FORCES & MOTION - 2

FORCES

Force is a vector – it acts along the line of force (its direction) Newton’s 2nd Law:
The acceleration of an object acted upon by an external force is
proportional to the force and is in the same direction as the force.
Resultant force is a vector sum of all the forces
⃗
F =m ⃗a [kg m/s2 = N]

(non-zero resultant force acting on a body of constant mass)

Friction Force – opposes the motion

(air resistance / Drag)

Gravitational Force
(bigger mass has greater gravitational pull)

Weight:
⃗
W =m ⃗g g = 9.8 [m/s2] gravitational acceleration

Motion on an incline – use vector decomposition for W

into the components perpendicular and parallel to the incline

W_perpenicular = Wcosθ
W_parallel = Wsinθ

An 850g trolley is released from rest at the top of a 1.2m long ramp. The ramp
makes an angle of 15 degrees to the horizontal. Calculate the acceleration of
the trolley travelling down the ramp and the time it takes to reach the bottom
of the ramp.
 FORCES & MOTION - 2

Car stopping distance:

= reaction (thinking) distance + breaking distance,

thinking distance = (speed) x (reaction time)

breaking distance: V 2=U 2+2 a x S

Test Problem #10 (4PH1_June 2019 (R) QP1):

(iii) The van was travelling at an initial speed of 18 m/s before braking and coming to
rest. Calculate the distance travelled by the van while it is braking.
[assume that the acceleration remains constant] (3)

(iv) Describe two factors that would increase the braking distance. (2)

(c) When the van is fully loaded its mass increases to 2500 kg.
Calculate the time taken to bring the fully loaded van to rest when it is
travelling at an initial speed of 18 m/s.
[assume that the resultant force during braking remains at 14 kN] (4)
Test Problem #7 (4PH1_June 2019 (R) QP1):
 FORCES & MOTION - 2

7 A student investigates how the surface material of a ramp affects the average
speed of a block sliding down the ramp.
(a) Design a suitable method for the student’s investigation.
Your answer should include
● the measuring equipment needed
● details of the independent, dependent and control variables
● how the average speed will be determined
You may include a diagram to help your answer. (6)

(b) Justify why the student should display their results as a bar chart. (1)

FREE FALL
 FORCES & MOTION - 2

In ideal case, neglecting any Friction forces:

Same equations of motion but in vertical direction (y-axis)
Use g = 9.8 m/s2 for free-fall acceleration (~ 10m/s2)
V =U +¿
1
S= (U + V ) t
2
2 2
V =U +2 gS
1 2
S=Ut+ g t
2
1 2
S=Vt− g t
2
Conservation of Energy: No mass in equations of motion
Energy transfer between Gravitational store and Kinetic store In free fall, mass of the object does not matter!
Epotential = mgh  Ekinetic= (1/2)mv2

Real life conditions:

Movement through air or liquid
=> air/liquid resistance (Friction force opposing the motion)

Drag = Friction force in movement through the air

Major factors: velocity and cross section area of an object

Drag is proportional to Cross Section Area and Velocity2

=>> Drag increases faster than velocity

=>> When D = W, object reaches constant Terminal Velocity

At terminal velocity, there is no net acceleration!

 FORCES & MOTION - 2

Problem 1 Problem 3
A ball of mass 100 g is dropped from a height of 20 m. Calculate the instantaneous
a) Neglecting the Drag force (D), calculate the time it will take the ball acceleration of each object
to reach the ground and its velocity on impact.
b) Assuming D = 0.01v2, calculate the terminal velocity of the ball.

Problem 2
A ball is thrown upwards with initial velocity 10 m/s. Neglecting the air
resistance, find the maximum height reached by the ball and the time it will take.
 FORCES & MOTION - 2

Test Problem #8 (4PH1_June 2019 (R) QP1):

(b) The parachute jumper opens her parachute at point B.

Her velocity decreases until she reaches terminal velocity again at point C.
Explain this change in velocity.
(4)