Inertia is the resistance of a body to a change in its state of motion. A body with greater mass has greater inertia.

How does Newton's first law apply to a penalty kick?

The ball stays at rest on the spot until the boot applies a force. The ball then keeps moving until other forces, such as the goalkeeper or the net, stop it.

Why does a cyclist freewheeling on flat ground eventually stop?

Friction and air resistance act against the motion as unbalanced external forces. The bike would keep moving at constant velocity if these forces were absent.

State Newton's second law of motion.

The acceleration of a body is proportional to the force applied and takes place in the direction of that force. The law is written as F = ma.

How does Newton's second law apply to a sprint start?

A larger force driven into the blocks produces a larger reaction force and so a greater acceleration. A lighter sprinter would accelerate more from the same force.

Eduqas A-Level Physical Education A550QS

Health, Fitness and an Active Lifestyle

Topic overview Health, fitness and the UK activity guidelines Physical, psychological and social benefits of exercise Sedentary lifestyles and the risks to health

Short-Term Responses to Exercise

Topic overview The heart as a dual-action pump and the cardiac cycle Stroke volume, heart rate and cardiac output during exercise Nervous and hormonal control of heart rate Blood vessels, blood pressure and the vascular shunt Ventilation, gas exchange and neuromuscular responses

Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise

Topic overview Bone, connective tissue and muscle adaptations Bradycardia, cardiac hypertrophy and ejection fraction Lung volumes, pulmonary diffusion and aerobic capacity

Fitness Testing and Components of Fitness

Topic overview Health-related and skill-related fitness components Field test protocols for each component Laboratory tests and maximal versus sub-maximal testing Validity, reliability and interpreting results

Training Methods, Principles and Periodisation

Topic overview Specificity, progressive overload, reversibility, variance and FITT Continuous, fartlek, interval and high intensity training Weight, plyometric, circuit and flexibility training Altitude training and training in hot and cold climates Training zones, heart rate monitoring and periodisation

Energy Systems

Topic overview ATP, the ATP-PC system and the lactic acid system Aerobic energy production, fuels and maximal oxygen uptake The energy continuum, thresholds and training design

Fatigue and Recovery

Topic overview Fuel depletion, dehydration and fatigue Lactate accumulation, OBLA and DOMS Oxygen deficit and the stages of EPOC Lactate removal and recovery aids

Diet, Nutrition and Supplements

Topic overview Macronutrients and a balanced diet Energy balance, glycaemic index and fuel use Diets for different sports and carbohydrate loading Hydration strategies and sports drinks Protein, creatine and caffeine supplements

Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation

Topic overview Warm-up and cool-down physiology Risk assessment and the PAR-Q Causes and predictors of injury PRICE and rehabilitation methods

Joints and the Musculo-Skeletal System

Topic overview Joint classification and synovial joint types The skeleton, bone types and connective tissue Major skeletal muscles in sporting actions Muscle fibre types, muscle roles and contractions

Planes, Axes and Movement Patterns

Topic overview The sagittal, frontal and transverse planes Axes of rotation in sporting movements Joint movement terms in sporting actions

Biomechanical Principles and Levers

Topic overview Newton's laws of motion in sport Momentum, impulse and force–time graphs Stability, centre of mass and equilibrium Lever systems and mechanical advantage

Linear and Angular Motion

Topic overview Distance, displacement, speed and velocity Acceleration and graphs of motion Angular displacement, velocity and acceleration Moment of inertia and conservation of angular momentum

Projectile Motion and Fluid Mechanics

Topic overview Factors affecting the flight of a projectile Lift forces and the Bernoulli principle Spin and the Magnus effect Drag, streamlining and laminar flow

Performance Analysis

Topic overview The coaching process and approaches to analysis Video analysis Notational analysis, time-motion analysis and GPS

Technology in Sport

Topic overview Technology for the performer Technology for officials Technology for spectators Technological doping and the level playing field

Personality

Topic overview Trait, social learning and interactionist theories Extroverts, introverts and Type A and Type B personalities Personality profiling and the profile of mood states

Attitudes

Topic overview Attitudes, prejudice and stereotyping The triadic model of attitudes Changing attitudes through cognitive dissonance and persuasion

Goal Setting

Topic overview Why performers set goals Outcome, performance and process goals SMART goals and short, medium and long-term targets

Stress, Arousal and Anxiety

Topic overview Stress, arousal and anxiety defined Drive, inverted-U and catastrophe theories The zone of optimal functioning and peak flow Measuring stress, arousal and anxiety Controlling stress, arousal and anxiety

Motivation

Topic overview Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Achievement motivation: need to achieve and need to avoid failure Competitiveness and developing achievement motivation in young performers

Aggression

Topic overview Aggression, assertion and types of aggression Theories of aggression Causes and control of aggression

Social Facilitation

Topic overview Audiences, co-actors and performance Theories of social facilitation Home field advantage and reducing social inhibition

Group Dynamics and Leadership

Topic overview The 6 Is and the formation of groups Task and social cohesion Group productivity, social loafing and the Ringelmann effect Leadership theories and styles Chelladurai's multi-dimensional model and the Leadership Scale for Sports

Attribution Theory

Topic overview Weiner's model of attribution Errors in attribution Learned helplessness and attribution retraining

Self-Efficacy and Confidence

Topic overview Self-efficacy, self-confidence and self-esteem Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy Developing self-efficacy

Skill, Ability and Skill Classification

Topic overview Skill, ability, learning and performance Gross motor and psychomotor abilities Classifying skills on continua

Learning Curves, Theories and Stages

Topic overview Learning curves and plateaus Observational learning Reinforcement and drive reduction theory Fitts and Posner's stages of learning

Transfer, Practice and Guidance

Topic overview Types of transfer Methods of practice Methods of guidance

Information Processing, Memory and Feedback

Topic overview Information processing models and feedback Memory stores and selective attention Strategies for improving memory Reaction time, response time and Hick's law The psychological refractory period, anticipation and motor programmes

Sport, Culture and Society

Topic overview Culture, society and social institutions Sport as social control and socialisation Sport, national identity and government

The Emergence of Modern Sport

Topic overview Public schools and the three stages of athleticism Universities, codification and the spread of games From amateurism to professionalism and commercialisation Olympism, shamateurism and sport as a political tool

Ethics, Deviance and Doping

Topic overview Fair play, sportsmanship and gamesmanship Deviance, Coakley's sports ethic and violence Reasons for doping and its ethics WADA, drug testing and biological passports

Social Differentiation in Sport

Topic overview Social stratification and class in sport Prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination Barriers to participation for disadvantaged groups Strategies to widen participation

Sport and the Mass Media

Topic overview Functions and forms of the media in sport The symbiotic relationship and the golden triangle Media stereotypes and the dramatisation of sport

Commercialisation and Globalisation

Topic overview Sport as a commodity and consumerism Sponsorship, marketing and the sporting goods market Americanisation and globalisation theory Globalisation, financial gain and global migration

Mass Participation and Excellence

Topic overview Mass participation versus excellence Participation, lifestyle and movement between levels Talent identification and the elite pathway Sport organisations and recreational pathways

Biomechanical Principles and Levers

4 subtopics
12 things to know
Components 1 and 2

What Biomechanical Principles and Levers covers

Biomechanical Principles and Levers is examined in both papers, since Component 1 and Component 2 can each examine any of the content. It covers newton's laws of motion in sport, momentum, impulse and force–time graphs, stability, centre of mass and equilibrium and lever systems and mechanical advantage.

Where it is assessed

Components 1 and 2

Either 2 hour written paper, each worth 35% of the A level, can examine this.

Check the Eduqas specification ↗

The 4 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

How do the size of the base of support and the height of the centre of mass affect a performer's balance?

Key term

How do Newton's three laws explain a high jumper's take-off?

Key term

What is momentum?

Key term

What are the three components of a lever system?

Key term

State Newton's first law of motion.

Key term

What is the momentum of an 80 kg rugby player running at 7 m s⁻¹?

Key term

What is centre of mass?

Key term

How are the components of a lever system provided in the body?

Key term

What is inertia?

Key term

What is the conservation of momentum?

Key term

Where is the centre of mass of an adult standing upright?

Key term

What is a first-class lever? Give a sporting example.

Take Biomechanical Principles and Levers further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Mass vs Weight
Mass: the amount of matter in a body, measured in kilograms. Weight: the gravitational force on a body, measured in newtons.
Momentum vs Impulse
Momentum: the product of a body's mass and velocity. Impulse: the product of a force and the time it acts.
Scalar quantity vs Vector quantity
Scalar quantity: a measurement with size only and no direction. Vector quantity: a measurement with both size and direction.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
State Newton's first law of motion.
Model answer
A body stays at rest or keeps moving at constant velocity unless an unbalanced external force acts on it. The first law is also called the law of inertia.
2
What is inertia?
Model answer
Inertia is the resistance of a body to a change in its state of motion. A body with greater mass has greater inertia.
3
How does Newton's first law apply to a penalty kick?
Model answer
The ball stays at rest on the spot until the boot applies a force. The ball then keeps moving until other forces, such as the goalkeeper or the net, stop it.
4
Why does a cyclist freewheeling on flat ground eventually stop?
Model answer
Friction and air resistance act against the motion as unbalanced external forces. The bike would keep moving at constant velocity if these forces were absent.
5
State Newton's second law of motion.
Model answer
The acceleration of a body is proportional to the force applied and takes place in the direction of that force. The law is written as F = ma.
6
How does Newton's second law apply to a sprint start?
Model answer
A larger force driven into the blocks produces a larger reaction force and so a greater acceleration. A lighter sprinter would accelerate more from the same force.

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Health, Fitness and an Active Lifestyle

Short-Term Responses to Exercise

Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise

Fitness Testing and Components of Fitness

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Leadership is seen as .

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AA larger base of support makes a performer more stable.

BA gymnast widens the feet on landing to avoid stepping.

CA lower centre of mass makes a performer more stable.

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Flexion means a decrease in the angle at a joint.

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Brain Breaks between sessions

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Biomechanical Principles and Levers revision questions

What does Biomechanical Principles and Levers cover in Eduqas A-Level Physical Education?: 4 subtopics: newton's laws of motion in sport, momentum, impulse and force–time graphs, stability, centre of mass and equilibrium and lever systems and mechanical advantage. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Biomechanical Principles and Levers organised?: By the Eduqas A550QS specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

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