Sir Zaheer's Academy O-1 Level

DYNAMICS Force is
It is the branch of Mechanics which deals with the study of motion with reference to Forces improperly
defined as the
push or pull of
one object onto
Q. What are the effects of pushing or pulling an Object? (Exerting a Force) the other

Ans: It can move a stationary object.

It can stop a moving object.

It can increase the speed of an object.

It can decrease the speed of an object.

It can change the speed of an object.

+
It can change the direction of motion of an object.
=
It can change the velocity of an object.

It can produce acceleration in an object.

Force is defined as an agent that produces or tends to produce acceleration in an object. O-2 Level

NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

Newton’s 1st Law of Motion
Version A: It states that

“An object remains in the State of Rest or

in the State of Uniform Motion

until & unless an external unbalanced

force is applied on it.”

An Object remains in the:

State of Rest State of Uniform Motion
(Stationary) OR (Constant Velocity) (Constant speed & Constant Direction)
(static / not moving) Zero Acceleration
It means either. no force is applied or applied forces are It means either no force is applied or applied forces are
balanced. balanced.

Version B: It states that

“If no unbalanced force is applied, or balanced forces
are applied on an object, then the object remains in
the state of

REST OR UNIFORM MOTION

(STATIONARY / NOT MOVING) (CONSTANT VELOCITY)
u=O u=v
v=0 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 0 Δv = 0
a=0 a=0
What is meant by balanced forces?
Forces are balanced when: Force is a vector quantity such that forward/upward are
• Net Force is zero treated as Positive and backward/downward forces are
• Resultant force is zero treated as Negative.
• Overall force is zero

Condition No. 1 Condition No. 2

Sum of Forward Forces = Sum of Backward Forces Sum of Upward Forces = Sum of Downward Forces

Cruise Control is ON 𝑓 = 50𝑁

𝑓 = 100𝑁 𝐷. 𝐹 = 100𝑁 Falling Terminal Velocity

Freely in Situation
Air

𝑤 = 50𝑁

Fnet = forward – backward Fnet = upward force – downward force

= D.F – f = w - f
= 100N – 100N = 50N – 50N
= 0 = 0

Fnet = 0 Fnet = 0
It means a = 0, It means a = 0,

which means velocity is constant which means velocity is constant

i.e. Cruise Control Situation i.e. Terminal Velocity

Version C:

If net force is ‘0’ then the acceleration is also '0'.

Net Force is Zero

Acceleration is Zero

Velocity is Constant or Zero

Object is in the State of Uniform Motion or Rest

Sum of forces is 0 Resultant of forces is 0

ΣF = 0 ΣF=0
1st Condition: 2nd Condition
Sum of Horizontal forces is 0 Sum of vertical forces is 0
ΣFx = 0 ΣFy = 0
F.F – B.F=0 U.F – D.F = 0
F.F= B.F U.F = D.F
Forward Force = Backward Force Upward Force = Downward Force
Version D:

An object is said to be in 'EQUILIBRIUM' if forces

are balanced or unbalanced/net force is zero.
Not a
Physical
Quantity,
Newton’s fist law is also known as
rather a
Quality
LAW OF INERTIA

It is the ability or quality of an object to resist any change in the State of Rest or in the State of Uniform Motion.

Since, the ability to resist any change in the State of Rest or in the State of Uniform Motion depends upon the mass of
the object. Hence, mass is the quantitative measure of Inertia whereas Inertia is the qualitative measure of mass.

Greater the mass greater the Inertia & vice versa

Newtons 2nd Law of Motion:

It states that:

"If an external unbalanced force is applied on an object, then

an acceleration is produced in the object which is directly
proportional to the Unbalanced/Net Force & inversely
proportional to the Mass."

1
acceleration ∝ net force acceleration ∝
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠

𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒
acceleration ∝ 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡
a∝
𝑚

Converting the sign of proportionality into sign of equality

𝐹
a=K×𝑚

Constant of proportionality is mostly 1

𝐹
a=𝑚

Fnet = m × a

Net force = mass x acceleration

Net force is now properly defined as the Product of mass & Acceleration. O-3 Level

The above statement can be used to state Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion
Fnet
-ve 0 +ve
F.F < B.F F.F = B.F F.F > B.F
a = -ve a=0 a = +v
Deceleration Constant Velocity Acceleration
 Force
Derived Quantity Vector Quantity
Hence a Formula: Direction is important
F=ma Forward /Upward forces are +ve
Units: Kg ms-2 Backward/Downward forces are -ve
SI unit: Newton (N)

Define 1 Newton.

1 Newton = 1 kilogram × 1 meter per squared second

1N = 1 kg × 1 ms-2

Force will be 1 Newton if it produces an acceleration of 1 meter per squared second on an object of mass 1 kilogram.

OR

1N is the amount of force that produces an acceleration of 1ms-2 when acted upon an object of 1 kg mass.

Newtons 3rd Law of Motion:

It states that

For every action force, there is an equal but opposite

reaction force.

Action force & Reaction force are always equal in

magnitude but opposite in direction.

Forces exist as action; reaction pair.

To understand this 3rd Law (concept of action reaction), we need to understand the types of forces.

TYPE OF FORCES
WEIGHT
• Derived Quantity It is defined as the force of gravity It is always drawn from the
• Vector Quantity acting on an object when it is placed geometrical center of the object i.e.
• always acts Vertically in the gravitational field of any known as the center of mass also
Downwards planet. known as Center of Gravity.
Gravitational
• Its value varies with respect Force of gravity = Mass ×
field strength
to gravitational field strength It is the point at which all the weight
• Measured with Spring Weight = Mass × Gravitational of the Object appears to be acting
Balance or Newton Meter Acceleration Towards the center of the earth.
• SI Unit = N
𝒘 = 𝒎𝒈
Acceleration
𝐹g = 𝑚𝑎𝑔 of Free Fall
𝑭 = 𝒎𝒂
w
Geometrical Center of the Object:
Square Rectangle

The point of
intersection
of the diagonals is
actually the
center of Gravity

EXPERIMENT TO FIND THE CENTER OF GRAVITY OF AN IRREGULAR SHAPE

e.g. Irregularly Shaped Plane lamina

APPARATUS

• Retort Stand (mass)

• Plumb Line (A Pendulum bob attached with string)
• Pin
• Irregular Shape (lamina)
• Pencil & Ruler

PROCEDURE

1. Make 3 small holes near the edge of the Laming.

2. The holes should be as far apart as possible from one another.
3. Suspend the lamina freely from a pin.
4. Hang a plumb line from the pin in front of the lamina
5. When the plumbline is steady, trace the line on the laming
6. Repeat Steps 2 to4 for the other two holes.

CONCLUSION

The point of intersection of the three lines is the center of gravity.

NORMAL CONTACT FORCE

Perpendicular to The Surface Physical Contact of an object with the Reaction of Weight Force
other

Whenever an object is in contact with surface of the earth, there develops a normal contact force which is actually the
reaction to weight force. This is why it is simply known as
• Reaction of Weight OR
• Reaction of Force OR
• Reaction
 Case 1: Horizontal Surface Case 2: Inclined Surface
𝑹

𝑹 = Reaction of Weight
(Normal Contact Force)

W = 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 = 𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 (Gravitational Force)

𝑹 ≠𝒘
According to Newtons 3rd Law of Motion 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 ≠ 0
Normal Contact Force = weight Forces are unbalanced
REACTION = ACTION Object will accelerate/decelerate
𝑹=𝑾 The object will slide down the plane.
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 0
Equilibrium
First Law applies
Object Remains at Rest

DRIVING FORCE
• It is the force exerted by the engine of a vehicle to drive that vehicle.
• It is always in the direction of motion
OR
• Motion is always in the direction of diving force

FRICTION
(Drag force / Resistance)
It is the force that is developed due to the Sliding (rubbing, dragging) of one object against the surface of other object.
• It is always opposite to the direction of motion.
• It is always parallel to the surface against which the object is rubbed.
• Friction is actually the horizontal contact force.
Friction can be classified into 2 Categories
CLASSIFICATION of FRICTION
Surface Friction Fluid Friction

It is developed due to the sliding or rubbing of 2 solid It is developed when an object mores through a fluid i.e.
surfaces that are dragged against each other. a liquid or a gas.

Eg. Friction experienced by the tyres when they are rubbed The Friction experienced by an object that is fatting freely
or moved against the road surface. in air (moving through air) is known as
• Air Friction
The Road friction depends upon the roughness of the • Air Drag
surfaces of both the Road & the tyres. • Air Resistance
Greater the roughness of the Surface, Greater the Friction
experienced.
Smoother the surfaces, lesser the friction.

AIR Friction depends upon

• Density of Fluid
• Surface Area of the object
• Speed of the object
Greater the speed of the object; greater the air friction.

Free Fall Motion in Air

Under the influence Stage 1: (initially) It is a medium i.e. fluid

of gravity It offers
𝑡=0 Object Starts
↓ 𝑢=0 from rest
friction/Drag/Resistance
Gravitational Field to objects that move
↓ through it
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑤
Gravitational Field Since 𝑓 ∝ 𝑣
𝑚𝑎 = 𝑚𝑔
Strength Greater the speed of the
𝑎 = 𝑔 = 10 𝑚𝑠 −2
(𝑔 = 10 𝑁/𝑘𝑔) w object,
↓ Greater the air friction
Initially the object will fall with an acceleration of 10ms-2 which
Gravitational Force experienced.
means that the speed of the object will increase by 10ms-1 in
(𝑤 = 𝑚𝑔)
every second.
↓ So, air friction is Variable
Stage 2:
Since the value of g
But as soon as the object moves/falls through the air
near the earth is
➢ its speed increases, due to which
constant, the weight
➢ Air Friction increases, that
is also constant
➢ Decreases the net force, hence
➢ the Acceleration also decreases
(which means speed is increasing at a decreasing rate)
f ↓ 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑤−↑ 𝑓
↓ 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑚𝑎 ↓
(Acceleration Decreases)

Direction of
Motion w

Decreasing Acceleration

Stage 3:
A Stage comes when the speed is so high that the air friction reaches its maximum value i.e. equal to the weight of the
object. This is when the forces are balanced i.e. net force is ‘0’ & acceleration is ‘0’ & speed is constant i.e. Terminal
Speed
 f=𝑤
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑤 − 𝑓
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 0
𝑚𝑎 = 0
0
𝑎=
𝑚

𝒂=𝟎

Δv = 0
u=v
Speed is Constant → Terminal Speed
It ↓
is defined as the maximum constant speed achieved by an object that is falling freely in air when air friction is equal to weight:

Q. Draw the speed time graph for free fall motion with and without air.

t/s 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
v/ms-1 0 10 19 27 34 40 45 49 52 54 55 55
-2
a/ms 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0

Q. Describe the free fall motion of the parachutist using the graph given below.

At O At P At Q At R At S At T

t= 0 v=↑ Speed becomes v=↓ As the speed The parachutist

u= 0 f=↑ constant i.e. decreases, the hits the ground at
a = g = 10ms-2 Fnet =↓ Terminal Velocity The parachute is overall friction a particular
The parachutist a=↓ decelerating also decreases. A speed.
jumps (from a Acceleration is because the stage comes
particular height) Speed increases zero parachutist has when friction
at a decreasing
from rest. rate. f=W opened the balances the
Initially the only i.e acceleration Fnet = 0 parachute since it weight once
force acting decreases a=0 has large surface again.
would be u=v area, so friction Fnet become zero,
gravitational increases Deceleration
force. tremendously & becomes zero,
So, becomes more speed becomes
acceleration = than the weight, constant =
gravitational = due to which Fnet Terminal speed.
10ms-2 is acting in
opposite direction
of motion due to
which speed
decreases.
f>w
Fnet = w-f
Fnet = -ve
a = -ve
 Sir Zaheer's Academy
ENERGETICS

ENERGY WORK POWER

It is defined as the ability of an Product of force & Rate of doing work (Energy
object to do work displacement coverred in Transferred) wrt time.
the direction of
force.

MECHANICAL WORK
Mechanical Work is said to be done when a force is applied on an object & it covers some displacement in the direction of force.
(Energetics) = (Dynamics) x (Kinematics)
Factors Affecting Work Done

Force Applied Displacement Covered

(in the direction of force)

work ∝ Force work ∝ displacement

done applied done covered
work done ∝ Force applied × displacement covered (in the direction of force)
W∝F ×d
645
W=k×F ×d
645
w = weight W=1×F ×d
645
W = work W=F ×d
645

W=F .d
Work done is defined as the (dot) product of force applied and displacement covered in the direction of force.

Work done is a Physical Quantity

Derived Quantity Scalar Quantity SI unit = J

Formula: Although force is vector and Define 1 Joule

W=F d . displacement in a particular 1 J = 1 Nm
1 Joule is the amount of work
direction is vector,
But work is not a vector, rather, done (energy transferred) when
F
OL it is scalar. But why? a force of 1 N is applied on an
W = F.d object & it travels a distance of
Work is actually energy that has 1m in the direction of the force.
d no direction.
Work is defined as dot product of Base Units
force & displacement. W= F d
= m a d
F Dot Product is Scalar Product -2
that yields a Scala Quantity. => kg ms m
ASL 2 -2
= kgm s
d
 Q. 1: An object of mass 20kg is dragged along a horizontal surface by a force of 10N through a distance of 5km.
Calculate the amount of work done by this force.
Situation Data Solution

d = 5km W = F × d cos θ
20kg 10N
F = I0N = 10 x 5000 (cos θ=1)
m = 20 kg = 50,000 J
d W=?
5km

Q. 2: Calculate the amount of work done by the weight when an object of mass 20 kg is dropped from a height of 5m.
Situation Data Solution

20kg d = 5m W = F × d cos θ
m = 20kg W = w × h (cos θ=1)
w W=?
W=mgh
5m
= 20 x 10 x 5
= 1,000 J

Q. 3: Calculate the amount of work done (by the weight) / (against gravity) to raise (lift/elevate) an object of mass 20 kg by 5m.
Situation Data Solution

d = h = 5m W = F ×d
m = 20 kg W = w ×h =mgh
W=?
h = 5m = 20 x (-10) x 5
- 1,000 J
=O
Work done against
20kg the gravity
= 1000 J

w
Q. 4: A block of wood of mass 300 kg is moved along an inclined rough surface from a point X to a point Y which are
50 m apart are a constant speed. The vertical height between X and Y is 10 m as shown in the diagram. There is a
driving force of 1600N and a constant frictional force of 1000N which is resisting the motion.
Y

h = 10m

f=1000N
X
Work Done by Driving Force Work Done by Frictional Force Work Done by Gravitational Force
W = F.d W = F.d W = F.d
= FD cosθ = FD cosθ = FD cosθ
= 1600 × 50 × 𝑐𝑜𝑠0° = 1000 × 50 × 𝑐𝑜𝑠180° = wd cosθ
= 80 kJ = - 50 kJ = 300 × 10 × 10 × 𝑐𝑜𝑠180°
= - 30 kJ
Work Done by D.F = Work Done Work Done against f
WD against Gravity
against f + increase in GPE (WD as Thermal Energy)
(stored as GPE)
 ENERGY
• It is the ability of a body to do work.
• Work is done by the objects that have energy.
• The objects on which work is done, store energy.
• Energy is work; work is energy.
• When work is done, the energy is transferred, this is known as Work Energy Principle.

WORK DONE = ENERGY TRANSFERED

TYPES OF ENERGIES
There are so many different types of energies but we will be studying mechanical energy in this chapter only.

1. MECHANICAL ENERGY
It is the energy possessed by machines i.e. vehicles or rockets

Kinetic Energy Gravitational Potential Energy

OL ASL OL ASL
Energy possessed by an An object is dragged along Energy possessed by an
object (machine) due to its a frictionless horizontal object / machine due to its
motion (movement) surface by a constant force elevated position
(speed) is known as ‘F’. (potential) in the h
"Kinetic Energy". F gravitational field of any
planet is known as
"Gravitational Potential
Energy”. w
𝐾. 𝐸. ∝ 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 (𝑚) 𝑊. 𝐷 𝑏𝑦 𝐷. 𝐹 = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐾. 𝐸 𝑊. 𝐷 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦
𝐾. 𝐸. ∝ 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 2 (𝑣 2 ) = 𝑭. 𝒅 𝐺𝑃𝐸 ∝ 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 (𝑚) = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑃𝐸
𝐾. 𝐸. ∝ 𝑚𝑣 2 =𝑚𝑎𝑑 𝐺𝑃𝐸 ∝ ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 (ℎ) = 𝐹. 𝑑
= 𝑚 (𝑎 𝑑) = 𝑤 × ∆ℎ
𝐾. 𝐸. = 𝑘 𝑚𝑣 2 𝐺𝑃𝐸 ∝ 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ (𝑔)

1 𝑣 2 − 𝑢2 𝐺𝑃𝐸 ∝ 𝑚 × 𝑔 × ℎ = 𝑚𝑔∆ℎ
Since, 𝑘 = =𝑚 𝐺𝑃𝐸 = 𝑘 × 𝑚 × 𝑔 × ℎ
2 2 = ∆𝐺𝑃𝐸
1 Since, 𝑘 = 1
𝟏 = 𝑚 (𝑣 2 − 𝑢2 ) 𝐺𝑃𝐸 = 1 × 𝑚 × 𝑔 × ℎ
𝑲. 𝑬. = 𝒎𝒗𝟐 2 Object is lifted vertically
𝟐 = ∆𝐾. 𝐸 upward.
𝑮𝑷𝑬 = 𝒎 𝒈 𝒉

PRINCIPAL OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY

A Universal Fact Fixed Different Types

“It states that the energy can neither be created nor be destroyed but it can change from one form to the other during
different processes.”
OR
Energy of an isolated system remains fixed, constant or conserved.
‫ت واألرض‬
ِ ‫نور السماوا‬
ُ ‫هللا‬
‫ونر)روینش(ےہ آامسونںاورزونیمںاک‬
ُ ‫اہلل‬
Allah Almighty is NOOR of The Universe

LIGHT

A Form of Energy
Allah Almighty is the Noor. (The Light, The Energy, The Absolute, The Purest Energy)
 1. Creation of the Universes
(The big bang Theory)

A Singularity of Energy Big Bang Creation of Universe

Allah Almighty ‫كن فيكون‬ Earth & the Skies

The Ultimate Energy has created The Minute Piece of Energy & Matter
or

The Source of all Energies

2. The Solar System

A Star (sun) & Some Planets

➢ Thermal Energy
➢ Radiational Energy (light energy)
Nuclear Energy Nuclear Fusion reaction Solar Energy
➢ Heat Energy
➢ Sound Energy
1
1𝐻 + 21𝐻 → 3
2𝐻𝑒 + 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦

3. Planet Earth
a) Photosynthesis Reaction
𝑃ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑦𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠
𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 → 𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
(from the sun) (in the food)

𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
6𝐶𝑂2 + 6𝐻2 𝑂 → 𝐶6 𝐻12 𝑂6 + 6𝑂2

b) Respiration Reaction
𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐶𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑠
𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 → 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
(in the food) (in animals)

𝐶6 𝐻12 𝑂6 + 6𝑂2 → 6𝐶𝑂2 + 6𝐻2 𝑂 + 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦

Heat Energy Stored Energy

(to maintain 37◦C) (ATP to perform Diff Works)

𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 (𝑫𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅)

c) 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑷𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 ↔ 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚
𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 (𝒖𝒑𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅)

Ignoring Air Resistance

 Upward Motion Downward Motion

Highest Point Speed= 0 Highest Point u=0

GPE=max KE = 0 GPE=max KE = 0

-2
a = g = -10ms
-2
a = g = 10ms

Highest Point initial speed=u=max Height = 0 v = max

GPE= 0 KE = max
Initial GPE=0 initial KE = max

Decrease in K.E. = Increase in G.P.E Decrease in GPE = Increase in K.E

Loss in K.E = Gain in G.P.E Loss in G.P.E = Gain in K.E

K.E at the bottom = G.P.E at the top GPE at the top = K.E at the bottom
1
𝑚𝑣 2 = 𝑚 𝑔 ℎ 1
2 𝑚𝑔ℎ= 𝑚𝑣 2
2
(at the bottom) (at the top) (at the top) (at the bottom)

𝑖𝑛 𝐾. 𝐸 = 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑃𝐸 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑃𝐸 = 𝑖𝑛 𝐾. 𝐸

∆𝐾. 𝐸 = 𝑚𝑔∆ℎ 𝑚𝑔∆ℎ = ∆𝐾. 𝐸

1 2 2
1 2 2
𝑚[𝑣𝑏𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟 − 𝑣𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 ] = 𝑚𝑔∆ℎ 𝑚𝑔∆ℎ = 𝑚[𝑣𝑏𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟 − 𝑣𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 ]
2 2

Q. An object of mass 5kg is thrown vertically Q. An Object of mass 5 kg is dropped from a

upwards with an Initial Speed/Velocity of height of 45m. Calculate the speed with which
30m/s. Calculate the max height achieved. it hits the ground.
Ans: Formula: Ans: Formula:
K. E = G.P.E G.P. E = K.E
1
2
𝑚𝑣 2 = 𝑚 𝑔 ℎ 1
1 2
× 5 × 30 = 5 × 10 × ℎ 𝑚𝑔ℎ= 𝑚𝑣 2
2 2
1 1
2
× 5 × 900 = 50 × ℎ 5 × 10 × 45 = × 5 × 𝑣 2
2
ℎ = 45𝑚 𝑣 2 = 900
𝑣 = 30
Case 1: [Work-Energy Principle]
Q: What happens to an object of mass ‘m’ initially at rest when it is driven by a force on a smooth
horizontal force.

• It will accelerate.
• Speed will increase.
• Kinetic energy will increase.

𝑊. 𝐷 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝐹 = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐾. 𝐸
𝐹𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐾. 𝐸
𝑚𝑎𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = ∆𝐾. 𝐸

𝑣 2 − 𝑢2
𝑚( ) 𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = ∆𝐾. 𝐸
2
1
∆𝐾. 𝐸 = × 𝑚 × (𝑣 2 − 𝑢2 )
2

𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝟐:
Q: What happens to a car of mass ‘m’ i.e. moving on a rough surface at a constant speed?

Kinematics Dynamics
𝑎=0 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 0
𝑢=𝑣 𝐷. 𝐹 = 0
∆𝑣 = 0 ∆𝐾. 𝐸 = 0
 𝑊. 𝐷 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝐹 = 𝑊. 𝐷 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑓
Thermal Energy
𝐷. 𝐹 × 𝑑 = 𝑓 × 𝑑
𝐷. 𝐹 = 𝑓
𝐷. 𝐹 − 𝑓 = 0
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 0 G.P.E

𝑊. 𝐷 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝐹 = 𝑊. 𝐷 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝐺. 𝐹

𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝟑:
Q: What happens when a car of mass ‘m’ is accelerating on a rough horizontal road?

𝐷. 𝐹 > 𝑓
𝐷. 𝐹 − 𝑓 > 0
𝐷. 𝐹 − 𝑓 > 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑚𝑎
𝑊. 𝐷 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝐹 = 𝑊. 𝐷 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑓 + 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐾. 𝐸

𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝟒:

Q: Derive a formula for GPE using work-energy principle if an object of mass ‘m’ is lifted vertically
upward through a height ‘h’ at a constant speed.

𝑢=𝑣
∆ℎ = ℎ ∆𝑣 = 0
𝑎=0
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 0
𝐷. 𝐹 = 𝑤

𝑊. 𝐷 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝐹 = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑃𝐸

 𝐷. 𝐹 × 𝑑 = ∆𝐺𝑃𝐸
𝑤 × ∆ℎ = ∆𝐺𝑃𝐸
𝑚𝑔 × ∆ℎ = ∆𝐺𝑃𝐸
𝑚𝑔ℎ = 𝐺𝑃𝐸

𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝟓:
Q: What happens when an object of mass ‘m’ is released from rest from a height of ℎ/∆ℎ?

𝑢=0

𝑎 = 𝑔 = +9.8 𝑚𝑠 −2
ℎ = ∆ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡 = 𝑢 + 𝑔𝑡
GPE is decreasing 𝑤 − 0 = 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡
𝑤 = 𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡
𝑚𝑔 = 𝑚𝑎
𝑔=𝑎

𝑊. 𝐷 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝐹 = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑃𝐸

𝐷. 𝐹 × 𝑑 = ∆𝐺𝑃𝐸
𝑤 × ∆ℎ = ∆𝐺𝑃𝐸
𝑚𝑔 × ∆ℎ = ∆𝐺𝑃𝐸
𝑚𝑔ℎ = 𝐺𝑃𝐸
𝑊. 𝐷 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝐹 = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐾. 𝐸
𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑃𝐸 = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐾. 𝐸

𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝟔:
Q: What happens when an object of mass ‘m’ is thrown upward/projected vertically upward with an
initial speed u?
𝑣=0 𝐾. 𝐸 = 0
ℎ𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝐺𝑃𝐸 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥
ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐺𝑃𝐸
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝐾. 𝐸

ℎ=0
𝐾. 𝐸 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥

𝑢 = 𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑥
 𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐾. 𝐸 = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑃𝐸

𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝟕:
Q: What happens when an object of mass ‘m’ at rest is released from a height in air?

𝑣=0 𝐾. 𝐸 = 0
ℎ𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝐺𝑃𝐸 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐴𝑖𝑟⁄
𝑎=𝑔 0 𝐴𝑖𝑟 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒

𝑣 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝐾. 𝐸 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥
ℎ=0 𝐺𝑃𝐸 = 0
𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑃𝐸 = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐾. 𝐸 + 𝑊. 𝐷 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑓

𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝟖:
Q: What happens when an object of mass ‘m’ is moving downwards with a terminal velocity?

𝑓
𝑤=𝑓
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 0
𝑎=0

𝑢=𝑣
∆𝐾. 𝐸 = 0 𝑤
𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑃𝐸 = 𝑊. 𝐷 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑓

𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝟗:
Q: What happens when a car of mass ‘m’ is travelling up on a rough inclined surface at a constant
speed?

𝑊. 𝐷 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷. 𝐹 = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑃𝐸 + 𝑊. 𝐷 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑓

𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝟏𝟎:
Q: What happens when a car of mass ‘m’ is travelling up on a rough inclined surface at a constant
speed?

𝑊. 𝐷 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷. 𝐹 + 𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐾. 𝐸 = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑃𝐸 + 𝑊. 𝐷 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑓

Note: The ultimate Work-Energy Principle is:

𝑊. 𝐷 𝑏𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝐸 + 𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐸 = 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐸 + 𝑊. 𝐷 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑓

There is no -ve term in the equation.
 Physics Mechanics Dynamics Effects of Forces
Further Effects of Forces
• Rotational Effect of a force
• Turning Effect of a force
• Moment of a force
Moment Arm

It is defined as the product of Force and the Perpendicular Distance between the pivot and the line of Action of Force.

Factors Affecting the Moment of a Force

Force Applied Moment Arm

𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 ∝ 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 ∝ 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑚

𝜏∝𝐹 𝜏∝𝑑

𝜏∝𝐹 x𝑑

𝜏 =1×𝐹x 𝑑

𝜏=𝐹x𝑑

𝑆 𝐼 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡 = 𝑁𝑚 𝐵𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡 = 𝑘𝑔𝑚2 𝑠 −2

Vector Quantity (Completely described by Magnitude & Direction )

Anti-Clockwise Clockwise
Out of Page/Plane of F & d Into Page/Plane of F & d

+ve z-axis -ve z-axis

Further Examples of Rotational Effect / Moment of a Force:

Note: The line of action of 𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 is passing through the pivot so its moment arm is ‘0’. Hence, moment due to 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
is ‘0’, whereas, the line of action of 𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 is at perpendicular distance from the pivot so there is a moment due to
“𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃" i.e.
𝜏=𝐹x𝑑 𝜏 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 x 0 + (𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 × 𝑑 ) 𝜏 = 𝐹𝑑 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
Where 𝜃 is the angle between F & d
 Torque of a Couple

• Turning Effect • 2 Forces

• Rotational Effect • Equal in magnitude
• Net Moment due to Couple • Opposite in Direction
• Resultant / Overall Moment of a Couple • Acting at different points of same object

𝑑 𝑑
𝜌𝑛𝑒𝑡 = (𝐹 × ) + (𝐹 × )
2 2
𝑑 𝑑 𝑑
= 𝐹 ( + ) = 𝐹 (2 )
2 2 2
𝜌𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝐹 × 𝑑

Proper Definition: Torque of a couple is defined as the product of the couple & the perpendicular
distances between the two forces of the couple.

𝑇𝑜𝑟𝑞𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒: (𝐹 × 𝑥) + (𝐹 × 𝑦)
= 𝐹(𝑥 + 𝑦)
=𝐹×𝑧

𝑇𝑜𝑟𝑞𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒: 𝐹 × 𝑑𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃

= 𝐹𝑑𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃

Equilibrium
• An object is said to be in equilibrium if it is at rest or in the state of uniform motion (𝑎 = 0).
• An object is said to be in translational motional equilibrium if the net force (overall force/resultant force) is 0
(𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 0). An object is said to be in Rotational Equilibrium if the net moment
(overall moment / resultant of all the moments) acting about any point is Zero.
Σ𝐹𝑥 = 0 Σ𝐹𝑦 = 0 𝑛𝑒𝑡 =0
𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 =0
ΣCWM = ΣACWM
Sum of Clockwise Moments = Sum of Anti − Clockwise Moments
➢ This condition of equilibrium is also known as “Principle of Moments”.
➢ For complete equilibrium both the forces and the moments should be balanced.

𝐹𝐵 × 𝑏 = 𝐹𝐴 × 𝑎
 Sir Zaheer's Academy
Physics Mechanics Dynamics Forces Effects of Forces:
 acceleration
 rotation
 extension
Force causes extension when it is applied on an Elastic Object

Tension Change in Length Stretchable/Flexible/Non-Rigid

When a force is applied on a = Increase in Length

spring/string/chain/cable/rod to = Final Length – Initial Length An object which extends when a force is applied
extend it then it causes a on it and then returns to its original length when
reaction known as tension. the force is removed from it. Such behavior is
known as Elastic Behavior or Elasticity.
Measured in N Measured in m

The relationship The relationship

between action force between force applied
(weight) and reaction (weight/load) and
force (tension) is extension produced is
described by Newton’s described by Hooke’s
3rd Law. Law.

The force applied and the extension produced are directly proportional to each other (within the elastic limit).

Spring Constant is defined as the ratio of force applied to the extension produced.
Define 1

It is spring constant of such a spring that requires force of 1 newton to produce extension of 1 meter.

What is meant by spring constant of 10 ?

It means that a force of 10 N is required to produce an extension of 1 m.

actually represents the stiffness of a spring.

Greater the value of , greater the stiffness.

Force-Extension Graph
y-axis x-axis
Straight line passing through origin.

F/N

P Whenever two quantities are

directly proportional to each
other, their graph is always a
straight line passing through
origin.

O e/m

P is
Proportional Limit as well as Elastic Limit

The point up till which the two quantities are directly The point up till which the material (spring) behaves
proportional to each other elastically.

The point up till which the graph is a straight line (passing When the force is applied, the material extends uniformly
through origin). and when the force is removed, the material returns to its
actual position.
The point up till which Hooke’s Law is obeyed.
This extension is temporary until it reaches the elastic
limit after which the material behaves plastically.
The point up till which gradient (spring constant) is
constant. Applied force causes extension but removing the force
does not return material to its original form.
After the proportional limit, the line curves
towards the xtension axis. Hence, deformation of plastic becomes permanent.
 Physics Mechanics Dynamics Effects of Forces
• Equilibrium
Pressure •
•
Acceleration
Impulse
Pressure is defined as force acting pes unit area.
• Work Done
𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒
𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 = • Moment / Torque
𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
• Pressure
𝐹
SI unit = Pascal (Pa) 𝑃 =
Density: 𝐴 Pressure:
3
Derived Units = N/m 1𝑁
• Physical Quantity 1𝑃𝑎 = • Physical Quantity
• Derived Quantity 1𝑚2 • Derived Quantity
• Scalar Quantity 1 pascal is the pressure exerted when a force of • Scalar Quantity
• Density is mass 1N is applied on an area of 1m2 • Pressure is said to
per unit volume. be exerted

Pressure

Solids Liquids Gases

Liquids exert pressure on their base
Solids exert pressure on their base due to their weight and on the lateral Gases exert pressure in all directions
area due to their weight. sides due to their translational due to their random motion.
motion.

C.O.G

w
h
w

h = height (depth) of liquid.

•
Collisions between particles
Greater the weight, greater the 𝐹 𝑤 𝑚𝑔 𝜌𝑉𝑔 •
Momentum Changes
pressure. 𝑃= = = = •
Force Acts
𝐴 𝐴 𝐴 𝐴
𝐹 𝑤
𝜌𝐴ℎ𝑔 •
Pressure Exerted
↑𝑃= =
↓ 𝐴 𝑎2 => 𝜌𝑔ℎ ↑= 𝑃 ↑ 𝑃𝑉 = 𝐾
𝐴
𝑃1 𝑉1 = 𝑃2 𝑉2
(at Constant Temperature)
Pressure of/in Liquids is directly proportional to the depth of liquid (height below the surface of the liquid).

∆𝑃 = 𝜌𝑔∆ℎ

Pressure difference between any 2 points in a liquid. ∝ Level Difference between these 2 points in a liquid.

As we move down into the liquid, pressure due to liquid increases.

 Idea of Upthrust: It is a type of Force.

Upwards Force due to pressure difference.

It is developed when an object is fully immersed in a liquid.

When an object is fully immersed in a liquid

it experiences a pressure on all of its sides.
𝑃 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ Pressure from the left-hand side and pressure
h from the right-hand side are equal but
opposite. Hence, they cancel however, the
pressure at the top surface of the object and
∆ℎ the bottom surface of the object are different.
H (H-h)
Pressure at the bottom of the object is greater
than the pressure at the top of the object.
Hence, there is a pressure difference.
Since, pressure acts from a region of
𝑃 = 𝜌𝑔H
higher pressure to a region of lower
pressure, so, an upward force is applied by this
pressure difference on the object, known as
UPTHRUST.
Q: Define Upthrust.
𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒
Ans: 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 =
𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝑢𝑝𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 =
𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝑈
∆𝑃 =
𝐴
∆𝑃 × 𝐴 = 𝑈
𝑈 = ∆𝑃 × 𝐴
𝑈 = 𝜌𝑔∆ℎ𝐴
𝑈 = 𝜌𝑔𝑉
𝑉𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 = 𝑉𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑
𝑈 = 𝜌𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 × 𝑉𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 × 𝑔
𝑈 = 𝑚𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 × 𝑔 = 𝑤𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑
The upthrust acting on an object is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced by the object. The above statement is
known as ARCHIMEDE’S PRINCIPLE.
 Sir Zaheer's Academy
Section 3: Waves
What is wave? Chapter 1: Introduction to waves
(fields)
A disturbance in particles that carries energy from one point to the other (i.e source of the energy to the observer
which is away from the source).
All forms of energy (heat, light or sound) travel in the form of waves. Hence, wave is said to be an energy carrier.

Types of Waves
Medium
Medium:
- Solid
- Liquid Matter
Mechanical Waves: Electromagnetic Waves:
- Gas
Material

Those waves which require a medium for their Those waves which do not require a medium for their
propagation (while moving away from the source). propagation (while moving away from the source).
e.g. They include all the waves coming from the sun to the
• Sound waves (air) earth
• Gamma rays Gamma rays
• Water waves (water) • X- rays Xceed
• Seismic waves (earth) • UV rays Usually
• Visible Light the Vision of
• Wave in a string
• Infrared waves Iftikhar
• Wave in a spring • Microwaves Muhammad
• Radio waves. Rana
Cannot travel through vacuum. (Need Particles) Can travel through vacuum. (Do not need particles)

Types of Electromagnetic Waves & Electromagnetic Spectrum

𝜆/m -16 -12 -9 -7 -6 -4 -1 3
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Gamma rays X rays UV rays Visible Light Infrared Waves Micro Waves Radio Waves
24 20 17 15 14 12 9 5
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
f/Hz
V I B G Y O R
EM Rays Photons EM Waves
(More Dangerous) (Less Dangerous)
(Sensitive to eyes)

As we move from gamma rays to radio waves:

▪ Wavelength increases Magnetic Field (B)
▪ Frequency decreases
Electric Field (E)
▪ Energy decreases.
8 𝑚
• They all travel at the same speed in vacuum i.e. 𝑐 = 3 × 10 𝑠
• They are all transverse in nature
• There are electric and magnetic fields that are vibrating perpendicularly
to the direction of propagation. Propagation
Wavelength (𝜆) Direction
 Types of Mechanical Waves
1. Transverse Waves 2. Longitudinal waves
Those waves in which particles of the medium vibrate Those waves in which particles of the medium vibrate
perpendicularly to the direction of wave motion. parallel to the direction of wave motion.
Direction of Vibration

Observer Direction of Vibration

Observer

back & forth

Crests and Troughs are formed. Compressions and Rarefactions are formed.
Crest:The portion of the wave that is above Compression: The portion of the wave, where the
the mean position. 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 > 0 particles are closer than normal. Pressure > 1atm

Trough: The portion of the wave that is below the mean Rarefaction: The portion of the wave, where particles are
position. 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 < 0 farther than normal. Pressure < 1atm

Longitudinal Wave is a series of Compressions&

Transverse Wave is a series of Crests & Troughs.
Rarefactions.
One Wave
One transverse wave = 1 crest + 1 trough One longitudinal wave = 1 compression + 1 rarefaction.
(Symbol : 𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑑𝑎 𝜆) One Wavelength (It is the length of one wave)

𝜆 𝜆

𝜆
𝜆

𝜆
𝜆

It is the horizontal length of 1 compression and 1

It is the horizontal length of 1 crest and 1 trough
rarefaction.
It is the distance between two highest points of 2 It is the distance between 2 mid points of 2 consecutive
consecutive crests. crests.
It is the distance between two lowest points of 2 It is the distance between 2 mid points of 2 consecutive
consecutive troughs. troughs.
Exam Definition for Wavelength:
Wavelength is the distance between 2 consecutive in-phase points.
 The Period: (T/s) Frequency: (f/Hz)
Time required to complete one wave/vibration/rotation. It is the number of waves passing through a point in one
(Any Periodic Motion) second.

1
No of waves passing through a point in one second is reciprocal of time period. 𝑓= 1 Hz= 1 Wave/second
𝑇
Wave Speed:
10 Hz = 10 Waves/second
It is the speed of the wave with which it carries energy, away from the source.
Speed of the wave is related to the frequency and wave length according to the formula: 𝑣 = 𝑓𝜆
𝑣 = speed of wave
𝑓 = frequency of the wave
𝜆 = wavelength of the wave
𝑣 = 𝑑⁄𝑡
Derivation: Speed is distance travelled per unit time. If 𝑑 = 𝜆 then 𝑡 = 𝑇
𝑓 = 𝑣⁄𝜆
𝑣 = 𝜆⁄𝑇
When One Wave completes;
𝑣 = 1⁄𝑇
Time taken is said to be Time Period & 𝜆 = 𝑣⁄𝑓
𝑣 = 𝑓𝜆
Distance Travelled is said to be Wavelength
Speed of the wave can be defined as the product of frequency and wavelength of the wave.
Wave Energy:
It is the energy carried by the wave.
Sound Waves carry sound energy (with the speed of 330 m/s in air).
Light Waves carry heat energy (with the sped of light i.e. 3 × 108 𝑚/𝑠 in vacuum).
Water Waves carry Tidal Energy (with the speed of 0.2 m/s in water).
Energy of a wave is directly proportional to the frequency of the wave.
Greater the Frequency, Greater the Energy 𝐸∝𝑓
Lesser the Frequency, Lesser the Energy 𝐸 = ℎ𝑓 ℎ = 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑘 ′ 𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
Wave Intensity:
Defined as power of the wave per unit area.
𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
= 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 =
𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 × 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
Wave Intensity can also be defined as the rate of energy transformed by the wave w.r.t time and area. SI unit is Candela in case
𝐽
of light intensity. Or 𝑊⁄𝑚2 𝑜𝑟 ⁄𝑠𝑚2
Wavefront: Wavefronts are the lines joining the highest points of the crest.
in Ripple Tank
Vibrated
up& down
by motor
Wavefronts
Dipper for
Straight
Waves

Glass-bottomed
Tank
Individual
Waves
Direction of Wave Travel
Wave Pattern
seen on Screen
 Phase:
State of vibration
Position of particle during vibration
Mean, Extreme, or Any other between 2 extremes
Symbol : φ
o
SI Unit = Radians 1 complete circle = 360 = 2π radians
o
Other Unit of angle = degree 1 complete vibration = 360 = 2π radians
1 complete oscillation = 360o = 2π radians
Vibration of Pendulum

0 / 180 / 360

0 / 180 / 360
Horizontal Vibration of a Particle in a Wave

In-phase points Out of phase points:

Those points which have the same Those points which have completely
state of vibration (position of the opposite state of vibration.
particle during vibration).
o
Their Phase Difference = 360 x n Their Phase Difference = (2n-1)180o

EXAM DEFINITION:
It is the distance between 2 consecutive in-phase points.
Phase differences Δφ
It is the difference in the state of vibration of two points in one wave. Or of two different waves.

displacement

angle

Time Phase
Difference Difference
 Section No 3 Waves Chapter No. 2 Light & Sound
Basic facts about light Rays

* Light is electromagnetic in nature

# Light is transverse in nature

. Speed of light = c = 3  108 m/s

Light travels in a straight line
The path travelled by light is known as a light ray.
Light ray is also known as a photon.

A collection of light rays is known as beam of light.

Experiment to prove that light travels in a straight line.

Cardboard Experiment
1 Take 3 cardboards with a hole in the middle of each.
2 Place them in line with each other.
3 Lit a candle at one end of the arrangement
4 If the hols is in cardboard are in line with each other, then a light
OBSERVER
ray will be seen emerging out of the other end of arrangement O a
5 But if any one of the cardboard is displaced then no light is seen
emerging out of the other end (b).
This experiment proves that light travels in a straight line.

ALTERNATE PROOF:
Formation of a shadow is an alternate proof of the fact that light travels in a straight line.
Shadow is formed when the light is blocked by an opaque object

0 Light is made up of 7 colours

Experiment to prove it.

Dispersion of light:
Pass a beam of white light through a glass prism.

Observation:
It will split into 7 colours.
The collection of these colours is knows as light spectrum.

LIGHT SPECTRUM
It is a collection of all those waves which make up the visible light i.e from (400-700 nm)
It is the collection of 7 colours of light i.e Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, orange and Red
(VIBGYOR) minimum wavelength to maximum wavelength respectively. i.e.
VIBGYOR
Ultra Violet Infrared
Wavelength: increases
Frequency: decreases
Energy: decreases
 Basic facts about sound energy/Sound Waves
Fact # 1: Sound wave is mechanical wave:
Explain the bell jar experiment.

 Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram.

 Switch on the electrical circuit. You will see the hammer
striking the bell. You will also hear the sound of bell.
 Now switch on the vacuum pump, that will start evacuating
the air from the jar.

OBSERVATION:
When the vacuum pump is switched on, the sound fades.
A stage comes when all the air is evacuated then no sound is
heard, although we see the striker hitting the bell.
CONCLUSION:- Sound needs medium for propagation.(mechanical)

Fact # 2: Sound wave is

DIAGRAM-1
Longitudinal
 Air is at normal pressure (1 atm)
air  If air is assumed to be layered then layers are considered
to be equally spaced when there is no sound.
DIAGRAM-2
When there is sound in the air, particles vibrate parallel to the
direction of wave motion forming the regions of higher pressure
(compressions) and region of lower pressure (rarefactions) such
that the layers are assumed to compressed or either rarefacted.
CONCLUSION:
particles when sound wave The formation of compression and rarefaction in air proves the fact
travelling the sound is longitudinal.

Fact # 3:
Speed of Sound in Air = 330 m/s There shall be two persons standing 1km apart facing each other.
One with the staring pistol and other with a stopwatch in his hand.
When the person A fires from the starting pistol the person B shall start the
stopwatch as soon as he sees the spark and stops the stopwatch when he
hears the sound of the gunshot.
Note the time recorded on the stopwatch.
Repeat the experiment at least 3 times and then take the average of the
results to get the accurate time.
Now apply the formula speed = distance/time to calculate speed of
Experiment to find the speed sound in air.
of sound: How to improve the experiment?
Perform the experiment at night time to see the spark clearly. So stopwatch
V = d/t = 1000/3.03 = 330 m/s can be started accurately.
Perform the experiment in still air because the wind can effect the speed of
sound.
Perform the experiment in the open air far away from buildings/hills to
avoid any echo..
Fact # 4:
Speed of sound in solids > speed Since the particles in the solid state are tightly packed and very close
of sound in air to each other so the energy or wave or vibration are transferred very
Explanation :
A Long Railing experiment quickly from particle to particle through solid whereas Particles in
gaseous state are very far apart from each other, so energy or wave or
vibrations are transferred very slowly from particle to particle through
the gaseous state. Hence, speed of sound wave is greater solids than
in gases.
V of sound in solid  5000 m/s
V of sound in air  330 m/s

Fact # 5:
Reflection/bouncing back
of sound from any surface A boy and a girl are standing 4m away from a school wall.
is called Echo
Girl has sticks and boy has a stopwatch in his hand.
When the girl bangs the sticks together the boy starts the stopwatch.
The boy hears an echo after 3 seconds.
Calculate the speed of sound using this information:
v = d/t = (480+480)/3 = 320 m/s.

Graphical Representation of Sound Waves

1. Displacement-Distance Graph 2. Displacement-Time Graph

3. Pressure-Distance Graph 4. Pressure-Time Graph

Whenever sound travel through any medium the displacement and the pressure of the particles vary
sinusoidally (as wave ) w.r.t distance and time.
Characteristics of Sound
Loudness of the sound depends open the amplitude of
1 . Loudness pressure – distance and or pressure-time graph

Greater the amplitude, greater the loudness and vice versa

2 . Pitch
Pitch of the sound depends upon the frequency of the
sound wave

Greater the frequency, greater the pitch and vice versa

3 . Quality
Quality of the sound depends upon the wave form of the
sound wave.
If the waveform is rhythmic (playing a note), it is musical.
If irregular then it is noise.

Noise Music

Water waves
Polarisation
If the vibrations of the particles are allowed in just one plane – the vertical plane. The vibrations are
described as plane polarised in the vertical plane. When an unpolarised wave, where the vibrations are
in more than one plane is incident at a vertical slit, then all vibrations, other than those in the vertical
plane, will be blocked (see Figure 1). The wave passing through the slit will be a plane polarised wave in
the vertical plane.

Figure 1: The slit helps to produce a plane polarised wave.

Only transverse waves can be plane polarised. So, it should be possible to produce plane polarised light
waves. In fact, all types of electromagnetic waves can be plane polarised.
Longitudinal waves vibrate along the direction of wave travel, so no matter what the orientation of the
slit, the waves will be able to get through. In short, longitudinal waves, such as sound, cannot be
polarised.

Polarised light
Light is a transverse wave. Light consists of oscillating electric and magnetic fields. Light from the Sun,
or a filament lamp, is unpolarised. This means it has oscillating electric fields in all planes at right
angles to the direction in which it travels. What can we use to plane polarise such light?
We can use transparent polymer material, such as a Polaroid, a type of polarising filter. The Polaroid has
long chains of molecules all aligned in one particular direction. Any electric field vibrations along these
chains of molecules are absorbed. Electric field vibrations at right angles to the chains of molecules are
transmitted. Figure 2 shows the unpolarised light incident at a Polaroid–the transmitted light is plane
polarised.

Figure 2: A Polaroid has a unique axis of transmission for light.

What would happen when you view unpolarised light

using two Polaroids?

Figure 3: The light is blocked by the analyser when its transmission axis is 90° to the plane of the
incident light. The dashed lines are transmission axes of the Polaroid and the analyser.

What happens at angles other than 0° and 90° is

discussed later?
 Malus’s law
Figure 4 shows plane polarised light incident at a Polaroid. The transmission axis of this Polaroid is at an
angle θ to the plane of the incident light. Now you already know that when θ = 0, then the light will go
through the Polaroid, and when θ = 90°, there is no transmitted light. The intensity of the transmitted
light depends on the angle θ.

Figure 4: The amplitude, and hence the intensity of light, transmitted through the Polaroid
depends on the angle θ.
The relationship is known as Malus’s law. I = I cos2 θ
0
where I0 is the intensity of the incident and I is the transmitted intensity at an angle θ between the
transmission axis of the Polaroid and the plane of the incident polarised wave.
Note that the fraction of the light intensity transmitted is equal to cos2 θ. This means that a graph of I
against θ is a cosine squared graph, see Figure 5.

Figure 5: Variation of transmitted intensity I with angle θ. Notice maximum intensity when θ = 0°,
180° and so on, and zero when θ = 90°, 270° and so on.

A beam of vertically polarised monochromatic light is incident on a polarising filter, as shown in

Fig. 5.1. polarising filter

vertically polarised transmitted light beam

incident light beam

direction of
transmission axis Fig. 5.1
The transmission axis of the filter is initially vertical and the transmitted light beam has the same
intensity as the incident light beam.
The filter may be rotated about the direction of the light beam to change the angle of the
transmission axis to the vertical.
(a) State one angle of the transmission axis to the vertical that results in no transmitted light
beam. angle = ........................................................ ° [1]
(b) The filter is now positioned with its transmission axis at angle θ to the vertical, as shown in
Fig. 5.2.
θ
vertically polarised transmitted light beam
incident light beam (i) Calculate angle θ. θ = ................................ °[2]
(ii) Calculate the ratio amplitude of transmitted light
transmission axis .
amplitude of incident light
at angle θ to the vertical
Fig. 5.2
intensity of transmitted light
The ratio is equal to 0.75.
intensity of incident light ratio = .......................................................... [2]
 Sir Zaheer's Academy
Waves: Wave Phenomena: Superposition of Waves --- Interference
• Interference occurs when waves overlap and their resultant displacement is the sum of the displacement of each
wave
• This result is based on the principle of superposition and the resultant waves may be smaller or larger than either
of the two individual waves
Coherence
• Waves are said to be coherent if they have:
o The same frequency
o A constant phase difference

Coherence is vital in order to produce an

observable, or hearable, interference pattern
• Laser light is an example of a coherent
light source, whereas filament lamps
produce incoherent light waves
• When coherent sound waves are in
phase, the sound is
louder because of constructive interference

Coherent v non-coherent wave. The abrupt change in phase creates an inconsistent phase difference
Path Difference
• Path difference is defined as:
The difference in distance travelled by two waves from their sources to the point where they meet
• Path difference is generally expressed in multiples of wavelength
S1 ➜ P2 = 7λ
S2 ➜ P2 = 6λ
The path difference at
point P2 is 7λ – 6λ = λ

S ➜ P = 6λ
1 1

S ➜ P = 6.5λ
2 1

The path difference at

point P is 6.5λ – 6λ = λ / 2
1

In general:
• The condition for constructive interference is a path difference of nλ
• The condition for destructive interference is a path difference of (n + ½)λ
• In this case, n is an integer i.e. 0, 1, 2, 3...

At point P2 the waves have a path difference of a whole number of wavelengths resulting in constructive interference.
At point P1 the waves have a path difference of an odd number of half wavelengths resulting in destructive interference
 • At point P, the number of crests from:
o Source S1 = 4λ
o Source S2 = 6λ
• The path difference at P is 6λ – 4λ = 2λ
• This is a whole number of wavelengths,
hence constructive interference occurs at
point P

At point P the waves have a path difference of a whole number of wavelengths resulting in constructive interference
Demonstrating Interference
Using Sound Waves
• Two-source interference of sound can be demonstrated with two speakers

• Sound waves are longitudinal waves so are made up

of compressions and rarefactions
• Constructive interference occurs when the compression
and rarefactions line up and the sound appears louder
• Destructive interference occurs when the compression
lines up with a rarefaction and vice versa. The sound is
quieter
o This is the technology used in noise-cancelling
headphones
Sound wave interference from two speakers
• The diagram below shows diffracted sound waves from two point sources

• The two waves interfere causing areas of

constructive and destructive interference
• The lines of maximum displacement occur
when all the peaks and troughs line up with
those on another wave

An experiment demonstrating interference of sound waves

• Two source interference for microwaves can be detected
Using Microwaves
with a moveable microwave detector

• Constructive interference: regions

where the detector picks up a
maximum amplitude
• Destructive interference: regions
where the detector picks up no
signal

Microwave interference experiment

Interference & Diffraction of a Laser
• Interference and diffraction of lasers can be demonstrated with slits
• For light rays, such as a laser light through two slits, an interference pattern forms on the screen

• Constructive interference is shown as bright

fringes on the screen
o The highest intensity is in the middle
• Destructive interference is shown as the dark
fringes on the screen
• These have zero intensity

Laser light interference experiment

Young's Double-Slit Experiment
Two Source Interference
• For two-source interference fringes to be observed, the sources of the wave must be:
o Coherent (constant phase difference)
o Monochromatic (single wavelength)
Young's Double Slit Experiment
• Young’s double-slit experiment demonstrates how light waves can produce an interference pattern
• The setup of the experiment is shown below:

• When a monochromatic light source is placed behind

a single slit, the light is diffracted producing two light
sources at the double slits A and B
• Since both light sources originate from the same
primary source, they are coherent and will therefore
create an observable interference pattern
• Both diffracted light from the double slits create an
interference pattern made up of bright and dark fringes

Young’s double-slit experiment arrangement

• When two waves interfere, the resultant wave depends

on the phase difference between the two waves
o This is proportional to the path difference between the
waves which can be written in terms of the
wavelength λ of the wave
• As seen from the diagram, the wave from slit S2 has to
travel slightly further than that from S1 to reach the
same point on the screen
The difference in this distance is the path difference

Path difference of constructive and destructive

interference is determined by wavelength
 • For constructive interference (or maxima), the difference in wavelengths will be an integer number of whole
wavelengths
• For destructive interference (or minima) it will be an integer number of whole wavelengths plus a half
wavelength
o n is the order of the maxima/minima since there is usually more than one of these produced by the
interference pattern
• An example of the orders of maxima is shown below:

n = 0 is taken from the middle, n = 1 is one either side and so on

Interference pattern of light waves shown with orders of maxima

Fringe Spacing Equation
• The fringe spacing can be calculated from the interference pattern and the experimental setup
o These are related using the double-slit equation:

x x a
• The interference pattern on a screen will show as
‘fringes’ which are dark or bright bands
o Constructive interference is shown
through bright fringes with varying intensity (most
intense in the middle)
x o Destructive interference is shown from dark fringes
a where no light is seen
• The distance between fringes is very small due to the
short wavelength of visible light
A monochromatic light source makes the fringes easier
to observe

Double slit interference equation with a, x and D represented on a diagram

Worked Example
A laser is placed in front of a double-slit as shown in the diagram below. The laser emits light of frequency 750 THz. The
separation of the maxima P and Q observed on the screen is 15 mm. The distance between the double slit and the screen is
4.5 m. Calculate the separation of the two slits.
Interference Patterns
• If the monochromatic laser light is replaced with a white light source, the interference pattern observed is slightly
different
• White light is composed of all the colours of visible light, so, each wavelength of white light produces its own
interference pattern
• The central fringe is white because, at that position, the path difference for all wavelengths present is zero,
therefore all wavelengths will arrive in phase
o The central fringe is, therefore, the same colour as the source i.e. white
• The first maximum occurs when the path difference is λ
o Since blue light has a shorter wavelength than red light, the path difference will be smaller, so the blue
maximum will appear closer to the centre
• Each colour will produce a maximum in a slightly different position and so the colours spread out into a spectrum
The Diffraction Grating
• A diffraction grating is a plate on which there is a very large number of parallel, identical, close-spaced slits
• When monochromatic light is incident on a grating, a pattern of narrow bright fringes is produced on a screen

Diagram of diffraction grating used to obtain a fringe pattern

• The angles at which the maxima of intensity (constructive interference) are produced can be deduced by the
diffraction grating equation:

• Exam questions sometime state the lines per m (or

per mm, per nm etc.) on the grating which is
represented by the symbol N
• d can be calculated from N using the equation
Angular Separation

• The angular separation of each maxima is calculated by rearranging the grating equation to make θ the subject
• The angle θ is taken from the centre meaning the higher orders are at greater angles
 • The angular separation between two angles is
found by subtracting the smaller angle from
the larger one
• The angular separation between the first and
second maxima n1 and n2 is θ2 – θ1

Angular separation

Orders of Maxima

• The maximum angle to see orders of maxima is when the beam is at right angles to the diffraction grating
o This means θ = 90o and sin θ = 1
• The highest order of maxima visible is therefore calculated by the equation:

• Note that since n must be an integer, if the value is a decimal it must be rounded down
o E.g If n is calculated as 2.7 then n = 2 is the highest order visible

Worked Example
An experiment was set up to investigate light passing through a diffraction grating with a slit spacing of 1.7 µm. The
fringe pattern was observed on a screen. The wavelength of the light is 550 nm.

Calculate the angle α between the two second-order lines.

Take care that the angle θ is the correct angle taken from the centre and not the angle taken between two orders of
maxima.
 Sir Zaheer's Academy
Waves: Wave Phenomena: Superposition of Waves --- Stationary Waves
• The principle of superposition states that when two or more waves with the same
frequency travelling in opposite directions overlap (the resultant displacement is the
sum of displacements of each wave) stationary waves are formed.
• This principle describes how waves which meet at a point in space interact
Stationary Waves Stationary waves, or standing waves, are produced by the superposition of two
waves of the same frequency and amplitude travelling in opposite directions
a) Stretched springs
This is usually achieved by a travelling
wave and its reflection. The
superposition produces a wave
pattern where the peaks and troughs
do not move

Formation of a stationary wave on a

stretched spring fixed at one end
b) Stretched strings
• Vibrations caused by stationary waves on a stretched string produce sound
o This is how stringed instruments, such as guitars or violins, work
• This can be demonstrated by a length of string under tension fixed at one end and
vibrations made by an oscillator:

Stationary wave on a stretched string

• As the frequency of the oscillator changes, standing waves with different numbers of
minima (nodes) and maxima (antinodes) form
Formation of Stationary Waves
• A stationary wave is made up of nodes and antinodes
o Nodes are where there is no vibration
o Antinodes are where the vibrations are at their maximum amplitude
 • The nodes and antinodes do not move along the string. Nodes are fixed and antinodes
only move in the vertical direction
• Between nodes, all points on the stationary are in phase
• The image below shows the nodes and antinodes on a snapshot of a stationary wave at a
point in time

• L is the length of the string

• 1 wavelength λ is only a portion of the length of the string
Worked example
A stretched string is used to demonstrate a stationary wave, as shown in the diagram.

Describes the length of L and the name of X and Y

Measuring Wavelength
Stationary waves have different wave patterns depending on the frequency of the vibration
•
and the situation in which they are created
a) Two fixed ends in air column
• When a stationary wave, such as a vibrating string, is fixed at both ends, the simplest wave
pattern is a single loop made up of two nodes and an antinode
• This is called the fundamental mode of vibration or the first harmonic
• The particular frequencies (i.e. resonant frequencies) of standing waves possible in the
string depend on its length L and its speed v
• As you increase the frequency, the higher harmonics begin to appear
• The frequencies can be calculated from the string length and wave equation

Diagram showing the first three modes of vibration of a stretched string with corresponding frequencies
The nth harmonic has n antinodes and n + 1 nodes
b) One open end in air column
• When a stationary wave is formed in an air column with one or two open ends, we see
slightly different wave patterns in each
FIRST HARMONIC THIRD HARMONIC

𝜆 3𝜆
𝐿= 𝐿=
4 4
C) Two open ends in air column

𝜆
𝐿=
2
• In summary, a column length L for a wave with wavelength λ and resonant frequency f for
stationary waves to appear is as follows:
Air Column Length & Frequencies Summary Table

AIR COLUMN RESONANT FREQUENCY (F)

LENGTH (L) / m VALUE OF m
FUNDAMENTAL WAVE / Hz

𝑛𝜆 𝑛𝑣
𝐿= 𝑓= 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3
2 2𝐿

𝑛𝜆 𝑛𝑣
𝐿= 𝑓= 𝑛 = 𝑜𝑑𝑑
4 4𝐿

𝑛𝜆 𝑛𝑣
𝐿= 𝑓= 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3 …
2 2𝐿

A standing wave is set up in a loudspeaker emits sound with frequency f and is placed at one end
of a pipe with length L. The pipe is closed at the other [Link] speed of sound is 340 m s-1

LOUDSPEAKER

With a sound wave of wavelength of 10 m, what is the frequency of the second lowest note
produced?
 Stationary waves are formed in every type of wave:
c) Microwaves
• A microwave source is placed in line with a reflecting plate and a small detector between
the two
• The reflector can be moved to and from the source to vary the stationary wave pattern
formed
• By moving the detector, it can pick up the minima (nodes) and maxima (antinodes) of the
stationary wave pattern

Using microwaves to demonstrate

stationary waves

d) Air Columns
• The formation of stationary waves inside an air column can be produced by sound waves
o This is how musical instruments, such as clarinets and organs, work

At certain frequencies, the powder

forms evenly spaced heaps along the
tube, showing where there is zero
disturbance as a result of the nodes of
the stationary wave

Always refer back to the experiment or scenario in an exam question e.g. the wave produced by
a loudspeaker reflects at the end of a tube. This reflected wave, with the same frequency, overlaps
the initial wave to create a stationary wave.
 Basic Electrical Circuit

Basic
Symbol Detailed Description
Electrical
Components

 Cell has a chemical energy stored in it, which it can convert

Cell into electrical energy.
+ –  There is an electrical potential difference (P.D)
across the terminals of the cell, known as voltage.
 Cell provides voltage; which is defined as energy
transferred in moving a unit charge across any
component. or it is defined as work done in
moving a unit charge across any component.
 Cell does work on a charge to move it across the
circuit
 A collection of cells (all the above same notes)
Battery  Battery provides e.m.f. : - electromotive force (e.m.f.) of a
source is defined as energy transferred per unit charge in
driving a charge around a complete circuit.
 Chemical energy is changed to others forms of energies
by the battery. i.e Electrical and Heat energy.
 It turns the current ON and OFF (by joining or breaking the
Switch OFF ON connection).
open close
 It consumes voltage i.e. voltage is dropped across it. It
Lamp/bulb converts electrical energy into other forms of energies
(Any appliance) when current passes through it. (light , heat)
 Voltage dropped across the appliance is defined as the
amount of E.E converted into other form of energy per unit
charge.
 (Any wire/ appliance can be regarded as a resistor)
Resistor  Resistor is a device that opposes or resists the flow of
currents.
 Energy is consumed to overcome this resistance, hence
voltage is dropped across the resistor.
 Voltage dropped across any Resistor is directly
proportional to the current flowing through it.
 V  I ; V = IR, R = V/I (Ohm’s Law)
 Resistance is defined as the ratio of V & I.
 They are good conductors of electricity; (metallic in nature).
Wires  They carry the current from the battery to the appliances.
 They heat up while carrying the current; E.E is wasted as
H.E in the wire.
 Different wires have different resistivity.
 Their resistance is directly to their length (R  l) and
inversely proportional to their cross-sectional area (R  1/A)
 Resistance R =  l /A
 Wires acts as resitors
  A resistor whose resistance can be changed by (changing
Variable the length of the wire used in it).
Resistor  Resistance is directly proportional to the length.
 A device that is used to measure the current in the circuit.
Ammeter  It is always connected in series in the circuit.
 Its resistance is very low.
 Assumption: No voltage is dropped across it.
 A very sensitive ammeter.
Galvanometer  It can sense or detect very small currents, not to measure
them.
 A device that is used to measure voltage across any 2 points
Voltmeter i.e. across battery or any appliance/resistor.
 It is always connected in parallel.
 Its resistance is very high.
 Assumption: No current passes through it.
 A resistor whose resistance depends upon the temperature.
Thermistor  A resistor whose resistance changes w.r.t temperature.
Heat resistor  Resistance is inversely proportional to the temperature of the
surroundings
 A resistor whose resistance depends upon the light intensity.
LDR  A resistor whose resistance changes w.r.t light intensity.
(light  Resistance is inversely proportional to the light intensity.
dependent R)

 A device that allows the current to pass in one direction

only. i.e. Forward Biased
Diode

 A diode that emits light when current passes through it.

LED  It is a diode that glows when current passes through it.
(light emitting  If current is reversed diode will not glow.
diode)

 A device that blows itself when current exceeds a

specific limit.
Fuse  A wire inside it melts when currents exceeds a specific limit.
 This breaks the circuit, hence, the name circuit breaker
is also used for it.

Laws of electricity
1st Law 2nd LAw
Charge is never consumed i.e It is the energy that is transferred
current is never dropped from one form to the other, hence,
. voltage is dropped or consumed
across appliances
 Sir Zaheer's Academy
D.C. Circuits
Internal Resistance
 All power supplies have some resistance between their terminals
o This is called internal resistance (r)
 This internal resistance causes the charge circulating to dissipate some electrical energy from the power
supply itself
o This is why the cell becomes warm after a period of time
 The internal resistance therefore causes loss of voltage or energy loss in a power supply
 A cell can be thought of as a source of e.m.f with an internal resistance connected in series. This is
shown in the circuit diagram below:
 VR is the terminal potential difference
o This is the voltage available in the
circuit itself
o Terminal p.d = I × R (Ohm’s law)

 When a load resistor is connected, current flows

through the cell and a potential difference
develops across the internal resistance. This
voltage is not available to the rest of the circuit
so is called the ‘lost volts’
 Vr is the lost volts
o This is the voltage lost in the cell due to
internal resistance, so, from conservation
of energy:
o Lost volts = e.m.f − terminal p.d
o Lost volts = I × r (Ohm’s law)

Circuit showing the e.m.f and internal resistance of

a power supply

 The e.m.f is the sum of these potential differences, giving the equation below

 e.m.f is therefore the total, or maximum, voltage available to the circuit

Q A battery of e.m.f 7.3 V and internal resistance r of 0.3 Ω is connected in series with a resistor of resistance 9.5 Ω.
Determine:
a) The current in the circuit b) Lost volts from the battery

Solving Problems with Kirchhoff's Laws

 Kirchhoff’s laws can be used to solve simple circuit problems
Q For the circuit below, state the readings of ammeters A1, A2 and A3.

Kirchhoff’s Second Law

Q For the circuit below, state the readings of the voltmeters V1, V2 and V3.
All the lamps and resistors have the same resistance.
 Potential Divider Circuit
 When two resistors are connected in series, through Kirchhoff’s Second Law, the potential difference
across the power source is divided between them
 Potential dividers are circuits which produce an output voltage as a fraction of its input voltage
 Potential dividers have two main purposes:
o To provide a variable potential difference
o To enable a specific potential difference to be chosen
o To split the potential difference of a power source between two or more components
 Potential dividers are used widely in volume controls and sensory circuits using LDRs and thermistors
 Potential divider circuits are based on the ratio of voltage between components. This is equal to the ratio
of the resistances of the resistors in the diagram below, giving the following equation:

 The input voltage Vin is applied to the top and

bottom of the series resistors
 The output voltage Vout is measured from the
centre to the bottom of resistor R2
 The potential difference V across each resistor
depends upon its resistance R:
o The resistor with the largest
resistance will have a greater
potential difference than the other
one from V = IR
o If the resistance of one of the resistors
is increased, it will get a greater share
of the potential difference, whilst the
other resistor will get a smaller share
Potential divider diagram and equation
 In potential divider circuits, the p.d across a
component is proportional to its resistance
from V = IR
Q The circuit is designed to light up a lamp when the input voltage exceed a preset value.
It does this by comparing Vout with a fixed reference voltage of 5.3 V.

Vout is equal to 5.3

Calculate the input voltage Vin.

Note: Always make sure the correct resistance is in the numerator of the potential divider equation. This will be the
resistance of the component you want to find the output voltage of.

Variable Resistance Components

 Variable and sensory resistors are used in potential dividers to vary the output voltage
o This could cause an external component to switch on or off e.g. a heater switching off
automatically when its surroundings are at room temperature
 Sensory resistors used are Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and thermistors
 LDR and thermistor in a potential divider circuit with a fixed resistor R
 Recall that the resistance of an  The resistance of a thermistor
LDR varies with light intensity varies with temperature
o The higher the light intensity, o The hotter the thermistor, the
the lower the resistance and vice lower the resistance and vice
versa versa
 An LDR circuit is often used for  A thermistor circuit is used
street and security lights in fire alarms, ovens and
digital thermometers
 From Ohm’s law V = IR, the potential difference Vout from a resistor in a potential divider circuit is
proportional to its resistance
o If an LDR or thermistor's resistance decreases, the potential difference through it also decreases
o If an LDR or thermistor's resistance increases, the potential difference through it also increases
 Since the total p.d of the components must be equal to Vin, if the p.d of the sensory resistor decreases
then the p.d of the other resistor in the circuit must increase and vice versa

Q A potential divider consists of a fixed resistor R and a thermistor.

What happens to the p.d through resistor R and the thermistor when the temperature of the thermistor decreases?
 The Potentiometer
 A potentiometer is similar to a variable resistor connected as a potential divider to give a continuously
variable output voltage
 It can be used as a means of comparing potential differences in different parts of the circuit
 The circuit symbol is recognised by an arrow next to the resistor

Potentiometer circuit diagram A potentiometer is a type of variable Moving the slider (the arrow in the
resistor diagram) changes the resistance
It is recognised on a circuit diagram (and hence potential difference) of
with a resistor fitted with a sliding the upper and lower parts of the
A potentiometer is a single contact potentiometer
component that (in its
simplest form) consists of a The sliding contact has the effect of If the slider in the above diagram is
coil of wire with a sliding separating the potentiometer into moved upwards, the resistance of
contact, midway along it two parts (an upper part and a the lower part will increase and so
lower part), both of which have the potential difference across it
different resistances will also increase

Q. Therefore, the variable resistor

A potential divider circuit consists of fixed resistors of resistance 5.0 Ω
obtains a maximum or minimum
and 7.0 Ω connected in series with a 6.0 Ω resistor fitted with a sliding
value for the output voltage
contact. These are connected across a battery of e.m.f 12 V and zero
internal resistance,
as shown. If the resistance is 3 Ω:
o Maximum voltage is when the
resistance is 3 Ω
o Minimum voltage is when the
resistance is 0 Ω
What are the maximum and minimum output voltages of this potential divider circuit?
 The Galvanometer
 A galvanometer is a type of sensitive ammeter used to detect electric current
 It is used in a potentiometer to measure e.m.f between two points in a circuit
 The circuit symbol is recognised by an arrow in a circle:

Galvanometer circuit symbol

 A galvanometer is made from a coil of
wire wrapped around an iron core that
rotates inside a magnetic field:
The galvanometer

 The arrow represents a needle which deflects depending on the amount of current passing through
o When the arrow is facing directly upwards, there is no current
o This is called null deflection
 Ohm’s law tells us that the current through a conductor (wire) is directly proportional to the potential
difference through it i.e. no p.d means no current flows through the galvanometer
 A galvanometer has p.d of zero when the potential on one side equals the potential on the other side
 This is at the position at which it is connected on the wire (which varies with the sliding contact)
gives a p.d equal to the EMF of the cell connected to the galvanometer
 The cell should be connected such that its potential opposes the potential on the wire i.e. the positive
terminal of the power supply faces the positive terminal of the cell:
 When the sliding contact moves along the
potentiometer wire, you add or remove resistance
from/to the external circuit. This changes the potential
drop across X and Y
 Location of the sliding point is adjusted until the
galvanometer reads zero. This is until the potential
difference equals E2
 The direction of the two [Link] oppose each other and
there is no current

Q A power supply and a cell are compared using the potentiometer circuit shown.
The e.m.f produced by the cell is measured on the potentiometer. The potentiometer wire AB is 150.0 cm long
and has a resistance of 2.4 Ω. The power supply has an e.m.f of 5.000 V and the solar cell has an e.m.f of 6.25
[Link] resistance R must be used so that the galvanometer reads zero when AS = 32.0 cm?
 Sir Zaheer's Academy
Atomic Structure Particle Physics
Rutherford Scattering
 Evidence for the structure of the atom was discovered by Ernest Rutherford in the beginning of the
20th century from the study of α-particle scattering
 The experimental setup consists of alpha particles fired at thin gold foil and a detector on the other
side to detect how many particles deflected at different angles

α-particle scattering experiment set up

When α-particles are fired at thin gold foil,
 From this experiment, Rutherford results were:
most of them go straight through but a small
 The majority of α-particles went straight through (A)
number bounce straight back
o This suggested the atom is mainly empty space
 Some α-particles deflected through small angles of < 10o
o This suggested there is a positive nucleus at the centre (since two positive charges would repel)
 Only a small number of α-particles deflected straight back at angles of > 90o (C)
o This suggested the nucleus is extremely small and this is where the mass and charge of the
atom is concentrated
o It was therefore concluded that atoms consist of small dense positively charged nuclei,
surrounded by negatively charged electrons
Q In an α-particle scattering experiment, a student set up the apparatus below to determine the number n of α-
particle incident per unit time on a detector held at various angles θ.
Which of the following graphs best represents the variation of n with
θ from 0 to 90°?

Atomic Structure
 The atoms of all elements are made up of three types of particles: protons, neutrons and electrons.

An atom: a small positive nucleus, surrounded Protons and neutrons are found in the nucleus
by negative electrons of an atom while electrons orbit the nucleus
 (Note: The atom is around 100,000 times larger than the nucleus!)
  The properties of each particle are shown in the table below:

 A stable atom is neutral

(it has no charge)
 Since protons and electrons
have the same charge, but
opposite signs, a stable atom has
an equal number of both for
the overall charge to remain
neutral
Remember not to mix up the ‘atom’ and the ‘nucleus’. The ‘atom’ consists of the nucleus and electrons. The
‘nucleus’ just consists of the protons and neutrons in the middle of the atom, not the electrons.
Atomic Mass Unit (u) Table of common particles
 The unified atomic mass unit (u) is with mass in a.m.u
roughly equal to the mass of one proton or
−27
neutron: o 1 u = 1.66 × 10 kg
 It is sometimes abbreviated to a.m.u
 This value will be given on your data
sheet in the exam
 The a.m.u is commonly used in
nuclear physics to express the mass
of subatomic particles. It is equal to
1/12 of the mass of the carbon-12
atom
 The mass of an atom in a.m.u is roughly equal to the sum of its protons and neutrons (nucleon number)
o For example, the mass of Uranium-235 is roughly 235u
Q Estimate the mass of the nucleus of element Copernicium-285 in [Link] your answer to 2 decimal places.

AZX Notation
 Atomic symbols are written in a specific notation called AZX notation

Atomic symbols, like the one above, describe the constituents of nuclei
 The top number A represents the nucleon number or the mass number
o Nucleon number (A) = total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus
 The lower number Z represents the proton or atomic number
o Proton number (Z) = total number of protons in the nucleus
 Note: In Chemistry the nucleon number is referred to as the mass number and the proton number as
the atomic number. The periodic table is ordered by atomic number
  An example of this notation for Lithium is:
 When given an atomic symbol, you can figure out the number of protons,
neutrons and electrons in the atom:
o Protons: The atomic number
o Electrons: Atoms are neutrals, so the number of negative electrons is equal
to the number of positive protons. Therefore, this is also the atomic
number
o Neutrons: Subtract the proton number from the mass number
 For the lithium atom, these numbers would be:
Atomic symbol for Lithium o Protons: 3
o Electrons: 3
o Neutrons: 7 − 3 = 4
 The term nucleon is the used to mean a particle in the nucleus – i.e. a
proton or neutron
 The term nuclide is used to refer to a nucleus with a specific combination
of protons and neutrons
Q

Isotopes
 Although all atoms of the same element always have the same number of protons (and hence
electrons), the number of neutrons can vary
 An isotope is an atom (of the same element) that has an equal number of protons but different
number of neutrons
 The isotopes of hydrogen are deuterium and tritium:

Isotopes of Chlorine:

The three atoms shown above are all forms of hydrogen,

but they each have different numbers of neutrons
  Remember, the neutron number of an atom is found by subtracting the proton number from the
nucleon number
 Since nucleon number includes the number of neutrons, an isotope of an element will also have a
different nucleon/mass number
Q One of the rows in the table shows a pair of nuclei that are isotopes of one another. Which row is correct?

Conservation of Nucleon Number & Charge

 Nuclear processes such as fission and fusion are represented using nuclear equations (similar to
chemical reactions in chemistry)
 The number of protons and neutrons in atom is known as its constituents
 For example:

Nuclear fission equation

 The above equation represents a fission reaction in which a Uranium nucleus is hit with a neutron and
splits into two smaller nuclei – a Strontium nucleus and Xenon nucleus, releasing two neutrons in the
process
 In nuclear equations, the nucleon number and charge are always conserved
 This means that the sum of the nucleons and charge on the left hand side must equal the sum of the
number of nucleons and charge on the right hand side
 In the above equation, the sum of the nucleon (top) numbers on both sides are equal
235 + 1 = 236 = 90 + 144 + 2 × 1
 The same is true for the proton (bottom) numbers
92 + 0 = 92 = 38 + 54 + 2 × 0
 By balancing equations in this way, you can determine the nucleon, proton number or the number of
missing elements
 For example:

Balancing the number of nucleons shows that 3 neutrons must be released in the reaction
Q When a californium atom reacts with an unknown element X, the following reaction occurs.
Determine the values of Y and Z.

Alpha, Beta & Gamma Particles

 Some elements have nuclei that are unstable
o This tends to be when the number of nucleons does not balance
 In order to become more stable, they emit particles and/or electromagnetic radiation
o These nuclei are said to be radioactive
 There are three different types of radioactive emission:
 Alpha (α) particles are high energy particles made up of 2 protons and 2 neutrons (the same as a
helium nucleus)
 They are usually emitted from nuclei that are too large

 Beta (β−) particles are high energy electrons emitted from the nucleus
−
o β particles are emitted by nuclei that have too many neutrons

 Gamma (γ) rays are high energy electromagnetic waves

 They are emitted by nuclei that need to lose some energy

 If these particles hit other atoms, they can knock out electrons, ionising the atom
 This can cause chemical changes in materials and can damage or kill living cells

When radiation passes close to atoms, it can knock out

electrons, ionising the atom
  The properties of the different types of radiation are summarised in the table below

 u is the atomic mass unit (see “Atomic

Mass Unit (u)”)
 e is the charge of the electron:
1.60 × 10-19 C
 c is the speed of light: 3 × 108 m s-1

Decay Equations
Neutrino Emission
 An electron neutrino is a type of subatomic particle with no charge and negligible mass which is also
emitted from the nucleus
 The anti-neutrino is the antiparticle of a neutrino
o Electron neutrinos are produced during β+ decay
o Electron anti-neutrinos are produced during β– decay
One way to remember which particle decays into which depends
on the type of beta emission, think of beta ‘plus’ as the ‘proton’
that turns into the neutron (plus an electron neutrino)
Energy of Alpha & Beta Decay
 When the number of α particles is plotted against kinetic energy, there are clear spikes that appear on
the graph
 This demonstrates that α-particles have discrete energies (only certain values)

Alpha particles have discrete energy levels whilst beta particles have a continuou s range of energies
 When the number of β particles is plotted against kinetic energy, the graph shows a curve
 This demonstrates that beta particles (electrons or positrons) have a continuous range of energies
 This is because the energy released in beta decay is shared between the beta particles (electrons or
positrons) and neutrinos (or anti-neutrinos)
 This was one of the first clues of the neutrino’s existence
 The principle of conservation of momentum and energy applies in both alpha and beta emission
 α & β Decay Equations
Alpha Decay
 Alpha decay is common in large, unstable nuclei with too many protons
 The decay involves a nucleus emitting an alpha particle and decaying into a different nucleus
 An alpha particle consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons (the nucleus of a Helium atom)

Alpha decay produces a daughter nucleus

and an alpha particle (helium nucleus)

 When an unstable nucleus (the parent nucleus) emits radiation, the constitution of its nucleus changes
 As a result, the isotope will change into a different element (the daughter nucleus)
 Alpha decay can be represented by the following radioactive decay equation:

Alpha decay equation

 When an alpha particle is emitted from a nucleus:
o The nucleus loses 2 protons:
proton number decreases by 2
o The nucleus loses 4 nucleons:
nucleon number decreases by 4

β- decay β+ decay
- +
 A β particle is a high energy electron emitted  A β particle is a high energy positron emitted
from the nucleus from the nucleus
-
 β decay is when a neutron turns into a proton  β+ decay is when a proton turns into a
emitting an electron and an anti-electron neutrino neutron emitting a positron (anti-electron)
and an electron neutrino

 When a β- is emitted from a nucleus:  When a β+ is emitted from a nucleus:

o The number of protons increases by 1: o The number of protons decreases by 1:
proton number increases by 1 proton number decreases by 1
o The total number of nucleons stays the o The total number of nucleons stays the same:
same: nucleon number remains the same nucleon number remains the same

 The new nucleus formed from the decay

is called the “daughter” nucleus
(nitrogen in the example above)
Q A radioactive substance with a nucleon number of 212 and a proton number of 82 decays by β-plus emission
into a daughter product which in turn decays by further β-plus emission into a granddaughter product.

Which letter in the diagram represents the granddaughter product?

Remember to avoid the common mistake of confusing the number of neutrons with nucleon number. In alpha
decay, the nucleon (protons and neutrons) number decreases by 4 but the number of neutrons only decreases
by 2.
 Sir Zaheer's Academy
Fundamental Particles: Quarks
 Quarks are fundamental particles that make up other subatomic particles such as protons and
neutrons
 Protons and neutrons are in a category of particles called hadrons
o Hadrons are defined as any particle made up of quarks
 Fundamental means that quarks are not made up of any other particles. Another example is electrons
 Quarks have never been observed on their own, they’re either Meons or Baryons
 There are six flavours (types) of quarks that exist:

The six flavours of quarks

Properties of Quarks
 The charge of a hadron is determined by the sum of the charges of its quarks
 Each flavour of quark has a certain relative charge:

Each flavour of quark has a charge of either +⅔e or -⅓e

 For example, a proton is made up of two up quarks and a down quark. Adding up their charges gives
the charge of a proton: +⅔e + ⅔e - ⅓e = +1e
 The equivalent antiparticle of the quark is the anti-quark
 These are identical to quarks except with opposite relative charges
Q Particles are made up of a combination of
three quarks or two quarks. Which quark
combination would not give a particle a
charge of -1 or 0?
A. up, strange, strange
B. charm, charm, down
C. top, anti-up
D. anti-up, anti-up, anti-strange

You will be expected to remember the

charge of each quark. However, instead
of memorising the charges of anti-quarks
Each flavour of anti-quark has a charge of either -⅔e or +⅓e. The quark too, just remember they are identical but
composition of anti-protons and anti-neutrons changes to anti-quarks with opposite signs.
Fundamental Particles: Leptons
 Leptons are a group of fundamental (elementary) particles
 This means they are not made up of any other particles (no quarks)
 There are six leptons altogether:

The six leptons are all fundamental particles

 Quark Composition: Protons & Neutrons
 Protons and neutrons are not fundamental particles. They are each made up of three quarks
 Protons are made up of two up quarks and a down quark
 Neutrons are made up of two down quarks and an up quark

Protons and neutrons are made up of three quarks

 You will be expected to remember these quark combinations for exam questions
Q

Baryons & Mesons

 Hadrons are the group of subatomic particles
that are made up of quarks
 These may be either a:
o Baryon (3 quarks)
o Meson (quark and anti-quark pair)

 Quarks have never been discovered on their own,

always in pairs or groups of three
Quark Composition: β– & β+ decay
 Beta decay happens via the weak interaction
o This is one of the four fundamental forces and it’s responsible for radioactive decays

Quark Composition: β- decay Quark Composition: β+ decay

 Recall that β- decay is when a neutron turns  Recall that β+ decay is when a proton turns into
into a proton emitting an electron and anti- a neutron emitting an positron and an electron
electron neutrino neutrino
 More specifically, a neutron turns into a proton  More specifically, a proton turns into a neutron
because a down quark turning into an up quark because an up quark turns into a down quark

Beta minus decay is when a down quark turns Beta minus decay is when an up quark turns
into an up quark into a down quark
 Sir Zaheer's Academy
Errors & Uncertainties
Random & Systematic Errors
 Measurements of quantities are made with the aim of finding the true value of that quantity
 In reality, it is impossible to obtain the true value of any quantity, there will always be a degree of
uncertainty
 The uncertainty is an estimate of the difference between a measurement reading and the true value
 Random and systematic errors are two types of measurement errors which lead to uncertainty
Random error
 Random errors cause unpredictable fluctuations in an instrument’s readings as a result of
uncontrollable factors, such as environmental conditions
 This affects the precision of the measurements taken, causing a wider spread of results about the mean
value
 To reduce random error: repeat measurements several times and calculate an average from them
Systematic error
 Systematic errors arise from the use of faulty instruments used or from flaws in the experimental
method
 This type of error is repeated every time the instrument is used or the method is followed, which
affects the accuracy of all readings obtained
 To reduce systematic errors: instruments should be recalibrated or the technique being used should
be corrected or adjusted
Zero error
 This is a type of systematic error which occurs when an instrument gives a reading when the true
reading is zero
 This introduces a fixed error into readings which must be accounted for when the results are recorded
Precision & Accuracy
 Precision of a measurement: this is how close the measured values are to each other; if a
measurement is repeated several times, then they can be described as precise when the values are very
similar to, or the same as, each other
 The precision of a measurement is reflected in the values recorded - measurements to a greater number
of decimal places are said to be more precise than those to a whole number
 Accuracy: this is how close a measured value is to the true value; the accuracy can be increased by
repeating measurements and finding a mean average

Representing precision and accuracy on a graph The difference between precise and accurate results

It is very common for students to confuse precision with accuracy - measurements can be precise but not
accurate if each measurement reading has the same error. Precision refers to the ability to take multiple
readings with an instrument that are close to each other, whereas accuracy is the closeness of those
measurements to the true value.
Calculating Uncertainties
Calculating Uncertainty
 There is always a degree of uncertainty when measurements are taken; the uncertainty can be thought
of as the difference between the actual reading taken (caused by the equipment or techniques used)
and the true value
 Uncertainties are not the same as errors
o Errors can be thought of as issues with equipment or methodology that cause a reading to be
different from the true value
o The uncertainty is a range of values around a measurement within which the true value is
expected to lie, and is an estimate
 For example, if the true value of the mass of a box is 950 g, but a systematic error with a balance gives
an actual reading of 952 g, the uncertainty is ±2 g
 These uncertainties can be represented in a number of ways:
o Absolute Uncertainty: where uncertainty is given as a fixed quantity
o Fractional Uncertainty: where uncertainty is given as a fraction of the measurement
o Percentage Uncertainty: where uncertainty is given as a percentage of the measurement

 The uncertainty in a reading: ± half the smallest division

Q Calculate absolute, fractional and

percentage uncertainty

Combining Uncertainties
Rule to follow
 Adding / subtracting data – add the absolute uncertainties
 Multiplying / dividing data – add the percentage uncertainties

 Raising to a power – multiply the uncertainty by the power

Measurement Techniques
Measurement Techniques
 Common instruments used in Physics are:
o Metre rules - to measure distance and length
o Balances - to measure mass
o Protractors - to measure angles
o Stopwatches - to measure time
o Ammeters - to measure current
o Voltmeters - to measure potential difference
 More complicated instruments such as the
micrometer screw gauge and Vernier calipers
can be used to more accurately measure length

 When using measuring instruments like these you need to ensure that you are fully aware of what each
division on a scale represents
o This is known as the resolution
 The resolution is the smallest change in the physical quantity being measured that results in a change
in the reading given by the measuring instrument
 The smaller the change that can be measured by the instrument, the greater the degree of resolution
 For example, a standard mercury thermometer has a resolution of 1°C whereas a typical digital
thermometer will have a resolution of 0.1°C
o The digital thermometer has a higher resolution than the mercury thermometer
Measuring Instruments Table
 Measuring Instruments Table

Micrometer Screw Gauge

 A micrometer, or a micrometer screw gauge, is a tool used for measuring small widths, thicknesses or
diameters
o For example, the diameter of a copper wire
 It has a resolution of 0.01 mm
 The micrometer is made up of two scales:
o The main scale - this is on the sleeve (sometimes called the barrel)
o The thimble scale - this is a rotating scale on the thimble
 The spindle and anvil are closed around the object being measured by rotating the ratchet
o This should be tight enough so the object does not fall out but not so tight that is deformed
o Never tighten the spindle using the barrel, only using the ratchet. This will reduce the
chances of overtightening and zero errors
 The value measured from the micrometer is read where the thimble scale aligns with the main scale
o This should always be recorded to 2 decimal places (eg. 1.40 mm not just 1.4 mm)

How to operate a micrometer

Vernier Calipers
 Vernier calipers are another distance measuring tool that uses a sliding vernier scale
o They can also be used to measure diameters and thicknesses, just like the micrometer
o However, they can also measure the length of small objects such as a screw or the depth of a
hole
 Vernier calipers generally have a resolution of 0.1 mm, however, some are as small as 0.02 mm - 0.05
mm
 The calipers are made up of two scales:
o The main scale
o The vernier scale
 The two upper or lower jaws are clamped around the object
o The sliding vernier scale will follow this and can be held in place using the locking screw
 The value measured from the caliper is read when the vernier scale aligns with the main scale
o This should always be recorded to at least 1 decimal place (eg. 12.1 mm not just 12 mm)
The vernier caliper reading is read when the vernier scale aligns with the main scale