PHYSICS NOTES
Why is physics important?
Physics explains how the world around us works. Many of our modern technologies are based off of
scientific discoveries made in the science of physics. Engineers use physics to help design airplanes,
cars, buildings, and electronics such as computers and cell phones.
Important Discoveries in Physics
• Nicholas Copernicus - discovered that the Earth rotates around the Sun.
• Galileo - demonstrated that heavy objects do not fall faster than lighter ones in his famous
Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment.
• Isaac Newton - published the three laws of motion and explained how gravity works.
• John Dalton - described the atom and the atomic theory of matter.
• Albert Einstein - published the theory of relativity.
• Max Planck - described quantum theory.
Power
What is power?
The word "power" is often used to describe someone in authority like a king or a dictator. It's also
used to describe someone or something that is very strong like a baseball player that hits home runs.
In physics, power is used to describe the rate at which energy is used. In other words, it is a
measurement of how fast you are using energy.
The equation that describes power is:
Power = Work ÷ Time
or
P = W/t
An Example
Whether you run up a flight of stairs in 5 seconds or take a slow walk up the same flight in 40
seconds, you are doing the same amount of work. However, you are doing it at a different rate. When
you run up the stairs you are working much faster. While running up the stairs you have a higher
power than when you walk up the stairs.
If the work it takes you to climb the stairs is 1000 joules, then we can calculate the power in both
cases P1 (running) and P2 (walking):
Power = W/t
P1 = 1000 J ÷ 5 s
P1 = 200 W
P2 = 1000 J ÷ 40 s
P2 = 25 W
You can see that the power was much higher while running the stairs than while walking.
How to Measure Power
The standard unit for measuring power is the Watt. From the equation above we can see that power
is Work ÷ Time. The unit for work is the joule (J), so a Watt is the same as a joule/second or J/s.
Another common unit for power that is used for automobile engines and machines is horsepower.
One horsepower is about equivalent to 745.7 Watts.
Power and Force
Power can also be calculated from the force and velocity of an object using the following equation:
power = force * velocity
Electrical Power
When figuring out the electrical power, we use the current and the voltage. Current is measured in
amperes (A) and voltage is measured in volts (V). Note: Current is represented in equations with an
"I."
Power = Current * Voltage
P=I*V
Example problem:
What is the power of an electrical circuit generating 3 amperes at 10 volts?
P=I*V
P = 3A * 10V
P = 30 Watts
Kinetic Energy
What is kinetic energy?
Kinetic energy is the energy an object has due to its motion. As long as an object is moving at the
same velocity, it will maintain the same kinetic energy.
The kinetic energy of an object is calculated from the velocity and the mass of the object. As you can
see from the equation below, the velocity is squared and can have a significant impact on the kinetic
energy.
Here is the equation for calculating kinetic energy (KE):
KE = 1/2 * m * v2
where m = mass and v = velocity
How to Measure Kinetic Energy
The standard unit for kinetic energy is the joule (J). The joule is the standard unit for energy in
general. Other units for energy include the newton-meter (Nm) and the kilogram meter squared over
seconds squared (kg m2/s2).
Kinetic energy is a scalar quantity, which means it only has a magnitude and not a direction. It is not a
vector.
How is it different from potential energy?
Kinetic energy is due to an object's motion while potential energy is due to an object's position or
state. When you calculate an object's kinetic energy, its velocity is an important factor. Velocity,
however, has nothing to do with an object's potential energy.
The green ball has potential energy due
to its height. The purple ball has kinetic
energy due to its velocity.
Example Using A Roller Coaster
One way to think of potential and kinetic energy is to picture a car on a roller coaster. As the car
travels up the coaster it is gaining potential energy. It has the most potential energy at the top of the
coaster. As the car travels down the coaster, it gains speed and kinetic energy. At the same time it is
gaining kinetic energy, it is losing potential energy. At the bottom of the coaster the car has the most
speed and the most kinetic energy, but also the least potential energy.
Example problems:
1. A car and a bicycle are traveling at the same speed, which has the most kinetic energy?
The car does because it has more mass.
2. A ball weighs around 1 kg and is traveling at 20 meters per second, what is its kinetic energy?
KE = 1/2 * m * v2
KE = 1/2 * 1kg * (20 m /s)2
KE = 200 J
3. A boy weighs 50 kg and is running 3 meters per second, what is his kinetic energy?
KE = 1/2 * m * v2
KE = 1/2 * 50 kg * (3 m/s)2
KE = 225 J
Interesting Facts about Kinetic Energy
• If you double the mass of an object, you double the kinetic energy.
• If you double the speed of an object, the kinetic energy increases by four times.
• The word "kinetic" comes from the Greek word "kinesis" which means motion.
• Kinetic energy can be passed from one object to another in the form of a collision.
• The term "kinetic energy" was first coined by mathematician and physicist Lord Kelvin.
Potential Energy
What is potential energy?
Potential energy is the stored energy an object has because of its position or state. A bicycle on top
of a hill, a book held over your head, and a stretched spring all have potential energy.
How to Measure Potential Energy
The standard unit for measuring potential energy is the joule, which is abbreviated as "J."
How is it different from kinetic energy?
Potential energy is stored energy while kinetic energy is the energy of motion. When potential energy
is used it is converted into kinetic energy. You can think of potential energy as kinetic energy waiting
to happen.
The green ball has potential energy due
to its height. The purple ball has kinetic
energy due to its velocity.
A Car on a Hill
We can compare potential and kinetic energy by considering a car on a hill. When the car is at the top
of the hill it has the most potential energy. If it is sitting still, it has no kinetic energy. As the car begins
to roll down the hill, it loses potential energy, but gains kinetic energy. The potential energy of the
position of the car at the top of the hill is getting converted into kinetic energy.
Gravitational Potential Energy
One type of potential energy comes from the Earth's gravity. This is called gravitational potential
energy (GPE). Gravitational potential energy is the energy stored in an object based on its height and
mass. To calculate the gravitational potential energy we use the following equation:
GPE = mass * g * height
GPE = m*g*h
Where "g" is the standard acceleration of gravity which equals 9.8 m/s2. The height is determined
based on the height the object could potentially fall. The height may be the distance above the ground
or perhaps the lab table we are working on.
Example problems:
What is the potential energy of a 2 kg rock sitting at the top of a 10 meter high cliff?
GPE = mass * g * height
GPE = 2kg * 9.8 m/s2 * 10m
GPE = 196 J
Potential Energy and Work
The potential energy is equal to the amount of work done to get an object into its position. For
example, if you were to lift a book off the floor and place it on a table. The potential energy of the
book on the table will equal the amount of work it took to move the book from the floor to the table.
Other Types of Potential Energy
• Elastic - Elastic potential energy is stored when materials stretch or compress. Examples of
elastic potential energy include springs, rubber bands, and slingshots.
• Electric - Electric potential energy is the capacity for doing work based on the object's electric
charge.
• Nuclear - The potential energy of the particles inside an atom.
• Chemical - Chemical potential energy is the energy stored up in substances due to
their chemical bonds. One example of this is the energy stored in gasoline for a car.
Interesting Facts about Potential Energy
• Scottish scientist William Rankine first coined the term potential energy in the 19th century.
• The equation for calculating the potential energy of a spring is PE = 1/2 * k * x2, where k is the
spring constant and x is the amount of compression.
• The concept of potential energy goes all the way back to Ancient Greece and the
philosopher Aristotle.
Work
What is work?
We often use the word "work" in our everyday lives. For example, we would say that getting good
grades in school takes a lot of hard "work". In physics, the term "work" has a specific meaning.
Work, in physics, occurs when a force acts on an object to move it some distance from the start point
(also called displacement). Work is calculated as the force times the distance. The following equation
is used to describe work:
Work = Force * distance
or
W = Fd
How to Measure Work
The standard unit for work is the joule (J). The joule is the same as a newton-meter where the newton
is the force and the meter is the distance.
Force and Displacement
The distance (or displacement) in work is the distance from the start point to the end point. The
amount of traveling in between doesn't matter. For example, if you lift a weight off the ground and
then place it back on the ground the distance (or displacement) is zero.
Don't be Tricked
Measuring work can sometimes be tricky. In order for the equation W = Fd to work, the force used in
the equation must be the force used to cause the displacement or distance. Also, remember for work
to have occurred, the object must be displaced by the force. Otherwise, the distance, or "d", in the
formula is 0 and the work will be 0.
Here are some examples:
• If someone is pushing on a wall with all their might, but the wall doesn't move, no work has
occurred. This is because the distance is zero.
• If someone is using force to hold a rock over their head while walking eastward across a field,
no work has occurred. This is because the force is not in the same direction (the force is up) as
the distance moved by the rock (eastward).
• If you do a full push-up, lifting yourself up and then back down, the total work is zero. This is
because the total distance from the starting point to the ending point is zero.
• If you drop your pencil, then work has occurred. This is because the displacement of the pencil
from your hand to the ground is greater than zero and is in the same direction as the force
acting on the pencil, which is gravity.
Example problem:
A baseball player throws a ball with a force of 10 N. The ball travels 20 meters. What is the total
work?
W = F * distance
W = 10 N* 20 meters
W = 200 joules
Interesting Facts about Work
• Work is a scalar quantity, not a vector quantity. This means that, unlike force and velocity, it
has no direction, only a magnitude.
• Another unit of work is the foot-pound. One foot-pound is equal to 1.35581795 joules.
• The joule is also used as the standard unit of measure for energy.
• Negative work is when force acting on an object hinders the object's displacement.
Momentum and Collisions
What is momentum?
Momentum is a measurement of mass in motion. Any object that is moving has momentum. In
physics, momentum of an object is equal to the mass times the velocity.
momentum = mass * velocity
Momentum is usually abbreviated using the letter "p" making the equation look like:
p=m*v
where p is the momentum, m is the mass, and v is the velocity.
From this equation you can see that both the velocity of the object and the mass have an equal
impact on the amount of momentum. You have more momentum when you are running than when
you are walking. By the same token, if a car and bicycle are traveling down the street at the same
velocity, the car will have more momentum.
How to Measure Momentum
Momentum is typically measured in kilograms times meters per second (kg*m/s) or newton-second (N
s).
Momentum is a Vector
Because velocity is a vector, momentum is also a vector. This means that in addition to the
magnitude of momentum (which is given by p = m * v), momentum also has a direction. The direction
of momentum is shown by an arrow or vector.
Collisions
When two objects bump into each other, this is called a collision. In physics, a collision doesn't have
to involve an accident (like two cars crashing into each other), but can be any event where two or
more moving objects exert forces on each other for a short period of time.
Examples:
• One ball striking another on a pool table
• A baseball bat hitting a ball
• Your fingers striking the key on the keyboard
Collisions and the Conservation of Momentum
An important theory in physics is the law of momentum conservation. This law describes what
happens to momentum when two objects collide.
The law states that when two objects collide in a closed system, the total momentum of the two
objects before the collision is the same as the total momentum of the two objects after the collision.
The momentum of each object may change, but the total momentum must remain the same.
Example:
If a red ball with a mass of 10 kg is traveling east at a speed of 5 m/s and collides with a blue ball with
a mass of 20 kg traveling west at a speed of 10 m/s, what is the result?
First we figure out the momentum of each ball before the collision:
Red ball = 10 kg * 5 m/s = 50 kg m/s east
Blue ball = 20 kg * 10 m/s = 200 kg m/s west
The resulting momentum will be:
Both balls = 150 kg m/s west
Note: An object standing still has a momentum of 0 kg m/s.
Interesting Facts about Momentum and Collisions
• No one is quite sure why "p" is used for momentum. It likely came from the Latin word "petere"
which means "go towards". They couldn't use "m" because that was already used for mass.
• A change in momentum is called impulse.
• An elastic collision is one in which no kinetic energy is lost.
• An inelastic collision is one in which some of the kinetic energy of the colliding bodies is lost.
This is because the energy is converted into another type of energy like heat or sound.
• The recoil of a gun is because of the conservation of momentum. The gun moves back at a
lower velocity than the bullet because of its greater mass.
Pressure
What is pressure?
In physics, pressure is defined as the force over a given area. Given the same force, the smaller the
area of contact, the more pressure is applied. The formula used to describe and calculate pressure is:
Pressure = Force ÷ Area
or
P = F/A
How is pressure measured?
The standard unit of measure for pressure is the pascal which is abbreviated as "Pa." It is also the
newton per square meter as shown by the formula above. Other units that are used for pressure
include pounds per square inch (psi), the bar, and the standard atmosphere (atm).
Example problems:
If a block weighs 60 N and is lying on a side with area 2m by 3m, what is the pressure exerted on the
surface?
Pressure = Force ÷ Area
P = 60 N ÷ (2m x 3m)
P = 60 N ÷ (6m2)
P = 10 pascals
If the same 60 N block is now lying on its end which is 2m x 0.5m, what is the pressure?
Pressure = Force ÷ Area
P = 60 N ÷ (2m x 0.5m)
P = 60 N ÷ (1m2)
P = 60 pascals
Air or Atmospheric Pressure
One important type of pressure is the pressure exerted on objects from the air or the Earth's
atmosphere. This is actually the measurement of the weight of the gas above an object on a given
surface area. The higher the elevation, the lower the atmospheric pressure exerted because there is
less air pressing down on the object.
Liquid Pressure
It is also important to figure out the pressure under water or in a liquid. The pressure under water
increases with how deep you are. The equation for calculating pressure under a liquid is:
Pressure = D * g * h
where D is the fluid's density, g is a standard gravity (9.8 m/s2), and h is the depth of the object in the
liquid.
Pressure and the State of Matter
Pressure also has an impact on the state or phase of matter. We often think of the states of matter
changing from solid to liquid or liquid to gas based on the temperature, but the pressure also has an
impact on the state. In most cases, the higher the pressure, the higher the temperature needed to
change the state.
One example of this is the boiling point of water. At higher elevations where the air pressure is lower,
water will boil at a lower temperature.
Interesting Facts about Pressure
• The pascal was named after French physicist and mathematician Blaise Pascal.
• One pascal is a fairly small amount of pressure. It takes 101,325 pascals to equal one
atmosphere.
• Some items, such as the tip of a nail or the edge of a knife, are designed with a very small
surface area in order to maximize the pressure exerted by a force.
• Submarines have to be specially designed to withstand high pressures when they are deep
underwater.
• Air pressure is often measured with a device called a barometer. Most barometers today
measure air pressure in millibars.
• Changes in the air pressure are important for weather forecasters because they can indicate
changes in the weather.
Simple Machines
Simple Machines are basic mechanical devices for applying a force and doing work. More complex
machines are made up of a bunch of simple machines.
There are 6 basic types of simple machines:
Lever
The lever is made up of a straight rigid object like a board or a bar which pivots on a turning point
called a fulcrum. Levers make work easier by using leverage which multiplies the force. When you
use a lever, you move a smaller force a longer distance in order to lift a load a short distance.
Examples of levers include a seesaw, pliers, crowbars, and tweezers.
See the above pictures for examples of how a lever is used in a wheelbarrow and construction
equipment.
Wheel and axle
The wheel and axle is another simple machine. It uses a wheel with a rod attached in the middle as
an axle to help it to lift or move loads. In some cases this machine works like a lever to multiply force
(like with a doorknob or a fishing reel). In other cases it is used to move objects easier such as with
wheels on a bicycle.
Pulley
A pulley is a type of simple machine that uses a wheel with a groove in it and a rope. The rope fits
into the groove and one end of the rope goes around the load. You pull on the other end. The pulley
helps you to move the load or change direction of the force.
Some examples of pulleys include cranes, flag poles, and window blinds. When multiple pulleys are
used together it's called a block and tackle. Another use of the pulley is with a flat wheel and belts.
These kinds of pulleys are often used in cars.
Inclined plane
An inclined plane is a flat surface with one end higher than the other. This allows for heavy objects to
slide up to a higher point rather than be lifted. It is generally easier to slide something than to lift it.
Examples of inclined planes include slides and ramps.
Wedge
If you put two inclined planes back to back, you get a wedge. A wedge is a simple machine used to
push two objects apart.
Examples of the wedge include knives, chisels, and axes.
Screw
A screw is a special kind of inclined plane. It's basically an inclined plane wrapped around a pole.
Screws can be used to lift things or to hold them together.
Examples of the screw simple machine include swivel chairs, jar lids, and, of course, screws.
Fun Facts about Simple Machines
• Simple machines were first discovered and described by Greek philosopher Archimedes.
• The Egyptians likely used the inclined plane to help build the pyramids. Using ramps would
have made getting the large stones to the top much easier.
• Galileo was the first to work out a working mathematical theory on how simple machines
worked.
• Your bicycle makes use of nearly every kind of simple machine in order to make a more
complex machine.
• The wheel and axle was an important invention in the history of mankind. It was first used
around 5,000 years ago by the Sumerians.