A-level Mathematics₇₃₅₇

Understand the concept of a force; understand and use Newton’s first law.

Understand and use Newton’s second law for motion in a straight line (restricted to forces in two perpendicular directions or simple cases of forces given as 2D vectors); extend to situations where forces need to be resolved (restricted to 2 dimensions).

Understand and use weight and motion in a straight line under gravity; gravitational acceleration, $\mathit{g}$ , and its value in SI units to varying degrees of accuracy.

(The inverse square law for gravitation is not required and $\mathit{g}$ may be assumed to be constant, but students should be aware that $\mathit{g}$ is not a universal constant but depends on location).

Understand and use Newton’s third law; equilibrium of forces on a particle and motion in a straight line (restricted to forces in two perpendicular directions or simple cases of forces given as 2D vectors); application to problems involving smooth pulleys and connected particles; resolving forces in 2 dimensions; equilibrium of a particle under coplanar forces.

Understand and use addition of forces; resultant forces; dynamics for motion in a plane.

Understand and use the $\mathit{F}\mathit{}\mathsf{\le }\mathit{}\mathit{\mu }\mathit{R}$ model for friction; coefficient of friction; motion of a body on a rough surface; limiting friction and statics.