Forces - Moments

A moment is a turning effect of a force and you come across them every day of your life. You
need to know some examples of forces that create turning effects, how the principle of
moments can be utilised and how to calculate the magnitude of turning forces and moments.

If an object is fixed in place using a pivot (a shaft or other fixing that is designed to allow
movement of the object), then you have the exact situation required for a turning force to arise.
When an object is placed on something narrower, the narrow object can act as a pivot too, for
example, a plank placed on a brick. Finally the edges or curved parts of objects can act as pivots
too - take for example, a fork. Placed with the curved side uppermost, it is stable, however,
placed with the curved side on the table, pressing downwards on the prongs will create a turning
force that raises the handle.

The pivot is sometimes referred to as the fulcrum, especially in the context of levers.

When a force is applied to a pivoted object, if it is to one side or the other of the pivot, the object
will experience a moment. If the magnitude of the moment is sufficient to overcome any
frictional forces, then the object will turn around the pivot. The size of the moment depends on
the size of the force applied and its perpendicular distance from the pivot. The equation for
calculating a moment is simply the force multiplied by the distance. The SI unit of force is the
newton; the SI unit for distance is metres, so the SI units for moments will be newton metres.

All pivoted systems obey the principle of moments. This tells us that if a pivoted object is not
moving, the sum of the anticlockwise moments is the same as the sum of the clockwise
moments. Questions on your exam paper will often ask you to work out the force or the distance
that would be needed to balance a specific moment. Answering such questions is just a case of
rearranging the equation that represents the principle of moments to isolate the term you are
required to work out:

anticlockwise force x anticlockwise distance = clockwise force x clockwise distance

In some parts of the world, the circus is still very popular. Several circus acts utilise the principle
of moments. Trapeze artists are one such group of performers. The trapeze is just an object that
is fixed in place by a pivot, high in the big top tent. They can change the moment on the trapeze
by altering the position of their centre of gravity. Some of the more spectacular trapeze artists
even use the principle of moments to reach the trapeze - they use a see-saw! One or more
members of the troupe will stand on a platform and the trapeze performer stands on the end of a
specially strengthened see-saw. The people on the platform jump down together and land on the
end of the see-saw. The moment they create is larger than the one created by the single person on
the other end, so the force moves the see-saw. As you know, when a force moves, work is done.
This work done transfers the gravitational potential energy of the jumpers into kinetic energy,
firing the performer upwards to reach their trapeze. There is lots of physics in operation at a
circus.
1.What is a moment?
A turning effect of a force
The mass of an object at a point
The distance of a mass from a pivot
When a system is in equilibrium

2.What is the formula for the size of a moment?

M=Fxd
F=Mxd
M = F∕d
d=MxF

3.What does d in the above equation stand for?

Parallel distance from line of action to the pivot
Perpendicular distance from line of action to the pivot
Distance of the plane
Distance between two masses

4. If an object is not turning, the total clockwise moment, compared to the total anti-clockwise
moment about any pivot, must be what?
Clockwise moment is twice as large as anti-clockwise moment
Clockwise moment is three times as large as anti-clockwise moment
Clockwise moment is half as large as anti-clockwise moment
Clockwise moment is exactly equal in magnitude to the anti-clockwise moment

5.What is the size of a moment if F = 10 N and d = 125 cm?

10.125 N m
1250 N m
12.5 N m
1.25 N m

6.A see-saw is balanced on a pivot with two children on it. One child is sitting 1.5 m to the left of
the pivot and has a mass of 50 kg. Another child of mass 30 kg is sitting on the right hand side of
the pivot. What distance away from the pivot is the child on the right of the pivot?
30 cm
1.5 m
2.5 m
Impossible to say without knowing the length of the see-saw

7.What is the force that creates a moment of 10 N m when it is applied 0.25 m from the pivot?
30 N
40 N
50 N
60 N
8.If the point of application of the force was moved further away from the pivot, what would be
the effect on the moment?
The moment would be greater because the distance is greater
The moment would remain the same because the force hasn't changed
The moment would be smaller because it is further away and therefore has less effect on the
pivot
More information is needed to be able to answer this question

9.A plank of wood is balanced on a pivot. One mass of 10 kg is then placed 1 m to the left of the
pivot on the wood. What weight needs to be placed 0.5 m to the right of the pivot for the wood to
still be balanced?
10 kg
20 kg
10 N
200 N

10.Which of the following is an example of the principle of moments being utilised?

Lifting a book
A rock falling
A crowbar being used to lift a drain cover
A USB stick
 

Forces - Forces and Turning Effects

You use turning forces every day but probably don't even think about them - switching on a
light and opening a door are just two examples. The turning effect of a force is called a moment.
A moment is created when a force is applied to an object that is attached to a pivot. A pivot is a
pin or shaft that fixes an object in place but also allows the object to move around it. You will
probably have done calculations involving levers in your lessons, in the context of levers, the
pivot is referred to as a fulcrum. There is also a word that describes the force that tends to
produce rotation - torque. This word does have other meanings too and engineers use it instead
of the scientific word moment.

If you ever do maintenance on your bicycle, particularly if it has hydraulic disc brakes, you will
sometimes see the recommended torque for tightening the bolts written in the instructions. This
tells you how tightly the bolts should be fastened and can be done by using a torque wrench
which is a tool that can be set to tighten bolts to a specific value. Torque values are important -
too tight and the bolt can be weakened, not tight enough and the bolt could become loose or even
come out of place completely. There have been cases of wheels coming off cars because the
bolts have not been tightened enough or over-tightened so much that they break due to the forces
acting on the wheel when the car is moving at high speed.

Whatever term is used, pivot or fulcrum, torque or moment, the calculations and effects are the
same. The moment of a turning force depends on just two things - the size of the force and the
perpendicular distance from the force to the pivot or fulcrum. When you multiply the two
figures together, you have the magnitude (size) of the moment. When the distance is in metres
(m) and the force is in newtons (N), the units of a moment are therefore newton metres (N m).

In the exam, quite often calculations are designed to test your knowledge of how to calculate a
moment and your understanding of the principle (or law) of moments. When you consider a
system with a pivot, a force on one side of the pivot can cause the system to turn in a clockwise
direction. A force on the other side of the pivot would cause the system to turn in an
anticlockwise direction. Think about a see-saw looking at it from the side. One person gets on
the left hand side of the see-saw and that side goes down. It has moved in an anticlockwise
direction. If a second person sits on the other side, they can make the other side of the see-saw
move in a clockwise direction.

If they are the same weight and sit at exactly the same distance from the pivot, the see-saw will
be balanced. That is the principle of moments - when an object is not turning round its pivot,
the sum of the clockwise moments is equal to the sum of the anticlockwise moments. The
two people on the see-saw can make it move by changing their moment - leaning backwards or
forwards, increasing the force by using their legs against the ground, sitting closer to the pivot,
getting someone else to sit on the see-saw and so on.

The way in which weight is distributed compared to the position of the centre of mass can affect
an object's stability. This is because a moment is created. The centre of mass of an object is
defined as the point through which all of the mass of a body appears to act. In practical terms, if
you can suspend an object from its centre of mass, it would be perfectly balanced. If a force is
applied off-centre, it means that the force is acting at a distance from the centre of mass. This
creates a moment which causes an unstable equilibrium. If you are near a large building site,
watch one of the large gantry cranes - see if you can spot the counterweight that is necessary to
balance the moment of the load that they are lifting to help to avoid an unstable equilibrium.

Turning forces can also produce a neutral equilibrium, for example, a ball doesn't fall over
when a turning force is applied, it rolls. Conical objects and cylinders are also in a state of
neutral equilibrium.
1.What is the turning effect of forces?
A moment
A while
An hour
A day

2.What is the formula for a moment?

Moment = F x d
F=Mxd
d=FxM
Moment = 2F x d

3.In the above equation, what does d represent?

Distance of a beam
Distance from the line of action of the force to another force
Distance from the line of action of the force to the pivot
Distance to the pivot from the line of action of the force and back again

4.What is a moment measured in?

N
m
Nm
N/m

5.What is the centre of mass of an object?

It is a point on the object where the whole weight of the object seems to act
It is the central point of an object
It is a point just above the top of an object
The centre of mass of an object is never found at a point on an object

6.What is stability?
The ability of an object to maintain its original position
An object which will oscillate around a point after being displaced but will never come to rest
An object which continues to move away from its position after being displaced
None of the above
7.Which statement is true for a body in stable equilibrium?
It continues to move away from its original position after being displaced
It returns to its original position after being displaced slightly
Both of the above
Neither of the above

8.Which statement is true for a body in unstable equilibrium?

It returns to its original position after being displaced slightly
It continues to move away from its original position after being displaced
Both of the above
Neither of the above

9.How can the stability of an object be increased?

Lower its centre of mass
Increase the area of its base
Both of the above
Neither of the above

10.If the total clockwise moment around a pivot is 10 N m and the total moment about a pivot is
zero, what is the size of the anticlockwise moment?
1Nm
5Nm
10 N m
20 N m
 
Forces - Forces and their Effects
Having a good understanding of forces can help you understand how the world around you
moves. In some cases, it can be very useful as it can help you to do physical tasks more easily
but most of the time, you will use forces without even thinking about them. Forces can be used to
transfer energy and energy can be used to create forces. The forces used to slow a vehicle
transfer kinetic energy into heat energy and the chemical energy in your body can be transferred
into kinetic energy to move your muscles, creating forces that are useful to your body.

Forces behave predictably, which is extremely useful to humans. Engineers can predict how
forces will affect the materials of building materials; vehicle manufacturers can work out the
forces required to safely stop their vehicles; rock climbers use the forces of friction and learn
how to use turning forces to help to keep them from falling; tennis players learn how to control
the tennis ball by changing the forces they apply using their racquet.Unbalanced forces can cause
changes to the shape or motion of an object - they can move in a straight line at a constant speed
when the forces are balanced or change their shape, speed and / or direction (accelerate or
decelerate). Graphs can be used to describe the movement of an objects, the two that you need to
learn about are distance-time graphs and velocity-time graphs.

For cars, you need to evaluate the effects of alcohol and drugs on stopping distances and evaluate
how the shape and power of a vehicle can be altered to increase the vehicle's top speed. The key
points to remember about stopping distances are that they involve a thinking distance and a
braking distance. Anything that slows down a person's thinking such as drugs and alcohol will
increase the thinking distance - the car will have travelled further. If a car's brakes are worn or
otherwise in a poor condition, or the tyres are worn, the braking system will not work as
effectively, increasing the braking distance. You also need to know that adverse conditions that
reduce the frictional force of the tyres on the road will also increase the braking distance. The
key points to remember about increasing a vehicle's top speed are that air resistance, mass and
driving force from the engine are all involved.

You will be expected to be able to draw and interpret velocity-time graphs for objects that reach
terminal velocity, including a consideration of the forces acting on the object. The sort of thing
that you may be asked to do is to sketch a graph showing the speed and velocity of a skydiver
before and after they have opened their parachute. For cars, you may have to interpret the forces
acting on the car based on a graph. You need to know how to work out acceleration and distance
travelled from graphs too and there are a few simple equations that you need to learn.

1.
Which of the following surfaces will have the greatest frictional force?
Smooth surface
Rough surface
Both smooth and rough have the same frictional force
It is impossible to tell
2.
As the speed of a car increases, what happens to the strength of the air resistance?
Decreases
Increases
Stays the same
There is no air resistance
3.
If the resultant force acting on an object is zero, what happens to the object?
It does not move
It continues to move at a constant speed
It does not accelerate
All of the above
4.
How can the acceleration of an object be measured on a velocity time graph?
By calculating the area under the graph
By measuring the gradient
By calculating the area above the graph
You cannot work out the acceleration of an object from a velocity time graph
5.
How can distance travelled be calculated by using a velocity time graph?
It is the area under the graph
It can be calculated from the gradient of the graph
It cannot be calculated using a velocity time graph
It is the area above the graph
6.
When is the terminal velocity of an object reached?
When the acceleration is 0
When the acceleration is 1
When the acceleration is less than 0
When the acceleration is more than 1
7.
What can affect the speed of a car?
Air resistance
Power of the engine
Mass of the car
All of the above
8.
When a resultant force acts upon an object, what determines the size of the acceleration of that
object?
Size of resultant force
Mass of the object
Size of resultant force and mass of the object
Neither size of resultant force nor mass of the object
9.
In a vacuum, all bodies accelerate at what?
The same rate
A rate determined by their mass
No two bodies accelerate at the same rate
Either two times the strength of the field present or four times the strength of the field present
10.
The equation that links mass, force and acceleration is ...
Force = acceleration / mass
Mass = force x acceleration
Force = mass x acceleration
Acceleration = mass x force