Forum login

Not registered? Sign-up here it's free.

External links

• NCEA on TKI
• NZQA website

Science 1.1 Demonstrate understanding of aspects of mechanics

Subject content

Make sure you have up-to-date course notes. Use them, and if you haven't got them see your teacher. The topics you may be tested on are:

• Phenomena, concepts, and principles about motion and force:
• vectors in one dimension:
• addition
• subtraction
• motion:
• distance
• speed (instantaneous, average, and constant)
• displacement
• velocity (average and constant)
• positive and negative acceleration (constant) Interact with this simulation to demonstrate important principles of motion with constant acceleration.

Need help with interpreting time graphs?
Check out the tutorial on motion of objects in one dimension.
Distance, speed and time
Distance-and-time graphs
Interpreting velocity-time graphs
Distance time graphs
Speed time graphs
Interpreting graphs animation

• force:
• mass
• weight
• acceleration due to gravity
• balanced and unbalanced forces
• free body force diagrams
• pressure.

• Phenomena, concepts, and principles about work, energy, and power:
• work and power
• gravitational potential energy
• kinetic energy
• conservation of mechanical energy in free fall situations.

Revision sites:

• Forces and motion about Newton’s laws and energy, work, and power.
• Gravity, force and weight
• Basic terminology and concepts - visit all four pages - potential, kinetic and mechanical energy and power.
• Relationships:
• Formulae can express the components of a relationship in a simplified way. Here are common components of a formula and a typical unit of measure in brackets:
• v = velocity (ms^–1)
• d = distance (m)
• t = time (s)
• a = acceleration (ms^–2)
• F = force (N)
• F_net = net (or resultant) force (N)
• m = mass (kg)
• P = power (W)
• E = energy (J)
• E_P = potential energy (J)
• E_k = kinetic energy (J)
• h = height (m)
• W = work (J)
• Δ means "change in"

v = Δd/Δt

a = Δv/Δt

F_net = ma

P = F/A

ΔE_p = mgΔh

E_k = 1/2 mv²

W = Fd

P = W/t

Back to top