IGCSE YEAR 1 FORCES AND MOTION

PHYSICS NOTES

Mass and weight

Mass

• Mass is a measure of the quantity of matter in an object at rest

relative to the observer
o Mass is a scalar quantity
o The SI unit for mass is the kilogram (kg)

• Consequently, mass is the property of an object that resists change

in motion
o The greater the mass of an object, the more difficult it is to
speed it up, slow it down, or change its direction
• A mass may sometimes be given in grams (g)
o 1000 g = 1 kg 1 g = 0.001 kg

Weight

• Weight is defined as the force acting on an object due to

gravitational attraction
• Every object on or near the Earth’s surface has weight. This is
caused by the attraction of the Earth’s gravity

• Weight is a force, so it has the unit newton(N)

• Weight is a vector quantity
• Th e Earth pulls with a force of 9.8 N (approximately) on each
kilogram of matter, so an object of mass 1 kg has a weight of 9.8 N:
weight of 1 kg mass = 9.8 N
• Because of weight:
o Objects stay firmly on the ground
o Objects will always fall to the ground
o Satellites are kept in orbit

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 • The weight of a body is equal to the product of its mass (m) and
the gravitational field strength (g)

weight = mass × gravitational field strength

W = mg

Gravitational field strength (g)

• Gravitational field strength is defined as the force per unit mass

acting on an object in a gravitational field.

• The gravitational field strength at a point describes how strong or

weak is a gravitational field at that point.
• On Earth, this is equal to 9.8 N/kg
• The value of g (gravitational field strength) varies from planet to
planet depending on their mass and radius
• A few examples of varying gravitational field strength are shown
below:

• g value on Moon is 1.63 m/s2, meaning an object’s weight will be about 6

times less than on Earth

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Mass v/s Weight

Using a balance

• The weight of two objects can be compared using a balance

o Because the gravitational field strength is constant
everywhere on Earth, this also allows us to measure the mass
of an object

𝑚 = 𝑊/𝑔

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Force

• A force is defined as:

A push or a pull that acts on an object due to the interaction with

another object. The unit of force is newton. It is indicated by the letter N. Force is a
vector quantity.

• They can be represented by arrows. A force has a direction, shown by the

direction of the arrow

Effects of force

• Forces can affect bodies in a variety of ways:

o Changes in speed: forces can cause bodies to speed up or slow down
o Changes in direction: forces can cause bodies to change their
direction of travel
o Changes in shape: forces can cause bodies to stretch, compress,
or deform

Different types of Forces

Forces can be divided into primarily into two types of forces:

• Contact Forces

• Non-contact Forces

Contact Forces

Any types of forces that require being in contact with another object come under ‘Contact
Force’. All mechanical forces are contact forces. Some examples for contact forces are:

Muscular forces: Muscles functions to produce a resulting force which is known as

‘muscular force’. Muscular force exists only when it is in contact with an object. We apply

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muscular force during the basic day to day work of our life such as breathing, lifting a
bucket, pulling or pushing some object.

Frictional force: It can be defined as the resisting force that exists when an object is
moved or tries to move a surface. The frictional force acts as a point of contact between
two surfaces that is it arises due to contact between two surfaces. Examples lighting a
matchstick or stopping a moving ball come under frictional force.

Air resistance: Air resistance or drag is the force of friction when an object moves
through air or water. It acts in the opposite direction of motion. Eg: sky diving in
parachute.

Upthrust : is the upward push of a liquid or gas on an object. The upthrust of water
makes you float in the swimming pool.

Normal force: When a book is lying on the table, even though it seems that it’s stationary,
it’s not. An opposing force is still acting on the book wherein the force from gravity is pulling
it towards the earth. This force is the ‘normal force’.

Spring force: Force exerted by a compressed or stretched spring is ‘spring force’. The
force created could be a push or pull depending on how the spring is attached.

Tension force: Tension is the force applied by a fully stretched cable or wire anchored
on to an object.

Non contact forces

The types of forces that can be exerted without requiring any contact with
any object are ‘non-contact forces’. Some examples are :

Gravitational force: Every objects in this universe have an attractive force between
them. This attractive force is called as the gravitational force. Example: water
droplets falling down

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Magnetic force: a magnet has the property of attraction and repulsion. This force
exerted by a magnet on magnetic objects is the magnetic force

Electrostatic force: The types of forces exerted by all electrically charged bodies on
another charged bodies in the universe are ‘electrostatic forces’. These forces
can be both attractive and repulsive in nature based on the charge of the bodies.
Eg: a plastic pen when rubbed on hair can attract small pieces of paper

FRICTIONAL FORCE

When a body moves or tends to move on the surface of another body, a force is
experienced parallel to the surface which opposes the relative motion between
them. This is friction.

Types of friction

1. Solid friction : The force between two surfaces of solid objects that are
sliding ,or trying to slide, across each other.
eg: pulling a wooden table along the floor.

When a body rolls over the surface of another body, the force of friction which originates
is rolling friction. When a body slides on the surface of another body the force of friction
which originates is sliding friction. Rolling friction is less than sliding friction.

2. Drag : This is the frictional force acting on an object moving through a

fluid(liquid or gas).
eg: a skydiver falling through the air experiences drag ,we commonly
refer to as air resistance.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of friction

Advantages of friction

• Tyres on cars and bicycles must grip the road so that car will not skid,
especially when the roads are wet and slippery.
• The soles of sports shoes must grip the floor firmly to prevent the person from
slipping.
• Friction between the brakes and the wheels on cars and bicycles that make
the vehicles stop.
• Slow down the fall of parachutist to ensure safe landing

Disadvantages of friction

• Produces heat which may cause damage.

• Friction causes wear and tear between surfaces that are contact with each
other.
• Increased effort/ more energy required to operate machines

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Resultant force

• A resultant force is a single force that describes all of the forces operating on
a body
• 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
• This single resultant force determines:
o The direction in which the object will move as a result of all of the
forces
o The magnitude of the final force experienced by the object
• The resultant force is sometimes called the net force

• Forces can combine to produce

o Balanced forces
o Unbalanced forces

• 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

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 • When the forces are balanced then the object will either be stationary or
moving at a constant speed.
o For example, the weight of a book on a desk is balanced by
the normal force of the desk
o As a result, no resultant force is experienced by the book,
the book and the table are stable and balanced

Net force = 0

• 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 an object’s speed or direction of movement to change , the forces acting
on it must be unbalanced.

o For example, imagine two people playing a game of tug-of-war,

working against each other on opposite sides of the rope
o 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
o Since person B pulled with more force than person A the forces will be
unbalanced and the rope will experience a resultant force of 20 N to
the right

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 • Resultant forces can be calculated by adding or subtracting all of the forces
acting on the object
o Forces working in opposite directions are subtracted from each other
o 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 forces are said to be balanced

• Imagine the forces on the boxes as two people pushing on either side
o In the first scenario, the two people are evenly matched - the
box doesn't move
o 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
o 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

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Calculate the resultant force based on the below diagram.

Step 1: Add up all of the forces directed to the right

Step 2: Subtract the forces on the right from the forces on the left

Step 3: Evaluate the direction of the resultant force

o The force to the left is _________________ than the force to the right
therefore the resultant force is directed to the ______________

Step 4: State the magnitude and direction of the resultant force

o The resultant force is ___________ to the ____________

◆ If no resultant force acts on an object, it will not accelerate; it will remain at rest or
it will continue to move at a constant speed in a straight line.

◆ If an object is at rest or is moving at a constant speed in a straight line, we can say

that there is no resultant force acting on it

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Falling Objects without Air Resistance

• In the absence of air resistance, all objects falling in a uniform gravitational field, fall
with the same acceleration (g=9.8 m/s2), regardless of their mass

• 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.

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Falling Objects with Air Resistance

• Objects falling through fluids (fluids are liquids or gases) in a uniform

gravitational field, experience two forces:
o Weight (due to gravity)
o Friction (such as air resistance)

Sky diver

• A skydiver jumping from a plane will experience:

o A downward acting force of weight (mass × acceleration of freefall)
o An upward acting force of air resistance (frictional forces always
oppose the direction of motion)

• The force of air resistance increases with speed. This is illustrated in the
image below:

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 • Initially, the upwards air resistance is very small because the skydiver isn't
falling very quickly
o 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
o This means there is no longer any resultant force
• Therefore, the skydiver's acceleration is zero - they now travel at
a constant speed
• This speed is called their terminal velocity

• When the skydiver opens the parachute, the air resistance increases
o 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
o The skydiver decelerates
• Eventually, the forces balance out again, and a new slower terminal
velocity is reached

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Question 3.

A small object falls out of an aircraft. Choose words from the list to complete the
sentences below:

Friction Gravitational field strength Air pressure

Accelerates Falls at a steady speed Slows down

(a) The weight of an object is the product of the object's mass and the __________.

(b) When an object falls, initially it ____________.

(c) As the object falls faster, the force of ______________ acting upon the object
increases.

(d) Eventually the object ______________ when the force of friction equals the force
of weight acting on it.

Part (a)

The weight of an object is the product of the object's mass and the gravitational
field strength.

•
o The weight force is due to the Earth's gravitational pull on the object's
mass as it falls through a uniform gravitational field

Part (b)

When an object falls, initially it accelerates.

•
o The resultant force on the object is very large initially, so it
accelerates
o This is because there is a large unbalanced force downwards (its
weight) - the upward force of air resistance is very small to begin with

Part (c)

As the object falls faster, the force of friction acting upon the object increases.

•
o The force of air resistance is due to friction between the object's
motion and collisions with air particles
o Collisions with air particles slow the object down, so air itself produces
a frictional force, called air resistance (sometimes called drag)

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Part (d)

Eventually the object falls at a steady speed when the force of friction equals the
force of weight acting on it.

•
o When the upwards air resistance increases enough to balance the
downwards weight force, the resultant force on the object is zero
o This means the object isn't accelerating - rather, it is moving at
a steady (terminal) speed

How are materials affected by stretching

• When weights are added to a length of wire, the wire will stretch.
• The extension of the wire is defined as the difference between the new length
of the wire with the load, and its original length.
• The wire will stretch in proportion to the load up to a certain point, which
depends on the material of the wire.
• Beyond a point called limit of proportionality, the extension is no longer
directly proportional to the load.

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HOOK’S LAW

The extension of a spring is directly proportional to the load on the spring. The force
needed to extend or compress a spring by a distance x is given by the formula

Unit of force constant/spring constant is N/m

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