1. Biomechanics • Mechanics of movement:
– vectors and scalars – velocity, acceleration and
momentum/impulse in sprinting
– Newton’s Laws applied to movements –
application of forces in sporting activities
– projectile motion – factors affecting distance,
vector components of parabolic flight
– angular motion – conservation of angular
momentum during flight, moment of inertia
and its relationship with angular velocity.
– vectors and scalars – velocity, acceleration and
momentum/impulse in sprinting

2. (something WILL come up on this subject!)
Using ‘Newton’s First’ and ‘Second Laws of Motion’, explain how the swimmer dives off the starting blocks. (4 marks)
4 marks for 4 of:
A. Force is applied by the muscles
Newton’s First Law of Motion/Law of inertia
B. Performer will remain on the blocks unless a force is applied
C. Performer continues to move forwards with constant velocity until another force is applied
D. Water slows the swimmer
Newton’s Second Law of Motion/Law of Acceleration
E. Mass of swimmer is constant
F. Greater the force exerted on the blocks, the greater the acceleration/momentum
G. Force governs direction
(something WILL come up on this subject!)

3. Biomechanics
The term ‘Biomechanics’ literally means ‘the mechanics of living beings’ and it is used to analyse human performance from a scientific standpoint with the aim of:
achieving optimal sporting techniques,
improving the design of equipment
determining the stresses imposed on the body during performance in order to prevent injury.

4. Linear Motion
Occurs when a body moves in a straight or curved line with all parts of the body moving the same distance in the same direction at the same speed.
We are going to cover the following aspects of linear motion:
Vectors
Scalars
Mass
Weight
Speed
Velocity
Distance
Displacement
Acceleration
Force
Inertia
Momentum

5. Vectors and scalars – are only considered in terms of their magnitude
– are considered in terms of magnitude and direction
Scalar Quantities
Vector Quantities
Scalar
E.g. a man is walking at 2km/h = ??
A man is walking north-east at 2km/h = ??
Vector

6. Are mass and weight scalar or vector quantities?
– is the amount of matter (‘stuff’) that something is made up from
It is measured in Kg
– Is the force exerted on the mass of a body by gravity.
It is measured in Newtons (N)
Weight = mass x acceleration due to gravity
Mass
Weight
Scalar
Vector
On Earth, acceleration due to gravity is ~ 10 m/s2…
… so weight is 10x mass!
Are mass and weight scalar or vector quantities?

7. Force
Force is the ‘push or pull’ exerted on an object or body, which may either cause motion of a stationary body or a speeding up, slowing down or change of direction of a moving body.
Force can be generated internally by or externally by
Without such forces, movement would not be possible, and when such forces are understood and adapted to the same aim, optimal performance can be achieved.
Force is a Vector quantity – what does this mean?
It has magnitude and direction.
Muscle contraction
Gravity, friction, water and air resistance

8. Often, more than one force is acting upon an object.
The resultant force can be calculated by either adding the forces in the same direction; subtracting the forces in opposite directions, or by constructing a parallelogram of forces with the resultant force lying on the diagonal of the parallelogram.
Draw arrows to show the resultant force from the following vectors: a) b) c) d) e) f)

9. Linear Motion
Occurs when a body moves in a straight or curved line with all parts of the body moving the same distance in the same direction at the same speed.
We are going to cover the following aspects of linear motion:
Vectors
Scalars
Mass
Weight
Vectors
Scalars
Mass
Weight
Speed
Velocity
Distance
Displacement
Force
Acceleration
Force
Inertia
Momentum

10. Speed and Velocity
When analysing sporting performance, we are always concerned with how fast a body or an object is – i.e. their speed
Speed =
Calculate the speed (m/s) of a person who jogged 600m in 2 minutes
Calculate the distance (m) a man would travel in 3 minutes running at a speed of 4 m/s
Calculate the time it would take a woman to swim 400m at a speed of 1.6m/s
Is speed a scalar or vector quantity?
Distance travelled (m)
Time taken (s)
Scalar

11. Calculate the speed (m/s) of a person who jogged 600m in 2 minutes
Speed = D/T = 600 / 2x60 = 600 / 120 = 5m/s
Calculate the distance (m) a man would travel in 3 minutes running at a speed of 4 m/s
Distance = SxT = 4 x (3x60) = 4 x 180 = 720m
Calculate the time it would take a woman to swim 400m at a speed of 1.6m/s
Time = D / S = 400 / 1.6 = 250s

12. Speed and Velocity
Velocity is a Vector quantity – what must it have that speed doesn’t?
Velocity =
Displacement is the shortest possible route between the starting and finishing point – normally measured in a straight line (as the crow flies) in metres (m)
As velocity is a vector, directional information is needed to fully describe it.
i.e the car travelled with a velocity of 30mph in a south-westerly direction.
Look at page 82 of the textbook to see the distance and displacement of the great north run compared.
Direction
Displacement (m)
Time taken (s)

13. Acceleration (and deceleration)
Is acceleration a scalar or vector quantity?
Change in Velocity (ms-1)
Time (s)
Acceleration =
I.e. it is the rate of change of velocity of an object.
We tend to think of it as how quickly an object is speeding up, or slowing down.
Acceleration should be stated with a direction
e.g. the sprinted accelerated at 5ms-2 towards the finish line
The high jumper accelerated upwards at 8ms-2
The Acceleration (or deceleration) of an object can be shown through the gradient of a velocity-time graph.
Vector

14. Figure 2 shows a velocity/time graph for an elite 100-metre sprinter.
(i) Use Figure 2 to determine the velocity of the sprinter after 3 seconds, and identify the period of time when the sprinter’s acceleration was the greatest (2 marks)
(ii) What is happening to the sprinter between 6 and 11 seconds? Explain why this occurs (3 marks)

15. (b) (i) ms-1 (accept );
seconds.
2 marks
(ii) 1. Deceleration/decrease in velocity; (Do not credit slowing down)
2. Lack of ATP;
3. CP breakdown to ATP slowing/limiting;
4. Due to lack of stored PC;
5. Change to slower lactic acid/ alactic/anaerobic system
3 marks

16. Linear Motion
Occurs when a body moves in a straight or curved line with all parts of the body moving the same distance in the same direction at the same speed.
We are going to cover the following aspects of linear motion:
Vectors
Scalars
Mass
Weight
Speed
Velocity
Distance
Displacement
Speed
Velocity
Distance
Displacement
Acceleration
Acceleration
Force
Inertia
Momentum

17. Inertia
Inertia is the reluctance of a body to move or change its state of motion
Objects will stay in their state of inertia (i.e. stationary or moving at a constant velocity) unless a force overcomes that inertia.
The inertia of a body is directly proportional to its mass
Therefore an object with a greater mass requires a larger force to overcome its inertia and change its state of motion.

18. Momentum Momentum is the amount of motion a body has
Momentum is calculated as:
Mo = Mass (kg) x Velocity (ms-1)
The more massive, or the faster an object, the more momentum it has.
Momentum is linked to inertia – the more momentum something has, the harder it is to stop!

19. What is each of their momemtum when running at 4ms-1
Ben Morgan
1m 93
117 kg
Richie Gray
2m 08cm
120 kg
Leigh Halfpenny
1m 78cm
83 kg
What is each of their momemtum when running at 4ms-1

20. MyPEExam- A2 Vectors and Scalars + Newtons Laws of Motion
Prep
Definitions sheet
Task 5.02 and 5.05.
MyPEExam- A2 Vectors and Scalars + Newtons Laws of Motion