AST201H1 Lecture : Lecture 2-Chapter 4-Making Sense of the Universe (Motion, Energy, and Gravity)

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copperclam445

4 Aug 2010

School

UTSG

Department

Astronomy & Astrophysics

Course

AST201H1

Professor

Stefan Mochnacki

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Chapter 4 ± Making Sense of the Universe (Motion, Energy, and Gravity)

Describing Motion

There are 3 basic terms to describe how an object is moving:

1. Speed tells us how far an object will go in a certain amount of time.

x ie, 100km/hr is a speed, which tells us that the car will cover 100 km in an

hour.

2. Velocity tells us both the speed and direction of an object.

x ie, 100km/hr going due north.

1. Acceleration is when there is a changing velocity in any way, whether in speed or

direction or both.

x You can often feel the effects of acceleration Æ speeding up in a car would push you

back into your seat, and slowing down in a car would pull you forward from the seat,

and around a curve would push you away from the direction of your turn.

x However, when in constant velocity\RXGRQ¶WIHHOVXFKHIIHFWVLHDVPRRWKIOLJKWRQ

an airplane.

The Acceleration of Gravity

x Gravity accelerates all objects by the same amount, regardless of their mass.

x However, air resistance can cause a difference in acceleration.

o ie, a feather floats gently to the ground, while a rock plummets.

x The acceleration of a falling object is called the acceleration of gravity and is equal to

9.8m/s^2 Æ downward velocity increases by 9.8m/s with each passing second.

Momentum and Force

x $QREMHFW¶Vmomentum is its combination of mass and velocity (Momentum = Mass X

Velocity).

x 7KHRQO\ZD\WRFKDQJHDQREMHFW¶VPRPHQWXPLVWRDSSO\Dforce.

x The net force (overall force) acting on an object represents the combined effect of all

the individual forces put together.

o ie, when driving at a constant velocity, the force generated by the engine to

turn the wheels precisely offsets the forces of air resistance and road friction;

thus, there is no net force on your car.

x A change in momentum occurs only when the net force is not zero.

x &KDQJLQJDQREMHFW¶VPRPHQWXPPHDQVFKDQJLQJLWVYHORFLW\ZKLOHLWVPDVVEHLQJ

constant. Thus, the presence of a net force causes an object to accelerate.

x In other words, anytime an object accelerates, a net force must be causing the

acceleration (causing the feelings of pushes forward, backward, or to the side in a car).

Moving in Circles

x An ice skater spins in place with zero velocity and hence with zero momentum.

Simply, her spin gives her angular momentum (circling momentum or turning

momentum).

x Any object that is either spinning or moving along a curved path has angular

momentum.

o ie, Earth has angular momentum due both to its rotation (rotational angular

momentum) and to its orbit around the Sun (orbital angular momentum).

x The tySHRIIRUFHWKDWFDQFKDQJHDQREMHFW¶VDQJXODUPRPHQWXPLVFDOOHGDtorque

(twisting force).

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o ie, opening the door means making it rotate on its hinges, and to change tire

turning the bolts on a tire means making them rotate, both require giving them

some angular momentum.

The Difference between Mass and Weights

x Your mass is the amount of matter in your body.

x Your weight describes a force that is acting on your mass. It is what a scale measures

when standing on it.

o ie, your mass will be the same no matter how the elevator is moving. When

the elevator is stationary or moving at constant velocity, the scale reads your

normal weight. However, when the elevator accelerates upward or downward,

the floor exerts a greater or weaker force which makes you heavier or lighter

respectively.

Free-Fall and Weightlessness

x If you are in free-fall ± falling without any resistance to slow you down ± then you

are weightless.

o ie, you are in free-fall when the elevator cable breaks, and when you jump off

a chair or spring.

Weightlessness in Space

x Astronauts are weightless the entire time they are orbiting Earth because they are in a

constant state of free-fall.

x The Space Shuttle, the Space Station, and all other orbiting objects stay in orbit

because they are coQVWDQWO\³IDOOLQJDURXQG´WKH(DUWK7KHLUFRQVWDQWVWDWHRIIUHH-

fall makes these spacecraft and everything in them weightless.

1HZWRQ¶V/DZVRI0RWLRQ

1. 1HZWRQ¶VILUVWODZRIPRWLRQ: an object moves at constant velocity unless a net force

acts to change its speed or direction.

x ie, a spaceship needs no fuel to keep moving in space.

2. 1HZWRQ¶VVHFRQGODZRIPRWLRQ: force = mass X acceleration

x ie, a baseball accelerates as the pitcher applies a force by moving his arm.

(Once the ball is released, the force frRPWKHSLWFKHU¶VDUPFHDVHVDQGWKH

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3. 1HZWRQ¶VWKLUGODZRIPRWLRQ: for any force, there is always an equal and opposite

reaction force.

x ie, a rocket is propelled upward by a force equal and opposite to the force with

which gas is expelled out its back.

DIAGRAM

Conservation Laws in Astronomy

1. Conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of interacting objects

cannot change as long as no external force is acting on them ± their total momentum is

conserved.

- 0RPHQWXPRIDQREMHFWFDQRQO\EHJDLQHGRUORVWLIVRPHRWKHUREMHFW¶V

momentum changes by the opposite amount.

- The total momentum of you and the rest of Earth remains the same at all times.

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Related Questions

An object moves clockwise with decreasing speed around an oval track. The velocity vectors at points G and H arc shown.

a. In the space at right, copy the velocity vectors and . From these vectors, determine the change in velocity vector .

b. If point H were chosen to lie closer to point G, describe how would change (direction and magnitude).

c. Describe how you would determine the acceleration (direction and magnitude) at point

G. In the space at right, indicate the direction of the acceleration of the object at point G.

d. Copy and (placed "tail-to-tail") in the space at right. How does the angle between the acceleration and velocity vectors compare to 900? (i.e., Is the angle greater than, less than, or equal to 90°?)

Generalize your results above and from tutorial to answer the following question:

For an object moving along a curved trajectory, how does the angle between the acceleration and velocity vectors compare to 90° if the object moves with (i) constant speed, (ii) increasing speed, and (iii) decreasing speed?

brownalpaca426

If you are told an object is accelerating, what should youconclude? Choose all that apply.
1The object is slowing down.
There is a nonzero net force acting on the object.
The object is moving with a constant velocity.
The object is changing direction.
The object is speeding up.

If you are told an object is accelerating, what should youconclude? Choose all that apply.

The object is changing direction.
The object is speeding up.
The object is slowing down.
The object is moving with a constant velocity.
There is a nonzero net force acting on the object

AST201H1 Lecture : Lecture 2-Chapter 4-Making Sense of the Universe (Motion, Energy, and Gravity)

AST201H1 Full Course Notes

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