2 × Δ μ √ – ½

1 Mechanics
Science 1.1 Demonstrate understanding of aspects of mechanics
4 credits This achievement standard involves demonstrating understanding of aspects of
mechanics and may include using methods when solving related problems.
External (examination)
Achievement criteria
Achievement Achievement with Merit Achievement with Excellence

Demonstrate understanding of Demonstrate in-depth Demonstrate comprehensive

aspects of mechanics. understanding of aspects of understanding of aspects of
mechanics. mechanics.

Key words and concepts

Write your own definitions of these key words as you meet them during this topic.
Speed
Acceleration
∆ means
Slope of distance vs time graph
Slope of speed vs time graph
Area under a speed time graph
Force is
Effect of forces on an object
Mass
Weight
The frictional force on an object increases when...
Terminal velocity is reached when
New Directions in Science Workbook

Pressure
Energy
Law of conservation of energy
Kinetic energy
Gravitational potential energy
Work is done when
Power
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 3

1A 1 Units and formulas Formulas?

SIgh . . .

Mechanics
1 Name the SI units of these quantities.
a work b force
c distance d speed
e mass f time
g power h acceleration
2 Identify the quantity being measured in these measurements, and convert it to SI units.

Measurement Quantity Conversion to SI units

a 190 kW
b 5 minutes
c 360 kJ
d 33 mm
e 5.0 g
f 15 cm
g 1 hour
h 80 km

3 The following physics formulas will be used during this standard.

¨G ¨Y W F
Y= W = Fd a= P= F = ma ( 3W P=
¨W ¨W W A

Select the correct formula, and rearrange it if necessary, to find the quantity required for the problems below.

a Given time and acceleration, find speed.

b Given energy and power, find time.

c Given area and force, find pressure.

d Given acceleration and mass, find force.

e Given velocity and distance, find time.

f Given power and time, find work.

 4 × Δ μ √ – ½

1A 2 Speed, distance and time calculations

Solving scientific calculations
–1
You will be supplied with mathematical formulas for the How long would it take to go 36 km at 7.0 km h .
relationships we study this year. You will be expected to pick the –1 ¨G
d = 36 km v = 7.0 km h t=? V =
right formula, rearrange it as required, and use it to solve the ¨W
problem set. ¨G
¨W =
v
Steps to solving problems
36 km
1 Summarise the data supplied and the quantity required. =
2 Select the formula which links the data supplied with the 70. km h –1
unknown quantity, and rearrange it as required. = 5.1 h
3 Put in the numbers. Note: here we have used the units supplied by the question
–1 –1
4 Calculate the answer and include the correct units. (km, h and km h ), rather than convert everything to m s .

1 Solve these problems, setting your work out as d A car goes on a journey of 200 km at an
–1
shown in the worked example above. average speed of 80 km h . How long will
the journey take?
a Calculate the speed of a runner who travels
400 m in 67 s.

2 A ship’s sonar produces a sound pulse which is

transmitted through the water, hits the sea floor
b A motor bike travels for 50 s at a speed of
–1 and is reflected back, then detected by
28 m s . How far does it travel?
instruments on board.
a Draw a diagram showing how sonar works.

b If a ship detects the echo 0.5 s after the sound

New Directions in Science Workbook

c A plane flies for 4 hours at a ground speed of pulse was sent, and the speed of sound
–1
–1
550 km h . How far does it go? through water is 1500 m s , how deep is the
water?
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 5
3 Sylvia drove from her home to her friend Brenda’s farm, stopping for lunch on the way. Her speed while
–1
travelling was an average of 92 km h . At the start of her journey, the car’s odometer reading was 127 455 km,

Mechanics
and on reaching Brenda’s house it read 127 708 km. If the journey took exactly three hours, how long did Sylvia
take for lunch?

1A 3 Quick reflexes
Dien and Arapeta conducted an experiment to measure the reaction times
of the thirty students in their class.
Dien held a one-metre ruler above each student’s outstretched hand,
then dropped it without warning. The student caught it between his or her
fingers (see the photograph). Arapeta recorded the distance the ruler fell
before it was caught.
1 If a student has a very fast reaction time, will the distance measured be
large or small? Why?

–1
2 The speed limit for most city driving is 50 km h . 4 According to road safety manuals, an average
–1
driver travelling at 16 m s will travel 11 m
a How many metres in 50 km?
before they are able to put on the brakes for an
b How many seconds in an hour? emergency stop. Calculate this reaction time.
–1 –1
c Convert 50 km h into m s .

3 The average reaction time that Arapeta recorded

was 0.22 s. Calculate the distance, in metres,
–1
travelled by a car moving at a speed of 16 m s
–1
(57.6 km h ) in this time. 5 Give reasons for the differences in reactions times
for questions 3 and 4.
 6 × Δ μ √ – ½

1A 4 Acceleration
1 What is the acceleration of a drag racer that 3 Calculate the time taken to reach a velocity of
–1 –1 –2
takes 9.5 s to accelerate to 63 m s from rest 8 m s from rest, at an acceleration of 2 m s .
(stationary)?

–1
4 A sky diver is falling at 30 m s when her
2 What acceleration must be applied to slow a car parachute opens. It takes 5 seconds to slow to
–1 –1 –1
travelling at 35 m s to 10 m s in 5 seconds? 10 m s . What is her acceleration?

–1
5 A motorcycle has an initial velocity of 10 m s ,
–2
and accelerates at 2.5 m s for 12 s. Calculate its
final velocity.
New Directions in Science Workbook

I guess that’s
why it’s called
TERMINAL
velocity!
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 7

1B 1 Graphing a journey

Mechanics
Distance-time and speed-time graphs give a pictorial representation of a Distance Time (s) Time (s)
journey. from start Journey 1 Journey 2

1 Mark 10 m intervals along a path or track about 100 m long.

2 One person walks at a steady pace along that path while the others
record the time as the walker crosses each 10 m mark.
3 Repeat 2 with a second person walking quickly.
4 Calculate the average speed for each journey.
Total distance travelled
Average speed =
Total time taken

Average speed Journey 1 Average speed Journey 2

Speed (1) = Speed (2) =

= =
5 Graph the two journeys on the grid below. Draw in a line of best fit for
each journey.
Distance-time graph for 100 m walk
Distance (m)

Time (s)
 8 × Δ μ √ – ½

Thinking about it
6 Study the graph. What does the gradient of a distance-time graph indicate?

1B 2 Time trials
Calculating gradients If the slope doesn’t start at zero, or if there are several gradients over
the same line, then we need to look at the actual change in distance
rise amount up 'x

}
Gradient  ——  ———————  — — and change in time over the relevant section.
run amount along 'y rise
Gradient = —— 12-
For a simple graph, we can run

D i st an c e ( m )
calculate the gradient just by 10 (5 – 2) m

12 – 5 = 7 m
= —————
looking at the total distance (6 – 0) s
D i st ance ( m )

travelled and dividing it by the 3m

total time taken: = ——
6s 5-
= 0.5 m s –1

}
15 – 6 = 9 s
rise
Gradient = ——
run rise 2-
Gradient = ——
10 m 0 run
= ——— 0 4 0-
Time (s) (12 – 5) m 0 6 15
4s = ——————
Time (s)
= 2 .5 m s –1 (15 – 6) s
7m
= ——
9s
= 0.78 m s–1

The graph on the right shows the results of time-trials for 80-
some members of a rugby team. 70-
Temuera
1 How far has Mark run after 5 seconds? 60- Michael
Mark
Distance (m)

2 How long did Mark take to run 60 metres? 50-

Tane
3 Who was the first runner to cross the 50 m line? 40-

30-

20-
4 Who has covered the greatest distance after 12 s?
10-
New Directions in Science Workbook

0-
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
5 Who has run the fastest? Explain your answer. Time (s)

6 Who slowed down while they were running?

 × Δ μ √ – ½ 9
7 Calculate Tane’s speed:
a over the first 5 seconds b from 5 seconds to 12 seconds.

Mechanics
1B 3 A walk to the Post Shop Is walking
Sally works for a lawyer after school. One of her tasks is working?
to post the mail. Alongside is a graph of her motion as
she walks to the Post Shop. Distance–time graph as Sally walks to the Post Shop
1 How far does Sally walk in the first 20 s? 120

2 How fast is she walking in the first 20 s? 100

80
Distance (m)

Z
60

3 How far does she walk between time = 30 s and

time = 40 s?
40 Y

4 Calculate her speed between time = 30 s and 20 X

time = 40 s.

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time (s)

She should
say, ‘Is talking
working?’
5 Describe her motion between points X and Y.

6 Describe her motion between points Y and Z.

10 × Δ μ √ – ½
7 Use your answers to questions 2 and 6 to complete this passage.
–1 –1
Sally’s speed at point X was m s and her speed at point Y was m s . This change in speed of
–1 –2
m s took a time of s, which equals an acceleration of ms .
8 Describe Sally’s motion between time = 50 s and time = 60 s.

9 What is her speed at time = 60 s?

1B 4 Testing ticker-timers
A ticker-timer can be used to study the motion of objects in the laboratory. It puts a dot on the paper strip 50
times every second.
1 Set up the equipment as shown in the photograph. If you need
to use carbon paper, it goes between the hammer and paper
tape, with the ink-side down.
2 Start the timer and pull about 60–80 cm of tape through at a
medium constant speed. Label this tape A.
3 Repeat 1 and 2, except this time pull the tape through at a
slower constant speed. Label this tape B.
4 Repeat 1 and 2 again, but this time start by pulling the tape
slowly, and then increase the speed. Label this tape C.
5 What is the difference in the pattern of the dots between a low
constant speed and a faster constant speed?

6 What is the difference in the pattern of dots between constant speed and acceleration?

7 For one of the tapes, A, B or C (share the tapes out among the members of your group), follow the
instructions below. If you do not have a tape your teacher will give you the measured length for each time
interval: plot these as a line graph in the space overleaf.
New Directions in Science Workbook

• Choose the first clear dot on the tape and draw a line through it.
• Count this dot as zero and count 5 more dots. Draw a line through the 5th dot.
• Now count out another 5 dots and once again draw a line through the 5th dot.
• Keep doing this until you have either marked out 10 intervals or run out of tape.
• Number each interval (to keep them in order) then cut the tape along each line.
• Stick the strips together along the axis overleaf to make a speed-time graph of the journey.
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 11

8 Label your graph with the type of motion that produced it (eg Medium constant speed).

Mechanics
Title:____________________________________________________________________________

9 Sketch the graphs produced by the other two tapes your group produced. Give each one the appropriate
title.

Thinking about it
10 Describe in words the similarities and differences between the two graphs showing constant speed.

11 How can you recognise acceleration on a speed-time graph?

12 Describe the appearance of a speed-time graph showing negative acceleration (slowing down).
12 × Δ μ √ – ½

1B 5 Going dotty Who wants

to time ticks?
A trolley pulled paper tape through a tickertimer.
The timer put a dot on the tape every 1/50 second.
Every fifth dot on the tape was marked, as shown
in the diagram. The distances between the marked
X Y
dots were measured and recorded on the table
shown. Interval Distance travelled in
1 What is the time interval between marks X and Y on the interval (cm)
0 0.0
diagram?
1 5.4
2 Calculate the total time taken for the journey. 2 13.6
3 24.4
4 38.1
3 Calculate the total distance travelled by the trolley.
5 54.5
6 75.0
4 Describe the motion of the trolley. 7 96.7
8 121.5

5 Asumi put fresh tape on the trolley, placed it on a long, flat bench and gave it a big push. The trolley travelled
about 3 m before coming to a stop. The ticker-timer put dots on the tape as before. Sketch the pattern of dots
she would see on the tape.

1B 6 Speed-time graphs
1 Sketch the following speed-time graphs.
–1 –1
a A trolley travels at a constant speed of 3.5 m s b A truck takes 7 s to accelerate from 50 km h
–1
for 5 s. to 80 km h .

Speed Speed
New Directions in Science Workbook

Time Time
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 13
–1
c A car takes 4 s to accelerate from rest to d A cyclist travels at 8 m s for 5 s, then takes
–1
50 km h , then travels at constant speed for 1.5 s to stop.

Mechanics
another 3 s.

Speed Speed

Time Time

2 Use the graph on the right to answer the questions below. C

Speed (ms –1)

25 B
a Describe the motion in each of the four labelled sections. 20 D

15 A
A=
10
B= 5
C= 0
0 20 40 60 80 100
D= Time (s)

b During which section was the car travelling with the greatest speed?
c During which period was the car travelling with the greatest acceleration?
d Calculate the change in speed during section B. e Calculate the distance travelled during section D.

3 John is considering buying a racing car. He 40 –

takes it for a test drive to test how smoothly

Speed (m s–1)

it accelerates and whether the brakes work 30 –

properly. The graph on the right shows how

–

20 –

the speed varied during his acceleration and –

braking test. 10 –

0 –
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28
Time (s)
a Calculate his acceleration during the first 12 s. b Calculate John’s acceleration while braking.
14 × Δ μ √ – ½

1C 1 Balanced and unbalanced forces

1 An unbalanced force acting on an object will change its , or
. If these things are not changing then unbalanced force is acting. Any forces which
are acting on it must be by opposing forces.
2 Decide whether these objects have a net force acting on them.
a A boat tied up at a wharf.
b A cyclist who is ‘freewheeling’ (ie not pedalling) along a straight, flat road.
c A basketball which has been thrown up and has stopped at the top of its flight.
–1
d A sky-diver floating down using a parachute at a constant speed of 2 m s .
–1 –1
e A car accelerating from 13 m s to 15 m s .
3 Add arrows to represent the size and direction of the forces acting on each of these objects. The arrows should
touch the objects. Name each force.
a b c

A cup on a table Bird flying at constant speed A bowled bowling ball

4 Between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars there are thousands of asteroids. Most are rocks the size of a
mountain or small hill. It is likely that some of these rocks contain valuable minerals. Instead of mining
them, perhaps people will simply attach rockets to the asteroids and send them back to Earth or Mars for
processing.
a Decide in which direction each of these asteroids will move.
7500 N 1000 N

1000 N B 1500 N
A
New Directions in Science Workbook

7500 N 7500 N 1000 N

i ii
b Once the rockets have finished firing, how long will the asteroids keep moving for? Why?
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 15

1C 2 A stretchy problem

Mechanics
Alicia and Sene made a simple force-meter using a rubber band
and a ruler similar to that shown on the right. They calibrated it
by measuring how much the rubber band stretched when different
masses were attached. Their results are shown in the table.
Mass added (g) Stretch (cm)
0 0.0
100 0.7
200 1.3
300 2.1
400 2.8
500 3.5
600 4.2
Object A 1.8
Object B 4.5
1 What two forces were acting on the masses?

2 What is the sum of these two forces?

Explain your answer.

Calibration curve for force-meter

Extension of band (cm)

3 Plot a graph of the girls’ results on the grid

provided and rule the line of best fit.
4 Use your graph to find the mass of
objects A and B.
Mass of object A =
Mass of object B =
5 On the graph, sketch the line you would
expect if the experiment was repeated
using a rubber band of the same length
but half the thickness.

Mass (g)
16 × Δ μ √ – ½

1C 3 Force and acceleration

In this experiment you will use different forces to accelerate an object and thus find the relationship between
force and acceleration.

Carbon paper
Hammer Trolley
String Pulley
Tape

Ticker-timer
Mass

1 Set up the equipment shown above and tilt the table to compensate for friction (use small books).
Check this by starting the ticker-timer and giving the trolley a slight push. If the table is set up correctly
then the dots will be evenly spaced.
2 Attach a fresh piece of tape to the trolley. Hold the trolley in place while your partner attaches a 100 g
mass to the end of the string. Start the ticker-time then let the trolley go.
–1
3 Calculate the force acting on the trolley (g = 10 N kg ). F = Label the tape with this force.
4 Repeat the experiment twice, using 200 g and 300 g masses on the string. Label each tape with the
appropriate force.
5 For each tape (on separate pieces of paper):
Rule across the tape at the first dot and then at every
fifth dot then cut up the tape and stick the pieces on a
sheet of paper as shown on the right.
Draw a line of best fit through each strip as shown on
the right. The slope of this line is the acceleration of
the trolley for that force.
6 Sketch a graph showing the slope of your tape, then
add in the other two slopes. Label each one with the
force that produced it.
Speed (length of tape)

Thinking about it
7 What happens to the acceleration as the force
New Directions in Science Workbook

increases?

8 What factors were kept constant during this

experiment?
Time
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 17

1C 4 Force, mass and acceleration

Mechanics
–1
In the problems below, ignore friction and air resistance unless specified. g = 10 N kg .
Show all working and don’t forget the correct units for your answers.
–2
1 A car has a mass of 1500 kg. It accelerates at 4 m s . What force is produced by the engine?

2 A spacecraft has a mass of 250 kg. The booster rocket gives a thrust of 2500 N. What will its acceleration be?

3 The table on the right shows the mass and engine force for Car Mass of car (kg) Engine force (N)
some cars. Which car will have the greatest acceleration?
1 1000 2500
Explain your answer.
2 1000 5000
3 750 2500
4 750 5000

4 Shaun is riding a motorised scooter. The total mass of Shaun and

the scooter is 40 kg.
a Complete the table on the right, showing the possible Force from motor Acceleration
acceleration of the scooter with different settings on the
motor, assuming ideal conditions with no air resistance. 100 N

b In real life, air resistance and other sources of friction will 200 N
always be present. Complete the table below for a constant –2
1.5 m s
50 N retarding force.

Force from motor Retarding force Net force Acceleration

50 N
150 N
–2
2.5 m s

Poor little
motor!
18 × Δ μ √ – ½

1C 5 More force calculations I hate being

forced to
1 A truck of mass 3480 kg accelerates away from traffic lights with calculate.
a force of 20 000 N. The retarding force of friction is 7500 N.
a Calculate the acceleration of the truck.

–1
b How long will it take the truck to reach a speed of 14 m s ?

–1
2 A sky-diver jumps out of a plane and accelerates until he reaches a terminal velocity of 53 m s .
a What causes him to accelerate?

b What increases, the faster he falls?

c Describe what happens to his motion once his parachute is open. Why?
New Directions in Science Workbook
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 19

1C 6 Living in gravitational fields

Mechanics
The table shows the surface gravities of some objects in our solar system. –1
Name Surface gravity N kg
1 Sam has a mass on Earth of 60 kg. His younger brother, Ben, has a weight Mercury 4
on Earth of 450 N. Earth 10
a What is Sam’s weight on Earth? Moon 1.66

b What is Sam’s mass on the Moon?

c What is Sam’s weight on Mercury?
d What is Ben’s mass on Earth?
2 To weigh objects using the balance on the right, you slide weights
along the beams until the balance is level. To weigh objects using
the balance on the right below you press down on a spring and
the needle moves along the scale.
This mug has a mass of about 360 g (359.4 g). What will
each balance read on the Moon? Explain your answer.

3 Tahi kicks a ball vertically into the air. The mass of the ball is 0.44 kg. The ball reaches a maximum height of
27 m and then falls to the ground.
a Use the formula Fg = mg to calculate the weight, b Assuming air resistance is so small that it can be
–1
Fg of the ball. Take g = 10 N kg . ignored, what is the value of the acceleration of
the ball as it falls under gravity?

c In real life, air resistance cannot be ignored. The photo on the right
show the ball as it falls through the air.
i Draw arrows to show the direction and relative size of the forces
acting on the ball. Label each arrow with the name of the force.
ii How would air resistance change the acceleration of the ball as
it falls? In your answer discuss the separate forces acting on the
ball, if and how these forces change over time and the overall
effect of the forces on the ball as it descends.

(continue overleaf)
20 × Δ μ √ – ½

1C 7 Burnt-out satellite
A satellite had been orbiting Earth for many years, but
eventually it fell back to Earth, falling down through the
atmosphere. It entered the atmosphere travelling at
–1
50 km s . When it hit the ocean it was travelling at a
–1
speed of 100 m s .
–1
1 Convert 50 km s into SI units.

–1
2 Calculate the satellite’s change in speed, in m s ,
as it travelled through the atmosphere.

–1
3 If the time taken to descend was 50 s, calculate the 4 If the satellite’s average speed was 8.560 km s ,
average acceleration of the satellite. calculate the distance, in km, travelled by the
satellite through the atmosphere.

1D 1 Pressure
1 Different types of bicycle tyres are inflated to different pressures. A racing
New Directions in Science Workbook

tyre is inflated to a much higher pressure than a mountain bike tyre.

Assuming the total mass of cycle plus rider was the same:
a Which tyre would touch the ground with greater area? Explain your answer.
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 21
b Why are mountain bike tyres inflated to relatively low pressures?

Mechanics
2 A typical car tyre is inflated to about 230 kPa
pressure. If the area of contact between the tyre and
the road of a car tyre measures 13 cm × 16 cm:
a Calculate the area of contact for that tyre in
square metres.

b Calculate the total area of contact for the four c Calculate the weight of the car.
car tyres.

3 Tom is wearing smooth-soled shoes and Hone is wearing shoes

with moulded soles that have ridges on them. The diagram shows
the pattern of the soles of their shoes.
Each boy has a weight of 600 N and their shoes are the same size.
a Carefully explain why Hone exerts more pressure on the hard
surface of the concrete where they are playing.

To m ’s s h o e H o n e’s s h o e

2 –3 2
b The total area of the ridges on Hone’s shoes is 16 cm (1.6 × 10 m ). Calculate the pressure that Hone
exerts on the ground. Give the correct unit with your answer.
22 × Δ μ √ – ½

1E 1 Energy transformations
The law of conservation of energy tells us that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be
transformed from one form to another.
Your teacher will give you some energy transformers to study. Identify input and output energies and
complete the table.

Name or description of energy Input energy Output energy or energies

transformer
1

Some energy transfer systems involve an intermediate energy form. Identify each energy form involved in the
systems given to you.

Name or description of energy Input energy Intermediate energy Output energy or

New Directions in Science Workbook

transformer energies
10

11

Thinking about it
12 What happens to energy when it gets ‘lost’?
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 23

1E 2 Energy I’ll get a

Mechanics
bang out
1 Identify the main type of energy: of this!

a possessed by a skier at the top of a mountain

b contained in a 9 V battery
c produced by a fluorescent light tube
d contained in a jug filled with boiling water
2 Identify the energy transformations (from x to y to z) that take place in the following situations.
a A singer sings into a microphone, the signal travels down a wire to an amplifier, and the sound comes out
of the speaker.

b A child twists a rubber band connected to the propeller of a toy plane, then releases the plane and it flies
around the room.

c Sunlight lands on a solar cell, the cell charges a rechargeable battery, then when it is dark a light comes
on.

3 A large lead ball, hanging from the ceiling by

a wire, is pushed back until it just touches a
student’s nose, as shown. When the teacher
releases the ball it swings away from the student,
then swings back towards him again.
Discuss the energy changes that take place
as the ball swings back and forth, and explain
why the student is quite safe, providing he does
not move.
24 × Δ μ √ – ½

1E 3 Kinetic energy trials

Two identical trolleys are launched by identical elastic bands.
They both strike wooden blocks placed 60 cm away at the same
time. Then one of the blocks is moved to a distance of 120 cm
away from the start.
1 What is the energy transformation that occurs when the
trolleys are launched?

2 What must happen to the speed of the second trolley if it is

to strike the block 120 cm away at the same time as the first
trolley hits its box 60 cm away? Explain your answer.

3 How many elastic bands will be required for the second

trolley if both trolleys are to hit their blocks at the same
time? Explain your answer.

4 If this experiment were repeated, placing both blocks 60 cm away from the start but doubling the mass of the
second trolley, how many bands would that trolley need for the trolleys to hit their blocks at the same time?
Explain your answer.
New Directions in Science Workbook

A trolley ride He’s off his

would be fun! block already!
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 25

1E 4 Crash!

Mechanics
At the scene of a serious road crash, police constables Hamish Piercy and Nigel Price measure the relative friction
or drag factor of the road surface at the time of the crash.

1 The results of some typical drag factor Surface Dry road Shingle Ice
tests are shown in the table on the right. Force 91 N 65 N 39 N
Calculate the drag factor for each surface
using the formula below. Weight of tyre 130 N 130 N 130 N
Drag factor
force
Drag factor =
weight of tyre Stopping
distance at
–1
50 km h

2 The police use the drag factor results and the length of skid at an accident site to calculate the speed the car
was travelling at the time of the accident. We can use the rearrangement of their formula to calculate the
stopping distance of a car on various surfaces:

(speed in km h 1 ) 2
stopping distance (m) =
( 254 u drag factor)

–1
Complete the table above by calculating the stopping distances for a car travelling at 50 km h on each of the
surfaces shown.

Crashing is a
real drag.
26 × Δ μ √ – ½
–1 –1
3 Tanya was driving in rain at 50 km h (13.9 m s ). It took her 2.8 s to stop (after she put the brakes on).
–1
a Calculate her average speed over those 2.8 s, in m s , using this formula:

(initial speed + final speed)

average speed =
2

b Calculate her stopping distance in metres.

c Compare your answer to b with your answers to question 2. Which surface is most similar to a wet road?

4 The seriousness of a car crash is dependent on the kinetic energy of the car and passengers at the time of the
collision.
–1 –1
a Calculate the kinetic energy of a 1500 kg car travelling at 50 km h (13.9 m s ).

–1 –1
b Calculate the kinetic energy of a 1500 kg car travelling at 70 km h (19.4 m s ).

–1 –1
New Directions in Science Workbook

c By what factor does the kinetic energy increase as a car speeds up from 50 km h to 70 km h ?

–1 –1
d Discuss why more people are killed at speeds above 70 km h than at 50 km h .
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 27

1E 5 Experimental design: stopping distances

Mechanics
Karina wanted to investigate the effect that different road surfaces have on stopping distances. She decided to roll
a skateboard down a ramp and see how far it would go on the different surfaces.
1 List four factors that will change the distance travelled by the skateboard after rolling down a ramp.

2 What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

3 What is the independent variable in this experiment?
4 Discuss the principles behind this experiment in terms of force and energy.

1F 1 Work and energy

Energy is the ability to do work. Work = force × distance
1 Place a wooden block on the bench and attach a
force-meter.
2 Mark two lines on the bench, 1 m apart.
3 Pull the force-meter until the block just starts to move and record the force. F = N.
4 Now place the block on one of the lines and pull with this force all the way to the second mark.
5 Touch the underside of the block at the end of this journey. What do you feel?

6 Calculate the work done.

Thinking about it
7 You calculated the amount of energy required to overcome the friction between the block and the bench.
What happened to this energy?
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1F 2 Work, work, work... Don’t look

at me . . .
1 Use the formula work = Fd to calculate:
a the work done when a bag of sugar weighing b the distance travelled by a trolley when a force of
30 N is lifted 2 m. 8 N does 300 J work on it.

2 A muscle pulls with a force of 0.10 N and contracts by 5.0 cm.

a What work is done on the bone? b How much useful chemical energy has been
used?

3 Anushia climbs upstairs carrying her 8 kg schoolbag. The stairs she 4m

climbed are shown in the diagram on the right.
She wishes to calculate the work she did in carrying the bag upstairs. m
3m 5
a Which distance should she use in the calculation and why?

b Calculate the work done on the bag c Why is it easier to use stairs to get to the second
–1
(g = 10 N kg ). floor of a building, rather than to climb up a
vertical ladder?
New Directions in Science Workbook
 × Δ μ √ – ½ 29

1F 3 Down the pole

Mechanics
A fireman has a mass of 75 kg. He slides down a vertical pole of height 5 m.
The frictional force is 720 N.
–1
1 What is his weight? (g = 10 N kg ).
2 What is the resultant (net) downwards force?

3 Use the force in 2 to calculate the work done as he slides down the pole.

4 Calculate his speed just before he lands on the floor at the bottom of the pole.

1G 1 Personal power
Power is the rate of doing work. In this experiment you will calculate your own power as you work to lift a
stool onto your bench ten times.
1 What do you need to know about the stool?
2 What do you need to know about the bench?
3 What other measurement will you need to make?
4 What will you need to do to get a high power rating?
5 Lift the stool onto the bench ten times, recording all relevant data, and calculate your own power.

I already put
a stool on the
bench!
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1G 2 Power calculations
1 A man walks to the bus-stop. He uses 20 400 J in 3 A supermarket forklift raises a 500 kg pallet of cat
one minute. What power does he develop? food 2.5 m in 3.5 s.
a Calculate the weight of the pallet.
–1
(g = 10 N kg )

b Calculate the work done by the forklift.

2 An outboard motor is rated at 10 kilowatts (kW).

a How many watts is this?
b How much work can this motor do in 30
seconds?
c Calculate the power output of the forklift.

4 Two 70 kg runners raced to the top of the Sky Tower steps, 250 m above
the ground. Runner A had a power of 440 W, and runner B a power of
–1
400 W. (g = 10 N kg )
a Calculate the work done by the runners.
New Directions in Science Workbook

b What would you have observed if you had watched the race?
Explain your answer.
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1G 3 At the gym

Mechanics
Keith likes to work out in the weights room.
1 He uses the lat pull-down to improve his upper body
strength. By pulling down on the bar, he lifts up the 60 cm
weights.
50 kg
a What force must he pull with to lift the 50 kg weight
–1
(g = 10 N kg )?

b He raises the weight 60 cm. Calculate the energy gained by the weight.

c The weight is lowered to its starting position at a constant speed. What is the force applied?

d Keith raised the 50 kg weight in 1.2 s. Calculate his power.

2 To develop his leg muscles Keith uses the leg press.

He pushes a 150 kg mass 0.6 m up the incline, as
shown in the diagram. Calculate the work he does.

m
0.6
0.42 m

150 kg

I’d rather be
a lab rat than
a gym rat!
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1G 4 On the set
Sam is helping to construct the set for a film, and is shifting some fake boulders.
He lifts one boulder, with a mass of 4.0 kg, to a height
of 1.5 metres.
1 What force does Sam have to provide to lift the
–1
boulder? (Take g = 10 N kg )

2 How much work did Sam do in lifting the boulder?

Sam picked the boulder up again and lifted it to a

height of 3 metres.
3 If energy is conserved, how much energy did Sam
transfer to the boulder? 7 How much energy did the boulder gain this time?

4 What form of energy did the boulder gain during

the lift?

Sam accidentally dropped the boulder. 8 If it took him 0.5 s to lift the boulder, calculate his
power.
5 What energy change occurred as the boulder fell?

6 Calculate the speed of the boulder just before it

hits the ground.
New Directions in Science Workbook

Set up with a fake?

It’s an old story!