HKCEE Physics - 475091809.

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Force

 Force F is in the same direction as the acceleration.

 Force F may be in different directions from velocity.
 Force can change the shape of an object.
 Unit : Newton (N).
 Force can be measured by spring balance.
 Forces are vectors.
 Resultant force can be found by ‘tip-to-tail’ method. (It is not a good method in
most cases.)

 If the forces are cyclic, the resultant force is zero.

 Magnitude and direction of the resultant force can be
found by resolving the forces into horizontal and
vertical components.

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Exercise

1. (0006) Three forces of magnitudes F1, F2 and 10 N act on an object as shown

above. If the object is in equilibrium, find F2.

A. 5.0 N
B. 8.7 N
C. 11.5 N
D. 17.3 N
E. 20.0 N
2. (9905) A light rope is fixed at two poles with the ends A and B at the same level.
A T-shirt of weight 2 N is hung at the midpoint of the rope. The rope depresses
such that ACB = 150. Find the tension in the rope.

A. 1.0 N
B. 2.0 N
C. 3.9 N
D. 7.7 N
E. It cannot be determined since the length of the rope is not given.

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3. (9807) Two forces F1 and F2 act on a particle P as shown above. If a third force
F3 acts on P to keep it in equilibrium, find the magnitude of F3.

A. 1.4 N
B. 4.0N
C. 4.2 N
D. 4.5 N
E. 5.8 N
4. (0307) A uniform cube of weight 600 N is held in equilibrium in the air by four
identical cables as shown. If each cable makes an equal angle of 20o with the
vertical, find the tension in each cable.

A. 150 N
B. 160 N
C. 412 N
D. 439 N

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5. (0404) An object is acted on by three forces F 1, F2 and F3 in suitable directions

such that it remains at rest. Which of the following combinations of the
magnitude of the forces is/are possible?
F1 F2 F3
I. 3N 4N 5N
II. 3N 4N 7N
III. 3N 5N 9N
A. II only
B. III only
C. I and II only
D. I and III only

Gravitational force

 Attractive force between masses.

 Gravitational force keeps the planets in motion.
 It is simply the weight.
 
 W  mg

Friction

 In the opposite direction of velocity.

 Acting in tangential direction of the surface.
 Most surfaces are rough.

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Exercise

1. (0105) A block on a rough horizontal table is acted on by two horizontal forces

of magnitudes 10 N and 2 N as shown. It remains at rest on the table. If the
force of magnitude 10 N is removed, find the resultant force acting on the block.

A. zero
B. 2 N
C. 6 N
D. 8 N
E. 10 N

 Examples :
 If no friction, no force is required to keep an object moving.
 Car cannot stop without friction.
 Man cannot walk without friction.
 Friction causes energy loss.
 Ways to reduce friction :
 Air can be blown to reduce friction.
 Water can reduce friction.
 Friction can be reduced by replacing sliding with rolling motion.

Newton’s 1st law

 If there is NO net force acting on a body, it will continue in its state of rest, or
uniform motion along a straight line.
 Object tends to maintain state of motion (At rest or uniform motion).

Exercise

1. If a block is moving with constant According to Newton’s first law of

velocity on a rough horizontal motion, a net force is required to
surface, there must be a net force maintain a body’s motion at constant
acting on the block. (9942) velocity.

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2. (9809) Which of the following phenomena can be explained by Newton’s first

law of motion?
(1) A passenger in a car tends to move forward when the car suddenly stops.
(2) A coin and a feather fall with the same acceleration in a vacuum.
(3) A gun recoils when it fires a bullet.
A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only
E. (1), (2) and (3)
3. (0204) The following are statements written by three students about Newton’s
first law of motion.
(1) A stationary object will remain in a state of rest unless acted on by an
unbalanced force.
(2) An object undergoing uniform motion will maintain its motion unless
acted on by an unbalanced force.
(3) An unbalanced force is required to maintain the motion of an object at
uniform velocity.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A. (2) only
B. (3) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (1) and (3) only

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4. (9703) A block is placed on a smooth inclined plane. A

force P parallel to the inclined plane is applied to the block
so that the block moves up the plane. Which of the
following diagrams correctly shows all the forces acting on
the block?

5. (9608) A block remains at rest on an inclined plane as shown above. Which of

the following statements is/are true?
(1) The frictional force acting by the plane on the block is zero.
(2) The normal reaction acting by the plane on the block is zero.
(3) The resultant force acting on the block is zero.
A. (2) only
B. (3) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (1) and (3) only
E. (1), (2) and (3)

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5. (0305) A block of mass m slides down an inclined plane with uniform velocity.
What is the net force acting on the block?

A. mg
B. mgsin
C. mgcos
D. zero

Terminal velocity

 Object moving in fluid will experience viscous

force which depends on speed, size, area and
shape.
 When F = 0, the object moves with terminal
velocity. (Uniform velocity)

Inertia

 Ability to resist changes in state of motion. (Acceleration or deceleration.)

 State of motion includes linear motion and circular motion.
 Mass shows resistance to change of linear motion.
 More massive an object, harder to change its velocity.

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Exercise

1. (0104) A coin is placed on a piece of cardboard resting on a glass as shown

above. If the cardboard is flicked off sharply with a finger, the coin will drop
into the glass. What does this experiment demonstrate?

A. The coin will fall with uniform acceleration under the action of gravity.
B. The acceleration of the coin is proportional to the applied force.
C. Action and reaction always occur in pairs.
D. Momentum is conserved in a collision.
E. The coin has a tendency to maintain its state of rest

Moment of force / Torque

 Turning effect of a force about a point.

 It depends on magnitude and direction of force and the perpendicular distance
between force and turning center.
   Fxd 

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Equilibrium

 When an object is in equilibrium, it must be

 At rest, resultant force = 0.
 No rotation, clockwise moment is balanced by the anticlockwise moment.
(At any point)

Exercise

1. (0203) A man holds a ball of weight 60 N with his hand. The weight of the
forearm and hand of the man is 20 N, and the biceps muscle in the upper arm
exerts an upward force F on the forearm. The horizontal distances of these
forces from the elbow joint are shown in the figure.

(a) Find the moment of the weight of the ball about the elbow joint.
(1 mark)
(b) Find the magnitude of F.
(2 marks)
(c) Some weight-lifting champions are known to have their biceps muscles a
few millimetres further away from the elbow joint than usual. Explain
how this feature can help such athletes in lifting heavy weights.
(2 marks)

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2. (0106) A uniform plank of weight 450 N rests on two trestles X and Y and a
worker of weight 675 N stands at one end of the plank as shown above. The
worker holds a light basket which contains several packets of good each of
weight 6 N. What is the maximum number of packets he can hold without
tilting the plank? (Assume the weight of the plank acts through its centre.)

A. 11
B. 12
C. 13
D. 18
E. 19
3. (9909) A uniform rod of length  is pivoted at a point  from one of its ends.
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Two forces 14 N and 3 N act on its two ends as shown above. If the rod is in
equilibrium, find the weight of the rod. (Assume the weight of the rod acts
through its midpoint.)

A. 2.5 N
B. 5N
C. 8N
D. 11 N
E. 17 N

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4. (9710) A light plank of length 2 m rests on two trestles S1 and S2 as shown

above. A boy of weight 500 N stands at the mid-point of the plank. Find the
forces acting on the two trestles by the plank.

Force acting on S1 Force acting on S2

A. 2 N 1 N
166 333
3 3
B. 200 N 300 N
C. 250 N 250 N
D. 300 N 200 N
E. 1 N 2 N
333 166
3 3
5. (0310) A uniform rod of weight 50 N is supported by two spring balances P and Q
and remains at rest as shown. Assume the weight of the rod acts through its mid-
point. Find the readings of P and Q.

Reading of P Reading of Q
A. 17 N 33 N
B. 20 N 30 N
C. 30 N 20 N
D. 33 N 17 N

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6. (0411) Figure (a) shows a uniform plank supported by two spring balances P and
Q. The readings of the two balances are both 150 N. P is now moved 0.25 m
towards Q. Find the new readings of P and Q.

Reading of P / N Reading of Q / N
A. 100 200
B. 150 150
C. 200 100
D. 200 150
7. (0012) A company intends to produce a kind of weighing device as shown
above. The device is held at point X. The position of the counter-weight is
adjusted until the rod AB becomes horizontal. The weight of the object can be
read from the scale calibrated on AB. Which of the following changes can
increase the maximum weight that can be measured by the device?

(1) moving the string at X towards A

(2) increasing the mass of the counter-weight
(3) increasing the length of the string from which the counter-weight hangs
A. (1) only
B. (3) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (2) and (3) only
E. (1), (2), and (3)

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8. (9811) A uniform beam of length 3 m and weight 300 N lies on a horizontal

ground. What minimum vertical force must be applied to one end of the beam
to just lift that end off the ground? (Assume the weight of the beam acts
through its mid-point.)
A. 100 N
B. 150 N
C. 300 N
D. 450 N
E. 900 N
9. (9609) A uniform plank AB of weight 200 N rests on two trestles as shown
above. A boy stands at the end B of the plank. What can the maximum weight
of the boy be without tilting the plank? (Assume the weight of the plank acts
through its centre.)

A. 75 N
B. 100 N
C. 200 N
D. 300 N
E. 600 N

Couple

 A pair of forces with equal in magnitude and opposite directions.

 Resultant force is zero.
 Moment of force is constant at ALL points.

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Exercise

1. (0211) A block is initially at rest on smooth horizontal ground. Two forces of

equal magnitude F act on the block. In which of the above cases will the block
remain at rest?

A. (2) only
B. (3) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (1) and (3) only

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