IB DP PHYSICS

Mechanics
Pierce – The American College of Greece IB DP Physics

2.1 Motion

Kinematic quantities

Position of a body is defined by its coordinates in a system of axis.

Displacement is the vector that starts from the initial position of a body and ends in its final
position. It is measured in m and usually symbolized with x in linear motion or s more generally.

Distance d is the length of the path followed, which may be different from the magnitude of its
displacement. It is a scalar quantity measured in m.

Velocity v is vector which is the rate of change of displacement with time. It is measured in m·s-1.

𝛥𝑠⃗
𝑣⃗ =
𝛥𝑡

The velocity at a specific instant of time is called instantaneous velocity. The magnitude of
instantaneous velocity is called instantaneous speed.

Average speed is the scalar quantity equal to the rate of change of distance travelled over the time
taken.

Relative velocity vAB is defined as the result of vector difference of velocities va and vb.

v  v v
AB A B

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Pierce – The American College of Greece IB DP Physics

Acceleration/deceleration a is the vector equal to the rate of change of velocity with time. It is
measured in m·s-2.

𝛥𝑣⃗
𝑎⃗ =
𝛥𝑡
Types of motions

A motion with constant velocity (which is thus linear) is called a uniform linear motion (ULM).

Obviously, v=constant and a=0

A linear motion with constant acceleration or deceleration is called uniformly

accelerating/decelerating motion.

Obviously, a=constant

Formulas of motion

If v is the final velocity and u the initial velocity, then for both motions, we have that

𝑣⃗ = 𝑢
⃗⃗ + 𝑎⃗ ∙ 𝑡

𝑢
⃗⃗ + 𝑣⃗
𝑠⃗ = ∙𝑡
2
𝑣 2 = 𝑢2 ± 2 ∙ 𝑎 ∙ 𝑡

𝑎⃗ ∙ 𝑡 2
𝑠⃗ = 𝑢
⃗⃗ ∙ 𝑡 +
2

Bear in mind that in ULM, a=0. In decelerating motion, a<0.

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Graphs

 Uniform linear motion

v>0
x

xo

V<0

v
vo>0

t
vo <0

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 Uniformly accelerating motion

x
V0 <0

a >0

xo

V0>0

a <0
xo

a >0
V

a <0

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Pierce – The American College of Greece IB DP Physics

a
a >0

a <0

Remember that the area and the slope of a graph provide information.

 x  Slope   v  Slope   a 
     
 t   Area  t   Area  t 

Acceleration Due to Gravity

All bodies falling freely solely under the effect of a constant gravity –that is in a vacuum or where air
resistance is negligible- have the same constant acceleration irrespective of their masses.

This acceleration towards the surface of the Earth, known as the acceleration due to gravity, is
symbolized by g. Its magnitude varies slightly from place to place. In Greece, and for the purposes of
the IB DP, we take its value to be approximately 9.81m·s-2.

When air resistance is not negligible then acceleration is not constant. In fact, it continuously
becomes less, since resistance becomes greater as velocity becomes greater. After a specific point,
velocity will reach a maximum and acceleration will become zero. This velocity is called terminal
velocity.

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Projectile Motion

Break initial velocity into horizontal & vertical components. If the body starts from the ground, then

For R, ytotal =0

For Η, Vy =0

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2.2 Forces

Force F is the vector quantity that describes interaction. It is measured in N (Newton). In a first level
of analysis, there are several types of forces, almost as many as possible interactions. In mechanics,
we mostly deal with the following types:

Weight W is gravitational force exerted by Earth to an object of mass m. It is given by the formula

⃗⃗⃗⃗ = 𝑚 · 𝑔⃗
𝑊
and its direction is always towards the centre of the Earth. Unlike mass m, which is always constant,
weight changes according to the distance from the centre of Earth.

Tension is the force that arises when an elastic body is stretched. For a perfectly elastic stretched
body, tension is always the same at every point of its length.

Force of spring is in reality a specific type of tension force. When a spring is stretched or
compressed by Δl, a force appears that tends to bring the spring back to its original length. For an
ideal spring of spring constant k, the force is given by Hooke‘slaw :

⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐹𝑠 = 𝑘 · 𝛥𝑙
Normal force (N) is the force that arises when two bodies are brought in contact. The force is
always perpendicular to the contact surface of the bodies.

Drag forces are forces that hinder a body when it is moving through a fluid. They are usually
dependant on velocity.

Upthrust is the upward force experienced by a body when it is in placed inside a fluid.

Frictional forces are the forces that appear when two surfaces in contact try to move in relation to
each other. Frictional forces are described by empirical laws. In mechanics, we recognize two types
of friction.

Static friction is the force that opposes the beginning of movement when the body is
immobile. It is not a constant force and it is always equal and opposing to the force trying to

move the body. Its maximum value is given by the formula 𝑓⃗𝑠 = 𝜇𝑠 · 𝑁 ⃗⃗. The coefficient μs
is called the static friction coefficient, and is dependent on the nature of the surfaces being
slided against each other.

Dynamic friction is the constant opposing force which arises when a body is moving on a

surface. Its value is given by the formulae ⃗⃗⃗⃗

𝑓𝑑 ⃗⃗
= 𝜇𝑑 · 𝑁

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Pierce – The American College of Greece IB DP Physics

The coefficient μd is called the dynamic friction coefficient, and is dependent on the nature of
the surfaces being slided against each other.

The dynamic friction coefficient is less than the static friction coefficient for the same set of
surfaces. Thus, dynamic friction is less that static friction.

Newton’s Laws

Newton ‘s laws are the three laws that show us how forces behave. They are as follows.

Newton ‘s First Law: When viewed in an inertial reference frame, an object either remains at rest or
continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force. When the net
force on a body is zero, we consider the body to be in equilibrium. Bear in mind that equilibrium
does not mean immobility!

Newton ‘s Second Law: The vector sum of the force F on an object is equal to the mass m of that
object multiplied by the acceleration vector a of the object.

𝐹⃗ = 𝑚 · 𝑎⃗
We will have more to say on the formulation of 2nd NL in a while…

Newton ‘s Third Law: When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body
simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body.

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Free-body diagram

A free-body diagram is a diagram showing the direction and magnitude of the forces acting on a
body. The body itself is considered a point particle.

Examples of free- body diagram

2.3 Work, energy and power

Energy is the scalar physical concept that shows whether a body is capable of affecting change. It is
not directly definable. It is measured in Joules (J). In a first level of analysis, we distinguish as many
types of energy as there are ways of affecting change. We thus talk of chemical energy, nuclear
energy, electrical energy, thermal energy and others.

Two kinds of energy are central for mechanics (and, it can be shown, for any system): Kinetic Energy
KE and Potential Energy PE.

Kinetic Energy EK is the energy a body has because it is in motion. Its magnitude for a body of mass
m moving with speed v is

1
𝐸𝐾 = 𝑚𝑣 2
2

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Potential Energy PE is the energy a body acquires when it moves contrary to a specific set of forces
(we will be more specific in a little while). Forces that lead to acquisition of Potential Energy are
weight, spring forces, tension and electric forces. Respectively we have Gravitational Potential
Energy, Spring Potential Energy, Electrical Potential Energy and so on.

All potential energies depend on the difference between starting and end position, not on the path
taken!

Gravitational Potential Energy for a body of mass m in a height h is

EPG= m·g·h
Spring Potential Energy for a spring of constant k stretched or compressed by Δl is

1
𝐸𝑃𝑆 = 𝑘 ∙ 𝛥𝑙 2
2
Mechanical Energy EM is the sum of the Kinetic Energy EK and of the Potential Energies EP of a body
or of a system of bodies.

EM= EK + EP
Work done by a force

When bodies interact, change is affected. This means that forces carry energy between bodies. How
much energy is transferred is shown by the concept of work W.

Work done by a constant force is the product of the force’s component in the direction of the
displacement times the distance travelled.

W = F// · d = F·cosθ·d

If a force F is constantly perpendicular to displacement, then work done is zero.

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Pierce – The American College of Greece IB DP Physics

Work done by a varying force is calculated as the area of the F-d graph.

Conservative forces are a specific subset of forces whose work is calculated not by distance but by
displacement. For those forces, work done on a cyclical path (where net displacement is zero) is also
zero. These forces are weight, spring forces, tension and electric forces.

In fact, they are the same forces that enable the acquisition of Potential Energy, and their work is
the opposite of Potential Energy gained.

Ww = -m·g·h = -EPG

1
WFs = - 𝑘𝑥 2 = -EPS
2

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Pierce – The American College of Greece IB DP Physics

Power

Power is the rate of work provided or energy being transferred. It is measured in Watts (W)

𝛥𝑊 𝛥𝐸
𝑃= =
𝛥𝑡 𝛥𝑡
For a constant force, power can be calculated as

P =F·v

For a non-constant force, power is equal to the area in a F-v diagram

Efficiency of a machine or a setup is the ratio of useful energy provided by the machine over the
total energy provided. It also holds for power or work.

𝑈𝑠𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑜𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑈𝑠𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟

𝑒= =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑜𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟

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2.4 Momentum and impulse

Linear momentum is the vector concept that shows how much ‘movement’ a body has. It is closely
related to both force and kinetic energy. It is defined as

𝑝⃗ = 𝑚 · 𝑣⃗
and it is measured in kg·m/s.

Momentum and force are related through the general articulation of Second Newton’s Law

𝛥𝑝⃗
𝐹⃗ =
𝛥𝑡

Momentum and Kinetic Energy

𝑝 2
𝐸𝐾 =
2𝑚

Impulse J is the vector quantity measured in N·m and defined, for a constant F, as

𝐽⃗ = 𝐹⃗ · 𝛥𝑡
For a non-constant force, impulse is found from the area in a F-t graph.

From the 2nd Newton’s Law, it follows that for a system of bodies,

𝐽⃗ = 𝛥𝑝⃗

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Conservation of momentum

In a system of bodies, forces can be either internal or external.

Internal forces are those exerted by bodies inside the system to other bodies inside the system.

External forces are those exerted by bodies outside the system.

It is obvious that, what counts as internal or external force, depends on how we define the system.

From the 2nd Newton’s Law, it follows what is known as the Law of the Conservation of Momentum
(CoM)

When the net external force acting on a system is zero, the momentum of the system does not
change.

CoM is used to determine the outcome of collisions and explosions, because the difficult to
calculate forces in these instances are internal.

Collisions are

i) elastic, when kinetic energy IS also conserved.

ii) inelastic, when kinetic energy is NOT conserved.

iii) plastic, when the bodies stick together (and kinetic energy is of course not conserved).

Rocket equation

𝑑𝑣
𝑀 = 𝜇𝑢
𝑑𝑡

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NOTES

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NOTES

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NOTES

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