Mechanics Notes 2008 Units

All units in science are derived from seven base units. These are: kilogram (kg), metre (m), second (s), ampere (A), mole (mol), kelvin (K) and candela (cd). eg: Speed is calculated as distance (measured in metres) divided by time (measured in seconds). Thus speed is measured in metres per second (ms-1)

Prefixes
Prefixes are used with units to make the numbers more manageable. For example: giga (G) means x 109 e.g. 1 GHz = 109 Hz mega (M) means x 106 kilo (k) means x 103 milli (m) means x 10-3 e.g. 1 mA = 10-3 A micro ( means x 10-6 ) nano (n) means x 10-9

Vectors and Scalars

A scalar is a quantity that has magnitude (i.e. size) only - e.g. energy, distance, speed, mass, density, etc. A vector is a quantity that has both magnitude and direction - e.g. force, displacement, velocity, etc.

Displacement, Velocity and Acceleration

Displacement s (in m) is distance in a particular direction - i.e. it is a vector. Velocity v (in ms-1) is defined as rate of change of displacement. i.e. velocity = (change in displacement)/(time taken for change)

i.e.

v= s/ t

REMEMBER!

Thus, it follows that v is the gradient of a graph of s against t - as shown below:

Acceleration a (in ms-2) is defined as rate of change of velocity. i.e. acceleration = (change in velocity)/(time taken for change)

i.e.

a= v/ t

REMEMBER!

Thus, it follows that a is the gradient of a graph of v against t - as shown below:

N.B. The area under a v-t curve is the distance travelled:

Uniform Acceleration
Uniform (i.e. constant) acceleration is an important special case. For example, the acceleration due to gravity near the earth's surface is uniform, and is equal to 9.81 ms-2. For constant acceleration, the velocity-time has a constant gradient - i.e. it is a straight line, as shown below:

Suppose also that s is the displacement after time t. Since v increases with time, the gradient of an s - t graph increases with time, as shown below:

The following equations can be used:

v = u + at s = ut + / at
1 2 2 2 2

v = u + 2as s = / (u + v)t
1 2

Newton's Second Law

Provided mass is constant, Newton's Second Law of Motion is effectively expressed by the equation:

F = ma

REMEMBER!

where a is the acceleration (in ms-2) of a body of mass m (in kg) which has a force F (in N) applied to it.

Gravitational Field Strength

Gravitational field strength g (in Nkg-1) is defined by the equation:

g = F/m

REMEMBER!

where F is the force (in N) on a body of mass m (in kg) in a gravitational field. g = 9.81 Nkg-1 near the earth's surface.

F is also known as the weight W of the body. Therefore g = W/m

i.e: W = mg

Vector Addition
It is a simple matter to add scalars - e.g. 1 kg + 5 kg = 6 kg. However, with vectors, you also have to take the direction into account. To add them, the vectors are represented as arrows drawn to scale and placed in order, end to end, as shown below:

In the simple case shown above, the 2 vectors are at right angles - so Pythagoras' Theorem can be used: i.e. sum2 = 32 + 42 = 25, therefore sum = 5 N. The sum of 2 (or more) vectors is often called the resultant. The resultant has the same effect as the 2 vectors put together. The angle that the 5 N vector makes with the 3 N vector is the angle whose tan is 4/3 (i.e. 53 degrees). If the 2 vectors are not at right angles it is possible to add them by doing a scale drawing, as shown below:

If a body is in equilibrium the sum of the forces on it must = 0. i.e. The force vectors must form a closed triangle, as shown in the example below:

Resolving Vectors
Resolving a vector means finding 2 vectors at right angles that have the same effect as the original vector. i.e. They must add together to give the original vector, as shown below:

Fx = Fcos Fy = Fsin

The 2 vectors at right angles are called the components of the original vector. The reason for doing this is that it is often easier to solve a problem using 2 vectors at right angles (e.g. vertical and horizontal) rather than one vector which is neither vertical nor horizontal. The example below illustrates the use of components. (The tension T has been replaced by its components.)

Since the body is in equilibrium: Tsin = F Tcos = W The above equations can be used to solve the problem.

Work

When a force F (in N) moves a body through a distance (in m) the work done (in J) s W on the body is given by the following equation:

W = F s
Sometimes the force F is not in the same direction as the displacement s, as shown in the example below:

In this case the work done is given by the formula:

W = F scos
where is the angle between F and s.

Energy
Energy (in J) is the capacity to do work. i.e. If a body has energy it can move something with a force. There are different forms of energy - with different equations to calculate the energy in each case: Gravitational potential energy (g.p.e.) is the energy a body has because it is in a gravitational field. When one mass is moved further away from another mass its g.p.e. increases. In a uniform

gravitational field (such as that near the earth's surface) the increase in gravitational energy Egrav (in J) when a mass m (in kg) is raised through a height h (in m) is given by the formula:

Egrav = mg h

REMEMBER!

where g is the gravitational field strength (9.81 Nkg-1 near the earth's surface). Kinetic energy Ek (in J) is the energy a body has because it is in motion. Ek is given by the formula:

Ek = 1/2mv2

REMEMBER!

where m is the mass of the body (in kg) and v is its velocity (in ms-1).

Conservation of Energy
"Energy can change form (be transferred), but cannot be created or destroyed." For example, when a body falls under gravity, as shown below .....

..... it loses gravitational potential energy, but gains the same amount of kinetic energy (assuming no energy is converted to heat through air resistance). i.e. Loss of g.p.e. = gain of k.e. i.e. mgh = 1/2mv2

Power
Power P (in watts W) is defined as the rate at which work is done.

i.e.

P= W/ t

where W is the work done (or energy transferred) (in J) and t is the time taken (in s). W = Fs (see above) Therefore P also = Fs/t = Fv (force x velocity).

Projectiles
The key to solving projectile problems is: (1) to treat the vertical and horizontal components of the motion separately and (2) to remember that the vertical motion is uniformly accelerated, whereas there is no horizontal acceleration - i.e. the horizontal component of the velocity is constant. The simplest type of situation is shown below:

Suppose we want to calculate the range - and V = 20 ms-1, h = 100 m and g = 9.81 ms-2. Vertical motion: u = 0 (initial vertical velocity = 0 since the projectile is initially travelling horizontally) a = g = 9.81 ms-2 s = 100 m t = time of flight = ? (It is usually a good idea to calculate the time of flight.) Use: s = ut + 1/2at2 Therefore: 100 = 0 + 1/2 x 9.81 x t2 Therefore: t2 = 100/(1/2 x 9.81) = 20.39 Therefore: t = 4.52 s N.B. This is the same as the time the projectile would have taken to drop vertically through a

height of 100 m. Horizontal motion: Range = horizontal speed x time of flight (There is no horizontal acceleration because there is no horizontal force - if you neglect air resistance.) Therefore: range = 20 x 4.52 = 90.4 m The situation shown below can be dealt with using a similar method, but you have to start by working out the horizontal and vertical components of the projectile's initial velocity - i.e. Vcos and Vsin.

Suppose, again, that we want to calculate the range - and that V = 20 ms-1 and = 50 degrees. Vertical motion: u = +20sin50 = +15.32 ms-1 a = -g = -9.81 ms-1 s = 0 (the final vertical displacement = 0) t = time of flight = ? N.B. Since the initial velocity is upwards and the acceleration due to gravity is downwards, a choice about signs had to be made. "Upwards is +ve and downwards is -ve" was chosen - but the opposite choice would have worked just as well. s = ut + 1/2at2 Therefore: 0 = 15.32t - 1/2 x 9.81 x t2 = 15.32t - 4.905t2 Therefore: t(15.32 - 4.905t) = 0 Therefore: either t = 0 (neglect this solution!) or 15.32 - 4.905t = 0 Therefore: t = 15.32/4.905 = 3.12 s Horizontal motion:

Range = 20cos50 x time of flight = 12.86 x 3.12 = 40.1 m