Mechanics part 2: conservation of matter, friction, work energy and power etc

Conservation Laws

This principle in physics states that a principle that a certain physical property does not change in the
course of time within an isolated physical system. For classical physics, laws of this type govern energy,
momentum, angular momentum, mass and electric charge. An important function of conservation laws
is that they make it possible to predict the macroscopic behaviour of a system without having to
consider the microscopic details of the course of a physical process or chemical reaction.

Conservation of Energy implies that energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can be transformed
from one form to another

Conservation of mass implies that matter can neither be created nor destroyed i.e., processes that
change the physical or chemical properties of substances within an isolated system (e.g. liquid or gas)
leave the total mass unchanged.

Conservation of Linear momentum expresses the fact that a body or a system retains its total
momentum, which is the product of its mass m and velocity v.

Law of momentum is important in the solution of collision problems e.g. operation of rockets.

Conservation of angular momentum of rotating bodies is analogous to the conservation of linear

momentum. Angular momentum is a vector quantity whose conservation expresses the law that a body
or system that is rotating continues to rotate at the same rate unless a twisting force called torque is
applied to it. The angular momentum of each bit of matter consists of the product of its mass, its
distance from the axis of rotation, and the component of its velocity perpendicular to the line from the
axis.

Conservation of charge states that the total amount of electric charge in a system does not change with
time.

Laws of conservation of energy, momentum, and angular momentum are all derived from classical
mechanics. Respectively, the three conservation laws express the facts that Physics does not change with
passing time, displacement in space, or rotation in space.
Centre of Gravity

Gravity acts on all the particles of any body and there is no single force that can give the same effect.
However, the net force and torque needed for equilibrium calculation maybe found by imagining an
equivalent total gravitational force mg acting at a specific point called the centre of mass or centre of
gravity.

NB: if the gravitational acceleration is the same for all the particles in a body, the centre of gravity is at
the centre of mass i.e. The only time we can equate centre of mass to centre of gravity is when the
gravitational acceleration vector g has the same magnitude and direction for all points of space occupied
by the body.

WORK, ENERGY, POWER

Work is said to be done when the point of application of a force moves through a displacement s, and is
measured by the product of the force and the distance moved in the direction of the force i.e.

W= Force X distance moved in the direction of force.

It is a scalar quantity and its unit is the Newton Meter=Joule (J). A convenient unit of work when dealing
with atoms/sub-atomic particles is the electron-volt (eV) and 1eV= 1.6 X 10-19J

When a constant force F and the displacement s are in the same direction

W= f X s

NB: work is another process by which a system may exchange energy with its surroundings. The amount
of energy as W that a system transmits to its surroundings as it expands/contracts from an initial volume
Vi to a final volume Vf maybe computed from

Vf- Vi
Work may also be computed as the area under the curve of P versus V

Another application is when work is done in stretching/compressing a spring by a distance from its
relaxed strength. If the spring obeys Hooke’s law, the force exerted by the spring is

F=-kx (k= spring constant)

WORK & ENERGY

Work in Physics is said to be done ‘whenever a force moves its point of application, a distance in the
direction of the force’ or whenever a force is applied to cause a body to move’ e.g. when a car is pushed
to certain distance or whenever a body is stretched/compressed elastically, work is said to be done; but
a person carrying a load on his head without any movement is not doing any work, the only work done
was when he lifted the load on his head.

Work done

This is defined as the product of the force and the displacement in the direction of the force.

W= f X s

UNIT OF WORK

The unit of work is called Joule (J). This is defined as when one Newton (1N) of force moves a distance of
one metre (1M). E.g. work done when a force of 10N moves an object through a distance of 4m is:

W= F X s= 10 X 4= 40J

Types of work done in a force field

Lifting a body

In lifting a body through a height h, a pulling force must be applied to overcome the weight of the body.
Hence, when an object is lifted vertically upwards, work is done against the force of gravity or against the
weight of the body.

Therefore, the magnitude of the work done is given by

Work= Force X distance

= mg X h

= mgh

Where m= mass of the body, g= acceleration due to gravity and h=height. Thus, to lift a body against a
force field e.g. gravity, magnetic field, electric field etc. an opposing force is needed.

E.g. a body of mass 60kg runs up a set of steps of total height 5.0m, the work done against gravity (take
g=10m/s2)

=mgh= 60 X 10 X 5

= 3000Joules

=3KJ

Body falling freely

Whenever a body falls freely in a force field, the force of the field does work on the body and not that
the body does work against the field like in the FIRST case. For a body falling freely under gravity, the
gravity does work on the body. Hence, a body of mass m falling freely from a height h will have work
done on it by gravity as

W=mgh
If a body of mass m rolls down a height of h and length of l, through an inclined plane; the vertical height
(h) is used in the calculation not the length l of the slope (diagram will be drawn in class).

ENERGY

Energy is defined as the ability/capacity to do work. Anything that has the capability to do work MUST
possess energy.

Work and energy are closely related; hence they have the same unit called Joule.

£££MENTION DIFFERENT TYPES OF ENERGY££££

We consider briefly, two out of the aforementioned ten.

They are (1) Mechanical (2) Heat

Mechanical: this energy can be divided into two : (1) Potential (2) Kinetic

Potential

This is simply called ‘stored energy’ i.e. energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position or state. E.g.
a heavy stone on top of a table has potential energy. If allowed to fall on a glass plate placed on the floor,
it will shatter it into pieces. The potential energy of a body at an height h ready to come down is thus
mathematically written as

P.E. = m X g X h

KINETIC ENERGY
This is the energy possessed by a body by virtue of its motion e.g. a student running a race while the
gravitational potential energy depends on the mass of the body, its height above a reference level and
the acceleration due to gravity, the kinetic energy depends only on the mass and the velocity of the
body. The K.E. of a body in motion is given mathematically by the relation:

K.E. = ½ mv2

Where m=mass, v=velocity.

Heat Energy

This is a form of energy called thermal. It is the energy that is transferred from a hot object to a cooler
object as a result of the difference I temperature.

Mcθ : this is the heat energy required to change temperature of a matter without change in state.

Ml this is the heat energy required to change the state of a matter to another without changing the
temperature; where m=mass of the body, c= specific heat capacity, l= latent heat (vaporization/fusion).

Addition of heat to a substance causes an increase in the velocity/speed of motion of the molecules and
hence an increase in the average kinetic energy of the molecules of the substance and thus an increase
in its temperature.

Removal of heat from a body leads to decrease I the motion/ speed/ velocity of the molecules and hence
reduction in their average kinetic energy. This results in a decrease in temperature. Hence, the
temperature of a body is closely related to the average kinetic energy of its molecules.

Laws of Friction
Friction opposes the relative motion between two surfaces in contact.

The frictional force increases as the force which tends to start the motion.

Friction depends on the nature of two surfaces in contact.

Friction is independent of the area of the surfaces in contact.

It varies directly with the normal relational force pressing the two surfaces in contact.

POWER

Power is the rate at which work is done. If an agent does work at a rate of 1Js. It is said to have a power
of 1Watt.