Equations of motion
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Define displacement and how it differs from distance.
Displacement is the shortest distance from the initial to the final position, along with the direction. Distance is the total length of the path traveled. Displacement is a vector, while distance is a scalar.
What is the definition of acceleration?
Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with respect to time. It is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude and direction. Mathematically, it's defined as a = Δv/Δt.
Describe how to determine displacement from a velocity-time graph.
The displacement is equal to the area under the velocity-time graph. If the velocity is negative at any point, that area below the x-axis is negative displacement.
How is velocity determined from a displacement-time graph?
The velocity at any point on a displacement-time graph is equal to the gradient (slope) of the graph at that point. The gradient indicates the rate of change of displacement with respect to time.
State the equations of uniformly accelerated motion in a straight line (SUVAT equations).
The SUVAT equations are: v = u + at, s = ut + (1/2)at², v² = u² + 2as, and s = (u+v)t/2, where s=displacement, u=initial velocity, v=final velocity, a=acceleration, and t=time.
Describe an experiment to determine the acceleration of free fall using a falling object and a trapdoor.
An electromagnet holds a steel ball. When the current is cut, the ball is released and a timer starts. The ball falls a measured distance (s) and hits a trapdoor, stopping the timer. Using s = ut + (1/2)gt² (u=0), g ≈ 2s/t² is calculated.
Explain how the horizontal and vertical components of projectile motion are treated separately.
In projectile motion, the horizontal component of velocity is constant (assuming no air resistance) as there's no horizontal acceleration. The vertical component is affected by gravity (constant downward acceleration 'g'). These are analyzed independently and then combined to describe the overall motion.
State Newton's First Law of Motion.
An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by a net force.
Define linear momentum and its SI unit.
Linear momentum (p) is the product of an object's mass (m) and its velocity (v): p = mv. Its SI unit is kg m/s.
State Newton's Second Law of Motion in terms of momentum.
Newton's Second Law states that the resultant force acting on an object is equal to the rate of change of its momentum: F = Δp/Δt.
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