Density and

Year 8
Checkpoint Moment Notes
Physics

Eng \ Fady Nabil Marcous

Density

Density tells us how much mass of a certain material is contained within

a certain volume.
The more material in a given volume, the greater the density.

So, in general, solids have high density values whereas gases have very low values:

Here’s the equation for calculating density :

Density = Mass
Volume

…and the other two forms of

the equation are :

D= M M
V= M M =DxV
V D x V D
The basic unit of density is Kg/m³ or g/cm3

Example

Calcuate the density of a glass block, length = 14cm, width = 4.5cm, height = 2cm, whose
mass = 315g.

Volume of the block = l x w x h = 14 x 4.5 x 2 = 126 cm3.

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So, density of block, D = M = 315 = 2.5 g/cm
V 126

Water has a density of exactly 1 g/cm3 (or 1000 kg/m3).

Air has a density of about 0.0013 g/cm3.

This is why a turbine driven by a certain volume of water is capable of

generating more electricity than a turbine driven by the same volume of air.
1 m3 of water weighs about 854 times the same amount of air.

Eng \ Fady Nabil Marcos Checkpoint Physics

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DENSITY

Which is heavier ? the wood in the trunk of a tree or the metal in a coin?

To have a fair answer, we should find the mass of equal volumes of both of them.

Length:
•A rule (ruler) is used to measure length for distances between 1mm and 1meter; the SI unit for length is the meter (m)
•To find out the volume of a regular object, you can use a mathematical formula, you just need to make a couple of
length measurements.
•To measure the volume of an irregular object you have to put the object into measuring cylinder with water. When
you add the object it displaces the water, making the water level rise. Measure
this rise. This is the volume of your object.

MEASURING THE DENSITY OF A RECTANGULAR SOLID BODY

Use the balance to measure the mass of the block in grams.
(The balance must read zero first.)
Use a ruler to measure the length, the height and the width of this block in centimeters.
The volume is found by multiplying the width x the height x the length
MEASURING THE DENSITY OF A LIQUID
The mass of an empty measuring cylinder should be measured first (m1).
The liquid is carefully poured in the measuring cylinder.
Find the mass of the measuring cylinder and the liquid together (m2).
m2 - m1 = the volume of the liquid only.
Read the volume of the liquid (v)
Find the density of the liquid, by the relation: m2-m1 / v

Or By Using a displacement can filled to over –flowing before solid inserted

where the volume is the volume of water collected in the measuring cylinder.

The density of a gas changes as its temperature and pressure change

NOTE : When two substances such as (a solid and a liquid) or (a liquid and a liquid)
are put together, the less dense substance floats above the denser substance.

* Notice that human body floats in water since its density is similar to that of water.

Eng \ Fady Nabil Marcos Checkpoint Physics

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 How fluids work
How dense?
A kilogram (2 1/5 lb) of
The weight of an object also depends bricks weighs the same as
on its mass—the amount of tiny a kilogram of oranges, but
the oranges take up more
particles (called atoms) it contains. space. Because the mass
Some substances pack more atoms of the bricks is packed into
into a space than others. The more a smaller space, we say
the bricks have a higher
closely packed the atoms are, the density than the oranges.
more dense the substance is. All
substances have different densities.

Moving through fluids

When objects move through a fluid they either float or sink, depending
on their density.
An object will float in air if it is less An object will float in water if it is less
dense than air. dense than water.

The gas inside the balloon is lighter than Boats float because they are mainly filled
the air around it, so it rises slowly. with air, which is less dense than water.

An object will sink in air if it is more An object will sink in water if it is more
dense than air. dense than water.

Apples are denser than air so they drop Brick molecules are very close together,
from trees. making bricks dense, so they sink.

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Eng \ Fady Nabil Marcos Checkpoint Physics
Gases and liquids

Float that boat Floating beach ball

How do ships float, and why Buoyancy

do they sometimes sink? It’s When an object
weighs less than the
all about buoyancy. amount of water it
displaces, it floats (or
Setting sail is “buoyant”). If it
weighs more, it sinks. Sinking
A ship is very heavy, especially when golf ball

it’s loaded with crew, passengers, and

cargo. But the ship still floats because as
it pushes down, it displaces water, and
the displaced water pushes upward.
If the ship weighs less than the
displaced water, it will
float. (See page 45.)

The weight of the ship is

spread out across the hull.

Gravity
Balancing act
While buoyancy pushes the
boat upward, gravity pulls it
downward. These two forces
balance each other out, so a
ship can float on the water. Buoyancy

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Eng \ Fady Nabil Marcos Checkpoint Physics
Gases and liquids

Floating balloons An airship can rise over 6,500 feet

(2,000 meters). That’s lower than an
Why do some balloons rise up into the airplane’s usual cruising height of
29,000 feet (8,800 meters).
air and others drop to the floor? To
understand this you have
to look at the gases
inside them.

ty b alloons
P ar a
re

He
fille

Helium
d

This balloon is
wit

filled with a gas

called helium. Heavy air
h he

Helium is lighter When a balloon is

than air, so this
l

filled with a gas that

i

balloon floats.
um

is lighter than air it

g

floats. When it is
Helium facts
a s.

filled with a gas that Helium gas has no

is heavier than air, smell. It makes up about
7 percent of natural gas.
it sinks.
Deep-sea divers breathe
in a mixture of helium and
oxygen.
At parties, helium
CO2
Helium boils at a very
balloons are tied
down so they Carbon dioxide low temperature, -452˚F
don’t float off! (-269˚C), and turns to gas.
When you breathe out (into a
balloon) the air contains more Helium, found in stars, is
carbon dioxide than normal named after the Greek word
air, making it heavier. So a for the Sun—helios.
balloon you blow up with Liquid helium is colorless,
your breath will sink. and very cold. It helps
launch space rockets.
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Eng \ Fady Nabil Marcos Checkpoint Physics
 Floating balloons
Flying ships of air How airships rise and fall
An airship is known as a lighter-than-air
(LTA) craft. Airships have a main helium- Airship Helium Airship
rising falling
filled balloon and two other large internal
balloons called ballonets. To control how
high an airship floats, the ballonets take in
or release air.
Air expelled Air taken in
Ballonets deflate through air Air inflating filling the
to go higher valves ballonets ballonets

To rise, the ballonets are closed To descend back down to Earth,

and deflated. The helium makes the ballonets are filled with the
the airship float upward. heavier air, making the airship sink.

A flap at the top of

How hot-air balloons work The balloon the balloon allows hot
Hot-air balloons float upward holds the hot air to escape and
air. Its shape controls how quickly
when the air inside them is the balloon sinks.
makes it hard
heated. This gives the air for the hot air
molecules more energy and to escape.
Fabric panels are sewn
they move farther apart, together sideways and
lengthwise to give the
which makes the air lighter. balloon strength.

Cold air weighs Hot air is Skirt Burners use propane

more because lighter gas to produce a hot
its molecules because its flame, which heats the
Propane tanks
are closer molecules are air inside the balloon.
together. farther apart.

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Eng \ Fady Nabil Marcos Checkpoint Physics
 TURNING EFFECT
Moment of a force

It is a turning effect of a force

Moment = Force x perpendicular distance

= (N X m) N.m
M= Fxd
= (N X cm) N.cm

Force, F, is measured in newtons (N)

Distance, d, is measured in metres, (m)
It depends on both the size of the force and how far it is applied from
the pivot or fulcrum.
The turning effect is even greater if you increase the force or
applying the force from a larger distance about a pivot.

M = 4 x 4= 16 N.m M = 4 x 2= 8 N.m
When same force is applied at a shorter distance from the hinge, so its moment is less,
and so its turning effect is less.

The law of levers

If the two forces (loads) are unequal, we can balance the beam when:

F1 x d1 = F2 x d2 So the beam is now in equilibrium

Conditions for equilibrium

1) When a body is in equilibrium, the sum of the clockwise moments about any point
equals the sum of the anticlockwise moments about the same point.
2) The sum of the forces in one direction equals the sum of the forces in the
opposite direction.

Eng \ Fady Nabil Marcos Checkpoint Physics

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Hard at work

Simple Class 1 lever

Levers consist of a solid part that
turns around a fixed point, called
the fulcrum. In class 1 levers, the
machines fulcrum is in the middle. The force
you apply at one end is magnified
at the other end.
It’s hard to hit a nail into wood Magnified
force
Solid part
with your hand, but much easier
with a hammer. Tools such as this Force you
Loa
apply d
are called simple machines. They
help people work faster and better. Fulcrum

A small movement from your hand Class 2 lever

travels down the handle to the head.
As the head moves, it stores energy. In class 2 levers, the fulcrum is at
one end and your hands apply a
force at the other end. This creates
a magnified force in the middle.
When the head hits the nail, the
stored energy is released as a Magnified force
large force that can split wood. Force you
apply

Loa
d

Feel the force

Tools, levers, and pulleys are all simple machines.
Fulcrum
They increase the size of the force you apply, so you
can perform a job with less effort. When you use a
hammer, you only need to move the handle a small Class 3 lever
way to give the head enough energy to push the nail Class 3 levers reduce the force you
through wood. apply. They are used in tweezers
and other tools that pick up small,
Levers move loads delicate objects.
Levers are simple machines that work
by magnifying or reducing a force. Reduced
A wheelbarrow is a kind of lever. It force
Force you
magnifies the lifting force from your arms so apply
that you can lift and move much heavier
loads. There are three different types of Fulcrum
Loa
d
lever: class 1, class 2, and class 3.
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Eng \ Fady Nabil Marcos Checkpoint Physics
Hard at work

Using levers Levers at home

These are all compound
levers—tools made up of
Every time you open a door, ride a more than one lever.
bike, or even bend your arm, you are Nutcrackers are a pair of
using levers. Many of the objects we class 2 levers that are
joined at the fulcrum.
use every day depend on leverage to
Tweezers are made up of
magnify forces and make tasks easier. two class 3 levers. They
reduce the force you apply.

Magnifying forces Scissors are class 1 levers.

The strongest cutting force
The amount by which a lever magnifies a force is nearest the hinge.
depends on how far the force you apply and the
force the lever produces are from the fulcrum.
Force you Force you Force you
apply apply apply

Force from
lever Force from Force from
lever lever

Fulcrum Fulcrum Fulcrum

If the force you apply is the same distance from If the force you apply is twice as far from the If the force you apply is three times as far from
the fulcrum as the force the lever produces, the fulcrum as the force the lever produces, the the fulcrum as the force the lever produces, the
two forces are equal. lever doubles the force. lever triples the force.

Crowbar Force you apply

One of the simplest kinds of

Force from
lever is the crowbar, which lever Force from
is a class 1 lever. You use a lever
crowbar to prize very heavy
objects off the ground. The
longer the crowbar is, the Load
more the force is magnified at
the other end. However, you
Fulcrum
have to move the long end of
Moving the crowbar a long way
the crowbar much farther provides enough force to lift the
than the short end will move. heavy rock a short distance.

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Eng \ Fady Nabil Marcos Checkpoint Physics
 Using levers
Human body
Your arms and legs are
levers. When you stand on
tiptoes, your lower leg
works as a class 2 lever.
The powerful calf muscle
pulls up your heel, lifting your Force you
body weight (the load), while apply

your toes form the fulcrum.

Load
Fulcrum

Fishing rod
When you use a fishing rod to
cast a line, the rod works as a
class 3 lever. Your hand applies
a powerful force near the base
of the rod to create a smaller
Force you force at the tip of the rod.
apply
Although the force is weaker,
the tip moves much farther
and faster than your hands,
Load
magnifying the speed.
The rod also works as a class 3 lever
Fulcrum when you haul in a fish.

Seesaw
A seesaw is a class 1 lever. You use the force of your
body weight to move the seesaw. If two people of
equal weight sit at equal distance from the fulcrum,
their weight will balance. But if one of them sits
farther from the fulcrum, their weight is magnified
and the seesaw tips over.

A small child could

balance the weight of
an elephant by sitting far
enough from the fulcrum. Force you apply

Fulcrum

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Eng \ Fady Nabil Marcos Checkpoint Physics