Speed

How fast?
d planes all travel at different speeds S
B1cfcl<'s, cars, an . h d. · Pei:...
th ing is moving. It 1st e ,stance mo, .....
Objectives of how fa~t some ed p~
•t of speed is metres per second ( m s r¥;._
per hour. T h e uni , or ki~"'.
• C:,,lc u l.H(' :,p"<'cJ hour (km/h). ,

• 1 xpl.\ln wht1t i<., mca11t by

.IV(.'I ,1ne !..l)C'NI

• o,,..,c t1 be the d ,ffcre>ncc

l>Nwcc.•n av0rage and
1rH,t Jntan0ous speed

• A fast car can drive at over • ... but you can walk at ,.___
0
300 km/ h, or about B0m/s .. . 5 km/h, or 1 m/s uuu:

You m ay have heard people describe a cricket or tennis ball as m

80 miles per hour, which would be written down as 80 mph. In th~
th e USA speeds are usually m easured in mph rather than km/h.

How to calculate speed

To find th e sp eed of a movi ng obj ect, you measure the time it takestc
a kn own distance. The speed is th e distance divided by the time:
distan ce
Spee d =--.- -
time
• Speed l imits are described in A long-dist ance ru nner runs part of his race at a steady speed. lttakes
km/ h in India. 20 secon d s t o run 100 m.
dist ance
Spee d = - - -
t im e
100 m
=---
20 s
= 5 m/s

It is helpfu l to w rite out ca lcu lations like this. If you put the units of dis•·
and t ime in the equation, you will have the co rrect units for the speed

~ Average speed
,. The speed of a boat changes In September 2 017 six female officers of the Indian Navy set off to sail
. three oce•
dunng a voyage. aroun d th e wo~Id . They made four stops on the way, crossing bll
They had to sail through storms with waves as high as nine- storeY_
They arrived safely in Goa in May 2018 _T hey had sailed 40101krn ,n
254 days, which is 6096 hours.

d
 I he 11 !iJ'l'Cd \ l'lt11 d d1 p, 11dl111 ,111 i II, \\ltqd

• ,~1tlt•(l(lllf\\lt1dtltt'\ \\1111"1 t,1

Ill :i hH ,,,.,, \\ 111d c ,111ld t , ..,, fl I II I
I I 1II t ( 11\1 I lfll!l tll Ii)
11 11
• ~, 1 1 f.'11 d o} \Villi"''> lllllt
1 w 1111I

[QU li'I

• Many Iound th<' 1vr,, lrl ,m/o" ((Ike• t/1 1\ w111, ,,

You can work out th011 average ~peed owt t111• wl1ol1• /0111 111 •y l1y dlvlrll11H
the tolol d1sla11cc by the total ti111,• lilJt ii look. I '11•, ,1Vt1 1,IJ\{' ·,pP1•rl 111o1 l<jl', It
easier to com pa, chow fJ!,t diffc, l'llt iJ('O PIP, m [Link] ,,, 111 < ,11 •, I, .1wl.
total distance
Average speed
total t,mc Av1•1 ,If~'' Avl'rag<.'
40707 km •,r,1•,•d (mh) ~peed (km/h)
6096 h w,1 lklr1g qui, kly 1.1 <J. I
= 6.7 km/h !.> pd11tlng J () {(,

typlc,ll driving spe<1d 14 'JO

Instantaneous speed limit
During a car journey the speed that the driver secs on category 1 hurricane B 119
the speedometer is the speed at that moment in time, (typhoon)
called the instantaneous speed. That speed is worked plane cruising speed 2SS 918
out from the size of the wheels on the car. It is not th e • The table shows !>omc typica l avcrogC' speed~.
average speed.

~ Key points
@IJ!ti\[Link] I • Speed is distance
divided by time, and has
units m/s or km/h.
• Average speed is total
distance divided by
total time.
• Your speed at a
particular moment is the
instan taneous speed.

II
 Precision and accuracy: What'
the difference? s his delay is called thee ........
It IS the time that it talceltlle . . .
It is typically about [Link]
judge stood by the finish U..
1ld cross the line
n they stopped Ute
should be by about
Objectives
It is importanttothtAlta
.........
• E,pla1l" the d,iference
bt-:ween accuracy
you are timllll
and precision
• Define reaction time itba\Jlapptnsw,yq,,. then
• Know how to measure
t:me precisely about air resistance.
.a metre off the ground.
;lttar. to hit the ground.
150.65,
.tllne i.0.2, then the accurate time could be 0.45 1
• Short races need precise measurements of time.
of his experiment by using timing gates or
Usain Bolt won an Olympic gold meda l in 2012 by ru nning l lli◄t •••workllketheflnlshofthe 100m race. When the ball
record time of 9.63 seconds. The silver medal went to, Yoha of the first gate, the timer is started, and when
9.75. Justin Gatlin, who won the bronze medal, took 9.79. beam the timer is stopped .
are so small, timing must be as accura te and precise as
Precision 1s shown by the number of significant figuru.
0
are the number of digits in a number. So, 24.3 has 3 sign .. Light gates outomac,cail,
24 has 2 significant figures. start and stop the 11mer
Yohan Blake and Justin Gatlin both had ti mes of9.B
~
I
2 s gn1ficant figures. You need 3 significan t figures to
Accuracy tPlls you how correct a measurement Is. Explain which measurement from the list below. below 1s the • Accuracy ,~ t ov.
_rrlest precise. a measurt•n1M1t 1\ i J ~,-,
• A measurement can be very pr0cIse, but not be J..-3 1.348 1.35 1 true valu,
• If Usain Bolt's lime had been rPcorded as 9.73 ✓ .
1ln why timing gates give you a more accurate measurement of • Pr~c1s1on 1s tlit. lL r )1 r
same precision, but would have been very I e lttakes a ball to fall than a stopwatch does of s,gnif,cJnt f,g1J1t" t
• ASlopwa/ch What is reaction time? automatic timing is more important in a 100 m race than which a [Link] 1< rIv;:,n
(over42km, or 26miles). • Your reaction t 'l'C
ror a long t1mr the 100 m ra(e was tlmtd ,tart a race, sensors In their starting blocks detect a about O 2 ,;econds
automatic timing was introduced Ifthe time difference betwt?en the starting gun going • The reJct,on time Is
• The starter'.s gun trigger•.
In [Link] is too short, a false start Is registered the t,me that It take<..
JmN could be the time difference that gives a fal se the brain to procc~s
• 'The athlc·tci brC'aks a light
•o.21, 0.2 s, more than 0.2 s7 Explain your answer lnformat,on.
• A light sensor automat,
When automatic tIminr
lOOm go1 longNl Wh
britwr,en Iha i11rln,, 1.
 Distance-time graphs But usually when we are walk,
6.3
don't suddenly change speed
What is a distance-time graph? changes continuously. A more
mg1smo .
A distance-time graph is a way of showing how someth· graph would have curved tin
1 speed changed gradually.
vo, " ' measore th• d;staoc< a mo,;,g obj•ct has '"""'' ..
point each second. Then you can plot a distance-time rom l1S
Objectives data. graph fromttii.. Working out the s
istance-time graph
• Describe the motion of an a ong at k
A cyclist is photographed every 2 seconds as he cycles I u can ca lculate the speed
object using a distance- the track show the distances. These data are [Link] a table
racand 011
-llii ,ject from its distance-ti
time graph :ample, in section A of the
60
•al ks 1000 m in 10 minutes.
50
,nverted to seconds Is 600
g 40
distance
e 30 Average speed= -
!§ time
24 20
4
36
·"'
-0
10 =~
6 600s
8
10
48
60
00 2 4 6
time(s)
.. 1.1mf•
This is how to ~lc.u(a.
1
.llentfl speed In section C.
j The hne gets steeper
the speed of the ball is
Increasing
11 1s accelerating.
.. Yau can plat distances (240Gm-1000m)
and times... ,verage speed "' . 12.5 min ,c 60 s/min
• A cyclist moving ot o steody
speed.
Telling a story time
In each second the cyclist moves the same
distance - his speed does not change. This
Increases as it falls. A distance- t ime graph
means the graph is a straight line. lght Une because the speed is not constant. It is
., The slope, or gradient, of a distance- time e [Link] Is Increasing. This shows that the speed is
1, ~
~
graph tells you the speed. t;
'o
1lngthat is slowing down would also be a
In the graph on the right, both objects are • A dista nce t111H
I 1e less and less steep. Th is would show that
moving at a steady speed but the lines graph show·. hu,·,
j__ have different gradients.
- :w.,~cu. the d 1stanu· moved
time
~~ chan ges w,th t1111,
The graph on the left also tells a story, but
• Ahorizontol line (flot) meons
the object 1s stationary. not a lot is happening! The line is flat, so
. ~

• A straight, upv,,ll d
sloping l,ne [Link] ,,
the slope is zero. This tells you that the speed is
zero - the object isn't moving. I U
&.-
~

~
a.•~ ~
o'->:.)~~
lstance- t1me graph sHoWlng a

steady speed
• If the line IS ho, IZ011l,1
then the ob1ect ,snot
Ajourney to school :eleration. moving.
,chool is Rana moving fastest? • If the line 1s steeper. the
Rana walks to school. She stops to cha t, a nd cha
object is mov,ng faster.
At the top of the next page is a distance-time E of the graph at the top of • If the line is curved , the
Sections Band D of this graph are flat. T~ls
', ~ - ~ = 2._,,,~ -: ~- 5 speed ischang,ng.
.'-\~ - ~Si t.\l ;.;-<o? M / S((
sections A, C, and E, the graph is 1 straig~
at steady speed.
Rana's graph·suddenly changes >etw
 Acceleration and
Extension speed-time graphs You can calcu late the .,adllnt

• The gradient ofallneona

Changing speed speed of an object
d of something changes,
When the spee · Th • The gradient of a [Link]&a
that ,t is accelerating. e acceleration.
we say ·ckly
Objectives d fa ball can change qu i .
spee O _ h much the
• Describe how to calculate Acceleration tells you ow
speed changes in one second. • The acceleratlon Is 10 1111&':
accelerat,on • The acceleration Is
• Explain what is meant by slope. Is constant.
Calculating acceleration
deceleration • If the aa:eleratlon was bt'gatthSI ffie
To calculate average acceleration you
• If the speed ®!IS aotchan&e. then the line fs horfZl>ntal the
• Explain how speed-time need to know: [Link]~
graphs tell a story
• the speed at the start
• the speed at the end He accelerates at the start and gets faster OOIC<eeratlOn
• the time it took for the speed to
acceleratJOn
change. resistance Increases unt il eventually decreas,ng

change in speed
e cannot go any faster - he has l
Acceleration = ti me peed-time graph tells the story
Is steep, showing that his speed large
line gets less and less steep as accelerat,on
final speed - starting speed
y. This does not mean that he is
time
it takes longer for his speed to
at a steady, terminal veloci ty. The
is speed Is no longer changing.
Sinita is using her scooter to get to work. Sh e sets off from ber
accelerates from Oto 20 m/s in 5 secon d s.

fina l speed - starti ng speed

Her acceleration =
time
20 m/s- O m/s
Ss
.Explain the difference between speed, acceleration, and deceleration.
-COpythesesentences, choosing t he correct word s from each pair. @)iJ41·Hfutt
= 4 m/s' heslope of a speed- time graph tells you the acceleration/distance . • M

the line is straight/horizontal t he speed is not changing.

Slowing down: decelerating Is ls/ls not the same as a speed of so
If the fina l speed is lower than the starting,sp ro. 40
slowing down or decelerating. The acceler
.
//
II decelerates from 10 m/s to
Sinita sees a friend. She slows down .lseconds. j 30 ~

I,
the acceleration of the ball. i
-0
20
---:_.:._==- the deceleration of the ball.
Her acceleration=

= -10 m/s
ation on the graph to
aa:eleration of car A and
10

0
0
. 1...

A..,_u •
l. t

SP\.'t.""0 • .., .~ r .._

2s 11me ts, -..hows LL '~t..J : >~'CC 1
=-s m/s
We say that her deceler
of-s m/s• .
 Thinking Presenting data from racing
and working
scientifically Formula 1 racing . .
Formula 1 racing dnver f,om lnd,a.
The first h' an races on race track_s all
Narain KJrt ,,ey • d
Formula 1 cars are des,gne
o~er the \\OrId · .
to reach speeds far greater than ordinary cars.

Objectives Drawing charts: winners

In the 2019 season there were 21 races in the
• upla ""'~ ch type of World Championship. The table shows the
graph to plot from d,fferent number of races won by each driver.
~pe5o!aata
We could show this information in a bar chart
• Apply deas about
or a pie chart.
d stance--ume graphs
Number of races won t • t • • I
12 -
10
Winning Number of
8 -
driver races won

~=--~---.
6~ -
Sebastan 4
,ettel no
Chartes
tutationary
SV CL MV earls moving at a steady 4 b I
teclerc I
Max
• D S [ OC'Ct'-f me graph (i)I 0
Vemappen
\'a -:er
~::tas_ __
• Seba;..a~ Vettel Charles Leclerc moving at a steady speed
te-..-s 11
• Va tte·1 Bonas • Lewis HamJ!ton
,-am ton
• Max Verstappen

• The name of the driver is a categoric varia ble. Catego ·

Tillle (s) SPffd (km(h)
_o_
words, nor numbers.
• The number of races is a discrete vari able. You can
numbers of races.
. l <
\

100
time graph.
,r one of the variables in your table 350
6 ecartravel in the first 18 seconds'
,s a discrete variable, then you w,11 300
6 is the speed constant? E, pla,n ~ou r answer
!:l
need to plot a bar chart or pie chart. to plot the number of races that each d nver
.2 A ,ariable that can tak . suggest which type o f graph o r chart they
!4 numt>e . e any n your answer.
320 r, like time or dista .
16 continuous. nee is p1b for lOseconds How would this be
300
!€ 280
20 • The data n bo h
300 va t columns mi;,t
ry cont,nuously to I
graph_ P ot a e
 Balanced and unbalanced forces Lots of forces
th<: wa, l5omet1m es more than one pair of [Link] 1s actlfllon
--~
use forces to etpla in why a n ~bject 1s mo11in_g 1n
0 mo,1 ng. ThE fo rce of gra ✓1t/, or ~,eight, J!i a fwa 1: ac • are... ...,_ 'The
fou ca < • The 11e1ght and the upthru~ t act,ng on the boat
i,rtf ,ti,n!i: h moving ,n only o ne of the p ictures?
d ,r::r. //r I , s e
boat does not mcwe up o, do-11n
• The thrust of the engine is balanced by the•
......
Objectives resistanc e. The boat moves fo rwards with a tteady.
.,..._

fan object is stationa rJ or mo~ing at a ttady ..-t

.,._
• E,;> a ••.e d "erence
~hat the forces on it are balanced
1)1:tv,E(:n C1a a•,<.e<I a•d
u ...JJ.,a~~ 'o,~ f it is speedin g up, slo 11ing down, or cflanalnlclla:
lbl,.._
st [Link] acting on it must be unbalanced
• ~...(.fr.,E -t,~e- e,[Link].s

oa a ...~ '"tees
• ~,a be· ,e e"ect ,._,,
Do you need a force?
Lots of people thin I- that if something Is.,_.., Aidt as a laf fallng
then there
'..J,,. :;.a a ~ '-:..'ces at a stead/ speed, or a food>all rolling along the pound,
can move without a
is a force acting on iL ThtS tS not the case.. An object
iresufton t force.
e direct
t' tM fora:s o• ar, c,bJKt are the same size but in opposit
ca'ce 0u• ~e 'ora:s are balanced. It's like a
tug-of-w ar 11hen ::r.,, •eunbal anced accelerate
on it. //hen tnt
a,e E:O,a Tt!:%Ject tr-ha1es as if there is no force
water. decelera te
'-:.ate, rer IJ!: gr,t s ba ;meed bl tne u p thrust of the •eunbaunced
-balan ced continue at the same speEd
'U"- 'r,•a:: r,n •' ooir,ct are balanced, its mo
tion will not change-
and alr11!511fance, then the ball would '2ff'f or.
,.,he,
.. · ..,t,,4;we , cr cr.<1 • ' rt :.n')( fr".71 rg_r+ /II StaJ~t I_
....,.,, __Yo u will leammo reabout Ga leo
~ f '-":." ,.,,,,._,,,,,,,..~(;'I- • 'I :rs-:,r-g tw ~e!:pm o,ngata stead;s peed. 186-107
and opposit e, the/ are
'''E: '-,•u.,~r.,c an o~,~t a' E: r,,;,t equal
wi//cn~
'• e '"'~'='.. a,,, >'Ila ,vced tnen the mot on of the object
 . forces: Friction
usang
friction can be useful
t is friction?
Wha _ ·ng there will often be a friction is not always a bad thing.
When an object is mov1 ,.
force of friction acting on it. • When you walk, friction acts between your feet
ground, making it possible for you to mow.
objectives _d oes down a slide, there is a force
When a chil g them and the slide. This is • Vehicles too need the force of friction betwee,!.~ -
of friction between and the road to make them move. In lcyc;o~on
• Describe the effect of rfaces even surfaces that feel
beCausea II su , . I k is reduced. Wheels skid becausetherelsnotenotlflll
fnct,on on mov,ng obJects e uneven. A metal slide oo s
very smoot h, ar friction for them to grip the road.
• Describe hov. to reduce smooth, but under the microscope you can see • Bicycles and cars also need friction to stop. "Rleforce of
friction how uneven it is. friction acts between their brakes and the wheels. The
friction between brake pads or brake blocks and tfle wheels
• Describe ho\\ friction can You need to push things to get them to move.
wears the brakes away and they have to be replaced.
be useful
• If you push a book on a table and it does not move, the forces are
Measuring friction
balanced. 'You can use a newto n meter to measure the force offriction box
• The uneven surfaces produce the force of friction • The newtonmeter reads the force
l!Jetween two surfaces.
that you have to overcome. of friction when the box moves at a
• When your force is bigger than fri ction, the forces are un balanced. steady speed.
• Then the book will accelerate.

Reducing friction
People often want to reduce friction , in order to go faster or reducedr

brake
• Even smooch surfaces like blodc
shmy merol ore rough if
you look 01 chem under a
m croscope. • Friction between thebral<eblocksandthe wheel helps you to
control thespeedofa/Jk:yde.

~
• Cyc'ists lubricate the chains
of che,r bicycles to reduce
friwon.
friction is useful, and one situation where
s to be reduced.

cation with oil reduces friction .

~

g~4: J
• Skiers ond snowb d ,· dflnlayerofwater ,
oar ers wax their skis and boards to reduce'" eand the ice. {
ond to 90 faster. • The force of fnc t,on
friction and -· slows things down
You put oil in a cart 0 . . • You can red uce fnc t ,on
is called b . . reduce frictio n between engine parts that
I havea by lubricat,on or by
the surf u ncabon. A layer of o il between two surfaces makes it
using ball-bearings.
• Boll beonngs ,n the wheel aces to slide over eac h other. It reduces the force of frict"
• Friction ,s useful for grip,
slow down surface wear. s There are ball-bearin . .
each other as th gs insid e the wheels of a skateboa rd. Th to start movmg, or for
ewheel t urns, and reduce fricti on. braking.
 science changing ideas about motion
in context
... if the second ... t he ba ll would
Starting and stopping con tinue moving!
. obJ·ects are slowed down
Moving d
by friction, air resistance, an
water resistance.
Objectives Galileo realised that the baU woukl keep [Link] a steady speed
A moving object still needs
• Describe how explanations a force to balance th e forces . ~ It takes a force to start
slowing it down in order to keep it He had shown that you do 11ot0llil'id a forQelOlceep something moving.
about motion were moving when it is stati~om~
moving. To cycle at a steady speed, . no,y. This is an example of someonl!UliWgCNllldvethlnking to solve a
developed
the cyclist pushes the pedals around . If he stops pus hing on the prob lem in physics.
• Explain why ideas take a
will slow down and stop.
long time to change What happened next?
What did people think before? Gali leo w rote a bookaboutmotfc!p In 1590. The idea thatyottdld nc,t
need a force to keepsomedth\l_lnolllngwasn 't very popular.
over 2400 years ago a Greek ph il osopher called Aristotle de
air resistance and ideas about motio n. He said t hat o bj ects move o nly when they • Peo pl e saw ln thewa:rtd~ them that you did need a force to
friction balance keep sometbing111oYln&l-
pushed, and slow down w hen yo u remov e t he force. He did not
• They didn't tuations the force is needed to
understand frict ion.
ca ncel outfri ce.
His ideas were accepted for a lo ng tim e. • Without fl'lctl no force is needed to keep
somefhlngni
.. The cyclist moves ot a
steady speed. Asking questions about motion It took a long'llme fol'ft1kfff~be accepted.
Galileo lived over 400 years ago. He was in terest ed in experim ents a
motion . He made lots of observat ions t hat did not agree w ith Arist
ideas about motion. He asked this question : developed Galileo's work into
lllf of motion states that, unless
What would happen if there was no friction?
objects will remain stat ionary, and
He could not do experiments without frict io n in a laboratory. There is In a straight line at a steady speed.
some friction between surfaces, even if t hey are rea lly smooth .

Instead of doing an experiment with equi pme nt Ga lileo did a'

e_xperiment'. This can be very usefu l to work ou; w hat might h
situation where it is not possible to carry out t he ex peri ment
-~) Questions
Galileo's 'thought experiment' s no friction for a day. Make a list of things th at
Galileo knew that so th· ible for you do. Which th ings would still be • Some quesuons can t
that if th me_ ing rolling down a slope speeds
ere was no fr1ct1on and .. be tested easily using
oving with a steady speed. The engine is equipment.
.. .1f the slopes ... the ball would
• You can use your
were equally reach the same
~ need to keep the engine running to move at a 1maginatton to do
steep.. height
thought expenments.
Id happen if the engine was turned off. • Sometimes 1t takes a
... if the second ppen if the slopes in Galileo's experiments long time for an idea to
slope was longer.. ght. Explain your answer. be accepted.
 . g forces: Tension and
usan
If you keep loading more and more on, eventua lly the spri ng wtllnot
under tension . return to its origi nal length when you remove the force. It has reached
k climbing are designed
Ropes for roe . . its lim it, ca lled t he elastic limit. The spring can no t spring back and lt la
tretch a certain amount, JUSt in permanently extended .
to s h climber falls. If the rope did
Objectives case t e h then the climber could be Elast ic materi als will break if the force applied to th em 1s too big.
not stretc - II
injured. Ropes, cords, and springs a
0 Describe what happens Why do th ings float?
when you stretch a spring stretch when you pull them.

Describe what is meant by There is force in the rop e that

0
balances the cl imber's weight. The
elastic limit
force in a rope tha t is being stretched
0 Explain how upthrust is is called tension . As you pull on the
produced rope the particles inside are moving
• Explain why things noat apart. The tension force that you fee l
or sink is the force of attraction pulling the
particles back again.
In th e wa t er a force called upthrust pushes up on the boat. The upthrust
balances th e weight so the boat floats.
Elastic bands and bungees
o Water particl es coll ide with the bottom of the boat.
A bungee cord is designed to stretch
• They pu sh th e boa t up.
a very long way. It is made of lots of
• A large area produ ces a big force that can balance a big
elastic cords all bound togeth er.
weight.
• If something is elastic, it wil l go back to i t s o ri gin al length when )OI.
• A bungee jumper jumps off o remove the force. The amount that it stretc hes is called the extensloo Apparent weight
platform with a long elastic • If something does not go back to its origina l length after stretchm~ If you weigh an object underwater it appears to weigh less 4 No'
cord attached to them.
say 1t is plastic . because of th e upthrust. It is much easier to pull yourself out t -.,atef
of a swimm in g pool than it is to pull yourself up when you
Stretching a spring are not In wa ter.
Springs are used in sp rin g balances, In thi s diagra m, the upthrust 1s4 N. The waterlevel has risen because th e
elast1Chm1t trampolines, and car suspension weight has displaced some water. The weight of the displaced water is 4 N.

~
systems. It is important to use the Th is is Archimedes' principle. The apparent weight of the object 1s now 6 N.
z spring right spring for the job, so you need Spring • Springs, ropes, and
breaks
to find out how much a spring wi ll elastic materials have
Hooke s IJw 1egIon stretch when you apply a force to it. a tension in them
ettens1on 1s d1reclly when stretched.
proportional to fofCE'
• A bigger force will produce a bigger , A student hangs a weight of 2 Non it. It • The extension 1s
extension.
t'xlens1on ml g. proportional to the
• A g,aph for a spring • If you double the force you double tension , up to the
the extension. with a weight of 4N on it. elastic limit.
• The extension is proportional to spring with a wei ght of 6 N on it. • Springs 1n tension pull
the force. N. Write down the magnitude and back
• We say that th e spring obe • Ob1ects float when the
Hooke's Law. ys p, they are asked how much th ey upthrust equals the
Th1siswhyw weight.

balance to m: ac:u~~~: r::t n g

 Thinking
and working presen t ing data from
scientifically What sort of graph?
The elastic limit
Suma knows that to find a pattern In her results, shel-»10
Suma is on the plot a graph.

6.10 trampoline. The label says

that the weight limit for
the trampoline is 1200 N.
•
•
Both weight and extension are continuous Yarlabla.
she plots a line graph of the weight and the [Link]
extension.
The springs must be . • She draws a line of best fit.
Objectives
below their elastic t,m1t Her line starts at the origin (0, 0) because when lhefona
• Descnbe how to present when the weight is 1200N. the extension is zero.
0
results 1n tables Her line was straight at the start, but thencurwdup.._t.ad 0
Recording results
• Describe how to draw lines
of best fit and identify Suma collects a spring, so
Points that don't fit
anomalous results
One point w as far away from the I ne. This called&)wwwwlcc.. result. Suma
• Explain wh ich data points Weight(N} Extension (cm}
probably measured the extenSIOll wrongly Anomalaua~:
are reliable
• should be identified, asshownonthetpaph

~
• should be repeated o r checked

Suma applied a force of 6N to the spring and then removed rL The spnng
Suma measures the length of the spring wi t h no weights on it This
d [Link] go back to its ong,nal length. She had found the elastic limit!
oO~ onginal length.

• She records zero force and zero extension i n he r table Are the results reliable?
• She adds one 1 N weight to the spring an d m easures the new Su m a can be confident In lhe COlldullons basad on her data because:
• To find the extension she subtracts the origin al length from the
• she repeated e a c h ~ dveetimes
length, and writes the result in her table.
• repeated ~ mallinhedata more accurate
• She repeats the experiment by adding weights until she reac~es and reliable.
• She writes the result in her table.
• Suma calculates the mean extension for each w e ight.

CtJA;m; 1¥1,P hhtidml

r, 0
l

2.0
11 T
~ F ,
-~- a-.
@ , Questions .,,hat -,ou are measunng
and L'leUl\lt..
25 e
C: L Describe what you should write at the top of each co umn of your
1911111s1able. • A neoft,,.,si:r~goes
42
5.4
€.;
] 2.
t.
.....
Desatbe how to draw a lme of best fit
.....,,.._._.that was the weight for Sumas anomalous
ti"rougn most PQV1ts
and IS a smooth line ot
cu,. . ...-e

....
~ 5
11.0 4. .llllllllaclda...._ellpefiment. She put 2N we ghts onto lots • Anoma ousresc :sare
~CilllDuladsp,tnpand measured the enens oo of eau, re----" ts · na• do not fi
:hepa- ern.
., - . . ...... 4a.._-.ld need to record her re54.,1t.s • R~
• . q Ci ,.,.,.__., llllt draw a line g,apti for h€f res., ts measuremenu [Link]
resuh!,
 science in context
~ evers in t he world around you
Levers are not always straight bars.

Other exa mples of force multipliers

Objectives include using a hammer to remove
a nail, or using a wheelbarrow. In a
• orw1be what a lever IS wh eelbarrow, the load ls between t he
• Describe how we use levers effort and th e pivot.
some levers are distance multipliers.
You move your hands (or fi ngers) a
• The pyramids at Gila were built over 4500 years ago. smaller distance than the load moves.
When the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids there were no cran~ For example, using tongs to hold a test
tube or beaker: if you push t he handles
machines. How did they do it? We know that th ey carried huge bloc!
togeth er a sma ll amount with your
stone long distances by putting th em on rollers a nd p u lling thPm alo
fi ngers, the ends o f th e to ngs move much
how did th ey get th em onto th e ro llers?
furth er. Th e distance is bigger, and the
They used levers. Levers work because some forces prod uce a turnlncir. force is sma ll er.

• Tweezers reduce
Turning forces
the force.
Forces can change the motion of objects, and th ey ca n also make th
turn. Every time you close a door you are app lyi ng a turning force. Whr
use a wheelbarrow or sit on a see-saw you are ap ply ing a turn ing force
• The fgypc,ans used levers 10
get large blocks of stone on c-tfort
Levers

l
to roflers to move them
A lever is a bar that can turn
when you exert a force on one 1. Ci rcle the names of objects thatactas force multipliers.
end. forcc> of your p1vo1
h,ind on lhet lrvrr (fulcrum) lever tonp wheelbarrow
• The force that you exert on th e bar is ca ll ed t he effort . 2. The picture shows how you could make a lever to lift a stone using a
• The weigh t 01the object that you lift is ca ll ed t he load. plank of wood.
• The bar rotates about a pi vot (or fulcru m ). large 11one

You can use a lever to 11ft a block of sto ne. When you push down on° • Fo rces can t u rn an
d
of a lever you pr d
1
° .
ucc a turning force . This w il l make th e other en
ever move up, lilting the stone.
o bJect clo ckwise or
anticlockwise about a
p ivot.

I A lever works because: • A leve r ca n be used as

fou1·<,lyou1 h, 1o1J
on 1h, IPvN
i s where you should apply the least a force mult1pl1er. or a
d ist a nce multiplier.
• Levers can produce
p1vor

lorcrolthfll(•Vl'r
) forces th at are much
bigger th an th e effo rt,
• Thr• li·vn ,s a fore<' mu/t,p//C', [Link] to lift heavy loads .
 calculating moments
, 6.12 ~; '-5 Cl'::~~~;_,:~~:-~5
0 --: t."E !l·g:£11\"ire

- ;:.--a· -,s
Ooject:.es "" ac.::.s: --"
er €ca
- '.'.'CE.

Balancing a see-saw
Mi [Link] i.s a mamerrt? a - car ..se ·;-.epnndpRaf~• ..,..-• 01.-:0.....,.,,~_'C!J -.ettJ,a.
-x- -.-~?EC.:=a!:.;':=-.Sca .er;a -cec::o :.a3nceasee-s-ar~ [Link],~:,,..-:~~
~ -!t: S.::? ==-::-.ic -cc;e-:: [Link];:cs
:}- --~ ~ =.e-; ='='=' ?:. a-or:: -;-;.Ii~,..--: s frnr- a~ .1Ji..

A T
3N•o.3111=2N•'m
Cl.9Nm=2N•'
Cl.9Nm
Balancing 211=

~~:~~:~~~~ =~::=!?:;;:;:~:~ ~ s.
(Jislal>CP=0.45

wm;,.e l
5(:- :a::-:-::........ ---=. . .:,.- ;: c~ a se-e-saw

k:.,cx.

J
•
 centre of mass and stability
Extension
centre of mass If an ob1r•ct ,s 1n a pos1t1on that m<1h,•, ot d1ff1cult to topple rN , _.a1,tl!iatil

6.13 f ;ou want 10 carry a plan¥ of

wood on your shoulder, you need
to place ,t ,o that your shoulder 1s
plan~ of wooo cent,., of " ,son a stable pos1t1on
It , hafdef to topple obJNtr. woth;, low ,,,ntre of mas, tha1n ~lbil1Ct119ildte
1
hogh u,ntfC of ma•,-,
underneath the middle of the plank.
Objectives • If th1> centrf! of mass i; hoghN, th~ obi~ct woll t, I ble

• O•f nt tr•ntre of ma,s 'or

There is a point in an object through
which all of the weight of the object
• The object doc~ not need to b,, topp<•d as fo r before tJlte,rMIVllof m.•
moves outside the· pivot.
cen·re of gra11ty) ,,.ms to act, called th,,tentre of w~ 'Jht
5 • A car ha, a lower u•ntr1> of ma~~ than a truck
• £,plan why wme ob1ects mass /or centre of gravity). If this • The plank bo/anws • High win ds can blow over a tall ,chocl(; lr l<e II lruck. but.,.1 lal•llllll'Y to
•opp OVH eas 11 and point ,s above ;our shoulder, which
topple a ca r.
the p,vot, there ,s no turning force acting on the plan!- of wood
othe•s do not 11
Moving your centre of mass
• If you move the ci>ntre of the plank away from your should
You can demonstrate how your c,•ntre of mnt can
w,11 be a turning force on the planv.
move. If ;ou bend o ,r:r to picv up a cha r you na111,ally
• The planVs weight acts through ,ts centre of ma,,,.
lean bacv ,lrghtly ',() that ;our u-ntre of ffllllS ,cays
• This produu,s a turning force that turns the p la n!, clocvw, your f1eet. If ;ou ~tand a~in~t a Nall and try and pick
• To balonCJ; 1t you w,11 need to app ly anothe r force with ,r,ur up the chair, you will fond 1t ,mpOH ble 'II cannot i . .
•Thep n~rHn • Th,, force w,11 turn the plan I- anticlocvwise and balance its forward and ~till ve,:,p /Our "intre of ma -your
The centre of mass r,f a r~ular shape, such a'.. a planv or a ball, 1,, ,n tht f,,r,1. You feel ;ou are going to topple Oller
thE: shap,; t,,,,..;iu~ rht mass,,, c-vr:nly dv,trrbut,,d throughout the objt~
,rrt,g ar Shape socb a•, 3 broom, the o,ntrP of mass of will not bP ,n !ht

Why do objects topple over?

11,-
, ,,,<.an ,,0,;, [Link] WhJ :.om ~o bJHI', are ea'..r<·rto toppl,. than others
g ao,;vt lht pc,s1t,on r.,f th<• [Link],• uf mas•,.

1, Descrtbe where Che centre of mass of II cube ,s

2. ff you lean back in II chair, the two back lep act ,n a pr.,ot. <c,i, r..an
only lean so far bade without fall ng aver bplain why r1 tt:rrm c,f
your centre of mllt6 and a turronc fof'c.e
J. 5MCch a ~ of• brulh with II lonC handle that you use w
9WNPthetloot: Label .,_,eyou dlink Che centre of ma-.. m gtn t,e
&plaln ,,_....,.
4. ex,lall'lwhyll ~ - • a n d - e d ffiwlt fo, the auobat~ ,,
a..lllc,d911tM1P....-111Uncenmo,[Link]
•• lllt...,........,..to.,.._ •pencil on Its point. Expla n why
 6.14 . . . What is pressure?
Large and small pressure
sometimes it is useful to increase t he pressure.

use wide t racks instead Th e studs on a football boot have a small area compared with the
Earthmove rs area of the foot. Thi s produces mare pressure, so that the stud s sink
of ordinary tyres so that they can . into the ground and help the fo otballer to grip the ground and move
move across mud without sinking rn .
Objectives more easily.
An earthmover is very heavy. It has a The same force ove r a sm aller area produces a much bigger p ressu re .
• Explain what causes
weight of about a million newtons,
pressure
equal to about 15 000 people! If you
• Calculate pressure stand on the same muddy grou nd
ihe weight of a footballer 1& &00 N

you might sink. The earthmover does ihe area of h,s two feel 1& 200 lm' fressure
area
not sink because its weight is spread
out over a bigger area. freswre
forle
area
-~
10l1Tl
Pressure is a measure of the force exerted by an object or su bstanceo._ &oo N ~
____ 111• pr•ssur • • 4o Nkm
certain area. · • ·wo lm' a
~ 4 N/lm'
• The earthmover's tracks have a much bigger area t ha n your feet.
• You exert a greater pressure eve n though yo ur weight is much smatle. At other times it is useful to reduce the pressure.
How to calculate pressure
1\1& total area of 1hi ~ tr-K~• i& 15 m
You can calcu late pressure using thi s equation: ihe weight of an earthmover i& I ooo ooo N
~&WT'& • forl&
.. The hippopotamus exerts Pressure= force ihe total area of four normal 1-jru. I& 1 m•
area
o greater pressure on the area
forle I 000 000 N
ground thon the bird. Force is measured in newtons (N) and area is measured in
metres squared (m'), so pressure is measured in newtons per metresqua,r.
f rl}&wre
=
• I 000 000 N ~~~
- ~ &
• 40 000 N/m'
You can also use these (N/m'). l N/ m' is also called 1 pascal (Pa). 1m• \nl~lll3~;arca
equations:
It is ohen easier to meas ure sma 11 er areas in centimetres squ ared [cm') j • '500 ooo Nfm•
Force= pressure x area
you measure the area in cm' d h f .
force in N/cm'. an t e orce rn N, then the p ressure is me produces a much smaller pressure.
The same force over a bigger area
Area = pressure
40 000 N/m2 is 4 N/cm2, which Is much less than the pressure of the studs.
When you do calculations it · •
you write them next to then~ very r_mportant to look at th e units of area.
un,t of pressure yo mber in your equatio n, th en you will see
u need to use.

/[Link]« of roo N ,s 5 d his table. 150 N 25 cm'

What ,s the pressurerea over an area of 2 m'
A forte of 20 N rs spread over an area of 4 ,111 I 60N 15m'
l'ressuri • forte What ,s the pressure? Is 5N 0.1cm' • Pressure=~~!-
area an • Pressure IS measured m
l're&,ure ~ fora N m' (Pa, pascal) or
-~
2m
area
-lghtofthe book?
pressunt It produces is 0.5 N/cm' what N/cm
20 N
• 50 N/m =~ nd? • Asmallfofce011erab1g
of250 000 Pa when It Is standing area produces a small
= 5 N/cm
N. what Is the - of each foot? pressure, and vice ve~.
 using pressure n..,,,..oflffl!Y 1s4ooo N
6.15 here 1s a
. lot of pressure useful?
ihe we19h1 of a wme\ 15 5000 N
1hr area of 115 four hoovr5 ;;,
U)()Olm·
1M JrU of ii$ foor hoovt5 15
4ooan'
forle fora
1'nMtn
arr-a area
Objectives
• Descnbe how large
pressure [Link] be useful
.~ U)OO l ffi
0 -~ 4000 N

• 10 N/lm'
,'2.S Nhm

• Describe how small

Even thou gh a horse has a smaUerweightthanacamel, the pressure that it
pressure can be useful
You can use ideas about pressure to explain how some tools work. produces on t he ground is four times bigger because the area of its hooves is

smaller.
• The blades of knives and scissors have a very small area .
• The force that you apply produces a large press ure. Handles and straps
• If the blade becomes blunt then the area get s b igger. Wid e ha nd les are more comfortable to carry than narrow ones. Theirtataef
• A bigger area means the pressure is sma lle r, a nd may not be high area red uces the pressure on your hands.
to cut things.
Straps on rucksacks are madewidetospreedthefon:eovera blgaraa.
• The end of a nail is pointed, so it has a very sma II a rea .
• The pressure produced on a surface when you h it t he nail with the
hammer will be very large.
Bike tyres
Some bikes are designed to travel across mud and Qtbefs~~ to be
Lots of tools have sharp edges so that they can cut or m ake holes in things used on the road. Thetyresofroadblkes,a.. 1111u:nnertGM1rdmn---ol
easily. an off-road bike.

1he fom appl1e.d to a ~nife 15 20N

1he area 01the 5harp ~nife blade 1; o5lm· 1he area of the blunt \:nifo black is 12-5,m·
force forle
l'm,5ure l're,5ure • Wide straps reduce pressure.
area area
-~
D5lm·
'[Link]
• 4D Nhm· 1'2.?lffi1
• il,,Nkm'

Where
. is sm aII pressure useful,
It is possible to sink into - •
large. surfaces like san d and m ud if the press
• lncreaSing the area
Wading birds have wide fl tf reduces the pressure,
means that they d . a eet to reduce the pressure on the which can be useful In
onotsinksomu h h
It is much _ c w en they have to walk some situations.
easier for camel 5 • Reducing the area can
across sa nd. The to walk across sa nd tha n it is for
ho rse 's hoof. areaofaca me I's foot 1s muc h larger than be useful If you need a
18,ppressure.
• Camels' feet hove evolved
· •nkinsand.
 Pressure in liquids This is why th e bottom of a dam wall has to be many times thicker than the

6.16 Particles and liquid pressure

If ou go swimming you can feel
top. The pressure at the bottom Is much, much big..-,

Y f the water. Your ea rs

the pressure o
Objectives detect liquid pressure.

• Explain !,quid pressure in Pressure in liquids is different

terms of particles from the pressure produced when
one solid is on top of another.
• Explain why liquid pressure
Liquid pressure is due to the
increases with depth
forces between the liquid particles
and the surfaces of a container.

• The particles in a liquid are

very close together, so liquids cannot be compressed.
• We say that they are incompressible. -r-
When peo ple go deep underwater they use diving vessels or submarines

'1
lsha fills a syringe full of water. He ho ld s one finger with very strong walls to withstand the pressure.
over the hole so the water cannot get out. Then he
presses down on the plunger. Nothing happens! It is Measuring pressure
nor possible to force the liquid into a smaller space. The pressure in a liquid or gas Is measured with a pressure pup.
This contains a tube that Is curled up. The tube straightens out as the pressure
When lsha applies a force to a liquid the forces
inside the tube Increases. This moves a needle to show a reading on a scale.
between the particles increase, and th e forces
act in all directions. lsha demonstrates that the
pressure in a liquid acts in all directions.

• He fills a bag with water and makes holes in it.

• When he squeezes, the water comes out of
the bag at 90' to the surface.
ces pressure in a liquid.
" The parr,cle model descnbes
Che d1fferenc arrongemencs
• The curved pa th of the water is due to gravity.
It is liquid pressure that produces upthrust the
at the bottom of the
bigger than the pressure
•
-
of parc,cles in solids, liquids, force that keeps things anoat. ' • Pressure in liquids
ondgoses. results from the forces
bottle full of water. He hole A
Liquid pressure and depth up,and between particles in the
liquid acting o,rer an
The pressure on a fish at the bottom of a lake isblger
area.
pressure on a fish half-way down.
• Deeper in a bqu,d the
~ pressure gets bigger
• Liquid pressure at a point depends on the weight
above it right angles to the surface of because there is a
• There IS twi greater weight of water
a lake than ce as much water above a point at above)IOU
• Th I . there IS half way down. • You can measure liquid
e iqu,d pressure at the bottom ofa lake ls pressure With a pressure
pressure half way down.
puge.
 Pressure in gases
6.17 David blows up a balloon . The balloon
gets bi gger and bi gger. Eventua lly .
Atmospheric pressu re
c ai1 around us exerts gas pressureonourbodltlallt
ospheric pressure. We do not fffl the pNIIU,. becauM<
the balloon will burst. Why does thi s
tladla pushln
Objectives happen?

• Explain gas pressure 1n Gas pressure and particles

tNmS of particles
we ca n expl ain gas pressu1e using th e
• Explain the factors th ilt particle model. In th e particl e mod el
affect gas pressure particl es in a gas are far apa1 t, an d are moving fast.

• David pumps air particles into th e balloon.

• Particles bump into each oth er and into the rubb er of t he balloon. The atmospheric pressure 1tse1 level Is blpthanit,eabylotph-"
• The co llisions with the wa lls of th e co ntain er produce gas pressurt pressure high up a mountain.
All gases, including gases inside you, exert a pressure on the wa llsoftht • Gravity pulls the air partlclestowards thalartb,
con tainer. • The air near the Earth'• surfact Is comprt5$ed.
• If the particles areclosertoJtth•i. thenthe.p~relaJ:!IJPII
What affects gas pressure? This means thatthere wru be m~ coUlslanorodudnt II t.,taer folQJ
Adding more gas and a bigger pressure nearthesurface.
Air particles hit the outside of th e ba lloon too. whtlre~INJs,n, to.,. Tite
into 11,sm1t1vo'1,me. Someffrefl&h
• By blowing more air into the ba lloon, David increases th e pressurei
• If th ere are more collisions on th e inside t han on the outside theb.11
will get bigger. lie. tb1Ywould not ht able

• Model of gos pressure m

• When too much gas has been add ed, th e balloon bu rsts.
.
If you put air into a co nt ainerthat
-need
hstand the hlah pressures.
has a fi xed shape t he pressure will I
wluch the cordboord disc is .a. Oxygen compressed ,nro
pushed up by the co/11s,ons Changing the volume or temperatu re tanks helps the firefighter to
of thr seer/ bolls. breathe.
Gas pressu re chan es wh th
and th e co ntai g en e number of collisio ns between gas
ner wa lls ch anges. Th ere w ill be more co llisions if:
• the particles are mov·
• the particl . ing faster
es are in a sn,aller volume. • Gas pressure 1s caused
by particles colliding
psf)nllSUre. with the walls of the

........
~ -...
. .. •
... creasing te m p, ., .
t compress a liquid. container.
• If you compress a gas

'....
fl
- llpdually pumped into a smaller volume, or
~ n ltlllnds. heat it. the pressure will

Particles in a big volume

••• uyoupump increase.
• Atmospheric pressure
When the volume.
and the press
Particles in a
,s s_maller there are m small vo lu me
urc is higher ore collisions ,
•-
Parti cles in
decreases as you ao up a
mountain.
When th e te , c.=.:.::..1e!:¥.:.'I.

faster and 1
pressure ,s h
 Diffusion in liquids and gases
6.18 .
Rebekah is coo I
k'ng dinner for her fam ily.

very soon , everyo

ne in the house ca n sm ell
d,r Pdnq

the food. Why?

Objectives Food particles evaporate as Rebeka h i~
cooking. They move around rando mly in
• use the particle theory to
the air, and spread out. The food particles
explain diffu sion in liquids
mix with air particles. Soon there are food " The particles fra m the crystal diffuse into the water.
and gases
particles all over the house. Some of the
• Describe evidence for food particles enter your nose, w hich through t he wa ter. Th e particles of the purple crystal have moved away
diffusion detects the smell. from t he cryst al and m ixed with the water particles.

Di ffusion hap pe ns more slowly in liquids than in gases. Thi s is because

Diffusion and particles particles are close r in liquids, they collide more often , and there are stronpl'
The random movement and mixing of forces between them.
particles is called diffusion. Particles in
gases and liquids are moving. Yo u do not need to move o r st ir a substann Diffusion and temperature
make diffusion happen. The speed of mixing by d iffu sion d1"pends onth Particles from warm food diffuse more quickly than those from cool food.
factors: Th e particl es in a warmer gas or liquid move faster. Diffusion is faster in .a. You can obserw the
Brownian mot,on of smoke
hotte r liquid s or gases.
• temperature port,cfes in a,r.
• size and mass of the particles
• the states of the substances that are diffusing. @ Scie nce in contcl(t
Evidence for moving particles
Diffusion in gases
In 1828, Robert Brown suspendad~llen grains In water. He looked at
Diffu sion happens quickly in a gas. This is because a part icle can travel a the m through a mltroSCJOpe.'fbe:P.O![Link] around quickly in
long diSt ance in a gas before it hits another partic le. a ra ndom motion now.c:alletl-Brownian {DOtlon. Why?

•
air~gasiar-rn;
.. Part,cles from an incense
re tiny compared
burner diffuse chraughouc 0
room
.
::
.
.:
er particles - on
1600km/h at 20 •c.

..
- - - , . . _ lid

bromne-,. • •• rr, .........

• •

-f•:
12:00Ur

..
•
•

C'.::::::,
xture of bromine
and air particles ~
•
•

.
•
• 01ffu51on ,s the random
movement and miiong
ofpart,cles..
• 01ffus10n happens faster
.. When you remove the I'd <'=====,
a,r and bromine diff ' . between the Jars, the at hight>, temperatures.
use mto each other. • Diffusion Is quicker tn
Dittus·
ion through r . gases than 1n liquid s
Mo puts a c •quids
rystal of Pot .
watches ca refully Th ass1 um man gar a
next day M0 1 · e Purp le co\
00 ks at th . our 5 art '.l spread th rou
e mixture a
g 1 - ~ • ;Jl r ple co lour