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11th Class Notes

Chapter 3 – Forces & Motion
CONCEPTUAL QUESTIONS
Q1. If you are riding a train that speeds past another train moving in the same direc on on an
adjacent track, it appears that the other train is moving backward. Why?
Ans: It is because of the rela ve nature of the velocity and difference in the frames of reference.
Consider two trains i.e. train “A” and train “B” are moving at different veloci es in the same
direc on and a person (observer) is si ng in the train A with higher velocity. The person si ng in
the train is at rest with respect to train A (his frame of reference) but train A is moving with respect
to the train B (different frame of reference). When that train A passes the train B with lower
velocity, that train appears moving backward because the faster train is moving ahead and the
slower train is lagging behind. That’s why it appears to the person that the other train is moving
backward.

Q2. Can the velocity of a body reverse the direc on when accelera on is constant? If you think
so, give an example.
Ans: Yes, the velocity of an object can reverse its direc on when accelera on is constant.
Example: Consider a ball thrown ver cally upward. When the ball is moving upward, the direc on
of velocity is also upward. At its maximum height, the ball takes a momentary stop and starts
moving downward. So the velocity’s direc on is now downward. As the ball is moving under the
ac on of gravity so accelera on is constant at gravita onal accelera on i.e. g = 9.8 m/s2.

Q3. When you stand s ll on the ground, how large a force does the ground exert on you? Why
doesn’t this force make you rise up into the air?
Ans: When a person stands s ll on the ground, the ground exerts a force equal to the weight of
that person which is given by; W = mg
According to Newton’s 3rd law, every ac on has an equal but opposite reac on. When a person
stands s ll on the ground, the ground exerts a force in the downward direc on towards the center
of Earth equal to the weight of that person. As a result, the person also pulls the ground (Earth)
upwards with a force equal in magnitude to the weight of that person. Therefore, the downward
force of ground doesn’t make a person rise up into the air.

Prepared By: Sir Waleed

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Q4. A man standing on the top of a tower throws a ball ver cally up with a certain velocity. He
also throws a ball ver cally down with the same velocity. Neglec ng the air resistance, which
ball will hit the ground with higher speed?
Ans: Since both the balls have same ini al velocity and there is no air resistance therefore both
balls will hit the ground with same velocity.
Consider a man standing on a tower of height ‘h’ from the ground. The ball thrown ver cally
upward will reach its maximum height and when returning downward, it will cover the same
height. So at height ‘h’ where the man is standing, it will again a ain the same velocity as the ball
thrown ver cally downward. Therefore, both balls will reach the ground with same veloci es but
at different mes.

Q5. The cricket coach explains that the follow-through with the shot will make the ball travel a
greater distance. Explain the reasoning in terms of the impulse-momentum theorem.
Ans: In a cricket match, follow-through is o en encouraged by the coach because it makes the
ball travel a greater distance.
According to Impulse-Momentum theorem,
J = ΔP = Favg x Δt
When the batsman uses the follow-through technique with the shot, it increases the me of
collision of the bat and ball. As a result, there is greater change in the momentum of the ball and
it leaves the bat with greater velocity and travels a greater distance. Thus the main purpose of
following through is to increase the amount of me for which the bat and ball are in contact.

Q6. When you release an inflated but un ed balloon, why does it fly across the room?
Ans: The balloon flies across the room in order to conserve the momentum gained by the air
rushing out of the balloon.
The escaping air and the balloon form a closed system. When an inflated but un ed balloon is
released, the air inside the balloon starts rushing out from the open end of balloon and gains a
momentum. As a result, according to law of conserva on of momentum, the balloon also gains
an equal but opposite momentum. Therefore, it flies across the room in opposite direc on to the
escaping gas.

Prepared By: Sir Waleed

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Q7. Modern cars are not rigid but are designed to have “crumple zones” (irregular fold) that
collapse upon impact. What is the advantage of this new design?
Ans: Modern cars are designed with “crumple zones” to increase the me of impact of driver and
passengers in case of a car crash. It reduces the average force and chances of heavy injuries.
During a car crash, the driver and passengers experience great forces because of change in
momentum that can cause injuries. Mathema cally, we know that;

Favg =

From above equa on, we can clearly understand that average force is inversely related with me
of impact i.e. increasing the me of impact will decrease the average force and thus it decreases
the chances of heavy injuries. Crumple zones absorb some of the kine c energy during a car
accident by increasing the me of impact and thus, reducing injuries.

Q8. Why we can hit a longer sixer in a cricket match rather than if we toss a ball for ourselves?
Ans: We can hit a longer sixer with the help of a bat because of the greater change of momentum
between the bat and ball.

ΔP between Bat & Ball > ΔP between Hand & Ball

When we swing the bat of mass ‘m’ with some velocity ‘v’, it acquires some momentum. When
the bat hits the ball, that momentum is transferred to the ball and it travels for a longer six. But
when we toss a ball with our hand, it cannot transfer that much momentum to the ball because
the mass of hand is very small as compared to the mass of bat. Therefore ball cannot travel longer
distance when tossed with our hand.

Q9. An airplane while traveling horizontally dropped a bomb when it was exactly above the
target. The bomb missed the target. Explain.
Ans: If the bomb is dropped when the airplane is exactly above the target, it will miss the target
because it possesses the projec le mo on.
When the airplane is moving with some velocity ‘v’ then the bomb inside the airplane also has
the same horizontal velocity ‘v’. if the bomb is dropped exactly above the target, it will strike a
point ahead of the target because of this horizontal component of velocity.

Prepared By: Sir Waleed