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Academic Year 2024-2025

Unit: Mechanics Grade: MYP 4

Key Concept: Relationship Related Concepts: Movement & Function

Global Context: Orientation in Space and time

SOI: Moving Objects can be analyzed to determine the relationship between

their orientation in Space and time

Content:

Distance & Displacement

Speed & Velocity
01 1. Linear Motion Acceleration
Momentum
Motion Graphs
Equilibrium of forces
Effects of forces
02 1. Force Moment of Force
Center of Mass
Center of Gravity
Newton’s First Law
03 1. Newton’s Laws of Motion Newton’s Second Law
Newton’s Third Law
04 1. Forces in Fluids Force of Buoyancy
05. 1. Pressure Pressure
 Mechanics
Distance and displacement

The length of the actual path travelled by a body is called the distance travelled
by the body. It is a scalar quantity. It is measured in metre (m) in SI system.

The shortest distance from the initial position to the final position of a body is
called displacement of the body. It is a vector quantity. It is measured in metre
(m) in SI system.

Speed

It is defined as the distance travelled per unit time. The SI unit of the speed is
m/s.

Mathematically,

Velocity

It is defined as displacement per unit time. The SI unit of the velocity is m/s.
Difference between speed and velocity

Speed Velocity

It is the distance moved per unit time. It is the displacement per unit time.

It is scalar quantity. It is a vector quantity.

It is always positive. It can be positive, negative or zero.

Uniform and non-uniform velocity

A body is said to be in uniform velocity if the body covers equal distance in

equal interval of time in a straight line. It is also called constant velocity.

A body is said to be in non-uniform velocity if the body covers unequal distance

in equal interval of time in a straight line. It is also called variable velocity.

Average velocity is defined as the ratio of total displacement to the total time
taken.

Mathematically,

Velocity

The velocity of the body is the distance traveled by it in unit time in a certain
direction. It is the rate of change of the distance of an object in a particular
direction. If a body travels a distance of S-meter in t seconds in a given
direction, then,

Velocity = Distance traveled in a given direction/ time taken = s / t (meters per

second)
 Average Velocity

Average velocity can be defined as the distance traveled divided by the time
elapsed.

average velocity = displacement/time taken

Here, v = velocity
s = displacement
t = time taken

Example: If a car travels 10 meter in 2 seconds and travels 32 meter in

another 5 seconds then calculate its' average velocity.

Solution here,

distance (d1) = 10 m

distance (d2) = 32 m

time (t1) = 2 s

time (t2) = 5 s

= 42/7 = 6 m/s.

Therefore, the average velocity is m/s.

If initial velocity of an object is u and final velocity of an object is v then,

Example: If a tempo travels with a speed of 5 m/s. How far will it reach in one
more hour?
Here,

Speed (v) = 5 m/s

Time (t) = 1 hour

= 60 x 60 sec

= 3600 sec

Distance(s) =?

We have,

Or, s = v x t

= 5 m/s x 3600 s

= 18000 m

= 18 km

Thus, the tempo travels 18 km in one hour.

The unit of velocity is the same as that of speed, namely, meter per second.
Velocity has magnitude as well as direction, therefore, velocity is a vector
quantity. The velocity of a car shows its definite direction.

 Uniform velocity: In uniform velocity a moving body cover the equal

distance in equal interval of time, then the body is said to have uniform
velocity.
 Variable velocity: If a moving body covers the different distance in unit
time then the body is said to have variable velocity.
  Relative velocity: The laws of physics which apply when you are at rest
on the earth also apply when you are in any reference frame which is
moving at a constant velocity with respect to earth. The motion may have
the different appearance as viewed from a different reference frame, but
this can be explained by relative point.

For example: People in running vehicle is at rest with respect to the vehicle
but at motion with respect to the road.

Acceleration and Retardation

Acceleration

Acceleration is defined as the change in velocity per unit time. Acceleration is

measured in m/s2.

Retardation

The negative acceleration is called retardation or deceleration. Its unit is same

as acceleration.

Example:
1. Car starts from rest. After 5 seconds, its velocity becomes 10 m/s. Then find
its acceleration.

Initial velocity (u) = 0

Final velocity (v) = 10 m/s

Time taken (t) = 5 s

Acceleration (a) =?

Or,

Or,

∴ a = 2m/s2

2. The Car which starts from the rest has an acceleration of 0.3 m/s2. After 1
minute what will be its acceleration? What is the distance travelled by car?

Initial velocity (u) = 0

Time taken (t) = 1 min= 1 × 60 s = 60 s

Acceleration (a) = 0.3 m/s2

Final velocity (v) =?

Distanced travelled (s) =?

According to formula, v= u+ at

Or, v = 0 + 0.3 × 60

V= 18 m/s

∴ s = 540 m

Equations of motion of uniform acceleration

Force:

Simply, pull or push is called force. A book lying on the table continues to lie
on the table unless an external force is applied on it. So, generally force is an
external agency which changes or tends to change the state of a body from rest
to motion or vice versa. The SI unit of force is newton (N). In CGS system, the
unit of the force is dyne. 1 newton= 105 dynes.

Consider a situation in which football is rolling in the ground. Ball stops rolling
after some time. If a ground is perfectly smooth then ball will continue rolling
forever in same direction with constant speed. It is a roughness of the surface
that provides opposing force, which is called friction, to slow down the speed of
the ball and finally stop the ball. Friction can be defined as the opposing force
which acts on the opposite direction of motion.

Effect of force:

Force acting on a body can do following things:

 It can change the speed of the body.

 It can change the direction of motion of the body.
 It can change the shape of the body.
 It can change the position of the body.
Balanced and unbalanced forces

When a number of forces acting on a body do not change its states of rest or
uniform motion in a straight line, the force are said to be balanced forces. For
example, in the game tug of war, a game where two teams pull a rope in
opposite direction. In this game rope remains in steady and does not move in
any direction when two teams exert equal and opposite force in a rope.

When a number of forces acting on a body change its state of rest or uniform
motion in a straight line, the forces is said to be unbalanced forces.

For example, if we push a toy car towards east, it moves towards east. This
unbalanced force produces motion.

Parallelogram law of vector addition:

Inertia

The property of a body due to which it remains or tends to remain in the state
of rest are uniform motion in a straight line unless an unbalanced forces act on
it, is called inertia. Only unbalanced force can change the state of rest to the state of
motion and vice versa. Inertia may show itself in any of the following three forms: inertial
of rest, inertia of motion and inertia of direction.

Inertia of rest

It is the property of the body by virtue of which it remains or tends to remain in

the state of rest unless unbalanced force acts on it. Examples:

 When the bus suddenly starts people in a bus jerks backwards in the
bus as the lower parts of our body also sets into the motion with the bus
but the upper parts tends to remain at rest due to inertia of rest.
 When a blanket is given a sudden jerk, the dust particle falls off as
blanket sets in motion but dust particles tends to remain in rest due to
inertia of rest.
Inertia of Motion

It is the property of a body by virtue of which it remains are tends to remain in

the state of uniform motion in a straight line unless unbalanced forces act on
it. Examples:

 When the bus suddenly stops people in a bus jerks forwards in the bus
as the lower parts of our body comes to rest with the bus but the upper
parts tends to remain at motion due to inertia of motion.
 A coin thrown vertically upwards in moving bus comes back in the hands
of a thrower because the coin continues to move with the bus. This is
due to inertia of motion.

Inertia of direction

It is the property of a body by virtue of which it maintains or tends to maintain

its direction of motion unless unbalanced forces act on it.

Examples:
 When a running bus suddenly takes a turn, passengers experiences a
jerk in the outward direction as the passenger tends to maintain their
original direction of motion due to inertia of direction.

 When the wheel rotates at a high speed, the mud sticking to the wheel
flies off tangentially. This is due to inertia of direction.
Vectors and Scalars

Scalars

Those physical quantity which require only magnitude for their complete
description are called scalar quantities or simply scalar. Distances, speed,
time, mass, work, energy, density, volume, area, pressure etc. are some
examples.

Vectors

Those physical quantities which require both magnitude and direction for their
complete description are called vector quantities or vector. Velocity,
acceleration, force, displacement etc. are vectors.

Difference between vectors and scalars

Vectors scalars

They have both magnitude and direction. They have magnitude only.

The sum of vectors may be zero, positive and The sum of scalars is a
negative. positive number.

They are added by simple

They are added by certain vector rules.
rules of arithmetic

They are represented by a letter with an arrow It is represented by a letter

head, p or by a bold letter, p↑ only, p.
Acceleration

It is defined as change in velocity per unit time. Acceleration is measured in

m/s2.

=
If an object is not moving, a horizontal
line is shown on a distance-time graph.

• Time is increasing to the

right, but its distance
does not change. It is
« not moving
• We say it is At Rest.

Time

If an object is moving at a constant speed, it means it

has the same increase in distance in a given time.

Time is increasing to the

right, and distance is
increasing constantly with
time. The object moves
at a constant speed.
• Constant speed is
shown by straight
Time lines on a graph.
Retardation

The negative acceleration is called retardation or deceleration. Its unit is same as

acceleration.
Worked example 2.1: Velocity-time graph

Question: Consider the motion of the object whose velocity-time graph is given
in the diagram.

1. What is the acceleration of the object between times and ?

2. What is the acceleration of the object between times and ?

Answer:

1. The - graph is a straight-line between and , indicating

constant acceleration during this time period. Hence,

2. The - graph is a straight-line between and , indicating

constant acceleration during this time period. Hence,
 The negative sign indicates that the object is decelerating.

Equations of Motion of Uniform Acceleration

Equations involving displacement, initial velocity, final velocity, acceleration

and time of motion of a moving body are equations of motion.

Consider a body moving in a straight line with uniform acceleration as shown

in the figure.

Let,
Displacement = s
Initial velocity = u
Final velocity = v
Acceleration = a
Time taken = t

Relation between u, v, a, and t

v= u + at
This is the first equation of motion.

Relation between s, u, a and t

s = ut + ½ at2
This is the second equation of motion.

Relation between s, u, a and v

v2 = u2 + 2as

This is the third equation of motion.

Momentum:

Momentum can be defined as "mass in motion." All objects have mass; so, if
an object is moving, then it has momentum - it has its mass in motion.
Momentum = mass • velocity

In physics, the symbol for the quantity momentum is the lower-case p. Thus,
the above equation can be rewritten as
p = m • v'

Where m is the mass and v is the velocity. The equation illustrates that
momentum is directly proportional to an object's mass and directly
proportional to the object's velocity.
The units for momentum would be kg•m/s.

Formally, the momentum of a moving object is defined as the product of the

Mass and velocity. Momentum is a vector quantity.

Law of conservation of momentum:

The law of conservation of momentum states that:

"the total momentum of an isolated system of interacting bodies remains
constant."

After Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727 AD) of England made a detailed
and systematic study of the motion of bodies and formulated the three laws of
motion.

Consider two bodies of mass m1 and m2 moving initially with velocities u1 and
u2 .

Total momentum before collision = m1u1 + m2u2

 Let after collision their velocities become v1 and v2.

Total momentum after collision = m1v1 + m2v2

According to the law of conservation of momentum

m1u1 + m2u2 = m1v1 + m2v2

Conservation of Linear Momentum: Rifles and Rockets

FIRING A RIFLE.

The conservation of linear momentum is reflected in operations as simple as

the recoil of a rifle when it is fired, and in those as complex as the propulsion of
a rocket through space. In accordance with the conservation of momentum, the
momentum of a system must be the same after it undergoes an operation as it
was before the process began. Before firing, the momentum of a rifle and bullet
is zero, and therefore, the rifle-bullet system must return to that same zero-
level of momentum after it is fired. Thus, the momentum of the bullet must be
matched—and "cancelled" within the system under study—by a corresponding
backward momentum.

When a person shooting a gun pulls the trigger, it releases the bullet, which
flies out of the barrel toward the target. The bullet has mass and velocity, and
it clearly has momentum; but this is only half of the story. At the same time it
is fired, the rifle produces a "kick," or sharp jolt, against the shoulder of the
person who fired it. This backward kick, with a velocity in the opposite
direction of the bullet's trajectory, has a momentum exactly the same as that of
the bullet itself: hence, momentum is conserved.
Newton’s first law of motion

Newton’s first law states that ‘everybody continues in its state of

rest or of uniform motion in a straight line unless an unbalanced force
acts on it.’ Example: When we shake mango tree, the mangoes fall
down.

Interpretation of first law: According to first law, a body continues to remain at

rest if no unbalanced forces act on it. Similarly, the body will remain moving
with uniform velocity in a straight line unless an unbalanced forces act on it.

Newton’s second law of motion

Newton’s second law of motion states that, ‘acceleration produced in a body is
directly proportional to the force applied to it in the direction of motion and inversely
proportional to its mass.’

Example: A cricket player while catching a ball moves his hands backwards.

Interpretation of second law: If a small body is pushed gently, a small acceleration is

produced. If it is pushed harder, a larger acceleration is produced. If two bodies, one lighter
and another heavier, are pulled by the same amount of force in the same direction
separately, it is found that the heavier body has less acceleration than the lighter body.

Newton’s third law of motion

Newton’s third law of motion states that ‘to every action there is equal
and opposite reaction.’ Example: While rowing a boat, a person
pushes water backwards with the help of the oars. Due to the reaction
offered by water, the boat move forwards.

Interpretation of third law: Third law implies that forces always occur in pair
and a single force is thus impossible.

Moment of force

The moment (or torque) of a force about a turning point is the force multiplied
by the perpendicular distance to the force from the turning point.

Moments are measured in newton metre (Nm).

Moment = F d

 F = the force in newton (N)

 d = perpendicular distance in metre (m)
Example: A 10N force acts at a perpendicular distance of 0.50m from the
turning point. What is the moment of the force?
Moment of force = F x d
= 10 x 0.50
= 5.0 Nm

Equilibrium of bodies:

When all the forces that act upon an object are balanced, then the object is said
to be in a state of equilibrium.

Then, we must also place it in a state of rotational equilibrium where the sum
of all of the torques equals zero.
Thrust and Pressure

Thrust:- Force exerted by an object perpendicular to the surface is called thrust.

Pressure: - Force exerted by any object per unit area is called pressure.

Where, p is pressure, F is thrust or force and A is the surface area of the object.

Since, pressure is indirectly proportional to the surface area of the object, thus,
pressure increases with decrease in surface area and decreases with increase in
surface area.

SI unit of Pressure

The unit of force is newton (N) and unit of area is square meter Therefore, by
substituting the unit of force and are in equation (i) we get

In the honor of Blaise Pascal, the SI unit of pressure is known as pascal. One pascal is
equal to the 1 newton per square meter. Or, 1 pascal = N m – 2

Buoyant Force / Archimedes Principle:

It states that for a body completely or partially immersed in a fluid, the upward force acting
on the body is equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces.