AQA GCSE Physics: Combined Science

Topic Questions

5.1 Forces & their Interactions

1a2 marks

State the difference between scalar and vector quantities.

1b3 marks

The table below contains a number of scalar and vector quantities.

Place one tick () in each row to show whether each quantity is a scalar or a vector.

Quantity Scalar Vector
Distance    
Speed    
Acceleration    
Energy    
Force    

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2a1 mark

Which image shows the force with the greatest magnitude?

Tick (✓) one box.

 

force-2 force-1 force-4 force-3
square square square square

2b1 mark

What is the correct unit for weight?

Tick (✓) one box.

   

W square
N square
kg square
m square
2c1 mark

Which of the following instruments allows weight to be measured directly?

Tick (✓) one box.

   

Top-pan balance square
Newtonmeter square
Joulemeter square
Ammeter square

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3a2 marks

A student is sitting still on a chair in her physics lesson.

Name the forces acting on the student.

3b2 marks

For your answer to part (a), state whether these forces are contact or non-contact forces.

3c1 mark

The student's weight is 450 N.

Determine the resultant force on the student.

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1a2 marks

Figure 1 shows a man attempting to push a large rock, and identifies some of the forces acting in this system.

Figure 1

5-1-h-1a-force-acting-on-a-system

Which forces in the list correctly identify the force pairs in this scenario?

Tick (✓) two boxes.

   

Force applied by man to rock & reaction force of rock.  square
Weight of rock & normal force of ground  square
Force of man's feet on ground & frictional force of ground square
Weight of man & normal force of ground.  square
1b3 marks

Higher Tier Only

David gets his friend Sam to help him move the rock. 

Figure 2 shows an aerial view of the position of the ropes used to pull the rock.

Figure 2

5-1-h-1b-rock-rope-vector

David and Sam pulled with equal force.

Draw an arrow on Figure 2 showing the direction of motion of the rock and explain why this is the case.

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2a2 marks

Higher Tier Only

A student throws a tennis ball vertically upwards and catches it as it returns to her.

Figure 1 shows the motion of the ball whilst it is in the air. 

Figure 1

5-1-h-2a-forces-ball

Draw a free-body force diagram of the ball at position C.

2b5 marks

Higher Tier Only

Explain the motion of the ball in terms of the forces acting upon it at each position throughout its journey.

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3a1 mark

Higher Tier Only

Figure 1 shows a skier being towed at a constant speed whilst sinking into the snow. 

Figure 1

5-1-h-3a-skier-with-forces

State the name of each of the forces A - D acting on the skier.

3b1 mark

Higher Tier Only

Which of the following statements are true about the forces acting on the skier?

Tick (✓) two boxes.

   

Force D > Force C square
Force C > Force D square
Force B > Force A square
Force A = Force B square

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1a5 marks

Explain the difference between mass and weight.

1b2 marks

The weight of an object is directly proportional to its mass. 

Sketch a graph of this relationship on Figure 1.

Figure 1

5-1-m-1b-axes

1c1 mark

Which value is represented by the gradient of the graph drawn in part (b)?

Tick (✓) one box.

   

The mass of the object square
The weight of the object square
The gravitational field strength square
The centre of mass of the object square

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2a2 marks

Figure 1 shows a football travelling through the air, to the right.

Figure 1

football

Two forces are acting on the ball: weight and air resistance.

Add two arrows to the diagram, showing the direction of the forces acting on the ball.

Make sure you label both forces.

2b2 marks

Forces can be separated into two different categories: contact forces and non-contact forces.

Place one tick (✓) in each row of the table below to show whether each force is a contact or a non-contact force.

Force Contact Non-contact
Air resistance    
Weight    

2c2 marks

State another example of a contact force and a non-contact force.

2d1 mark

The football bounces off a wall, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2

football-wall

The football exerts a force on the wall. 

The arrow in the diagram shows the size and direction of the force on the wall.

Add another arrow to the diagram showing the size and direction of the force exerted by the wall on the ball.

2e1 mark

State the law that gives the relationship between the two forces acting on the ball and wall.

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3a1 mark

Figure 3 shows a wooden block with a mass of 250 grams

Figure 3

wooden-block

State the equation that links mass (m), weight (W) and gravitational field strength (g).

3b2 marks

Calculate the weight of the block

Gravitational field strength = 9.8 N/kg

Give your answer to 2 significant figures.

3c1 mark

Describe what is meant by the centre of mass of an object.

3d1 mark

Add a cross (x) to Figure 3, showing the position of the centre of mass of the wooden block.

You may draw lines on the diagram showing how you found the centre of mass.

3e3 marks

Some students carry out an experiment to test the stability of the wooden block.

The experiment involves placing the block on a wooden board, and then raising one end of the board until the block falls over, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4
ms2e-aqa-gcse-physics

Explain why the block is originally stable and then topples over when the angle is increased.

3f2 marks

By taking careful measurements from either of the diagrams in Figure 3 or Figure 4, estimate the angle at which the block will topple over.

3g3 marks

The students repeat the experiment, but this time they place the block on its side, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5

block-on-side

Explain how this will affect the stability of the wooden block.

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4a1 mark

A car is towing a caravan at a steady speed.

The car and trailer are shown in Figure 6 along with some of the forces acting on the car.

Figure 6

caravan

The car is pulling the caravan with a force of 1500 N to the right.

State the size and direction of the force that the caravan exerts back on the car.

Size = _____________ N

Direction = _____________

4b2 marks

Given that the car is travelling at a constant speed, calculate the size of the frictional forces (friction and air resistance) acting on the car.

4c3 marks

Explain whether the frictional forces are greatest on the car or the caravan.

Your answer should refer to the data provided as well as giving an explanation for the relative size of the forces.

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5a1 mark

Figure 7 shows a boy pulling a toy kite.

Figure 7

kite

The kite has several forces acting on it, as shown in Figure 7

Figure 8 shows a vector diagram of one of these forces: the tension in the string.

Figure 8

vector-diagram1

Determine the magnitudes of the vertical and horizontal components of the tension.

Vertical component     =    _________ N

Horizontal component =   _________ N 

5b1 mark

State the size of the drag force acting on the kite.

Drag force  =        _________  N

5c3 marks

The kite has a mass of 150 g.

Calculate the weight of the kite.

Gravitational field strength = 9.8 N/kg

Give your answer to 2 significant figures.

5d2 marks

Calculate the size of the lift force on the kite.

5e2 marks

A moment later, the string on the kite breaks, releasing the kite.

At the moment of release, the tension in the string drops to zero, but the other forces all remain the same.

Determine the magnitude and direction of the force on the kite at the moment just after the string breaks.

Give the direction as an angle relative to the horizontal.

Resultant force = _________ N

Direction = _________ degrees (relative to the horizontal)

5f3 marks

Another kite has two strings.

Two people take one string each, and pull the strings in different directions, as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9

kite-2

The forces exerted in each string are shown in Figure 10

Figure 10
vector-diagram2

By drawing a scale vector diagram, determine the resultant force of these two forces.

Show your working

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