ACTON HIGH SCHOOL

M1 Revision Guide
Frederick Barker
4/28/2014

Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 2
Chapter 0: General Techniques and Advice ........................................................................................ 2
Chapter 1: Models and Modelling assumptions ................................................................................. 3
Chapter 2 - Kinematics of a particle moving in a straight line ............................................................ 4
Chapter 3: Dynamics of a particle moving in a straight line ............................................................. 14
Chapter 4: Statics of a particle .......................................................................................................... 28
Chapter 5 - Moments ........................................................................................................................ 32
Chapter 6 - Vectors ........................................................................................................................... 41

Introduction
Broadly speaking, the questions you'll come across in M1 exams consist of three parts:
1. Extracting information from the question (and generally displaying it with a diagram)
2. Using physics laws to get some sort of equation (e.g.

3. Using the information given to solve for some unknown in the equation
Sometimes you'll also be asked to explain modelling assumptions, and why we model real life
objects as particles, rods, etc.
This means that when revising mechanics, there is actually quite little to learn in terms of 'physicsy
facts', but a lot to learn about interpreting and using information correctly. So this revision guide
will not only recap the information required for each topic, but it will also give an idea of how to
approach different types of questions, and some general pointers in how to structure your answers.
At the end of each topic, I also run though 2 practice exam questions - one answered with my own
notes, and the other with the official mark scheme. You should try to do both on your own before
you look at the answers. For the questions I answer, I have left out most of the algebra work, like
(rearranging, subbing in and solving equations etc) for you to do yourself. This is because they're
often the parts of the questions where people make silly errors, so it's good to practice them.

Chapter 0: General Techniques and Advice

These pointers, whilst being very general, are extremely important to everything that you do, and
are reiterated over the course of this guide.
1. Draw diagrams all the time - Visualising what's going on is really important in mechanics. It makes
you much less likely to miss out on silly marks for getting things like directions wrong, or for
mistaking
for
etc.
2. Read the question - It's so easy to misinterpret or exclude information because you don't read the
question carefully enough. There's nothing worse than spending 10 minutes trying to answer a
question that you haven't actually been asked... so read slowly and highlight key words
3. Write down formulas on your exam question paper - If you've got time before your paper starts,
scribble down the SUVAT equations,
, and any other useful information that you're
going to need. Otherwise, you may find that you struggle to remember them later when you're
under pressure
4. Practice, practice, practice - There are 20 M1 papers on the Edexcel website; do as many as
possible! http://www.edexcel.com/quals/gce/gce08/maths/pages/default.aspx

Chapter 1: Models and Modelling assumptions

A full list of this can be found on pages 2-3 of your M1 book. I have selected the ones that I think are
the most important for exam questions:
Models/Modelling
Assumptions
Particle

What the model or

assumption means
Object has it's mass
concentrated at one point
Object has one/two
dimensions much smaller
than its length

Real life things you

might model with it
Ball, Truck, Box

Uniform

Mass is evenly distributed

across the object

Any of the rod

examples

Light

Object has negligible mass

String, Rod, Pulley

What it means in the questions

you do
That you take the weight of the
object to act at a singular point
You can just think of the force
acting at some point along the
length of the object, and not
worry about the height/width it's
acting at
That the centre of mass (the point
where the weight acts) is at the
centre of the object
Don't consider the object's weight

Rough Surface

Friction applies between

the surface and objects on
it
No frictions applies
between the surface and
objects on it

Road, Grippy slope

Consider frictional forces

Ice, Slippery Slope

Don't consider frictional forces

Rod

Smooth Surface

Plank, Beam,
Seesaw, Pole

As mentioned previously, you may need to answer questions on why we use these modelling
assumptions; don't skip learning them as they are easy marks!

Chapter 2 - Kinematics of a particle moving in a straight line

Question Type 1: Objects moving under gravity/in a straight line with constant acceleration
General Notes
When you have a physical situation where a particle is moving in a straight line under constant
acceleration, several characteristics of their movements are linked by SUVAT equations, which can
be used to deduce extra information about the movement. These equations, and the characteristics
with their symbols, are listed below. You will need to know all of these off by heart for the exam:
Symbols:

SUVAT Equations:

Typically, you'll get information about 3 of the 5 symbols, and then will need to use SUVAT equations
to work out the value of another.

How to approach such questions and structure your answer

a) Draw a diagram and pick a positive direction of movement
b) Write out and fill in the box on the right using information from the question. Remember
that
and can all be negative or positive
c) Select the SUVAT equation which uses the 3 known symbols and the 1 unknown one
you're trying to work out
d) Sub into and rearrange this equation to get the value of the unknown symbol

Points to consider
1. Acceleration under gravity
answer before you turn it into the number

. When dealing with , wait until you've got a final

2. If you're considering an object being thrown up into the air, remember that its maximum height is
reached when its velocity is 0. Similarly, if something starts from rest, its initial velocity is 0
3. You may need to split the movement up into different parts (e.g. when a thrown ball is moving
upwards, and when it is moving downwards). Remember that you'll need different SUVAT equations
for each part of the movement

4. If you're asked about what modelling assumptions are used, the typical ones are that there's no
air resistance and no wind, as otherwise the forces on the particles would be changing, hence its
acceleration won't be constant as required

Example Questions

(a):
Draw a diagram!

We have that the particle starts at rest, meaning its initial velocity is 0. We also
know the rocket is accelerating upwards, so we take upwards to be the positive
direction of our movement. Hence, during the first 3 seconds, we have the values
on the right for the movement of the rocket:
Thus we use the

equation, which we rearrange and sub in our

values to (do this yourself).

We get
(b)
Similarly, we can use

to deduce the final velocity (v) of the rocket when

3 seconds have gone by. Rearrange and sub in yourself:

We get
(c)
Now we need new SUVAT values as we're considering a separate part of the
rocket's movement - its flight between 3 and 5 seconds after it took off. The
particle is moving under gravity, so if we take upwards to still be the positive
direction of movement, the acceleration of the particle must be
. We
also have the initial velocity (u) (i.e. the velocity of the rocket when it stops

-9.8

accelerating) as

, from part b. Thus we have the SUVAT values on the right, and we use

. Sub in the values here:

We get
m. This is the height the rocket climbs when it is under gravity between 3 and 5 seconds
after takeoff. We must add this to 27m to get its total height:
Now try this question. The mark scheme is on the next page

Question Type 2: Distance/Velocity/Acceleration-time graphs

General notes
For these types of questions, you'll typically have to draw a velocity-time graph, and then you may
have to use one the following facts to deduce information about them:

The graph should have time on the x-axis, and velocity on the y-axis, like this:

You can work out the gradient of a line by the formula:

You can work out the area under a velocity- time graph by splitting it up into triangles, rectangles
and trapeziums. See the following graph for a car's movement over 16 seconds below:

Thus the total area is 100, so the total distance the car has travelled is 100m.

Points to consider when drawing your velocity-time graph

1. Different types of movements are drawn differently on the graph:
a) Constant acceleration is drawn as a straight line with a positive gradient (like for A)
b) Constant velocity is drawn as a straight flat line (like for D and B)
c) Constant deceleration is drawn as a straight line with negative gradient (like for C)
2. If something ends up moving back the way it came, you'll have to display a negative velocity, and
your line will go below the x-axis
3. Your graph should never be curved, as that would mean you've got a non-constant acceleration,
which you're not dealing with in this course

You will occasionally have to draw distancetime and acceleration-time graphs too. Once
again, in these graphs we need time on the xaxis, and distance/acceleration on the y-axis.
On the right are 3 graphs which all show the
same movement. Make sure you understand
why the different graphs link together.

Example Questions

(a)

(b) We know that that

We also can work out the area under the graph in terms of T, using the formula:

Sub in the values yourself and solve for :

Solving gives

Now try the following example. The mark scheme is on the following page:

Chapter 3: Dynamics of a particle moving in a straight line

This chapter is all about knowing and applying the equation

in various situations.

Question Type 1: Dynamics of particles without collisions

Firstly, note that any given object may have a number of forces acting on it. In M1, these will be one
of the following:
Type of Force
Weight
Reaction

What it acts on
Any object with mass
Any object pressing into a
surface

Frictional

Objects on rough surfaces

Tension

Objects attached to taught

strings
Objects being pushed

Thrust

Which direction it acts in

Vertically downwards
Perpendicular to the surface
(NOT necessarily vertically
upwards)
Opposite to the direction of
movement
Along the string away from the
object
The direction it's being pushed

The weight of an object is simply

where m is the mass of the object, and
gravitational constant of acceleration, which is roughly equal to
.

is the

If there is a resultant force in any direction, the object will accelerate in that direction. The
relationship between this force and acceleration is given by
, where is the mass of the
object.
For example, consider a 5kg object on a smooth surface on the next page with a thrust force of 6N
acting on it:

If the object doesn't accelerate up into the air or down into the surface, then we know that there is
no resultant force acting vertically, and the forces in the vertical direction (in this case the weight
and reaction forces) are balanced. However, the horizontal force is not balanced, so the box with
accelerate to the right with acceleration given by

However, the questions in your exam will not be so simple, and will have different situations that
you need to be able to deal with. There are 4 groups that these situations fall into:

-Resolving Forces
-Dealing with Friction
-Dealing with Slopes
-Dealing with connected particles
I'm going to talk through the basic theory of each, then do various examples.

Resolving forces/Dealing with slopes

We may have situations where we need to resolve different forces in a certain direction. This is best
explained by a diagram.
Say there's a force F acting on an object , and the angle between the force and the direction of
movement of the object is . If we draw a right angle triangle with the force as its hypotenuse, you
can divide the force into two components - one which is acting horizontally, and one that's acting
vertically.

Then the component of the force acting in the direction of the motion is simply
, just as
the length of the side would be if we were just dealing with an ordinary triangle. Similarly, the
component acting perpendicular to the direction of motion is
. We need to do this
because the acceleration of an object in a given direction is only affected by the component of the
force in that direction. So here, if the object has mass and is accelerating along the surface with
acceleration ,
. Assuming the object is not accelerating into/away from the
surface, there must be no resultant vertical force, so
.
The most common situation when we need to this is when we have an object of mass on a slope
inclined at an angle to the horizontal. The weight of the object will act vertically downwards, but
the reaction force will act perpendicular to the slope. If you resolve the weight of the object parallel
to the slope and perpendicular to it, then (in the absence of any other forces):
a) The component of the weight that is perpendicular to the surface will equal the reaction force on
the object (as otherwise the object will accelerate into/away from the slope). Thus

b) The component of the weight that is parallel to the surface will cause the object to accelerate
down the slope. Thus:

Acceleration down the slope is

as the force down the slope is

, and

Rough Surfaces and Frictional Forces

You may also have a situation where you're dealing with rough surfaces and slopes. The easiest way
to think about frictional forces is through an example.
- Imagine you are trying to push a heavy box to the left along a carpet. This means you are applying a
thrust force (let's call it
) to the box.
- Because the carpet is rough, if you don't push hard enough, the box will not move. This is because
the force you are applying is being balanced by a frictional force , which is equal and opposite to
the force you're applying, i.e.

- You push harder, but the box still doesn't move. You've increased the force you apply on the box
(so it's now which is greater than ), and the frictional force increases to match it (so it's now
which is greater than ), and prevents the block from moving, i.e.

- When you push the box hard enough, the box begins to move. The frictional force has increased to
a maximum value
, and once the force you apply exceeds this, the box will move. This
maximum value,
, can be calculated using the following equation:
, where is the
reaction force on the object, and is the coefficient of friction for the surface and object. can be
thought of as a measure of roughness - the rougher a surface and the object on it are, the larger
their is, and so the higher
is, meaning you have to applying a larger force to slide the object
across the surface

Let's return to our slope example, and imagine is the slope is now rough. We add the Frictional Force
to the diagram as below ( is acting up the slope as the object is 'trying' to move down):

If
, then the forces acting on the object are balanced, and it won't slide down the
slope. For this to happen, the following inequality must be satisfied:

We know that

, and we know in this case

. By cancelling the

, so we require
and dividing by

, we get this result:

So, a particle on a rough slope will remain at rest if

, where is the angle the plane
makes with the horizontal and is the coefficient of friction between the particle and the plane. In
other questions, you may have other forces involved too, such as someone pushing the object up
the slope, adding an extra thrust force to the diagram and changing your equations.
Don't worry about remembering this result though - it's far more important that you understand the
steps so that you can solve any question of this type. As long as you know that
, and that
acts on a particle when it's moving (or is on the point of moving) on a rough surface, you'll be
fine.

Connected particles
The final stage of complexity for these sorts of questions are connected particles. There are a few
key points to remember with connected particles:
-They have tension forces on them, which you need to take into account when resolving forces and
writing the
equations for the two directions you're dealing with.
- If one particle is accelerating at a certain rate and the string is taut, the other particle will be
accelerating at the same rate, as it's pulled by the string
- If the particles are moving in same straight line, it may help to treat the whole system as one
particle
-You may be given problems where objects are stacked on top of each other. Be aware that the
objects will be exerting weight/reaction forces on the objects they're in contact with
Otherwise, connected particles look hard, but aren't that bad. Here is an example:
Two Particles A and B, of masses 8kg and 5kg respectively, are connected by a light extensible string.
Particles A is pulled by a horizontal force of magnitude 50N along a rough horizontal plane. The
coefficient of friction between each particle and the plane is 0.4. The string is taut throughout the
time the force is applied.

- We can work out the acceleration of this system, and the tension in the string. Firstly, given that
the particles move along the plane and don't accelerate vertically, it's clear that
and
.Thus
, and
Now we consider the entire system, and work out the forces acting on it in the

direction:

Particles A and B:
The Ts cancel, and subsequently this equation can be solved to give
- We can also look at the particles separately, in this case to work out the tension of the sting. Let's
do so with particle A. We once again work out the forces acting on it in the : direction
Particle A:
Again, this can be solved, and it gives
You may have to deal with cases where two objects are suspended on a string around a pulley.
Because the objects aren't in a straight line, they can only be considered individually, but otherwise
you approach the question in the same way. Remember that if two particles are attached by a taut
string, their acceleration and the tension force acting on them will be the same

How to approach questions and structure your answer

When you combine all 4 of these elements
1. Read the question carefully, and take note of key words (it helps if you have a highlighter). For
example, you'll need to know if surfaces are smooth or rough, and if parts of the system are light
2. Annotate your diagram with every force present, and resolve the forces into
a) the direction of the movement of the particles (which is often along a surface)
b) the perpendicular direction to this
if they are not in these directions already
3. Write down
equations for each particle in each of the two directions. Use this sort of
format (as I did in the previous question), as it will make it clearer for both you and the examiner:
Particle A:

4.Most of the time, you'll then need to solve the equations for an unknown using normal methods.
Sometimes you'll have to solve equations simultaneously, and sometimes you'll have to leave
answer in terms of an unknown, like

or

5. If a surface is rough, you'll also need to use

6. When dealing with , leave it as it is until the final form of the answer, as it will keep your working
cleaner
7. Frequently these questions have parts where you have to model particles under constant
acceleration, for which you use SUVAT equations. For example, a question may ask you to work out
what distance a particle travels after a string pulling it breaks

Example Questions

Let's begin by annotating the diagram:

a) For Particle A, we must consider the tension (from the sting) and the weight acting on it. We know
that B moves up the plane when it's released, so A must move straight down, with acceleration .
Thus we get the following equation for particle A:
Particle A:
For particle B, we must consider the weight, tension, frictional force(because it's on a rough surface)
and reaction force acting on it. We split the weight into two components, one down the slope, and
one perpendicular to the slope, and draw them on the diagram. Thus we have the following
equations for B:
Particle B:

(so clearly

We also know that because B is moving,

Hence

Subbing

is acting on it, and

. Let's add this info to the diagram:

into the second component of particle B gives

So we now have two simultaneous equations for

and :

You'll notice that at this point I have ignored changing

into numbers . You can change
them at any time, but I prefer to so it towards the end of the question. In this case we have
. We can find out what

The length of the hypotenuse is

and

are by thinking of a right angle triangle:

. Thus

and

. Subbing

these into the simultaneous equations and adding them gives us this equation for :

This can be simplified and solved (do this yourself):

We get that
(b) This is simple SUVAT equations. The acceleration is 9.92, the particle starts at
rest, and we want to now its speed after 1m. Clearly we need
. Thus

3.92

Now try the following example yourself. The mark scheme is on the following page:

Question Type 2: Dynamics of particles with collisions

General Notes
For these questions you need to understand about momentum and impulses. You'll need to know
both the Impulse-Momentum law, and the Conservation of Momentum Law. Typically the question
will be about two particles colliding, and you'll have to find out their masses, velocities. and the
impulses they exert on each other
- Momentum: The momentum of an object with mass
- Impulses: The impulse of a constant force

moving with a velocity

acting for a time is

is

- Impulse-Momentum law: If an object of mass is travelling with initial velocity , and a constant
force (frequently from a collision) acts on it causing its velocity to become , the impulse of the force
is the body's change in momentum (
- Conservation of Momentum Law: If two bodies collide
with each other, the total momentum before the impact
equals the final momentum after the impact
(

Points to remember
1. As per usual, start off by drawing and annotating a diagram using info from the question. You'll
then need to use this info to write equations using the formulas above
2. If one of the colliding bodies is a wall, it won't have velocity before or after a collision
3. Remember that if a body changes direction, you will need to change the sign of its velocity

Example questions

a) Draw a diagram:

Hence we have the following values for using the Conservation of Momentum Law (taking left to be
the positive direction):
Sun in and solve this yourself:

This reveals

b) Now we use the Impulse-Momentum formula:

Now try this question. The mark scheme is on the next page:

Chapter 4: Statics of a particle

General Notes
This chapter is actually hugely similar to the chapter 3 topic, dynamics of particles without collisions,
and requires knowledge of the exact some mechanics, such as friction, resolving forces etc. The only
difference is, in chapter 3 you were dealing with objects which were being accelerated, but in this
chapter, objects stay still (questions will often say that the system is in equilibrium). Thus you no
longer deal with
as
in these questions. You will simply have to resolve forces and the
set the resultant force in any direction equal to .
When dealing with rough surfaces, often the questions will talk about objects being 'in limiting
equilibrium' or 'on the point of moving'. This means that the maximum frictional force
is acting
on the object to prevent movement, and as we know, we can use
to work out what it is.

Example Questions

a) As per usual, we annotate the diagram, at the same time resolving the tension forces into
horizontal and vertical component:

Because the particle is in equilibrium, we know the resultant force in any direction is 0. Using the
fact that

and

, we have:

Particle:

Since the second equation only has

This gives

as an unknown, we can solve for it (do this yourself).

b) Now we know , we can sub it into the first equation and work out the value of m (do this
yourself again).

This gives

Now try this question:

Chapter 5 - Moments
For these questions you need to understand about moments. You'll need to know what a moment is
and how to work out the moment of a force, and what it means for a system to be in equilibrium.
You need to know how to deal with non-uniform bodies. The first part of the general notes are give
some background on defining moments. If you don't understand the true definition, look at the
second explanation using resolving forces - it's what I used at school, and I find it easier to deal with.
Because all the bodies you'll deal with (regarding moments) can be modelled as rods, that's what I'll
be calling them - check the 0th chapter if you've forgotten the definition of a rod.

General notes
The moment of a force measures the turning effect of the force on the rod on which it's acting. We
can give moments numerical values, but first we have to define 2 other concepts:
Line of action of a force: This is the (infinite) line that can be drawn through the force vector
Perpendicular distance: The distance between a line and a point/other line, measured along a line
that is perpendicular to one or both
We can now define a moment:
The moment of a force about a point P on a rod is the product of the magnitude of the force and
the perpendicular distance of the line of action of the force from the point P.
This means perpendicular distance isn't necessarily the distance between P and the point of the
body at which acts. See these two examples where forces are acting on a seesaw:

Here the

Here the

, as the line of action of the force isn't

perpendicular to the seesaw

If this definition is confusing to you, think of it by resolving

to the turning rod, and one parallel to it:

into 2 components: one perpendicular

The vertical component of the force is the one that causes the seesaw to turn, where as the
horizontal component won't cause it to turn at all. Thus we say the vertical component is acting at a
perpendicular distance to the pivot, and thus to work out the moment, we say that
. It's the same result achieved by thinking in a different
way.

Anti-clockwise/clockwise moments
In the examples above, an anticlockwise moment is being created, as the force will cause the rod to
turn in an anticlockwise direction. If the force was acting downwards on the right hand side of the
pivot, the moment would be clockwise.
If a body has several forces acting on it with different moments, we can take one direction to be
positive, one to be negative, and add the moments about a point to work out the overall moment.
Here is a seesaw with lots of different forces acting it:

Let's consider the two different moment directions. Forces B and D will make the seesaw turn
anticlockwise, and Forces A and C will make it turn clockwise. The reaction force is acting at the
pivot, so it doesn't cause the seesaw to turn, and its moment is 0. Thus the moments are:

If we take clockwise to be the positive direction, then the overall moment is:
Bear in mind that if this value is negative, the overall moment will be anticlockwise.

Equilibrium
# the resultant force in any direction is 0.
If a body is in equilibrium, it means 2 things. Firstly,
Secondly, the sum of the moments about any point is zero. These two facts along us to write down
many equations for bodies in equilibrium. For example, if the seesaw in the example is in
equilibrium, we can write down three equations:

When doing question involving moments, you'll often need to solve these equations for unknowns.

Uniform and Non-Uniform Bodies

If a body is uniform, we can model its weight as acting at its centre of mass at the centre of the
body. For example, for a uniform, 5m long beam which weighs 10kg, we would consider its 10g
weight to act 2.5 m down the beam (at its centre).
If a body is non uniform, we still model its weight as acting at its centre of mass. However, this will
no longer necessarily be at the centre of the body. You may be asked to work out the where the
centre of mass is by solving equations. We'll do this in an example later.

How to approach such questions and structure your answer

1) Draw and annotate a diagram. Write down all the forces that are acting on your rod, including
weights on the rod, the weight of the rod itself (which acts at the centre of mass of the rod),
reaction forces from supports/pivots, and tension forces if the rod is suspended by strings
2) Collect and write down all the moments for both the clockwise and anticlockwise directions, in
this sort of format:

If the system is in equilibrium, set them equal to each other.

c) Write out equations for the resultant forces horizontally and vertically. Again, if the system is in
equilibrium, set them equal to zero
d) Solve these equations for unknowns

Points to remember
1. If a body is 'on the point of tilting' away from a support, the reaction force from that support will
be 0
2. You can take moments about any point on your rod, provided you know the distance from which
forces are acting. Often in questions, taking moments around one point in particular will be what
you need to progress with a question, as you'll end up with solvable equations
3. If you don't know the magnitude of a force, taking moments around the point at which it acts will
mean you don't have to worry about its moment, as it will be 0 no matter how big/small the
magnitude is

Example questions

a) We begin by annotating the diagram:

We want to find the tension of the rope attached at B. Since we don't care about the tension at A,
it makes sense to take moments around A. The anticlockwise moment about A will be due to , and
the clockwise moment will be due to the weights of the beam itself and of the particle at C:

Because the rod is in equilibrium, we set these as equal. Solving the resultant equation (do this
yourself)

gives
b)

We need to work out what the tension is each rope is first. We say the tension at B is X N, and at A
it's X+10 N. We say the distance that the centre of mass of the beam away from A is x m.

Now resolving forces vertically gives the following:

:
We solve this to get

(do this yourself):

Now, if we take moments about either A or B, we can work out the value of x. I'll do both:

The system is in equilibrium so

Solving for

gives

again

The system is in equilibrium so

Solving for

gives

1.4

Now try the following example:

Chapter 6 - Vectors
General Notes:
1. At GCSE level we display 2D vectors using bold letters like , or as Letters with arrows over them,
like
In mechanics we also write 2D vectors in the form
where is the unit vector in the x
direction on a Cartesian axis, and is the unit vector in the y direction.

2. We can add/subtract them by considering the and terms separately. For example, if an
object's position vector is
(relative to the origin), and then moves by another
its overall position vector is
(relative to the origin).
3. The magnitude of a vector

is simply the length of the vector. From Pythagoras, this is

4. Any quantity which has both magnitude and direction can be described as a vector. That means
displacements, velocities, accelerations and forces can all be described using vectors. Below is a
table summarising what you need to know about each:
Position
vectors

It's usually given relative to the origin, but can be relative to any point you
specify
The magnitude of a particle's position vector relative to a point is its
displacement from the point
If you're given a position vector of a particle, and asked to find out the
bearing it's on, you need to measure the angle between the vertical/north/
direction vector and the given position vector using trigonometry, and give
the answer in degrees.
For example, a particle with position vector of
has a displacement
of

, and is on a bearing of

(check this)

Velocity
vectors

Acceleration
vectors

Force
vectors

The magnitude of a particle's velocity vector is its speed

If a particle starts from position vector and moves off with velocity vector ,
its position vector after seconds will be
For example, a particle starts at
, and moves with a velocity
for
Its final position vector after 3s will then be
(check this)

If a particle with initial velocity moves with constant acceleration , its

velocity vector after seconds will be
For example, a particle has velocity
at time
, and moves
with constant acceleration
. Its final velocity vector after
will then be
(check this)

Given a force vector , the acceleration it will cause on a particle with mass
will be given by
For example, a force with force vector
will cause a particle
with mass
to have an acceleration of
If a particle is in equilibrium, the resultant force on it in any direction is 0.
Thus if you sum all the vectors of the forces, you'll end up with the zero
vector,
, sometimes denoted

5. If a particle is due north/south of a point, its position vector relative to that point has no
component. Likewise, if it's due east/west of a point, its position vector relative to that point has no
component

Example Questions

a) We can use the

formula, because we know
and
(look at the previous page if you can't remember what each of these represent). Rearranging for
and subbing in (do this yourself) gives
However, we're not done yet, as the
question asks for the speed of , which is the magnitude of this velocity vector. The speed is simply
(note the units)
b) The direction S is moving is given by its velocity vector

Clearly

which gives

c) This is simply the formula

. This is the bearing of the direction S is moving.

+(

d)The distance between the lighthouse and the ship is the magnitude of the position vector from
one to the other. Since the lighthouse's position vector is
and S's position vector is
, the position vector of the lightshouse relative to the ship is
)
We need the magnitude of this vector to be 10, so we require
Squaring both sides and squaring the brackets gives a quadratic that can be solved for (do this
yourself)

giving

Now attempt these 2 questions:

This concludes the revision guide. Make sure you make full use of all the exercises in the book, and
all the past papers online - practice makes perfect! If you have any questions about the guide email
me at fb611@ic.ac.uk