Friday, 11 September 2026

Case Base study



Case Study 1: Pushing a Trolley


A student pushes an empty shopping trolley with

 a certain force. The trolley starts moving and its 

speed increases. When the same force is applied 

to a loaded trolley, the trolley accelerates more 

slowly. When the student stops pushing, the trolley 

gradually comes to rest due to friction.


Questions:


1. Why does the trolley start moving when the student

 pushes it?



2. What happens to the acceleration when the mass of the

 trolley is increased while the applied force remains the same?



3. Which force brings the trolley to rest after the student 

stops pushing?



4. According to Newton’s second law, write the relation 

between force, mass and acceleration.




Answers:


1. An unbalanced force acts on the trolley.



2. Acceleration decreases.



3. Frictional force.



4. F = ma





Case Study 2: Football Game


During a football match, a stationary football is kicked

 by a player. The ball starts moving rapidly. Another player 

stops the moving ball by applying force with his foot. 

Sometimes, a player changes the direction of a moving 

ball by kicking it from the side.


Questions:


1. What effect of force is demonstrated when the stationary ball starts moving?



2. What happens to the motion of the ball when the second player stops it?



3. How can force change the direction of a moving object?



4. Is force required to change the velocity of an object?




Answers:


1. Force changes the state of rest of the ball.



2. Its velocity decreases and becomes zero.



3. By applying force in a direction different from its existing motion.



4. Yes. A change in velocity requires an unbalanced force.





---


Case Study 3: Bus Starting Suddenly


A passenger is standing inside a bus. When the driver suddenly

 starts the bus, the passenger tends to fall backwards. When the

 moving bus suddenly applies brakes, the passenger tends to move forward.


Questions:


1. Why does the passenger fall backwards when the bus starts suddenly?



2. Why does the passenger move forward when the moving bus stops suddenly?



3. Which property of matter is responsible for this behaviour?



4. State the law of motion associated with this phenomenon.




Answers:


1. Due to inertia, the passenger's body tends to remain at rest while the bus moves forward.



2. Due to inertia, the body tends to continue its state of motion.



3. Inertia.



4. Newton’s First Law of Motion.





---


Case Study 4: Cricket Ball


A cricket ball of mass 0.2 kg is initially at rest. A batsman

 applies a force of 10 N on the ball for a short time. The force makes the ball move forward.


Questions:


1. Calculate the acceleration produced in the ball.



2. What would happen to the acceleration if the same force were applied to a ball of greater mass?



3. What type of force changes the state of motion of the ball?



4. Which Newton’s law gives the mathematical relationship between force, mass and acceleration?




Answers:


1. Using F = ma




\[

   a=\frac{F}{m}=\frac{10}{0.2}=50\,m/s^2

\]


2. Acceleration would decrease.



3. Unbalanced force.



4. Newton’s Second Law of Motion.





---


Case Study 5: Rocket Launch


A rocket is launched from the Earth. Hot gases are expelled downward at very high speed. As a result, the rocket moves upward. The upward motion of the rocket occurs even though there is no solid surface for the rocket to push against.


Questions:


1. Which Newton’s law explains the upward motion of the rocket?



2. What is the action force in this situation?



3. What is the reaction force?



4. Are the action and reaction forces equal in magnitude?



5. Do action and reaction forces act on the same object?




Answers:


1. Newton’s Third Law of Motion.



2. The rocket exerts a force on 

the gases downward.



3. The gases exert an upward force on the rocket.



4. Yes, they are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.



5. No. They act on two different objects.



No comments:

Post a Comment