Numbers
AQA AS-Level Physics 7408
Measurements and Their Errors
Particles and Radiation
Topic overviewConstituents of the atomStable and unstable nucleiParticles, antiparticles and photonsParticle interactionsClassification of particlesQuarks and antiquarksApplications of conservation lawsThe photoelectric effectCollisions of electrons with atomsEnergy levels and photon emissionWave-particle duality
Waves
Mechanics and Materials
Mechanics and Materials
- 10 subtopics
- 51 things to know
- Papers 1 and 3
What Mechanics and Materials covers
Mechanics and materials is examined on Papers 1 and 3, and is the largest topic in the first year. It runs from vectors and moments through the equations of motion and Newton's laws to momentum and energy, then treats how materials deform under load.
Where it is assessed
Papers 1 and 3
Core content, then practical skills and data analysis.
Check the AQA specification ↗The 10 subtopics
Each one has its own page. AQA AS Physics students sit this topic in the first year.
- Scalars and vectorsAdding and resolving vectors, and forces in equilibrium on an inclined plane.Open →
- MomentsThe moment of a force, couples, the principle of moments, and the centre of mass.Open →
- Motion along a straight lineDisplacement, velocity and acceleration, the kinematic equations, motion graphs, and measuring g.Open →
- Projectile motionTreating horizontal and vertical motion separately, and the effect of friction, lift and drag.Open →
- Newton's laws of motionThe three laws, when F = ma applies, and drawing and resolving a free-body diagram.Open →
- MomentumConservation of linear momentum, impulse, and how force relates to rate of change of momentum.Open →
- Work, energy and powerWork done by a force at an angle, power, efficiency, and the area under a force-displacement graph.Open →
- Conservation of energyKinetic and gravitational potential energy, and energy transfers in a closed system.Open →
- Bulk properties of solidsDensity, Hooke's law, the spring constant, stress, strain, elastic strain energy and stress-strain curves.Open →
- The Young modulusDefining the modulus, reading it from a graph, and the wire-stretching experiment.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
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How is the direction of a resultant found, and into how many components can a vector be resolved?
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How is a vector resolved at an angle, and what acts on a mass on an inclined plane?
Key term
What condition must be satisfied for an object to be in equilibrium?
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Can an object moving at constant velocity be in equilibrium, and why?
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What does a moment depend on, and why must the forces of a couple act on different lines?
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What motion does a couple produce, and what is the condition for rotational equilibrium?
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What is the centre of mass, and where does it lie in a uniform regular solid?
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How is the moment of a couple defined?
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How are velocity and acceleration defined, and what is average velocity?
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What is average acceleration, and how is velocity at an instant found from a graph?
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Why can average velocity differ from the value at an instant, and what does the graph gradient give?
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On a velocity–time graph, what do the gradient and the area represent, and what does the area under an acceleration–time graph give?
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What is the first kinematic equation, and why does a bouncing ball rise less each time?
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What are the second, third and fourth kinematic equations?
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When do the SUVAT equations apply, and how can g be measured in free fall?
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In free fall, what is the gradient of a graph of s against t², and what shape and gradient does a graph of v² against s have?
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How do the horizontal and vertical parts of projectile motion differ?
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How is vertical motion described, and what are friction and lift?
Process
What are terminal speed and drag, and how does air resistance change with speed?
Key term
What effect does air resistance have on the maximum height reached by a projectile?
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How are Newton's second and third laws stated?
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When does F = ma apply, and why can it not be used for a launching rocket?
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How does resultant force relate to the direction of acceleration, and what is a newton?
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What is the newton in base units, and how is a free-body diagram begun?
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Why resolve forces on a free-body diagram, and what does an arrow's direction show?
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What kind of quantity is momentum, and what does conservation of linear momentum state?
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What is impulse, and how is it found for a constant and for a varying force?
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How does force relate to rate of change of momentum, and what does that mean for safety design?
Key term
In an explosion where the system was initially at rest, what is the total momentum of the fragments after the explosion?
Process
When a stationary object explodes into two fragments, how do the momenta of the fragments compare?
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What does W = Fs cos θ describe, and why is the cosine term needed?
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What is power, and how is it calculated from work and time?
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How is power found from force and velocity, and why can W = Fs fail?
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How is work found from a force-displacement graph?
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How is efficiency calculated, and in what forms can it be expressed?
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What does conservation of energy state, and how is a change in potential energy calculated?
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What is the kinetic energy equation, and what happens as an object falls freely?
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How is the energy content of food measured and estimated?
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What is the vertical component of velocity at the maximum height of a projectile?
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How is density defined, what does Hooke's law state, and what is the elastic limit?
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What is the spring constant, and how does it relate to stiffness?
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What is tensile stress, and how is it calculated?
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What is tensile strain, and why does it have no units?
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How is elastic strain energy calculated, and when does E = ½FΔL apply?
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What does a stress-strain curve show, and what does its linear gradient give?
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Why does energy absorption matter in vehicle design?
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How is the Young modulus defined, and how is it read from a stress-strain graph?
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What does the linear region of the graph represent, and what is plotted to find the modulus?
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What are the units of the Young modulus and of stress, and why is strain dimensionless?
Evaluation
How is the diameter of a wire measured, and how is its area found?
Take Mechanics and Materials further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Speed vs Velocity
Speed: rate of change of distance. Velocity: rate of change of displacement.
Mass vs Weight
Mass: measure of inertia. Weight: gravitational force acting on an object.
Elastic deformation vs Plastic deformation
Elastic deformation: shape change reversed after force removal. Plastic deformation: permanent shape change after force removal.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What defines a scalar quantity?
Model answer
A scalar is a quantity that has magnitude only.
- 2
What two properties must a vector quantity possess?
Model answer
A vector has both magnitude and direction.
- 3
Classify speed and velocity as scalar or vector quantities.
Model answer
Speed is a scalar quantity; velocity is a vector quantity.
- 4
Why is velocity considered a vector while speed is not?
Model answer
Velocity includes direction as well as magnitude, whereas speed has magnitude only.
- 5
State whether distance is a scalar or a vector.
Model answer
Distance is a scalar quantity.
- 6
State whether displacement is a scalar or a vector.
Model answer
Displacement is a vector quantity.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Mechanics and Materials revision questions
- Is Mechanics and Materials examined at AS in AQA Physics?
- Yes. It sits in Papers 1 and 3, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.
- What does Mechanics and Materials cover in AQA AS-Level Physics?
- 10 subtopics: scalars and vectors, moments, motion along a straight line, projectile motion, newton's laws of motion, momentum, work, energy and power, conservation of energy, bulk properties of solids and the young modulus. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Mechanics and Materials organised?
- By the AQA 7408 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Mechanics and Materials, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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