The idea of work done can be extremely useful when designing machines that make life easier and sometimes even enable us to do things that are "impossible". For example, it is fair to say that most humans are not capable of lifting masses of a tonne (1000 kg) or more. And yet that is indeed … Continue reading Forces moving forces
All about Springs
The facts and understanding that you need to have about springs is less detailed than it is for some other GCSE Physics courses. It is therefore important to use learning resources that are matched to this particular course. If you start reading about ultimate tensile stress, for example, then you are learning too much! The … Continue reading All about Springs
Newton’s Second Law
We already know, from Newton's First Law, that everything has a natural tendency to maintain the same motion when all the forces acting on an object are balanced. But what happens when the forces are not balanced? That is where Newton's Second Law comes in. Newton's Second Law tells us that an object will accelerate … Continue reading Newton’s Second Law
Newton’s First Law
One of the most common misconceptions in GCSE Physics is that a force is needed to keep an object moving. In fact, a force is only needed to produce a change an object’s movement. This fact is Newton’s First Law of Motion, which is sometimes known as the Law of Inertia. Inertia is the tendency … Continue reading Newton’s First Law
Static Electricity: Uses and Dangers
It is important that you can describe and explain how static electricity is used, or avoided, in some real-life situations. A good way to recall example uses and dangers is to start from what they have in common; The uses all exploit electrostatic forces, which may either attract or repel objects.The dangers all involve sparks. … Continue reading Static Electricity: Uses and Dangers
Energy is not Power!
Suppose that two identical twins decide to go upstairs in their house: one twin runs up the stairs whereas the other twin walks up the stairs. Which twin transfers the greatest amount of energy? Almost everybody says the twin who runs transfers more energy because she goes faster. This is a common misconception. In fact, … Continue reading Energy is not Power!
Work Done and GPE
The basics of energy stores and transfers are covered in a separate post (click here to refresh your memory if necessary). We now need to think specifically about ways in which energy can be transferred by the action of forces. For the purposes of GCSE Physics, we will restrict our thoughts to mechanical forces but … Continue reading Work Done and GPE
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