Conceptual Physics-Laws of Motion Unit-Final Test Flashcards
What is a force?
a push or a pull
What is inertia?
the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion; Newton’s first law
Will a force have the same effect on different masses?
the same force will cause less massive objects to accelerate more; mass is a factor in acceleration just as force is
How does mass affect inertia?
more mass means more inertia; direct relationship
What is the relationship amoung the quantities: force mass, and acceleration?
force=mass x acceleration; if mass increases, so does force; if force increases, so does acceleration; if mass increases, acceleration decreases
How is an object’s center of mass located
at the balance point, where plumb lines connect, point around which all mass is centered
What happens if the support base is removed from the center of mass?
the object will fall over
Do different objects fall at different rates towards earth? If so, what causes the difference?
No, Gravity has a constant rate of acceleration of 10 m/s/s. The only difference would be air resitance/friction.
How can the amount of gravitational force actin on an object be determined?
Gravitiy is always 10 m/s/s
gravitational potential is different depends on hieght
What is the difference between weight and mass?
mass is constant; wieght is a force, pull of gravity on mass
What is meant by balanced and unbalanced forces?
balanced: no change in motion; equal and opposite
unbalanced: object accelerates; unequal, always change motion
What does it mean to say that an object is accelerating?
It’s speeding up, slowing down, stopping, starting, or changing direction; it’s speed or direction is changing
What causes a stationary object to remain stationary?
balanced forces
Under what conditions will an object in motion continue to move?
If the forces are balanced
What is meant by the statement: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction?
forces come in action reaction pairs; if you push off a surface in zero gravity, you push towards the wall, but you move away from it.
What determines the amount of friction acting between two objects?
The types of surfaces: rough surfaces have higher mu
In what direction is friction applied in an object?
IN the opposite direction of its motion
What would a graph of two surfaces with a lot of friction look like, compared t surface will little friction?
The graph with lots of friction would have a steeper slope, while the one with little friction would have a flatter/lower slope.
How is the kinetic energy of an object determined?
How fast it moves and its mass
How is the gravitational potential energy of an object determined?
how high it is off the ground
What does it mean to say that energy is conserved?
total energy stay sthe same
What does a graph of Newton’s second law look like?
acceleration on y, force on x: exponential slope, positive trend, (up on y, forward on x)
acceleration on y, mass on x: exponential slpe, negative trend (down on y, forward on x)
What is momentum, and how would you measure it?
quantity of motion, kg m/s (mass x velocity)
what does it mean to say that momentum is conserved?
during collisions: objects transfer momentum to other objects; total momentum is constant
Is a force required to make an object move in a circular path? If so, where does it need to be applied
yes, towards the center of the circular path, or else it would just go straight, as in the first law
If an object leaves a circular path, what direction will it travel? Explain how to draw a diagram of this.
draw a circle or curve to represent the path, marking the center of the circle/curve. Draw a line from the center to the point at which the object left the path, then draw a tangent to that point. The direction is that which the object was traveling at the point at which it left the path.
distance unit
d
meters m
velocity/speed unit
v
meters/second m/s
