Small steel spheres are released from rest at the surface of a deep column of liquid glycerin.
Why does a sphere initially accelerate downwards when it is first released?
Eventually, the sphere stops accelerating and settles at a constant velocity (terminal velocity). Explain, in terms of forces, why the sphere reaches terminal velocity.
An engineer investigated how the mass of different-sized steel spheres affects their terminal velocity in the glycerin. Figure 1 shows the experimental results.
Why does the terminal velocity increase with the mass of the sphere?
Select one option:
- As the mass increases, the diameter of the sphere increases.
- As the mass increases, the volume of the sphere increases.
- As the mass increases, the gravitational force (weight) acting on the sphere increases.
Explain the difference in the maximum kinetic energy of a sphere with a mass of 8 mg and a sphere with a mass of 16 mg.
The kinetic energy of the sphere is measured in joules. Which of the following is equivalent to 1 J?
Select one option:
- 1 kg m s-1
- 1 kg m2 s-2
- 1 kg m s-2
- 1 kg m2 s-1
One of the spheres hit the bottom of the container at its terminal velocity of 22 mm/s. The sphere took 0.015 s to come to a complete stop against the bottom surface.
Determine the average force exerted on the sphere as it stopped. Use information from Figure 1.
Forces and motion Questions
Practise AQA GCSE Physics Forces and motion with exam-style questions for Foundation and Higher tier. 83 questions covering Describing motion along a line, Forces, accelerations and Newton's Laws of motion, and Forces and braking, matched to the AQA GCSE Physics (8463) specification and written in Paper 1 and Paper 2 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.