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Forces

Resolving forces and free body diagrams

  • 3 things to know
  • Physics Paper 2

Overview

The forces on a book on a table and a boat crossing a lake, free body diagrams, balanced forces at a steady speed, the resultant of forces that do not act along one line, resolving a force into two components at right angles, and scale diagrams for finding a resultant and showing forces in balance.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Describe the forces acting on a book resting on a table.

Key term

Describe the four forces acting on a boat travelling across a lake.

Key term

A car travels along a level road at a steady speed. Explain what this tells you about the forces on it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Describe the forces acting on a book resting on a table.

    Model answer

    The weight of the book acts downwards and the normal contact force from the table acts upwards, and they are equal in size.

  2. 2

    Describe the four forces acting on a boat travelling across a lake.

    Model answer

    Thrust forwards, water resistance backwards, weight downwards and upthrust upwards.

  3. 3

    What is a free body diagram?

    Model answer

    It shows a single object on its own with every force acting on it represented by an arrow.

  4. 4

    What does it mean to say the forces on an object are balanced?

    Model answer

    It means the resultant force on the object is zero.

  5. 5

    A car travels along a level road at a steady speed. Explain what this tells you about the forces on it.

    Model answer

    The driving force equals the resistive forces, so the resultant force on the car is zero.

  6. 6

    When two forces do not act along the same line, what two pieces of information are needed to state their resultant fully?

    Model answer

    Its magnitude and its direction.

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