Concept
|
L1 Mechanics Concepts
|
Level 2 |
University
|
Acceleration |
change in speed over time, whether speeding up or slowing down
|
Change in velocity (not speed!) over time |
|
Air Resistance
|
friction acting on an object moving through air
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average Speed
|
the total distance traveled divided by the time required to travel that distance
|
|
|
Balanced Forces
|
when two forces combine to cancel each other out
|
|
|
Centripetal Acceleration
|
|
Acceleration acting on an object moving around a circle and directed toward the centre of the movement. |
|
Centripetal Force |
|
Force acting on an object moving around a circle at constant speed (but at the direction of movement changed) |
|
Change in Momentum in One Dimension |
|
Momentum is changed under the influence of a force acting along the movement of an object, in the same or opposite direction |
|
Circular Motion |
|
Movement around a circle (at constant speed with one force only providing centripetal force) |
|
Conservation of energy |
(energy) cannot be created or destroyed
|
The total energy before the work is done equals the total of all the forms of energy produced afterwards. |
|
Conservation of Momentum in One Direction |
|
Total momentum of two or more objects before and after collision (explosion) is the same / equals. |
|
Constant Speed
|
speed is not increasing or decreasing but remain consistent over time
|
|
|
Constant |
unchanging |
|
|
Contact Area
|
amount of area shared by two objects e.g. ice skates have sharp edges, and thus a small area in contact with the ice
|
|
|
Deceleration |
decrease in the speed over time of an object
|
|
|
Displacement |
|
Distance in vector form, when direction of movement is important |
|
Distance |
how far an object has traveled (usually horizontal)
|
|
|
Drag
|
or an object moving through air, friction is called "air resistance" or "drag
|
|
|
EK
|
kinetic energy; the kind of energy possessed by moving objects
|
|
|
EP
|
gravitational potential energy; energy possessed by objects that have been lifted up
|
|
|
Elastic Collision |
|
Collision involving no loss of kinetic energy due to no change in shape of objects. |
|
Elastic Potential Energy |
|
Energy stored in an extended or compressed spring |
|
Energy Gained |
Energy accumulated at Energy Transfer, e.g. transfer of Kinetic Energy to Potential Energy at ROPE CLIMBING |
|
|
Energy Loss |
Energy scattered on friction or Air Resistance at Energy Transfer |
|
|
Energy Transfer |
Transformation between different kinds of energy |
|
|
Equilibrium |
|
State of an object at rest or moving uniformly.
Condition: both the resultant force is zero and the sum of all the torques acting on a object is zero.
|
|
Final Velocity |
|
Velocity at the end of movement (considered / measured) |
|
Force |
a push or pull that can change an object’s movement
|
|
|
Force Components |
|
Projections of force on selected directions |
|
Free Fall
|
falling motion caused by gravity alone
|
|
|
Friction |
friction is an opposing force; it acts in the opposite direction to a force which is applied to an object
|
|
|
g |
acceleration caused by the earth’s mass (approx. 10 ms-2)
|
|
|
Gradient |
slope of a graph (rise/run)
|
|
|
Gravitational Potential Energy |
|
Change of position of an object in the Earth's gravitational field. |
|
Gravity |
the force of attraction between any two objects; the Earth is very big and so has a large gravity pulling everything down towards it
|
|
|
Height |
distance (vertical)
|
|
|
Impulse |
|
Change of Momentum under the influence of force F acting over the period of time Δt. |
|
Inelastic Collision |
|
Collision involving loss of kinetic energy due to change in shape and/or temperature of objects. |
|
Initial Velocity |
|
Velocity at the beginning of movement (considered / measured) |
|
Instantaneous
|
at an instant of time
|
|
|
Instantaneous Speed |
speed at a particular instant in time
|
|
|
Kinetic Energy |
|
Energy of a moving object |
|
Mass |
amount of matter in an object or substance
|
|
|
Mechanical Energy
|
kinetic or potential (or heat) energy
|
|
|
Momentum (p) |
|
"quantity of motion" proportional to the velocity and mass of an object |
|
Net Force
|
the single force that represents all the forces acting on a body; overall force
|
|
|
Power (P), W
|
the rate that energy is changed from one type to another;
power is the energy changed divided by the time it takes for the energy to change
|
The rate at which work is done |
|
Pressure |
a measure of the force exerted on a certain area of surface; force per unit area
|
|
|
Projectile Motion |
|
Motion of a projectile, an object moving through the air without its own source of power, only under the influence of gravity |
|
Reaction |
An equal and opposite force exerted by a body against a force acting upon it
|
|
|
Relationship |
information that can be used to link two things together e.g. force and acceleration
|
|
|
Resultant Force
|
a stationary object remains stationary if the sum of the forces acting upon it - resultant force - is zero. A moving object with a zero resultant force keeps moving at the same speed and in the same direction. If the resultant force acting on an object is not zero, a stationary object begins to accelerate in the same direction as the resultant force.
|
|
|
Speed |
how fast an object is traveling; units are distance time-1, e.g. ms-1
|
|
|
Speed-time graphs |
Graph showing change of speed with time |
|
|
Sprint Constant |
|
Slope of the graph of the Force applied to a spring against the extra distance extended.
Spring length in equilibrium (natural length) is not included.
|
|
Stationary |
stopped, not moving or “at rest”
|
|
|
Time |
|
??? |
|
Thrust |
to push or drive with force
|
|
|
Torque |
|
Turning effect about a pivot under the influence of a force.
Can be clockwise or anticlockwise.
Same as moment and leverage
|
|
Unbalanced Forces
|
forces that are NOT balanced; situation leading to acceleration or deceleration of an object
|
Same |
|
Vector Addition of Forces |
|
|
|
Velocity |
speed (Note: velocity is really the measurement of the rate and direction of motion but at Level 1 Science we treat speed and velocity as the same thing)
|
|
|
Velocity Vector Components |
|
Horizontal (v cos θ) and vertical (v sin θ) components |
|
Weight (Force)
|
the force on an object caused by gravity
|
|
|
Work (W), J
|
energy required to make an object move
|
Process of energy transfer from one form to another. |
|
Work Done |
Whenever 'work' is done energy is transferred from one place to another. |
|
|
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.