Biomechanical Principles and Levers

What Biomechanical Principles and Levers covers

Biomechanical Principles and Levers is examined in Paper 2, Factors affecting optimal performance in physical activity and sport. It covers newton's laws of linear motion, speed, distance and scalar quantities, centre of mass and stability and lever classes and mechanical advantage.

The 4 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Newton's laws of linear motionForces and their effects, balanced and unbalanced forces, Newton's three laws applied to sprinting, bobsleigh and swimming, inertia, ground reaction force and worked F = ma calculations.Open →
• Speed, distance and scalar quantitiesScalar quantities, distance and speed, worked speed calculations for sprints, laps and a marathon, and distance–time graphs.Open →
• Centre of mass and stabilityThe centre of mass and how it moves, the high jump, stability and the factors affecting it, the line of gravity, and stable positions in sprinting, netball and the scrum.Open →
• Lever classes and mechanical advantageFirst, second and third-class levers in sporting actions, mechanical advantage and disadvantage, and a worked mechanical advantage calculation.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Biomechanical Principles and Levers further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• First-class lever vs Third-class lever

  First-class lever: a system with the pivot between the effort and the load. Third-class lever: a system with the effort between the pivot and the load.

• Mechanical advantage vs Mechanical disadvantage

  Mechanical advantage: an effort arm longer than the resistance arm, so small forces move large loads. Mechanical disadvantage: an effort arm shorter than the resistance arm, so large forces move small loads.

• Centre of mass vs Line of gravity

  Centre of mass: the point at which a body is balanced in all directions. Line of gravity: an imaginary vertical path extending down from the body's balance point to the ground.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Define a force.

   Model answer

   A force is a push or a pull that alters the state of motion of a body. Force is measured in newtons (N).

2. 2

   What effects can a force have on a body?

   Model answer

   A force can make a body start moving, speed up, slow down or change direction. A force can also change a body's shape, as when a tennis ball squashes on the strings.

3. 3

   What is the difference between balanced and unbalanced forces?

   Model answer

   Balanced forces are equal and opposite, so the net force is zero and velocity stays constant. Unbalanced forces produce a net force that causes acceleration.

4. 4

   State Newton's first law of motion.

   Model answer

   A body stays at rest or moves with constant velocity unless an external unbalanced force acts on it. The first law is also called the law of inertia.

5. 5

   Apply Newton's first law to a penalty kick in football.

   Model answer

   The ball stays at rest on the penalty spot until the kicker applies a force. Once struck, the ball would keep moving at constant velocity unless gravity, air resistance or the goalkeeper acted on it.

6. 6

   What is inertia, and how is it related to mass?

   Model answer

   Inertia is the resistance of a body to a change in its state of motion. The greater the mass, the greater the inertia.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Biomechanical Principles and Levers revision questions

What does Biomechanical Principles and Levers cover in AQA A-Level Physical Education?

4 subtopics: newton's laws of linear motion, speed, distance and scalar quantities, centre of mass and stability and lever classes and mechanical advantage. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Biomechanical Principles and Levers organised?

By the AQA 7582 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.