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AQA 3.4 Mechanics and Materials
This section starts with vectors and then looks at topics including energy, forces and momentum. Later on there is the study of materials and their bulk properties.
3.4.1 Force, Energy and Momentum
Scalars and Vectors - Two different types of quantities
Mass and Weight - Often confused with each other, these are two very different quantities
Free Body Diagrams - Essential for understanding the forces acting on an object
Moments - The turning effect of a force
Speed and Velocity - How quickly an object is moving
Motion Graphs - Visualising the movement of objects
'suvat' Equations of Motion - Linear motion with a constant acceleration
Stopping Distances - For vehicles coming to a halt
Projectile Motion - Showing the independence of vertical and horizontal motion
The Monkey and Hunter - A great 'real-life' example with projectile motion
Drag and Resistance - Forces that resist motion
Terminal Velocity - When a moving object has no resultant force acting
Newton's Laws - The three big laws of motion
Linear Momentum - The quantity of motion
Collisions - Elastic and inelastic interactions between two objects
Energy - How energy can be stored and the equations for calculating it
Mechanical Power - The rate that energy is transferred or work is done
3.4.2 Materials
Density - The amount of 'stuff' in a given volume
Springs - These come up all the time in A Level Physics
Stress and Strain - These allow us to investigate material properties
Required Practicals