IGCSE Physics Notes

Chapter 5: Forces
 A force is either a push or a pull that one object exerts on another object.
 It can produce, slow down, speed up or stop motion or change its direction.
 The SI unit of force is Newtons (N).
Vectors
 In vector diagrams, vector quantities such as forces are represented by an arrow.
 The length of the arrow is proportional to the size of the force.
 The direction of the arrow shows the direction of the force.
Drawing vectors
Step 1: Choose an appropriate scale
Step 2: Measure the required angle using a protractor from the baseline/second force.
Step 3: Draw an arrow of length proportional to the force using the scale taken.
Adding vectors
Parallel vectors
 If they are in the same direction, they will be added.
 If they are in opposite directions, the resultant will be in the direction of the greater force and its
size will be the difference of the two vectors.
 If they are equal and opposite, there will be no resultant.
Non-Parallel vectors
 *Tip to tail method*
Redraw one of the vectors, placing the tail of the vector at the tip of the second vector. Join the
two corners to get the resultant vector. The direction of the resultant will be from the tail of the
first vector to the tip of the second vector.
 *Parallelogram method*
Complete the parallelogram; the diagonal of the parallelogram will be the resultant. The direction
of the resultant will be from the intersection point of the actual vectors to the intersection point of
the vectors u drew to complete the parallelogram. Or in other words, from both tails to both
heads.
Friction
 Friction is the force that opposes motion between two surfaces in contact and results in the
production of heat if the object moves/slides.
 Air resistance (drag) is a form of friction, caused by a body moving through the air.
⤷ it slows down anything travelling through air, and may also cause the object to heat up
 Friction results in energy loss because of the conversion of energy from kinetic to thermal.
Terminal Velocity
 When a parachutist jumps from an aeroplane, two forces act on them:
⤷ Weight
⤷ Air resistance (drag)
 At first, the air resistance is small
 The downwards force (weight) causes the parachutist to accelerate
 As he speeds up, the air resistance increases
⤷ air resistance acts opposite to the weight
 Eventually, the air resistance balances with the weight
 The parachutist then travels at a constant speed due to the balance — terminal velocity
 When the parachute opens, it creates an upward unbalanced force, slowing him down.
 During a fall in the presence of air resistance, the acceleration will slowly decrease until it is 0.
When there is no acceleration, the object will fall at constant speed and this is known as terminal
velocity.
 The reason for the decrease in acceleration is that, with the increase in speed, the air resistance
also increases, and there comes a point when the downwards force and the upwards force by the
air resistance cancel each other out. Thus, there is no resultant force which results in no
acceleration.
Braking force
 The force that slows the car when the driver applies the brakes..
⤷ how far the object travels after brake applied.
Thinking distance
 Distance covered by the driver when he sees the obstacle and reacts by applying the brakes.
⤷ doesn't depend on the road’s conditions.
⤷ depends on driver's response time.
Newton's first law
 Every object will continue in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless a resultant
force acts on it.
Newton's second law
 When a resultant force acts on an object of a constant mass, the object will accelerate in the
direction of the resultant force. The product of the mass and acceleration of the object gives the
resultant force.
Force = Mass x Acceleration
Newton's third law
 Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
 F₁= F₂
 mass₁ x acceleration₁ = mass₂ x acceleration₂
Air resistance
 A frictional force that opposes motion in the air. It slows down anything travelling through the air
and also causes the object to heat up.
Circular motion
 When an object is travelling in a circle at a constant speed, the velocity is always changing as the
direction is constantly changing. The resultant force of an object in circular motion is towards the
center of the circle.
Deformation
 Attaching a load to spring can extend it.
 The extension doubles if two springs are connected to each other directly.
 The extension halves if load is attached to two springs in parallel as the load is shared.
 Hooke’s law states that the extension of a spring is directly proportional to the force applied.
Force = Spring constant x Extension
 Hooke’s law is only applicable until the limit of proportionality, after which the object does not
obey the law and the extension is imbalanced.
 A straight line on a load-extension graph shows the object is obeying Hooke’s law.
 A curved line shows that the limit of proportionality has been crossed.
 The point on the graph at which it starts curving is the limit of proportionality.
Moments
 A moment is the turning effect of a force.
 They occur when a force causes an object to rotate about a pivot.
 The size of the moment is determined by the size of the force and the perpendicular distance from
the pivot.
Moment = Force x Perpendicular distance
 The unit of moment is Newton Meter (Nm)
 Opening or closing a door is an example of a moment
Principle of Moments
 The Principle of Moments states that for an object to be in equilibrium, the sum of clockwise
moments must be equal to the sum of anticlockwise moments.
➜ F1d1 = F2d2
Centre of Mass and Stability

 The center of mass of an object is the point at which the weight of the object appears to act.
 For symmetrical objects, the center of mass is at the point of intersection of its symmetries.
 When an object is suspended, its center of mass will come below it.
 To find the center of mass of a lamina, it is suspended from a point and a plumb line is hung from
it.
 A line is drawn using a pencil along the plumb line.
 This is repeated from multiple points; the point of intersection of the lines is the center of mass.
 An object is stable if the line of action of its center of gravity passes through its base.
 If the line of action of its center of mass does not pass directly through its base, the object will
topple over.
 The lower the center of mass of an object, the greater the stability.
 The greater the base area of an object, the greater the stability.

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Chapter 5: Forces

Centre of Mass and Stability

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