Physics

 Physics is the study of nature, the understanding of its phenomena and how it behaves.

 physics is the area of science that deals with force and energy

  Force and energy are used to perform work

  We use force to move, we need energy to be in motion. In physics, the study of motion is
called kinematics.

 A laser speed gun is used to monitor and apprehend vehicles that violate the speed limit regulation.

Physical Quantities and SI Units

Physical quantities are generally classified as either scalar quantity or vector quantity. Either way, they both
have numerical value (a number) and a unit of measurement (like kilogram, meter, Newton) that
complete its magnitude.

A unit of measurement is a specific magnitude of a physical quantity that has been adopted by convention.

Measurement is described or defined as finding out how many times a unit is contained in a quantity.

 measure is to compare the obtained value from what is generally accepted standard in measurement.

International system of Units or abbreviated as SI (System of International Units)

 The most widely used set of units by scientists that defines a measurement 

Meter is the SI unit for distance while Kelvin is the SI unit for temperature.

Speed is the change in distance per unit change in time, thus the unit of speed is the ratio of the unit of
distance(same as length) to the unit of time, (m/s).

Force is assigned the SI unit Newton (N) where 1 unit of it is equal to one kilogram-meter per second
squared.

The symbols used for the SI units are written in uppercase if they are named after a person like Isaac
Newton, otherwise, they are always written in small letter, as in meter, m.
 Unit Prefixes, Accuracy and Precision
Unit Prefixes

 symbols placed before the symbol of a unit to specify the order of magnitude of quantity
 They make it easier to express and understand very large or very small quantities. A unit prefix stands for a
specific positive or negative power of 10.

The independent variable is the variable being controlled in an experiment.

The dependent variables are the variables that are being observed or are calculated depending on the independent
variable.

Accuracy and Precision

Accuracy is defined as how close a measured value is to a true or accepted value. The measured error is the amount
of inaccuracy. It is expressed using relative error.

accuracy shows the closeness of your answer to the “exact” answer.

Precision, on the other hand, is defined as how good a measurement can be determined

precision is the amount of consistency of independent measurements and the reliability or

reproducibility of the measurements.

Precision determines the quality of the measurement

Forms of Errors

Random errors are defined as variations in the measured data brought by the limitations of the
measuring device. It uses statistical analysis.

Systematic errors are defined as reproducible data that are constantly in the same direction.

Causes of Errors in Doing Physical Laboratory Experiments.

Inadequate definition – not clear understanding of what really is to do, unconscious of his actions.

Unable to include a factor – not considering some factors that may affect the result of measurement
like air resistance
Factors due to the environment – errors brought by the environment like vibration, temperature,
noise, etc.

Limited scale of instrument – unfit device used in the measurement.

Unable to calibrate or check zero scale of the instrument – not familiar to the calibration of the
instrument.

Variations in the physical measurement – taking several measurements over the whole range

Parallax – whenever an experimenter’s eye is not aligned with a pointer in a scale.

Personal errors – errors that occur from carelessness , poor method, or bias measurement from the
experimenter.
 VECTOR AND SCALAR QUANTITIES

Physical quantities are classified into two: vector and scalar quantities.

Vector is a physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction. 

vector quantities are: displacement of 2 meters [North], velocity of 60 km/hr [East], a force of Newton [West].

Scalar is a physical quantity that has magnitude only. Examples of scalar quantities are the following: a speed of 60
km/hr, a time of 72 minutes, a temperature of 28ºC.

Displacement is a change in position, which has both magnitude and direction. We use d for position and the
symbol delta d(Δd) for displacement. The triangle sign Δ is the Greek letter delta and is used to represent “change”.

d = d2 – d1

where
d1 is the initial point
d2 is the final point
Δd is the change in displacement

What is then distance?

Distance then is the length of the displacement. It is a scalar quantity in which direction is not specified.

Vectors

Vectors are used to represent vector quantities. It is a directed line segment drawn to scale such that its
length corresponds to the magnitude of the vector quantity and whose head indicates the direction of the same
quantity.

Force Vector Example

1. A force vector of 316 N in a direction of 35º North of East in the x and y axes.
 1. Force vector given
2. X part or x-component of force
3. Y part or y-component of force
4. The vector as hypotenuse of a right triangle

The force vector F, has an x-part or x-component that is obtained by drawing a horizontal line from the x-axis up to
a vertical line drawn from the end of the force vector.

The y-part or y-component of a force is obtained by drawing a vertical line from the y-axis up to a horizontal line
drawn from the end of the force vector.

If the x-component and the y-component are both drawn to form a right triangle, the vector becomes the hypotenuse.
Take note that the direction of the vector is accompanied by an angle taken from the x-axis. This is the angle of
inclination, the smallest positive angle made by the line of action of the force with respect to the x-axis. In the case
given, it is 35º. In notations, angle of inclination is denoted by θ.

Using trigonometry, where:

sin θ = length of the side opposite the angle / length of the hypotenuse

cos θ = length of the side adjacent the angle / length of the hypotenuse

tan θ = length of the side opposite the angle/ length of the side adjacent the angle

the y-component becomes: Fy = F sin θ

the x-component is:
Fx = F cos θ

and from the example given, where F = 316 N and θ = 35º,

Fy = (316 N) sin 35º
= 316 N (0.5736)
Fy = 181.25 N
Fx = (316 N) cos 35º
= 316 N (0.8192)
Fx = 258.87 N

Unit Vector

A unit vector is defined as a vector that has a unit magnitude and direction. It is represented by a unit vector
notation â, read as “a hat” or “a cap”. . It has the same direction as the common vectors. The value of a unit vector is
determined when a a certain vector is divided by its magnitude. Thus a unit vector is a smaller representation of
vectors which greater magnitude.

Uniform Motion and Velocity

Velocity is defined as displacement of an object over the time interval. An equation that relates velocity,
displacement and time interval is:

v = Δd / Δt

where:
v is the velocity
Δd is the change in displacement, and
Δt is the change in time

The Difference Between Speed and Velocity

To differentiate speed from velocity, speed specifies distance over time and is a scalar quantity while velocity denotes
change in displacement over change in time and has a direction and therefore is a vector quantity. Speed describes
just how fast the movement is, velocity also tells where the motion is headed to. Speed is defined as distance traveled
over time.
s = d/t

where: s is the speed (m/s),

d is the distance (m), and
t is the time (s)
Summary of the Chapter

Physics is the study of force and energy. It is about nature, the understanding of its phenomena and how it
behaves.

The study of motion is called kinematics.

The International System of Units describes the set of units of measurement with their symbols and is
widely used by scientists and engineers.

Measurement is described or defined as finding out how many times a unit is contained in a quantity.

The unit prefix is a symbol placed before the symbol of a unit to specify the order of magnitude of a
quantity.

The independent variable is the variable being controlled in an experiment.

The dependent variables are the variables that are being observed or are calculated depending on the
independent variable.

Solving value that is near to true value of a physical quantity without any measurement is
called estimation.

The process of evaluating uncertainty is termed uncertainty analysis or error analysis.

Accuracy is described as the nearness of a measured value compared to a true or standard value.

Precision is defined as the amount of consistency a result can be obtained.

Errors are categorized as either random or systematic depending on how the measurement was obtained.

Random errors are defined as variations in the experiment due to the limitations of the measurement
device.

Systematic errors are defined as repeatable incorrect data that are constant in the same direction.

Vector is a physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction while scalar is a physical quantity that
has only magnitude.

Displacement is a change in position and has both magnitude and direction.

A unit vector is defined as a vector with a unit magnitude and indicates the direction of a given vector.

If both speed and direction remain the same, the velocity is constant and the motion is called uniform
motion.

Velocity is defined as displacement of an object over the time interval

Speed is defined as the distance travelled over the time lapsed.