Edexcel GCSE Physics

Topic 9: Forces and their effects

Notes
(Content in bold is for Higher Tier only)

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 Object Interaction
- Examples of interaction of objects at a distance without contact:
o Gravitational attraction
▪ There is an attraction between two objects with mass, the larger mass gives
greater attraction
NON o Electrostatic attraction/repulsion
CONTACT
▪ A Larger charge gives greater force
FORCE
▪ Like charges repel, opposite charges attract
o Magnetic attraction/repulsion
▪ A stronger magnet gives stronger field, having a greater force
▪ Like poles repel, opposite poles attract
- Examples of interaction of objects with contact
o Normal contact force
CONTACT ▪ The force is perpendicular to the plane of contact
FORCE
o Friction
▪ Surfaces that are rough cause friction when moved
Vectors
- A vector has size and direction – e.g. a force of 10N directed downwards
o Weight, velocity, force, displacement, etc.
- Scalar has just size – so direction plays no part in describing the value
o Mass, distance, speed, etc.

Vector diagrams
Free body diagrams
- Shows the direction of forces that are present in a Thrust
situation Reaction

Points to note: AIR RESISTANCE

- The reaction force always acts at the normal to the
line of contact, from the point of contact
- Friction acts in the opposite direction to movement,
along line of contact Friction
- Weight always acts downwards, acting from Centre Weight
of Mass

Scale Drawings
- The length of each arrow represents its size (in
relation to the other forces acting on the object)
o So direction with larger arrows shows
resultant force
- If arrows are in opposite directions with equal
length
o (Equal in magnitude but opposite in
direction)
o The forces cancel out
o So the object is in equilibrium
o So travels at a constant velocity
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 Diagram:
- At B, the drag is a lot less than the weight, as shown by the arrows, so the resultant force
causes him to accelerate
- At C, the difference in arrow lengths is less, so the resultant force is smaller, so smaller
acceleration

Isolated solid systems means no forces are present that come from a source outside the system
- E.g. a magnetic ball just rolling down a hill, an external force would be a magnet at the top
of the hill

Skydiver TERMINAL VELOCITY = RESULTANT FORCE

- Forces that act are air resistance and weight

TYPICALLY IS A 6
MARKER, AND
YOU NEED TO
DESCRIBE AND
EXPLAIN WHAT
IS HAPPENING
WITH THE
RESULTANT
FORCE
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- Initially, the skydiver has no air resistance and the only force acting on him is weight
- As he falls, he accelerates, increasing his speed
- This makes air resistance increase
- Therefore, the resultant force decreases
- Therefore, acceleration decreases as F=ma, so he is not speeding up as quickly
- Eventually weight and air resistance are equal and balanced, so there is no resultant force
- So there is no acceleration and terminal velocity is reached

Vehicle
- Initially, low air resistance and thrust is only hindered by Drag
Thrust
friction
- Air resistance increases, decreasing resultant force
- Eventually the car is travelling at terminal velocity, where the
thrust is balanced by drag and friction, so no resultant force Friction
acts
o (This is immediately changed when more thrust is added, as it now becomes the
resultant force until the drag increases to balance it again)

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Rotation (Physics Only)
Rotation occurs…

- If an object is attached to a pivot point

o A point which it can rotate about, but cannot move away from
- And a force is applied not towards the point (see diagram)
o The object will not rotate, and will just be held still, as there is no resultant force
- If the force is applied perpendicular to the object
o It will move about the pivot in this direction
- If the Force is applied not perpendicular to the object
o Need to find perpendicular distance from pivot to line of force
o See which direction it will turn

Still rotates clockwise

Nothing happens Rotate clockwise

𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝐹𝑑
Moment of a force (newton metre, N m) = force (newton, N) × distance perpendicular to the
direction of the force (metre, m).

Bike Riding – pressing your foot down on the pedal, causes a moment about the pivot, turning the
pedal arms

equilibrium occurs when: sum of anticlockwise moments = sum of clockwise moments

Levers and Gears (Physics Only)

- Gears can change speed, force or direction by rotation

For an example when the first gear is supplying the force

- If connected to a gear with fewer teeth (i.e. a smaller gear)
o The second gear will turn faster
o But with less force
o In opposite direction to first gear
- If connected to a gear with more teeth (i.e. a larger gear)
o Turns slower
o More force
o In opposite direction

The second gear will always turn in the opposite direction

- The blue gear is supplying the power
- To increase the power, a larger gear is used for the secondary (red)
o As the force on the red gear is a further distance from its
pivot, the momentum of the larger gear is greater
Lubrication – reduces friction, so reduces unwanted energy transfer (so less heat loss etc.) and
increases efficiency

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 Definitions and Concepts for Edexcel Physics GCSE

Topic 9: Forces and Their Effects

Definitions in ​bold ​are for higher tier only

Definitions marked by ‘*’ are for separate sciences only

Balanced Forces: ​A resultant force of zero.

Contact Force: ​A force that acts on an object through physical contact.

Electric Field:​ A region where a charge will experience a non-contact electrostatic

force.

Equilibrium: ​An object in equilibrium has a zero resultant force and a zero
resultant moment.

Force Field: ​A region where an object will experience a non-contact force.

Force Vectors: ​An arrow that represents a force. The length represents the
force’s magnitude and the arrowhead shows the direction in which it acts.

Free Body Diagram: ​A visual representation of the forces that act on an

object.

Friction:​ A resistive contact force that acts to oppose the relative motion between
two surfaces.

*Gears:​ A simple mechanism that can transmit the rotational effect of a force.

Gravitational Field: ​A region where a mass will experience a non-contact

gravitational force.

*Lever: ​A simple mechanism that can transmit the rotational effect of a force.

Lubrication: ​The application of a lubricant (such as oil) to reduce the friction that
acts between surfaces. This may improve the efficiency of a system.

Magnetic Field: ​A region where a magnetic material will experience a non-contact

magnetic force.

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*Moment:​ The turning effect of a force, equal to the product of the magnitude of
the force and the perpendicular distance from the pivot to the line of action of the
force.

Newton Metre:​ The unit of a moment.

Non-Contact Force:​ A force that acts on an object at a distance. There is no

physical contact, and instead the force acts through a field.

*Principle of Moments: ​For an object in equilibrium, the sum of the clockwise

moments about any point on the object must equal the anticlockwise moments
about that same point.

Resolution of Forces:​ All forces can be resolved into two perpendicular

components that have the same effect as the single force.

Resultant Force: ​The single force that can replace all the individual forces acting
on an object, and have the same effect.

*Resultant Moment:​ The single moment that has the same effect as the sum of
all the other clockwise and anticlockwise moments acting on an object.

Scalar Quantities: ​Quantities that only have a magnitude, not a direction.

Vector Quantities: ​Quantities that have both a magnitude and direction. They are
represented by an arrow, with the length representing the magnitude and the
arrowhead representing the direction.

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