Name…………………..…… Class………….. Teacher………..

Forces, Weight & Hooke’s Law Booklet

Prep Commentary Date

Specification:

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Types of force
Match the type of force to its definition:

A. Weight Attraction or repulsion between two charged objects.

B. Electric Occurs within materials/objects when stretched eg in a string

suspending an object.

C. Magnetic Occurs within materials/objects when squashed eg a spring.

D. Tension A force which propels an object forward – usually refers to forward

force generated by engines.

E. Compression Force acting on a mass due to the effect of a gravitational field.

F. Lift An upwards force generated by the wing of an aircraft when there is

a difference in pressure above and below the wing.

G. Thrust A force which opposes the motion of an object.

H. Friction (incl. A force which occurs whenever an object rests on something else,
drag) and which always acts at 90 degrees to the surface where it rests.

I. Upthrust The force which enables objects to float due to the displacement of
fluid.

J. Contact Attraction or repulsion due to magnetic fields.

The unit for all types of forces is the newton, N.

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Forces https://vimeo.com/77153368

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Mass and Weight
Aim All masses attract each other with a gravitational force (called weight). The Earth pulls masses towards its
centre. This practical measures how much force the Earth exerts on masses at its surface.

Apparatus 0 – 10N newtonmeter

clamp stand, boss and clamp

1kg stack of 100g masses

How to read a newtonmeter correctly

 read with your eye at the same level as the marker on the scale

 adjust the meter so that it reads exactly zero with no load

 read the scale to the nearest whole division (0.1N in this case)

Method
 Complete the table below:

Mass /kg Weight /N

N.B. The mass hanger has

a mass of 100g itself.

 Measure and record in pencil the weight of each mass from 0.100kg up to 0.900kg in 0.100kg steps.

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Questions
Plot a graph of weight (on the y-axis) against mass (on the x-axis). Your teacher will tell you how to plot
the graph correctly.

1. Describe in words, as precisely as you can, how weight changes as mass increases.

2. From your results, predict the weight of a 1kg mass at the Earth’s surface.

3. In the third column, calculate weight divided by mass for each result. What do you notice?

4. There is a mathematical relationship between weight, W and mass, m. Can you write it down in the
form W = m x ….?

5. What would you expect to be the weights of a 10kg mass, a 1 tonne mass and a 10g mass on the
surface of the Earth?

6. What would happen to the weight of a 1kg mass as you raised it up higher above the Earth’s
surface and into space?

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Mass and Weight
The mass of an object is a measure of how much matter it actually contains, and it does not change unless a part of
the object is physically removed.

The weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to the gravitational field is is in.

Weight = Mass x Gravitational field strength

(N) (kg) (N/kg)

W = mg

Questions
1. What is the weight of a 100kg man on Earth?

2. What is the weight of a 100kg man on the moon (where g = 1.6 N/kg)?

3. A woman has a weight of 650N on Earth, what is her mass?

4. What would be the mass of that same woman on the moon?

5. A man of mass 75kg has a weight of 500N on another planet. What is the gravitational field strength of the
planet?

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Resultant Force Notes

1. Label on the resultant Force 2N

2. Is the body balanced or unbalanced 2N

3. What are the resultant forces on the bodies below? Are they unbalanced or balanced

2N 2N

4N
6N
2N
4. What is the resultant force below? Unbalanced or balanced.

3N 2N
Forces perpendicular to each other do not affect each other.

4N

6N

6N
Forces acting an angle can be resolved into two
directions.

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Balanced & Unbalanced Forces https://goo.gl/H3f9b6

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Balanced Forces Questions
1. Fill in the missing words.

(a) When the forces acting on an object are ____________ the object’s motion will not _________.

(b) A stationary object will ________ __ ____ if the forces acting on it are balanced.

(c) A moving object will continue to move at a steady ______ and in the same ________ if the forces acting
on it are balanced.

(d) We can represent the forces acting on an object as ________. The direction of the arrow represents the
_______ of the force. The __________ of the arrow represent the size of the force.

2. The picture on the right shows a book resting on a table. One of the forces acting on the book is its weight.

(a) Show the weight by drawing an arrow on the picture. Remember to

include a label.

(b) What is the other force acting on the book?

…………………………………………………………………

(c) Draw an arrow representing the other force. Remember to include a

label.

3. The picture shows a stationary sports car on a flat road

(a) Draw and label arrows to show the two forces acting on the
car.

The picture shows a stationary boat floating at sea.

4. What are the two forces acting on the boat?

………………………………………………………………………

(a) Draw and label arrows showing these two

forces.

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5. The picture shows a parachutist he is falling through the air at a steady speed.

(a) What are the two forces acting on the parachutist?

………………………………………………………………………

(b) If the parachutist is falling at a steady speed what do we know about these two forces?

………………………………………………………………………

(c) Draw and label arrows showing these two forces.

6. The picture shows a passenger jet flying at a steady speed through the sky. Two of the force
acting on the plane are shown on the picture.

Upthrust

(a) Thrust One of

the
forces acting on the plane is the thrust of the engines. Which force balances this force?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(b) One other force acting on the plane is the upthrust. What force is balanced by this force?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(c) Draw and label arrows to show the other two forces acting on the plane.

7. The picture shows a car being driven along a road at a steady speed.

(a) Two of the forces acting on the car are its weight and
the reaction from the road. What do we know about
these forces?

……………………………………………………………………………

(b) What are the other two forces acting on the car?

……………………………………………………………………………

(c) Why do we know that these forces must be balanced?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(d) Draw and label arrows to show all the forces acting on the car.

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Free Body Diagrams https://goo.gl/kHPiQc (upto
3mins30secs)

 Forces are shown as arrows pointing in the direction of the force.

 The arrow must originate from the point at which the force acts e.g. weight is always shown acting from the
centre of gravity, and contact is shown at the centre of the surface where contact is made.

 The length of the arrow gives an indication of the size of the force – if one force is bigger than another, it
must be shown using a longer arrow.

 All forces must be clearly labelled with the name of the force.

Questions

Draw a free-body diagram for each of the situations below. Label each arrow to show the type of force acting and
also write the size of the forces if enough information is given.

Take g = 10 N/kg at the Earth’s surface.

1. A book of mass 1.5 kg is resting on a table.

2. A ball of mass 0.5 kg is at rest hanging on a vertical thread.

3. A ball of mass 300g is at rest hanging by two threads, each at 450.

4. A car of mass 950 kg is stationary on a horizontal road.

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5. A car is stationary on a sloping road.

6. A 1400 kg helicopter is hovering above the ground.

7. The Moon orbits the Earth.

8. A spacecraft is drifting through deep space.

9. A spacecraft is halfway between the Moon and the Earth with its thrusters off.

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Questions: Balanced and unbalanced
1. Explain what is meant by the following terms:

a. Resultant force

b. Acceleration

c. Balanced forces

2. Calculate the resultant force acting on each object shown in the diagrams (and specify its direction)

3. In each case below, describe and explain in words the motion of the vehicle when subjected to the forces
indicated. You should aim to use words like starts, stops, accelerates, decelerates, balanced, unbalanced,
steady speed.

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

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 Revision of Balanced forces
2 The movement of a car before a force acts is written underneath the diagrams below. Say what will
happen to each car when the forces are acting. Choose your answers from: ‘stay the same speed’,
‘accelerate’ or ‘decelerate’.

a b C

d e F

3 Complete each of the sentences below to explain how the object’s movement is affected.

a When a force acts on a stationary object . . .

b If no force acts on a stationary object . . .

c If a force acts in the opposite direction to the movement of an object . . .

d If no force acts on a moving object .

EARTH

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Hooke’s Law Notes https://vimeo.com/78772096

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Hooke’s Law https://goo.gl/189e4H

Aim: To investigate the relationship between the load on a spring and its extension
Fill in the blanks using the words below:

When you hang a weight (or load) on a spring it extends.

Robert Hooke (1635 - 1703) said that when a spring is stretched, its ____________ is directly ______________ to the
load.

This is true below the _____________ limit which is the point at which the spring is permanently
___________________.

proportional extension deformed elastic

In this experiment you will demonstrate Hooke’s law and show what the
terms “directly proportional” and “elastic limit” mean in this context.

Apparatus:
Retort stand, boss and clamp,

Load (or weight) holder (1N) and 9 slotted masses of 1N each (10N in
total)

Spring

Metre ruler

Preliminary questions:
Read the method below and answer the following questions:

1. What is the independent variable in this experiment (this is the

variable you are going to change)?

2. What is the dependent variable (this is what you measure)?

3. How do you calculate the extension?

4. What will the value of the extension be when the load is 0N?

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Table
Load /N Position /cm Extension /cm

Method:
1. Set the apparatus up as shown.

2. Measure the position on the metre rule of the bottom of the spring for zero load.

3. Add 1N to the spring and measure the new position. Record your results in your table.

4. Calculate the extension from the zero-load position for this load and record the results in the relevant
column.
Handle the springs with
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all the weights have been used up. care, especially when using
6. Note the shape of the spring compared to before the experiment. high loads

Graph:
1. Plot a graph of load (y-axis) vs extension (x-axis) [note that this is opposite to the usual axes for independent
and dependent variables]

2. Draw a line of best fit which suits the data points you have plotted

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Questions
1. Describe the shape of your graph.

2. When the load doubled from 2N to 4N, what happened to the value of the spring’s extension?

3. If Hooke’s law is true, then all or part of your graph should follow a straight line through the origin (the
point x=0, y=0). What two words describe this relationship between extension and load?

4. Did your spring reach its elastic limit during the experiment?

5. Describe two pieces of evidence that could be used to support this conclusion (even if your spring’s elastic
limit was not reached).

6. On your graph (using a ruler), draw and label two straight lines through the origin representing:

a. A weaker spring than the one you tested.

b. A stiffer spring than the one you tested.

7. Explain your reasoning behind your answers to 6a and 6b.

Extension (Pun intended!): Calculate the gradient of your best fit straight line (ask your teacher if unsure
how to do this). The units of your gradient are Newtons per metre (N/m). The value of this gradient is the spring
constant for your spring. Explain whether you expect the spring constant to be bigger or smaller for a stiffer spring.

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Force / Extension of a Rubber Band
Aim: Complete an investigation to create the Force/Extension graph of a rubber band and using this, state and
explain whether the rubber band obeys Hooke’s Law.

Method: (5 marks)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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Table: (5 marks)

Graph (overleaf): (5 marks)

Conclusion: (2 marks)
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……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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 Forces, Weight & Hooke’s Law Learning
Checklist
(a) Units
Students should:
1.1 use the following units: kilogram (kg), metre (m), newton (N), second (s)
(b) Forces

Learning Objective (with Specification Reference No) I can do I need

this help
with this

1.11 describe the effects of forces between bodies such

as changes in speed, shape or direction
1.12 identify different types of force such as
gravitational or electrostatic
1.13 understand how vector quantities differ from scalar
quantities
1.14 understand that force is a vector quantity
1.15 calculate the resultant force of forces that act
along a line
1.16 know that friction is a force that opposes motion
1.18 know and use the relationship between weight,
mass and gravitational field strength: weight = mass ×
gravitational field strength
W=m×g
1.22 practical: investigate how extension varies
with applied force for helical springs, metal wires
and rubber bands
1.23 know that the initial linear region of a force-
extension graph is associated with Hooke’s law
1.24 describe elastic behaviour as the ability of a
material to recover its original shape after the
forces causing deformation have been removed

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