N5 ENGINEERING SCIENCE
ALL-MODULE DEFINITION NOTES
A simple revision booklet containing important definitions used in N5 Engineering Science. Module
names can differ between colleges, so compare this booklet with your official syllabus. The
definitions below are written in short, exam-friendly language.
How to study: Learn the meaning first, then learn the formula and practise one calculation. In an
exam, use the technical word in your definition whenever possible.
MODULE 1: MEASUREMENT, UNITS AND BASIC QUANTITIES
Physical quantity: A measurable property of a physical object or system.
SI system: The internationally accepted system of units used in engineering and science.
Length: The distance between two points. The SI unit is metre (m).
Mass: The amount of matter in a body. The SI unit is kilogram (kg).
Time: The duration between events. The SI unit is second (s).
Force: A push or pull that can change the motion or shape of a body.
Scalar: A quantity with magnitude only, such as mass, time or temperature.
Vector: A quantity with both magnitude and direction, such as force or velocity.
Accuracy: How close a measured value is to the true value.
Precision: How close repeated measurements are to one another.
MODULE 2: FORCE, MOTION AND NEWTON'S LAWS
Motion: A change in position of an object with time.
Distance: The total length of the path travelled by an object.
Displacement: The straight-line change in position from the starting point to the final point, including
direction.
Speed: Distance travelled per unit time.
Velocity: Displacement per unit time, including direction.
Acceleration: The rate of change of velocity with time.
Deceleration: A decrease in velocity with time; it is negative acceleration when the chosen positive
direction is unchanged.
Inertia: The tendency of a body to resist a change in its state of motion.
Newton's first law: A body remains at rest or moves at constant velocity unless acted on by an
unbalanced external force.
Newton's second law: The net force on a body equals its mass multiplied by its acceleration: F = ma.
Newton's third law: For every action force there is an equal and opposite reaction force.
Momentum: The product of mass and velocity: p = mv.
Impulse: The change in momentum caused by a force acting over a time interval.
MODULE 3: EQUILIBRIUM AND FORCE SYSTEMS
Equilibrium: A condition in which the resultant force and resultant moment on a body are zero.
Resultant force: A single force that has the same effect as all the forces acting together.
Concurrent forces: Forces whose lines of action meet at one point.
Coplanar forces: Forces whose lines of action lie in the same plane.
Collinear forces: Forces acting along the same straight line.
Resolution of a force: The process of replacing one force with components in selected directions.
Component: One of the parts into which a vector force is resolved.
Free-body diagram: A sketch of a body showing the external forces and moments acting on it.
Reaction force: A support force produced by a constraint such as a pin, roller or fixed support.
MODULE 4: MOMENTS, COUPLES AND CENTRE OF GRAVITY
Moment: The turning effect of a force about a point or axis.
Pivot: The point or axis about which a body rotates.
Perpendicular distance: The shortest distance from the pivot to the line of action of a force.
Couple: Two equal, opposite and parallel forces separated by a distance, producing a turning effect.
Torque: The turning effect associated with a force about an axis; commonly expressed in N·m.
Principle of moments: For a body in rotational equilibrium, the sum of clockwise moments equals the
sum of anticlockwise moments.
Centre of gravity: The point through which the total weight of a body may be considered to act.
Centre of mass: The point at which the mass of a body may be considered concentrated for
translational motion.
Line of action: The imaginary straight line along which a force acts.
MODULE 5: FRICTION
Friction: A force that opposes relative motion or the tendency of motion between surfaces in contact.
Static friction: Friction that acts while surfaces are not sliding relative to each other.
Limiting friction: The greatest value of static friction just before sliding begins.
Kinetic friction: Friction acting between surfaces that are already sliding.
Coefficient of friction: The ratio of limiting friction to normal reaction, written μ = F/N.
Normal reaction: The contact force acting perpendicular to a surface.
Angle of friction: The angle between the normal reaction and the resultant reaction at limiting
friction.
Lubrication: The use of a substance such as oil or grease to reduce friction and wear.
MODULE 6: WORK, ENERGY AND POWER
Work: Energy transferred when a force causes displacement in the direction of the force.
Energy: The capacity of a system or body to do work.
Kinetic energy: Energy possessed by a body because of its motion.
Potential energy: Stored energy due to position, height or configuration.
Gravitational potential energy: Energy a body has because of its height in a gravitational field.
Power: The rate at which work is done or energy is transferred.
Mechanical power: The rate of doing mechanical work.
Efficiency: The ratio of useful output energy or power to input energy or power, usually expressed as
a percentage.
Conservation of energy: Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be transferred or
transformed.
MODULE 7: MATERIALS AND MATERIAL PROPERTIES
Engineering material: A material selected and used to manufacture or construct an engineering
component.
Metal: A material that generally has good electrical and thermal conductivity and can often be
shaped by forming or machining.
Ferrous metal: A metal containing iron as its main element, such as steel or cast iron.
Non-ferrous metal: A metal in which iron is not the main element, such as aluminium, copper or
brass.
Alloy: A material made by combining a metal with one or more other elements to obtain desired
properties.
Steel: An iron-based alloy containing carbon and often other alloying elements.
Cast iron: An iron-carbon alloy with relatively high carbon content, commonly used for cast
components.
Strength: The ability of a material to withstand an applied load without failure.
Hardness: The ability of a material to resist indentation, scratching or wear.
Toughness: The ability of a material to absorb energy before fracturing.
Ductility: The ability of a material to undergo significant plastic deformation in tension before
breaking.
Malleability: The ability of a material to undergo plastic deformation under compression, such as
being rolled into sheet.
Brittleness: The tendency of a material to fracture with little plastic deformation.
Elasticity: The ability of a material to return to its original shape after the load is removed, within its
elastic limit.
Plasticity: The ability of a material to undergo permanent deformation without breaking.
Stiffness: The resistance of a material or component to deformation.
Wear: The gradual loss of material from a surface due to contact, friction or other action.
MODULE 8: STRESS, STRAIN AND ELASTICITY
Load: An external force or system of forces applied to a body.
Stress: Internal resisting force per unit cross-sectional area: σ = F/A.
Tensile stress: Stress produced when a member is pulled or stretched.
Compressive stress: Stress produced when a member is pushed or shortened.
Shear stress: Stress caused by forces acting parallel to a surface or cross-section.
Strain: The deformation divided by the original dimension.
Tensile strain: Change in length divided by original length when a member is stretched.
Compressive strain: Change in length divided by original length when a member is compressed.
Shear strain: Angular deformation produced by shear loading.
Elastic limit: The greatest stress for which a material can return to its original shape when the load is
removed.
Yield point: A point at which significant plastic deformation begins with little or no increase in stress.
Ultimate tensile strength: The maximum tensile stress a material reaches during a tensile test.
Factor of safety: The ratio between a limiting or failure load/stress and the allowable working
load/stress.
Young's modulus: The ratio of tensile stress to tensile strain within the elastic range: E = σ/ε.
Hooke's law: Within the elastic limit, stress is proportional to strain.
MODULE 9: BEAMS, BENDING AND SHEAR
Beam: A structural member designed mainly to carry loads transverse to its longitudinal axis.
Simply supported beam: A beam supported so that it can rotate at the supports, commonly with a
pin and roller arrangement.
Cantilever beam: A beam fixed at one end and free at the other.
Fixed beam: A beam restrained against rotation and translation at its ends.
Shear force: The internal force acting parallel to a cross-section of a beam.
Bending moment: The internal turning effect at a section of a beam caused by external loads.
Neutral axis: The line in a beam cross-section where longitudinal bending stress is zero in simple
bending.
Bending stress: Normal stress developed in a beam as a result of bending.
Deflection: The displacement of a beam from its original position due to loading.
Second moment of area: A geometric property that measures how an area is distributed about an
axis and indicates resistance to bending.
MODULE 10: FLUIDS AND PRESSURE
Fluid: A substance that can flow and continuously deform under shear stress; liquids and gases are
fluids.
Pressure: Normal force acting per unit area: p = F/A.
Atmospheric pressure: Pressure exerted by the Earth's atmosphere.
Absolute pressure: Pressure measured relative to a perfect vacuum.
Gauge pressure: Pressure measured relative to atmospheric pressure.
Density: Mass per unit volume: ρ = m/V.
Specific gravity: The ratio of a substance's density to the density of a reference substance, usually
water for liquids.
Viscosity: A fluid's resistance to flow or internal shearing.
Hydrostatic pressure: Pressure in a fluid at rest caused mainly by the weight of the fluid above a
point.
Pascal's principle: Pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted throughout the fluid.
Buoyancy: The upward force exerted by a fluid on an immersed or floating body.
Upthrust: The upward buoyant force acting on a body in a fluid.
Flow rate: The volume of fluid passing a point per unit time.
MODULE 11: HEAT AND TEMPERATURE
Temperature: A measure related to the thermal state of a body and how hot or cold it is.
Heat: Energy transferred between bodies because of a temperature difference.
Thermal energy: Internal energy associated with the microscopic motion and interactions of
particles.
Specific heat capacity: The heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by
1°C or 1 K.
Sensible heat: Heat transferred that changes temperature without changing the phase.
Latent heat: Heat absorbed or released during a change of phase without a temperature change.
Specific latent heat: The heat required to change the phase of 1 kg of a substance at constant
temperature.
Conduction: Heat transfer through a material due to particle interactions, without bulk movement of
the material.
Convection: Heat transfer by the movement of a fluid.
Radiation: Heat transfer by electromagnetic waves and does not require a material medium.
Thermal expansion: Increase in size of a material when its temperature rises.
Melting: Change from solid to liquid.
Boiling: Change from liquid to gas throughout the liquid when its vapour pressure reaches the
surrounding pressure.
Condensation: Change from gas to liquid.
Freezing: Change from liquid to solid.
MODULE 12: GASES AND GAS LAWS
Gas: A state of matter with no fixed shape or volume and particles that are relatively far apart.
Pressure: Force per unit area exerted by gas particles on the walls of a container.
Absolute temperature: Temperature measured from absolute zero, expressed in kelvin (K).
Boyle's law: For a fixed mass of gas at constant temperature, pressure is inversely proportional to
volume.
Charles' law: For a fixed mass of gas at constant pressure, volume is directly proportional to absolute
temperature.
Pressure law: For a fixed mass of gas at constant volume, pressure is directly proportional to
absolute temperature.
Ideal gas: A theoretical gas model in which particles have negligible volume and no intermolecular
forces.
MODULE 13: SIMPLE MACHINES AND MECHANICAL
ADVANTAGE
Machine: A device that transmits or changes force and motion to perform useful work.
Effort: The input force applied to a machine.
Load: The resistance or useful output force that the machine must overcome.
Mechanical advantage: The ratio of load to effort: MA = load/effort.
Velocity ratio: The ratio of the distance moved by the effort to the distance moved by the load.
Mechanical efficiency: The ratio of useful output work to input work, usually expressed as a
percentage.
Lever: A rigid bar that turns about a fixed point called a fulcrum.
Fulcrum: The pivot or support about which a lever turns.
Pulley: A wheel with a groove used with a rope or belt to transmit force or motion.
Gear: A toothed wheel that transmits rotary motion and torque to another toothed wheel.
MODULE 14: BASIC ELECTRICAL CONCEPTS
Electric current: The rate of flow of electric charge through a conductor.
Voltage: The electrical potential difference between two points; it provides the potential to drive
current.
Resistance: The opposition offered by a material or component to electric current.
Ohm's law: For a conductor under constant physical conditions, voltage is proportional to current: V
= IR.
Electrical power: The rate at which electrical energy is transferred: P = VI.
Conductor: A material that allows electric charge to flow relatively easily.
Insulator: A material that strongly resists the flow of electric charge.
Circuit: A complete conducting path through which electric current can flow.
MODULE 15: REVISION OF COMMON ENGINEERING TERMS
Workpiece: The material or component being worked on by a machine or manufacturing process.
Tolerance: The permitted variation from a specified dimension.
Dimension: A numerical value describing the size, position or geometry of a feature.
Manufacturing: The process of converting raw materials into useful products or components.
Machining: A manufacturing process in which material is removed to produce a desired shape or
size.
Safety factor: An allowance included in design to provide a margin between working conditions and
failure conditions.
Failure: The condition in which a component can no longer safely perform its required function.
Deformation: A change in the shape or dimensions of a body caused by applied forces, temperature
or other effects.
Fatigue: Progressive damage and possible failure caused by repeated or fluctuating loads.
Corrosion: Deterioration of a material, especially a metal, due to chemical or electrochemical
reaction with its environment.
MASTER FORMULA & UNIT SHEET
Force: F = ma — N
Weight: W = mg — N
Moment: M = Fd — N·m
Friction: F = μN — N
Velocity: v = u + at — m/s
Displacement: s = ut + ½at² — m
Kinetic energy: KE = ½mv² — J
Potential energy: PE = mgh — J
Power: P = W/t — W
Efficiency: η = output/input × 100%
Stress: σ = F/A — Pa
Strain: ε = ΔL/L — no unit
Young's modulus: E = σ/ε — Pa
Pressure: p = F/A — Pa
Liquid pressure: p = ρgh — Pa
Density: ρ = m/V — kg/m³
Heat: Q = mcΔT — J
Electrical: V = IR and P = VI
HOW TO ANSWER DEFINITION QUESTIONS
Use a short, direct sentence. Start with the technical term and state what it means. Avoid giving an
example instead of a definition. If a formula is commonly linked to the definition, learn the formula
too.
Example: Question: Define stress. Good answer: "Stress is the internal resisting force per unit
cross-sectional area of a material." Then write σ = F/A if the question also asks for the formula.