Author: Bernard Rand

Some people think that rockets push against the ground as they take off but really…

A typical GCSE level understanding of balanced forces allows a person to sit on a chair made of jelly. This is false because…

Some people think that it would be safer to hit a 1000 tonne concrete block at 30mph in a tank than in a modern car but actually…

Many people think that objects will slow down and come to rest if no resultant force acts upon them but really…

Many students identify the normal contact force as the Newton’s 3rd law pair force to the weight for a book on a table but actually…

It could be argued that when a horse pulls forward on a cart there is always an equal and opposite force backwards so the horse must not be able to accelerate…

Students often state that after opening their parachute the drag on a skydiver is always greater than before. Actually…

Work = Force x distance so since the Sun is exerting a force on the Earth and the Earth is moving it could be argued that the Sun must be doing work on the Earth. This is incorrect because…

Some people might argue that if we throw something against a wall and it comes to a stop momentum hasn’t been conserved. This is incorrect as…

Students typically assume friction always acts in the opposite direction to motion. However…