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Physics
for the IB Diploma

Digital Teacher’s Resource Starter Pack

Together with IB teachers

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 Any references or material related to answers, grades, papers or examinations are based on the opinion of the author(s)

Dear Teacher,

The Physics for IB Diploma Teacher's Resource will be published in Autumn.

We have produced this ‘Starter Pack’ to enable you to plan and teach the new course while we finalise
the new resource.

This pack contains the following content from the teacher's resource written to support the new syllabus
for examination from 2025.

It contains the following:

• Table of contents
• First six chapters from the teacher's resource to support the coursebook

Please note that the material included in this Starter Pack is at an advanced draft stage but may still
change between now and publication. In addition, the content of the teacher’s resource sample is a print
version of a digital product and consequently may vary visually from the actual resource.

Visit our website to view the full series or speak to your local sales representative.
You can find their contact details here:

cambridge.org/education/find-your-sales-consultant

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

Contents
Introductionvii
About the authors  viii
How to use this series  ix
How to use this Teacher’s Resource x
What you need to know about the new guide  xii
About the assessment  xv
Integrating TOK in your science lessons  xvi
Academic writing and the International Baccalaureate diploma  xxix

Unit A Kinematics
1 Kinematics 1
1.1 Displacement, distance, speed and velocity 2
1.2 Uniformly accelerated motion: the equations of kinematics  5
1.3 Graphs of motion  7
1.4 Projectile motion 9

2 Forces and Newton’s laws 14

2.1 Forces and their direction 15
2.2 Newton’s laws of motion 18
2.3 Circular motion 21

3 Work, energy and power 26

3.1 Work  27
3.2 Conservation of mechanical energy  30
3.3 Power and efficiency 33
3.4 Energy transfers 33

4 Linear momentum 37
4.1 Newton’s second law in terms of momentum  38
4.2 Impulse and force–time graphs 38
4.3 Conservation of momentum 41
4.4 Kinetic energy and momentum 43
4.5 Two-dimensional collisions 46

iii
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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

5 Rigid body mechanics  49

5.1 Kinematics of rotational motion 50
5.2 Rotational equilibrium and Newton’s second law 52
5.3 Angular momentum 54

6 Relativity  57
6.1 Reference frames and Lorentz transformations  58
6.2 Effects of relativity 61
6.3 Spacetime diagrams 63

Unit B The particulate nature of matter

7 Thermal energy transfers 66
7.1 Particles, temperature and energy 67
7.2 Specific heat capacity and change of phase 70
7.3 Thermal energy transfer 72

8 The greenhouse effect  76

8.1 Radiation from real bodies 77
8.2 Energy balance of the Earth  79

9 The gas laws 83

9.1 Moles, molar mass and the Avogadro constant 84
9.2 Ideal gases  84
9.3 The Boltzmann equation  88

10 Thermodynamics 91
10.1 Internal energy  92
10.2 The first law of thermodynamics 92
10.3 The second law of thermodynamics 95
10.4 Heat engines  97

11 Current and circuits 101

11.1 Potential difference, current and resistance  102
11.2 Voltage, power and emf 106
11.3 Resistors in electrical circuits  108
11.4 Terminal potential difference and the potential divider 111

Unit C Wave behaviour

12 Simple harmonic motion  115
12.1 Simple harmonic oscillations  116
12.2 Details of simple harmonic motion  116
12.3 Energy in simple harmonic motion  119

iv
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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

13 The wave model  122

13.1 Mechanical pulses and waves  123
13.3 Electromagnetic waves  126

14 Wave phenomena  130

14.1 Reflection and refraction  131
14.2 The principle of superposition  134
14.3 Diffraction and interference  134
14.4 Single-slit diffraction  137
14.5 Multiple slits  137

15 Standing waves and resonance  141

15.1 Standing waves  142
15.2 Standing waves on strings  142
15.3 Standing waves in pipes  146
15.4 Resonance and damping  149

16 The Doppler effect  153

16.1 The Doppler effect at low speeds 154
16.2 The Doppler effect for sound  156

Unit D Fields
17 Gravitation  159
17.1 Newton’s law of gravitation  160
17.2 Gravitational potential and energy 163
17.3 Motion in a gravitational field 164

18 Electric and magnetic fields 168

18.1 Electric charge, force and field  169
18.2 Magnetic field and force  173
18.3 Electrical potential and electrical potential energy  176

19 Motion in electric and magnetic fields 180

19.1 Motion in an electric field 181
19.2 Motion in a magnetic field 183

20 Electromagnetic induction 187

20.1 Electromagnetic induction  188
20.2 Generators and alternating current 192

Unit E Nuclear and quantum physics

21 Atomic physics  196
21.1 The structure of the atom  197
21.2 Quantization of angular momentum  200

v
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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

22 Quantum physics  203

22.1 Photons and the photoelectric effect  204
22.2 Matter waves  206

23 Nuclear physics  211

23.1 Mass defect and binding energy  212
23.2 Radioactivity215
23.3 Nuclear properties and the radioactive decay law  219

24 Nuclear fission  222

24.1 Nuclear fission  223

25 Nuclear fusion and stars  226

25.1 Nuclear fusion 227
25.2 Stellar properties and the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram  227

Language worksheets  00
PowerPoints  00
End of chapter tests  00
End of year test  00
Coursebook answers 00
Workbook answers  00
Worksheet answers  00
End of chapter tests answers 00
End of year test answers 00
Glossary (from CB and WB) 00
Acknowledgements00

vi
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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

How to use this

Teacher’s Resource
This digital Teacher’s Resource contains both general guidance and teaching notes that help you deliver the
content for the IB Physics course. You will find answers to the Coursebook and the Workbook questions on the
supporting resources area of Cambridge GO—they are freely available to teachers only.
There are teaching notes for each sub-chapter of the Coursebook. You can see an overview of where all topics
are covered in the teaching plan in the ‘Resources’ column. Each set of teaching notes contains various features
to help you deliver the topics covered in a unit/chapter.
At the start of each chapter is a teaching plan for the chapter. This summarises the topics covered in the chapter,
including the number of learning hours recommended for each topic, an outline of the learning content, and the
resources from this series that can be used to deliver the topic.

Teaching plan
Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources
number of
learning
hours

This icon in the resources section indicates material that is available from Cambridge GO.
Each chapter also includes information on any background knowledge that students should have before studying
content covered in the chapter.

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

• Explain what an electromagnetic spectrum represents, the different types of radiations and their
uses, the quantitative relationship between wavelength, frequency and energy of the radiations.

Syllabus overview
• At the start of each unit is a syllabus overview, which gives a brief outline of the content knowledge,
practical skills and opportunities to cover assessment objectives covered in that section of the syllabus. It
also provides links to related topic areas in other parts of the syllabus.
• The learning plan will enable you to identify the related learning intentions and success criteria from the
coursebook chapter.

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

x
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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

There is also a feature highlighting any common misconceptions associated with particular learning topics.
Potential misunderstandings are identified, along with methods of eliciting evidence of these misconceptions
from your class and suggestions on how to overcome them.

Misconception How to identify How to overcome

For each topic, there is a selection of lesson starter ideas, main teaching ideas and plenary ideas. You can pick
out individual ideas that meet the needs of your class. The activities include suggestions for how they can be
differentiated or used for assessment.
Differentiation ideas are provided for each topic, with ‘stretch and challenge’ activities, ideas to extend learning
opportunities and ‘support’ activities, and ideas and modifications for students who need extra practice or help.
The cross-curricular links feature provides suggestions for linking to other areas of study within the Standard
Level and Higher Level IB curriculum. Cross-topic links allow students to make connections between the
different syllabus sections of the IB Physics course. They encourage students to approach Physics as a holistic
topic and help them develop the skills required for approaching exam questions, which often drawn on several
areas of the course.

CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS

This Teacher’s Resource includes a range of digital materials that you can download from Cambridge GO. (For
more information about how to access and use your digital resource, please see inside front cover.)
You will find the glossary of terms for the Coursebook and Workbook and also answers to activities, worksheets
and end of chapter tests within and at the end of this resource.
To help with lesson planning, a blank lesson plan template is available to download from Cambridge GO as part
of this digital Teacher’s Resource.
More information about these approaches to learning and teaching is available to download from Cambridge
GO as part of this digital Teacher’s Resource.

xi
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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

1 Kinematics
Teaching plan
Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources
number of
learning
hours
1.1 1 Students learn the differences Coursebook
Displacement, between displacement and distance
distance, speed and between velocity and speed. Section 1.1.
and velocity Test your understanding 1–4.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 1.1
Teacher’s resource
Starter Idea 1
Main teaching Idea 1
Kinematics worksheet
End of chapter test 0
Prerequisites

1.2 Uniformly 2 Students learn to use the equations Coursebook

accelerated of motion.
motion: the Section 1.2.
equations of Test your understanding 5–18.
kinematics
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 1.2
Teacher’s resource
Main teaching Idea 1

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources

number of
learning
hours
1.3 Graphs 2 Students learn to sketch and Coursebook
of motion interpret displacement–time and
velocity–time graphs Section 1.3.
Test your understanding 19–28.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 1.2
Teacher’s resource
Starter Idea 1
Main teaching Idea 1
End of chapter test 1
Kinematics

1.4 Projectile 2 Students learn to apply the Coursebook

motion equations of motion in the
horizontal and vertical directions Section 1.4.

Students consider the Test your understanding 29–39.

effects of fluid resistance on Exam-style questions
projectile motion
Workbook
Exercise 1.4
Teacher’s resource
Starter Ideas 1 and 2
Main teaching Ideas 1 and 2
End of chapter test 2
Projectile motion

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

• Students should be familiar with the units • Some students may have seen speed–time or
for distance (m), time (s), speed (m/s) and distance–time graphs.
acceleration (m/s2), although they may not • Students should be able to rearrange
have seen negative indices in units, such as equations that contain addition/subtraction,
in m s–1 and m s–2. multiplication/division and square/square
• Students may have already have used root functions.
the equation linking average speed, • Students should be able to sketch and
distance and time taken, and also the interpret graphs that are straight lines or
equation linking acceleration, change in curves and be familiar with the meaning
speed and time taken. of gradient.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

Syllabus overview
• This chapter covers the equations of motion in a straight line under zero or uniform acceleration and
distinguishes between scalar and vector quantities in the context of motion.
• Students also get practice in sketching and interpreting graphs showing the variation of displacement with
time, velocity with time and acceleration with time.
• The calculations of projectile motion are included, and students qualitatively describe the effects of fluid
resistance on motion.

1.1 Displacement, distance, speed and velocity

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Learn the difference between displacement Students should be able to describe the
and distance. meaning of each term correctly.
Learn the difference between speed Students should be able to give a definition,
and velocity. in words or as an equation, for each term.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Velocity is just a more scientific After students learn about Students can remember which
word for speed and means the scalars and vectors and the quantity is scalar and which is
same thing. meanings of speed and velocity, vector by their initial letters.
ask for a definition of each. v stands for velocity and vector;
s stands for speed and scalar.
Students may use the symbol s The symbol s will be Not all symbols are derived
to mean speed. used incorrectly. from English language words.
The origin of s comes from the
Latin word spatium (pronounced
‘space-ium’) meaning the
distance between two locations.

Starter ideas
1 How far have you gone? (2 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Ask students to sit in the same positions as they did in the previous lesson that was
held in the same room. Now ask them to discuss with a learning partner how far they have travelled since
the previous lesson. The answer could be several kilometres, for example, around the school, to home and
back, and so on. Alternatively, the answer could be no distance, because they have ended up in the same
place as last time. Use the idea to introduce the difference between distance and displacement.

2 How fast? (10 minutes)

Resources: A number of photographs, pictures or videos from the internet of animals, runners, cars,
aeroplanes, the Earth moving round the sun and so on.

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Description and purpose: Ask students to place the objects in the pictures in order from slowest to fastest.
In groups, students can suggest values for the top speed of each object. Groups can then compare their
results. As students discuss results, it should become clear that speeds can be measured in different units.
Write some typical results on the board so that students can self-assess their estimates.
Ask: Do you understand the different units that you use?
Challenge students to come up with as many different units for speed as they can. Ask: What units might an
astronomer use to measure the speed of a galaxy moving away from us?

Main teaching ideas

1 Using the equation for average speed (20 minutes)
Resources: Calculators, Coursebook Test Your Understanding questions
Description and purpose: Briefly explain the equation for speed. Point out that average speed is calculated
​​  total distance ​​.
from __________
total time
Introduce the SI system of units. Explain the need for an international system. Ensure that all students can
rearrange this equation successfully. Do they understand how to convert between different units of distance,
such as millimetres, centimetres and kilometres? Do they understand how to convert between seconds,
minutes and hours?
Teach students how to set out their answers clearly, with the formula, substitutions, calculations and units
all being shown. For example:
distance = speed × time
= 3.6 × 5.2
= 18.72
= 19 m (to two significant figures)
You should make this an essential requirement when setting out answers: ask students to add the necessary
detail if they do not show their working in homework or class exercises. The aim is for students to give this
detail automatically. Note: using the same number of significant figures for the answer as in the data is not
always necessary at this stage. But you might like to introduce it so that students get into a good habit.
Students can use Test Your Understanding question 1 from the Coursebook to practise the calculation.
Assessment ideas: Give students questions and ask them to mark each other’s work. They can explain in
their own words to each other why an answer is incorrect.
Differentiation: Some students prefer to use a formula triangle to display the relationship between speed,
distance and time. This may be helpful at the start, but they will eventually need to be able to rearrange
simple formulae without aids. Encourage students to stop using aids as soon as they are confident.
Reflection: If students have made mistakes in calculations, ask them to consider how they might avoid this
in the future.
Language focus: The word ‘per’ in units, such as metres ‘per’ second, means ‘in each’. So, 5 m s−1 means
5 metres in each second.

2 Measuring speed in the laboratory (20 minutes or up to 1 hour

with practical investigation)
Resources: Light gate or motion sensor or prepared ticker-tape, stopwatches, metre rulers
Practical guidance: Students are introduced to a single light gate and timer. They investigate speed using a
single light gate timer or motion sensor. You could use a demonstration if a light gate is available.
Or you could show a video. If you search the internet for ‘measuring speed or velocity with light gates or
motion sensors’ you will find a useful video. Readings can be taken from the video.
Give students a simple task. An example is using a light gate to measure how fast can they move their hand.
Or they could measure how fast a ball travels after it has fallen 1.0 m from rest in air.

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If timers are not available, prepare a ticker-timer trace and create photocopies for the students.
Ask students to measure the average speed between various specified points on the paper. Measurements
should be repeated. The ideas of average and uncertainty can be introduced using the readings of time that
are taken. This uncertainty can be compared with the uncertainty when using a stopwatch.
After students have made measurements of average speed, ask them to discuss the difficulties in using the
apparatus. Students should suggest possible causes of error and how they may be reduced.
Alternatively—or in addition—students can measure their reaction time and determine an average speed of
a ball rolling down a slope.
Safety: Students should not stand on desks or chairs to drop objects.
Assessment ideas: Students should write a report of their method, make a table their readings and show
their calculations. Groups of students can look at each other’s accounts. They can suggest which is the best
from their group. They share it with you or the class. A good report should state clearly the experimental
procedure used. It should state specifically which measurements were made. The best report might talk
about the specific difficulties faced in the experiment. From time to time, you can check the account of each
student and the progress shown in their books.
Differentiation: More confident students can use the uncertainties in their time and distance measurements
to calculate the maximum and minimum values of speed that are possible with their readings.
Reflection: Ask students to consider the purpose of experiments, investigations and practical
demonstrations in the course.
Language focus: The word ‘gate’ in light gate is derived from the type of mechanical gate that can be open
or closed; the light gate operates a switch for a timer, and that switch can be open or closed.

Plenary ideas
1 Question game (10 minutes or more depending on the number of questions)
Resources: A selection of prepared questions on the topic, calculators, small pieces of paper
Description and purpose: Play a simple game with groups of students sitting in lines or rows. Read out a
problem or display it on the screen. For example, ‘a car travels at 50 km/h for 10 minutes; how far does it
travel?’ Each group member copies and completes the problem in their books. The person at the back writes
the solution out on a piece of paper.
When their answer is complete, the person sitting at the back passes the answer to the person in front.
That person looks at the completed problem. If they agree with the answer, they pass it to the person in
front of them. If the answer is incorrect in any way, including lack of an equation or lack of a unit, they
pass the answer back. This should all take place in silence. If a student is handed a problem back, they must
correct it and pass it forward again.
Points can be awarded for the team where the person at the front raises a hand to show that the answer has
been checked and is correct for all the students in their team. For the next problem, each student moves one
seat forward. The student at the front moves to the back and is the one next to answer on file paper.
Assessment ideas: Assessment is part of the activity where students determine whether answers are
correct or not.

Homework ideas
1 Units of speed
Ask students to find out what units of speed are commonly used in everyday life. Prompt also for the units
used by ships (knots) and aircraft (knots and Mach). Students should also include conversions with their
one unit of choice (m s–1, km/h, mph etc.)

2 Coursebook or Workbook questions

Ask students to answer any from: Coursebook Test your Understanding questions 1–4, or Exam-style
questions 1–4, or questions from Workbook Exercise 1.1.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

1.2 Uniformly accelerated motion:

the equations of kinematics
LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Learn the concept of acceleration Students can define acceleration both in words
and with an equation
Learn how to solve motion problems using
the equations for constant acceleration Students can use the equations of kinematics
to find any variable when given any three of the
other variables

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Students may assume that Ask students what they After defining acceleration as
acceleration always means an understand by the a change in velocity, ask
increase in speed. term acceleration. (a) whether this must always
be an increase and (b) whether
speed must change. Explain that
in later topics (circular motion
and simple harmonic motion)
they will encounter different
examples of this.
Students can sometimes think Students will claim that a Students need to recognise
they are missing one or calculation is not possible. terms such as ‘from rest’ or
more of the variables in ‘dropped’ or ‘comes to a stop’
the kinematics equations. means that either u or v is
zero, even when no number is
provided. ‘Dropped’ also implies
that a will be the acceleration of
free fall.

Starter ideas
1 Thinking about acceleration and average speed (5 minutes)
Resources: Tennis ball
Description and purpose: Drop the ball and tell students that 1.0 s after you let go, the speed of the ball is
approximately 10 m s−1. Ask them how to find the distance travelled using the formula distance = speed × time.
Ask students whether they can use the final speed or the initial speed. Ask why it is not possible to use either
on its own.

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Main teaching ideas

1 Deriving the equations of motion (20–40 minutes depending on the students’
mathematical abilities)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Students’ ability to derive the equations of motion from the definitions of velocity
and acceleration removes any idea that the equations are abstract. This means you need to set the derivation
out in a logical fashion, as in the Coursebook. Emphasise each step.
Show students the derivation. Give them a blank sheet of paper. Without notes, they explain to another
student how each equation is derived. They should only look at their notes if they do not know how to
proceed. The student being given the explanation should ask questions during the explanation.
Assessment ideas: At the end of the lesson, ask students to explain in words what they have to do to derive
v = u + at
​​  1 ​​  at2
s = ut + __
2
v2 = u2 + 2as
Students are likely to forget how to start one of the steps. Repetition helps in remembering.
The same question can be used as a starter for the next lesson.
You can also listen to the explanations given by each student to establish whether they have understood.
Differentiation: Confident students with good mathematical skills (who are able to integrate simple
equations) can use this skill to derive s = ut +​​ __1 ​​  at2 by calculating the expression ​​∫uv​  ​​​atdt.
2
Reflection: Ask students: What were some of the most challenging parts in dealing with the equations of
motion. Why?

2 Acceleration experiments (1 hour)

Resources: Ramp of adjustable height, metre rulers, stopwatches, suitable ball (such as tennis ball, golf ball),
trolley or toy car
Practical guidance: After learning about the equations of motion and using them in calculations, students
should undertake a practical exercise involving these equations. Students can simply roll a ball down a slope
over different distances, measure the time taken and plot a graph of s against t2.
You should be aware that the calculated, theoretical speed of a ball rolling down a ramp will be greater than
the actual speed because some of the gravitational potential energy is transferred to rotational kinetic energy
and not all to translational kinetic energy. This is beyond the scope of the IB Physics syllabus—but it is
worth keeping in mind.
Safety: Place a suitable object should at the end of the bench or table to prevent the ball or trolley from
continuing onto the floor; if ramps are placed on the floor, then they should be positioned so they are not a
tripping hazard for other groups.
Assessment ideas: Assess the final experimental write-up, including table of results and graph.
Differentiation: Students who need more challenge could be asked to research Galileo’s odd number rule.
Students who need support can be encouraged to set out calculations, line by line, following the rule of ‘one
equals sign per line’.
Reflection: Ask students to include suggestions for improvement in their write-up.

Plenary ideas
1 Starter revisited (10 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Return to the initial starter where the ball was dropped. Ask students how many
ways they can show that the ball travels four times further when dropped for 2 s than it does for 1 s.
Which method did students find easiest to use? Why?
Assessment ideas: Students could hand their working in as exit slips.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

Homework ideas
1 Practice calculations
Students will need to practice choosing the correct kinematics equation from the variables given and
then practice rearranging and solving them. Any source of questions—whether from the Coursebook,
Workbook, Worksheets or online—could contribute to this.

2 Kinematics Worksheets
Students can complete the Language Worksheet that accompanies this sub-topic.

1.3 Graphs of motion

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Learn how to analyse graphs Students can sketch and interpret

describing motion displacement–time and velocity–time
graphs for objects in uniform and
non-uniform acceleration.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Students will often use their After learning about and gaining The graph should be a straight
preconceptions about the practice sketching velocity–time line with constant negative
motion of an object, and their graphs, ask students to sketch a gradient, cutting the t axis at the
sketch graph will follow the v-t graph for a ball being thrown line’s midpoint.
path of the object rather than vertically upward and returning Hold a ball and move it, as if in
show the correct variation of to the thrower’s hand. Tell them slow motion, up and back down,
the quantity. that down is to be taken as asking students to describe both
negative. Some may draw a its velocity and acceleration as
graph that slopes up from it moves.
the origin and down again
At the highest point, its velocity
to the t axis.
is zero, but it is still accelerating
downward because the velocity
is only zero for an instant.

Starter ideas
1 Describing graphs (10 minutes)
Resources: Various distance–time and/or speed–time graphs
Description and purpose: The activity is suitable for students who have seen some graphs describing motion
before. Show students the range of graphs that show the relationship between distance and time, such as
the ones in the Coursebook, Figure 1.10 (without the explanations). Ask them to describe what each graph
shows about the quantity on the y-axis. Students discuss the graphs in groups. They copy them into their
books with explanations. They then review one another’s work. Each student can suggest what is good in the
explanation from another student and how it might be improved. You can listen to the discussions to decide
whether they really have understood that the slope is velocity and that it can be positive or negative.

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2 Graph role-play (5 minutes or more depending on the number of graphs used)

Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Sketch a displacement–time or velocity–time graph on the board, as in Figure 1.12
in the Coursebook. Invite a student to walk around the room showing the movement indicated by the graph.
Repeat for other graphs. You can see from the student’s movement around the room (and from comments
from other students) whether they have understood the graph.

Main teaching idea

1 Plotting a displacement–time graph from experimental data (30 minutes)
Resources: Ball and stopwatch or light gates, adjustable ramp, metre rulers
Practical guidance: Students can use a stopwatch or light gates to time a ball rolling down a slope, such as
a tennis ball rolling from rest down the gap between two metre rules. They can measure the time taken to
roll a certain distance. They can repeat the experiment for different distances. They can produce tables and
graphs of the results.
Assessment ideas: Students can write an account of their method. You can assess their tables and graphs.
Each student can look at the table and graph of another student. You can ask questions such
as the following:
• Does each column of the table have a unit in the column header?
• Does each column have a consistent number of decimal places?
• Does the graph cover more than half the page?
• Does the graph have sensible, linear scales on both axes?
The main aim of the assessment is that each student will learn how to construct a table and draw a graph.
You can see which features are being missed and can explain why these features are needed.
Differentiation: More confident students can experiment to see whether a larger or heavier ball travels
further in the same time. If less confident students find planning difficult, you can help them.
You should remind all students of the good features for a table and a graph.
Reflection: What are the important things to remember when drawing a graph? What are the most
important things to remember when constructing a table of results?
You can also ask students how they can find the speed from a distance–time graph. They should realise that
this is the gradient of the graph. You might explain the good features of obtaining a gradient from a graph.
Students can suggest ways in which they can improve their graphs or remember how to draw a good graph.
Language focus: Be careful when using phrases such as ‘how long it takes’ or ‘length of time’ because some
students may interpret this as two quantities: distance (long/length) and time. If this is likely to be confusing,
then refer to a ‘period of time’ or ‘time taken’ or ‘number of seconds’.

Plenary ideas
1 Draw what I describe (3 minutes or more depending on number of graphs used)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: You can provide sets of displacement–time or distance–time graphs. Ask students
to describe each motion. Alternatively, one student sketches a distance–time graph. They come to the front
and describe the motion to the class but do not show the graph. All the other students sketch the graph from
the description. They compare their graphs with the initial graph.
Assessment ideas: Assessment is part of the activity when they compare their graph with the original one.

Homework ideas
1 Workbook Exercise 1.3
Workbook Exercise 1.3 gives practice at sketching and interpreting graphs of motion.

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2 Formula 1 telemetry
Formula 1 racing teams monitor their car’s performance on the track remotely. Part of this is a series of
graphs, and one of these is a speed–time graph. Ask students to research this for themselves or given a
printed version. Ask them to identify the speed–time graph and to explain why it is not appropriate in this
case to have a velocity–time graph. Then ask them to describe the motion of the car from the telemetry.
If time is shown, they can calculate acceleration.

1.4 Projectile motion

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Learn how to describe the motion of Students can use the equations of kinematics
a projectile separately in the vertical and horizontal
components and understand that these are
Gain a qualitative understanding of the effects independent of each other
of a fluid resistance force on motion
Students can, for example, sketch the parabolic
Gain an understanding of the concept of path of a projecting when air resistance is
terminal speed neglected, then add the path when air resistance
is considered
Students can explain why, when dropped in a
fluid, the acceleration of an object decreases
to zero

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Students sometimes have Drop a ball vertically from the With practice, it is possible to
difficulty understanding that the edge of a bench. Then ask have two identical balls (tennis
horizontal and vertical motions whether the time taken to reach balls are ideal). One is rolled
are independent of one another. the ground will be affected if toward the edge of the bench,
the ball is first rolled across the and the other is dropped from
bench and allowed to roll off the the same height at the instant
edge. This can be done before the first one passes the edge.
or after learning about vertical Students can then see that they
and horizontal components both take the same time to fall.
of motion. Alternatively, you could ask
‘In which direction does
gravity act?’

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Misconception How to identify How to overcome

Students sometimes use This will be apparent when Go back to the rules of
the wrong component calculations are marked. trigonometry in a right-angled
in calculations. triangle and ensure students
are secure with working out
sine and cosine. Then practice
resolving velocities in a variety
of directions (including vertical
and horizontal) into vertical and
horizontal components.
Fluid resistance is a type Students may class air resistance Friction occurs when surfaces
of friction. as a type of friction. rub together. Fluid resistance
occurs because of the
displacement of the fluid
particles and the resulting
way that they flow around the
moving object.

Starter ideas
1 The monkey and hunter problem (5 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: The activity allows students to think about motion of a projectile.
Draw a simple diagram of a monkey hanging from the branch of a tree, and a hunter with a gun pointed
horizontally at the monkey, possibly from an elevated position. Ask the question: ‘If the monkey lets go of
the branch and falls at the same time as the bullet leaves the gun, what will happen?’
Allow students to discuss the answer (Note: arriving at the correct answer at this stage is not essential).
Then explain that, in this topic, students will find the answer to the problem.

2 Components of a vector (10 minutes)

Resources: Measuring tape, calculators
Description and purpose: Walk across a room and ask: ‘I have walked 5 m; how can we find out how far
I have walked south or east?’ ‘How can we work out my velocity north and east?’ Students work out for
themselves that components are of the form d cos θ and d sin θ. Students may forget these formulae.
Asking them to derive them themselves may trigger the process of being able to work the formulae out if
they later forget them. Students will show whether they can recall the correct use of trigonometry in a
right-angled triangle readily by the speed and accuracy of their answers.

Main teaching ideas

1 Projectile motion visualised (10 minutes)
Resources: A smooth rectangular or square board, at least 1 m in the longest dimension that can have
5–10 cm squares drawn on it, or can have white paper attached to its surface; ball bearing or marble;
paint or ink (optional)
Description and purpose: Reproduce the movement shown in Coursebook Figure 1.32. Incline the board
slightly and release the ball from the top left corner to simulate ‘vertical’ motion. Then hold the ball at the
top right and give it a slight push across parallel to the top edge. Students should see the parabolic path.
To make this clearer, the ball can be dipped in ink and rolled across white paper attached to the surface
of the board.
Assessment ideas: Ask students questions about how vector quantities such as velocity, displacement and
acceleration are acting at certain positions in the path of the ball.

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Differentiation: Students who need challenge could be asked to show, mathematically, why acceleration has
no effect on horizontal motion (the component of the vertical vector is zero in the horizontal direction as
the cosine of 90° is 0).
Students who need support can be shown how the path of the ball relates to Coursebook Figure 1.32 and
prompted to see that horizontal velocity is constant.
Reflection: Ask students why the board is only inclined at a very small angle in this demonstration.
Those who need support can suggest that it is to slow the motion of the ball. Those who need challenge can
explain that the small angle reduces the component of ‘vertical’ acceleration.
Language focus: The word parabola comes from a Greek word meaning ‘side-by-side’. The parabola
(when extended) is a symmetrical shape, and the significance of this can be used in some projectile
motion calculations.

2 The monkey and hunter experiment (20 minutes)

Resources: Monkey and hunter apparatus or a ball bearing or marble and a steel disc (the lid of a steel can
works well, but should be as large as possible); two horizontal benches or tables that are the same height.
Practical guidance: As with all demonstrations, you should trial this before using in the class, to make sure
it works and is convincing. You can find instructions online (search for ‘how to make your own monkey and
hunter apparatus’).
Description and purpose: To show that horizontal and vertical motion are independent.
Safety: Students should stand behind or parallel with the path of any projectile in the laboratory.
Assessment ideas: Ask students to explain, using ideas about vertical and horizontal components of
motion, why the bullet will always hit the monkey.
Differentiation: Students who need challenge can be asked to show, with calculation, whether the bullet will
hit the monkey if the hunter is at a lower level than the monkey and is firing at an upward angle.
Reflection: Some, less cruel, modern variations of the problem involve scenarios such as a person throwing
a piece of fruit toward the monkey to feed it. Can students think of their own variation that would still work
in terms of physics?
Language focus: Many words and phrases in the monkey and hunter scenario do not occur in the physics
course outside of this example, so equivalent terms can be used.

3 Centre of gravity and projectile motion (5–10 minutes)

Resources: Coursebook Figure 1.38, video of a hammer being thrown—the hammer as a tool or the field
athletics version (optional)
Description and purpose: The purpose is to avoid misconception about the motion of some projectile objects
such as the stunt rider in Coursebook Figure 1.38. Care should be taken not to over-teach this, as it is not
on the syllabus. It may appear that there is some ‘up and down’ movement during the flight. However,
a rotating projectile object will rotate about its centre of gravity, and the centre of gravity itself will
trace out a parabolic path.
Safety: If a real hammer is to be thrown, this should be done outside, preferably on a grass surface.
Assessment ideas: Students could put tracing paper over Figure 1.38 and trace out the parabola
for themselves.
Differentiation: Students who need challenge can be asked why they think the centre of gravity, and not all
parts of an object, follows a parabolic path.
Reflection: Ask students how easy or difficult they find visualising these concepts.
Language focus: Students may have used the term centre of gravity or centre of mass before. In practice,
for small objects on Earth, they can be considered as being the same. The former is the point at which
gravity acts and the latter is the point where the mass acts.

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Plenary ideas
1 Falling balls (Time)
Resources: Two balls of approximately the same diameter but with different masses; a golf ball and a table
tennis ball work well.
Description and purpose: Drop the balls at the same time from overhead, but do not stand on a desk or chair.
Observe that the denser ball hits the ground first every time. Ask students to explain using ideas about air
resistance why this happens. After all, the acceleration is the same for both, and air resistance should be the
same because they have the same surface area and same shape.
Assessment ideas: This activity can be extended to a homework. If students have not met the equation
F = ma, then this can be introduced as a hint.

Homework ideas
1 Practice questions
Homework should be differentiated according to need. For example, some students may need more practice
at resolving vectors into components, while others may need practice at more complex projectile problems,
such as objects projected at upward and downward angles off cliffs or tall buildings. Students should always
be reminded of the symmetrical nature of the parabola, which may cut some steps from their calculations.

2 Falling balls (plenary extension)

If the Falling Balls plenary has been used, ask students to explain why the less dense ball reaches terminal
speed first. Scaffolding can be provided as this is challenging. The force of air resistance is the same on both
balls when their speed is the same, but because of F = ma, that force of air resistance has a greater
decelerating effect on the ball with less mass.

CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS
• The concepts of scalars and vectors arises again in many later topics, such as in Chapter 2,
Forces and Newton’s Laws.
• An understanding of speed and velocity is required at many points in the course, such as with
momentum in Chapter 4 and wave speed in Chapters 13 and 14.
• Gravitation and gravitational fields are studied in more depth in Chapter 17.

Links to digital resources

• An internet search for ‘monkey and hunter apparatus’ will give results on how to make your own and where
to buy equipment.
• Search online for ‘projectile motion simulation’ to find downloadable apps where students can visualise
projectile motion.
• Set a search engine to find images, and search for ‘velocity-time graphs’ or ‘displacement-time graphs’ to get
examples of these.
• Use an online video website to search for ‘kinematics’ to get different explanations of concepts.

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Differentiation
Stretch and challenge
• Students can explore the concepts of scalar and vector quantities further and describe why, for example, time
and electric current are scalar even though people refer to time and current moving in a particular direction.
• Students with secure mathematical ability could be given problems that require the use of the equations of
kinematics and simultaneous equations together.
• Ask students to discuss the question, ‘If the position and speed of every object or particle can be predicted,
then why can we not predict the future?’
Support
• Ask students to consider when fluid resistance or air resistance is an advantage rather than a disadvantage.
• Students may need reminding of the definitions of sine and cosine and the use of Pythagoras’s theorem in
right-angled triangles.
• Students may need help with selecting suitable linear scales for graphs. Scales should usually start at, and
include, zero on both axes, then use increments that are multiples or submultiples of 1, 2 or 5. The scale
should be chosen so that the plotted points cover more than half of the grid in both directions.

Assessment ideas
• Students can answer the Test Your Understanding questions at the end of each sub-chapter, or they can
answer specific questions from Exercises 1.1–1.4 in the Workbook.
• Students can work in groups to produce mind maps (spider diagrams) of the concepts in this topic.
• Students can work in pairs and be asked to plan their own mini-lesson to explain or demonstrate one
of the more concepts that they found more difficult, then deliver this to the rest of the class.

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2 Forces and
Newton’s laws
Teaching plan
Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources
number of
learning
hours
2.1 Forces and 1 Students learn to draw free-body Coursebook
their direction diagrams with objects modelled
as points. Section 2.1.

Students consider forces as Test your understanding 1–14.

vectors and apply the SF = 0 rule Exam-style questions
for equilibrium.
Workbook
Exercise 2.1
Teacher’s resource
Starter Ideas 1 and 2
Main teaching Idea 1
Forces and Newton’s laws
worksheets

2.2 Newton’s 2 Students learn to apply Newton’s Coursebook

laws of motion three laws of motion in
different situations. Section 2.2.
Test your understanding 15–31.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 2.2
Teacher’s resource
Main teaching Ideas 1 and 2
End of chapter test 3 Forces
and Newton's laws
Forces and Newton’s laws
worksheets

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Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources

number of
learning
hours
2.3 Circular 2 Students consider the forces Coursebook
motion and acceleration that act in
circular motion, including the Section 2.3.
conical pendulum. Test your understanding 32–44.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 2.3
Teacher’s resource
Starter Idea 1
Main teaching Idea 1
End of chapter test 4
Circular motion

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

• Students should have met forces and friction • Students may have heard of Newton’s laws
before and realise that forces are measured or even be able to summarise the concepts
in newtons, N. in them.
• Students should be aware that weight is • Students may not have met the idea of
a force and is a very different quantity momentum before but should understand
from mass. the concepts of both mass and velocity.
• Students may not have considered forces as • Students may not have met the radian as
vectors but should already have some idea a unit of angular measure before but
that a force acts in a particular direction. should already be aware that there are
• Students will have some understanding 360o in a circle.
of friction but may not have distinguished
between static and dynamic friction before.

Syllabus overview
• This chapter covers forces, including contact and non-contact forces, as interactions between bodies and the
modelling of these bodies as points.
• Newton’s laws are introduced, and students get practice in applying these to various situations and the
construction of free body diagrams to represent their ideas.
• The concepts of linear momentum, including where mass changes, and impulse are covered.
• Circular motion, angular speed, centripetal force and centripetal acceleration are described, and students
extend their knowledge of kinematics from Chapter 1 to the theory of motion in a circle.

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2.1 Forces and their direction

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Treat bodies as point particles Students can explain why objects can be
modelled as points and can draw diagrams with
Construct and interpret free-body forces acting on these points.
force diagrams
Students can construct diagrams showing forces,
Apply the equilibrium condition, SF = 0 with magnitude and direction, acting on bodies.
Solve problems involving frictional forces Students can calculate the resultant force acting
on a body and understand that if the sum of the
forces is zero, then the body is in equilibrium.
Students can describe the nature and direction
of friction and can describe the difference
between static and dynamic friction.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
The condition SF = 0 means Draw a diagram of a familiar Students may assume that if
that an object is stationary; the object, such as a car, and add there is zero resultant force, then
condition cannot be true for a force arrows where the driving an object must be stationary.
moving object. force and frictional forces are Show a picture of one of the
equal and opposite. Then ask space probes, such as Pioneer
what can be concluded about or Voyager, that has left the solar
the motion of the car. system. Quote its speed, and
ask what forces are acting to
keep it in motion.
Alternatively, show a video of an
almost frictionless situation such
as the sport of curling and ask
where the force comes from to
keep the stone moving.
A force is required to keep a Students think this because, in See above.
body in uniform motion. practice, a force needs to be
This misconception is linked applied to overcome friction, but
to the one above. friction is not perceived.

Normal contact force is Diagrams of objects on Some students think that any
sometimes incorrectly solid surfaces will be force pushing upward must be
called upthrust. incorrectly labelled. upthrust. Reinforce that upthrust
only exists in fluids and does not
come from solids in contact.

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Starter ideas
1 Will it roll forever? (5 minutes)
Resources: Ball, toy car or trolley
Description and purpose: Demonstrate a ball, trolley or toy car rolling across the floor. Ask students to
explain in detail why it stops. Show diagrams of objects on which forces are acting, such as Figure 2.10 from
the Coursebook. Ask students to name the forces involved and their directions. Do they know anything
about these forces?
You can decide from the answers how much students have remembered of the basic ideas about forces and
so decide how much needs to be revisited from previous years.

2 Forces in free fall (10 minutes)

Resources: Video of a parachute jumper or bungee jumper
Description and purpose: Show a short video clip of a parachutist in free fall. Ask students whether they, or
someone they know, have taken part in a bungee jump or a parachute fall. Warn students they will be asked
about speed, acceleration and air resistance at different stages of the jump.
In groups, students can sketch a graph of speed against time for free fall from the start of jumping to
opening the parachute and hitting the ground. They can mark on their graph what is happening to air
resistance, resultant force and acceleration (including the initial value of 10 m/s2). They can explain the
graph to other groups.
You can see how much has been understood as groups are working at this task and by the presentation and
discussion afterwards.

Main teaching ideas

1 Identifying forces and the base units of force (30 minutes)
Resources: 100 g masses; newton meters; graph paper
Description and purpose: Give groups of students a newton meter and a few 100 g masses. Students can
measure the weight of 100 g, 200 g and so on. They can draw a table of weight against mass to establish
that weight in N = mass in kg × 10. Explain that the factor of 10 has been measured more accurately as the
acceleration of free fall.
Different prefixes, multiples and submultiples can be revised by asking students to suggest their own weight
or the weight of a book in g, kg, mg, μg and ng.
Reinforce details about different types of force with plenty of examples. You can show a range of objects
such as a boat, see-saw or car rolling downhill. Or search the internet for ‘types of force’. Students can list
all these forces into two groups: contact forces and non-contact forces. Students can then list all that they
know about the forces in each group.
Introduce students to the idea of a limited number of base units in the SI system. Tell students that
equations must be homogenous. Given that the acceleration of free fall has units m s−2, students can derive
the base units of force and check various equations.
Assessment ideas: Discussing the students’ lists should allow you to assess basic ideas such as friction,
weight and mass.
Answering questions on homogenous equations may show you need to do more teaching on powers in
algebraic equations. Students may be able to mark each other’s answers and write comments on the answers.
This will aid formative assessment.
Differentiation: Some students will add masses, starting with 100 g, to the newton meter and extrapolate
the trend in results themselves to 10 N for the 1000 g mass. Only those making careful observations will see
that this reading is slightly less than 10 N.
Reflection: Students could think of ways in which people in everyday speech use ‘weight’ and ‘mass’
incorrectly. Why do people say, for example, my body weight is 65 kg, when they are actually referring to mass?

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Language focus: There is often confusion about whether a capital N should be used in the word ‘Newton’.
When the person is being referred to, as in Newton’s laws, then a capital N is used. However, the unit of
force is not capitalised and is written as newton, but the unit is abbreviated as N. The same applies in other
topics, such as with the kelvin unit of thermodynamic temperature.

2 Investigating friction (30 minutes to 1 hour)

Resources: Wooden blocks with hooks attached; masses to be placed on top of the blocks; newton meters;
balances; selection of different surfaces (optional)
Practical guidance: Students can investigate (a) how static friction compares to dynamic friction for a given
surface, or (b) how friction varies with the weight of the object. Students can plan their own investigation
with emphasis on independent, dependent and control variables.
Assessment ideas: You can assess the quality of the tabulation of data, graphical work and conclusions
based on criteria that you develop with students’ input.
Differentiation: More confident students can use ideas about horizontal and vertical components of
vectors to explain why the block must be pulled with the newton meter held horizontal.
Reflection: Students could be asked to evaluate their results in terms of precision of repeats and closeness
of points to a line of best fit on a graph.
Language focus: The word ‘friction’ is derived from the Latin verb fricare meaning to rub. It was used in
the 16th century by physicians to describe injuries that resulted from objects rubbing against the skin.

Plenary ideas
1 Question game (10 minutes or more depending on the number of questions)
Resources: Small pieces of paper
Description and purpose: An exit slip activity can be carried out where students answer a question such
as, What did you find obvious and what did you find unexpected about friction? or Do you think friction is a
good or a bad thing? A word limit can be set, or a taboo word (key word not to be used) can be allocated to
increase the challenge.
Assessment ideas: By reading student responses afterwards, misconceptions can be identified.

Homework ideas
1 Friction investigation
Students who have carried out Main Teaching Idea 2 can produce a formal write-up of this. It could be done
in sections such as Equipment, Method and diagram, Results with table and graph and Evaluation.

2 A world without friction

Students could write a short story, a poem, a rap or a song about what a world without friction would be
like. These can be chosen at random for presentation to the class in the next lesson.

2.2 Newton’s laws

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Apply Newton’s three laws of motion Students can recall each of the laws and
understand their applications in various situations

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Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Students often think the pair of Students will give incorrect Use the example of the person
forces in Newton’s third law both descriptions, such as weight and on roller skates in example 1 and
act on the same object. normal contact force both acting Figure 2.32. Alternatively, ask
on a book on a desk. a student to sit on a chair that
has wheels and to push back
on a wall. They can feel their
push on the wall, but it is more
difficult for them to ‘feel’ the wall
pushing back on them.

Starter ideas
1 Balloon rockets (15 minutes)
Resources: Inflatable rubber party balloons
Description and purpose: Blow up a balloon, hold the neck closed with your fingers and then let it go.
Ask students, ‘Why does it fly round the room?’ Ask students to discuss, in groups, such questions as:
• Why does a heavy ball roll further than a light ball?
• When you step out of a boat, why does it move backwards?
• Why does a ball change direction when it hits a wall, but the wall does not move? Or does it?
Show a video of a rocket launch (do a video search on the internet for ‘rocket launch’). Ask students to
describe what happens in terms of the forces acting.
You will be able to decide whether students have an understanding of forces acting on a range of objects
met in everyday life.
Students may write an account of the forces acting on the rocket. They can amend it later to add comments
on how all of Newton’s laws apply at each stage after they have studied these laws, including the third law.

2 Forces for walking (10 minutes)

Resources: A shoe (optional) or a drawing of a foot or shoe
Description and purpose: Ask students what forces are involved in walking. Consider only the forces that act
on the foot because the forces in the hips, legs, back and arms are highly complex. If necessary, scaffold the
activity with statements such as:
• Muscles exert a force on the foot to make it move in the … direction.
• According to Newton’s … law, this causes …
(The foot is pushed backward by muscles in the leg. As friction acts between the foot and the ground,
Newton’s third law applies. As the foot pushes back on the ground, the ground pushes forward on the foot,
propelling the walker forward.)

Main teaching ideas

1 Newton’s second law (not using momentum) (30 minutes to 1 hour)
Resources: Dynamics trolley, horizontal bench, pulley and clamp, string, mass hanger and masses,
stopwatches or light gates
Description and purpose: Students mount a pulley at the end of a desk. A string passes over the pulley and
joins a mass holder (which hangs down) to a trolley. The mass is released. It falls to the floor, pulling the
trolley with a constant force. With larger masses you will need to protect the floor and students’ feet. To keep
the accelerating mass constant, all the masses to be added to the string should first be placed on the trolley.

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The masses on the hanger provide different forces on the trolley. The distance and time taken are used to
calculate the acceleration. Repeat with masses placed on the trolley. Draw a graph of applied force against
acceleration. It is helpful if the trolley rolls along a friction-compensated slope. Adjust the angle so that the
trolley runs at constant speed without any force, or use an air track.
If apparatus is not available, then values can be taken from a suitable video. Search online using ‘Newton’s
second law experiment’.
Discuss the first and second laws.
Assessment ideas: You can assess students’ practical abilities and ability to consider improvements in the
experiment. It is also helpful to assess students’ ability to write a logical account of the experiment.
Differentiation: Students who need support should be told why the masses must be interchanged between
the hanger and the trolley—to keep the total mass of the system constant. More confident students should
be able to explain what the gradient in the force–acceleration graph represents.
Reflection: Ask student to complete KWL statements (Know, Want to know and Learned), which can be
handed in as exit slips.

2 Newton’s second law—a simulation (30 minutes)

Resources: Internet access for individual students (or a projector if only you have internet access); Newton’s
second law simulation software (search online for ‘simulation Newton’s second law’)
Description and purpose: Ask students to individually to use the controls of the simulation to vary the force
or mass. Typically, a set of accelerations using different forces applied to a certain mass can be measured.
This is then repeated with a different mass. Graphs of acceleration against force are used to show that
force = mass × acceleration.
Assessment ideas: You can assess practical, tabulation and graph plotting skills. You can also assess
students’ ability to describe how the actual measurements are made.
Differentiation: Students who need support should be able to explain why, when force is changed,
mass must remain constant and vice versa. More confident students should be able to explain why fuel
consumption of a bus is greater when carrying more passengers (without reference to energy transfers).
Reflection: For students who have also done Main Teaching Idea 1, ask which helps them to learn more
effectively, the real investigation or the simulated one, and explain why.

3 Using Newton’s third law (20–30 minutes)

Resources: Balloons; skateboard (optional)
Description and purpose: Show a demonstration of Newton’s third law—for example, an open balloon,
where there is a force on the air pushing it out and a force on the balloon forwards. Another example is to
step backwards off a skateboard to show that the skateboard moves in the opposite direction. You can then
state the law. Emphasise that the two forces in a pair must act on different bodies. They must be the same
type of force: gravitational, electric etc. Give as an example that weight has a Newton’s third law pair with
gravitational force acting upwards on the Earth because the mass attracts all the atoms in the Earth.
In groups, students can list Newton’s law pairs of forces for all the other types of force that they know.
They should state the objects on which each of the third law pair is found and the type of force.
A few examples can be found in the Coursebook.
Assessment ideas: You can assess whether students have understood by looking at their own individual
analysis of a particular third law pair.
Differentiation: More confident students can be given this scenario: You are trapped on a friction-free
ice rink out of reach of the edge. All you have with which to escape and reach the edge is your physics
Coursebook. How do you escape?
Reflection: Revisit the plenary. Are you now able to explain what happens and why?

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Plenary ideas
1 A thought experiment (5 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Describe this scenario to the class: Two people stand opposite each other on roller
skates. One of them throws a heavy ball to the other, who catches it. This person throws the ball back to the
first person, and it is caught again.
This process repeats. Ask, ‘What will happen and why?’
Assessment ideas: Students could be asked to volunteer to explain, with reference to Newton’s laws, what
will happen.

Homework ideas
1 Workbook Exercise 2.2
Assign students questions from this exercise to consolidate their application of Newton’s laws.

2 Newton’s laws worksheet

Students can complete worksheet 2.1 or 2.2 on Forces and Newton’s laws.

2.3 Circular motion

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Explain why we have acceleration in Students can describe the vector nature of velocity,
circular motion. explain that in circular motion the velocity of a body
is continually changing and link this to acceleration;
Apply Newton’s laws to circular motion. they can also explain why the acceleration
Identify centripetal forces. produces no change in the speed of the body.
Students can use Newton’s second law to derive
the equation for centripetal acceleration.
Students can draw arrows on diagrams to show
the direction of a centripetal force, or explain the
origin of a centripetal force.

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Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Students often think that a Students will incorrectly describe The centrifugal force is a good
‘centrifugal force’ acts outward the forces in circular motion or example of a ‘fictional force’ in
on a body in circular motion in a may refer to a centrifugal force. physics: one that is perceived
direction away from the centre but does not actually exist.
of the circle. The perception of it comes from
the feeling of being pushed
outward in a cornering vehicle or
similar situation. This is actually
Newton’s first and third laws in
action. The force from the side
of the vehicle pushes the person
toward the centre of the circle,
but the person only feels the
force-pair from this—that they are
pushing outward on the vehicle.
To overcome this misconception,
carry out Starter Idea 1.
The terms ‘angular speed’ Students may ask about this, As far as students in this course
and ‘angular velocity’ are both given that speed and velocity are concerned, in circular motion
used for the same term ɷ were taught as being different in the two terms can be treated
in equations, and this can Chapter 1. as meaning the same, but this
cause confusion. should be explained to
avoid confusion.
Many students find the concept n/a Students are usually comfortable
of angular speed to be difficult. with the idea of revolutions per
minute (rpm), and so this is a
good place to start to introduce
angular speed. Do this with
degrees before bringing
in radians.

Starter ideas
1 Creating circular motion (10–15 minutes)
Resources: Large open flat surface, such as a gym or sports hall; one football or basketball
Description and purpose: Roll the ball across the floor and ask students why it goes in a straight line.
Then ask: ‘What would we need to do to make it follow a curved path?’ Ask the students to crouch down in
an arc line, all facing in a direction towards the centre from that line. Then roll the ball in front of them.
Ask them to each exert a gentle force on the ball to make it follow a curved path. Ask: ‘In what direction
must the force be applied?’ This is the centripetal force.
Alternatively, this can be done as a thought experiment.

2 Linear and angular speed (5 minutes)

Resources: Rubber bottle stopper attached to the end of a string with an obvious knot on the string about
50 cm from the stopper
Description and purpose: Whirl the stopper around on the end of the string in a vertical circle in front of
students. Ask, ‘Which is travelling faster, the stopper or the knot?’ ‘Which completes the circular path
faster?’ Use the idea to introduce the difference between linear and angular speed.

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Main teaching ideas

1 Circular motion experiment (30 minutes)
Resources: Equipment (per student or pair): 1 × short length of plastic pipe; 1 × stopwatch; 1 × 100 g mass;
1 × rubber stopper; 1 × metre rule; 1 × marker pen
Practical guidance: Students attach the stopper to the end of the string and pass the string through the pipe.
The 100 g mass is attached to the other end of the string. The pipe is then gripped vertically and used to
whirl the stopper around.
Description and purpose: This activity is for investigating the relationship between the radius of the path of
the rubber stopper and the angular speed of the stopper to reinforce understanding of the equations
F = mv2/r and F = mω2r.
In this case, the measured quantities are the radius of path and the period (T). The derived quantities are
the angular speed (ω), the angular speed squared (ω2) and the inverse of the radius (1/r).
The mass of the weights is kept constant throughout the experiment.
Increasing the linear speed of the stopper will cause the radius of the rotation to increase.
A graph of ω2 against 1/r should show linearity.
Alternatively, the masses can be changed and the radius kept constant (the marker pen is used to place a
mark on the string, which is kept at the lower end of the pipe), then the angular speed is measured.
Care should be taken that the students do not confuse the masses hanging on the string with m in the
circular motion equations.
Safety: Ensure that groups of students are far enough apart that they are not hit by the rotating equipment
of others. Safety glasses can be worn, or the experiment done outside. The string should be checked
beforehand so it does not look likely to break.
Assessment ideas: Even if they haven’t done that part of the experiment, students can be asked what
should be plotted on a graph to get a straight line when the masses are changed and the radius is constant.
Ask: ‘What will the gradient represent?’
Differentiation: Students can be asked about the limitations of the experiment. For example, the string may
not have moved freely through the pipe when r was being changed.
Reflection: How easy or difficult was it to keep the angular speed of the stopper constant?
Was the string horizontal when the stopper was rotating? Is it possible to have the string horizontal?
Language focus: The symbol for angular speed is the lowercase Greek letter omega (ω). It looks like a
lowercase letter w but more rounded. It is pronounced ‘oh-mee-gaa’ in British English or ‘oh-may-gaa’ in
North American English.

2 Reinforcing the idea of the centripetal force (30 minutes or more depending
on structure)
Resources: Varies according to activity chosen
Practical guidance: Students can carry out experiments with the motorised car or the conical pendulum,
or both.
Description and purpose: This activity is for reinforcing the concept of a force that acts inward towards the
centre of the circle in circular motion.
Individual activities can include, for example:
1 a motorised toy car with wheels set at an angle so that it travels in a (part of a) circle
2 conical pendulum
3 simulation of the Moon rotating around the Earth
4 film clip of a stunt aeroplane performing a vertical loop (challenging)
5 video of a rally car coming off the ground due to a hump in the road (more challenging).
The activities could form part of a circus, where each one is set up at a different station in the room and
groups of students move around spending a fixed time at each one. This could be extended over two lessons
if time is available.

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Safety: Make sure that the motorised car is not a tripping hazard if other groups are working in
the same area.
Assessment ideas: Students should be able to explain where the centripetal force comes from in each
case. (1 friction between the tyres and the floor; 2 the horizontal component of tension in the string;
3 the gravitational force of attraction between the Earth and Moon; 4 in the lower half of the circle it is the
lift force from the air on the plane, while in the top half of the circle it is the sum of the inward component
of the plane’s weight and the lift force—which is now acting upside down; 5 the car will leave the ground if
v is too large or r is too small for the weight of the car to provide the centripetal force, F. But as m for the
car and its weight F are directly proportional, a vehicle of any mass will leave the ground under the same
conditions of v and r.)
Differentiation: The activities are designed to differentiate by task. Activities 4 and 5 can be treated more
trivially if students need more support.
Reflection: Why is it so difficult to ignore the concept of the fictitious centrifugal force that seems to act
outward from the centre of the circle?
Language focus: Students may need to be reminded that the use of the word circular does not always
mean the path of the object is a complete circle; it could be an arc such as in a vehicle going around a
bend in a road.

Plenary ideas
1 What did my partner learn (3 minutes or more depending on number of volunteers)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Students move around the room at random until you say ‘stop’. They then pair
up with the person closest to them. They choose to be A or B. First, A has 30 seconds to tell B what they
learned, then B has 30 seconds to tell A what they learned. This should all be timed and announced by the
teacher. Then the B people can volunteer to share what they were told. The teacher should confirm each
time with the A person that B told it correctly. Then the A people volunteer. Times can be adjusted.
Assessment ideas: Assessment is part of the activity when the partner shares what they were told.

Homework ideas
1 Practice questions
Students can answer any allocated questions from: Coursebook Test your understanding 32–44,
Workbook Exercise 2.3.

2 Language skills
Students can complete the Language Skills worksheet that accompanies this topic.

CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS
• Forces and Newton’s laws are essential concepts for the study of linear momentum in Chapter 5.
• Some ideas similar to those in circular motion are encountered again in simple harmonic motion,
Chapter 12 because circular motion is a special case of simple harmonic motion.
• Gravitation and gravitational fields in Chapter 17 covers orbital motion, which again uses concepts
from circular motion.

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Links to digital resources

• An internet search for ‘weight and mass explained’ may yield some different explanations that students can
identify with.
• A video search for ‘demonstration of Newton’s first / second / third law’ can provide some useful
information for students or some experimental ideas for teachers.
• A video search for ‘circular motion forces’ can again provide useful resources, although these should be
checked in advance in case they refer to the centrifugal force as a real force.

Differentiation
Stretch and challenge
• Students can use ideas from both circular motion and Newton’s laws to explain why the centrifugal force
appears to be real.
• Students can place a small volume of water in the bottom of a bucket (outdoors) or a small plastic cup
(indoors) and whirl this in a vertical circle so that the water does not fall out. They can then use ideas from
both circular motion and Newton’s laws to explain why the water stays in the container.
Support
• If students are finding it difficult to take readings or if it is difficult to provide apparatus, then you can
provide data.
• Students may struggle with the concept of the radian. This can be shown by a diagram of a circle where
an arc the same length as the radius is subtended at the centre. Because the total number of these arcs
that make up the circumference is 2π, then 1 radian must be 360°/2π, or about 57°. Often this simple
demonstration removes any mystery surrounding the radian.
• Students who struggle with the radian could be told about other units of angular measure that have been
proposed over time. For example, they could be asked to research what the ‘GRA’ calculator setting
(that usually accompanies DEG and RAD) means.

Assessment ideas
• Students can answer the Test your understanding questions at the end of each sub-chapter or can attempt
the Exam-style questions or Worksheets.
• Students can work in groups to produce a short play that can be acted in front of the class. The topic could
be any one, or all, of Newton’s laws of circular motion.
• Students can volunteer for a ‘you are the teacher’ session. Here, a volunteer asks the class questions about
the topic and then gives feedback on their answers.

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3 Work, energy
and power
Teaching plan
Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources
number of
learning
hours
3.1 Work 2 Students learn to recognise when Coursebook
work is done moving an object and
when no work is done. Section 3.1.
Test your understanding 1–21.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 3.1
Teacher’s resource
Starter Idea 1
Main teaching Idea 2
Energy, work and power
worksheets

3.2 2 Students learn to do calculations Coursebook

Conservation involving the transfer between
of mechanical gravitational potential energy and Section 3.2.
energy kinetic energy. Test your understanding 22–26.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 3.2
Teacher’s resource
Main teaching Ideas 1 and 2

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Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources

number of
learning
hours
3.3 Power and 2 Students calculate the efficiency of Coursebook
efficiency and energy transfers, define power and
3.4 Energy draw Sankey diagrams to show how Sections 3.3 and 3.4.
transfers energy is transferred. Test your understanding 27–37.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercises 3.3 and 3.4
Teacher’s resource
Main teaching Ideas 1 and 2
End of chapter test 5 Energy

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

• Students should be familiar with forces and • Students should know the meaning of the
their effects from Chapter 2. word ‘efficiency’, even from daily life, and
• Students will know the word ‘work’ from maybe be aware that no process involving
daily life but may not know the scientific use transfer of energy from one store to another
of the word. can be 100% efficient.

• Students should have encountered some • Students will have heard the word ‘power’
energy stores before and may be familiar before, possibly in the context of electric
with kinetic, thermal (heat), chemical and lamps or music amplifiers or used the term
possibly gravitational potential energy. loosely to refer to vehicle engines.

Syllabus overview
• This chapter covers how a force can do work by moving an object and also how, in some circumstances,
a force can do no work by moving an object. Where work is done, students learn to calculate this.
• The energy stores that are kinetic, gravitational potential and elastic potential are considered, together
with the transfer of energy between them. The energy density of chemical energy in fuels is considered.
• The concept of efficiency of energy transfer is introduced, and students perform calculations to
determine this.
• Power is covered as the rate of energy transfer, and the use of Sankey diagrams to describe energy
transfers is included.

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3.1 Work
LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Understand work done as energy transferred. Students scan explain why the unit of energy
and the unit of work are the same.
Students can identify when a force is used to do
work and when a force does no work, even when
it is used to move an object.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Many students think that the After learning about work and Ask students to recall the unit
quantities energy and work energy, ask students to describe of energy. Then ask for the unit
are related somehow but are the relationship between of work done. If they do not
not equivalent. the quantities. know this, allow them to look
it up rather than just telling
them. Ask what the use of the
same unit suggests about the
two quantities.
Students may think that they are The point may arise through Point out that the brain works
not working when they are doing discussion about work mostly by nerve impulses.
calculations or learning physics, and energy. These are generated by moving
and that this is now erroneously charged particles across cell
described as work. membranes. A force is required
to move these charges through
a short distance, often against
a repulsive force. This counts as
work done and explains why this
type of work requires energy.
Students have difficulty in This may be a barrier to learning Quote the Nobel Prize winning
understanding the concept of and may explain why some physics researcher Richard
energy and may ask what it is. students make slow progress. Feynman: ‘It is important to
realise that in physics today we
have no knowledge of what
energy is. We do not have a
picture that energy comes in
little blobs of a definite amount.
It is not that way.’
Students do, however need to
learn about energy stores and
transfers and about work as a
transfer of energy.

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Starter ideas
1 Doing work (10–15 minutes depending on the structure of the activity)
Resources: A small step, such as an aerobics step or a heavy, stable block
Description and purpose: Ask a volunteer to demonstrate doing work by getting onto the step.
The students step up, then down again Then they repeat the steps.
Ask students: What energy is needed here? Where does the energy come from? Where is it going? Why is it
harder to step up than down? What force is necessary to push yourself up? Why is it harder if the step is higher?
What happens to the energy used when you are at the top of the step?
Pull a box along the floor with a piece of string and ask: Why is it harder to pull the box along at an angle?
If students have covered any of these concepts before, then give them a short verbal or written quiz of the
formulae for work, kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy and their units. See whether students have
remembered these formulae from previous studies.
This should allow you to determine how much revision of early work is needed. You can involve
components of force. It is useful to constantly revise these ideas.

Main teaching ideas

1 Using kinetic energy to do work against friction (40 minutes)
Resources: Pencils; container that will not shatter; uncooked rice or sand; 50 g masses; metre rulers
Description and purpose: Push a pencil into the rice or sand so it stands vertically. Drop a 50 g mass onto the
top of the pencil from a known height, then measure how much further the pencil has been pushed down.
Measure the depth of penetration of the pen when the mass is dropped from different heights. As the change
in EP of the dropped mass equals the work done by the friction force, this friction force F can be calculated
for the different depths of rice in contact with the pen. Use Fs = mgh if students have not come across
gravitational potential energy before.
Assessment ideas: Students should be assessed on their ability to plan their work and follow a logical
method to collect results. They can also be asked about the uncertainties in their measurements and how to
improve the procedure.
Differentiation: Ask more confident students whether they think the assumption that gravitational
potential energy lost is the same as kinetic energy gained by the falling mass.
Students who need support could be asked to look at the equation Fs = mgh and suggest how a graph of h
against s would appear.
Reflection: Ask students what other applications in daily life use kinetic energy to overcome friction in a
similar way.
Language focus: Take care not to refer to different energy stores, as this can lead to the misconception that
energy stores – such as kinetic and gravitational potential – are different quantities.

2 Using work done, Newton’s laws and the kinematics equations to derive the
equation for kinetic energy (10 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: The activity is useful for demonstrating the interconnected nature of physics
topics. Students work in groups to use the equation for work done and the kinematics equations to derive
the equation for kinetic energy. The equation for kinetic energy can be provided if students have not met
this before.
Assessment ideas: One group can volunteer to explain their derivation to the rest of the class.
Differentiation: Some students may not know where to start with this activity. You can provide them with
various levels of scaffolding, such as some of the steps partly completed.
Reflection: Ask studentsthe point of deriving an equation such as this one when the equation can just be
memorised instead.
Language focus: Encourage students to use correct terms, such as ‘doing work’ or ‘work done’ rather than
just ‘work’.

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Plenary ideas
1 Just a minute (5 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: A student volunteers to speak for 1 minute on the topic of work. They must not
pause, repeat a key word, make a scientific error, or go off-topic. Any other student can challenge for any
one of these three things by clapping once. The timer is stopped at this point. If they are correct, that
student takes over speaking, and the rule on repeating only applies to what they say, so they can repeat a key
word from the previous speaker. The timer is restarted from where it stopped last time. The winner is the
student speaking when 1 minute is up.
Assessment ideas: Assessment is part of the activity where students determine if there is a scientific error
on which to challenge.

Homework ideas
1 Practice questions
Allocate any of the questions on Workbook Exercise 3.1 or any of the Test Your Understanding questions
1–21 from the Coursebook.

2 Further questions
Students can complete the Worksheets on this topic or the Exam-style questions.

3.2 Conservation of mechanical energy

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Understand and apply the principle of Students can, for example, equate mgh with
energy conservation. 1 ​​  mv2 for a falling object, or __
​​ __ ​​  1 ​​   mv2 with __
​​  1 ​​ kx2 for
2 2 2
Understand the concepts of kinetic, a moving object compressing or stretching an
gravitational potential and elastic elastic material.
potential energy.
Students can describe each of these energy
stores and carry out calculations where energy is
transferred between any two of them.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Students may think that when, Ask students why the heights of Carry out Starter Idea 1.
for example, kinetic energy the crests on a roller coaster get
is transferred to gravitational lower as the track progresses.
potential energy, there is 100%
conservation in that transfer.

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Misconception How to identify How to overcome

Students can think that friction, When explaining situations such Ask students to rub the
or fluid resistance, is an energy as the marble in the U-shaped palms of their hands together.
store, or that energy can be track, students may say ‘energy What do they feel? What is the
transferred to friction. is lost to friction’. energy transfer here? Friction
causes thermal energy and
sound energy dissipation.
Sound energy is caused by
mechanical vibrations.
Students often incorrectly Errors will appear in calculations. Suggest to students that they
calculate kinetic energy by do the v2 step first, then multiply
forgetting to square the velocity the result by m and finally divide
or by squaring the product of by 2. Remind them about the
the mass and velocity. BODMAS / BIDMAS order of
functions in mathematics.

Starter ideas
1 The roller coaster (5 minutes)
Resources: Model roller coaster which can be made with a half section of foam pipe insulation or flexible
plastic pipe conduit (available at low cost from DIY or building supply stores); marble or ball bearing;
clamp stands
Description and purpose: Make a symmetrical U-shaped track in which to run the ball bearing. Hold the ball
bearing, as if ready to release it, at one side. Ask students for their predictions, using energy transfer ideas,
of what will happen. Ask: Can it go as high on the other side? Can it go higher? Release it and find out.
Do not make any measurements at this stage, but use the activity to lead into Main Teaching Idea 1.

2 Rail train buffers (5 minutes)

Resources: Picture of Montparnasse derailment (use this as an internet image search term); dynamics trolley
with spring plunger at the front or a trolley with a coil spring attached to the front; stable vertical surface
Description and purpose: Show the picture of the train hanging out of the station building and ask what
is fitted to try to prevent this. Then run the trolley into the vertical surface. Ask students to explain what
happens as the trolley stops in terms of energy transfers.

Main teaching ideas

1 Roller coaster energy transfers (20–30 minutes)
Resources: As in Starter Idea 1, but with metre rulers and dry-wipe markers (markers optional)
Description and purpose: Students work in groups of two or three to set up the U-shaped track as in Starter
Idea 1. They measure the release height (the vertical height from the bottom of the U to the point where the
ball is released) and the run-up height (the maximum vertical height that the ball reaches on the other side
of the U). Allow students freedom to think of how to make these measurements as accurately as possible.
Holding the metre ruler up and visually aligning it is insufficient at this level. They can use the dry-wipe
marker pen to coat the ball with ink if this helps in recording the run-up height.
Carry out the measurements for a range of release heights.
Assessment ideas: Students can plot run-up height against release height and identify any trend.
Students should be able to give explanations for this.
Differentiation: Confident students can calculate the gravitational potential energy of the ball at the release
point and use this to determine its maximum speed, and therefore the theoretical run-up height.
Students needing support can identify friction and air resistance as the cause of the ball not reaching the
same height.
Reflection: Ask students: Would it make any difference if the U was not symmetrical, for example, steeper on
the release side?

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2 Experiment on conservation of energy (40 minutes)

Resources: Tennis ball; light gate; ramp or air track of adjustable height
Practical guidance: The speed of a ball is measured at different positions down a ramp using a light gate.
This can be done with a simple ramp or air track. Data can also be found on the internet. Search for a video
on ‘conservation of energy—data’. The kinetic energy and decrease in potential energy can be compared.
Or the decrease in potential energy can be used to predict the speed. Then compare the predicted and
actual speeds.
Assessment ideas: You can design the calculation to determine whether students can calculate gravitational
potential energy changes. Can they calculate kinetic energy from speed? Can they calculate speed from a
change in gravitational potential energy?
​​ 1 ​​ mv2 and mgh, the mass of the object,
Differentiation: Students should realise that, when equating __
2
in theory, does not affect the result.
Students who need support could be given the rearranged equation for v in terms of g and h.
Reflection: Ask students why most sports that involve the principle seen in this activity (such as ski
jumping, downhill skiing, tobogganing, luge, and so on) are winter sports.

3 Energy Olympics (30 minutes plus some time for research)

Resources: Internet access
Description and purpose: Create an ‘Energy Olympics’ activity. Groups of students calculate the energy
involved in various sporting activities. Students can use estimates, research, or measure data from video
footage. Examples might include:
• Pole vault (gravitational potential energy of pole vaulter)
• Javelin/discus/shot put (mass and speed of projectile can be used to calculate kinetic energy)
• High jump (gravitational potential energy of jumper)
• Diving (gravitational potential energy changes and comparison with velocities on impact with water and
kinetic energy)
• Tennis (kinetic energy of ball at serve)
• Horse jumping (gravitational potential energy in jumps incorporating mass of horse and rider)
• Shooting/archery (kinetic energy of bullet/arrow)
• Weightlifting (gravitational potential energy)
• 100 m sprint (kinetic energy and estimation of work done against air resistance)
Assessment ideas: Apart from the use of the relevant equations, you can assess students’ ability to make
reasonable estimates.
Differentiation: Students who need support could be given some figures, for example a typical athlete body
mass or Olympic 100 m sprint speed.
Reflection: Ask students why many athletes and trainers refer to the ‘power-to-weight ratio’ of
a competitor.

Plenary ideas
1 Improvements (5–10 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Ask the class: After doing the experiments on conservation of energy, what would you
do to improve the accuracy of the experiments?
Assessment ideas: Students could hand their ideas in as exit slips.

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2 Questions for answers (10 minutes)

Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Students work in pairs. Each one writes a key word or a phrase from the lesson
on a piece of paper. These are swapped, and the other student must write questions to which the words or
phrases are the answers. They are swapped back again for discussion.
Assessment ideas: Students can assess each other in this activity and give feedback on incorrect science.

Homework ideas
1 Language skills
Students can complete the Language worksheets that accompany this topic.

2 Mass of a roller coaster train

Ask students to write a discussion about whether the number of people in a roller coaster train would make
any difference to its performance. For example, they should be aware that m cancels out in the kinetic and
gravitational potential energy equations; but how does it affect friction between the train and the track?
These prompts can be given or omitted as differentiation.

3.3 Power and efficiency and 3.4 Energy transfers

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Understand power as the rate of Students can define power, give its unit and
energy transfer. perform calculations given the rate at which
energy is transferred.
Calculate the efficiency in energy transfers.
Students can calculate efficiency as a percentage,
a decimal or a fraction and realise that this can
never be greater than or equal to 100%.
Students can draw and interpret Sankey
diagrams for various processes.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Students can think that power This may become apparent in Students need to be reminded
is a passive quantity rather than discussions about power. that some words in science are
an active one. For example, the used differently than in daily
word ‘power’ can be used in the life. A common example of this
context of a political leader or is ‘weight’. ‘Power’ can also be
a particular country’s influence used differently, but in physics,
over another. power only ever refers to a
transfer of energy where some
event or process is happening.
For example, the power of
an electric lamp can only be
determined when it is operating.

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Starter ideas
1 What does efficiency mean? (10 minutes)
Resources: LED lamp and filament, or incandescent, lamp (they do not have to operate it)
Description and purpose: Show or demonstrate an electrical device, such as the two lamps. Then ask
students: What is efficiency? Why is the LED lamp described as more efficient than the filament lamp?
Why is efficiency important in, for example, a car? Why do some mobile phones (cell phones) work for
longer than others on the same battery?
Students can produce a list of the most and least efficient devices they know. They should estimate the
efficiency of these devices. These might include the human body (25%), a car (20%), solar panel (17%),
growing crops (1%) or a power station (40%). You can look up values on the internet. Students will probably
overestimate most of these and may be surprised at how low some of the values are.

2 Wasted energy (5 minutes or more depending on the number of pictures used)

Resources: Pictures of various processes, such as a truck going up a hill, a power station (any type),
a washing machine, a mobile phone, and so on.
Description and purpose: Show pictures, photographs or a video of various energy transformations, such as
those listed previously. Ask students to describe the energy changes and any causes of inefficiency.
Can they pick out any common causes of inefficiency? Can they suggest where most of the wasted energy
goes? Can they identify one energy transfer that always occurs in any event or process, whether it was
wanted or not?

Main teaching ideas

1 Power and efficiency of an electric motor (30–60 minutes)
Resources: Low-voltage electric motor connected to a pulley that can be clamped to the bench; ammeter and
voltmeter; power supply for the motor; string; 100 g masses and hangers; metre rulers; stopwatches
Practical guidance: Students hang masses on the string and use the motor and pulley to raise the masses
through a measured height. The electrical power into the motor is the product of the voltmeter and
ammeter readings, and the power output of the motor is the change in gravitational potential energy of the
masses divided by the time taken to raise them. Usually, the mass is the only independent variable in this
investigation. You could give students all or none of this information, but as electrical power has not yet
been covered in this course, you will probably need to tell them about that.
Safety: Students must not put too much strain on the motor; if it is making a humming noise but not
rotating, then switch off immediately, allow to cool and then reduce the load.
Assessment ideas: Students can write an account of their method with a labelled diagram. They should
be able to show all the values for voltage, current, mass and time in a suitable table. They should calculate
efficiency from these results. Ask: Is it the same for all masses? What are some sources of energy wastage?
Differentiation: More confident students should be able to identify the values at which the motor is most
efficient and be able to suggest reasons for the variation in efficiency.
Students who need support can suggest at least two reasons why the motor is less than 100% efficient.
Reflection: What are the links between this experiment and our use of equipment or machines in daily life?
Language focus: Take care not to refer to energy being lost as students may think that it just disappears.
Instead, use terms such as ‘energy is wasted’ or ‘thermal energy is dissipated’ or ‘energy is transferred in a
way that is not useful’. Regular, repeated use of correct terminology will help students gain marks in exams.

2 Bouncing ball (20–30 minutes)

Resources: Table tennis ball; hard surface on which to bounce the ball; metre rulers
Practical guidance: In groups, students can drop a ball from different heights. They measure the rebound
height of the first bounce. They can calculate the efficiency of the process in which kinetic energy on impact
becomes kinetic energy after impact from the changes in gravitational potential energy. They can drop the
ball from different heights. They determine whether the efficiency depends on the height of drop. They can
warm the ball (in a water bath, for example). They can determine whether temperature affects efficiency.

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Alternatively, they can vary the drop height, then plot a graph of bounce height against drop height.
Assessment ideas: You can ask students to describe the energy changes to show their understanding.
You can ask them to calculate potential energy values. You can also ask students how they ensured the
metre ruler was truly vertical—in both directions (side-to-side and front-to-back).
Differentiation: If the graph has been plotted and a table tennis ball has been used, some students may
notice that the gradient starts to decrease when the drop height is around 1 m. They could be asked to explain
this. (It is the effect of air resistance on the ball, meaning the speed at which it contacts the surface is not
directly proportional to drop height. The effect becomes more obvious if drop heights are extended to 2 m.)
Reflection: Does it make a difference if we measure the heights from the top, bottom or middle of the ball?
How will each of these affect the graph? How will you remember this?

3 Power running up steps or lifting weights (40 minutes)

Resources: Access to stairs or weights; tape measures; stopwatches
Practical guidance: In groups, students time themselves running up a flight of steps. They can determine
their own power. Alternatively, students can find out how many times they can step up onto a stable
platform, how many times they can lift a weight in a minute, or how many press-ups they can do in a
minute. Then they determine the power of their legs or arms. Students could calculate their own power to
weight ratio.
Safety: Reinforce that this is a physics investigation and not a competition. Students should not over-exert
themselves, and any student with a known health condition should take this into account.
Assessment ideas: Students will show that they know and can use the formulae for power and change in
gravitational potential energy. Each student should deduce which equations are used and explain this in
writing, to the class or to another student.
Differentiation: Ask students to discuss where the height is measured during the press-up activity.
This question will differentiate by outcome.
Reflection: Students could investigate the sport of tower running and consider how the energy changes in
this differ from marathon running.

Plenary ideas
1 An energy gain from nothing? (10 minutes)
Resources: Tennis ball; football or basketball (fully inflated); hard floor surface on which to bounce these.
Description and purpose: Drop the tennis ball from about waist height. You can ask for predictions about
how high it will bounce. Next, do the same with the larger ball. Then, position the tennis ball on top of,
and in contact with, the larger ball. Drop them both together without asking for any predictions.
If done correctly, the tennis ball will bounce up to a height of 3–5 m!
Ask: How does this happen? Have we gained energy from nothing?
Repeat this, but this time ask students to focus on the larger ball, and then revise their explanation.
Assessment ideas: Students should realise that the larger ball’s bounce height is greatly reduced when the
tennis ball is on top. So, more of the kinetic energy is transferred to the tennis ball than before.

Homework ideas
1 The perpetual motion machine
Ask students to research attempts that have been made to create perpetual motion. Why has this always
failed? Can they think of a better design that might work—or work for longer?

2 Practice questions
Students can be allocated question from the Coursebook Test Your Understanding 27–37 or the Exam-Style
questions or the Worksheets allocated to this topic.

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CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS
• Energy transfers come up again in Chapter 7 in the specific context of thermal energy
• Energy stores and transfers are considered in the topic of thermodynamics, Chapter 10
• Electrical power and transfer of electrical energy is covered in Chapter 11
• Energy transfers in simple harmonic motion are discussed in Chapter 12
• Waves transfer energy and these are covered in Chapters 13, 14 and 15
• Nuclear energy, binding energy and mass defect are described in Chapters 23, 24 and 25

Links to digital resources

• An internet search for ‘mechanical energy transfers’ will produce some useful results, worked examples
and calculations
• Search for videos showing things like roller coasters, bouncing balls, bungee jumpers, etc., to enhance lesson
content or to use as stimulus material for discussion
• Search for ‘perpetual motion’ to interest students in the idea that energy is always wasted

Differentiation
Stretch and challenge
• Students can make an estimate of the spring constant needed in rail buffers to stop a rail locomotive,
even from a very low speed, remembering that there are four buffers: two on the locomotive and two on the
stop surface.
• Students can research ways in which vehicles with combustion engines have been made more efficient over
time. This should include reduction in fluid resistance and improvements in fuels and engine technology.
• Students could attempt to find out whether electric cars will, in overall terms, be more efficient that gasoline
(petrol) or diesel engine cars.

Support
• Ask students to develop their own mnemonics for concepts or calculations that they find difficult to
remember. They could then share these with others.
• Students could be encouraged to use metacognitive (thinking about thinking) methods in their learning.
For example, recalling how they solved a problem previously and whether the skills they used can be applied
to the current problem.
• Students could be shown a diagram of a trolley that is powered at the front wheels by an electric motor,
which is in turn powered by a generator driven from the rear wheels. How would you start it? Would it run
forever? If not, what would cause it to stop?

Assessment ideas
• Students can answer the Test Your Understanding questions at the end of each sub-chapter, or can answer
specific questions from Exercises 3.1–3.4 in the Workbook. They can be allocated the Worksheets from these
topics or the Exam-Style questions.
• Students can work in groups to produce a poster that summarises in pictures, and without words, the
concepts in any of the sub-topics in this chapter.
• Students can work in pairs to produce their own test questions and mark scheme. They should include at
least one of each: multiple choice, short answer, calculation, and extended response. They can then swap
these and attempt each other’s tests. They are swapped back again for marking and discussion.

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4 Linear Momentum
Teaching plan
Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources
number of
learning
hours
4.1 Newton’s 2 Students learn how a resultant force Coursebook
second law can cause a change in momentum
in terms of and how impulse is the net change in Sections 4.1 and 4.2.
momentum and momentum, which is the product of Test your understanding
4.2 Impulse the resultant force and the time for 1–10.
and force-time which it acts.
graphs Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercises 4.1 and 4.2
Teacher’s resource
Main teaching Idea 1
Linear momentum
worksheets

4.3 2 Students learn to carry out Coursebook

Conservation of calculations on colliding and
momentum separating objects based on the law Section 4.3.
of conservation of momentum. Test your understanding 11.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 4.3
Teacher’s resource
Main teaching Ideas 1 and 2

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Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources

number of
learning
hours
4.4 Momentum 2 Students understand when a collision Coursebook
and kinetic is elastic and when it is inelastic by
energy recognising whether kinetic energy Section 4.4.
is conserved. Test your understanding
12–23.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 4.4
Teacher’s resource
Main teaching Ideas 1 and 2

4.5 Two- 2 Students carry out calculations Coursebook

dimensional of momentum changes in two
collisions dimensions by resolving momentum Section 4.5.
into x and y components. Test your understanding
24–28.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 4.5
Teacher’s resource
Starter Idea 1
Main teaching Idea 1
End of chapter test 6
Linear momentum

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

• Students should recall Newton’s second law • Students should recall how to calculate
from Chapter 2 and be able to apply the fact kinetic energy from Chapter 3.
that a resultant force causes acceleration of • Students will have met the word ‘elastic’
a mass. before, but probably only in the context of a
• Students should remember how to resolve stretchable material that obeys Hooke’s law.
a vector quantity at an angle into two They may also recall that one opposite of
perpendicular components using sine and elastic is plastic but never have used the
cosine functions from Chapter 1. term ‘inelastic’.
• Students may not have met the term
‘momentum’ before but will be familiar with
its effects from daily life experiences.

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Syllabus overview
• This chapter covers the concept of linear momentum and how to calculate this from the mass and velocity
of a moving object.
• Impulse is covered, and students learn that this is a net change of momentum which can also be calculated
from a resultant force and the time for which it acts.
• The law of conservation of momentum is covered, and students use this to calculate velocities after
collisions and explosions (separations) in both one and two dimensions.
• Interactions of objects are described as elastic or inelastic according to whether or not kinetic energy
is conserved.

4.1 Newton’s second law in terms of momentum,

and 4.2 Impulse and force-time graphs
LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Understand the concept of momentum Students should be able to calculate momentum

and describe it as a concept.
Understand the vector nature of momentum
Students realise that momentum acts in a
Express Newton’s second law in terms of the particular direction.
rate of change of momentum
Students can relate the change in an object’s
Work with impulse and force–time graphs velocity as predicted by Newton’s second law to
a change in momentum
Students calculate impulse and show its
equivalence to momentum; they also sketch and
interpret force-time graphs.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Momentum and kinetic energy This may arise in a discussion Involving students in discussion
are very similar quantities about these quantities. or allowing them to ask
because the equations for both questions usually highlights
include mv. the basis of their problem.
This will allow you to correct
the misconception.
Students often think that if an There may be errors in This is not the case because
object rebounds at the same calculations or descriptions. momentum is a vector quantity.
speed, then there is no change The change in direction is
in momentum. This is not the significant. Ask for a definition
case because momentum is a of a vector quantity and then ask
vector quantity. The change in whether momentum is a vector.
direction is significant.

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Starter ideas
1 Car safety (10 minutes)
Resources: Video of a car being crash-tested (search online for ‘crash test video’)
Description and purpose: Ask why the car is designed with a crumple zone and why airbags are used.
They can be asked to explain a particular example to other groups, using the correct scientific vocabulary
(momentum, force, acceleration, change in velocity and time).
Introduce the concept of force × time being equal to change in momentum.
Ask groups of students to list as many safety devices in vehicles as they can. Ask them to explain
how they work.
You can use this to introduce Main Teaching Idea 1.

2 Catching techniques (10 minutes)

Resources: Tennis ball, football or basketball
Description and purpose: Throw a ball for a student to catch. They should either keep their hands
stationary or move them backwards as the ball enters their hands. Ask: Why does moving the hands
make the catch easier?
Discuss the idea of impulse (the product of force and time causes a change in momentum).
Ask students to list examples from their own experience of when having a long time for a force to act
means that the force is small, for example, crumple zones, seat belts, cycle helmets, or stopping an ocean-
going oil tanker.

Main teaching ideas

1 Modelling the airbag (20 minutes)
Resources: Crash test video showing an airbag being deployed; uncooked eggs; cardboard boxes; newspaper;
bubble-wrap and other packing materials; adhesive tape; measuring tape; access to a safe balcony or high
window (optional)
Description and purpose: Start by showing a video clip of an air bag in operation in a car. Search online for a
video using ‘Crash Test Dummies Seatbelts, momentum and air bags’.
Students can do an experiment in which they test how well an egg is protected when wrapped in an
increasing thickness of bubble wrap and dropped from an increasing height. You can do this as a
competitive challenge, so the group whose egg survives the highest drop is the winner.
Safety: Students should not stand on tables or chairs to drop their boxes; if they are to be dropped from a
high window, from a balcony or down a stairwell, then other students should be present at ground level to
ensure people passing by do not enter the drop zone.
Assessment ideas: Each student should write a paragraph explaining the action of the bubble wrap and
a seat belt or air bag using words such as momentum, force, seat belt, air bag, crumple zone, change in
momentum, rate of change of momentum, impulse, acceleration and time. You should be able to determine
from their account whether they have understood the application of the impulse formula.
Differentiation: Some students will refer to the protective effect of the packaging without using scientific
terms. If this is likely to happen, given them a list of key words that must be included, such as force, change
in momentum and time.
Reflection: Online shopping is becoming more popular, and items to be shipped need a lot of packaging,
yet disposal of this packaging material can cause environmental issues. What can be done about this?
Language focus: Newton wrote his laws in Latin, and the second law uses the word ‘motus’, which literally
translates as motion. However, we interpret this to mean momentum. Newton makes no mention of mass
until the third law.

2 Simulation activity on impulse (force × time) (30–60 minutes)

Resources: Online simulation package for impulse (search for ‘simulation impulse lab’)
Practical guidance: In a typical simulation, for example of an astronaut firing a rocket, measure how the
final speed of the astronaut varies with the time of operation. Draw a graph of, for example, final velocity

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against impulse (F × t). Then ask students to determine the gradient of the graph. Ask them to explain,
1 ​​.
using theory, why the gradient of the graph is _____
​​ mass
Students can repeat the simulation with a different mass or force.
A number of manufacturers provide apparatus using a motion sensor to measure force acting and change
in velocity. You can use this as a demonstration or class activity. Or search the internet for a video of
the experiment.
Assessment ideas: Students show that they can identify the independent variable and the dependent
variable. They can show that they can use the formula for impulse and give the correct unit for impulse
(either Ns or kg m s−1).
Differentiation: More confident students can use the units of momentum and impulse to show that the two
quantities are dimensionally equivalent.
Students who need support may benefit from revising Newton’s laws before or during this topic.
Reflection: Ask students why they think a simulation is used in this activity, rather than a real experiment.

3 Producing a revision guide (30–60 minutes)

Resources: Writing and drawing materials
Description and purpose: As this sub-topic uses ideas from previous topics in the course, you can ask students
to produce a revision guide or poster designed for other students in the class to help with preparation for a
test. These are then passed to other members of the group. They peer mark them against a set of criteria you
have specified. These criteria can be developed as needed. They might include areas such as
• Is the language clear?
• Are important terms included and defined?
• Are there interesting examples/diagrams?
• Are there ways to help remember things (e.g., mnemonics)?
• Is all the required content included?
Alternatively, you can ask students (individually or in groups) to write a revision test for the rest of the class
based on the topics covered. This could be given to other students to carry out or review. One group can
write an annotated mark scheme for the test questions produced by another group.
Assessment ideas: You should be able to see from the questions and the answers whether any particular
topic needs to be revisited by the whole class.
Differentiation: Either of these activities will differentiate by outcome; more confident students will
include more complex concepts and make more links between topics covered so far.
Reflection: Ask students which areas of mechanics studied so far have been most challenging for them
and why.

Plenary ideas
1 Superheroes (5 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: In several films, a superhero stops cars or trains by standing in front of them and
letting them crash into him. The cars stop dead, and the hero does not move at all. Ask students: ‘What is
wrong with the physics of this?’
Assessment ideas: Students should offer explanations based on impulse, force, time and change
in momentum.

2 Key question (5 minutes)

Resources: A question that is quick to ask and answer but which can identify misconception
Description and purpose: A graph is drawn of force against time for an object. What is represented by the
area under this graph?

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A change in velocity
B distance travelled
C gain in kinetic energy
D impulse
Assessment ideas: D is correct. A and C confuse momentum with velocity or kinetic energy. B confuses the
graph with a velocity–time graph.

Homework ideas
1 Practice questions
Students can be allocated questions from the Coursebook Test your Understanding 1–10, or from the
Workbook Exercises 4.1 and 4.2.

2 Human adaptations
Students can research how the human body is adapted to reduce force from impacts. Examples include
synovial fluid in joints and the presence of soft tissue around some organs. A list of key words and phrases
can be provided that should be included.

4.3 Conservation of momentum

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Apply conservation of linear momentum. Students can apply the principle of conservation
of momentum to one-dimensional interactions.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Students may confuse the Errors will appear in Introduce the definition of
definition of momentum with the descriptive answers. momentum and the principle
principle of conservation of conservation of momentum
of momentum. separately and distinguish
between them.

Starter ideas
1 Introduction to momentum (10 minutes)
Resources: See description to decide which demonstrations you will perform—resources may include a light
ball and a heavy ball; skateboard(s)
Description and purpose: Throw a light ball and a heavy ball for a student to catch. The student should
realise that both mass and velocity affect the force that they feel. Two Students on skateboards can push
against each other. Or you could use collisions between objects on a friction-free or compensated surface
(such as a ramp) to illustrate that mass and velocity are important. If appropriate, show a video of collisions
or gun recoil. Search online for a video using ‘collisions and conservation laws’ or ‘gun recoil’. These can
stimulate considerable interest.

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Students can practise using the formula for momentum using worked examples, for example, by comparing
the momentum of a bullet, an adult walking and a moving car.

2 Newton’s cradle (5 minutes)

Resources: Newton’s cradle or a video of it working (search online for ‘Newton’s cradle video’)
Description and purpose: Demonstrate Newton’s cradle, or show a video of it. Ask for suggestions of how
it works. Accept any reasonable suggestion involving the mechanics that they have already learned, such as
transfer of kinetic energy. Use the demonstration to introduce momentum.

Main teaching ideas

1 Experiment to verify law of conservation of momentum (30–60 minutes)
Resources: Dynamics trolleys or air track; balances; two light gates or motion sensors or ticker timers and
tape; masses
Description and purpose: If possible, groups of Students investigate collisions. Start with collisions where
trolleys stick together. This proves that total momentum is conserved. Then investigate a collision where the
trolleys remain separate. If the trolleys have the same mass, then use additional masses or make one of them
different. Do not introduce the concept of elastic or inelastic collisions yet, but the results from this activity
can be retained for that sub-topic.
Alternatively, or in addition, Students can take values from a simulation. Search online using ‘simulation
collision-lab’. Or you can show a video. Search online for a video using ‘momentum lab’ or look in a suite of
simulations, for example ‘physics aviary’ or ‘PHET physics simulations’. Establish the law of conservation
of momentum.
Assessment ideas: Students should show that they can apply the law of conservation of momentum.
They should write down what happens to velocity and momentum in each collision that they study.
They should show their answers to each other. You can check their understanding that momentum is always
conserved in a collision with no external force.
Differentiation: Students who need support could be asked to think of examples in games and sports where
collisions between objects are a key part of the play.
Reflection: Ask students: Were the results as you expected?

2 Calculations on one-dimensional collisions (20–40 minutes depending on

number of questions)
Resources: Coursebook or Workbook
Description and purpose: Students should undertake a series of numerical questions to show their
understanding of the conservation of momentum. Show a worked example at the start, preferably a
different one to that in the Coursebook so that students can still make reference to this one additionally.
Insist that Students follow the same structure in their answers. Suitable examples include Coursebook
Chapter 4 Test Your Understanding question 11 and the Workbook Exercises 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3.
Reflection: Ask students to identify which type of calculation they find difficult and why.

Plenary ideas
1 Momentum word search (5–10 minutes)
Resources: Search online for ‘free word search maker’
Description and purpose: Give students a word search to complete in a strict time limit. They can do this in
pairs or individually. Apart from being fun, word searches improve vocabulary and spelling skills.

Homework ideas
1 Practice questions
If students have done the questions in Main Teaching Idea 2, then they can be allocated the Exam-style
questions that accompany this topic.

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2 Flipping the classroom

Flipping the classroom is where events take place in reverse order. In this case, if the topic of elastic and
inelastic collisions is to be covered next, then students can research this for themselves in advance.
Students can be allocated a section from the Coursebook from which to make notes. Tell them this will be
assessed next lesson.

4.4 Momentum and kinetic energy

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Work with elastic collisions, inelastic collisions Students can prove by calculation whether a
and explosions. collision is elastic or inelastic.
Students can do calculations on
separating objects.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Students sometimes refer to This may appear in written Forces and energy are often
‘kinetic force’. answers or be spoken about confused by students, especially
in class. when learning about them first.
Ask students what forces can
do (e.g. push, pull, stretch etc.).
Kinetic is not one of
these descriptions.
Students can sometimes think This may arise in discussions Ask, or remind, students for
that kinetic energy is a vector about elastic and a description of what energy
quantity because it is associated inelastic collisions. is. A quantity that must be
with motion and is calculated transferred in order to make
using velocity. something happen is a good
enough description. Then ask
for some familiar energy stores.
Ask whether chemical or thermal
are vectors. Then remind them
that all energy is equivalent, and
kinetic is just another store, so
it cannot be a vector. A more
mathematical answer is that,
while velocity can be positive or
negative, squaring it will always
give a positive result. Energy
cannot be negative.

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Starter ideas
1 Flipping the classroom (continued) (10 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: If students have done Homework Idea 2 (Flipping the classroom) from the
previous sub-topic, then they can be given a short quiz on elastic and inelastic collisions. Do not call it a
test. Read out 5–10 short answer questions and ask students to write down the answers. Then read out the
answers and the number of marks you are giving for each one. Students can mark their own.

2 Dropping two spheres (5 minutes)

Resources: Any small ball that will bounce, such as a table tennis ball; lump of soft modelling clay that can
be rolled into a ball the same size as the other one
Description and purpose: Drop the piece of modelling clay and the other ball onto the bench to demonstrate
a completely inelastic and a more elastic collision, but do not use these terms yet. Ask students: Why is there
such a difference? How can we apply ideas about energy and momentum to each? Students should note what
happens to the velocity and kinetic energy in each case. They should discuss the momentum change.
You will be able to determine whether they understand the difference between kinetic energy and
momentum before moving on.

Main teaching ideas

1 Elastic and inelastic collisions (30 minutes)
Resources: Results from Main teaching idea 1 from the previous sub-topic (Experiment to verify law of
conservation of momentum)
Practical guidance: Students can use their results from the earlier experiment or simulation. If they have not
done this, it can be carried out now.
Students should calculate the total kinetic energy of each system immediately before and immediately after
the event.
Assessment ideas: Students should write down what happens to velocity, momentum, kinetic energy
and total energy in each collision that they study. They should show their answers to each other.
You can check their understanding that kinetic energy is only conserved in an elastic collision.
But total energy and momentum are always conserved in a collision with no external force.
Differentiation: Ask more confident students to identify a trend in the relative speed of approach and
separation in these collisions. For students who need support, the pattern can be pointed out to them.
Reflection: How will you remember the methods for working out relative speeds of approach
and separation?
Language focus: Ask students where they have come across the word ‘elastic’ before.

2 Rules for collisions (20 minutes)

Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Give Students a set of statements that they have to classify as true or false about
various collisions. Ask them to explain their reasoning for any statements they think are false.
For which collision did they find it difficult to decide whether it was true or false?
Ask Students to write down as many collisions that they have seen or heard about. Ask them to decide
whether they are elastic, inelastic or even explosive (a gun or alpha particle emission).
Assessment ideas: The true–false statements and the reasoning can be covered as a class discussion, with
students volunteering their answers.
Differentiation: Ask them whether there is ever a completely elastic collision. Why do they find it difficult
to find such a collision? This question will differentiate by outcome.
Reflection: How will you remember the rules for each type of collision?

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Plenary ideas
1 A proof for elastic collisions (5–10 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Students can offer a proof that relative speed of approach and relative speed of
separation are equal for elastic collisions. Ideally, they should do this using algebra with m and v as the
variables, but it would be acceptable to use example numbers provided that two different sets of values
are used.
Assessment ideas: Assessment is part of the activity because the proof is only valid if it proves what
was asked.

Homework ideas
1 Language skills
Students can complete the language skills worksheets that accompany this topic.

2 Practice questions
Students can be allocated any of the Exam-style questions on this topic or questions from Worksheet 4.4.

4.5 Two-dimensional collisions

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Work with two-dimensional collisions. Students can carry out calculations where
momentum and velocity vectors are resolved
into two perpendicular components.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Students may find difficulty in Students will get stuck in The fact that ​sin θ​ divided
dividing trigonometric functions calculations or will make by ​cos θ ​is the same as ​tan θ​
when rearranging equations, mistakes where a sine needs to can be proven using first
especially if they have not be divided by a cosine. principles (search for ‘proof
proven trigonometric identities of trigonometric identities’ on
in mathematics. the internet), but it is probably
easier to just ask them to
remember this rule.

Starter ideas
1 Snooker (5 minutes)
Resources: Video of a snooker or pool shot where the cue ball strikes a coloured ball and the two diverge;
bowls (not tenpin bowling) or curling can be used as alternatives

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Description and purpose: Show the video clip. Emphasise that a moving ball is striking a stationary one and
they diverge with the first ball changing direction after the interaction. Ask questions such as ‘Is momentum
still conserved here?’ ‘Can we calculate the velocities of the balls after the collision?’ ‘Can we calculate
the angle at which they will separate?’ You may need to prompt students to recall that momentum is a
vector quantity.

2 Components of a vector revision (10 minutes)

Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Students resolved velocity into horizontal and vertical components in sub-topic 1.4,
Projectile motion. Here, the purpose is to quickly revise this, but use x and y directions instead because
all of the motion will be in the horizontal plane. Give some examples of velocity and then momentum at
various angles. A student volunteer could be asked to remind the class how to do these calculations.

Main teaching ideas

1 Calculation in two dimensions (20–30 minutes)
Resources: Worked examples, such as in the Coursebook (4.8 and 4.9).
Description and purpose: The purpose is to remove any mystery or perception of difficulty in these
calculations. Students can look at all the terms in the worked examples and panic that they will not be able
to do these. You will be rewarded with slow, methodical working here. Start with an example similar to
Worked Example 4.8, but use two balls of identical and given mass. Then give some practice questions based
on this method (Test Your Understanding 24 can be adapted, but with the masses given).
By the time you get to Worked Example 4.9, students should have gained confidence but may be unhappy
about using m in the calculation. If this is the case, allow them to let m = 1 to simplify matters.
Assessment ideas: Ask students to complete the Test Your Understanding questions 24–28.
Differentiation: This sub-topic is more challenging, and the questions will differentiate by outcome.
Reflection: Ask students to write down a summary of the steps they take in these longer calculations.
This may be useful when they come to revise this sub-topic later.
Language focus: Students should be able to read an equation in words. Those who need challenge at this
can try reading the penultimate line of Worked Example 4.9 that starts ‘Dividing side by side gives …’.

Plenary ideas
1 Explaining 2D collisions (5 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Students can volunteer to explain one of the concepts from the topic without
looking at the Coursebook or their notes.
Assessment ideas: Students can ask each other questions and discuss responses.

Homework ideas
1 Practice questions
If students have done the Test Your Understanding questions during the lesson, then they can be allocated
calculations from Workbook Exercise 4.5 or the Worksheets that accompany this sub-topic.

2 Crash investigators
Crash investigators that work after vehicle accidents use many methods to analyse their findings, and
momentum is one of them. Task students to research how this can be done and what sort of information
can be gained from it.

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CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS
• Angular momentum is covered in the next chapter, and its rule of conservation is similar to that for
linear momentum.
• The idea of angular momentum comes up again in Chapter 21 in the atomic context.
• Momentum change is used to explain gas pressure in Chapter 9.
• The idea that waves transfer momentum is covered in Chapter 14.
• Momentum comes up again in Chapter 22, and here is also considered in the context of a massless
particle having linear momentum.
• The link between conservation of linear momentum and the discovery of the neutrino is discussed
in Chapter 23.

Links to digital resources

• An internet search for ‘crash test’ can yield useful information, not only videos but force–time graphs that
can be used as stimulus material for calculation or discussion
• Search for ‘design of cycle helmets’ or similar to find out how forces are minimised in safety equipment.
• There are many online physics simulation sites, some of which need free registration; these can be found by
searching for terms such as ‘momentum lab’.
• Sports such as snooker, pool and billiards rely on collisions between balls of identical mass and between
these balls and the cushions (sides of the play area); other sports such as bowls and curling use similar
principles; many online videos show these sports with overhead cameras. Search for example for ‘snooker
overhead view’.
• One of the most spectacular collisions ever seen was that of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and the planet Jupiter
in July 1994; search for ‘Shoemaker Levy impact’ to get pictures and data to use as stimulus material.

Differentiation
Stretch and challenge
• Ask students questions such as ‘when a heavy rock falls into soft sand, it comes to a stop without bouncing;
how is momentum conserved here?’
• Ask students to prove that explosions, such as those in gun recoils, cannot be elastic events.

Support
• Ask students to think of examples of objects with high momentum: some with high velocity and low mass,
others with high mass and low velocity.
• Ask students to explain, in words, why the occupants of a moving car do not feel any effect from a collision
with an insect.

Assessment ideas
• Students can answer the Test Your Understanding questions at the end of each sub-chapter or can answer
specific questions from Exercises 4.1–4.5 in the Workbook. The Exam-style questions and the Worksheets
for this topic can also be allocated.
• Students can work in groups to produce mind maps (spider diagrams) of the concepts in this topic.
• Students can work individually to plan how they would teach any part of this topic to the next year’s class.
They can either volunteer to deliver this to their own class or share their lesson plan.

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5 Rigid body
mechanics
Teaching plan
Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources
number of
learning
hours
5.1 Kinematics 1 Students learn how to apply the Coursebook
of rotational concepts from linear kinematics to
motion rotational motion. Section 5.1.
Test your understanding 1–5.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 5.1
Teacher’s resource
Main teaching Ideas 1 and 2
Rigid body mechanics
worksheets

5.2 Rotational 2 Students learn about torque, Coursebook

equilibrium moment of inertia and how to
and Newton’s apply Newton’s second law to Section 5.2.
second law rotational motion. Test your understanding 6–17.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 5.2
Teacher’s resource
Main teaching Idea 1

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Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources

number of
learning
hours
5.3 Angular 2 Students learn to extend their Coursebook
momentum ideas about linear momentum to
angular momentum. Section 5.3.
Test your understanding 18–26.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 5.3
Teacher’s resource
Starter Idea 1
Main teaching Idea 1
End of chapter test 7 Rigid
body mechanics

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

• Students should have covered, and have calculated these in units of Ncm or Nm;
an understanding of, the linear kinematics they may also have studied the principle
concepts and the kinematics equations in of moments.
Chapter 1. • Students should be secure in understanding
• Students should have an understanding the terms and symbols used in describing
of impulse, change in momentum and circular motion.
conservation of linear momentum from • Students should recall the radian as a
Chapter 4. unit of angular measure from the circular
• Students may have met moments as motion topic.
the turning effects of forces before and

Syllabus overview
• This chapter starts by extending the equations of motion in a straight line under zero or uniform
acceleration to rotational motion.
• Students also learn to apply Newton’s second law to rotational motion and also apply their understanding
of work, power and kinetic energy in this context.
• Ideas from linear momentum, impulse and conservation of momentum are also developed to relate to
rotational motion.

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5.1 Kinematics of rotational motion

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Apply the equations of kinematics to For each of the linear kinematics equations,
rotational motion. students should be able to write an equivalent
rotational equation.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Many students confuse This may cause errors in Students can remember which
angular acceleration with calculations with the wrong is which by linking the adjective
centripetal acceleration. equation being used. describing the acceleration with
other quantities. So, angular
acceleration is a change in
angular velocity and centripetal
acceleration is caused by the
centripetal force.

Starter ideas
1 Rotation concepts (5–10 minutes)
Resources: Any wheel or rotating disc
Description and purpose: Show the wheel spinning and ask if all points on the wheel are rotating at the same
speed. If necessary, make two marks on the wheel at different distances from the centre. The answer is both
yes and no. Points further from the centre have to travel further in each rotation, so their linear speed is
greater, yet they are making the same number of revolutions per minute as points closer to the centre.

Main teaching ideas

1 The radian (20 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Many students feel comfortable with degrees as the unit of angular measure and
lose confidence when they meet radians. This can be because there are not a whole number of radians in a
circle. Start by asking why a circle is divided into 360 equal parts. Where did this figure of 360 come from?
The answer is historical, but the choice of 360 is completely arbitrary. For example, why not have a metric
circle with 1000 equal parts? Explain that the grad divides the circle into 400 equal parts.
The radian is a more natural unit of angular measure because it is based on the circle itself. Show how a
radian is constructed and allow students to work out for themselves that there are 2π radians in a circle.
Explain why the π symbol is often left in the figure – for accuracy, because π is an irrational number.
Students can make their own protractors calibrated in radians.
Assessment ideas: Students can be given angles to express in terms of radians and π, and then to convert
these to numerical answers rounded to three significant figures.
Differentiation: Some students will accept the radian more readily than others, but as long as they can all
do calculations with it, then that is acceptable.
Reflection: Students who are less comfortable with radians than degrees can be asked to think why this is.
Language focus: The word ‘radian’ is derived from the Latin word radius which means the spoke of a wheel.

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2 Angular acceleration (20 minutes)

Resources: The same wheel or rotating disc as used in the Rotation concepts starter
Practical guidance: Ask students some basic questions about linear motion, such as the meanings of
the terms ‘speed’, ‘velocity’, ‘displacement’ and ‘acceleration’. Then link these to rotational motion.
For example, spin the wheel slowly at first and then faster and slower. Ask which quantities have changed.
Safety: Students should not make contact with wheels or discs that are rotating; long hair and loose clothing
should be tied back.
Assessment ideas: Ask students to think of a method to measure the angular velocity of a spinning disc.
Once they have done this, they can then devise a method to work out angular acceleration. Ask students to
convert revolutions per minute (r.p.m.) to radians per second.
Differentiation: More confident students should come up with the idea of a strobe light or a fiducial
marker in order to measure angular speed. Less confident students could be told of these methods.
Reflection: Ask students to find out how a vehicle speedometer or rev counter works.
Language focus: Make sure that the terms ‘angular acceleration’ and ‘centripetal acceleration’ are not confused.

Plenary ideas
1 Engine speeds (10 minutes)
Resources: A selection of engine speed information
Description and purpose: Start by giving students some vehicle engine speeds in r.p.m. These can be car
engines, marine engines or aircraft engines. Get them to convert these to rad s−1. Then give some engine
acceleration figures, such as 1000 r.p.m. to 15 000 r.p.m. in 0.5 s and get them to work this out as rad s−2.
Assessment ideas: Students can compare their answers and also compare their methods.

Homework ideas
1 Practice questions
Ask students to do the Test Your Understanding questions 1–5 from the Coursebook.

2 Rotation in daily life

Students can be given a list of rotating objects for which to find the angular velocity in rad s−1. These could
include the Earth spinning on its axis, a mechanical hard disc drive, a DJ’s turntable, a bicycle wheel at
typical riding speed, and so on.

5.2 Rotational equilibrium and Newton’s second law

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Understand and apply the concept of torque. Students can calculate torque and give its unit.
Apply the conditions of rotational and Students can describe the conditions needed for
translational equilibrium. rotational or translational equilibrium.
Solve problems with rotational dynamics. Students can apply concepts such as torque,
moment of inertia and rotational kinetic energy
to carry out calculations.

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Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
If something is in equilibrium, This may arise during discussions Remind students about
then it must be at rest. about equilibrium. Newton’s first and second laws.
What can they say about an
object where the resultant force
(or torque) is zero?

Starter ideas
1 Moving down a ramp (5 minutes)
Resources: Adjustable ramp; heavy ball; free running trolley or toy car
Description and purpose: Ask for predictions for how the time taken to move down the ramp will compare
for each object. Ask students to explain how to calculate the component of the acceleration of free fall that
acts in the direction of the ramp. Point out that this is the same for both objects. Ask students to relate the
motion of the trolley to Newton’s second law and use this to lead into moment of inertia.

2 Introducing torque (5 minutes)

Resources: Metre ruler or wooden pole such as that used for opening high windows; masses that can be
attached to these
Description and purpose: Ask for student volunteers to hold the metre ruler or pole at one end and to hold
it out horizontally in front of them. Now ask them to rotate it so that the other end moves up by about 45°.
Repeat this with masses added. How does the effort compare with and without masses? Note that if a metre
ruler is used, it should be held so the calibrated surface is vertical to reduce sag when masses are attached.

Main teaching ideas

1 Titan’s turntable (10–20 minutes)
Resources: Video of Titan’s turntable strongman event (search online for ‘Titan’s turntable video’)
Description and purpose: Students watch the video and try to estimate the torque required to start the
turntable moving from rest or to keep it moving. This is a challenging activity, so guidance or scaffolding
can be provided if needed. Students can be told that the mass of the locomotive is 30 tonnes, and they can
estimate the distance from the centre of the turntable to the push-bar. They can also calculate the average
angular velocity from the time taken to rotate the turntable through 180° or π rad.
Assessment ideas: The activity requires understanding of torque and moment of inertia and an application
of Newton’s second law. The aim is not to get to a correct answer but to apply the concepts and reach a
reasonable quantitative conclusion.
Differentiation: The level of support that each student requires will vary. Students who need support could
be asked to estimate the kinetic energy of the rotating system using Worked Example 5.7 as guidance.
Reflection: What parts of the human body require torque in order to move?

2 Bicycle brake design (20–30 minutes)

Resources: Bicycle wheel and tyre; internet access
Practical guidance: Traditional bicycle brakes use a caliper to press rubber blocks onto the outer rim of the
wheel. Some modern bicycles have disc brakes similar to those on motor vehicles where a caliper is used to
press pads onto a small disc located at the centre of the wheel. Ask students to compare these designs in
terms of rotational dynamics.
Safety: Students should not touch a rotating bicycle wheel as fingers can get caught in spokes or friction
burns can result from rubbing against the tyre; long hair and loose clothing should be tied back.
Assessment ideas: Students should have made estimates of the radius at which each braking system works
and the rotational kinetic energy and angular deceleration can be estimated.

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Differentiation: The activity will differentiate by outcome, but students can work in groups to support
each other.
Reflection: What are the consequences if braking occurs such that the bicycle tyre slips while the bicycle is
still moving?

Plenary ideas
1 Acrostic poems (5–10 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Students can be given key words from which to create acrostic poems. For example,
if the word ‘torque’ is used, then the poem has six lines, the first starting with T, the second starting with O
and so on. The poem should be related to the concept of the key word.
Assessment ideas: Students can read each other’s poems and confirm that a the rules have been followed
and b the content is related to the key word.

Homework ideas
1 Language skills
Students can complete the Language Skills worksheets that accompany this sub-topic.

2 Practice questions
Students can be allocated the Test Your Understanding questions 6–17 from the Coursebook or questions
from Workbook Exercise 5.2.

5.3 Angular momentum

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Apply the law of conservation of Students can carry out calculations on conservation
angular momentum. of angular momentum.

Starter ideas
1 The gyroscope (10 minutes)
Resources: Gyroscope or toy spinning top
Description and purpose: Show students a spinning gyroscope or spinning top in operation and balanced
upright. Ask for suggestions as to how this works. If a gyroscope is used, allow students to attempt to rotate
it about an axis other than its axis of rotation while spinning. Students can be told some of the applications
of gyroscopes in, for example, navigational systems. Use the activity to lead into angular momentum.

2 The clutch (5 minutes)

Resources: Video of a manual transmission clutch mechanism working (search for ‘how does a clutch
work video’)
Description and purpose: Some students may be learning to drive a car or motorcycle or may have already
learned. Vehicles that have manual transmission (so not automatic cars or ‘twist-and-go’ motorcycles or
electric vehicles) have a clutch. This is used to separate the rotation of the engine from the rotation of the
wheels for starting, stopping and changing gears. Students can be shown a video or series of diagrams on
how a clutch works, which uses the concept of conservation of angular momentum.

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Main teaching ideas

1 The figure skater (10–20 minutes)
Resources: Video of a figure skater doing a one-foot spin (search online for ‘one foot spin skating video’)
Practical guidance: Students may be interested to know that some skaters can reach angular velocities of
over 300 r.p.m. by starting with one leg and both arms outstretched and then pulling them in close their axis
of rotation. Ask students to write a paragraph explaining how this works to cause angular acceleration.
Assessment ideas: Students can use the appropriate key terms correctly in their explanation.
Students could use one of the videos to estimate the angular acceleration that results
Differentiation: Students who need support can be given a list of key words to include or even a
writing frame.
Reflection: What skills are important when spinning at this speed and immediately after spinning?

Plenary ideas
1 Pelmanism (5–10 minutes or more depending on number of cards used)
Resources: Plain white cards or pieces of thick paper; scissors
Description and purpose: Students work in pairs to produce a set of cards with key words from the topic
written on them. One key word should be written on each card, and these should occur in pairs.
For example, the word ‘torque’ should appear on two cards. The cards are placed face down, and each
student takes turns to turn over two cards. If the two are matching, these cards are removed. All cards are
turned face down again after each turn but left in the same position. The skill is in remembering where each
key word is located. The winner is the one who removes the most pairs.

2 Questions for answers (5–10 minutes or more depending on number of

questions used)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Students work in pairs. Each one writes a series of key words or phrases, and these
are swapped. Then the other student writes the questions to which the key words or phrases are the answers.
These are swapped back again for discussion.
Assessment ideas: Assessment is part of the activity as the writer of the key word must have some idea of
what question to accept as valid.

Homework ideas
1 Practice questions
Students can be allocated the Exam-style questions or questions from the Worksheets that accompany this
sub-topic.

2 Explaining the concept

Students produce a series of bullet pointed instructions telling someone how to explain, or how to teach,
conservation of angular momentum.

CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS
• The concept of angular momentum is used in the study of the Bohr model of the atom,
which is covered in Chapter 21.

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Links to digital resources

• An internet search for ‘angular velocity and angular acceleration’ can produce results containing
explanations, videos and even practice calculations.
• Search for ‘why does a circle have 360 degrees’ to find the historical reason for that.
• Search for ‘world record time for Titan’s turntable’ to get facts and figures to be used in calculations.
• Search for ‘world record figure skating spin’ on a video platform to find some whose final angular velocity
is around 300 r.p.m.

Differentiation
Stretch and challenge
Students find this to be more of the more challenging topics, so only offer further challenge if they are very
secure with all the topic content. It may be sufficient to allow students to explain the concepts to each other.

Support
• Students may need more support than usual in this topic, especially in the conservation of angular
momentum parts and with the concept of moment of inertia. Progress slowly through worked examples
and reduce scaffolding slowly.
• Provide equations and even rearranged versions of equations to enable students to just substitute values.
This will increase their confidence before this level of support is reduced.

Assessment ideas
• Students can answer the Test Your Understanding questions at the end of each sub-chapter or can attempt
the Worksheets or Exam-style questions.
• Students can work in groups to produce a poster summarising some teacher-allocated concepts from the
topic. Clear assessment criteria for the posters should be provided in advance.
• Students can work in pairs and be asked to plan their own mini-lesson to explain or demonstrate one of the
more concepts that they found more challenging, then deliver this to the rest of the class.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

6 Relativity
Teaching plan
Sub-chapter Approximate Learning content Resources
number of
learning
hours
6.1 Reference 1 Students learn about frames of Coursebook
frames and reference, Galilean relativity and
Lorentz the postulates of special relativity Section 6.1.
transformations and use Lorentz equations Test your understanding 1–15.
between two reference frames.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 6.1
Teacher’s resource
Main teaching Ideas 1 and 2
Relativity worksheets

6.2 Effects of 2 Students learn about time dilation Coursebook

relativity and length contraction at
relativistic speeds. Section 6.2.
Test your understanding 16–33.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 6.2
Teacher’s resource
Main teaching Ideas 1 and 2

6.3 Spacetime 2 Students learn to draw and Coursebook

diagrams interpret spacetime diagrams for
length contraction, time dilation Section 6.3.
and simultaneous events. Test your understanding 34–42.
Exam-style questions
Workbook
Exercise 6.3
Teacher’s resource
Main teaching Idea 1
End of chapter test 8
Relativity

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BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

• Students should be familiar with vector • Students should have some familiarity
addition, especially for velocities, from with frames of reference from daily life, for
Chapter 1. example when travelling in a train or bus.
• Students should be aware that light travels • Students should have heard of Einstein and
very much faster than familiar objects, and Galileo, possibly associating the latter with
they may even have met the speed of light as experiments on free fall that were real, but
3.0 x 108 ms–1. according to legend, they happened at the
• Students may have heard of photons, but leaning tower of Pisa.
it is not likely that they will know much
about them.

Syllabus overview
• This chapter covers the concept of reference frames and how some quantities appear to change when viewed
from different reference frames.
• Early ideas on relativity are described, and the Galilean transformations are discussed.
• Lorentz transformations and the postulates of special relativity are explained.
• Students are introduced to some of the effects of relativity, such as time dilation and length contraction and
examine experimental evidence of these.
• Spacetime diagrams are included, and students get practice drawing and interpreting these.

6.1 Reference frames and Lorentz transformations

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Understand the meaning and use of the terms Students can describe what is meant by
‘reference frame’ and ‘inertial reference frame’. reference frame and state the conditions
necessary for this to be described as an inertial
Explore Galilean relativity and its transformation reference frame.
equations for position, time and velocity.
Students can understand and apply the ideas of
Understand Einstein’s two postulates of Galilean relativity.
special relativity.
Students can state, and describe some
See how the postulates of special relativity lead consequences of, the two postulates of
to the Lorentz transformation equations for special relativity.
the same event from the point of view of two
reference frames. Students can use the Lorentz equations between
frames S and S’ and from S’ to S.
Use the Lorentz transformation for relativistic
velocity addition. Students can use the equations for the addition
of velocities that are close to the speed of light.

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Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Relativity is beyond the When students hear the term Explain what the word
understanding of students in my ‘relativity’, they may associate ‘relative’ means when making
age group. this with very complex comparisons. Introduce
mathematics and feel that reference frames in ways such as
they will struggle, or fail, to Starter Idea 1.
understand it.

Starter ideas
1 Describing motion (10 minutes)
Resources: Tennis ball
Description and purpose: Set the tennis ball on the bench so it does not roll. Ask students to use what
mechanics they have studied so far to describe its condition. Some may say ‘at rest’ and some may say ‘in
equilibrium’. Point out that the Earth is rotating (it is useful to find out the linear velocity at your latitude –
search online for ‘speed of Earth rotation by latitude’) and so the tennis ball is moving at over 1000 km/h
relative to the centre of the Earth. Emphasise the word relative. Next, point out that the Earth is moving
relative to the Sun at around 30 km/s and that the Sun is moving relative to the Milky Way galaxy at around
220 km/s. Hence, the answer to the original question depends where you view the tennis ball from.

2 Galileo’s ship (10 minutes)

Resources: A transcript or description of Galileo’s ship thought experiment (search online for ‘Galileo’s ship
thought experiment’ or ‘Salvaticus ship’).
Description and purpose: Remind students that the Earth is orbiting the Sun at around 30 km/s. Ask if they
are aware of moving at this speed. Ask why not. Then explain that Galileo did a thought experiment to
attempt to argue against the geocentric universe theorists. Briefly explain that he imagined being enclosed
in a cabin inside a ship. It would not be possible to tell whether the ship was moving at a constant speed
relative to the water or was at rest, provided there was no acceleration or other irregular movement.
Use the concept to introduce both thought experiments and Main Teaching Idea 1.

Main teaching ideas

1 Galileo’s ship (20 minutes)
Resources: See Starter Idea 2; internet access (optional)
Description and purpose: Briefly explain what a thought experiment is and how at least one more of these
will be covered in the course. This is one of the oldest but is still valid.
If possible, allow students to do their own research on this experiment. Discuss why Galileo included
butterflies, a bowl of swimming fish and a device producing drops of water in his experiment.
Ask: What did each of these show?
Assessment ideas: Students should be able to explain what would happen, for example, to the movement of
the drops of water when the ship was either at rest or moving in a straight line at constant speed.
Differentiation: More confident students should be able to explain what would happen to the drops of
water if the ship was accelerating. Students who need support should be able to relate to Galileo’s thought
experiment from their own experience of being a passenger in a vehicle moving at constant speed.
Reflection: Egocentrism is the restricted way that we view our surroundings only from our own
perspective; could this have been the reason why Galileo needed to develop these ideas to counter the
geocentric theories?
Language focus: The word ‘frame’ has several meanings in English. One of these is the usually rectangular
surround of a picture for display purposes. The frame in a relativity context can be thought of as the
imaginary boundary within which we make measurements and observations. Another moving observer is
outside this boundary.

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2 Adding velocities (20–30 minutes)

Resources: n/a
Practical guidance: Students carry out their own thought experiment. Start by asking them to imagine sitting
on a bus, train or aeroplane that is travelling at a constant speed in a straight line. This is an inertial frame
of reference.
1 They then imagine walking down the aisle toward the front of the vehicle. Ask them to estimate a a
typical speed of their chosen vehicle in ms–1 and b a typical walking speed in ms–1.
What speed are they walking at? Is this the answer to b or is it the sum of a and b? What speed does
a stationary observer see you walking at? Is this observer actually stationary? Apply the same ideas
walking back again toward the rear of the vehicle.
2 Next, still on the moving vehicle, stand still and drop an object to the floor. Sketch the path that a you
see the object falling and b a stationary observer sees the object falling.
3 Finally, stand still and shine a flashlight (torch) a toward the front of the vehicle and b toward the
rear of the vehicle. Write an equation for the speed that a you see the light travel away from you, b the
stationary observer beside your position sees the light move, c when shone forward and d when shone
backward; use v for the vehicle speed and c for the speed of light.
Assessment ideas: Students should be able to provide acceptable answers for parts 1 and 2 of the activity.
Depending whether they have already covered any of the concepts of relativity, their answers to part 3 may
vary. For example, they may suggest c + v for part c, which is acceptable prior to knowing otherwise.
Differentiation: The activity will differentiate by outcome. Students who need support may need guidance
with part 2 b.
Reflection: The laws of physics (like Newton’s laws) that we have studied previously apply to objects
(like tennis balls) but not always to particles (like photons). What might some differences be between objects
and particles?
Language focus: The word ‘relative’, from which relativity is derived, means compared to something else.
Here, we are comparing observations and measurements taken from two different reference frames.

Plenary ideas
1 What did you learn? (10 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Students work in pairs. Each student makes a summary list in brief note form of
what they learned in the lesson. Impose a short time limit for this. These lists are swapped. Each student
then learns the other’s list. Impose another short time limit for this. The lists are then swapped back again.
The teacher then asks for volunteers to share one point from their partner’s list, but this must be done from
memory. Each point can be discussed by the class.
Assessment ideas: This is a formative assessment technique that will allow both peer and teacher assessment.

Homework ideas
1 Practice questions
Allocate students Test Your Understanding questions 1–15 from the Coursebook.

2 Relativity in daily life

Students can research some of the everyday processes that rely on relativity. These include why the
Sun shines, why light exists, why gold appears yellow and why mercury is liquid at room temperature.
They should be writing in their own words and only using the level of source material that they understand.

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6.2 Effects of relativity

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Solve problems involving time dilation and Students can use the equations in this sub-topic
length contraction. to do calculations on time dilation and
length contraction.
Understand how muon decay experiments
provide evidence for time dilation and Students can explain how scientists used
length contraction. the phenomenon of muon decay to prove
the occurrence of time dilation and length
Use the terms ‘proper time interval’ and contraction at relativistic speeds.
‘proper length’.
Students can define these terms in the context
of a reference frame.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
Students may associate time This may arise in discussion Point out that we are all
dilation with the sort of ‘time about the topic of time dilation. travelling in time, because time
travel’ that they have met in is one of the dimensions of the
science fiction. universe. In simple terms, we
are moving forward in time but
at the same rate as each other
because we are in the same
reference frame.
Some students may confuse Students may ask, but you In the twin paradox, the
the frames of reference in cannot tell which observer is travelling twin must accelerate
time dilation and make a false moving relative to the other. relative to the stationary one.
conclusion such as that in the This makes the traveller’s frame
‘twin paradox’. The apparent of reference temporarily not
paradox arises because it can inertial, so that defines him or
be argued that when one person her as moving.
moves relative to another, then This can also be resolved if
either could be argued to be an absolute frame of reference
stationary relative to the other. is introduced.
Then both of them cannot have
This can also be resolved in
a clock running faster than
the next sub-topic on
the other.
spacetime diagrams.

Starter ideas
1 Time dilation (10–15 minutes)
Resources: Video explaining time dilation (search a video platform for ‘time dilation explained’)
Description and purpose: Show a video pitched at a suitable level for students at this stage—there are many
of these. Ensure that students have covered and understood Lorentz transforms before viewing. Check that
the video focuses on relativistic speeds and not gravitational effects as these are not covered in the course.

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Main teaching ideas

1 Consequences and evidence for time dilation (30 minutes)
Resources: Reference to Coursebook Science in Context box on GPS systems and section on muon decay
and Figure 6.17
Description and purpose: After you have introduced students to the concept of time dilation, explain the
consequence in terms of biological aging. They could travel in a spaceship at close to the speed of light,
even briefly, and return to find their classmates had aged by about 50 years in what, to the traveller, seems
like a few seconds! You can tell students about other consequences, such as GPS correction.
As time dilation seems counterintuitive, scientists looked for evidence of this. One piece of evidence is that
of muon decay, explained in the Coursebook.
Assessment ideas: Students could do some hypothetical calculations on biological aging such as the
scenario given previously, or verify the GPS calculations in the Coursebook.
Differentiation: For students who need support with this concept, stop the muon decay explanation from
the Coursebook before it extends into length contraction.
Reflection: Some philosophers say that time travel (as in science fiction) will never be possible in the future.
They claim evidence for this is that we never meet time travelling humans from the future. Is this
assumption valid?

2 Length contraction (20 minutes)

Resources: Reference to Coursebook section on muon decay, Figures 6.17 and 6.18
Practical guidance: After learning about how muon decay gives evidence for time dilation, extend this to
cover length contraction. Make sure to emphasise that the frame of reference has changed from the one
used to explain time dilation, which was a stationary scientist beside the detector. Now, the reference frame
is for a hypothetical ‘passenger’ travelling on the muon. As this cannot be done, muon decay only gives
indirect evidence for length contraction.
Assessment ideas: Students should be able to verify the calculation in the Coursebook that accompanies
Figure 6.18. They should also be able to explain the difference between direct and indirect evidence from
this example.
Differentiation: These are challenging concepts because they are counterintuitive. Students who
need support with length contraction should be reminded of the basic equations of motion such as
distance = speed x time as this will be within their ‘comfort zone’ and approach from that point.
Reflection: Will length contraction help possible future long distance space travel, and if so, how?
Language focus: The word ‘dilation’ is also used in the context of the pupil in the eye. It means to get
bigger or wider. Contraction is also used in the context of muscles, meaning to get shorter. Linking the
meanings of words to familiar phenomena can help remove some perceived challenge.

Plenary ideas
1 Relativity crossword (5–10 minutes depending on number of clues)
Resources: Teacher-prepared crossword where the words and clues are taken from this topic
(search online for ‘free crossword maker’)
Description and purpose: Students work individually or in pairs to complete the crossword in a strict
time-limit. This can be turned into a competition where the winner is the first to complete it correctly.
Assessment ideas: Students can either do the crossword from memory or with reference to the Coursebook.

Homework ideas
1 Practice questions
Students can be allocated the Exam-style questions or the Test Your Understanding questions that
accompany this topic.

2 Further practice
Questions on the Worksheets and in Workbook Exercise 6.2 will give further practice in this topic.

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6.3 Spacetime diagrams

LEARNING PLAN

Learning objectives Success criteria

Understand that the spacetime interval Students can describe the spacetime interval
between two events is an invariant quantity. between two events as a straight line of
fixed length.
Use spacetime diagrams (sometimes called
Minkowski diagrams). Students can sketch and interpret spacetime
diagrams for phenomena such as time dilation
Explore relativistic simultaneity. and length contraction.
Students understand that two events seen
as simultaneous in one reference frame may
not be seen as simultaneous from another
reference frame.

Common misconceptions
Misconception How to identify How to overcome
This is a challenging topic, Students will lack confidence Approach the topic as if it
and many students may find and initially make errors when were quite basic and proceed
difficulties with different aspects answering questions. more slowly than usual, ensuring
of this. each concept is secure before
moving on.

Starter ideas
1 Distance–time graph revision (5 minutes)
Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: The purpose is to revise distance-time or displacement-time graphs that were
covered in Chapter 1. Ask what the graph actually shows and what the gradient represents. Ensure students
are very secure with this before moving on to spacetime diagrams.

2 Describing where you were and where you will be (5 minutes)

Resources: n/a
Description and purpose: Ask students to choose a place that they were earlier that day. Ask: How would you
describe where and when you were there? What information do you need to describe this accurately?
Then ask them to choose some known event in the future, such as being at home in the evening or another
lesson. Again, ask: What information do you need to describe where you will be and when? Use this to lead
into spacetime diagrams.

Main teaching ideas

1 Introducing the spacetime diagram (20 minutes)
Resources: Examples of spacetime diagrams such as those in the Coursebook Figures 6.22, 6.23
Description and purpose: Do not mention the term ‘spacetime diagram’ yet. Ask students what would be
shown on a distance–time graph if the axes were reversed so that time was on the y-axis.
Ask: How would the gradients appear for a faster and slower moving object on the same graph?

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Next, remind students that relativity deals with objects moving close to the speed of light, c.
Ask what we get from the product of speed and time.
Hence, if the vertical axis of our graph now becomes ct rather than just t, we have the same units on both
axes. The consequence of this is that the gradient has no units.
Ask: What would the gradient of a line showing an object moving at the speed of light be?
Draw this line (at 45° to the axes). Explain that the line showing the movement of an object is called
a worldline.
Because the graph shows the position of an object at any time, it is called a spacetime diagram.
Draw another line with a steeper gradient. Ask what this represents.
Next, draw a line with a smaller gradient that the first line. Ask why this is not possible.
Assessment ideas: Students should be able to answer the questions set out previously. If not, then remediate
using the familiar distance-time graph again.
Differentiation: If taken slowly, then most students should be able to answer the questions in the preceding
introduction. More confident students may see that the worldline of a moving observer becomes the ct axis
for that observer.
Language focus: This type of spacetime diagram is also called a Minkowski diagram, after Hermann
Minkowski, who developed it. His name is pronounced ‘ming-koff-skee’.

Plenary ideas
1 Explaining the worked examples (3 minutes or more)
Resources: Coursebook Worked Examples 6.12–6.16.
Description and purpose: Choose worked examples relevant to what has been covered in the lesson.
Ask a student (or pair of students) to explain the working in a chosen example as if teaching it to the class.
Assessment ideas: It will be obvious whether the volunteer understands the working or is merely reading
what is already there.

Homework ideas
1 Language Skills
Students can complete the Language Skills worksheet that accompanies this topic.

2 Practice questions
Allocate students Test Your Understanding questions (34–42) from the Coursebook or questions from
Exercise 6.3 in the Workbook.

CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS
• One of the consequences of relativity is that mass is another energy store and this is revisited in
Chapter 23.
• The fact that the speed of light is the upper limit for any moving object disproves Newton’s ideas
that an unbalanced force will cause any object to continue to increase speed for ever.

Links to digital resources

• There are many useful instructional videos on relativity; search a video platform for ‘Galilean relativity
explained’ for example.
• Search online for ‘Galileo’s ship thought experiment’ to find English language transcripts of his writing.
• Search for ‘relativity in daily life’ to find ways that relativity affects us and how its effects are noticed in
familiar circumstances.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

Differentiation
Stretch and challenge
• Students can research other examples of thought experiments.
• Students could find out about other effects of relativity, such as the effect of gravitational fields on time and
the mass increase of objects at relativistic speeds.

Support
Students can make their own instructional videos about this topic and share with each other.

Assessment ideas
• Students can answer the Exam-style questions, the Workbook Exercises 6.1–6.3 and the Test Your
Understanding questions in the Coursebook.
• Students can work in groups of three or four to produce mind maps linking the key concepts in this topic.
• Students can create their own crosswords (search online for ‘free crossword maker’) and swap these among
each other.
• Students can write an end-of-topic test with mark scheme covering the material in this chapter. They could
attempt each other’s tests and then provide feedback to the setter and the ‘candidate’.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 1.1

Name Date

1.1 Kinematics 1
1 Match each description to the correct term.

Description Term

a The change in position vector. instantaneous acceleration

b The rate of change of displacement. position vector

c The rate of change of velocity. average speed

d The magnitude of velocity vector. instantaneous speed

e The displacement experienced by a body displacement

over the time.

f The distance covered by a body over distance

the time.
g A straight line vector that connects the
point of reference to the location of a body instantaneous velocity
at a certain time.
h The actual length of the trajectory travelled average velocity
by a body.

2 Answer these questions using one or two sentences.

a What does ‘motion is relative’ mean in physics?

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 1.1

b What is kinematics?

3 Match the quantity to the correct part of a graph that represents that quantity.

Quantity Represented by …

a instantaneous acceleration the area under a velocity against time graph.

b instantaneous velocity area under an acceleration against time graph.

c displacement of a moving body the gradient of a velocity against time graph.

d the change of velocity of a moving body the gradient of a position against time graph.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 1.2

Name Date

1.2 Kinematics 2
Occasionally, everyday words take on new scientific meanings. Translate these daily life definitions into
scientific words and scientific definitions.
Word bank:
acceleration velocity position vector displacement distance kinematics

Everyday definition Key term Scientific definition

Speeding up or slowing down

How fast an object moves
in a certain direction

A study about motion

The location of a body

The total movement of a body without

considering the direction

How far a body is displaced in motion

Give some examples based on your definitions.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 1.3

Name Date

1.3 Kinematics 3
It is important to understand the correct units for a quantity so that you can answer exam questions
correctly. Write down the correct quantities that are measured in these units.

Units (SI or non-SI base units) Correct quantities

km, cm, m

m s−1, km h−1

m s−2

s, h

It is also important to understand the type of quantities in this kinematics chapter: is the quantity scalar or
vector? State whether each of these quantities is a scalar or a vector. The first one has been done for you.

Quantity Scalar or vector?

average speed scalar

average velocity

acceleration

velocity

distance

displacement

speed

position

average acceleration

time

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 2.1

Name ____________________________________ Date __________

2.1 Forces and Newton’s laws 1

Match the question with its correct answer.

Question Answer

The magnitude and direction of all the forces

1 What is the unit of force? acting on a chosen body.

The force acting on an object in a fluid due to

2 What is weight? a difference in pressure at the top and bottom
of the body.
A force that arises as a result of the tendency of
3 What is tension? motion between two rough surfaces that come
into contact each other.

The gravitational force between the mass of a

4 What is a normal contact force? planet and a body.

The force acting against the motion of an object

5 What is the buoyant force? that is moving through a fluid (gas or liquid).

The tendency of a massive body to remain in its

6 What is friction? current state of motion.

7 What is drag? Internal and external forces.

The force that arises when two bodies are in

8 What does a free body force diagram show? contact directed normally to the surface creating
the force.

9 What are the two types of force, based on The force that arises in a body when it is stretched
the system and environment? or compressed.

10 What is inertia? The newton.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 2.2

Name ____________________________________ Date __________

2.2 Forces and Newton’s laws 2

Complete the following sentences by filling the gaps to review key concepts about Newton’s laws
of motion. You may need to use more than one word to complete some sentences.
1 An object has the tendency to maintain its initial condition. If initially the object is at rest,
then the object will have the tendency to maintain its resting condition if there is no
_______________ acting on the object.
2 Newton’s first law is also called the law of _______________.
3 If body A exerts a force on body B, then body B will exert an _______________ force
on body A.
4 For two forces to be stated as a pair of action and reaction forces, they must satisfy
four conditions:
a The magnitude of these two forces must be _______________.
b They must act in _______________ directions.
c They must act on _______________ bodies.
d They must be _______________ type of force.
5 Equilibrium of a point particle means that the resultant or net force on the particle is
_______________.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 2.3

Name ____________________________________ Date __________

2.3 Forces and Newton’s laws 2

Here is one application of forces and Newton’s laws of motion in our daily life.
Choose the best word(s) in bold to correctly complete the paragraph.
A man is walking to his car. When he is walking, his foot exerts a force on the road.
Based on Newton’s third law of motion, the road / the atmosphere / the car will exert the same
magnitude of force on his foot.
The man gets into his car and drives along a straight road.
The car moves with a constant velocity. The road will exert a normal force / drag force /
driving force on the wheels of the car.
As the car accelerates, the road will exert normal force and weight / normal force and frictional
force / drag and frictional force to the wheel of the car.
The direction of the external force that accelerates the car is acting on the wheels; it will have
the same / the opposite direction to the velocity of the car.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 3.1

Name Date

3.1 Energy, work and power 1

Choose from the word bank to complete these sentences. You may use the words once,
more than once, or not at all.
Word bank:
zero product work done outside division energy
speed position less power conserved system
inside isolated displacement joule motion

1 The work done by a force can be defined as the __________ of the force in the direction of the
__________ multiplied by the distance travelled.

2 The unit of work done is the __________.

3 The area under the graph of force against distance represents __________.

4 For circular motion the total work done by the centripetal force is __________.

5 When a weight is displaced such that its vertical height remains the same, the work done on
the weight is __________.

6 Gravitational potential energy is the energy of a system due to its __________ and represents
the __________ by an external agent in bringing the system to that position.

7 __________ is the rate at which work is done or the rate at which energy is transferred.

8 Kinetic __________ is the energy possessed by an object due to its __________.

9 The law of __________ conservation states that in a system, if the work done by
all the external forces acting on the system equals zero, then the energy of the system must
be __________.

10 An __________ system is a system that has no work is done on the system from outside.

11 A __________ is a portion of the physical universe that is chosen for our analysis.
The environment is everything that is __________ the system.

12 If the work done by an external force on a system is positive, it means the environment
transfers __________ to the system.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 3.2

Name Date

3.2 Energy, work and power 2

Complete this crossword.

Across
2 One watt can be expressed as 1 J s−1. What is ‘s’? (6)
4 A portion of the physical universe that is chosen for our analysis. (6)
7 Energy possessed by a system due to its position in gravitational field is called gravitational ___ (9)
8 In physics, work is done by this quantity. (5)

Down
1 The name of a quantity that defines the rate at which work is being done. (5)
3 Energy stored in an object as a result of deforming the object: ___ potential energy. (7)
4 Work done is a ___ quantity. (6)
5 The energy stored in a body because of its motion. (7)
6 The unit of energy is the same as the unit of this quantity. (4)

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 4.1

Name Date

4.1 Linear momentum 1

Complete the sentences by filling in the gaps. Choose words from the word bank.
You can use each word once, more than once, or not at all.
Word bank:
speed mass velocity magnitude external force
momentum direction potential energy weight
force motion kinetic energy time

1 Momentum is the area under a graph of __________ against time.

2 The net __________ acting on a system represents the rate of change of momentum
experienced by the system.

3 Linear momentum is the product of the __________ of a body and its velocity.

4 Impulse is the product of __________ and the time interval for which it acts.

5 In an elastic collision both momentum and __________ are conserved.

6 In an inelastic collision, the total __________ decreases during a collision.

7 The conservation of momentum states that, when the net force on a system is zero,
the total __________ of the system remains constant.

8 A collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert __________ on each other in a
relatively short time.

9 The direction of momentum is the direction of the __________.

10 Momentum of a body will stay constant if the __________ and __________ of the body’s
momentum are constant.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 4.2

Name Date

4.2 Linear momentum 2

1 It is important to understand the correct units for a quantity. Draw lines to match the units with
the correct quantities:

Units Quantities

kg, g, tonnes time

momentum,
m s–1, km h–1 impulse

kgm s–1 force

s, h velocity, speed

kgm s–2, N mass

2 Complete the table to show whether each quantity is a scalar or a vector.

Quantity Scalar or vector?

mass

change of velocity

time

momentum

velocity

force

impulse

speed

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 4.3

Name Date

4.3 Linear momentum 3

Complete these sentences using the best words or phrases.

1 If the __________ external force acting on a system is equal to zero, then the __________
of the system is conserved.

2 Momentum is an example of a __________ quantity; it can be defined as the product of

__________ and the mass of the object.

3 On a graph of __________ against time, then the __________ of the graph represents the net
external force acting on the object.

4 In a perfectly elastic collision of two bodies, the relative speed of the bodies __________
is equal to the relative speed of their __________.

5 Name these vector quantities:

This vector quantity has the same direction as the velocity of the object __________.

This has the same direction as the acceleration experienced by the object __________.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 5.1

Name Date

5.1 Rigid body mechanics 1

1 All of these terms begin with the word ‘angular’. Fill in the gaps, choosing from this word
bank. You won’t need to use all of the words.
Word bank:
acceleration equilibrium impulse energy position
speed velocity momentum displacement
a Angular ________________: the angle defining the position of a particle relative to some
arbitrary reference.
b Angular ________________: the change in angular momentum.
c Angular ________________: the rate of change of angular velocity.
d Angular ________________: the rate of change of the angular position.
e Angular ________________: the rate of change of the angle swept by an object as it moves
along a circular path.
f Angular ________________: the change in angular position.
g Angular ________________: the product of moment of inertia and angular velocity.

2 Match the key terms to the definitions.

key term definition

a measure of the distribution of mass of an

translational equilibrium extended body about an axis of rotation

when the net torque on a system is zero,

moment of inertia the angular momentum is conserved

kinetic energy the centre of mass of the body remains at rest

of rotational motion or moves in a straight line at constant speed

conservation of angular 1 2
I
momentum 2

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 5.2

Name Date

5.2 Rigid body mechanics 2

Complete the table by adding these units.

kg m s−1 rad s−1 rad kg m2 s−1

rad s−2 kg m2 s−2 kg m2 kg m s−2

Quantity Correct unit

moment of inertia

product of moment of inertia and angular velocity

force

momentum

energy or work

change of angular position

rate of change of angular position

rate of change of angular velocity

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 5.3

Name Date

5.3 Rigid body mechanics 3

Group these quantities as scalar or vector

angular momentum angular velocity torque kinetic energy of rotational motion

angular impulse mass the work done by the net torque

Scalar Vector

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 6.1

Name Date

6.1 Relativity 1
Complete this crossword.

Across
4 This is same for all inertial observers: the speed of light in a _________. (6)
6 The time between two events that take place at the same point in space is a _________ time interval. (6)
7 The length of an object that moves past an observer is shorter than the length of the object in a frame
where it is at rest. (6, 11)
9 A reference frame that is not accelerating is called an _________ reference frame. (8)
10 The difference in the elapsed time as it is measured by two clocks. (4, 8)

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 6.1

Down
1 A set of co-ordinate axes and a set of clocks at every point in space is called a _________ frame. (9)
2 ‘All the laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames’ is Einstein’s first _________. (9)
3 Sometimes called Minkowski diagrams. (5, 4, 8)
5 This observation provided the early experimental support for the theory of relativity. (4, 5)
8 Proper length is the length of the body measured by an observer that is at rest ____________ to it. (8)

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKSHEET 6.2

Name Date

6.2 Relativity 2
Sort the following examples into inertial frames and noninertial frames.
 A sky diver falling at terminal velocity.
 A car accelerating along a straight road.
 A man moving with constant velocity in a straight line.
 A rocket moving upward with constant rate of change of velocity to the outer space.
 A woman swimming with constant velocity.
 A bird flying at constant height, increasing speed.
 A ball falling freely.

Inertial frames Noninertial frames

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: ANSWERS

Answers
1.1
1 a displacement
b instantaneous velocity
c instantaneous acceleration
d instantaneous speed
e average velocity
f average speed
g position vector
h distance

2 a Motion in physics depends on the point of reference that we choose to measure the position
vector of a moving body.
b Kinematics is a branch of physics, developed in classical mechanics, that describes the
motion of points, bodies and also system of objects without considering the forces that
cause the object or system of objects to move.

3 a the gradient of a velocity against time graph.

b the gradient of a position against time graph.
c the area under a velocity against time graph.
d the area under an acceleration against time graph.

1.2
Everyday definition Key term Scientific definition

Speeding up or slowing down acceleration the rate of change of velocity

How fast an object moves in a velocity the rate of change

certain direction of displacement

A study about motion kinematics a branch of physics, developed

in classical mechanics, that
describes the motion of points,
bodies and also systems of
objects without considering the
forces that cause the object or
system of objects to move

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: ANSWERS

Everyday definition Key term Scientific definition

The location of a body position vector a straight-line vector that

connects the point of reference
to the location of a body at a
certain time

The total movement of a distance a scalar quantity that defines

body without considering the total length of the
the direction trajectory covered by a moving
body without consideration the
direction of motion

How far a body is displaced displacement the change in position vector

in motion

1.3
Units (SI or non SI base units) Correct quantities

km, cm, m position, displacement, distance

m s−1, km h−1 velocity, average velocity, speed, average speed

m s−2 acceleration

s, h time

Quantity Scalar or vector?

average speed scalar
average velocity vector
acceleration vector
velocity vector
distance scalar
displacement vector
speed scalar
position vector
average acceleration vector
time scalar

Students’ own responses

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: ANSWERS

2.1
1 The newton.
2 The gravitational force between the mass of a planet and a body.
3 The force that arises in a body when it is stretched or compressed.
4 The force that arises when two bodies are in contact directed normally to the surface
creating the force.
5 The force acting on an object in a fluid due to a difference in pressure at the top and
bottom of the body.
6 A force that arises as a result of the tendency of motion between two rough surfaces that come into
contact each other.
7 The force acting against the motion of an object that is moving through a fluid (gas or liquid).
8 The magnitude and direction of all the forces acting on a chosen body.
9 Internal and external forces.
10 The tendency of a massive body to remain in its current state of motion.

2.2
1 net external force / resultant force
2 inertia
3 equal and opposite
4 a the same
b opposite
c different
d the same
5 zero

2.3
the road; normal force; normal force and frictional force; the same;

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: ANSWERS

3.1
1 product; displacement
2 joule
3 work done
4 zero
5 zero
6 position; work done
7 power
8 energy, motion
9 energy, conserved
10 isolated
11 system, outside
12 energy

3.2

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: ANSWERS

4.1
1 force
2 external force
3 mass
4 force
5 kinetic energy
6 kinetic energy
7 momentum
8 force
9 velocity
10 direction, magnitude (or vice versa)

4.2
1 kg, g, tonnes — mass
m s−1, km h−1 — velocity, speed
kgm s−1 — momentum, impulse
s, h — time
kgm s−2, N — force

2 Quantity Scalar or vector?

mass scalar

change of velocity vector

time scalar

momentum vector

velocity vector

force vector

impulse vector

speed scalar

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: ANSWERS

4.3
1 net, momentum
2 vector, velocity
3 momentum, gradient
4 approach, separation (or vice versa)
5 momentum, impulse

5.1
1 a position
b impulse
c acceleration
d velocity
e speed
f displacement
g momentum

2 translational equilibrium — The centre of mass of the body remains at rest or moves in a
straight line at constant speed

moment of inertia — A measure of the distribution of mass of an extended body about an

axis of rotation
1 2
kinetic energy of rotational motion — I
2
conservation of angular momentum — When the net torque on a system is zero, the angular
momentum is conserved

5.2
Quantity Correct unit

moment of inertia kg m2

product of moment of inertia and angular velocity kg m2 s−1

force kg m s−2

momentum kg m s−1

energy or work kg m2 s−2

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: ANSWERS

Quantity Correct unit

change of angular position rad

rate of change of angular position rad s−1

rate of change of angular velocity rad s−2

5.3
Scalar Vector

kinetic energy of rotational motion angular momentum

the work done by the net torque angular velocity

mass torque

angular impulse

6.1

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: ANSWERS

6.2
Inertial frames Noninertial frames

A sky diver falling at terminal velocity. A car accelerated along a straight road.
A man moving with constant velocity in a A rocket moving upward with constant rate of
straight line. change of velocity to outer space.
A woman swimming with constant velocity. A bird flying at constant height, increasing speed.

A ball falling freely.

7.1
1 a kinetic, intermolecular
b difference, hotter, cooler
c temperature
d zero
e temperature
f heat capacity
g latent heat, pressure
h fusion, vaporisation
i latent heat
j vaporisation, temperature

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST 0

End of chapter test 0: Uncertainties

and vectors
1 The average number of beats of the heart of a person is 80 per minute. The person will live for
90 years. How many times will the heart of this person beat?
A 105
B 107
C 109
D 1011

2 A grain of sand has a radius of 1 mm. The radius of a planet is 2  103 km.
How many grains of sand fit in the volume of this planet?
A 1018
B 1019
C 1027
D 1028

3 Jupiter is a distance 8  108 km from the Sun. How long does light from the Sun take to
reach Jupiter?
A 27 min
B 44 min
C 270 s
D 440 s

4 A rectangle is measured to have the dimensions shown.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST 0

What is the perimeter of the rectangle?

A (24 ± 0.6) cm
B (24.0 ± 0.6) cm
C (24.0 ± 0.60) cm
D (24.0 ± 0.3) cm

5 The radius of a circle is measured as (25.0 ± 0.5) cm. What is the percentage uncertainty in the
area of the circle?
A 2 π%
B 4 π%
C 2%
D 4%

6 The radius of a sphere and the length of a side of a cube are both measured to be 10 cm ± 5%.
volume of sphere percentage uncertainty in volume of sphere
What are the ratios and ?
volume of cube percentage uncertainty in volume of cube

volume of sphere percentage uncertainty in volume of sphere

volume of cube percentage uncertainty in volume of cube

A 1 1

4
B 1
3

4
C 1
3

4 4
D
3 3

7 A distance of about 5 cm needs to be measured with a precision of 0.01 cm.

What instrument should be used for this measurement?
A Vernier calipers
B Micrometer
C Ruler
D Tape measure

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST 0

8 Which will likely reduce random and systematic errors in a measurement?

Random Systematic

A Average over many trials Average over many trials

B Average over many trials Check calibration of instrument

C Check calibration of instrument Average over many trials

D Check calibration of instrument Check calibration of instrument

9 The diagram shows two vectors a and b .

Which vector is a  b ?

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST 0

10 The diagram shows two vectors a and b .

Which vector c is such that a  b  c  0 ?

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A1.1

End of chapter test A1.1: Kinematics

1 Cars X and Y start from the same place. They are both travelling to a destination 480 km away
and will travel to a destination that is 480 km away.
Car X starts at time 0 and has speed 60 km hr-1.
Car Y starts one hour later and travels at 80 km hr-1.
Which car gets to the destination first, and what is the time between the arrivals of the two
cars at the destination?

Arrives first Time between arrivals/hrs

A X 1

B X 2

C Y 1

D Y 2

2 The initial velocity of a body is 6.0 m s-1.

The graph shows the variation with time of the acceleration of the body.

What is the velocity at t = 3 s?

A 9.0 m s-1
B 15 m s-1
C 18 m s-1
D 24 m s-1

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A1.1

3 The initial position of a body is 8.0 m. The graph shows the variation with time of the
velocity of the body.

What is the position at t = 6 s?

A 12 m
B 16 m
C 20 m
D 28 m

4 A stone is thrown vertically upwards with speed 20 m s-1. How high does it get?
A 2m
B 20 m
C 40 m
D 80 m

5 A car accelerates from 15 m s-1 to 27 m s-1 in 4.0 s. What is the distance covered?
A 48 m
B 60 m
C 84 m
D 168 m

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A1.1

6 A stone is thrown vertically downwards from the edge of cliff on a planet without an
atmosphere at t = 0.
At t = 1 s, the speed is 11 m s-1 and at t = 3 s it is 23 m s-1.
What is the initial speed of the stone and what is the acceleration of free fall on the planet?

Initial speed/m s-1 Acceleration of free fall/m s-2

A 5 6

B 5 7

C 4 6

D 4 7

7 The velocity of an object varies with time as shown in the graph.

Which graph shows the variation with time of the acceleration of the object?

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A1.1

8 A car starting from rest at t = 0 moves with constant acceleration. After travelling a distance d,
the speed becomes v and the time is t = T. What was the distance traveled and what was the
T
speed when the time was t = ?
2

Distance Speed
A d v
4 2
B d v
4 4
C d v
2 2
D d v
2 4

9 An object is thrown vertically upwards. At t = 1 s and t = 5 s the object is at the same height.
What is the maximum height attained?
A 10 m
B 20 m
C 30 m
D 45 m

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A1.1

10 A ball is released from a hot air balloon when at a height 75 m from the ground. The balloon
was rising at speed 10 m s-1 when the ball was released. Air resistance on the ball is neglected.

After what time does the ball reach the ground?

A 8s
B 6s
C 5s
D 4s

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A1.2

End of chapter test A1.2:

Projectile motion
1 A projectile is launched horizontally from a vertical cliff with a speed 5.0 m s1.
The cliff is 125 m high. How long does it take the projectile to reach the bottom of the cliff?
A 25 s
B 12.5 s
C 5.0 s
D 3.0 s

2 A projectile is launched horizontally from a vertical cliff with a speed 10 m s1.

It hits the ground with speed 20 m s1. How high is the cliff?
A 10 m
B 15 m
C 20 m
D 25 m

3 Three statements are made for projectile motion in the presence of air resistance.
The statements compare this motion to that without air resistance. The initial velocities are the
same in both cases.
I The horizontal distance travelled is less
II The maximum height reached is less
III The impact angle is steeper
Which is correct?
A I and II
B I and II
C II and III
D I, II and III

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A1.2

4 Two projectiles are launched horizontally on two different planets. The diagram shows the
positions of the projectiles every 0.5 s.

What can be concluded about the launch speed and the acceleration of free fall on the
two planets?

Horizontal speed Acceleration of free fall

A same same
B same different
C different same
D different different

5 The diagram shows the position, every 0.40 s, of a projectile launched horizontally on a planet.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A1.2

What is the launch speed and what is the acceleration of free fall on the planet?

Horizontal speed/m s1 Acceleration of free fall/m s2

A 10 8.0
B 10 10
C 8.0 8.0
D 8.0 10

6 Two projectiles, X and Y, are launched horizontally with the same speed. X is launched from a
height 4h and Y from a height h.

horizontal distance travelled by X

What is when both land on the ground?
horizontal distance travelled by Y
1
A
4
1
B
2
C 2
D 4

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A1.2

7 A projectile is projected at an angle θ to the horizontal with speed u. It lands at P.

What is the time of travel to P?

u cos 
A
g
2u cos 
B
g
u sin 
C
g
2u sin 
D
g

8 The maximum height of a projectile on Earth is H. The same projectile is projected with the
g
same velocity on a planet where the acceleration of free fall is . What is the maximum height
4
on this planet?

A H 2
B 2H
C 4H
D 8H

9 A projectile is launched at an angle to the horizontal at t = 0. At t = 1 s and t = 5 s the height of

the projectile is the same. What is the maximum height reached by this projectile?
A 90 m
B 45 m
C 22.5 m
D 10 m

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A1.2

10 A projectile is launched with horizontal velocity component 15 m s1 and vertical component
25 m s1. What angle does the velocity make with the horizontal after 1.0 s?
A arctan1
5
B arctan
3
C arctan3
D arctan5

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A2.1

End of chapter test A2.1: Forces and

Newton’s laws
1 Two forces have magnitudes 12 N and 8.0 N.
Which is not a possible value of the magnitude of the resultant of the two forces?
A 18 N
B 16 N
C 8.0 N
D 3.0 N

2 Each diagram shows a pair of forces.

Each has magnitude F.
In which case is the resultant force equal in magnitude to F?

3 Two blocks, X and Y, have a mass of 4.0 kg and 2.0 kg, respectively.
They are in contact on a frictionless horizontal surface. A horizontal force of 12 N acts on X.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A2.1

What is the net force on each block?

Net force on X Net force on Y

A 8.0 N 12 N

B 8.0 N 4.0 N

C 12 N 12 N

D 12 N 4.0 N

4 A block of mass 4.0 kg rests on a horizontal rough surface.

A horizontal force of 12 N accelerates the block with acceleration 2.0 m s−2.
What will the acceleration be if a force of 24 N acts on the block?
A 3.0 m s−2
B 4.0 m s−2
C 5.0 m s−2
D 8.0 m s−2

5 A balloon is filled with helium of density He .

The density of air is a .

The balloon is tied to the ground with a vertical string.

The mass of the balloon is negligible compared to the mass of helium it contains.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A2.1

The string is cut. What is the initial acceleration of the balloon?

a  He
A g
He
a  He
B g
He
a  He
C g
a
a  He
D g
a

6 A boy of mass 45 kg stands on the floor of an elevator. The elevator is accelerating upwards
with acceleration 2.0 m s-2. What is the force the boy exerts on the elevator floor?
A 90 N
B 360 N
C 450 N
D 540 N

7 The dynamic coefficient of friction between two blocks is 0.40, and the static coefficient is 0.60.
The two blocks are on top of each other on a frictionless horizontal surface.
A horizontal force F acts on the lower body.
The lower block has mass 4.0 kg, and the upper block has mass 2.0 kg.

What is the maximum force F so that both blocks move together without sliding on each other?
A 36 N
B 28 N
C 12 N
D 8.0 N

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A2.1

8 The graph shows the variation with time of the net force acting on a body.

The body is initially at rest.

Which graph shows the variation with time of the speed of the body?

9 A block of mass 10 kg is at rest on a rough inclined plane.

It is joined with a string with another block of mass m that hangs vertically.
3 4
The angle  is such that sin  = and cos  = .
5 5

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A2.1

The static coefficient of friction is 0.5.

What is the largest value of m such that the system is in equilibrium?
A 1.0 kg
B 2.0 kg
C 5.0 kg
D 10 kg

10 Two identical springs each of spring constant 200 N m−1 are attached to each other
as shown. The mass of the springs is negligible.
A block of mass 2.0 kg hangs vertically at the end of the lower spring.

What is the extension in each spring?

Lower Upper

A 0.1 m 0.1 m

B 0.1 m 0.2 m

C 0.2 m 0.1 m

D 0.2 m 0.2 m

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A2.2

End of chapter test A2.2: Circular motion

1 Three statements are made for an object moving on a circular path:
I The object has acceleration if its speed is changing.
II The object has acceleration if the direction of velocity is changing.
III The object has acceleration if the velocity is changing.
Which statements are correct?
A I and II
B I and III
C II and III
D I, II and III

2 What is an estimate of the angular speed of Earth around the Sun?

A 103 rad s1
B 105 rad s1
C 107 rad s1
D 109 rad s1

3 What is the centripetal acceleration of an object that moves on a circular path of radius 0.5 m
making 2 revolutions per second?
A 2 2 m s2
B 4 2 m s2
C 8 2 m s 2
D 16 2 m s2

4 The coefficient of static friction between the tyres of a car and the road is 0.6. What is the
maximum speed with which this car can take a horizontal circular bend of radius 60 m?

A 180 m s1
B 360 m s1
C 600 m s1
D 720 m s1

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A2.2

5 A body of mass m is on a horizontal table. A string joins it with another body of mass M
through a hole in the table. The mass m rotates on a horizontal circle of radius R with speed v
such that M is stationary.

m
What is the ratio ?
M
gR
A
v2
v2
B
gR
R
C
v2
v2
D
R

6 A mass moves on a horizontal circular path attached to a string that makes an angle θ with
the vertical.

What is the magnitude of the acceleration of the mass?

A g
B gsin
C gcos
D gtan

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A2.2

7 The particle enters a path that is part of a circle of radius 12 m.

At the position shown, the normal force on the particle from the road is three times the weight
of the particle. What is the speed of the particle at this position?

A 120 m s1
B 240 m s1
C 360 m s1
D 480 m s1

8 A particle moves on the inside surface of a hemispherical bowl on a horizontal circular path.

Which is a free body diagram of the forces on the particle at the position shown?

9 A string breaks when the tension in it reaches 50 N. A mass is attached to a string of length
3.0 m and made to rotate in a horizontal circle with speed 5.0 m s1. What is the maximum
value of the mass so that the string does not break?
A 3.0 kg
B 6.0 kg
C 9.0 kg
D 12 kg

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A2.2

10 A hemispherical bowl of radius R rotates about a vertical axis with angular speed ω. A particle
on the inside surface of the bowl is at rest relative to the bowl at a distance r from the axis.

Which is correct?
g
A 2 
R2  r 2
g
B 2 
Rr
g
C 2 
R
g
D 2 
r

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A3

End of chapter test A3: Work, energy

and power
1 A body of mass 5.0 kg slides down the full length of an inclined plane without friction.
The incline makes an angle 30 to the horizontal and has length 6.0 m.

What is the work done by the weight of the body?

A 150 J
B 300 J
C –150 J
D –300 J

2 A body of mass 8.0 kg has initial kinetic energy 640 J and is brought to rest by a frictional
force over a distance 16 m.
What is the frictional force?
A 2.0 N
B 40 N
C 80 N
D 128 N

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A3

3 The graph shows how the net force on a body of mass 4.0 kg varies with distance travelled.

The initial velocity of the body is zero.

What is the velocity of the body after travelling 4.0 m?
A 0.00 m s−1
B 4.00 m s−1
C 4 2 m s−1
D 8 2 m s−1

4 The graph shows how the net force on a body of mass 2.0 kg varies with time.
The body is initially at rest.

What is the maximum power delivered to the body during the 4 s interval?
A 32 W
B 64 W
C 128 W
D 256 W

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A3

5 The power delivered to a body initially at rest varies with time as shown.

Which graph shows the correct variation with time of the speed of the body?

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A3

6 A body of mass 5.0 kg slides from rest down a rough inclined plane.
The incline makes an angle 60 to the horizontal and has height 4.0 m.

The speed of the body at the bottom of the incline is 8.0 m s−1.
What is the magnitude of the work done by friction?
A 40 J
B 160 J
C 200 J
D 360 J

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A3

7 A block of mass 2.0 kg hangs vertically at the end of a spring of negligible mass.
The potential energy stored in the spring is 12 J.
A second identical spring is attached to the first spring, and the same block is attached
to the lower spring.

What is the total energy stored in the two springs?

A 6.0 J
B 12 J
C 24 J
D 48 J

8 A body of mass 15 kg is raised vertically.

The gravitational potential energy of the body is increasing at a rate 300 W.
How long will it take to raise the body by a distance of 20 m?
A 0.10 s
B 1.0 s
C 10 s
D 100 s

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A3

9 A truck of mass 2000 kg is driven on a horizontal road with constant speed 8.0 m s1.
The truck then enters an inclined road. For every 10 m travelled, the height increases by 1 m.

What additional power must the engine develop in order for the truck to continue moving
at the same speed? Frictional and resistance forces stay the same.
A 0
B 1.6 kW
C 16 kW
D 160 kW

10 A bead is attached to a horizontal ring of radius 2.0 m. A force of 12 N acts on the bead.
The force is always tangent to the ring.

What can be said about the work done by this force in one full revolution?
A It is zero because the displacement is zero.
B It cannot be calculated because the path is not straight.
C It cannot be calculated because the force keeps changing direction.
D The work done is 48π J.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A4

End of chapter test A4:

Linear momentum
1 When is the total momentum of a system conserved?
A Always
B When the total mechanical energy of the system is constant
C When there are no forces acting on the system
D When the net external force on the system is zero

2 A ball of mass 0.25 kg travelling with speed 8.0 m s1 collides with a vertical wall and bounces
in the opposite direction with the same speed.
What is the magnitude of the change of the momentum of the ball?
A 0
B 2.0 N s
C 4.0 N s
D 8.0 N s

3 Two bodies, X and Y, collide as shown and stick together.

What is the impulse delivered to X, and what is the net impulse delivered to the system
of the two blocks?

Impulse delivered to X Impulse delivered to system

A –18 N s 0

B –18 N s +18 N s

C +18 N s 0

D +18 N s –18 N s

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A4

4 A body of mass 5M, at rest, explodes into two pieces of mass 2M and 3M.
What is the ratio of kinetic energies of the lighter body to the heavier body?
2
A
5
3
B
2
3
C
5
5
D
3

5 A body of mass m initially at rest receives an impulse J in time Δt.

What is the increase in the body’s kinetic energy?
J
A
t
J
B
m
J2
C
2m
D J t

6 The graph shows how the net force on a body of mass 8.0 kg varies with time.
The body is initially at rest.

What is the velocity of the body at t = 4 s?

A 2.0 m s1
B 4.0 m s1
C 8.0 m s1
D 16 m s1

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A4

7 The graph shows how the net force on a body of mass 2.0 kg varies with time.
The body is initially at rest.

What is the average power delivered to the body?

A 18 W
B 36 W
C 72 W
D 144 W

8 The graph shows the variation with time of the net force on a body of mass 3.0 kg.

The impulse delivered is 15 N s, and the force acted for 2 ms.

What is the average force that acted on the body?
A 7.5 kN
B 7.5 N
C 5.0 N
D 5.0 kN

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A4

9 The diagram shows a glancing collision of two bodies of equal mass.

Three equations are proposed to describe this collision:

I w  u cos   v cos 

II 0  u sin   v sin 

III w2  u 2  v 2
Which equations always apply?
A I and II
B I and III
C II and III
D I, II and III

10 A rocket is at rest in outer space. The engines are turned on, and burnt fuel is ejected from the
rocket at a constant rate and at a constant speed relative to the rocket. Which graph shows the
variation with time of the net force on the rocket while the fuel is burning?

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A5

End of chapter test A5:

Rigid body mechanics
1 A wheel rotates at angular speed 40 rad s1.
The wheel experiences an angular deceleration 2.0 rad s2.
How many revolutions does the wheel make until it stops rotating?
A 400
B 200
400
C

200
D


2 A wheel rotating at 2.0 rad s1 accelerates uniformly to 12 rad s1 in 4.0 s.
By what angle, in radians, did the wheel turn during the 4.0 s?
A 13
B 24
C 28
D 56

3 Forces of equal magnitude act on a rigid body.

In which case is the torque provided about the given axis the largest?

4 A horizontal force F acts on a wheel of mass M as shown, in order to move the wheel
over the step.
The height of the step is equal to the radius R of the wheel.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A5

What is the minimum magnitude of F such that the sphere goes over the step?
Mg
A
2
B Mg
C 2Mg
D 4Mg

5 Two equal forces of magnitude 25 N act as shown on a ring of mass 5.0 kg and radius 0.20 m.
The ring is in the vacuum of deep space.

What is the initial angular acceleration of the ring, and what is the initial linear acceleration
of the centre of mass of the ring?

Angular acceleration Linear acceleration

A 50 rad s2 0

B 50 rad s2 10 m s2

C 25 rad s2 0

D 25 rad s2 10 m s2

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A5

6 A block of mass m is attached to a string that is wrapped around a cylinder.

1
The cylinder has mass M, radius R and moment of inertia MR 2 .
2

The hanging block is released.

What is the acceleration of the block?
2g
A
3
mg
B
M
m
2
g
C
2
Mg
D
M
m
2

7 A ring rolls down an incline without slipping.

The ring starts from rest at a height h above level ground.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A5

Which expression gives the speed of the ring when it reaches level ground?
A 2gh

2 gh
B
3
C gh

gh
D
2

8 A star rotates about its axis with angular speed ω.

The star explodes, leaving behind a spherical core of half the original mass and half the radius.
What is the angular speed of the core?
2
(The moment of inertia of a sphere is MR 2 . )
5
A 
B 2
C 4
D 8

9 A lawn mower L is attached to a horizontal string that wraps around a pole as L moves around
the pole with constant linear speed.

What is correct about the angular momentum and the angular speed of L?

Angular momentum Angular speed

A Conserved Increases

B Conserved Decreases

C Not conserved Increases

D Not conserved Decreases

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A5

10 The graph shows the variation with time of the net torque on a system.
The initial angular speed of the system is zero, and its moment of inertia is 2.0 kg m2.

What is the average power delivered to the system during the 4.0 s?
A 16 W
B 32 W
C 64 W
D 128 W

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A6

End of chapter test A6: Relativity

1 Two rockets, X and Y, move relative to the ground with velocities –0.40c and +0.60c.

What is the speed of X relative to Y?

A 0.20c
B 0.26c
C 0.81c
D c

2 An event E has coordinates (in light years) ( x  1, ct  0) in frame S.

Frame S moves past S with velocity 0.80c.
When clocks in both frames show zero the origins of the two frames coincide.
What are the coordinates of E in S in light years?

x ct 

5
A 0
3
5 4
B 
3 3
3
C 0
5
3 4
D 
5 3

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A6

3 The gamma factor for a rocket is 2.

What is the speed of the rocket?
1
A c
2
3
B c
4
3
C c
2
2
D c
3

5
4 A spacecraft leaves Earth with speed 0.80c (   ) on its way to a planet a distance of 24 ly
3
according to Earth.
When will the spacecraft arrive at the planet, according to Earth and rocket observers?

Earth observer Rocket observer

A 30 years 18 years

B 30 years 30 years

C 18 years 18 years

D 18 years 30 years

5
5 A rocket is flying over a space station of proper length 900 m with a speed 0.80c (  ).
3

Two explosions take place at the same time according to space station clocks at the ends L and R
of the space station.

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A6

According to the rocket, what is the difference: time of the explosion at R minus that for L?

A 4.0 106 s

B 4.0 106 s

C 2.4 106 s
D 2.4 106 s

5
6 A beam of light is emitted from the left end of a box that moves with speed 0.60c (  ).
4
relative to the ground.
The proper length of the box is 300 m.

When will the beam of light arrive at the right end of the box according to box and
ground observers?

Box observer Ground observer

A 2 μs 1 μs

B 2 μs 2 μs

C 1 μs 1 μs

D 1 μs 2 μs

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A6

7 The half-life of a particle X is T when at rest.

A freshly prepared beam of X particles moves in a laboratory. The gamma factor for the particles is γ.
After travelling a distance d (measured in the lab), half the particles decay.
Which expression is equivalent to the speed of the beam relative to the lab?
d
A
T
2d
B
T
d
C
T
d
D
T

8 A space station and a rocket have the same proper length L.

The rocket moves past the space station. The gamma factor is γ.
What is the length of the space station measured by the rocket observers, and what is the length
of the rocket measured by the space station observers?

Length of the space station measured Length of the rocket measured by the
by the rocket observers space station observers

A L L

L
B L

L
C L

L L
D
 

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A6

9 The diagram shows the space and time axes for a frame S and a frame S that moves past S.

Which diagram correctly shows the position of the event whose coordinates (in light years)
in S are ( x  1, ct   0) ?

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A6

10 The diagram shows the spacetime axes of Earth’s frame and the worldline of a rocket.
When Earth and rocket clocks show zero, the rocket is at the origin of the Earth frame.
The dot on the worldline denotes the passage of one year by rocket clocks.
At time zero, a light signal is emitted from a space station towards the rocket.
The position of the space station at time zero is marked at x = 1.5 ly.

When does the light signal arrive at the rocket according to Earth and rocket observers?

Earth observers (years) Rocket observers (years)

A 1.0 0.75

B 1.0 0.87

C 1.5 0.75

D 1.5 0.87

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST 0

Answers

1 C

2 D

3 B

4 B

5 D

6 C

7 A

8 B

9 A

10 C

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A1.1

Answers

1 C

2 B

3 C

4 B

5 A

6 C

7 D

8 B

9 D

10 C

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A1.2

Answers

1 C

2 B

3 D

4 B

5 A

6 C

7 D

8 C

9 B

10 A

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A2.1

Answers

1 D

2 A

3 B

4 C

5 A

6 D

7 A

8 B

9 D

10 A

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A2.2

Answers

1 D

2 C

3 C

4 B

5 A

6 D

7 B

8 C

9 B

10 A

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A3

Answers

1 A

2 B

3 B

4 C

5 D

6 A

7 C

8 C

9 C

10 D

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A4

Answers

1 D

2 C

3 A

4 B

5 C

6 B

7 B

8 A

9 A

10 C

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A5

Answers

1 D

2 C

3 B

4 B

5 A

6 B

7 C

8 D

9 C

10 A

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PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: TEST A6

Answers

1 C

2 B

3 C

4 A

5 B

6 D

7 C

8 D

9 D

10 B

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Physics
For the IB Diploma

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Chapter 1
Kinematics

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Displacement, distance, speed and velocity

Look at this picture.

• What does it show?

• What does this

measurement mean?

• What do the letters km/h

stand for?

• What does the / in this unit mean?

• Can you tell anything about

direction of the vehicle movement
from the measurement?

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Displacement, distance, speed and velocity

The toy train moves at a constant speed of 0.5 ms-1 on a circular
track of radius 1.0 m. What can you say about:
• the velocity of the train?

• the acceleration of the train?

• the distance travelled by the

train after going twice around
the track?

• the displacement of the train

after going twice around
the track?

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Uniformly accelerated motion:

the equations of kinematics
The tennis ball is hit by the racket. The ball leaves the racket
and travels vertically upward. What can you say about:
• the force(s) acting on the ball after
it leaves the racket?

• the velocity of the ball in flight?

• the acceleration of the ball in flight?

• how high the ball will go?

• the speed of the ball when it gets

back to its starting position?

• the velocity of the ball when it gets

back to its starting position?
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Graphs of motion
The graph shows how the speed of a runner in a 100 m
sprint varies with time.

Use information in the graph to

describe the motion of the sprinter
in as much detail as possible.

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Projectile motion
In the diagram, a ball is kicked forwards and upwards,
making an angle of 30o to horizontal.

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Projectile motion
The airplane in this picture is travelling at approximately 120 knots, or
60 ms-1, in a straight line. The plane is driven by an engine. The man has
jumped out and has not yet opened a parachute. The man has no
engine and is not being driven forward.

• Why is the man still vertically

under the plane?

• Why has he not been left behind

the plane?

• Ignoring air resistance, what will

happen to the position and
speed of the man?

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Projectile motion
A hunter, on the ground, is about 300 m away from a small monkey that is
hanging high above ground. The hunter aims his gun directly at the
monkey. There is no wind and no air resistance.
The monkey sees the flash from the
gun as it is fired and immediately
lets go. The monkey falls vertically.

• What will happen next?

• Can you use physics to justify

your answer?

• Would the result be different

if they had started at the
same height?

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Projectile motion
The picture shows a skateboard rider performing a jump. At the end of
the jump, the rider lands on the skateboard and continues to travel
forward. There are no straps holding the rider’s feet to the board.
Why does the rider not need to hold
onto the skateboard while in the air?

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Physics
For the IB Diploma

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Chapter 2
Forces and Newton’s laws

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Forces and their direction

The diagram shows the forces acting on a car.
F1 = F 4 F5 = F 2 + F 3

F2 is the sum of the forces on both

back wheels, and F2 is the sum of F1 F2
the forces on both front wheels.
F4 F3
No other forces act on the car.

• Suggest suitable names for

F5
these forces.

• What can you conclude about

the motion of the car from
this information?

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Newton’s laws of motion

This woman is exercising three dogs. She is holding onto each dog using a
lead (leash) attached to the collar of the dog. The leads are inextensible
(do not stretch). Each dog exerts an equal force F on its lead.

• Is the woman pulled forward with

a force of 3F? Justify your answer.

• The woman and the dogs are

walking at a constant speed.

• What is the value of F? Which

law(s) of physics explain(s) the
answer to this?

• If the woman wants to make the

dogs walk slower, what should
happen to the forces?

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Newton’s laws of motion

Look at this diagram modelling the woman exercising three dogs.

𝜽𝜽 𝜽𝜽
F1 F3
F2

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Let’s revisit the toy train from the previous topic.

The toy train moves at a constant speed of 0.5 ms-1 on a circular track of
radius 1.0 m.
The toy train moves at a constant speed of 0.5
ms-1 on a circular track of radius 1.0 m.
• Draw a free body plan diagram of the train
on the track (plan means a view from
directly above).
• On your diagram, label
• the direction of the driving force, D
• the direction of the force keeping the
train moving in a circle, F
• the direction of acceleration of
the train, A
• the direction the train would initially go
if it came off the tracks, O
• Describe where the force that you labelled F
comes from.
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Circular motion
The picture shows a game of swing-ball (tether-ball).

In this game a tennis ball is

attached to a vertical pole by a light
string. When the ball is hit
horizontally in a direction that is
90o to the axis of the pole, the ball
will travel in a horizontal circle.
• Can you list the variables in
this system?
• Describe how these variables
are related.
• Use equations and standard
symbols where possible.

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Physics
For the IB Diploma

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Chapter 3
Work, energy and power

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Work
A forklift truck has lifted a mass of 650 kg vertically through a height
of 3.2 m. The time taken to lift the mass was 4.8 s.

• To lift a mass, work must be

done against gravity.

• The force of gravity on a

mass is mg.

• Work = force x distance moved

in the direction of the force.

• So, the work done in lifting

the mass is mgh.

• We can conclude that work

and energy are equivalent.

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Work
W = mgh
• W = mgh

= 650 x 9.81 x 3.2

= 20 400 J

• So the work done in lifting the mass, and the gain in g.p.e.
of the mass is 20 400 J.

• Where does time come into this?

• It doesn’t: to lift the same mass in half the time involves the same
work and the same change in g.p.e.

• However, lifting the same mass in half the time needs more power.

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Work
Power is the rate of transfer of energy. As work and energy are
equivalent, we can also say that power is the rate of doing work.

• The unit of work is Js-1 normally written as W (watts).

So in this example, lifting the mass takes 4.8 s.

• Hence, the power involved is

20 400
---------
4.8
= 4 250 W

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Conservation of mechanical energy

In 2005, a man ran from street level to the top floor
of Taipei 101 in 10 minutes 29 seconds.

The total height of Taipei 101 is 508 m.

There are 2046 steps on the stairs to get
from street level to the top floor.

Estimate:

• the change in g.p.e. of the man

• the power developed during the run.

Discuss with a partner whether each of

these will be close to your estimate:

• the actual change in g.p.e.

• the actual power developed.

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Power and efficiency; Energy transfers

Let’s revisit the swing-ball game from the previous topic.
• The tension in the string exerts
a force on the ball as the ball
moves in a horizontal circle.

• This force keeps the ball

moving in a circle at
constant speed.

• In pairs, discuss the work done

by this force on the ball.

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Power and efficiency; Energy transfers

Remember that work done by a force is the product of the force
and the distance travelled in the direction of that force.
• Here, the force from the tension
in the string is at 90o to the
direction of travel of the ball.
• The component of the force in
the direction of travel of the ball
is F cos 90o.
• As cos 90o = 0, then there is no
component of the force acting in
the direction of travel of the ball.
• Hence, the work done by the
force on the ball is zero.
• This is also why the ball
accelerates (changes in velocity)
but does not increase speed.
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Power and efficiency; Energy transfers

Look at this diagram modelling the woman exercising three dogs.

𝜽𝜽 𝜽𝜽
F1 F3

F2

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Physics
For the IB Diploma

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Chapter 4
Linear momentum

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Netwon’s second law

Think of a housefly and a freight train moving in the same direction.

• The housefly has a mass of 12 mg

(1.2 x 10-5 kg).

• The freight train has a mass of 18 000

tonnes (1.8 x 107 kg).

• Both are moving in the direction

of the arrows with the same constant
velocity of 2 ms-1.

In pairs, discuss:
• Which one is more difficult to stop?
• Which one will do more damage
in a collision with a stationary object?
• Which physical quantities account
for this difference?

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Netwon’s second law

The quantity that we think of as ‘mass in motion’ is called momentum.
• Momentum p is the product of mass and velocity, so p = mv.

• Momentum is a vector quantity; it can be positive or negative.

• In base SI units, momentum is kgms-1 (the product of mass and velocity).

• But, using the equation F = ma, you can show that the unit N is
equivalent to kgms-2 (the product of mass and acceleration).

• Hence, we can use Ns as a more convenient unit for momentum

because kgms-2s = kgms-1.

• This implies that momentum is also the product of force and time,
which it is!

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Netwon’s second law

Let’s go back to the housefly and freight train.
• p for the housefly is 1.2 x 10 – 5 x 2
= 2.4 x 10-5 Ns
• p for the freight train is 1.8 x 107 x 2
= 3.6 x 108 Ns—that’s 15 000 000 000 000 times more!

• Now—imagine you want to stop them both in the same length of time.
• You need 15 000 000 000 000 times
more force to stop the train than
the fly.

That’s also why a housefly can change direction rapidly—only a small force
is needed even to reverse its direction.

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Conservation of momentum
Now consider two separate wagons from the train.
One is moving toward the other, which is at rest.

• The two become joined and continue 6500 kg 3200 kg

to move together.
• What is their velocity 1.7 ms-1 at rest
after joining?
?
pBEFORE = (6500 x 1.7) + (3200 x 0)
= 11 050 Ns
so pAFTER = 11 050 Ns
As they become joined, we treat
them as one object with a mass of
6500 + 3200 = 9700 kg.
Therefore, their velocity
= 11050 ൊ 9700
= 1.1 ms-1

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Conservation of momentum
Now let’s look at a situation where the wagons are moving
in opposite directions.

• The two become joined and 6500 kg 3200 kg

continue to move together.
• What is their velocity after joining,
and what direction will they move?
1.7 ms-1 4.8?ms-1
pBEFORE = (6500 x 1.7) +
(3200 x –4.8)
= – 4310 Ns
so pAFTER = – 4310 Ns
As they become joined, we treat
them as one object with a mass of
6500 + 3200 = 9700 kg.
Therefore, their velocity
= – 4310 ൊ 9700
= – 0.44 ms-1
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Momentum and kinetic energy

A cannon ball of mass 5.0 kg is at rest inside a stationary
cannon of mass 88 kg.

When fired, the cannon ball comes

out of the cannon at 63 ms-1, making
an angle of 15o above horizontal.

The cannon recoils (moves backwards)

on a horizontal surface at the same time.

• Calculate the initial velocity of

the recoil.

• Explain, without calculation, why this

event cannot be elastic.

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Momentum and kinetic energy

• The momentum before the explosion (separation) is 0, so afterwards
it must also be 0.

• The horizontal component of the cannon ball’s velocity when fired

is 63 cos 15o = 60.9 ms-1.

So, its momentum in the horizontal direction is 5.0 x 60.9 = 304 Ns.

• The initial horizontal momentum of the cannon must be equal and

opposite to this, so its recoil speed must be 304 ൊ 88 = 3.5 ms-1 in the
opposite direction.

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Momentum and kinetic energy

The cannon is to be attached to a spring to ensure that the recoil
is stopped before the cannon can roll too far back.

Calculate:

• the spring constant of the spring needed to ensure the cannon

recoils only 0.75 m

• the average force exerted by the spring when bringing the cannon
to a stop.

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Momentum and kinetic energy

• The kinetic energy of the cannon when it starts to recoil is
½ x 88 x 3.52 = 539 J.

• So, 539 J must be absorbed by the spring when it is compressed

or stretched by 0.75 m.

• Remember, the energy in a compressed or stretched spring = ½ kx2

where x = 0.75 in this case.
• So k = 2 x 539 ൊ 0.752
= 1920 Nm-1.

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Physics
For the IB Diploma

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Chapter 5
Rigid body mechanics

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Kinematics of rotational motion

A solid steel ball and a toy car have the same mass. The body of the toy
car is made from steel, and the wheels are made from hard plastic.

Both are released from the top of

the same ramp at the same time.

In the absence of friction and

air resistance, which of these
will happen?
• they both arrive at the bottom
of the ramp at the same time
• the ball arrives first
• the car arrives first.

Explain your choice of answer.

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Kinematics of rotational motion

The picture shows a gyroscope.

• The round frame holds a metal

wheel with a heavy rim (the rim axis
is the outer part of the wheel).
The wheel is free to spin about
frame
the axis.

• When the wheel spins, the rim

gyroscope will stand up on its of wheel
own, seeming to defy the laws
of equilibrium. wheel

• If you hold the gyroscope frame

when the wheel is spinning,
it will resist your attempt to
rotate the frame.

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Kinematics of rotational motion

The pictures show a spinning top and a fidget spinner.
These work in the same way.

spinning top fidget spinner

What causes these effects?

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Rotational equilibrium and Newton’s second law

This is the view from the flight deck of an Airbus A320 ready for takeoff.

The display at the left with the

blue and brown circle is called
an artificial horizon.

This shows the crew whether the

plane is pitched up or down and
whether it is banking left or right.

• Why can the crew not sense

these movements when the
aircraft is in cloud or in
complete darkness?

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Rotational equilibrium and Newton’s second law

This picture shows a KERS flywheel.

KERS is used in many vehicles

from city buses to Formula 1 cars.
Some car makers are developing
KERS for family road cars.

• Find out more about how

KERS works.

• What is the role of the

flywheel in KERS?

• Why is most of the mass of

the flywheel located around
the rim?

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Angular momentum
The main rotor on a helicopter provides lift and forward thrust.

tail rotor main rotor

• What is the purpose of the tail rotor?

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Angular momentum
In road vehicles with internal combustion engines and manual
transmission, there are three pedals: clutch, brake and accelerator.
clutch brake accelerator

• What is the clutch?

• On what physics principles does the clutch work?

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Physics
For the IB Diploma

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Chapter 6
Relativity

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Reference frames and Lorentz transformations

Imagine you are standing at the back of an aeroplane in flight.

• The plane is flying with a

constant forward velocity
of 480 knots or 250 ms-1.

• It is neither accelerating
nor decelerating.

• The plane is at a constant

height so is not climbing
or descending.

• There is no turbulence.

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Reference frames and Lorentz transformations

Discuss possible answers to these questions.

• If you close your eyes, are you aware that the plane is
travelling at 250 ms-1?

• If not, why not?

• You begin to walk toward the front of the plane at a constant 2 ms-1.

• Is your forward velocity 2 ms-1?

• … or is your forward velocity 252 ms-1?

• … or does your velocity have some different value?

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Reference frames and Lorentz transformations

Discuss possible answers to these questions.

• The answers to these questions are the essence of relativity.

• Quantities such as velocity must be measured relative to

something else.

• In this example, we call those who measure your velocity ‘observers’.

Each observer has a frame of reference from which they observe
the world.

• For example, the seated passengers have a frame of reference from

which they see you moving forwards at 2 ms-1.

• From your own frame of reference, you see the seated passengers
moving backwards (relative to you) at 2 ms-1.

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Reference frames and Lorentz transformations

The example of you standing in the plane is called a thought experiment.

• Galileo did a similar thought

experiment around 400 years ago.
• He used an example of being inside
a ship (aeroplanes were not
invented then!)
• He said the ship could be moving at
a constant velocity and you would
not know.
• Galileo used his thought experiment
to argue that the Earth was actually
moving in orbit around the Sun,
even though we cannot feel
the motion.

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Reference frames and Lorentz transformations

Let’s try another thought experiment.

• You are walking towards a stationary observer with velocity v.

• You carry a light source, which is pointed at the stationary observer.
• Light leaves the source with velocity c.
• Ignore the fact that v is very much smaller than c.

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Reference frames and Lorentz transformations

Let’s try another thought experiment.

• The speed of light, c is a universal constant. (Notice we use ‘speed’

here and not ‘velocity’.)
• That means all observers, regardless of their speed, see light travel
with the same speed c.
• That is why we can use ‘speed’—because the speed of light is not
dependent on direction.

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