Started on : 18 OCT 2022

Finished on: X OCT 2022

Lessons: ©DARYAN F. ABDALLA

PHYSICS
PHYSICS
- CHAPTER 3 -
Forces & motion

©DARYAN F. ABDALLA
PHYSICS
- CHAPTER 3.1 -
We have lift off

©DARYAN F. ABDALLA
 Apollo 11
July 16, 1969
 Some important
forces
A force is defined as:
• A push or a pull that acts on an object
due to the interaction with another
object
The effects of different forces on objects

Forces can affect bodies in a variety of ways:

• Changes in speed: forces can cause
bodies to speed up or slow down
• Changes in direction: forces can cause
bodies to change their direction of travel
• Changes in shape: forces can cause
bodies to stretch, compress, or deform
 Note
The resultant force is sometimes called the net force

Resultant Forces
on a Straight Line
When many forces are applied to an object they
can be combined (added) to produce one final
force which describes the combined action of all of
the forces
❖ A resultant force is a single force that
describes all of the forces operating on a body
This single resultant force determines:
• The direction in which the object will move as
a result of all of the forces
• The magnitude of the final force experienced
by the object

Forces can combine to produce

• Balanced forces
• Unbalanced forces
Resultant Forces
on a Straight Line
• Balanced forces mean that the forces have
combined in such a way that they cancel each
other out and no resultant force acts on the
body

• For example, the weight of a book on a desk is

balanced by the normal force of the desk
• As a result, no resultant force is experienced
by the book, the book and the table are equal
and balanced

A book resting on a table is an example of balanced forces

 Note
Unbalanced forces produce acceleration

Resultant Forces
on a Straight Line
• Unbalanced forces mean that the forces have
combined in such a way that they do not
cancel out completely and there is a resultant
force on the object

• For example, imagine two people playing a

game of tug-of-war, working against each
other on opposite sides of the rope
• If person A pulls with 80 N to the left and
person B pulls with 100 N to the right, these
forces do not cancel each other out completely
• Since person B pulled with more force than
person A the forces will be unbalanced and the
A tug-of-war is an example of when forces can become unbalanced
rope will experience a resultant force of 20 N
to the right
Resultant Forces
on a Straight Line
Diagram showing the resultant forces on three different objects

Resultant forces can be calculated by adding or

subtracting all of the forces acting on the object
• Forces working in opposite directions
are subtracted from each other
• Forces working in the same direction
are added together
If the forces acting in opposite directions are equal
in size, then there will be no resultant force – the Imagine the forces on the boxes as two people pushing on either side
forces are said to be balanced • In the first scenario, the two people are evenly matched - the box doesn't
move
• In the second scenario, the two people are pushing on the same side of the
box, it moves to the right with their combined strength
• In the third scenario, the two people are pushing against each other and are
not evenly matched, so there is a resultant force to the left
 Friction in Solids
Friction is a force that works in opposition to the
motion of an object
• This slows down the motion of the object

When friction is present, energy is transferred in

the form of heat
• This raises the temperature (thermal energy) of
the object and its surroundings
• The work done against the frictional forces
causes this rise in the temperature
The interface between the ground and the sledge is bumpy which is the source
of the frictional force

Friction in solids is caused by imperfections in the

surfaces of the objects moving over one another
• Not only does this slow the object down but
also causes an increase in thermal energy
Friction in Fluids
Gases and liquids are known as fluids
• Fluids are different to solids because the
particles in fluids can move around
Friction acts on objects moving through
gases and liquids as the particles collide
with the object
• This type of friction is called drag

Air resistance is a type of friction that slows

the motion of an object
Particles bump into the object as it moves
through the air
• As a result, the object heats up due to The return module of a rocket heats up due to the work
the work done against the frictional done by air resistance as it travels a distance through the
forces atmosphere
 Newton's First
Law of Motion
States that :
• Objects will remain at rest, or move with a
constant velocity unless acted on by a
resultant force
This means if the resultant force acting on an
object is zero:
• The object will remain stationary if it was
stationary before
• The object will continue to move at the same
velocity if it was moving
When the resultant force is not zero
• The speed of the object can change
• The direction of the object can change
 A few examples with uniform velocity are shown below:
Applying Newton's
First Law
Newton's first law is used to explain why things
move with a constant (or uniform) velocity
If the forces acting on an object are balanced, then
the resultant force is zero
The velocity (i.e. speed and direction) can only
change if a resultant force acts on the object

Constant velocity can only be achieved when the forces on an object are
balanced - in other words, when the resultant force is zero
PHYSICS
- CHAPTER 3 -
Forces & motion

©DARYAN F. ABDALLA
 PHYSICS - CHAPTER 3.2 -
Mass, Weight & gravity

©DARYAN F. ABDALLA
 mass
• Mass is a measure of the quantity of
matter in an object at rest
• Mass is a scalar quantity
• The SI unit for mass is the kilogram (kg)

• Consequently, mass is the property of

an object that resists change in motion
• The greater the mass of an object, the
more difficult it is to speed it up, slow it
down, or change its direction
What will happen if we
drop a mass?
• Force of Gravity will pull it down.

• So gravity accelerates objects

▪ And because force of gravity depends

on the size of the planets ( which never
changes) so:
• Earths gravity is accelerating every
object by the same amount

• Which is 10 m/𝒔𝟐

• And its symbolized by g

 A few examples of varying gravitational field strength are shown below:

Gravitational Gravitational field strength of the planets in our solar system

Field Strength
its defined as:
❑ The force per unit mass acting on an
object in a gravitational field

• On Earth, this is equal to 10 N/kg

(or 9.81 N/kg to be precise)
❖ Gravitational field strength is also known
as acceleration of free fall, or
acceleration due to gravity
In this context the units are m/𝒔𝟐
The value of g (gravitational field strength)
varies from planet to planet depending on
their mass and radius
 Acceleration of
Free Fall
According to legends, Galileo dropped
weights off of the Leaning Tower of Pisa,
showing that gravity causes objects of
different masses to fall with the same
acceleration.

❖ In the absence of air resistance, all

objects fall with the same acceleration
❖ This means that for every second an
object falls, its velocity will increase by
10 m/s

In the absence of air resistance, Galileo discovered that

all objects (near Earth's surface) fall with an acceleration
of about 10 m/s2
 Apollo 11 on moon

recreating Galileo's experiment

 Weight
• Weight is the effect of a gravitational
field on a mass

• The weight of a body is equal to the product

of its mass (m) and the acceleration of free
fall (g)

Weight = mass X freefall acceleration

W= m g
 On the moon, your mass will stay the same but
your weight will be much lower

Distinguishing
mass & weight
❖ An object’s mass always remains the same,
however, its weight will differ depending on the
strength of the gravitational field on different
planets
• For example, the gravitational field strength on
the Moon is 1.63 N/kg, meaning an object’s
weight will be about 6 times less than on Earth
Using a Balance
The weight of two objects can be compared
using a balance
A balance can be used to compare two different weights
❖ Because the gravitational field strength
is constant everywhere on Earth, this
also allows us to measure the mass of an
object
PHYSICS
- CHAPTER 3 -
Forces & motion

©DARYAN F. ABDALLA
 PHYSICS - CHAPTER 3.3 -
Falling & Turning

©DARYAN F. ABDALLA
 Motion of Falling Objects
Falling Objects without
Air Resistance
• In the absence of air resistance, all
objects falling in a uniform gravitational
field, fall with the same acceleration,
regardless of their mass

This means that for every second an object

falls, its velocity will increase by 10 m/s

• So long as air resistance remains

insignificant, the speed of a falling
object will increase at a steady rate,
getting larger the longer it falls for. In the absence of air resistance objects fall with constant acceleration
 Motion of Falling Objects
Falling Objects with Air
Resistance
Objects falling through fluids in a uniform
gravitational field, experience two forces:
• Weight (due to gravity)
• Friction (such as air resistance)
 Note
Motion of Falling Objects Terminal Velocity It’s the greatest speed reached by an object

Falling Objects with Air

when moving through a fluid (gas and liquid).

Resistance
the skydiver jumping from a plane will experience:
• A downward acting force of weight (mass × acceleration of freefall)
• An upward acting force of air resistance (frictional forces always oppose
the direction of motion)

The force of air resistance increases with speed :

Initially, the upwards air resistance is very small because the
skydiver isn't falling very quickly
Therefore, there are unbalanced forces on the skydiver initially
As the skydiver speeds up, air resistance increases, eventually
growing large enough to balance the downwards weight force
Once air resistance equals weight, the forces are balanced
This means there is no longer any resultant force Kurdonia initially accelerates downwards due to her weight. The upwards air
resistance increases as she falls until it eventually grows big enough to balance the
Therefore, the skydiver's acceleration is zero - they now travel at a weight force
constant speed
This speed is called their Terminal Velocity
 Graph showing how the velocity of a skydiver changes during the descent

Motion of Falling Objects

Falling Objects with Air
Resistance
When the skydiver opens the parachute, the
air resistance increases
▪ This is due to the increased surface area of
the parachute opening
The upward force of air resistance on the
skydiver increases, slowing the acceleration of
the skydivers fall
▪ The skydiver decelerates
Eventually, the forces balance out again, and a
new slower terminal velocity is reached
 Going round in circles

1) Is this car travelling at constant speed?

2) Is this car travelling at constant velocity?

 Circular Motion
Velocity is a vector quantity, and the velocity of an
object is its speed in a given direction
• When an object travels along a circular path,
its velocity is always changing
• The speed of the object moving in a circle
might be constant - that is, it is travelling the
same distance every second
• However, the direction of travel is always
changing as the object moves along the
circular path
• This means that an object moving in circular
motion travels at a constant speed but has a
changing velocity
• The image below shows an example of a
famous object that moves in a circular path
with a constant speed but changing direction:
The International Space Station’s velocity is always changing - it whizzes around the Earth at a
constant speed of about 7660 m/s but is always changing direction
 Circular Motion
• If the force continues to act at 90 degrees to
the motion, the object will keep changing its
direction (whilst remaining at a constant
speed) and travel in a circle
• This is what happens when a planet orbits a
star (or satellite orbits a planet)

The force needed to make something follow a

circular path depends on a number of factors:
The mass of the object
• A greater mass requires a greater force when
the speed and radius are constant
The speed of the object
• A faster-moving object requires a greater force The Moon is pulled towards the Earth (at 90 degrees to its direction of
when the mass and radius are constant travel). This causes it to travel in a circular path

The radius of the circle

• A smaller radius requires a greater force to
keep the speed and radius constant
Imagine a car going around a roundabout, it’s direction is constantly changing, the car is
accelerating. It is accelerating towards the centre of the roundabout.

If the car has a

mass and it is
accelerating there
must be a force.

This force is called the centripetal force.

The centripetal force always acts toward the centre
If you swing a rubber bung attached to a string around in a circle,
draw the direction of the force and draw the direction that the
rubber bung is moving in that instant.

Direction

Centripetal force
If the centripetal force is removed the object will fly
off at a constant velocity at a tangent to the circle
Examples of Central Force
What is the centripetal force in each of these
situations?
Wall of death
 Factors affecting circular motion:

stronger
• The faster an object is moving, the ____ ___ the
centripetal force has to be to keep it moving in a
circle.

• The heavier an object, the __stronger

____ the
centripetal force has to be to keep it moving in a
circle.
stronger
• The smaller the radius of a circle, the ____ ____
the centripetal force to keep an object moving in a
circle.
PHYSICS
- CHAPTER 3 -
Forces & motion

©DARYAN F. ABDALLA
 PHYSICS - CHAPTER 3.4 -
Force, mass & acceleration

©DARYAN F. ABDALLA
Force, mass & acceleration

acceleration
force Mass
acceleration
Force, mass & acceleration
Bigger objects are harder to accelerate
than smaller objects.

acceleration
force Mass
acceleration
 Newton's Second The image below shows some examples of Newton's second law in action:

Law
Newton's second law of motion states:
❖ The acceleration of an object is proportional
to the resultant force acting on it and
inversely proportional to the object's mass.
Newton's second law explains the following
important principles:
❖ An object will accelerate (change its velocity)
in response to a resultant force
❖ The bigger this resultant force, the larger the
acceleration
❖ For a given force, the greater the object's
mass, the smaller the acceleration
experienced

Objects like baseballs and lawnmowers accelerate when a resultant force is applied on
them. The size of the acceleration is proportional to the size of the resultant force
 Calculations Using
Newton's Second
Law
Newton's second law can be expressed as an
equation:
force = mass x acceleration

F = ma
Force is measured in : Newtons : N
acceleration
force Mass
Note: acceleration
• The force and the acceleration act in the
same direction
• More force means more acceleration
• More mass means less acceleration
 Answer:
Quiz
“Justin Bieber” is thrown horizontally at
10 m/s from the top of a cliff, it took 10
seconds to hit the floor at a velocity of 20
m/s. find the force required to throw him,
knowing that his mass is 70kg.

Name:
class
PHYSICS
- CHAPTER 3 -
Forces & motion

©DARYAN F. ABDALLA
PHYSICS - CHAPTER 3.5 -
The idea of momentum

acceleration
force Mass
acceleration

©DARYAN F. ABDALLA
So what is momentum?
it’s mass in motion.

Symbolized by P

Momentum = mass x velocity

P=mv
Its unit is: kg.m/s
 The tennis ball's momentum is negative when it moves in the opposite
direction to which it initially was travelling in

Notes on
momentum
• This means that an object at rest (v = 0) has no
momentum
• Momentum keeps an object moving in the
same direction, making it difficult to change
the direction of an object with a large
momentum
• Since velocity is a vector this means that the
momentum of an object also depends on its
direction of travel (it’s a vector)
• This means that momentum can be either
positive or negative
❑ If an object travelling to the right has positive
momentum, an object travelling in the
Note:
opposite direction (to the left) will have
negative momentum the momentum of an object will change if:
• The object accelerates (speeds up)
or decelerates (slows down)
• Changes direction
• Its mass changes
Impulse of force
it’s the duration of time that a
force has acted on an object.

Impulse of force = Force x time

impulse = F t

Its unit is: N.s

Impulse and momentum
are connected
The change in momentum of a mass is equal to the
impulse provided by the force:
𝐯𝒇 − 𝒗 𝒊
F=ma ; 𝒂=
𝐭

𝒗𝒇 − 𝒗𝒊
𝒇=𝒎
𝒕

𝒇 𝒕 = 𝒎 ( 𝒗𝒇 − 𝒗𝒊 )

𝒇𝒕 = 𝒎 𝚫𝐕

Impulse = 𝚫𝐏
Force & Momentum
• Force can also be defined as the rate of change of
momentum on a body
• The change in momentum is defined as the final
momentum minus the initial momentum
• These can be expressed as follows:

𝚫𝑷
𝒇=
𝒕
 Impulse of force
An example in everyday life of impulse is when standing
under an umbrella when it is raining, compared to hail
(frozen water droplets)
• When rain hits an umbrella, the water droplets tend
to splatter and fall off it and there is only a very
small change in momentum
• However, hailstones have a larger mass and tend to
bounce back off the umbrella, creating a greater
change in momentum
• Therefore, the impulse on an umbrella is greater in
hail than in rain
• This means that more force is required to hold an
Since hailstones bounce back off an umbrella, compared to water
umbrella upright in hail compared to rain
droplets from rain, there is a greater impulse on an umbrella in hail
than in rain
 The law of
Conservation of
momentum
When objects interact, momentum will be
transferred from one to the other.

• total amount of momentum, before and

after they interact, must remain the
same.
 The law of
Conservation of
momentum
Momentum before = momentum after

ρi = ρf
The law of Conservation of momentum
Momentum of both before = momentum of both after
ρi = ρf
Pi 1 + P i 2 = P f 1 + P f 2

m1vi1 + m2vi2 = m1vf1 + m2vf2

NOTE
• because momentum is a vector, if something is travelling
to the left, its momentum will be negative – hence we will
write a minus sign in the above equation (only for that
objects momentum
 How to use the equation
ρi = ρf
Pi 1 + Pi 2 = Pf 1 + Pf 2
m1vi1 + m2vi2 = m1vf1 + m2vf2
Vi 2=0 Vf 2
Vi 1 Vf 1

M2 M2
M1 M1

= + m2vf2
 05/11/2022

Conservation of Momentum
Two cars are racing around the M25. Car A collides with the back of car B
and the cars stick together. What speed do they move at after the
collision?

Speed = 50m/s Speed = 20m/s

Mass = 1000kg Mass = 800kg

Mass = 1800kg Speed = ??m/s

Momentum before = momentum after…

…so 1000 x 50 + 800 x 20 = 1800 x V…

…V = 36.7m/s
PHYSICS
- CHAPTER 3 -
Forces & motion

©DARYAN F. ABDALLA
PHYSICS - CHAPTER 3.6 -
More about scalars & vectors

©DARYAN F. ABDALLA
 Adding forces
700
N

350 N 500 N

870
N
 Calculating Vectors
Graphically
• Vectors at right angles to one another can be combined into one
resultant vector
• The resultant vector will have the same effect as the two original
ones
• To calculate vectors graphically means carefully producing a scale
drawing with all lengths and angles correct
• This should be done using a sharp pencil, ruler and protractor

Follow these steps to carry out calculations with vectors on graphs

1. Choose a scale which fits the page
• For example, use 1 cm = 10 m or 1 cm = 1 N, so that the diagram is around
10 cm high

2. Draw the vectors at right angles to one another

3. Complete the rectangle
4. Draw the resultant vector diagonally from the origin Vectors can be measured or calculated graphically if you are confident in using scales
5. Carefully measure the length of the resultant vector
6. Use the scale factor to calculate the magnitude
7. Use the protractor to measure the angle
Combining Vectors
by Calculation
• In this method, a diagram is still essential but it
does not need to be exactly to scale
Use Pythagoras' Theorem to find the resultant vector
• The diagram can take the form of a sketch, as
long as the resultant, component and sides are
clearly labelled

• Then we use trigonometry to find the angle

Pythagoras's Theorem makes calculating vectors at right angles much simpler

 𝑭𝒓 = 𝑭𝟐𝒚 + 𝑭𝟐𝒙
Fr: resultant force
Fy: force on the y-axis
Fx: force on the x-axis

−𝟏 𝑭𝒚
NOTE ϴ= 𝐭𝐚𝐧 ( )
The outcome of a square root is 𝑭𝒙
always just a magnitude, you have
to find its direction separately. ϴ: angle
Tan: it’s a function on your calculator
Adding forces
970
N

490 N 890 N

870
N
Adding forces
Fy

100
N

Fx 400 N
Adding forces

Fy

100
N

Fx 400 N
Adding forces

𝑭𝒓 = 𝒇𝟐𝒙 + 𝒇𝟐𝒚

𝑭𝒓 = 𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟐 + 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟐
𝑭𝒓 = 𝟏𝟔𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 + 𝟏𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎
Fy
𝑭𝒓 = 𝟏𝟕𝟎, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 100
N
𝑭𝒓 = 𝟒𝟏𝟐. 𝟑 𝑵

Fx 400 N
Adding forces
−𝟏 𝒚
Angle of force = 𝐭𝐚𝐧 ( )
𝒙

−1 100
= tan ( )
400

= tan−1 (0.25) Fy

= 14 ° above the horizontal 100

N

So the resultant force acting on Daryan is 412 N acting at an

angle of 14° above the horizontal.
Fx 400 N
So my acceleration (and resultant force) is in that direction
Remember that Having the answers
to something is different from
knowing the answer.