Measurements
Scalar quantities are quantities in which the magnitude is stated, but the
direction is either not applicable or not specified.
Vector quantities are quantities in which both the magnitude and the direction
must be stated.
Kinematics
Distance travelled by an object is the length of path taken.
Displacement is the shortest distance from the initial to the final position of an
object.
Speed is the distance moved per unit time.
Velocity (v) of an object is the rate of change of displacement with respect to
time.
Acceleration of an object is the rate of change of velocity with respect to time.
Forces and Turning effect of Force
Newton’s First Law states that an object will continue in its state of rest or
uniform motion in a straight line as long as there is no net force acting on the
body.
Newton’s Second Law states that when a resultant force acts on an object of a
constant mass, the object will accelerate in the direction of the resultant force.
Newton’s Third Law states that if object A exerts a force on object B, then
object B will also exert an equal and opposite force on object A
The moment of a force (torque) is defined as the turning effect of the force
about a pivot and is the product of the force and the perpendicular distance from
the line of action of the force to the pivot.
The Centre of mass of a body of matter is an imaginary point at which the entire
mass of the body seems to act.
The Centre of gravity of a body of matter is an imaginary point at which the
entire weight of the body seems to act.
Mass, Weight and Density
Mass is defined as the amount of matter in an object
Weight is defined as the gravitational force acting on an object
Inertia is defined as the reluctance on an object to change its state of rest or
motion, due to its mass.
A Gravitational Field is a region in which a mass experiences a force due to
gravitational attraction
Gravitational Field Strength is defined as the gravitational force acting per unit
mass .
Density (ρ) is defined as the mass of a substance per unit volume.
Terminal velocity is the highest velocity attainable by an object in free fall.
Pressure
Pressure is defined as the perpendicular force acting on unit area of a surface or
the force per unit area.
Boyle’s Law states that the volume of a fixed mass of gas at constant
temperature is inversely proportional to the pressure applied to the gas.
Work, Energy and Power
The Principle of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created
nor destroyed but can be converted from one form to another and the total
amount of energy of an enclosed system remains constant.
Kinetic Energy, Ek is the energy a body possesses by virtue of its motion.
Gravitational Potential Energy is defined as the amount of work done in order
to raise the body to the height h from a reference level.
Power is defined as the rate of work done OR;
Power is defined as the rate of energy converted with respect to time.
Thermal Physics
Melting is the process in which energy absorbed by a substance result in a
change of state from solid to liquid, without a change in temperature.
Solidification is the process in which energy taken away from a substance result
in a change of state from liquid to solid, without a change in temperature.
Boiling is the process in which the energy absorbed by a substance changes it
from liquid state to gaseous state, without a change in temperature.
Condensation is the process in which energy taken away from substance
changes it from gaseous state to liquid state, without a change in temperature.
Heat Capacity, C, of a body is defined as the amount of heat (Q) required to
raise its temperature (θ) by one degree, without going through a change of state.
Specific heat capacity, c, of a body is defined as the amount of heat (Q)
required to raise the temperature (θ) of a unit mass of it by one degree, without
going through a change in state.
1.6 (b) Energy resources
•Renewable source of energy: is inexhaustible, for example solar, hydroelectric, wind etc.
Non-renewable source of energy: is exhaustible for example fossil fuels
•fuels can be burnt (or nuclear fuel can be forced to decay) in thermal power stations to transform the
chemical energy
stored to thermal energy which makes steam which turns turbines (kinetic energy) to produce electricity
-advantage: cheap, plentiful, low-tech
-disadvantage: harmful wastes -produces greenhouse gases and pollutant gases, radiation...
•hydroelectric dams: river and rain water fill up a lake behind a dam. As water rushes down through the
dam, it turns turbines which turn generators
•tidal power scheme: a dam is built across a river where it meets the sea. The lake behind the dam fills
when the tide
comes in and empties when the tide goes out. The flow of water turns the generator.
-advantage: no greenhouse gases are produced
-disadvantage: expensive, can’t be built everywhere
•wave energy: generators are driven by the up and down motion of the waves at sea.
-advantage: does not produce greenhouse gases
-disadvantage: difficult to build
•geothermal resources: water is pumped down to hot rocks deep underground and rises as steam.
-advantage: no carbon dioxide is produced
-disadvantage: deep drilling is difficult and expensive
•nuclear fission: uranium atoms are split by shooting neutrons at them.
-advantage: produces a lot of energy from using very little resources
-disadvantage: producing radioactive waste
•solar cells: are made of materials that can deliver an electrical current when they absorb light energy
•solar panels: absorb the energy and use it to heat water
-advantage: does not produce carbon dioxide
-disadvantage: variable amounts of sunshine in some countries
1 Energy, work and power
(a) Energy
An object may have energy because of its movement (kinetic energy) or because of its position, for
example a book on a shelf has gravitational potential energy - it can fall off the shelf. Energy can be
transferred from one type to another for example if the book falls off the shelf its gpe is turned into ke.
Energy is stored for example the book stores gpe, or a starch molecule stores chemical energy in its
bonds. An object can transfer its energy to another object too,for example conducting heat.