𝑣2
4. ℎ = 2𝑔

Projectile Motion
Projectile Motion - Motion through the air, following the curved path. Moves through the air
under the influence of gravity

Horizontal projectile (x – direction) - Horizontal component of velocity is uniform

Vertical projectile (y - direction) - Vertical component is uniform gravitational acceleration

Air Resistance can be negligible. Horizontal & vertical motion are independent and has a
common relationship of time

Horizontal Projectile Motion Vertical Projectile Motion

Terminal Velocity
Terminal velocity – occurs with free fall motion when the upward force is equal to weight, the
velocity reaches maximum and no longer accelerates
2.2 Forces KEY CONCEPTS
Forces
Force - A push or pull between objects. Force is vector and expressed as N (Newtons)

Gravity A force that pulls objects towards the center of the earth
Weight A measure of force of gravity on an object
W = mg (where w = weight, m = mass, g = 9.81 ms-2)
Normal Force Force that is perpendicular to the surface and opposite to weight.
Normal Force is usually equal to weight
Upthrust Any object placed in fluid that experiences upward force
f = pvg (F = upthrust force, p = liquid density, v = volume, g = 9.81 ms-2 )

Forces in ropes/springs
Tension - a force that arises in the body when it's stretched towards a particular direction. It is
also a force that is acting on the string.
Direction: along the string and opposite to weight

Force in spring - the force that arises when the spring is stretched.
Direction: force is along the spring

Hooke’s Law: 𝐹 = −𝑘∆𝑥 (F = Force on spring, k = Spring Constant, x = change in

displacement)

Free Body Diagram

Free body diagram (FBD) - a visual drawing that shows the forces acting on the object.

FBD is represented by arrows, indicating the force. Every FBD has weight acting on it

Free Body Diagram (FBD) of a surface Free Body Diagram (FBD) on incline plane
 Friction
Friction - the force when 2 surface exert on each other when rubbed against each other. Objects
that's rubbed has touching point
Direction: opposite to the tendency of the motion

Static Friction A force that keeps the object at rest despite a force being
applied
Maximum Static Friction Maximum force is needed to be applied in order for object to be
in motion

𝑓𝑠 = 𝜇𝑅 (fs = frictional force,  = Frictional coefficient, R =

Normal Force)
Dynamic Friction it is where object is in motion and moves towards the surface

𝑓𝑑 = 𝜇𝑅 (fs = frictional force,  = Frictional coefficient, R =

Normal Force)

Resultant Force
Resultant Force - The vector sum of all forces acting on a body.

When it’s represented as incline, we can break it down into horizonal and vertical component
Fnet = 0

Equilibrium - the motion of an object is at rest or at constant velocity (zero net force)

Newton’s 3 laws of motion

1ST LAW An object will remain in motion unless there's net force is acting on the object.

It is explained by the law of inertia. Inertia - object that doesn't change its state of motion
If the net force of an object is 0, then the object's velocity is constant

2ND LAW The acceleration acting on the object is proportional to the net force and inversely proportional
to mass
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 (F = Force, m = mass, a = acceleration)
3RD LAW For every action force, there's an equal opposite reaction force. Every object in the universe
has reaction force that's equal
 2.3 Work, Energy, Power KEY CONCEPTS
Work
Work - Work done is the product of the force in the direction of the displacement
Symbol: W, Unit: Joules (J)

W = Fscosθ (W = Work, F = Force, s = displacement)

If F and s are parallel, it is If F and s are perpendicular, it If F and s are anti-parallel, it

said to be positive work has zero work has negative work

Power
Power - the rate at which work is being performed
Symbol: P, Unit: Watts (W)

𝑊 Fscosθ
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = = (P = power, W = Work, t = time)
𝑡 t

Force Distance Graph

If we push a spring to a direction, there's work done moving the spring with distance

In force-distance graph, the area represents the work done

Efficiency
Efficiency - the ratio of output power to the input power
𝑊𝑜𝑢𝑡 Pout
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = or
𝑊𝑖𝑛 Pin

Energy
Energy - the ability for an object to do work. Unit: Joules (J)
KINETIC ENERGY The energy of the object due to it's motion
1
𝐸𝑘 = 2 𝑚𝑣 2 (Ek = Kinetic Energy, m = mass, v = velocity)
ELASTIC POTENTIAL ENERGY The potential energy stored as the deformation of the elastic object
1
𝐸𝑝 = 2 𝑘𝑥 2 (Ep = Elastic Potential Energy, k = spring constant,
x = change in displacement)
GRAVITATIONAL POTENTIAL The energy due to it's position of the height of object
ENERGY 𝐸𝑝 = 𝑚𝑔ℎ (Ep = Potential Energy, m = mass, g = 9.81 ms-2, h = height)

Conservation of Energy
Conservation of energy – works when there's only gravity acting on it (no other forces). When
kinetic energy increases, potential energy decreases

A falling object transforms potential energy to kinetic energy.

𝐸𝑘𝑖 + 𝐸𝑝𝑖 = 𝐸𝑘𝑓 + 𝐸𝑝𝑓, ∆𝐸𝑘 + ∆𝐸𝑝 = 0 (Ek = Kinetic Energy, Ep = Potential Energy)
Total energy of a body remains constant or never changed.
 2.4 Momentum and Impulse KEY CONCEPTS
Momentum
Momentum - defined as product of an object's mass with it's velocity. Symbol: p,

𝑝 = 𝑚𝑣 (p = Momentum, m = mass, v = velocity) Unit: kgms-1

Change in Momentum: p = p2 - p1 = mv2 - mv1

𝑝2
𝐸𝑘 = (Ek = Kinetic Energy, p = momentum, m = mass)
2𝑚

Impulse
Impulse - defined as the product of the force applied with time. Symbol: I
I = 𝐹𝑡 (I = Impulse, F = force, t = time) Unit, Ns

Theorem of momentum: I = ∆p or Fnet t = mv2 − mv1

Force – Time Graph

Force does vary with time but we can simply average it out

In Force - Time graph, the area under represents Impulse

Conservation of linear momentum

Conservation of linear momentum - If the net force said to be 0, then the momentum doesn't
change (constant p). Change in momentum = 0

𝑚1𝑢1 + 𝑚2𝑢2 = 𝑚1𝑣1 = 𝑚2𝑣2 (m = mass, u = initial velocity, v = final velocity)

Collision
Collision - an event which a relative strong force acts on 2 or more bodies for short period of
time. It is the time period when 2 bodies crash each other

ELASTIC COLLISION Elastic Collision involves KE being conserved. Momentum is conserved

Eg. 2 billiard ball colliding with each other and both ball's speed remain the
same after collision
INELASTIC Inelastic Collision involves where KE isn't conserved. EK varies before and
COLLISION after.

Eg. hitting a baseball with a bat and the ball's speed changing
COMPLETE In Complete Inelastic Collision, the colliding bodies stick together and
INELASTIC have same speed. The individual body has different speeds before
COLLISION
Eg. 2 train cars joining together that has same speed

In every collision, momentum here is conserved