PHYSICS

CHAPTER I
DESCRIBING MOTION
Physics is the science of matter and its motion—the science that deals with concepts
such as force, energy, mass, and charge. As an experimental science, its goal is to
understand the natural world.

Physics is the study of the fundamental nature of all things.

Prior to the Renaissance, the most significant works in mechanics were those written in
the 4th century BCE by the Greek philosopher Aristotle of Stagira (384–322 BCE) —
these were Mechanics, On the Heavens, and The Nature or in Greek (Mekhanika), (peri
uranu), and (Fysikes akroasis). Although the first section of every general physics
textbook is about mechanics, Aristotle's Mechanics probably wasn't written by him and
won't be discussed here. On the heavens will be discussed later in this book.

The Nature is Aristotle's work that's most relevant to this book. That's because it's the
origin of the word physics. The full name (Fysikes akroasis) translates literally to
"Lesson on Nature" but "The Lesson on the Nature of Things" is probably more faithful.
The Nature acquired great stature in the Western world and was identified almost
reverently by academics as (Ta Fysika) — The Physics. In this book Aristotle introduced
the concepts of space, time, and motion as elements in a larger philosophy of the
natural world. Consequently, a person who studied the nature of things was called a
"natural philosopher" or "physicist" and the subject they studied was called "natural
philosophy" or "physics". Incidentally, this is also the origin of the words "physician" (one
who studies the nature of the human body) and "physique" (the nature or state of the
human body).

Many of the things around us move. Some move slowly like the turtles and clouds,
others move much more quickly like the satellites. Because motion is so common, it
seems to be very simple. But in science, describing motion actually entails careful use
of some definitions.

This module provides you with scientific knowledge and skills necessary to describe
motion along a straight path. You will learn to describe the motion of objects in terms of
position, distance travelled, and speed. You will also learn to analyze or represent
motion of objects using charts, diagrams, and graphs. While these all provide the same
information about the motion of objects, you will find out that one may be more helpful
than the other depending on your particular objective.

In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position over

time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity,
acceleration, speed, and time.

Before you will be able to describe the motion of an object, you must first be able to tell
exactly where it is positioned. Describing exact position entails two ideas: describing
how far the object is from the point of reference and describing its direction relative to
that point of reference.

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In science, motion is defined as the change in position for a particular time interval. You
can then start describing motion with the question, “How far did the object travel?”
There are actually two ways to answer this question. First is by getting the total length of
the path travelled by the object.

In science, the first measurement gives the distance travelled by the object while the
second measurement gives its displacement.

Can you give one difference between distance and displacement based on the given
examples? When can displacement be equal to zero? Is it possible to get zero
displacement? What if the ball, the car, and the dog in the illustration go back to their
starting positions, what will happen to their respective distances? How about their
displacements? If you answered these questions correctly, then you have most
probably understood the difference between distance and displacement.

The general study of the relationships between motion, forces, and energy is called
mechanics. It is a large field and its study is essential to the understanding of physics,
which is why these chapters appear first. Mechanics can be divided into sub-disciplines
by combining and recombining its different aspects. Some of these are given special
names.

Motion is the action of changing location or position. The study of motion without regard
to the forces or energies that may be involved is called kinematics. It is the simplest
branch of mechanics. The branch of mechanics that deals with both motion and forces
together is called dynamics and the study of forces in the absence of changes in motion
or energy is called statics.

The term energy refers an abstract physical quantity that is not easily perceived by
humans. It can exist in many forms simultaneously and only acquires meaning through
calculation. Informally, a system possesses energy if it has the ability to do work. The
energy of motion is called kinetic energy.

In general, a force is anything that causes a change (like a change in energy or motion
or shape). When a force causes a change in the energy of a system, physicists say that
work has been done. The mathematical statement that relates forces to changes in
energy is called the work-energy theorem.

When the total of all the different forms of energy is determined, we find that it remains
constant in systems that are isolated from their surroundings. This statement is known
as the law of conservation of energy and is one of the really big concepts in all of
physics, not just mechanics. The study of how energy changes forms and location
during physical processes is called energetics, but the word is used more by scientists
in fields outside of physics than inside.

Distance refers to the length of the entire path that the object travelled.

Displacement refers to the shortest distance between the object’s two positions, like
the distance between its point of origin and its point of destination, no matter what path
it took to get to that destination.

When a graph is plotted in terms of the distance travelled by the object and the time it
took to cover such distance, the graph can be called distance-time graph. If the graph is
plotted in terms of displacement and time, it is called displacement-time graph.
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Speed is defined as distance travelled divided by the time of travel.

Speed = Distance travelled

Time of travelled

The units of speed can be miles per hour (mi/h), kilometres per hour (km/h), or meters
per second (m/s).

Speed and direction

In describing the motion of an object, we do not just describe how fast the object
moves. We also consider the direction to where it is going. Speed with direction is
referred to as velocity.

Whenever there is a storm coming, we are notified of its impending danger in terms of
its speed and direction. Aside from this, we are also informed about its strength. Do you
know that as the storm moves, its winds move in circles? The circular speed of the
winds of the storm determines its strength. Different storm signals are given in places
depending on the circular speed of the winds of the storm and the distance from the
center.

Constant speed vs instantaneous speed

If you solved for the distance travelled by each participant over the time he took to cover
such distance, then you have computed for his average speed. But why average speed
and not just speed? It is considered average speed because it represents the speed of
the participant throughout his travel. During his travel, there were instants that his speed
would vary. His speed at an instant is called instantaneous speed. Similarly, the velocity
of a moving body at an instant is called instantaneous velocity. The instantaneous
speed may be equal, greater than, or less than the average speed.

When an object’s instantaneous speed values are always the same, then it means that
the object is moving with constant speed. We refer to this as constant motion. Where
you will be and what time you will reach your destination is easily predicted when you
move at constant speed or velocity.

Are you familiar with the speedometer? Speedometer is a device used to measure the
instantaneous speed of a vehicle. Speedometers are important to the drivers because
they need to know how fast they are going so they know if they are already driving
beyond the speed limit or not.

SPEED
Speed or Velocity = Distance/Time

MOMENTUM
Momentum = Mass X Velocity

ACCELERATION
Acc= Final speed- Initial speed/time

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Distance = Time X Velocity Mass = Momentum/Velocity
Time = Distance/Velocity Velocity = Momentum/Mass

DENSITY
M
D=M/V
D V

Important Terms to Remember

Acceleration - Acceleration is the measurement of the change in an object's velocity. It

is equal to the change in velocity over the change in time. Acceleration is a vector.

Collision - A collision in physics occurs when any two objects bump into each other.

Displacement - In physics, displacement refers to an object's overall change in

position. It is a vector quantity.

Energy - Energy is the ability to do work. The standard unit of measure for energy is the
joule.

First law of motion - The first law of motion states that any object in motion will
continue to move in the same direction and speed unless external forces act on it.

Force - Force is the measurement of a push or pull on an object. Force is a vector

measured in newtons.

Friction - Friction is the resistance of motion when one object rubs against another. It is
a force and is measured in newtons.

Gravity - Gravity is a force caused when the mass of physical bodies attract each other.
On Earth gravity pulls at objects with an acceleration of 9.8 m/s 2.

Impulse - An impulse is a change in momentum.

Joule - The joule is the standard unit of measure for energy and work.

Kinetic energy - Kinetic energy is the energy an object has due to its motion. It is a
scalar quantity calculated using the formula KE = ½ * m * v 2, where m = mass and v =
velocity.

Mass - Mass is a measurement of how much matter is in an object. It is usually

measured in kilograms.

Momentum - Momentum is a measurement of mass in motion. Momentum is equal to

the mass times the velocity of an object. It is a vector measured in newton-seconds.

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Newton - The newton is the standard unit of measure for force.

Pascal - The pascal is the standard unit of measure for pressure.

Potential energy - Potential energy is the energy stored by an object due to its state or
position. It is measured in joules.

Power - Power is a measurement of the rate at which energy is used. Power is

calculated by dividing work over time. The standard unit for power is the watt.

Pressure - Pressure is the force over a given area. Pressure is measured in pascals.

Scalar - A scalar is a measurement that only measures the magnitude. Unlike a vector,
a scalar does not have direction.

Second law of motion - The second law of motion states that the greater the mass of
an object, the more force it will take to accelerate the object.

Simple machine - A simple machine is a basic mechanical device for applying a force
and doing work. Some examples of simple machines include the lever, pulley, inclined
plane, wedge, and screw.

Speed - Speed is the measurement of how fast on object moves relative to a reference
point. It is a scalar quantity measured by distance over time.

Third law of motion - The third law of motion states that for every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction.

Vector - A vector is a quantity that has both a magnitude and a direction.

Velocity - Velocity is the rate of change in an object's position. Velocity is a vector

quantity. The magnitude of velocity is the object's speed.

Watt - The watt is the standard unit of measure for power.

Weight - Weight is the force of gravity on an object. In physics, weight is measured in

newtons.

Work - Work occurs in physics when a force acts on an object to move it some
distance. Work is equal to the force times the distance and is measured in joules.

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 CHAPTER II
FORCES AND MOTION

Most of the motions we come across in our daily life are non-uniform and the primary
cause of changes in motion is FORCE. In this module, you will learn about the effects
of force on motion. Newton’s Three Laws of Motion – the central organizing principle of
classical mechanics – will be presented and applied to real-life situations.

Motion may be divided into three basic types — translational, rotational, and oscillatory.
The sections on mechanics in this book are basically arranged in that order. The fourth
type of motion — random — is dealt with in another book I wrote.

Translational motion

Motion that results in a change of location is said to be translational. This category may
seem ridiculous at first as motion implies a change in location, but an object can be
moving and yet not go anywhere. I get up in the morning and go to work (an obvious
change in location), but by evening I'm back at home — back in the very same bed
where I started the day. Is this translational motion? Well, it depends. If the problem at
hand is to determine how far I travel in a day, then there are two possible answers:
either I've gone to work and back (22 km each way for a total of 44 km) or I've gone
nowhere (22 km each way for a total of 0 km). The first answer invokes translational
motion while the second invokes oscillatory motion.

Oscillatory motion

Motion that is repetitive and fluctuates between two locations is said to be oscillatory. In
the previous example of going from home to work to home to work I am moving, but in
the end I haven't gone anywhere. This second type of motion is seen in pendulums (like
those found in grandfather clocks or Big Ben), vibrating strings (a guitar string moves
but goes nowhere), and drawers (open, close, open, close — all that motion and
nothing to show for it). Oscillatory motion is interesting in that it often takes a fixed
amount of time for an oscillation to occur. This kind of motion is said to be periodic and
the time for one complete oscillation (or one cycle) is called a period. Periodic motion is
important in the study of sound, light, and other waves. Large chunks of physics are
devoted to this kind repetitive motion. Doing the same thing over and over and going
nowhere is pretty important. Which brings us to our next type of motion.

Rotational motion

Motion that occurs when an object spins is said to be rotational. The earth is in a
constant state of motion, but where does that motion take it? Every twenty-four hours it
makes one complete rotation about its axis. (Actually, it's a bit less than that, but let's
not get bogged down in details.) The sun does the same thing, but in about twenty-four
days. So do all the planets, asteroids, and comets; each with its own period. (Note that
rotational motion too is often periodic.) On a more mundane level, boccie balls,
phonograph records, and wheels also rotate. That should be enough examples to keep
us busy for a while.

Random motion

Random motion occurs for one of two reasons.

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Chaos theory

Some motion is predictable in theory but unpredictable in practice, which makes it

appear random. For example, a single molecule in a gas will move freely until it strikes
another molecule or one of the walls containing it. The direction the molecule travels
after a collision like this is completely predictable according to current theories of
classical mechanics.

Every measurement has uncertainty associated with it. Every calculation made using
the results of a measurement will carry that uncertainty along. Now imagine that you are
trying to predict the motion of a billion gas atoms in a container. (That's a small amount,
by the way.) After measuring the position and velocity of each one as accurately as
possible, you enter the data into a monstrous computer and let it do the calculations for
you. Since the measurements associated with each molecule are a little off, the first
round of computation will be a little wrong. Those wrong numbers will then be used in
the next round of calculation and the results will be a little more wrong. After a billion
calculations, the compounded error would render the results useless. The molecule
could be anywhere within the container. This type of randomness is called chaos.

Quantum theory

Some motion is unpredictable in theory and is truly random. For example, the motion of
the electron in an atom is fundamentally unpredictable because of a weird conspiracy of
nature described by quantum mechanics. The harder you try to locate the electron, the
less you know about its velocity. The harder you try to measure its velocity, the less you
know about its location. This is a fundamental quality of small objects like electrons and
there is no way around it. Although the electron is often said to "orbit" the nucleus of an
atom, strictly speaking, this isn't true. The probability of finding the electron at any
particular point in space is predictable, but how it got from the first place you observed it
to the second is actually a meaningless question. There is no name for this kind of
motion because the concept of motion doesn't even apply.

Forces that act on all objects.

Weight (W, Fg)

The force of gravity acting on an object due to its mass. An object's weight is directed
down, toward the center of the gravitating body; like the Earth or moon, for example.

Forces associated with solids.

Normal (N, Fn)

The force between two solids in contact that prevents them from occupying the same
space. The normal force is directed perpendicular to the surface. A "normal" in
mathematics is a line perpendicular to a planar curve or surface; thus the name "normal
force".

Friction (f, Ff)

The force between solids in contact that resists their sliding across one another. Friction
is directed opposite the direction of relative motion or the intended direction of motion of
either of the surfaces.

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Tension (T, Ft)

The force exerted by an object being pulled upon from opposite ends like a string, rope,
cable, chain, etc. Tension is directed along the axis of the object. (Although normally
associated with solids, liquids and gases can also be said exert tension in some
circumstances.)

Elasticity (Fe, Fs)

The force exerted by an object under deformation (typically tension or compression) that
will return to its original shape when released like a spring or rubber band. Elasticity, like
tension, is directed along an axis (although there are exceptions to this rule).

Forces associated with fluids. Fluids include liquids (like water) and gases (like air).

Buoyancy (B, Fb)

The force exerted on an object immersed in a fluid. Buoyancy is usually directed up

(although there are exceptions to this rule).

Drag (R, D, Fd)

The force that resists the motion of an object through a fluid. Drag is directed opposite
the direction of motion of the object relative to the fluid.

Lift (L, Fℓ)

The force that a moving fluid exerts as it flows around an object; typically a wing or
wing-like structure, but also golf balls and baseballs. Lift is generally directed
perpendicular to the direction of fluid flow (although there are exceptions to this rule).

Thrust (T, Ft)

The force that a fluid exerts when expelled by a propeller, turbine, rocket, squid, clam,
etc. Thrust is directed opposite the direction the fluid is expelled.

Forces associated with physical phenomena.

Electrostatic Force (FE)

The attraction or repulsion between charged bodies. Experienced in everyday life

through static cling and in school as the explanation behind much of elementary
chemistry.

Magnetic Force (FB)

The attraction or repulsion between charged bodies in motion. Experienced in everyday

life through magnets and in school as the explanation behind why a compass needle
points north.

Fundamental forces. All the forces in the universe can be explained in terms of the
following four fundamental interactions.

Gravity

The interaction between objects due to their mass. Weight is a synonym for the force of
gravity.
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Electromagnetism

The interaction between objects due to their charge. All the forces discussed above are
electromagnetic in origin except weight.

Strong Nuclear Interaction

The interaction between subatomic particles with "color" (an abstract quantity that has
nothing to do with human vision). This is the force that holds protons and neutrons
together in the nucleus and holds quarks together in the protons and neutrons. It cannot
be felt outside of the nucleus.

Weak Nuclear Interaction

The interaction between subatomic particles with "flavor" (an abstract quantity that has
nothing to do with human taste). This force, which is many times weaker than the strong
nuclear interaction, is involved in certain forms of radioactive decay.

Fictitious forces. These are apparent forces that objects experience in an accelerating
coordinate system like an accelerating car, airplane, spaceship, elevator, or amusement
park ride. Fictitious forces do not arise from an external object like genuine forces do,
but rather as a consequence of trying to keep up with an accelerating environment.

Centrifugal Force

The force experienced by all objects in a rotating coordinate system that seems to pull
them away from the center of rotation.

Coriolis Force

The force experienced by moving objects in a rotating coordinate system that seems to
deflect them at right angles to their direction of motion.

"G Force"

Not really a force (or even a fictitious force) but rather an apparent gravity-like sensation
experienced by objects in an accelerating coordinate system.

Generic forces. When you don't know what to call a force, you can always give it a
generic name like…

Push Force

Pull Applied Force

Balanced and Unbalanced Forces

An object may be acted upon by several forces. For example, an object may be pushed
and pulled in different directions at the same time. To identify which of these forces
would be able to cause change in the motion of the object, it is important to identify all
the forces acting on it.

To accurately describe the forces acting on an object, it is important for you to be

familiar first with the following terms: magnitude, direction, point of application, and line
of action. Forces are described in terms of these properties. Magnitude refers to the
size or strength of the force. It is commonly expressed in Newton (N).

The direction of the arrow indicates the direction of the force while the
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length of the arrow represents the relative magnitude of the force. If the force applied on
the ball is doubled, the length of the arrow is increased two times. The line of action is
the straight line passing through the point of application and is parallel to the direction of
the force.

Unbalanced Forces

If you cut the string connected to the pen, the pen will fall. Or if you push the book on
one side across the table, the book will move but will not continue moving if you don’t
continuously push it. The pen falls down because there is no more force acting on it to
counteract the pull of gravity. The book moves because of the push that you applied. In
other words, the forces acting on these objects are no longer balanced. If an object
initially at rest is under an unbalanced force, it moves in the direction of the unbalanced
force.

Combining Forces

When we combine or add forces to determine the net or unbalanced force, we will limit
our discussion to those forces which act along the same line of action. The algebraic
signs + and – are used to indicate the direction of forces. Unlike signs are used for
forces acting in opposite directions, like in the case of the book lying on the table.

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion

The principles behind Newton’s laws of motion are very significant in understanding the
motion of objects in our universe. Their applications are all around us. Understanding
these laws therefore helps us understand why the things around us move or behave the
way they do.

Newton’s First Law of Motion: Law of Inertia

You learned that if the forces acting on an object at rest are balanced or if their
algebraic sum equate to zero, the object stays at rest. This illustrates Newton’s First
Law of Motion, a principle that was primarily based on the works of Galileo. The
following examples will help you understand this principle better The examples above
demonstrate the property of an object to resist any change in its state of motion. In
physics, this property is known as inertia. The coin dropped into the glass because it
was trying to remain in its state of rest. How about in the second example? How will
you explain the behavior of the coins when one of them was hit with an edge of a ruler?

Measure of Inertia

All objects have the tendency to resist changes in their state of motion or keep doing
what they are doing. However, changing a body’s state of motion depends on its inertia.
A more massive object which has more inertia is more difficult to move from rest, slow
down, speed up, or change its direction.

Newton's first law states that an object at rest will stay at rest or an object in motion will
stay in motion and travel in straight line, as long as no external net force acts on it. The
object will change its state of motion only if there is unbalanced or net force acting upon
it.

Newton’s Second Law of Motion: Law of Acceleration

“The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the magnitude of the net force
acting on it and is inversely proportional to its mass.”
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Free Fall and Newton’s Second Law of Motion

Suppose you drop two books of different masses from the same height, which will hit
the ground first?

Think about this: If we use the second law of acceleration, the heavier book must be the
one to hit the ground first because gravity pulls on it with more force because of its
greater mass. But if we use the law of inertia, the lighter book must be the one to hit the
ground first because of its lesser inertia. But if you actually try it out, you would find that
they will both reach the floor at the same time. How come?

Gravity acts on all objects on the earth’s surface and causes them to accelerate when
released. This acceleration, known as the acceleration due to gravity g, is the same for
all objects on earth and is equal 9.8 m/s2. This means that when objects fall, their
velocities increase by 9.8 m/s every 1 second.

The books in the example above fall to the ground at the same rate (acceleration) even
if they differ in mass. And since they were released from the same height at the same
time, they will reach the ground at the same time.

Law of Interaction (Action-Reaction)

“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

Action-Reaction Forces Balanced Forces

 Two forces are equal in size.

 Two forces are opposite to each other in terms of direction.

 Two forces have the same line of action.

 Action acts on one object, while reaction acts on another object

Balanced Forces

Two forces are opposite to each other in terms of direction.

 Two forces act along the same line.

 Two forces act upon the same object.

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 Important Terms to Remember

applied force - a force applied to something

attract - to pull towards each other

force - a push or pull

friction - a force of rubbing objects

frictional force - the force caused by friction

gravity - the force that pulls all things towards the center of the earth

inertia - a property of all objects that is related to its mass - moving objects tend to stay
moving and motionless objects remain motionless

magnetic force - the force created by a magnet

mass - The amount of matter in an object

motion - the changing of location or position

Newton - English philosopher and mathematician who originated the theory of gravity

normal force - the force of an object which supports another object such as a book
laying on a table

opposing forces - forces that work against each other

resisting force - a force such as wind resistance or friction

spring force - force created by a spring

tension force - the force of tension in a wire, rope or cable

velocity - speed in one direction

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 CHAPTER III
Uniformly Accelerated Motion (UAM)
You learned the effects of forces on motion and applied the concepts in real-life
situations. You did various experiments and activities on Newton’s Three Laws of
Motion and gained insights on the relationship of mass, force, and acceleration. From
the Law of Inertia, you were able to gain an understanding of the behavior of bodies at
rest and bodies in motion. The Law of Acceleration was thoroughly discussed where
you related force and acceleration. You also appreciated the Law of Interaction through
simple activities in daily life.

From your previous grade levels, you were able to quantify non-uniform motion. You
will mathematically describe the horizontal and vertical dimensions of Uniformly
Accelerated Motion (UAM). You will use basic trigonometric functions in solving
problems dealing with two-dimensional motion as in Projectile Motion and adapt
techniques in playing your favorite sports. You will also discuss Impulse and Momentum
and understand how these concepts can be applied in real life situations.

Uniformly Accelerated Motion: Vertical Dimension

You learned that the pull of gravity acts on all objects. So on Earth, when you throw
something up, it will go down. Things thrown upward always fall at a constant
acceleration which has a magnitude of 9.8 m/s 2 .

This means that the velocity of an object in free fall changes by 9.8 m/s every second of
fall.

Consider a stone dropped from a cliff. For equal time interval, the distance travelled
increases quadratically.

v = final velocity of the particle

u = initial velocity of the particle

s = displacement of the particle

a = acceleration of the particle

t = time interval in which the particle is in consideration

A simple algebraic method, graphical method and calculus method are the ways to
derive equation of motion.

Remember, the sign convention is to be maintained while applying these equations.

One direction is considered to be positive and another one as negative. One of the
common examples of uniformly accelerated motion is freely falling bodies. The only
acceleration which is acting on the body is g (acceleration due to gravity). If we are
taking the vertically upward direction as the positive, the acceleration due to gravity (g)
will be negative since it is in the downward direction.

Uniformly accelerated motion in a plane:

Projectile motion is one of the most popular examples of motion in a plane with uniform
acceleration. In case of projectile motion, the only acceleration acting on the particle is
the acceleration due to gravity (g). In horizontal direction – or the velocity in x-direction

13
will be constant since there is no acceleration. Therefore, we can apply the equations of
motion separately in two directions to get results.

In general, a uniformly accelerated motion is the one in which the acceleration of the
particle throughout the motion is uniform. It can be motion in one dimension, two
dimensions, or three dimensions.

Motion in Two Dimensions

“Oh the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There
are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you
the winning-est winner of all.” - Dr. Seuss

Many neighborhood games you play and sporting events you join and/or officiate in
MAPEH classes involve flying objects or balls. Have you noticed the curved paths
they make in mid-air? This curve is what naturally happens when an object, called a
projectile, moves in two dimensions –having both horizontal and vertical motion
components, acted by gravity only. In physics this is called projectile motion.

Impulse and Momentum

What makes things move? Why do some objects move continuously while some moving
objects stop suddenly? These might be some of the questions you had in mind but were
not really answered in last year’s science class. In grade 8, you learned that unbalanced
forces cause stationary objects to move. In fact, according to Newton’s Second Law of
Motion, the greater the force applied, the larger the acceleration of an object. It also
stated that with the same force, heavier objects have smaller acceleration, thus, Force =
mass x acceleration or F=ma.

What affects motion? Consider a cargo truck with a mass of 10,000 kilograms traveling
at a velocity of 40 kilometers per hour and a small car with a mass of 2000 kilograms
traveling at the same velocity as shown below. If the two vehicles suddenly lose their
breaks and crash against the brick wall, which do you think would be more damaging?
On what factor would the impact of collision depend if their velocities are the same?

What causes changes in momentum?

Changes in momentum happen every time. A fast-moving car when suddenly stopped
might have damaging effects not only to the vehicle itself but also to the person riding it.
Various devices have been installed in vehicles in order to ensure the safety of the
passengers. The use of seatbelts is even prescribed by law in order to lessen injuries
from car crashes. Inflatable airbags are also installed in most cars aimed to increase the
time of impact between the driver or passenger and the crashing vehicle in the event of
an accident. Can you think of some other safety devices installed on vehicles?

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Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

A collision is an encounter between two objects resulting in exchange of impulse and

momentum. Because the time of impact is usually small, the impulse provided by
external forces like friction during this time is negligible. If we take the colliding bodies
as one system, the momentum of the system is therefore approximately conserved. The
total momentum of the system before the collision is equal to the total momentum of the
system after the collision.

total momentum before collision = total momentum after collision

Collisions are categorized according to whether the total kinetic energy of the system
changes. Kinetic energy may be lost during collisions when (1) it is converted to heat or
other forms like binding energy, sound, light (if there is spark), etc. and (2) it is spent in
producing deformation or damage, such as when two cars collide.

The two types of collision are:

1. Elastic collision – one in which the total kinetic energy of the system does not
change and colliding objects bounce off after collision.

2. Inelastic collision – one in which the total kinetic energy of the system changes (i.e.,
converted to some other form of energy). Objects that stick together after collision is
said to be perfectly inelastic.

Important Terms to Remember

accelerating expansion of the universe
The observation that the expansion of the universe is such that the velocity at which a
distant galaxy is receding from the observer is continuously increasing with time.

acceleration
The rate at which the velocity of a body changes with time.

acceleration due to gravity

The acceleration on an object caused by the force of gravitation.

accelerometer
An instrument used to measure the proper acceleration of a body irrespective of other
forces.

15
 CHAPTER IV
WORK AND ENERGY
What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘work’? The word work has many
meanings. When people ask, “What is your work?” They refer to a job or employment.
When people say, “I’ll meet you after work.” They refer to the part of a day devoted to
an occupation or undertaking. When your teacher asks, “Have you done your
homework?” They refer to the task or activity needed to be accomplished.

In Physics, work is an abstract idea related to energy. When work is done it is

accompanied by a change in energy. When work is done by an object it loses energy
and when work is done on an object it gains energy

You learned that force can change the state of motion of an object. If an object is at
rest, it can be moved by exerting force on it. If an object is moving, it can be made to
move faster or stopped by applying force on it. In order to say that work is done on an
object, there must be force applied to it and the object moves in the direction of the
applied force.

Work is done if the object you push moves a distance in the direction towards which you
are pushing it.

No work is done if the force you exert does not make the object move.

No work is done if the force you exert does not make the object move in the same
direction as the force you exerted.

Kinetic Energy

The energy of a moving object is called energy of motion or kinetic energy (KE). The
word kinetic comes from the Greek word kinetikos which means moving. Kinetic energy
quantifies the amount of work the object can do because of its motion.

Energy is a word which tends to be used a lot in everyday life. Though it is often used
quite loosely, it does have a very specific physical meaning.

Energy is a measurement of the ability of something to do work. It is not a material

substance. Energy can be stored and measured in many forms.

Although we often hear people talking about energy consumption, energy is never really
destroyed. It is just transferred from one form to another, doing work in the process.
Some forms of energy are less useful to us than others—for example, low level heat
energy. It is better to talk about the consumption or extraction of energy resources, for
example coal, oil, or wind, than consumption of energy itself.

A speeding bullet has a measurable amount of energy associated with it; this is known
as kinetic energy. The bullet gained this energy because work was done on it by a
charge of gunpowder which lost some chemical potential energy in the process.

A hot cup of coffee has a measurable amount of thermal energy which it acquired via
work done by a microwave oven, which in turn took electrical energy from the electrical
grid.

In practice, whenever work is done to move energy from one form to another, there is
always some loss to other forms of energy such as heat and sound. For example, a
16
traditional light bulb is only about 3% efficient at converting electrical energy to visible
light, while a human being is about 25% efficient at converting chemical energy from
food into work.

How do we measure energy and work?

The standard unit used to measure energy and work done in physics is the joule, which
has the symbol J. In mechanics, 1 joule is the energy transferred when a force of 1
Newton is applied to an object and moves it through a distance of 1 meter.

Another unit of energy you may have come across is the Calorie. The amount of energy
in an item of food is often written in Calories on the back of the packet. A typical 60
gram chocolate bar for example contains about 280 Calories of energy.

What if we aren't pushing straight on?

For instance, imagine we use a rope to pull on the box. In that case there will be an
angle between the rope and the ground. To untangle this situation, we begin by drawing
a triangle to separate out the horizontal and vertical components of the applied force.

F=mg

W=mgh

One frequent source of confusion people have with the concept of work comes about
when thinking about holding a heavy weight stationary above our heads, against the
force of gravity. We are not moving the weight through any distance, so no work is
being done to the weight. We could also achieve this by placing the weight on a table; it
is clear that the table is not doing any work to keep the weight in position. Yet, we know
from our experience that we get tired when doing the same job. So what is going on
here?

It turns out that what is actually happening here is that our bodies are doing work on our
muscles to maintain the necessary tension to hold the weight up. The body does this by
sending a cascade of nerve impulses to each muscle. Each impulse causes the muscle
to momentarily contract and release. This all happens so fast that we might only notice
a slight twitching at first. Eventually though, not enough chemical energy is available in
the muscle and it can no longer keep up. We then begin to shake and eventually must
rest for a while. So work is being done, it is just not being done on the weight.

Important Terms to Remember

Work - Exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something

Work=force*distance

Power - The amount of energy put out or produced in a given amount of time

Power= work/time

17
Energy - The ability to do work

Energy=mass*speed

Kinetic Energy - The energy that it possesses due to its motion

K=1/2mass*velocity^2

Potential Energy - The energy that is stored in an object

P=mass*height

Gravitational Potential - Energy an object possess because of its position in a

gravitational field

GPE=massgravityheight

Mechanical Energy - The energy that is possessed by an object due to its motion
or due to its position

ME=kinetic energy+potential energy

Work-Kinetic Energy Theorem -

The work done on an object by a net force equals the

change in kinetic energy of the object:

W = KEf – Kei

Spring Constant - A characteristics of a spring which is defined as the ratio of

the force affecting the spring to the displacement caused by
it.

Law of Conservation of Energy -

The total amount of energy remains constant in an isolated

system. It implies that energy can neither be created nor
destroyed, but can be change from one form to another.

18
 CHAPTER V
MECHANICAL ENERGY
You studied about objects moving in two-dimensions. These moving objects
possess momentum and experience impulses during interactions with other objects.
Not only has that, these objects also possessed mechanical energy. On their own or
during interactions, there are energy transfers and/or transformations.

In this module, the transformations of mechanical energy and its conservation will be
studied conceptually and mathematically as applied in many natural events as well as in
the working principles of man-made structures such as rides and electric power plants.

The energy acquired by the objects upon which work is done is known
as mechanical energy.
Mechanical energy is often confused with Kinetic and Potential Energy. We will try to
make it very easy to understand and know the difference. Before that, we need to
understand the word ‘Work’.
‘Work’ is done when a force acts on an object to cause it to move, change shape,
displace, or do something physical. For, example, if I push a door open for my pet dog
to walk in, work is done on the door (by causing it to open). But what kind of force
caused the door to open? Here is where Mechanical Energy comes in.
Mechanical energy is the sum of kinetic and potential energy in an object that is used to
do work. In other words, it is energy in an object due to its motion or position, or both.
In the 'open door' example notice what happens...
I possess potential chemical energy (energy stored in me), and by lifting my hands to
push the door, my action also had kinetic energy (energy in the motion of my hands).
By pushing the door, my potential and kinetic energy was transferred into mechanical
energy, which caused work to be done (door opened).
Here, the door gained mechanical energy, which caused the door to be displaced
temporarily.
Note that for work to be done, an object has to supply a force for another object to be
displaced.
Mechanical energy is the energy that is possessed by an object due to its motion
or due to its position. Mechanical energy can be either kinetic energy (energy of motion)
or potential energy (stored energy of position). Objects have mechanical energy if they
are in motion and/or if they are at some position relative to a zero potential energy
position (for example, a brick held at a vertical position above the ground or zero height
position). A moving car possesses mechanical energy due to its motion (kinetic energy).
A moving baseball possesses mechanical energy due to both its high speed (kinetic
energy) and its vertical position above the ground (gravitational potential energy). A

19
World Civilization book at rest on the top shelf of a locker possesses mechanical energy
due to its vertical position above the ground (gravitational potential energy). A barbell
lifted high above a weightlifter's head possesses mechanical energy due to its vertical
position above the ground (gravitational potential energy). A drawn bow possesses
mechanical energy due to its stretched position (elastic potential energy).

Mechanical Energy as the Ability to Do Work

An object that possesses mechanical energy is able to do work. In fact,

mechanical energy is often defined as the ability to do work. Any object that possesses
mechanical energy - whether it is in the form of potential energy or kinetic energy - is
able to do work. That is, its mechanical energy enables that object to apply a force to
another object in order to cause it to be displaced.

Numerous examples can be given of how an object with mechanical energy can
harness that energy in order to apply a force to cause another object to be displaced. A
classic example involves the massive wrecking ball of a demolition machine. The
wrecking ball is a massive object that is swung backwards to a high position and
allowed to swing forward into building structure or other object in order to demolish it.
Upon hitting the structure, the wrecking ball applies a force to it in order to cause the
wall of the structure to be displaced. The diagram below depicts the process by which
the mechanical energy of a wrecking ball can be used to do work. A hammer is a tool
that utilizes mechanical energy to do work. The mechanical energy of a hammer gives
the hammer its ability to apply a force to a nail in order to cause it to be displaced.
Because the hammer has mechanical energy (in the form of kinetic energy), it is able to
do work on the nail. Mechanical energy is the ability to do work. Another example that
illustrates how mechanical energy is the ability of an object to do work can be seen any
evening at your local bowling alley. The mechanical energy of a bowling ball gives the
ball the ability to apply a force to a bowling pin in order to cause it to be displaced.
Because the massive ball has mechanical energy (in the form of kinetic energy), it is
able to do work on the pin. Mechanical energy is the ability to do work. A dart gun is still
another example of how mechanical energy of an object can do work on another object.
When a dart gun is loaded and the springs are compressed, it possesses mechanical
energy. The mechanical energy of the compressed springs gives the springs the ability
to apply a force to the dart in order to cause it to be displaced. Because of the springs
have mechanical energy (in the form of elastic potential energy), it is able to do work on
the dart. Mechanical energy is the ability to do work. A common scene in some parts of
the countryside is a "wind farm." High-speed winds are used to do work on the blades of
a turbine at the so-called wind farm. The mechanical energy of the moving air gives the
air particles the ability to apply a force and cause a displacement of the blades. As the
blades spin, their energy is subsequently converted into electrical energy (a non-

20
mechanical form of energy) and supplied to homes and industries in order to run
electrical appliances. Because the moving wind has mechanical energy (in the form
of kinetic energy), it is able to do work on the blades. Once more, mechanical energy is
the ability to do work.

The Total Mechanical Energy

As already mentioned, the mechanical energy of an object can be the result of its
motion (i.e., kinetic energy) and/or the result of its stored energy of position
(i.e., potential energy). The total amount of mechanical energy is merely the sum of the
potential energy and the kinetic energy. This sum is simply referred to as the total
mechanical energy (abbreviated TME).

TME = PE + KE
.Given this fact, the above equation can be rewritten:

TME = PEgrav + PEspring + KE

Important Terms to Remember

Dam - barrier of a water storage structure that is used to control the stored water level
and the release of the stored water

Head of water flow - difference of the head water level and the tail water level

Head water level - surface height of the stored water in the reservoir

Hydroelectric Power (HEP) Plant - A power plant that generates electrical energy
using the energy from flowing water

Mechanical energy - energy acquired by objects upon which work is done

Penstock - close pipe or channel where the water flows from the water reservoir up to
the water turbine’s location

Tail water level - exit height of the water in the dam’s penstock or the height where
the turbines are located

Turbine - a rotating device with appropriately shaped blades used to convert the
kinetic energy of moving fluids into mechanical power for energy generators

21
 CHAPTER VI
WAVES AROUND YOU
Waves occur all around you in the physical world. When you throw a stone into a lake,
water waves spread out from the splash. When you strum the strings of a guitar, sound
waves carry the noise all around you. When you switch on a lamp, light waves flood the
room. Water, sound, and light waves differ in important ways but they all share the basic
properties of wave motion. For instance, you can see water waves and surfers would
say that they enjoy riding the waves. On the other hand, you don’t see sound waves
and light waves but you experience them in other ways. Your ears can detect sound
waves and your skin can get burned by ultraviolet waves if you stay under the sun for
too long.

A wave is a periodic disturbance that moves away from a source and carries energy
with it. For example, earthquake waves show us that the amount of energy carried by a
wave can do work on objects by exerting forces that move objects from their original
positions. Have you personally experience an earthquake? How did it feel? Did you
know that you can understand earthquakes by studying waves?

Warm up. What are Waves?

The repetitive motion that you do with your hand while waving is called a vibration. A
vibration causes wave motion. When you observe a wave, the source is always a
vibration.

A wave can be described as a disturbance that travels through a medium from one
location to another location. Consider a slinky wave as an example of a wave. When the
slinky is stretched from end to end and is held at rest, it assumes a natural position
known as the equilibrium or rest position. The coils of the slinky naturally assume this
position, spaced equally far apart. To introduce a wave into the slinky, the first particle is
displaced or moved from its equilibrium or rest position. The particle might be moved
upwards or downwards, forwards or backwards; but once moved, it is returned to its
original equilibrium or rest position. The act of moving the first coil of the slinky in a
given direction and then returning it to its equilibrium position creates a disturbance in
the slinky. We can then observe this disturbance moving through the slinky from one
end to the other. If the first coil of the slinky is given a single back-and-forth vibration,
then we call the observed motion of the disturbance through the slinky a slinky pulse. A
pulse is a single disturbance moving through a medium from one location to another
location. However, if the first coil of the slinky is continuously and periodically vibrated in
a back-and-forth manner, we would observe a repeating disturbance moving within the
slinky that endures over some prolonged period of time. The repeating and periodic
disturbance that moves through a medium from one location to another is referred to as
a wave.

What is a Medium?

But what is meant by the word medium? A medium is a substance or material that
carries the wave. You have perhaps heard of the phrase news media. The news media
refers to the various institutions (newspaper offices, television stations, radio stations,
etc.) within our society that carry the news from one location to another. The news
moves through the media. The media doesn't make the news and the media isn't the
same as the news. The news media is merely the thing that carries the news from its

22
source to various locations. In a similar manner, a wave medium is the substance that
carries a wave (or disturbance) from one location to another. The wave medium is not
the wave and it doesn't make the wave; it merely carries or transports the wave from its
source to other locations. In the case of our slinky wave, the medium through that the
wave travels is the slinky coils. In the case of a water wave in the ocean, the medium
through which the wave travels is the ocean water. In the case of a sound wave moving
from the church choir to the pews, the medium through which the sound wave travels is
the air in the room. And in the case of the stadium wave, the medium through which the
stadium wave travels is the fans that are in the stadium.

When a wave is present in a medium (that is, when there is a disturbance moving
through a medium), the individual particles of the medium are only temporarily displaced
from their rest position. There is always a force acting upon the particles that restores
them to their original position. In a slinky wave, each coil of the slinky ultimately returns
to its original position. In a water wave, each molecule of the water ultimately returns to
its original position. And in a stadium wave, each fan in the bleacher ultimately returns
to its original position. It is for this reason, that a wave is said to involve the movement
of a disturbance without the movement of matter. The particles of the medium (water
molecules, slinky coils, stadium fans) simply vibrate about a fixed position as the pattern
of the disturbance moves from one location to another location.

Waves are said to be an energy transport phenomenon. As a disturbance moves

through a medium from one particle to its adjacent particle, energy is being transported
from one end of the medium to the other. In a slinky wave, a person imparts energy to
the first coil by doing work upon it. The first coil receives a large amount of energy that it
subsequently transfers to the second coil. When the first coil returns to its original
position, it possesses the same amount of energy as it had before it was displaced. The
first coil transferred its energy to the second coil. The second coil then has a large
amount of energy that it subsequently transfers to the third coil. When the second coil
returns to its original position, it possesses the same amount of energy as it had before
it was displaced. The third coil has received the energy of the second coil. This process
of energy transfer continues as each coil interacts with its neighbor. In this manner,
energy is transported from one end of the slinky to the other, from its source to another
location.

This characteristic of a wave as an energy transport phenomenon distinguishes waves

from other types of phenomenon. Consider a common phenomenon observed at a
softball game - the collision of a bat with a ball. A batter is able to transport energy from
her to the softball by means of a bat. The batter applies a force to the bat, thus
imparting energy to the bat in the form of kinetic energy. The bat then carries this
energy to the softball and transports the energy to the softball upon collision. In this
example, a bat is used to transport energy from the player to the softball. However,
unlike wave phenomena, this phenomenon involves the transport of matter. The bat
must move from its starting location to the contact location in order to transport energy.
In a wave phenomenon, energy can move from one location to another, yet the particles
of matter in the medium return to their fixed position. A wave transports its energy
without transporting matter.

Waves are seen to move through an ocean or lake; yet the water always returns to its
rest position. Energy is transported through the medium, yet the water molecules are
not transported. Proof of this is the fact that there is still water in the middle of the
23
ocean. The water has not moved from the middle of the ocean to the shore. If we were
to observe a gull or duck at rest on the water, it would merely bob up-and-down in a
somewhat circular fashion as the disturbance moves through the water. The gull or duck
always returns to its original position. The gull or duck is not transported to the shore
because the water on which it rests is not transported to the shore. In a water wave,
energy is transported without the transport of water.

The same thing can be said about a stadium wave. In a stadium wave, the fans do not
get out of their seats and walk around the stadium. We all recognize that it would be
silly (and embarrassing) for any fan to even contemplate such a thought. In a stadium
wave, each fan rises up and returns to the original seat. The disturbance moves through
the stadium, yet the fans are not transported. Waves involve the transport of energy
without the transport of matter.

In conclusion, a wave can be described as a disturbance that travels through a medium,

transporting energy from one location (its source) to another location without
transporting matter. Each individual particle of the medium is temporarily displaced and
then returns to its original equilibrium positioned.

Important Terms to Remember

Absorption - Absorption is when some of the wave's energy is taken away when a
wave encounters a medium.

Amplitude - The measure of the displacement of the wave from its rest position. The
higher the amplitude of a wave, the higher its energy.

Coherence - Two waves are said to be coherent when they have a constant phase
difference between them.

Crest - The crest is the highest point of a wave. The opposite of the crest is the trough.

Diffraction - Diffraction is when a wave remains in the same medium, but bends around
an obstacle.

Electromagnetic Waves - Electromagnetic waves are waves that can travel through a
vacuum. They do not need a medium. Light is a type of electromagnetic wave.

Frequency - The frequency of a wave is the number of times per second that a wave
cycles. The frequency is the inverse of the period.

Intensity - A measurement of the strength of a sound wave that is equal to the power
divided by the area.

Interference - Interference is when one wave comes into contact with another wave.

Light wave - A light wave is a special type of electromagnetic wave that has a
frequency in the visible spectrum.

Longitudinal - A longitudinal wave is a wave where the disturbance travels in the same
direction as the wave. Sound waves are longitudinal.

24
Mechanical Waves - A mechanical wave is a wave that must travel through some sort
of matter called a medium. Mechanical waves cannot travel through a vacuum like outer
space.

Medium - The medium is the matter that a wave travels through.

Period - The period of a wave is the time between wave crests. It is the inverse of the
frequency.

Polarization - Polarization is when a wave oscillates in one particular direction. Light

waves are sometimes polarized by a special polarizing filter.

Reflection - Reflection occurs when a wave bounces off a boundary, changing direction
but remaining in the same medium.

Refraction - The change in direction and wavelength when a wave moves from one
medium to another.

Refractive Index - The refractive index is a number that describes how light travels
through a specific medium. Different mediums have different refractive indexes. The
refractive index of a vacuum is defined to be 1.

Resonance - Resonance is the tendency for a system to oscillate with greater

amplitude at some frequencies than at others.

Resting position - The resting position is the position the medium would take if there
were no wave. It is represented on a graph by a line through the center of the wave.

Sound wave - Sound waves are mechanical waves that are caused by a vibration.
Sound waves can be heard by our ears.

Speed - The speed of a wave is a measure of how fast the disturbance of the wave is
moving. The speed can be dependent on the type of medium that a wave is moving
through.

Standing wave - A standing wave is a wave that remains in a constant position.

Transverse - A transverse wave is a wave where the disturbance moves perpendicular

to the direction of the wave.

Wave - A wave is a traveling disturbance that moves through space and matter. Waves
transfer energy from one place to another, but not matter.

Wavelength - The wavelength of a wave is the distance between two corresponding

points on back-to-back cycles of a wave. For example, between two crests of a wave.

Trough - The trough is the lowest part of the wave. The opposite of the trough is the
crest.

25
NAME:_____________________________________ DATE:__________
GRADE AND SECTION: ______________________

Test yourself

1. What is the top of a wave called?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

2. What is the bottom of a wave called?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

3. What is frequency?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

4. If a wave is traveling at 60 cm/second and has a wavelength of 15 cm, what

is the frequency?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
5. What does amplitude measure?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

26
6. On the diagram below, indicate with an arrow the distance that represents
the wavelength of the wave. With another arrow indicate the distance that
represents the amplitude. Try to label other parts of this wave.

7. How many complete waves are there in the diagram above? Is it transverse
or longitudinal?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

8. What is the difference between a transverse wave and a longitudinal wave?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

9. Are sound waves transverse waves or longitudinal waves? Why?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

10. Why can’t you calculate the frequency of the wave in the diagram on the
other side of the page? What information is missing?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

27
 CHAPTER VII
SOUND
Would you like to try placing your palm on your throat while saying – “What you doin?”
What did your palm feel? Were there vibrations in the throat? Try it again and this time,
say – “Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence!”

In the previous module you learned about wave properties and common characteristics
like pitch and loudness. You will also learn the 2 kinds of waves according to
propagation. These are the longitudinal and transverse waves. Sound is an example of
a longitudinal wave. It is also classified as a mechanical wave. Thus there has to be
matter for which sound should travel and propagate. This matter is better known as
medium.

Longitudinal Wave - Wave whose motion is parallel to the motion of the particles of the
medium.

Mechanical wave - Wave that need a medium in order to propagate.

When we talk or make any sound, our vocal cords vibrate. When there are no vibrations
felt, no sound is produced. This means that sounds are caused by vibrations. Vibrations
of molecules are to the to-and-fro or backand-forth movement of molecules. Vibrations
are considered as a disturbance that travels through a medium. This vibratory motion
causes energy to transfer to our ears and is interpreted by our brain. Sound waves are
examples of longitudinal waves. They are also known as mechanical waves since
sound waves need medium in order to propagate.

Sound waves can travel in air. When they come in contact with our eardrums, the
vibrations of the air force our eardrums to vibrate which is sensed and interpreted by our
brain.

Sound is produced by the slight tapping of the table with a pencil or a ruler. This can
be heard clearly at the other end of the table. This shows that sound waves can also
travel through wood or solid. Sound is more distinct in solids than in air. This also
means that sound is heard much louder when it travels in solids than in air.

What about in liquids? Can sound travel in liquids too? Liquids are better transmitters of
sound than gases. If two bodies are struck together underwater, the sound heard by a
person who is underwater is louder than when heard in air, but softer than in solids.

Spacing of particles of the medium like solid, liquid and gas is an important factor on
how would is transmitted.

Sound speed is dependent on several factors such as (1) atmospheric pressure, (2)
relative humidity, and (3) atmospheric temperature. Remember these weather elements
you studied in your earlier grades? High values of these elements lead to faster moving
sound. When you are in the low lands and the surrounding is hot, sound travels fast. Do
you want to know why sound travels faster in hot air? There are more molecular
interactions that happen in hot air. This is because the hot particles of air gain more
kinetic energy and so there is also an increase in the mean velocity of the molecules.
Since sound is a consequence of energy transfer through collisions, more collisions and
faster collisions means faster sound.

28
 Going a little deeper on this, speed of sound basically depends on the elastic property
and the inertial property of the medium on which it propagates. The elastic property is
concerned with the ability of the material to retain or maintain its shape and not to
deform when a force is applied on it. Solids as compared to liquids and gases have the
highest elastic property. Consequently, solid is the medium on which sound travels
fastest. This means that the greater the elastic property, the faster the sound waves
travel. The iniertial property, on the other hand, is the tendency of the material to
maintain its state of motion. More inertial property means the more inert (more massive
or greater mass density) the individual particles of the medium, the less responsive they
will be to the interactions between neighbouring particles and the slower that the wave
will be. Within a single phase medium, like air for example, humid air is more inert than
humid air. This is because water that has changed to vapor is mixed with the air. This
phenomenon increases the mass density of air and so increases the inertial property of
the medium. This will eventually decrease the speed of sound on that medium. Sound
cannot travel in a vacuum. Remember that sound is a mechanical wave which needs
medium in order to propagate. If no matter exists, there will be no sound. In the outer
space, sound would not be transmitted.

Sound waves possess characteristics common to all types of waves. These are
frequency, wavelength, amplitude, speed or velocity, period and phase. Just like other
waves, sound also exhibits wave properties just like reflection, refraction, diffraction,
and interference. More than these properties are pitch and loudness of sound. Pitch
refers to the highness or lowness of sound. Loudness is how soft or how intense the
sound is as perceived by the ear and interpreted by the brain. Do you want to find out
more characteristics and properties of sound?

The highness or lowness of sound is known as the pitch of a sound or a musical note.

When you were in your earlier grades you studied about the human ear. Our ear and
that of animals are the very sensitive sound detectors. The ear is a part of the peripheral
auditory system. It is divided into three major parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and
the inner ear.

The outer ear called the pinna collects the sound waves and focuses them into the ear
canal. This canal transmits the sound waves to the eardrum.

The ear canal is the eardrum membrane or the tympanum. It separates the outer and
the middle ears physically. Air vibrations set the eardrum membrane in motion that
causes the three smallest bones (hammer, anvil and stirrup) to move. These three
bones convert the smallamplitude vibration of the eardrum into large-amplitude
oscillations. These oscillations are transferred to the inner ear through the oval window.

Behind the oval window is a snail-shell shaped liquid –filled organ called the cochlea.
The large-amplitude oscillations create waves that travel in liquid. These sounds are
converted into electrical impulses, which are sent to the brain by the auditory nerve. The
brain, interprets these signals as words, music or noise. Did you know that we can only
sense within the frequency range of about 20 Hz to about 20000 Hz? Vibrational
frequencies beyond 20 000 Hz is called ultrasonic frequencies while extremely low
frequencies are known as infrasonic frequencies. Our ear cannot detect ultrasonic or
infrasonic waves. But some animals like dogs can hear sounds as high as 50 000 Hz
while bats can detect sounds as high as 100 000 Hz.

We can see images of your baby brother or sister when the OB-Gyne asks your
mommy or nanay to undergo ultrasound. Ultrasonic waves are used to help physicians
29
see our internal organs. Nowadays, ultrasonic technology is of three kinds: 2-
dimensional, 3-dimensional, and 4dimensional categories. In the 3- and 4-dimensional
ultrasonic technologies, the features of the fetus are very clearly captured.

It has also been found that ultrasonic waves can be used as rodent and insect
exterminators. The very loud ultrasonic sources in a building will usually drive the
rodents away or disorient cockroaches causing them to die from the induced erratic
behavior. What other applications of sound do you have in mind? Do you want to share
them too?

Loudness and Intensity

Sound intensity is measured by various instruments like the oscilloscope. Loudness is a

psychological sensation that differs for different people. Loudness is subjective but is
still related to the intensity of sound. In fact, despite the subjective variations, loudness
varies nearly logarithmically with intensity. A logarithmic scale is used to describe sound
intensity, which roughly corresponds to loudness. The unit of intensity level for sound is
the decibel (dB), which was named after Alexander Graham Bell who invented the
telephone. On the decibel scale, an increase of 1 dB means that sound intensity is
increased by a factor of 10.

Sound waves are mechanical waves than need for a medium for sound to propagate.
Vibrations of the medium create a series of compression and rarefaction which results
to longitudinal waves. Sound can travel in all media but not in vacuum. Sound is fastest
in matter that is closely packed like solid and slowest in gas. Speed of sound is
dependent on factors like temperature, humidity and air pressure. High temperature
brings much faster sound. Increased humidity, on the other hand makes sound travel
slower. As pressure is increased, speed is also increased. Inertial and elastic properties
of the medium also play an important part in the speed of sound. Solids tend to be
highly elastic than gases and thus sound travel fastest in solids. In a single phase
matter however, the inertial property which is the tendency of the material to maintain its
motion also affect speed of sound. Humid air is more massive and is more inert than dry
air. This condition brings lesser molecular interactions and eventually slower sound.
Sound, just like other waves do have characteristics such as speed, frequency,
wavelength, amplitude, phase and period. Like any other wave, sound exhibit properties
like reflection, refraction, interference and diffraction. Other properties are loudness and
pitch. Pitch is dependent on the frequency of sound wave. The higher frequency the
higher the pitch of the sound produced.

Organisms like us are capable of sensing sound through our ears. Just like other
organism, our ears do have parts that perform special tasks until the auditory signals
reach and are interpreted by our brain. Frequencies beyond the audible to human are
known as ultrasonic (beyond the upper limit) and infrasonic (below the lower limit).
Intensity and loudness are quantitative and qualitative descriptions of the energy carried
by the wave. High amplitude waves are intense and are sensed as loud sound. Low
amplitude sound waves are soft sound. Music is a special sound that forms patterns
and are appealing to our sense of hearing.

Important Terms to Remember

30
AC (Alternating Current) Electrical current that alternates direction (positive to
negative). AC is often contrasted with direct current (DC), commonly produced by
batteries.

Absorption The tendency of sound waves to be soaked up by soft surfaces. Opposite:

reflection.

Acoustics 1. The science or scientific study of sound. 2. The properties of a room or

environment that affect the qualities of sound.

Acoustic Power Output The output, as measured in watts, of anything that generates

sound.

Acoustic Suspension A type of speaker cabinet which is sealed to control the action
of its woofer and prevent the leakage of air.

Amperes, Amperage (Amps) Units of electrical current.

Amplifier (Amp) 1. An electronic device that increases the amplitude of a signal. 2.

A combination speaker/ampflier designed for use with an instrument, as with a guitar
amp or keyboard amp.

Amplitude 1. The strength of sound waves or an electrical signal, as measured against

a mean. 2. That which determines loudness.

Balanced Line A pair of ungrounded conductors whose voltages are opposite in

polarity but equal in magnitude. Balanced lines reduce interference from external
sources like radio frequencies and light dimmers since they are typically shielded by a
third conductor surrounding them.

Basket The frame to which a driver's cone is mounted.

Bass The lower end of the frequency range, from about 20 Hz to about 300 Hz.

Bass Reflex A speaker that, as a means of enhancing the efficiency of the

reproduction of bass frequencies, channels some of the sound pressure generated by
its woofer(s) through an opening (port) in its cabinet.

CPS (Cycles Per Second) The number of plus/minus voltage swings or

compressions/rarefactions of air molecules occurring each second in an electrical or
audio signal; usually expressed as hertz (Hz).

Clipping Audible distortion that occurs when a signal's level exceeds the limits of a
particular circuit. When an amp is "turned up too loud," and begins to distort, it is said
to be clipping. On an oscilloscope clipping appears to flatten the tops and/or bottoms
of the wave forms as if someone took a scissors and "clipped or cut" the top and
bottom of the wave.

Compression Driver A transducer, designed for use with a horn, which utilizes a
diaphragm (rather than a cone) to reproduce mid and high frequencies. See: Horn

Compressor A device that reduces - compresses - a signal's dynamic range.

31
Condenser Microphone A mic that depends on an external power supply or battery
to electrostatically charge its condenser plates.

Conductor A substance - in electronics, usually a metal - that allows the free flow of
electrons.

Cone The vibrating diaphragm, employed in some speakers designs, that generates

sound waves.

Console A large or elaborate mixer required to massage the ego of the band's sound
man.

Critical Distance The distance from a sound source at which sound pressure levels
emitted by the source equal those being reflected off of other surfaces.

Current The movement - or flow- of electrons.

dB (Decibel) 1. A relative unit of measure between two sound or audio signal levels.
A difference 1 dB is considered to be the smallest that can be detected by the human
ear. An increase of 6 dB equals twice the sound pressure. 2. As a measure of sound
pressure levels, used to indicate loudness.

DC (Direct Current) Electrical current that flows in only one direction.

Delay 1. The postponement of an audio signal for a specific amount of time, usually
measured in milliseconds. 2. A device designed to delay an audio signal.

Diaphragm 1. The radiating surface of a compression driver; its vibrations emit

sound waves. 2. The moving element of a microphone.

Dimmer Noise (hash) The noise that originates in the switches used to dim lights and
can be heard in a sound system.

Directivity The ability of a speaker or horn to direct sound to a given area which can
be described by its directivity factor (Q).

Dispersion The area throughout which the sound produced by a speaker is distributed.

Distortion Any discrepancy between the source material and the sonic output of a
sound system.

Ducking The use of an electronic device to automatically reduce the volume of music

or other background fill when an announcer begins speaking.

Dynamic Range The difference between the softest and loudest extremes within an
audio signal.

Dynamics Processing The use of electronic devices to control the levels of audio

signals and compress or expand their dynamic range.

Effects Loop inputs and outputs that allow the sending of an audio signal to and from
a signal processor such as a reverb unit, delay, gate or limiter.

Efficiency The ratio of a device's energy output to its energy intake.

32
Electret Microphone A condenser microphone which, instead of employing an
external high voltage power source, relies on permanently polarized plates, a low
voltage power supply, and internal preamp.

Equalization (EQ) The electronic manipulation of specific frequencies.

Equalizer (EQ) A device that permits the precise control of specific frequency
ranges. Examples are: Graphic, Parametric, Notch Filter, Cut only.

Expander an electronic device that increases dynamic range by reducing a signal's

level any time it falls below a specific threshold.

Fader The signal output control found on the channel, submaster, and master sections
of a mixer.

Filter A device that removes unwanted frequencies or noise from a signal.

Flat The state of an audio signal or tone whose frequency is unaltered by equalization.

On most mixers and equalizers flat is indicated by the tone controls being at dead
center.

Frequency 1. The number of sound waves that pass a given point in one second. 2.
The determiner of pitch. (Ask Kenneth).

Frequency Response The range of frequencies that are reproducible by a speaker or

electronic component.

Hz (Hertz) A unit of measure that equals one cycle per second.

High Pass Filter A circuit that discriminates between high and low frequencies and
allows only the high frequencies to pass.

Horn An acoustical transformer which, when coupled to a driver, provides directivity

and increases the driver's loudness.

Inductance A circuit's opposition to a change in current flow.

Jack A input or output connector, usually for a mic or an instrument

Limiter A device that electronically controls or "limits" the peak levels of program
material.

Load Any device to which power is delivered

Low Pass Filter A circuit that discriminates between high and low frequencies and
allows only the low frequencies to pass.

Microphone Processor A device that, when installed between a mic and an amp or
preamp, allows the manipulation of the signal originating at the mic.

Mixer An electronic device that permits the combining of a number of inputs into one
or more outputs. Mixers commonly provide a variety of controls - tone, volume,
balance and effects - for each "channel."

33
Monitor A speaker or earphone dedicated to making it possible for a performer to
hear - or monitor - his/her own performance. Examples are: floor wedges, sidefills, or
mini-monitor.

Motor The magnet structure of a speaker

Ohm The basic unit of measurement of resistance.

OHM'S Law The law that states the relationship between current, resistance and
voltage in an electrical circuit: Amperage times resistance equals applied voltage..

Oscilloscope An electronic device that displays, on a video screen, a representation of

an electrical signal.

Phantom Power Operating voltage supplied to a condenser mic by a mixer or

external power source.

Phase The relationship of an audio signal or sound wave to a specific time reference.

Phase shift The phase relationship of two signals at a given time, or the phase change
of a signal over an interval of time.

Power Amplifier An electronic device that increases the volume of a signal. A basic
unit of all sound systems. Power amps are typically connected to a preamp which
provides controls for individual functions: level, tone, etc.

Proximity Effect An increase in the bass response of some mics as the distance
between the mic and its sound source is decreased

Q A ratio obtained by complex mathematical calculations involving the relationship

of a speaker's direct radiated energy to its total radiated energy (directivity index).
When measured on-axis, Q (which is dependent on frequency) is used to determine a
speaker's suitability for a particular application.

Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) Radio signals from external sources that

invade and can be heard through, sound systems.

Reflection A term that describes the amount of sound "bouncing" off of hard surfaces.

Rejection A microphone's ability to selectively exclude sounds coming from outside

it's pickup pattern.

Resistance Opposition measured in ohms to the flow of electrical current.

Reverberation sound waves that continue to bounce around a space after the sound
source has ended.

Room Any enclosed space in which a performance is staged. It can be as small as a

closet or as large as the Superdome.

CHAPTER VIII
SOUND PROPAGATION
34
The Science of Sound has gone all the way from a mere transfer of energy to the
creation of tunes and music for entertainment. Most of our gadgets are sound
embedded to amuse us. In the field of geology and oceanography, sound is used to
determine depths. The health sciences are also using sound for medical purposes.
Some animals are dependent on sound for movement. The newest focus of sound
science is on ecology where ecological patterns and phenomena are predicted based
on sounds released by the different components of the ecosystem. So, are you ready to
have fun with sounds?

In this module, you will learn sound propagation. While you learn about sound, wave
description and characteristics will also be introduced to you. Among the characteristics,
you will focus on the speed of sound. You will find out through simple activities through
which medium sound travels fastest. You will also find out how the temperature of the
medium affects the speed of sound. In the quest to explore more about sound science,
you will be acquainted with the properties of waves, specifically reflection and refraction.

A sonic boom happens when the aircraft or any vehicle breaks the sound barrier while
it accelerates and outruns the speed of sound. A loud explosive sound is heard on the
ground and is called a sonic boom. The aircraft that does this is usually called
supersonic. There are more amazing occurrences or phenomena related to sound.

Sound Propagation

Sound consists of waves of air particles. Generally, sound propagates and travels
through air. It can also be propagated through other media. Since it needs a medium to
propagate, it is considered a mechanical wave. In propagating sound, the waves are
characterized as longitudinal waves. These are waves that travel parallel to the motion
of the particles. Do all these terms and concepts seem confusing? Let’s try the
succeeding activities to get a clearer picture of what sound waves are.

Reflection of Sound

A lot of people love to sing inside the bathroom because of privacy. A study conducted
noted that people would open their mouths wide when they sing in private places like
the baths. Another reason is the hard wall surfaces of the bathroom usually made of
wood or tiles brings about multiple reflection of sound. These hard walls or surfaces and
the small dimension of the bathroom typically create an aurally pleasing acoustic
environment with many echoes and reverberations contributing to the fullness and
depth of voice. Well, this may not be the effect in the outside world though.

Just like any other wave, sound also exhibits reflection. Reflection is usually described
as the turning back of a wave as it hits a barrier. Echo is an example of a reflected
sound. Reverberation on the other hand refers to the multiple reflections or echoes in a
certain place. A reverberation often occurs in a small room with height, width, and
length dimensions of approximately 17 meters or less. This best fits the bathroom which
enhances the voice.

In theaters and movie houses, there are also reverberations and echoes. But these are
not pleasing to the ears during a play or a movie. To lessen these, designers use
curtains and cloth cover for the chairs and carpets. Check out the different movie
houses and look for features inside that decreases reverberations and echoes.

35
 Echo sounding is another application of sound reflection. This is used by scientists to
map the sea floor and to determine the depth of the ocean or sea. This is just the same
as how bats use sound to detect distances. What about you, can you identify other
applications of sound reflection?

Refraction of Sound

When sound propagates in air, where the temperature changes with altitude, sound
bends towards the hotter region. In this case, refraction happens. The refraction is due
to the different refractive indices of air because of the difference in temperature. At
daytime, when the sun is shining, the air near Earth’s surface is cooler than the air
above.

The notion of sound is rather remarkable. Something happens there and we know it
here, even if we are looking the other way, not paying attention, or even asleep. The
fact that some sounds can produce physical and emotional effects is just short of
astounding. These notes will perhaps remove some of the mystery associated with
sound and hearing, but probably none of the wonder.

Sound is a disturbance of the atmosphere that human beings can hear. Such
disturbances are produced by practically everything that moves, especially if it moves
quickly or in a rapid and repetitive manner.

You should be aware that the air is made up of molecules. Most of the characteristics
we expect of air are a result of the fact that these particular molecules are very light and
are in extremely rapid but disorganized motion. This motion spreads the molecules out
evenly, so that any part of an enclosed space has just as many molecules as any other.
If a little extra volume were to be suddenly added to the enclosed space (say by moving
a piston into a box), the molecules nearest the new volume would move into the
recently created void, and all the others would move a little farther apart to keep the
distribution even.

Because the motion of the molecules is so disorganized, this filling of the void takes
more time than you might think, and the redistribution of the rest of the air molecules in
the room takes even longer. If the room were ten feet across, the whole process might
take 1/100 of a second or so.

If the piston were to move out suddenly, the volume of the room would be reduced and
the reverse process would take place, again taking a hundredth of a second until
everything was settled down. No matter how far or how quickly the piston is moved, it
always takes the same time for the molecules to even out.

36
In other words, the disturbance caused by the piston moves at a constant rate through
the air. If you could make the disturbance visible somehow, you would see it spreading
spherically from the piston, like an expanding balloon. Because the process is so similar
to what happens when you drop an apple into a bucket, we call the disturbance line
the wavefront.

If the piston were to move in and out repetitively at a rate between 20 and 20,000 times
a second, a series of evely spaced wavefronts would be produced, and we would hear a
steady tone. (One wavefront is heard as a click.) The distance between wavefronts is
called wavelength.

Sound really moves

Under normal conditions a wavefront moves through air at 1130 feet per second. This is
the speed of sound .

I mentioned that air gets its properties from the weight and speed of its molecules.
Molecules of different weight (other gases maybe) or different velocity (that translates
into temperature) will exhibit different speeds of sound. Motion of the sound source, the
listener, or the air itself has no effect on the speed of sound, nor does the pressure of
the air.

Running out of gas

An impulse applies a chunk of energy to the air. (This energy becomes a difference in
pressure before and behind the wavefront.) As the front expands, the energy is spread
over a larger and larger area, in a way suggested by the relationship between the radius
and area of a sphere, A=4¼r^2. The total energy stays the same, the area expands, so
the energy in one unit of area decreases with the square of the distance from the
source. The front will continue moving until there isn't enough energy to measure. The
stronger the impulse, the farther the wavefront goes (the sound of the explosion of the
volcano Krakatoa is said to have gone around the world three or four times).

Hitting the wall

When sound hits something soft or movable the energy of the wavefront is dissipated in
moving the object around. If the object is rigid, like a wall, two things happen. Part of the
energy of the wavefront will set up a wavefront within the wall; just how big a part
is transmitted this way depends on the material the wall is made of. The rest of the
energy is reflected off the surface according to the same rules that apply to light on a
mirror. (The most important of these is that "the angle of reflection equals the angle of
incidence".)

Here's what happens in two kinds of situations, one in which the source of disturbance
is relatively close to the wall, and one in which the source is far enough away that you
don't notice the wavefront is curved. Several repeated wavefronts are shown in each
example.

37
At the risk of getting ahead of myself, I will point out two important effects of reflections.
One is that a listener might hear something twice if the distances involved are great
enough, the other is that the energy reflected back into a room is going to change our
notions about how long the disturbance endures.

Through the rabbit hole

When the wavefront hits a wall with a hole in it a small portion of the wave energy leaks
through the hole and begins propagating as if the hole were the source, that is,
spherically around the hole. The amount of energy available depends on the size of the
hole. This process is known as diffraction.

An interesting effect is created when there are two holes in the wall. Each hole
produces a wavefront, and the two separate wavefronts coincide at some point. If you
happened to measure the strength of the wave at that point, the energies of both fronts
would be combined, and the measurement would be quite different from one obtained
only a few inches away. This effect is called interference .

Steady on

Now let's backtrack and see what happens when we produce a lot of wavefronts at a
steady rate. Initially, the separate fronts do not interact because each moves away from
the source at the same speed. If we could freeze everything and take some
38
measurements, we would see that the wavelength was a distance expected by
considering the rate of repetition and the speed of sound. While things were still frozen,
we could make a graph of the exact pressure changes in the space between the
wavefronts. We call that graph the waveform . (Since the repeating waves are created
by something moving back and forth, the waveform will represent a pressure pattern
that goes both above and below the "normal" or undisturbed value.)

I should take this opportunity to point out that the time between the creation of
wavefronts is called the period , and that the number of waves produced per second is
called the frequency . (Events per second is such a common concept in acoustics it
needs an abbreviation. For a long time cps was used, but that can be confused with
some other units so the name was changed to Hertz, abbreviated Hz. Sound frequency
is often in the thousands, so we might refer to kiloHertz, (kHz) when we mean 1000 Hz.)

Now, letting our waves move again, we find the behavior of repeating wavefronts is the
same as for those taken one at a time, but complications can arise.

Zooooom

For instance, I said that the movement of the wave through the air is not affected by any
motion of the source or listener. However, motion will affect measurements of
wavelength or frequency of repeating waves. If the source were to move toward you
between production of wavefronts, it would seem to be chasing the first front, and the
second front would be a little closer to the first than you would expect.

If you from, behind the source, the wavefronts would be too far apart. If you measure at
right angles to the motion, you would get the "right" answers. Similarly, any
measurement of frequency would be high in the direction of movement, and low behind
the source. This is called the doppler effect , and works the same way if the measuring
apparatus is moving and the source standing still.

When sounds collide

When you analyze reflection and diffraction of repeating waves, you have the
complication of waves running into each other. Now when two waves intersect, they
have absolutely no effect on each other, but if you happen to measure the pressure at
that particular point and time, you find the pressures of the two waves added together. If
the two low spots coincide, you get a super low reading, and if the high of one wave

39
coincides with the low of the other, you might easily get the normal value for the room
and conclude nothing was going on at all.

You might think these are only momentary aberrations, but in fact it is quite easy for
reflection or diffraction to establish locations where there will always be coinciding
waves which are matched up high for high and low for low. (In phase.) These locations
are any spot where two waves will pass, and for which one wave must travel exactly
one wavelength (or multiple thereof) farther than the other one to reach. At this spot the
two waves reinforce each other.

It also is common to find spots where two intersecting waves are matched up high for
low and low for high (out of phase). Such spots are anywhere that two waves must pass
where one of the waves will travel one half (or 1+1/2, or 2+1/2 etc.) wavelength farther
than the other. At this spot, the two waves cancel each other out.

If you study the drawing, you can find many places where the two sets of waves
produced by the holes are in phase and, not far away, spots where the waves are out of
phase. You should also realize that if the wavelength were to be changed, the in-phase
and out-of-phase spots would move. Notice that as you move away from the holes, you
find fewer such spots, so that at a distance of four or five wavelengths you are safe from
this phenomenon. This whole effect, incidentally, is produced by any obstacle with a
size equal to or larger than the wavelength. (This is called "shadowing", although we
don't get reduced sound in the shadow, merely these interference effects.)

40
Singing in the shower

This drawing shows how an extreme case of reinforcement can be established.It

happens when the sound originates between two parallel surfaces such as the walls of
a shower stall.

Here, the parallel walls happen to be exactly nine wavelengths apart. A wave will
bounce off the right wall, travel to the left wall and bounce again, arriving at the source
in phase with the new wavefronts. If the walls are fairly reflective, a particular front will
pass many times, so the pressure differences measured at the points of reinforcement
will be the sum of several waves. This will make the magic pitch really boom out.

This process is very dependent on the wavelength of the sound, and therefore the
frequency. Change it only slightly and the system will settle down, double it or cut it in
half and things go wild again. Standing waves are a pain in the neck in rooms, but can
be very useful in the construction of musical instruments.

41
 CHAPTER IX
LIGHT
In this module, you will learn about light. You will also find out that there are different
sources of light and that light exhibits different characteristics and properties. Finally,
you will design a simple activity to test whether light travels in a straight light or not.

What are the common sources of light?

How do these common sources produce light?
What are the common properties and characteristics of light?
Sir Isaac Newton believed that light behaves like a particle while Christian Huygens
believed that light behaves like a wave. A 3rd scientist, Max Planck came up with what
is now known as the Dual-Nature of Light. He explained that light can be a particle and
can also be a wave. To complete our knowledge about the nature of light, James Clark
Maxwell proposed the Electromagnetic Theory of Light.
While these scientists dig deep into the nature of light and how light are propagated, let
us be more familiar with ordinary materials we use as common sources of light. The
Sun for example is known as a natural source of light. Sun is also considered as a
luminous body (an object capable of producing its own light). Other sources are the
lamps, bulbs, and candles. These are the artificial sources.
In your earlier grades you learned about energy transformation. Energy transformation
is needed to convert or transform forms of energy to light or other forms. In bulbs,
electric potential is converted to light. In lamps, chemical energy is transformed to light.
Brightness of light depends on the source and the distance from the source. Brightness
however, is qualitative and is dependent of the person’s perception. Quantitatively,
brightness can be expressed as luminous intensity with a unit known as candela. The
unit expression came from the fact that one candle can approximately represent the
amount of visible radiation emitted by a candle flame. However, this decades-ago
assumption is inaccurate. But we still used this concept in Activity 1 as we are limited to
an improvised photometer. If you are using a real photometer on the other hand,
luminous intensity refers to the amount of light power emanating from a point source
within a solid angle of one steradian.

James Clark Maxwell discovered the Electromagnetic Theory of Light. He combined the
concepts of light, electricity and magnetism to come up with his theory forming
electromagnetic waves. Since these are waves they also exhibit different characteristics
of waves such as wavelength, frequency and wave speed which you have studied in the
previous module. There are different forms of electromagnetic waves arranged
according to frequency. This arrangement of the electromagnetic waves is known as
Electromagnetic spectrum. The visible part of which is known as white light or visible
light. The next activity will lead you to explore the characteristics of the electromagnetic
spectrum.
UV rays are highly energetic than other spectral regions on its left. This could be a
possible reason why we are not advised to stay under the sun after 9:00 in the morning.
Prolong use of mobile phones may cause ear infection. This may be due to a higher
energy emitted by microwaves used in cellular phones than radio waves commonly
used in other communication devices. What about the visible spectrum? Do you want to
know more about this spectral region?
42
What are the frequencies and energies of the visible spectrum? This is the visible light.
Sir Isaac Newton used a prism to show that light which we ordinarily see as white
consists of different colors. Dispersion is a phenomenon in which a prism separates
white light into its component colors.
Dispersion, a special kind of refraction, provided us color lights. This phenomenon is
observed when white light passes through a triangular prism. When white light enters a
prism and travels slower in speed than in vacuum, color separation is observed due to
variation in the frequencies (and wavelength) of color lights. Remember the concept of
refractive indices in the previous module? The variations in frequencies (and
wavelengths) are caused by the different refractive indices of the varying color light.
Thus, blue light with greater refractive index refracts more and appears to bend more
than red light. But do you really think that light will bend when travelling in space?
Light, accordingly has wavelike nature and particle-like nature. As a wave, it is
part of the electromagnetic waves as the visible spectrum. This visible spectrum is also
known as white light. White light undergoes dispersion when it passes through a prism.
The variations of refractive indices result to variations in the refraction of color lights
dependent on the frequencies (and wavelength) of the color lights. This brings about
blue light being refracted more than the other color lights and thus appears to be bent.
However, light travels in a straight line path in a particular medium.
Brightness or intensity and colors are special properties of light. These can be
observed in different phenomena such as rainbows, red sunset, and blue sky. You can
identify many other applications of light and colors as you become keen observers of
natural phenomena.
COLORS OF LIGHT
The Science of Light has gone all the way from a mere transfer of energy to the creation
of colors for entertainment and other purposes. Most of our gadgets are light emitting for
efficiency when used at night. In the field of medicine light is used to cut through the
skin for surgery as in laparoscopy. The health sciences are also using light for other
medical purposes. But the most important purpose is for humans and other animals to
see the beautiful world through light. So, are you ready to explore the characteristics
and properties of light?
How are refraction and dispersion demonstrated in light? Among the different colors of
light, which is bent the most and the least? Why do we see spectacular events in the
sky like rainbows, red sunset and blue sky?
Did you know that the boy made the stunt in a 6-ft deep swimming pool? The
water is just shallow and the stunt would not be dangerous at all. This optical illusion is
known as apparent depth. Apparent depth is the illusion that objects under the water
appear to be nearer the surface than they really are. This is visible when an observer is
standing beside the swimming pool looking at an object under water. This phenomenon
is a consequence of the bending of light when light traverses the air-water boundary.
Light exhibits the characteristics and properties of a wave. It is classified as an
electromagnetic wave located between the spectrum of infrared and ultraviolet. As an
electromagnetic wave it does not need a medium in order to propagate. It moves in its
maximum speed in vacuum. But this speed decreases as it moves along different
media. This characteristic of light consequently shows bending when it crosses the
boundary between two media. Apparent distortion of an object seen at the boundary
between media is observed.
Refraction is the bending of light when it travels from one medium to another of
different optical densities. The pencil as shown in Figure 4 is not really broken. If we
remove the water from the glass and look at the pencil, the pencil would look normally
straight. Now try pouring water onto the glass and, voila - a broken pencil. This

43
happens because of the change in speed and orientation of the light with respect to the
normal as it traverses a new medium of a different density.
Light travels so fast. From your lesson last year, it is approximated to travel at a
speed of 3 x 108 m/s in a vacuum. This speed decreases when light travels in a dense
medium. This means that the speed of light is dependent on the properties of the
medium. In the case of light, it is dependent on the optical density of the medium. The
optical density of the medium is different from its physical density. Physical density is
described as the mass per unit volume of the medium. On the other hand, the
sluggishness of the atoms of a medium to maintain the absorbed energy before
reemitting it is called optical density. When light crosses the boundary of two media of
different optical density, a change in speed takes place. This change in speed is
manifested as bending of the light ray.
A known indicator of the optical density of a material is the index of refraction of
the material. Index of refraction represented by the symbol n is the ratio of the speed of
light in vacuum and its speed in another medium.
The index of refraction of a material is a quantity that compares the speed of light in that
material to its speed in a vacuum. Since the speed of light in vacuum is the highest
attainable speed in the universe, the index of refraction is always greater than 1.
The dual nature of light brings about several observable phenomena in the sky.
Light as a wave exhibits properties just like any other waves. When light moves from
one medium to another of a different density, the speed changes, bringing about
changes in the direction of the refracted ray with respect to the normal line. This is
known as refraction. Refraction of light, however, may result in a display of colors of
light when it passes through materials that can have varied refractive indices for every
wavelength of color that passes through them. A glass prism, for example, has varied
refractive indices per wavelength of color resulting in different bending angles of the
refracted colors of light with respect to the normal line. This phenomenon is better
known as dispersion.

With the concept of dispersion, colors of light are hierarchically arranged as

ROYGBIV according to frequency and energy of the colors of light. Red happens to
have the lowest frequency and the least energy. Energy and frequency increases as
one moves from red light towards violet light. This display of colors of lights by
dispersion of white light is one of the consequences of refraction of light aside from the
apparent depth mentioned above. Other consequences are spectacular phenomenon of
blue skies and red sunsets.

44
 Important Terms to Remember

COLOUR TEMPERATURE (Kelvin)
A hot object radiates a specific range of wavelengths that appear as a particular colour
depending on the object's temperature. The temperature is expressed in Kelvin (K), the
scientific temperature unit. Degrees Celsius can be easily converted to Kelvin by adding
273.
The Kelvin temperature equivalent is used to describe the lamp's colour. Lamps
generally vary from about 2500K, which is quite yellow through to 7000K, which is
considerably bluish. The temperature of balanced white is about 5500K. See our Kelvin
Chart.
ILLUMINANCE (Lux)
The perceived brightness of the light falling on a surface illuminated by the lamp and is
measured in Lumens per square metre or its equivalent, Lux. Illumination values will
decrease with distance from the lamp and are not generally useful in describing lamp
performance unless a distance is quoted.
Concentrated sources such as lasers, LEDs and optically focussed lamps can provide
intense illumination on a small area. They produce a high Lux figure but may still have
very little total light and a corresponding low lumen value.

LIFE EXPECTANCY (Hours)
Although a lamp may continue to function electrically, the light output and efficiency
degrades over time. The life of a lamp is defined as the operating time for light output to
fall to fifty percent of its original lumen figure.
Manufacturers make the tests under ideal conditions so that the life expectancy is as
high as possible. Under real conditions the life of a lamp is generally considerably
shorter than the quoted figure. Factors such as the ambient temperature, supply voltage
variation and number of switching cycles greatly affect the actual life of the lamp.

Conventional fluorescent lamps are particularly vulnerable to accelerated degradation

from frequent switching cycles and variation in supply voltage.

LUMINOUS EFFICIENCY (Lumens per Watt)

This is a measure of how much total effective light in all directions (Lumens) is produced
per Watt of electrical power consumed.
It is important to compare overall efficiency of lamps including the losses in the
associated circuitry. Luminous efficiency is typically quoted by LED manufacturers at
the terminals of the LED rather than at the input of the power supply electronics, where
the consumption will be considerably higher.

Some fluorescent lamp manufacturers have also resorted to this misleading figure in
order to enhance their claim to high luminous efficiency. Tests conducted on 240 Volt
compact fluorescent lamps by a leading Australian consumer magazine have shown
that the majority do not live up to the claims of light output.

The majority of 12V/24V fluorescent lamps have never even been tested. Their
promoters often claim the theoretical maximum Lumens of the tube rather than
measuring the output using the dedicated inverter. Rainbow Power Company believes
the actual lumen output of many fluorescent lamps is considerably less than what is
claimed.

LUMINOUS FLUX (Lumens)
The perceived total amount of useful light from a source is the sum of the Candela
measurements in all directions. It is measured in Lumens (lm). The figure is also
independent of distance from the lamp and says nothing of the direction of the light, the

45
intensity of the source or the brightness of an illuminated surface, just the total visible
light in all directions.

LUMINOUS INTENSITY (Candela)
Luminous intensity is a measurement the light radiating from the lamp in a particular
direction, disregarding the intensity of light in other directions. The Candela figures for a
source need to be given for specific directions but are independent of distance from the
lamp.
Manufacturers provide charts showing the luminous intensity of a lamp in every
direction from the source. These charts can be used to calculate the total luminous flux
and the illumination intensity surrounding the lamp.

NOMINAL POWER (Watts)
Most suppliers provide a nominal power rating, rather than the actual power
consumption of the lamp under specific conditions. The actual power consumption at
the lamp input of most extra low voltage DC lamps at normal battery voltage is typically
ten to twenty percent below the nominal rating.

SPECTRAL CHART (RGB)
The phosphors in a lamp are made from a mixture of fluorescent powders emitting
primary colours, which combine to produce white light. The lamp colour can be
expressed as the individual wavelengths of these phosphor components. For example
Red = 611nm, Green = 544nm and Blue = 435nm.

VISUAL PERCEPTION
The human visual system has a stronger response to green than to other colours. All
units indicating the illumination in terms of the human visual perception are adjusted to
the equivalent brightness at 555nm, which is the wavelength of green light. All other
units explained below are adjusted to compensate for the relative sensitivity of the eye
to green light.

WAVELENGTH (nanometres)
Visible light is just a small part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation that includes
radio waves, heat, light, microwaves etc. Each type of radiation covers a range of
wavelengths that are measured in nanometres (one millionth of a millimetre).
The wavelengths perceptible by human vision are between 400 nm (violet) and 700 nm
(red).

46
 CHAPTER X
MIRRORS & LENSES

In the previous module, you learned about electromagnetic spectrum. You gained an
understanding of the different electromagnetic waves and their benefits. One of the
most common among these electromagnetic waves is the visible light.
In this module, you will study two of the properties of visible light - reflection and
refraction. A closer look into these properties will be done through different observable
examples and experimentations using mirrors and lenses. As you walk through the
pages of this module, you will be able to use the laws of reflection and refraction in
order to describe and explain how images are formed by mirrors and lenses. You will
also be able to solve problems pertaining to the position and magnification of images
formed by mirrors and lenses.
One of the thrusts of this module is to make you aware of the purposes of the different
types of mirrors and lenses so you can select the right type of mirrors and lenses that
you can use in your daily lives.
A lens is a transparent device with two curved surfaces, usually made of glass or
plastic, that uses refraction to form an image of an object. Mirrors, which have curved
surfaces designed to reflect rays, also form images. A system of lenses and/or mirrors
forms an image by gathering rays from an object and then causes them to converge or
diverge. The position to which the rays converge to or diverge from is the image. A real
image is formed when the optical system causes the rays to converge to a point,
a virtual image is formed at the location from which they seem to originate.

Depictions of lenses forming real and virtual images. Positive and negative lenses can
both form real and virtual images.

The effects of lenses and mirrors on a ray can be determined using Fermat’s Principle,
through trigonometry and the application of Snell’s Law, to trace the path of a light ray
from a point on the source to the image point. This is done by 1) tracing a ray from the
object to the first surface of the lens using trigonometry, 2) determining how the ray
refracts at the first interface using Snell’s Law, 3) tracing the ray to the second interface
using trigonometry, 4) figuring out how it refracts at this surface using Snell’s Law, 5)
and then tracing the ray to the image location using trigonometry. At least two rays from
each source point should be traced to determine the position of the image point. A
matrix method based on these rules is frequently used to mathematically determine how
rays propagate through an optical system.

47
 Sketch showing the steps taken when propagating a ray through an optical system.

In general, the curvature of one side of the lens is different than that of the other side of
the lens. The curvature of a lens surface is the inverse of the radius of curvature of the
surface (c = 1/R). The curvature is positive when the center of curvature is to the right of
the surface and negative when the center of curvature is to the left of the surface.
Lenses or mirrors with flat surfaces are said to have an infinite radius of curvature.

Surfaces having positive and negative curvatures. R is the radius of curvature and c =
1/R is the curvature of the surface.

Although it is possible to buy lenses that have aspherically curved surfaces, the vast
majority of lenses have spherically curved surfaces. Most optical systems use spherical
lenses because they are easier to make and cheaper to buy than aspherical lenses.
(See the following section on aberrations to find out why a lens designer might want to
use aspherical lenses in an optical system.) Lens designers specify the curvatures, the
thicknesses, and the refractive indices of the lenses to control the way that lenses
image objects.

For a lens that has a very small thickness, called a thin lens, it is a good approximation
to say that the lens has NO thickness. In this case, it is not necessary to propagate the
ray from the first surface of the lens to the second (step 3 is omitted). The effect of the
lens depends only on the difference in curvature of the two lens surfaces, so different
thin lenses can have the same power. The power of a thin lens in air, f, is

f = (c1-c2)(n-1).

48
The focal length of that same thin lens in air is

f = 1/f.

The focal length of a thin lens is the distance between the lens and the point at which
the lens causes a ray, which was initially traveling parallel to optical axis, to intersect the
optical axis.

Focal length of a thin lens

If a source is located very far away from a lens, all of the rays reaching that lens will be
nearly parallel to one another. If the source is an infinite distance away, the rays will be
completely parallel to one another. (The language of the Electromagnetic Wave Optics
model says that these rays represent a plane wave). A bundle of rays of this kind could
be used to find the focal length of a thin lens; the lens would focus them all down into
one spot that would be easy to find. Lasers can be made to emit this kind of light. If you
don’t have access to a laser, you can still estimate the focal length of a lens using the
sun (which is very far away from the earth) or even ceiling lamps (which are somewhat
far away if you hold the lens at desk level).

A simple expression that describes how a thin lens images an object is called the Thin
Lens Equation. It is a good way to figure out the location of an image if the distance
between the object and the lens and the focal length of the lens are known. This
equation assumes that air surrounds the object, image, and lens.

Thin Lens Equation

The image will not necessarily be the same size as the object. The size of the image
(himage) is found by multiplying the size of the object (hobject) by the magnification of
the system. The magnification of the thin lens system is

himage = m hobject

If the magnification is negative, then the image is inverted with respect to the object.

49
Mirrors can also be used to form images. They have a variety of curved surfaces,
depending on their function. Popular shapes of telescope mirrors are paraboloids,
hyperboloids, and prolate ellipsoids. Mirrors are widely used in telescope systems
because they do not suffer from chromatic aberrations. (see the following section on
dispersion to learn more about chromatic aberration.) One of the challenges in
designing telescopes is to develop an optical system that images points off of the optical
axis as well as it does objects on the optical axis. This is the same as saying that the
designers are working to increase the field-of-view of the telescopes.

The Hubble space telescope has the form of a Ritchey-Chretien Telescope. This
telescope increases its field-of-view by using a hyperboloids as both primary and
secondary mirrors. The combination of the two mirrors are needed to form a good
image, unlike other telescope designs which use a single paraboloid mirror to form a
good image and a secondary mirror to direct the image to an eye or other detector.
Astronauts had to install other optics in the Hubble as a way to correct for a defect in the
curvature of the primary mirror that occurred during manufacturing.

Ritchey-Chretien telescope

Although many telescopes are made using mirrors, there are some that are made using
lenses. The Keplerian Telesope is one of them. This telescope forms an inverted,
internal image. Most binoculars are based on this design, and they use reflecting prisms
to reinvert the image so that the image appears upright.

Keplerian telescope

50
Reflection is the bouncing off of light rays when it hits a surface like a plane mirror. In
the activity, you used plane mirrors and located the object distance, p and the image
distance, q and found out that p is equal to q. In plane mirrors, the image appears as if
it is behind the mirror but actually not, so the image is virtual. The value therefore of
image distance, q is negative. The height of the image, h’ in plane mirrors is always the
same as the height of the object, thus its magnification, M is 1.
Incident Ray.
The ray of light approaching the mirror represented by an arrow approaching an optical
element like mirrors.
Reflected Ray.
The ray of light which leaves the mirror and is represented by an arrow pointing away
from the mirror.
Normal Line.
An imaginary that can be drawn perpendicular to the surface of the mirror at the point of
incidence where the ray strikes the mirror.
The angle between the incident ray and the normal line is known as the angle of
incidence, Өi. The angle between the reflected ray and the normal is known as the
angle of reflection, Өr.
Reflection on Spherical Mirrors
Look at your reflection on a shiny metal spoon. Is your reflection the same on the two
surfaces of the spoon? How will you compare your reflection on the two surfaces of the
spoon? This is a reflection on curved mirrors.
A curved mirror is a reflecting surface in which its surface is a section of sphere. There
are two kinds of curved mirrors, the concave and the convex mirrors. A spoon is a kind
of a curved mirror with both concave and convex surfaces.

Two Kinds of Spherical Mirrors:

1. The Concave Mirror
• It is a curved mirror in which the reflective surface bulges away from the light
source.
• It is called Converging Mirror because the parallel incident rays converge or
meet/intersect at a focal point after reflection.
2. The Convex Mirror
• It is a curved mirror in which the reflective surface bulges towards the light source.
• It is called Diverging Mirror because the parallel incident rays diverge after
reflection. When extending the reflected rays behind the mirror, the rays converge at
the focus behind the mirror
The Sign Conventions for Mirror
• f is positive (+) if the mirror is a concave mirror
• f is negative (-) if the mirror is a convex mirror
• q is (+) if the image is a real image and located on the object’s side of the mirror.
• q is (-) if the image is a virtual image and located behind the mirror
51
• h’ is (+) if the image is an upright image • h’ is (-) if the image an inverted image
Reflection is the bouncing of light when it hits a surface. Two Laws of Reflection:
o The normal line, incident ray, and the reflected ray lie on the same plane. o The angle
of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. The reversal effect is the inversion of the
image from left to right. Mirrors at an angle produce multiple images. Two Types of
Reflection: o Specular/ Regular Reflection – reflection of light on smooth surfaces such
as mirrors or a calm body of water. o Diffuse/ Irregular Reflection – reflection of light on
rough surfaces such as clothing, paper, and the asphalt roadway curved mirror is a
reflecting surface in which its surface is a section of a sphere. Two Kinds of Spherical
Mirrors: The Concave Mirror or Converging Mirror The Convex Mirror or Diverging
Mirror Important Points in Ray Diagramming: Center of Curvature, C – the center of the
sphere in which the mirror is part. Its distance from the mirror is known as the radius.
Vertex, V – the center of the mirror. Focal Point/ Focus, F – the point between the
center of curvature and vertex. Its distance from the mirror is known as the focal length,
f.The ‘Four Principal Rays’ in Curved Mirrors.The P – F Ray is ray of light parallel to the
principal axis, is reflected passing through the principal focus, F (concave mirror), and
as if passing through the principal focus, F(convex mirror). The F – P Ray is a ray of
light passing through F (concave mirror) or directed towards F (convex mirror), is
reflected parallel to the principal axis. o The C – C Ray is ray of light passing through
the center of curvature, C (concave mirror) or directed towards the center of curvature,
C (convex mirror) reflects back along its own path.

Important Terms to Remember

Concave Lens - a kind of lens that is thicker at the edges and thinner in the center. It is
called a diverging lens.
Concave Mirror - a curved mirror in which the reflective surface bulges away from the
light source. It is called a converging mirror.
Convex Lens - a kind of lens that is thicker in the center than the edges. It is called a
converging lens.
Convex Mirror. - a curved mirror in which the reflective surface bulges towards the light
source. It is called a diverging mirror.
Plane Mirror - a polished or smooth surface (as of glass) that forms images by
reflection.
Reflection of Light - the bouncing of light rays when it hits a surface.
Refraction of Light - the bending of light rays when passing obliquely from one
medium into another

52
 CHAPTER XI
HEAT
For sure, you have used the word ‘heat’ many times in your life. You have experienced
it; you have observed its effects. But have you ever wondered what heat really is? In
your earlier grades, you learned that heat moves from the source to other objects or
places. Example is the kettle with water placed on top of burning stove. The water gets
hot because heat from the burning stove is transferred to it.
This module aims to reinforce your understanding of heat as an energy that transfers
from one object or place to another. You will determine the conditions necessary for
heat to transfer and the direction by which heat transfers by examining the changes in
the temperature of the objects involved. You will observe the different methods of heat
transfer and investigate some factors that affect these methods. The results will help
you explain why objects get hot or cold and why some objects are seemingly colder or
warmer than the others even if they are exposed to the same temperature.
 How is heat transferred between objects or places?
 Do all objects equally conduct, absorb, or emit heat?
What is Heat?
Have you ever heard of the term “thermal energy” before? Any object is said to possess
thermal energy due to the movement of its particles. How is heat related to thermal
energy? Like any other forms of energy, thermal energy can be transformed into other
forms or transferred to other objects or places. Heat is a form of energy that refers to
the thermal energy that is ‘in transit’ or in the process of being transferred. It stops to
become heat when the transfer stops. After the energy is transferred, say to another
object, it may again become thermal energy or may be transformed to other forms.

Thermometer
Heat transfer is related to change in temperature or change in the relative hotness or
coldness of an object.
Conduction takes place between objects that are in contact with each other. The
energy from the object of higher temperature is transferred to the other object through
their particles that are close or in contact with each other. Then the particles receiving
the energy will also transfer the energy to other places within the object through their
neighboring particles.
Here is another example of heat transfer by conduction. Think of a metal spoon put in a
bowl of a hot champorado that you were about to eat when you suddenly remembered
that you had to do first a very important task. When you came back, you noticed that the
handle of the spoon became really hot! How do you think this happened? The heat
from the champorado is transferred to the part of the spoon that is in direct contact with
the food by conduction. Then it is transferred to the cooler regions of the spoon through
its particles. Why did you feel the spoon hot? When you touched the spoon, heat is also
transferred to your hand by conduction. So your hand gained heat or thermal energy,
and this makes you feel the object hot. Can you now explain why your hand that was
previously dipped into hot water felt the lukewarm water cold while the other hand that
was previously dipped into very cold water felt it hot?
Metals are mostly good conductors of heat. When we use a pot or pan to cook our food
over a stove, we usually use a pot holder made of fabrics to grasp the metal handle. In
the process, we are using an insulator to prevent our hand from being burned by the

53
conductor, which is the metal pan or pot. Why are woven fabrics that are full of trapped
air considered good insulators?

The total kinetic and potential energy of all its particles is the internal energy of a
body. The internal energy of a body increases when a) its temperature increases and b)
it changes from solid to liquid or from liquid to gas. Heat is the energy transferred from
one body to another as a result of a temperature difference. Heating is the process in
which heat is transferred from one body to another as a result of a temperature
difference. By doing work or by heating, internal energy can be increased.Joule (J) is
the unit to express internal energy. Heat engine is a device that changes thermal energy
into mechanical work. Internal combustion engines are engines that combustion takes
place inside the engine chamber. Examples are gasoline, diesel engine and our human
body. External combustion engines are engines where the fuel combustion takes place
outside the engine. Steam, piston engine and the atmosphere are examples of external
combustion engine. Thermal Pollutionof the air can affect the weather; thermal pollution
of water can be harmful to aquatic animals.

Important Terms to Remember

AMBIENT TEMPERATURE: Temperature of the air or environment surrounding a

thermoelectric cooling system; sometimes called room temperature.
CONDUCTION (THERMAL): The transfer of heat within a material caused by a
temperature difference through the material. The actual material may be either a solid,
liquid or gas (or a combination) where heat will flow by means of direct contact from a
high temperature region to a lower temperature region.
CONVECTION (THERMAL): The transfer of heat by means of air (gas) movement over
a surface. Convection actually is a combined heat transfer process that involves
elements of conduction, mixing action, and energy storage.
COUPLE: A pair of thermoelectric elements consisting of one N-type and one P-type
connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel. Because the input voltage to a
single couple is quite low, a number of couples normally are joined together to form a
“module.”
DEGREES KELVIN: Absolute temperature scale where absolute zero (0K) represents
the point where all molecular kinetic energy of a mass is zero. When calculating the
temperature dependent properties of semiconductor materials, temperature values must
be expressed in degrees Kelvin. On the Celsius scale, 0°C equals 273.15°K; in respect
to quantity, one Kelvin degree equals one Celsius degree. Note that the ( ) symbol
normally is not used when denoting degrees Kelvin.
FORCED CONVECTION HEAT SINK: A heat sink that incorporates a fan or blower to
actively move air over the heat sink’s fins. Greatly improved cooling performance may
be realized with a forced convection system when compared to a natural convection
heat sink.
HEAT LEAK: The amount of energy gained or lost by an object being thermoelectrically
controlled due to heat transfer to or from external media. Heat transfer may occur due to
conduction, convection, and/or radiation.
HEAT LOAD: The quantity of heat presented to a thermoelectric device that must be
absorbed by the device’s cold side. The term heat load, when used by itself, tends to be
somewhat ambiguous and it is preferable to be more specific. Terms such as active
heat load, passive heat load or total heat load are more descriptive and less uncertain
as to meaning.

54
HEAT OF FUSION: More correctly called Latent Heat of Vaporization. The amount of
heat energy required to change a given mass of a substance from a liquid to a gas
without changing the temperature of the substance. To change water into stream, for
example, requires a heat input of about 971 BTU/pound or 540 calories/gram.
HEAT PUMP: A general term describing a thermoelectric cooling device, often being
used as a synonym for a thermoelectric module. In somewhat less common usage, the
term heat pump has been applied to a thermoelectric device operating in the heating
mode.
HEAT PUMPING CAPACITY: The amount of heat that a thermoelectric device is
capable of pumping at a given set of operating parameters. Frequently, this term will be
used interchangeably with the expression maximum heat pumping capacity. The two
terms are not strictly synonymous, however, because maximum heat pumping capacity
specifically defines the maximum amount of heat that a module will pump at the
maximum rated input current and at a zero temperature differential.
HEAT SINK: A body that is in contact with a hotter object and that expedites the
removal of heat from the object. Heat sinks typically are intermediate stages in the heat
removal process whereby heat flows into a heat sink and then is transferred to an
external medium. Common heat sinks include natural (free) convection, forced
convection and fluid cooled.
INTERSTAGE TEMPERATURE: The temperature between specific stages or levels of
a multi-stage or cascade module.
JOULE HEATING: Heat produced by the passage of an electrical current through a
conductor or material due to the internal resistance.
KINEMATIC VISCOSITY: The ratio of a fluid’s viscosity to its density; typically units are
centimeters squared per second and feet squared per second.
LIQUID COOLING: A heat sink method involving the use of water or other fluids to
carry away unwanted heat. When comparing alternative heat-sinking methods, liquid
cooled heat sinks normally provide the highest thermal performance per unit volume.
RADIATION (THERMAL): The transfer of heat energy by electromagnetic waves as a
result of a temperature difference between two bodies. In thermoelectric cooling
applications, radiation losses are quite small and usually have to be considered only for
multi-stage coolers operating near a DTmax condition.
RESISTIVITY (ELECTRICAL): Resistivity is a bulk or inherent property of a material
that is unrelated to the physical dimensions of the material. Electrical resistance, on the
other hand, is an absolute value dependent upon the cross-sectional area (A) and
Length (L) of the material. The relationship between Resistivity (r) and Resistance (R)
is: r = (A/L) (R)
SEEBECK EFFECT: The phenomenon whereby an electrical current will flow in a
closed circuit made up of two dissimilar metals when the junctions of the metals are
maintained at two different temperatures. A common thermocouple used for
temperature measurement utilizes this principle.
SI: An abbreviation for System International, the international standard metric system of
units.
SILICON-GERMANIUM: A high temperature thermoelectric semiconductor material that
exhibits its optimum performance within a temperature range of 500-1000 C. Silicon-
Germanium material most often is used for special thermoelectric power generation
applications that utilize a radioisotope/nuclear heat source
SINGLE-STAGE MODULE: The most common type of thermoelectric cooling module
using a single layer of thermoelectric couples connected electrically in series and
thermally in parallel. Single-stage modules will produce a maximum temperature
differential of approximately 70°C under a no-load condition.

55
SPECIFIC GRAVITY: The ratio of the mass of any material to the mass of an equal
volume of water at a temperature of 4°C.
SPECIFIC HEAT: The amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of a
given substance by one degree compared to the energy required to raise the
temperature of an equal mass of water by one degree. The specific heat of water is
1.000.
SUBSTRATE: A plate or sheet of thermally conductive and electrically insulated
material on which a thermoelectric module is fabricated. A typical module has two
individual substrates each having a metalized pattern to conduct electric current.
Thermoelectric elements are sandwiched between the two substrates to form a
completed module. Most substrates used in thermoelectric coolers are made of alumina
ceramic although berylia ceramic and other materials may be used in special
circumstances.
THERMAL COEFFICIENT OF EXPANSION: A measure of the dimensional change of
a material due to a change in temperature. Common measurement units include
centimeter per centimeter per degree Celsius and inch per inch per degree Fahrenheit.
THERMAL CONDUCTANCE: The amount of heat a given object will transmit per unit of
temperature. Thermal conductance is independent of the physical dimensions, i.e.,
cross-sectional area and length of the object. Typical units include watts per degree
Celsius and BTU per hour per degree Fahrenheit.
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY: The amount of heat a material will transmit per unit of
temperature based on the material’s cross-sectional area and thickness.
THERMAL GREASE: A grease-like material used to enhance heat transfer between
two surfaces by filling in the microscopic voids caused by surface roughness. Most
thermal greases, also known as Transistor Heat Sink Compound or Thermal Joint
Compound, are made from silicone grease loaded with zinc oxide. Non-silicone based
compounds are also available which in most cases are superior but more expensive
than silicone-based alternatives.
THERMAL RESISTANCE (HEAT SINK): A measure of a heat sink’s performance
based on the temperature rise per unit of applied heat. The best heat sinks have the
lowest thermal resistance.
THERMOELECTRIC DEVICE: A general and broad name for any thermoelectric
apparatus. The term Thermoelectric Device has recently been modified to exclude
thermoelectric modules in favor of thermoelectric assemblies.
THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR: A device that directly converts energy into
electrical energy based on the Seebeck Effect. Bismuth telluride-based thermoelectric
generators have very low efficiencies (generally not exceeding two or three percent) but
may provide useful electrical power in certain applications.
THERMOELECTRIC HEAT PUMP: Another name for a thermoelectric module or
thermoelectric cooler. The term Heat Pump has been used by some specifically to
denote the use of a thermoelectric module in the heating mode, but this usage is
uncommon.
THERMOELEMENT: Another name for a thermoelectric element or die.
THERMOPILE: When a thermoelectric module is used in a calorimeter application it is
frequently called a thermopile. Some have used the word thermopile as a synonym for
thermoelectric module regardless of application, but such use is unusual.
THOMSON EFFECT: The phenomena whereby a reversible evolution or absorption of
heat occurs at opposite ends of a conductor having a thermal gradient when an
electrical current passes through the conductor.
VISCOSITY: A fluid property related to the interaction between fluid molecules that
determines the fluids resistance to sheering forces and flow.
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 CHAPTER XII
ELECTRICITY
You learned about heat as a form of energy that can be transferred through conduction,
convection and radiation. You identified the conditions that are necessary for these
processes to occur and performed activities that allowed you to investigate the different
modes of heat transfer. Finally, you learned to distinguish between insulators and
conductors of heat and were able to identify the uses of each. Now you will learn about
another form of energy which you encounter in everyday life, electricity. You must be
familiar with this energy since it is the energy required to operate appliances, gadgets,
and machines, to name a few. Aside from these manmade devices, the ever-present
nature of electricity is demonstrated by lightning and the motion of living organisms
which is made possible by electrical signals sent between cells. However, in spite of the
familiar existence of electricity, many people do not know that it actually originates from
the motion of charges. In this module, you will learn about the different types of charges
and perform activities that will demonstrate how objects can be charged in different
ways. You will also learn the importance of grounding and the use of lightning rods. At
the end of the module you will do an activity that will introduce you to simple electric
circuits. The key questions that will be answered in this module are the following:
What are the different types of charges? How can objects be charged? What is the
purpose of grounding? How do lighting rods work? What constitutes a complete
electrical circuit?
Types of Charges
You have learned in previous modules that all matter are made up of atoms or
combinations of atoms called compounds. The varying atomic composition of different
materials gives them different electrical properties. One of which is the ability of a
material to lose or gain electrons when they come into contact with a different material
through friction.
It is important to remember that during the charging process, ideally, the amount of
charge lost by the table is equal to the amount of charge gained by the tape. This is
generally true in any charging process. The idea is known as:
The Law of Conservation of Charge
Charges cannot be created nor destroyed, but can be transferred from one material to
another. The total charge in a system must remain constant.
Electric Force
When you brought your finger (and the other object) near the charged tape, you must
have observed that the tape was drawn towards your finger as if being pulled by an
invisible force. This force is called electric force which acts on charges. An uncharged or
neutral object that has balanced positive and negative charges cannot experience this
force.

We learned from the previous section that the tape is negatively charged. The excess
negative charge in the tape allowed it to interact with your finger and the other object.
Recall also that when you placed the two charged tapes near each other they seem to
push each other away. These observations tell us that there are two kinds of electric
force which arises from the fact that there also two kinds of electrical charges. The
interactions between the charges are summarized in the following law:

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Electrostatic Law
Like charges repel and unlike charges attract.
But your finger and the other object are neutral, so how did they interact with the
charged tape? Generally, a charged object and an uncharged object tend to attract
each other due to the phenomenon of electrostatic polarization which can be explained
by the electrostatic law. When a neutral object is placed near a charged object, the
charges within the neutral object are rearranged such that the charged object attracts
the opposite charges within the neutral object.
Discharging
The process of removing excess charges on an object is called discharging. When
discharging is done by means of providing a path between the charged object and a
ground, the process may be referred to as grounding. A ground can be any object that
can serve as an “unlimited” source of electrons so that it will be capable of removing or
transferring electrons from or to a charged object in order to neutralize that object.
Grounding is necessary in electrical devices and equipment since it can prevent the
build-up of excess charges where it is not needed. In the next activity, you will use the
idea of grounding to discover another way of charging a material.
Conductors vs. Insulators
The behavior of a charged material depends on its ability to allow charges to flow
through it. A material that permits charges to flow freely within it, is a good electrical
conductor. A good conducting material will allow charges to be distributed evenly on its
surface. Metals are usually good conductors of electricity. In contrast to conductors,
insulators are materials that hinder the free flow charges within it. If charge is
transferred to an insulator, the excess charge will remain at the original location of
charging. This means that charge is seldom distributed evenly across the surface of an
insulator.

Energy Transfer in the Circuit

We know that light is one form of energy. Where did this energy come from? The law of
conservation of energy tells us that energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can
be transformed from one form to another. This tells us that the light energy observed in
the bulb must have come from the electrical energy or electricity in the circuit. In fact,
all electrical equipment and devices are based on this process of transformation of
electrical energy into other forms of energy. Some examples are:
1. Flat iron – Electrical energy to thermal energy or heat
2. Electric fan – Electrical energy to mechanical energy
3. Washing machine – electrical energy to mechanical energy.
How is the cost of electrical energy consumption computed?

Calculating Energy Use

Do you know that you can calculate your electric bill? But before that, let us know the
basis for calculating your electric bill. One of the factors to be consider is the power
rating of your appliance. By the way, what is power? You learned in Grade 8 the three
electrical basic quantities which are current, voltage, and resistance. Multiplying the
voltage and current is equal to power. For instance, the power rating of an appliance

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depends on both the voltage and current. The formula in finding power (in watts) is
written below.
P = VI
where: P = Power (Watts) V = Voltage (Volts) I = Current (Amperes)
For example, an electric fan draws 5-A current from a 220-V outlet, its power input is
1,100 W. For one appliance, the power rating is large in number, so the unit used for
combined power rating in a household is in kilowatt (kW) which is equal to
1000 watts. All of the appliances in a household may have a combined power rating,
that is why, energy is usually computed based on the time of usage of the appliances.
To get the total energy used by an appliance in an hour, multiply the power
consumption by the one hour as in the formula below:
E = Pt
where: E = Energy used (kWh) P = Power, (W) T = Time (s)

ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS

In 1819, Hans Christian Oersted (ˈƏr-stəd), a professor in the University of
Copenhagen, discovered during a class demonstration that a current carrying wire
caused a nearby magnetized compass needle to deflect. This observation fired up
tremendous research on electromagnetism. As a result, the effect on the motion of
conductors placed within a magnetic field (such as in the operation of electric motors)
was also experimented much and paved the way for practical electricity.
Twelve years after this discovery, Michael Faraday (ˈFer-ə-dā) conducted his famous
induction ring experiment showing that current can be produced by sources of changing
magnetic fields. This is the key principle to practical generation of electricity.
Additional Reading
Speed Control Technology – To ensure road safety and minimize vehicular-related
death, buses, and other public utility vehicles can be equipped with a speed control
device that limits the maximum speed by using electromagnetic brakes in combination
with a motor once the limit is exceeded.
Speed control motor packages include the motor, the driver (controller), and a
potentiometer which allows the driver for easy speed control adjustment. When the
speed of this motor is controlled, a tacho-generator connected to the motor detects the
speed. It is a magnet connected directly to the motor shaft and stator coil. The stator
coil detects the magnetic field and generates an alternating current (AC) voltage.
Many of the audio-video recording technology apply the relationship between
electricity and magnetism known as electromagnetic induction.
A typical recording studio consists of an audio-video console, microphones,
computers, studio monitors or speakers, disc players and cables used for the exchange
of audio and digital data signal during production, recording, mixing, and even editing of
all audio-video elements digitally stored on disk drives.
Devices that detect and convert audio inputs to electric outputs or vice versa are
called transducers. Most transducers like microphones and speakers use the “generator
effect” characterized by the production of electromotive forces due to either a changing
electric signal within a magnetic field or a changing magnetic field near a current-
carrying conductor.

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 Magnetism is commonly attributed to ferromagnetism and electromagnetism
depending on the material and moving charges. Every atom and all moving charges
are in constant motion and therefore has a bit of magnetism due to magnetic spins and
domains creating a net magnetic field.
A magnet has two magnetic poles (north and south seeking poles).
Stroking with a permanent magnet is one of the ways to induce or cause
magnetism in an object that can be magnetized. The polarity of the induced magnetism
in the object is opposite to the polarity of the nearer end of the permanent magnet.
Attraction happens after magnetic induction occurs.
A magnet attracts, but do not repel, unmagnetized ferromagnetic materials such
as iron, nickel, cobalt and some of its alloys like steel and alnico.
Both forces of attraction and repulsion is possible between magnets and between
a magnet and a temporarily magnetized object.
A magnetic field surrounds a magnet. Within this region, the magnet affects
another magnet and other objects that can be magnetized.
The magnetic field is strongest at the poles where the magnetic lines of induction
(flux) are closest. The magnetic field pattern can be shown using iron filings that align
along magnetic lines of induction.
The magnetic lines of induction leave the north-pole and enter the south-pole in
close loops and can be indicated by the north pole of a compass.
The loops of magnetic field lines between like poles bend away from each other
showing a force of repulsion. The lines between unlike poles join with each other to form
continuous lines showing a force of attraction.
The earth acts like a giant bar magnet and has a magnetic field similar to it.
A charge has an electric field around it where other charges will experience an
electromagnetic force. Like charges repel while unlike charges attract.
Moving charges or current in a wire produces a magnetic field.
An electromagnet is a coil of wire that uses current to produce a strong magnetic field.
The magnetic field patterns of a disk magnet, an electromagnetic nail, a current
carrying straight conductor, and a current carrying coil are similar to that of the single
bar magnet.
The magnetic field pattern between the poles of a U-shaped magnet resembles
the field pattern between unlike poles of two bar magnets. Compasses aligned along
the magnetic field show that the lines point from the north to the south poles and back
forming close loops.
If the two bar magnets with two unlike poles which are close in between is
brought together, the magnetic field pattern will resemble that of the single bar magnet.
Lines from one pole enter the other pole.
Most refrigerator magnets has a pattern of alternating bands of magnetic field.
If the direction of the current is known, the direction of the magnetic field that is
perpendicular to it and the magnetic force that is perpendicular to both current and
magnetic field can be determined by applying the hand rules. • Using the right hand
rule, the direction of the magnetic field follows the direction of the right hand fingers
when the right thumb points in the direction of the conventional current (from positive to
negative).

60
 Using the left-hand rule, the direction of the magnetic field follows the direction of
the left hand fingers when the left thumb points in the direction of the real flow of current
(from negative to positive).
The magnetic field is strongest at the center of a current-carrying coil.
The magnetic field increases in direct proportion to the number of turns in a coil
with the compass needle, at the center of the coil of wire, deflecting about a wider angle
than the compass needle along the straightened wire.
The end of the current-carrying coil where the magnetic lines of induction come
out acts as the north pole of the coil.
A magnetic field exerts a force on a current-carrying conductor. Using the right-
hand rule, the direction of this force is in the direction where the palm faces.
The motor effect is shown when a current-carrying conductor within a magnetic
field moves in the direction of the force. The force on a moving current carrying
conductor may be varied by changing the magnetic field.
An electric motor is a device that converts electrical energy into rotational
mechanical energy. A simple DC motor can be assembled using a single coil that
rotates in a magnetic field. The direct current in the coil is supplied via two brushes.
The forces exerted on the current-carrying wire create a rotation-causing force on the
coil.
An electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical
energy. A simple electric generator is made when a coil or any closed loop of conductor
moves through or cuts across magnetic field lines. The coil will experience an induced
voltage or an electromotive force that will cause a pulsating direct current (DC) to be
generated. The pulsating direct current fluctuates in value but does not change
direction.
Electromagnetic induction is a process in which electric current is generated in a
conductor by a moving or changing magnetic field.
A changing magnetic field occurs when there is relative motion between a source
of a magnetic field and a conductor; it does not matter which moves.
A changing magnetic field may also arise from a changing nearby current.
The amount of voltage (EMF) induced when a conductor and a magnetic field are
in relative motion depends on (a) the length L of the conductor or the number of turns in
the coil, (b) the strength and orientation of the magnetic field B relative to the conductor,
and (c) The relative velocity v of the changing magnetic field.

The equation for the induced voltage or electromagnetic force (EMF) in a wire by
a changing magnetic field is EMF = BLv. By Ohm’s Law the amount of induced current
is directly proportional to the induced voltage.
A transformer uses electromagnetic induction in two nearby coils (the primary
and secondary coils). Typically, the two coils of insulated wire are wound around an
iron core. This device changes the AC voltage of the primary coil by inducing an
increased or decreased EMF in the secondary coil.

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 Important Terms to Remember
Charged particles - are sources of electric fields which result in an attraction or
repulsion of other nearby charges
Electric charge - a fundamental electrical property that is either of positive or negative
type to which the mutual attractions or repulsions between protons or electrons is
attributed
Electric field - force field surrounding electric charges or group of charges where a
force acts on charges within the field
Electric generator - device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy
usually by rotating a coil within a magnetic field
Electric motor - device that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy using the
magnetic turning effect on a coil Electricity produced by vibrating or flowing charges
Electromagnet - magnet whose magnetic properties are produced by electric current
Electromotive force - voltage that gives rise to an electric current Galvanometer low
resistance instrument used to measure very small currents, its direction and its relative
magnitude
Magnet - object that has the magnetic ability to attract objects made of iron or other
magnetic substance
Magnetic Domain - microscopic grouping of atoms with their magnetic field aligned
Magnetic field - region of magnetic influence around the magnetic poles and moving
charged particles
Magnetic field lines - lines showing the shape of a magnetic field. A compass placed
on such a line will turn so that the needle is aligned with it because of electromagnetic
induction
Magnetic force - between magnets, it is attraction of unlike magnetic poles and the
repulsion between like magnetic poles; between a magnetic field and a moving charged
particle, it is a deflecting force due to the motion of the particle; the deflecting force is
perpendicular to both the magnetic field lines and the direction of motion
Magnetic poles - magnetic south or north seeking regions on a magnet that produces
magnetic forces
Magnetism - property of being able to attract objects made of naturally occurring
magnetic substances like iron, nickel, cobalt or some of its alloys
Transformer - can step-up or step-down voltages using the principles of
electromagnetic induction

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