Ch-1: Movement and Position

Scalar quantities are those which only have magnitude, e.g. distance, speed, mass, time.

Vector quantities are those which have both magnitude and direction, e.g.
displacement, velocity, acceleration, force.

Distance is the length moved by an object, while displacement is the length moved by
an object in a particular direction. For example: If a person travels 200 m from point A
and comes back to point A, his total distance travelled is 200 + 200 = 400 m. However,
his displacement is +200 + (-200) = 0 m.

Speed is the amount of distance moved by an object per unit time. It has expressed in
m/s.

Velocity is the amount of distance moved by an object in a particular direction per unit
time. So, velocity is simply the speed in a particular direction.

Average speed of an object is its total distance travelled within the total time duration
of the journey. It gives an average value of the speed, and not the speed at any
particular time.

Average speed = Total Distance/ Total Time

Instantaneous speed is the speed of the body a particular time of the journey. It is
found using the speedometer.

When a car slides down an inclined surface, it gains speed due to the component of
gravity acting on it. If we divide the distance it travels by the time taken, we get its
average speed, not its final speed. To get its final speed, we have to use light gates.

Acceleration is the rate of increase of the velocity of an object. It is measured in m/s 2.

Deceleration is simply the opposite of deceleration.

Acceleration = Increase of velocity/ Time taken

Circular Motion

When we have to find the average speed of an object completing a circular motion, like
in a race track, we have to divide its total distance by the total time taken. Each lap of
the race has a distance of 2 x pi x radius, which is the circumference of a circle. The total
distance is the no. of laps multiplied with the distance of 1 lap. The total time is found
by using a stopwatch. For greater accuracy, the experiment is repeated several times
and the average value is taken.

A light gate is a device which is connected to a data-logger. The light gate sends out a
beam of light. Once that light is interrupted, a timer starts in the data-logger. For as long
as the light is interrupted, the timer keeps on ticking. Once the interruption has passed
the light gate, the timer stops.

If we wish to find the speed of an object, we simply use one light gate. The distance
moved will be the length of the object, while the time taken for the object to completely
pass the light gate is recorded by the data-logger. However, if we wish to find the
acceleration of the body, we need to use two light gates. Light gate 1 will give the
starting speed, while light gate 2 will give the final speed. The time taken to for the
object to cross both the light gates is recorded by the data-logger.

Motion graphs

There are two kinds of motion graphs required for the IGCSE:

1. Displacement-time graphs
2. Velocity-time graphs

These graphs have the following features:

1. The gradient of a displacement-time graph gives the velocity.

2. The gradient of a velocity-time graph gives the acceleration.
3. The area under a velocity-time graph gives the distance moved.
 Ch-2: Forces and Shape

A force is a vector quantity which can also be termed as a push or a pull. An object
which is acted upon by several forces in different directions has a net force. Net force
can also be termed as unbalanced force or resultant force.

There are different kinds of forces:

1. Weight 2. Friction 3. Air Resistance 4. Tension 5. Electrostatic 6. Magnetic

7. Nuclear 8. Upthrust

Weight is also known as the pull of gravity on an object. The Earth has a gravitational
field strength of 10N/kg which means that every 1 kg object is pulled with 10N by the
Earth. The Moon has a lower field strength as it is much smaller and less massive than
the Earth (1/6th).

Friction is the force which opposes motion of moving objects. A rough surface has a
greater friction than a smooth surface. However, without friction, a body cannot start
moving. When a person steps forward, his shoes push towards the back, and so the
friction acts forward, causing the body to move forward.

Air Resistance is the opposing force acting on a body when it is trying to move through
air. This is the force faced by planes and also parachutists when they move through air.
The more appropriate word used to represent opposing force through fluids (liquids and
gases) is called drag force.

Tension is the force due to the stretching of a spring or a string. If an object is hanging
from the wall, its weight is balanced by the upward tension.

Electrostatic force is the force between charges. Like charges repel, while unlike charges
attract.

Magnetic force is the force due to magnetic poles. Like poles repel, while unlike charges
attract.

Nuclear force holds the protons in place within the nucleus even though they are
repelling and it also causes the protons to attract the electrons and hold them in place.
Upthrust is the force applied by a liquid upwards when an object exerts a downward
force on it.

Investigating friction

The friction of surface is found using a toy car, attached to bunch of weights with the
help of a pulley. The car is places on the surface, while the weights hang vertically over
the pulley, providing a forward force to the car. Initially, the toy car does not move due
to the opposition of friction. However, as more and more weights are added, there
comes a point when the car just starts to move. It is at that point that the forward force
has just equaled the frictional force of the surface.

Hooke’s Law: It states that the extension of a spring is directly proportional to the
load/force applied to it, up to the elastic limit.

The objects which follow Hooke’s Law, when stretched and released, come back to their
original shapes. However, if they exceed the elastic limit, they are permanently
deformed.

Rubber bands do not follow Hooke’s law, unlike springs. As a result, the graph of e-F is
abnormal.

To carry out the Hooke’s law experiment, take the initial length of the spring without
any load. Add a pre-measured load to the spring now and take its new length. We get
the extension by subtracting the old length from the new length. This is carried out for
several loads, and the results listed on a table. The data from the table is then used to
plot a graph of extension/force, which should give a straight line through the origin for
steel springs.

Ch-3: Forces and Movement

Once we have established the method of investigating friction, we are left with two
more observations:

1. a ∝ F (acceleration is directly proportional to the net force)

a = k F  a = (1/m) F  F = ma

Once we have just overcome friction, if we keep on adding more loads to the
pulley, we notice that instead of travelling at a constant speed, the trolley now
starts accelerating. We notice, that greater is the net force (load force – frictional
force), greater is the acceleration.

2. a ∝ 1/m (acceleration is inversely proportional to the mass)

a = k (1/m)  a = F (1/m)  F = ma

Using the same setup used for investigating friction, if we now keep the load force
same and instead change the mass of the trolley itself, we notice that the more
massive the trolley, the lesser is the acceleration.

Total Stopping Distance

When a driver is driving a car and sees a pedestrian crossing the road, he decides
whether to brake or whether to keep going at the same speed. While he decides, he
doesn’t either speed up nor does he slow down. This time is known as the reaction time
and the distance travelled during this time is known as the thinking distance. Once he
starts braking, it takes a certain time before the car finally comes to rest. The time taken
to completely come to rest is known as the braking time and the distance travelled
during this time is known as the braking distance. The addition of the thinking and the
braking distances gives us the total stopping distance of the car.

Factors affecting thinking distance:

1. If the driver is tired

2. If the driver is drunk
3. If the weather is foggy or unhelpful

Factors affecting braking distance:

1. Condition of the brakes

2. Condition of the tyres
3. Condition of the road surface

Terminal velocity: This situation arises when an object falls through the air. When it just
starts to fall, the only force acting on it is its weight. This causes it to accelerate at the
acceleration due to gravity (10 m/s2). However, as it speeds up, air resistance increases.
This opposes the motion and eventually the net force on the body becomes zero as a
result of the weight becoming equal to the air resistance. At this situation, without any
net force, the object travels at a constant velocity known as the 1 st terminal velocity.
However, if a parachute is ejected at this point, the body rapidly decelerates, due to the
sudden increase in surface area, and eventually when the air resistance becomes equal
to the weight, it reaches another constant velocity, known as the 2 nd terminal velocity,
which is much lower than the first.

Modeling terminal velocity: This is done by slowly dropping a steel ball through a
cylindrical jar full of oil. Light gates, connected to a data logger, are set at different
heights of the jar, at regular distances. Initially, we notice that the times taken to
completely cross each light gate are quite low, as the ball is moving rapidly, meaning it is
accelerating. However, we eventually notice, that as the ball goes towards the bottom
of the jar, the times taken to completely cross the light gates increase, meaning the
speed is not increasing as rapidly as before. Finally, at the bottom light gates, we notice
the times recorded by each LG are the same, meaning the speed has become equal.
This happens when the weight of the ball has been balanced by the upthrust and the
drag force of the oil.

Ch-4: Momentum

Momentum is the measure of difficulty of stopping a body.

It is equal to the product of the body’s mass and its velocity.

Momentum (kg m/s) = mass (kg) x velocity (m/s)

The law of conservation of momentum states that the total momentum before
collision/explosion is equal to the total momentum after collision/explosion.

Newton’s Laws of Motion

1. If an object is at rest, it will stay at rest, and if an object is moving, it will keep on
moving at a constant speed, unless an external force is applied. (Inertia)
 2. If the same force is applied to two bodies, the body with the lower mass will
accelerate more.
The force is equal to the rate of change of momentum.
3. If object A pushed object B with a force, object B will push object A with the same
force in the opposite direction.

Deriving the 2nd Law

F = (mv-mu)/t

F = m {(v-u)/t}

F = ma

To reduce the force on impact, we have to increase the impact time. This can be
accomplished by using seat belts, air bags or crumple zones (in front of cars). They
elongate the impact time, causing less damage to the passenger and the pedestrians.

Ch-5: Moment

Moment refers to the turning effect of a force. It is the product of the force and its
perpendicular distance from the pivot.

Moment (Nm) = Force (N) x Perpendicular distance between force and pivot (m)

The principle of moments states that if body is balanced, the total clockwise moment
on it is equal to the total anticlockwise moment on it.

The centre of gravity of a body is that point on the body through which all its weight
seems to act. For uniform objects, it lies at the intersection of the object’s
diagonals/radii. However, for non-uniform objects, the COG doesn’t lie at the center.
Factors affecting the stability of a body

1. Position of the centre of gravity

2. Shape of the base

If the centre of gravity is located towards the top of the body, due to the increased
moment, the body becomes unstable. The lower the COG, the better the stability.

If the base is narrow, the body would be unstable. A wide base ensures stability.

A body supported at its pivot does not turn, no matter what the force is. This is because
the distance between the pivot and the force is 0, so the moment is also 0.