Physics Laws Reference Guide

Laws & Principles Identified in the PHY 001–004 Syllabus

This guide scans the Physics syllabus (Mechanics & Properties of Matter, Heat/Waves/Optics,
Electricity & Magnetism, and Modern Physics) and pulls out every named law, rule, or principle.
Each entry gives a simplified, exam-ready statement plus its key formula(s) — including
differential and integral forms where a law is naturally expressed that way.
 Contents
● PHY 001 — Mechanics and Properties of Matter (15 laws/principles)
● PHY 002 — Heat, Waves and Optics (12 laws/principles)
● PHY 003 — Electricity and Magnetism (11 laws/principles)
● PHY 004 — Modern Physics (7 laws/principles)

Tip: formulas are shown in shaded boxes. Where a law has both a differential (instantaneous / rate)
form and an integral (solved / totalled) form, both are given.
 PHY 001 — Mechanics and Properties of Matter
Physical Quantities, Vectors, Kinematics, Dynamics, Gravitation, Energy, Circular/Oscillatory
Motion, Elasticity, Fluids

1. Newton's First Law of Motion (Law of Inertia)

A body stays at rest, or moving in a straight line at constant speed, unless a resultant (unbalanced)
force acts on it.

Condition for equilibrium

ΣF = 0 ⇒ v = constant

2. Newton's Second Law of Motion

The rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the resultant force acting on it,
and takes place in the direction of that force.

Differential form
F = dp/dt = d(mv)/dt = ma (for constant mass)
Integral form (impulse–momentum)
J = ∫F dt = Δp = mv − mu

3. Newton's Third Law of Motion

For every action (force), there is an equal and opposite reaction (force), acting on the other body in
the interacting pair.

Formula
FA on B = − FB on A

4. Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation

Every point mass attracts every other point mass with a force directly proportional to the product of
their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Force
F = G m1m2 / r2
Field strength & potential
2
g = GM / r V = − GM / r

5. Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion

1st (Law of Orbits): every planet moves in an ellipse with the Sun at one focus. 2nd (Law of Areas): a
line joining a planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times. 3rd (Law of Periods): the
square of the orbital period is proportional to the cube of the orbit's mean radius.
 2nd law (differential)
dA/dt = constant
3rd law
2 3
T / r = 4π2 / GM

6. Law of Conservation of Linear Momentum

In the absence of an external resultant force, the total momentum of a system of colliding or
interacting bodies remains constant.

Integral form
Σp (before) = Σp (after)
Differential form (isolated system)
dp/dt = 0

7. Principle of Conservation of Mechanical Energy

In a system where only conservative forces act, the sum of kinetic and potential energy remains
constant.

Formula
KE + PE = mv2 + mgh = constant

8. Hooke's Law
Within the elastic limit, the extension (or compression) of a material is directly proportional to the
applied force.

Restoring force
F = −kx
Young's Modulus
E = stress / strain = (F/A) / (x/L)

9. Archimedes' Principle
A body wholly or partly immersed in a fluid experiences an upthrust equal to the weight of the fluid it
displaces.

Formula
Upthrust = ρfluid Vdisplaced g

10. Principle of Floatation

A floating body displaces its own weight of the fluid in which it floats (a direct consequence of
Archimedes' Principle for equilibrium).
 Formula
Weight of body = Weight of fluid displaced

11. Stokes' Law

The viscous drag force on a small sphere moving slowly through a fluid is proportional to its radius,
its velocity, and the fluid's viscosity.

Formula
F = 6πηrv
At terminal velocity
6πηrvt = (4/3)πr3(ρs−ρf)g

12. Bernoulli's Principle

Along a streamline of a moving fluid, the sum of pressure energy, kinetic energy per unit volume,
and potential energy per unit volume is constant.

Integral form
2
P + ½ρv + ρgh = constant
Differential form
dP + ρv dv + ρg dh = 0

13. Pascal's Principle

Pressure applied to an enclosed, incompressible fluid is transmitted equally and undiminished to
every part of the fluid and to the walls of its container.

Formula
ΔP = F1/A1 = F2/A2

14. Poiseuille's Equation

The volume flow rate of a viscous fluid through a narrow tube depends on the pressure difference,
the tube's radius (to the 4th power), its length, and the fluid's viscosity.

Formula
Q = πΔP r4 / (8ηL)

15. Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum

If no external torque acts on a system, its total angular momentum remains constant.

Formula
L = Iω = constant
Differential form
dL/dt = τexternal
 PHY 002 — Heat, Waves and Optics
Thermometry, Heat, Ideal Gases, Thermodynamics, Waves, Sound, Geometrical & Wave Optics

16. Boyle's Law

At constant temperature, the pressure of a fixed mass of gas is inversely proportional to its volume.

Formula
PV = constant (T fixed)
Differential form
P dV + V dP = 0

17. Charles' Law

At constant pressure, the volume of a fixed mass of gas is directly proportional to its absolute
temperature.

Formula
V / T = constant (P fixed)

18. Pressure Law (Gay-Lussac's Law)

At constant volume, the pressure of a fixed mass of gas is directly proportional to its absolute
temperature.

Formula
P / T = constant (V fixed)

19. Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures

The total pressure exerted by a mixture of non-reacting gases equals the sum of the partial
pressures each gas would exert alone.

Formula
Ptotal = P1 + P2 + ... = ΣPi

Combined / Ideal Gas Equation

Merges Boyle's, Charles', and the Pressure Law for an ideal gas.

Formula
PV = nRT

20. Stefan-Boltzmann Law

The total power radiated per unit area of a black body is proportional to the fourth power of its
absolute temperature.
 Formula
P = σAT4
Net exchange between two bodies
Pnet = σA(T14 − T24)

21. First Law of Thermodynamics

The increase in internal energy of a system equals the heat supplied to it minus the work done by it
(a statement of energy conservation).

Differential form
dU = dQ − dW
Integral form
ΔU = Q − W

22. Second Law of Thermodynamics

Heat cannot spontaneously flow from a colder to a hotter body; equivalently, the entropy of an
isolated system never decreases.

Differential form
dS ≥ dQ/T
Integral form (isolated system)
ΔS ≥ 0

23. Law of Reflection

The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection, and both rays lie in the same plane as the
normal.

Formula
θi = θr

24. Snell's Law (Law of Refraction)

The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is constant for a
given pair of media.

Formula
n1 sinθ1 = n2 sinθ2

25. Principle of Superposition (of Waves)

When two or more waves overlap at a point, the resultant displacement is the vector sum of the
individual displacements.
 Formula
y = y1 + y2 + ... + yn

Wave Equation
Relates a wave's speed to its frequency and wavelength.

Formula
v = fλ
 PHY 003 — Electricity and Magnetism
Electrostatics, Capacitors, Current Electricity, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetic Induction, A.C.
Circuits

26. Coulomb's Law

The electrostatic force between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the
charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Formula
F = k q1q2 / r2 = q1q2 / (4πε0r2)

27. Gauss's Law

The net electric flux through any closed surface is proportional to the total charge enclosed by that
surface.

Differential form
∇·E = ρ/ε0
Integral form
E·dA = Qenc/ε0

28. Ohm's Law

The current through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across it,
provided temperature (and other physical conditions) remain constant.

Formula
V = IR

29. Kirchhoff's Current Law (Junction/First Law)

The total current entering a junction equals the total current leaving it (conservation of charge).

Formula
ΣIin = ΣIout

30. Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (Loop/Second Law)

The sum of the potential differences (EMFs and voltage drops) around any closed loop in a circuit is
zero (conservation of energy).

Formula
ΣV = 0 (around any closed loop)

31. Ampere's (Circuital) Law

The line integral of the magnetic field around a closed loop is proportional to the electric current
passing through that loop.

Differential form
∇ × B = μ0J
Integral form
B·dl = μ0Ienc

32. Biot-Savart Law

Gives the magnetic field produced at a point by a small current-carrying element, based on the
current, the element's length, and its distance/direction from the point.

Formula (differential element)

dB = (μ0/4π) · I dl × r̂ / r2

33. Faraday's Law of Electromagnetic Induction

The induced EMF in a circuit is directly proportional to the rate of change of magnetic flux linkage
through the circuit.

Differential form (N turns)

ε = −N dΦ/dt

34. Lenz's Law

The direction of an induced EMF (and current) is always such as to oppose the change in magnetic
flux that produced it — expressed by the minus sign in Faraday's Law.

Formula
ε = −dΦ/dt (sign shows opposition)

35. Fleming's Left-Hand Rule (Motor Rule)

A mnemonic giving the direction of the force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field:
thu—Motion, First finger—Field, se—Current.

Associated formula
F = BIL sinθ

36. Fleming's Right-Hand Rule (Generator/Dynamo Rule)

A mnemonic giving the direction of an induced current in a conductor moving through a magnetic
field (thu—Motion, First finger—Field, se—induced Current).

Associated formula
ε = BLv sinθ
 PHY 004 — Modern Physics
Atomic Structure, Quantum Concepts, X-Rays, Wave-Particle Duality, Radioactivity,
Semiconductors

37. Bragg's Law

Constructive interference of X-rays diffracted by the atomic planes of a crystal occurs only at
specific angles related to the plane spacing and wavelength.

Formula
nλ = 2d sinθ

38. Moseley's Law

The square root of the frequency of the characteristic X-ray line emitted by an element is linearly
related to its atomic number.

Formula
√ν = a(Z − b)

39. De Broglie's Hypothesis

Every moving particle has an associated wavelength inversely proportional to its momentum
(wave-particle duality of matter).

Formula
λ = h/p = h/(mv)

40. Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle

It is impossible to simultaneously know both the exact position and exact momentum of a particle
beyond a fundamental limit set by Planck's constant.

Position–momentum form
Δx · Δp ≥ ħ/2
Energy–time form
ΔE · Δt ≥ ħ/2

41. Law of Radioactive Decay

The rate at which radioactive nuclei decay is proportional to the number of undecayed nuclei
present at that instant.
 Differential form
dN/dt = −λN
Integral form (solution)
N = N0 e−λt
Half-life
t½ = ln2 / λ

42. Einstein's Mass-Energy Relation

Mass and energy are equivalent and interconvertible; a small mass defect corresponds to a large
quantity of energy.

Formula
2
E = mc

Compton Effect (supporting formula)

When X-rays scatter off electrons, the scattered wavelength increases depending on the scattering
angle, showing light's particle-like (photon) momentum.

Formula
Δλ = (h/mec)(1 − cosθ)