National Year 11 Physics
Chapters: 4
1. 4.5 Forces
4.5.1 Forces and their interactions · 4.5.2 Work done and energy transfer · 4.5.3 Forces and elasticity · 4.5.4 Moments, levers and gears (Physics only) · 4.5.5 Pressure and pressure differences in fluids (Physics only) · 4.5.6 Forces and motion · 4.5.7 Momentum (HT)
- Force and Laws of Motion – A force is a push or a pull. Balanced forces (net force zero) do not change motion; an unbalanced force changes speed or direction. Friction opposes sliding. First law: a body keeps its state of rest or uniform motion unless an unbalanced force acts (inertia; heavier bodies have more inertia). Momentum p = mv. Second law: F = ma (rate of change of momentum), 1 N = 1 kg m/s². Third law: forces come in equal and opposite pairs acting on two different bodies. For a system with no outside force, internal forces cancel and total momentum is conserved.
- Work, Energy and Power – Work is done when a force moves an object: W = F × s, measured in joules (J). Energy is the ability to do work. A moving body has kinetic energy ½mv²; a raised body has potential energy mgh. Energy is never made or destroyed, only changed from one form to another. Power is how fast work is done: P = W ÷ t, in watts. Simple machines like levers and pulleys let a small effort move a big load.
- Mechanical Properties of Solids: Stress, Strain and Elasticity – When you pull, push or twist a solid, it changes shape a little. If it comes back when you let go, it is elastic. Stress is the restoring force per area (F/A). Strain is the fractional change in size (like ΔL/L). Up to the elastic limit, stress is proportional to strain (Hooke's law), and the ratio is a modulus: Young's modulus Y for stretching, bulk modulus B for squeezing all round, shear modulus G for sliding faces. A stretched wire also gets thinner (Poisson's ratio), and it stores energy ½ × stress × strain × volume.
- Torque, Angular Momentum and Equilibrium of Rigid Bodies – Torque is the turning effect of a force: τ = r × F, size rF sinθ, unit N m. Angular momentum is the turning version of momentum: L = r × p; for a body spinning about a fixed axis L = Iω. Torque changes angular momentum: τ = dL/dt. If the outside torque is zero, L stays constant, so pulling mass in makes a body spin faster. A rigid body is in equilibrium when the total force is zero (no sliding) and the total torque about any point is zero (no turning).
- Pressure in Fluids and Pascal's Law – A fluid (liquid or gas) pushes on every surface it touches. Pressure is this normal force per area, P = F/A. Because of gravity, the fluid above a point has weight, so pressure grows with depth: P = P₀ + ρgh. Points at the same depth in a still liquid have the same pressure, whatever the vessel's shape. Pascal's law says an extra pressure applied to an enclosed fluid reaches every point equally. The hydraulic lift and brakes use this: a small force on a small piston becomes a big force on a big piston, F = f × A/a.
- Motion: Distance, Speed, Velocity, Acceleration and Graphs – An object is in motion when its position changes with time. Distance is the full path length (a scalar); displacement is the straight gap from start to finish with a direction (a vector). Speed = distance ÷ time; velocity = displacement ÷ time. Acceleration = change in velocity ÷ time. The slope of an s–t graph gives velocity, the slope of a v–t graph gives acceleration, and the area under a v–t graph gives the distance. For uniform acceleration: v = u + at, s = ut + ½at², v² = u² + 2as.
- Third Law, Conservation of Momentum and Equilibrium of Forces – Forces always come in pairs: if A pushes B, B pushes A with an equal and opposite force at the same instant (third law). The pair acts on different bodies. For a system with no net external force, the total linear momentum stays constant, which explains recoil, rockets and collisions. A particle is in equilibrium when all forces on it add to zero; three concurrent forces in equilibrium form a closed triangle.
2. 4.6 Waves
4.6.1 Waves in air, fluids and solids · 4.6.2 Electromagnetic waves · 4.6.3 Black body radiation (Physics only)
- Sound – Sound is made by vibrating objects. It travels through a medium (air, water, solids) as a longitudinal wave: particles move back and forth, making crowded parts (compressions) and spread-out parts (rarefactions). Frequency (Hz) sets the pitch, amplitude sets the loudness, and speed v = f × λ. Sound cannot travel in vacuum. Humans hear 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz; below is infrasound, above is ultrasound. Reflected sound gives echoes, used and controlled in buildings.
- The Electromagnetic Spectrum – Electromagnetic (EM) waves are transverse waves of changing electric and magnetic fields. They need no medium and all travel at 3 × 10⁸ m/s in a vacuum. In order of falling wavelength (rising frequency and energy) they are radio, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays. Speed = frequency × wavelength (c = fλ). Each type has uses; the high-energy ones (UV, X-rays, gamma) are ionising and can harm living cells.
- Black Body Radiation – All objects, at any temperature, give out (emit) and take in (absorb) infrared radiation. The hotter an object is, the more radiation it emits each second and the shorter the wavelength of the strongest radiation. Dark matt surfaces are good absorbers and good emitters; light shiny surfaces are poor absorbers and poor emitters. A perfect black body absorbs all radiation that falls on it and is also the best possible emitter. An object's temperature stays steady when it absorbs radiation at the same rate as it emits it; this balance, along with gases in the atmosphere, sets the Earth's temperature.
3. 4.7 Magnetism and electromagnetism
4.7.1 Permanent and induced magnetism, magnetic forces and fields · 4.7.2 The motor effect · 4.7.3 Induced potential, transformers and the National Grid (Physics only) (HT)
- Magnetic Effect of Electric Current – A wire carrying electric current makes a magnetic field around itself. The field forms circles around a straight wire, becomes nearly straight at the centre of a loop, and is uniform inside a solenoid, which then acts like a bar magnet.
- Force on a Current-Carrying Conductor, Motor and Induction – A wire carrying current inside a magnetic field feels a push. The push is biggest when the wire is at 90° to the field and zero when it is parallel. Fleming's left-hand rule gives its direction. A motor uses this push to spin a coil; a generator does the reverse and makes current by moving a coil or magnet.
- Electromagnetic Induction: Making Electricity with Magnets – When the magnetic field through a coil changes, a voltage (potential difference) is made across the coil. This is electromagnetic induction. If the coil is part of a closed circuit, a current flows. A faster change, more turns or a stronger magnet give a bigger voltage. Generators, microphones and transformers all use this idea, and transformers let the power grid send electricity far with little waste.
4. 4.8 Space physics (Physics only)
4.8.1 Solar system; stability of orbital motions; satellites (Physics only) · 4.8.2 Red-shift (Physics only)
- The Solar System – The Solar System is the Sun and everything its gravity holds: 8 planets, their moons, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets and dust. The inner four planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) are small and rocky. After the asteroid belt come the giants: gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, ice giants Uranus and Neptune. Gravity pulls planets towards the Sun while they move sideways, so they travel in orbits; closer planets move faster and have shorter years. It all formed about 4.6 billion years ago from a spinning cloud of gas and dust.
- Cosmology: The Expanding Universe and the Big Bang – Cosmology is the study of the whole universe: its structure, history and future. Galaxies gather in groups, clusters and filaments around huge voids. Distant galaxies are moving away from us, faster the farther they are (Hubble's law, v = H₀d), because space itself is expanding. Running the expansion backwards leads to a hot, dense beginning about 13.8 billion years ago, the Big Bang. The main evidence is redshift, the cosmic microwave background and the amounts of hydrogen and helium. Most of the universe is dark matter and dark energy.