Forces and Their Effects Answers

1. Name the force that is acting in each of the situations described below.

The force of the water acting on a boat that keeps it afloat. upthrust

The force of the table acting on a cup that is resting on the table. reaction

The force that keeps a car on the ground. gravitational force

The force that holds up a decoration that is hanging from a string. tension

The force that causes a paperclip to be attracted to a magnet. magnetic force

The force of the air acting on a moving bus. air resistance

The force that holds together sodium and chloride ions to make electrostatic force
salt.
The force of the doormat on your shoes when you wipe your feet. friction

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Contact and Non-Contact Forces Answers
1. Tick the correct box in the table below to identify the contact and non-contact forces. There
are three non-contact forces.

Force Contact Non-Contact

upthrust

air resistance

electrostatic

tension

magnetic

reaction

water resistance

gravitational

friction

2. The diagram shows a magnet, surrounded by its magnetic field. Write a letter S where the
magnetic force is the strongest and a letter W where the magnetic force is the weakest.

The S should be placed at a point closest to the magnet and the W should be placed around
the edge of the circle.
W

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 Force Diagrams Answers
Add force arrows to the diagrams below. Label the arrows with the force and add a description
that says whether the forces are balanced or unbalanced.

A person sitting on a chair.

reaction
The weight of the person and the
reaction force of the chair are
weight balanced.

tension An apple hanging on a tree.

The weight of the apple and the

tension of the branch are balanced.
weight

air resistance A ball accelerating downwards.

The weight of the ball is larger than the

air resistance on the ball so the forces
weight are unbalanced.

A car travelling at a constant speed.

air resistance/
friction The weight of the car and the reaction
driving force
force of the ground are balanced.
The driving force of the engine and
reaction
the resistive forces (air resistance and
weight
friction) are balanced.

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Resistive Forces Answers
1. On each force diagram below, circle the resistive force(s).

2. Explain why carpet will slow down a toy car faster than tiles

Carpet is a rougher surface than tiles, which means it has more grip on the toy car. This
increases the force of friction, which slows down the car faster.

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Calculating the Mean Answers
Calculate the mean distance the ball travelled for the other surfaces in the table below.

Distance Travelled (cm)

Surface
Repeat 1 Repeat 2 Repeat 3 Mean

grass 120 113 118 117

concrete 310 307 301 306

wooden decking 280 290 282 284

carpet 180 184 183 182

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 Using Data to Draw a Graph Answers
1. Plot the points on this graph. The first two points have been plotted for you.

36
Force (N) Extension (cm)

0 0 32

2 4 28

4 8
24
6 12
20

Extension (cm)
8 20

36 16
10
12

0 2 4 6 8 10
Force (N)

The line of best fit is the most reasonable continuous line determined by the points; it helps to
visualise the relationship between variables by averaging out any errors. The line may not pass
through every point and may not be a be straight line.

2. Add a line of best fit to the graph you plotted above.

3. Use your graph to predict the extension when a force of 3N is added to the spring

6cm

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Planning an Investigation Answers
Two students wanted to investigate how the material of a parachute affects the time it takes for
an object to fall.
The students have four types of material available: bin bags, felt, paper and cotton.
They have a wooden block with a hook, string, sticky tape and a timer.
Plan the investigation. Make sure you state the independent variable, the dependent variable and
the control variables. Use the information on the front of the sheet to help you structure your
plan.
Marking points:
• The independent variable is the material used to make the parachute.
• The four materials have been listed.
• The dependent variable is the time taken for the parachute to fall.
• The time taken for the parachute to fall is measured using the timer.
• The control variables are: the size of the parachute, the height the parachwute is dropped
from, the length of the string used to attach the block.
• The investigation is repeated three times for each material.
• The mean time taken for the parachute to fall is calculated for each material.

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Hooke’s Law Answers
Draw the example graphs below on a sheet of paper. Label the elastic limit in each of the example
graphs and write down the maximum force that could be applied to the spring to ensure it can
return to its original size underneath each graph.

1.
12

10

8
Extension (cm)

6 elastic limit

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Force (N)

maximum force = 2N

2.
0.6

0.5

0.4
Extension (m)

0.3

elastic limit
0.2

0.1

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Force (N)

maximum force = 15N

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Mass and Weight Answers
1. Of the planets in our Solar System, Mercury has the smallest mass and Jupiter has the largest
mass.
Explain how the mass and weight of an object would be different on Jupiter compared to on
Mercury.
The weight will increase because Jupiter has a larger mass and therefore a larger
gravitational field strength. The mass would stay the same because it is not affected by
the mass of the planet.
To calculate weight, we use the equation:
weight = mass × gravitational field strength
An object on Earth has a mass of 5kg. The gravitational field strength on Earth is 10N/kg.
weight = mass × gravitational field strength
weight = 5kg × 10N/kg
weight = 50N

2. An object on the Moon has a mass of 0.6kg. The gravitational field strength on the Moon is
1.6N/kg.
Calculate the weight of the object.
weight = mass × gravitational field strength
weight = 0.6kg × 1.6N/kg
weight = 0.96N
weight = 0.96N
3. An object on Jupiter has a mass of 3.4kg. The gravitational field strength on Jupiter is 25N/kg.
Calculate the weight of the object.
weight = mass × gravitational field strength
weight = 3.4kg × 25N/kg
weight = 85N
weight = 85N

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Rearranging Equations Answers
1. Use the rearranged equation to calculate the mass of a 4N object on Earth. Earth has a
gravitational field strength of 10N/kg.

weight
mass
=
gravitational field strength

4N
0.4Kg
=
10N/Kg
mass = 0.4kg

The extension of some elastic objects can be described by Hooke’s law.

force = spring constant × extension

2. Rearrange the equation to make the spring constant the subject. Use the steps above to help
you.
force = spring constant × extension
extension extension

force
spring constant
=
extension

3. Use the rearranged equation to calculate the spring constant of a spring that has an extension
of 0.2m when a force of 5N is applied.
Include the unit.

force
spring constant
=
extension

5
25
=
0.2

spring constant= 25N/m

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