Key Terms and Concepts for Acceleration and Momentum

to accompany The Cartoon guide to Physics - CD

return to class notes page

Terms:

Concepts

Motion and Speed

    • Motion is defined as a change in position, so what is speed? How fast that change takes place. Or, the time it takes to cahnge postion.
    • When speed has direction it then has velocity.
    • Any change in velocity is called acceleration, whether it be fowards or backwards, or even sideways. To calculate acceleration we simply use the equation a= Æv/t or change in velocity over time.
    • Most times when speak of average speed or velocity rather than instantenous speed.
    • to calculate speed we use the equation v=d/t.

Newton's laws

    • 1st - inertia an object wants to keep doing what it is doing unless something acts upon it to change the forces
    • 2nd F= ma
    • 3rd action / reaction

Force is a vector

    • having both magnitude and direction
    • total force is zero or balanced unless something is moving
    • net force is the sum of all the forces in a situation

Tension

    • weighing of an object with a spring scale

Frictional Forces

    • variable dependant on velocity and mass
    • the force that resists motion

Air friction also called air resistance

    • terminal velocity the balanced force between air molecule's friction and gravity

Momentum

    • is realted to F=ma the equation is p=mv which means something that is massive (big) that is moving fast has alot of momentum - think about stopping a train!!
    • momentum can be transfered from one item to another, such as in a cue ball in pool
    • a collision is when two objects hit one another and exchange momentum