KINEMATICS

 Relative velocity – v’= V- Vf

o Vf - velocity of moving frame with respect to the ground
o v' - velocity of object with respect to the frame
o V - velocity of object with respect to ground
 When gravity is the only force acting, the object is in free fall
 If total force = 0  acceleration = 0  constant velocity
 Forces always come in pairs that add to zero: F ab + Fba = 0
 Mechanical equilibrium: when total force = 0 so acceleration is 0
 An object’s mass can be defined by its resistance to acceleration, or its inertia
 Force applied to a spring is in the same direction as the extension of the spring
o Spring force (force applied by spring) is in the opposite direction to the deformation
o For large deformation, Hooke’s Law fails
 Contact force – the force exerted by one body on another at contact
o Sum of normal and friction force
 μs =tan θ c
 W = Fscosθ
 The Work-Energy Theorem says that the work done by all the forces equals the increase in
kinetic energy
 Positive work increases kinetic energy while negative work decreases it
 “Stored work” is potential energy
1 2
 Uspring = kx
2
 A conservative force is one that does zero work around a closed path
o Input energy but get it back
o E.g. gravity and spring forces
 Non-conservative forces do negative work around a closed path
o Work converted to heat

 When we accelerate a mass, the net work we do on it increases its kinetic energy
 Newton’s Law for a finite body: Fexternal = macom
 If impulse is 0 or negligible, momentum is conserved and velocity of centre of mass remains the
same
 Momentum is conserved when no external forces are acting on the objects involved or are
negligible (e.g. friction, gravity)
 Inelastic collisions – objects travel together after collision, loses as much kinetic energy as
possible
  Elastic collisions – no kinetic energy is lost
 Neglecting losses: Δ U + Δ K trans + Δ K rot =0
 If non-conservative forces and torques do no work, mechanical energy is conserved
 If external torques are zero, angular momentum is conserved
 Newton's shell theorem - for spherical symmetric distributions of mass, gravitational force
equals that of two point masses at their centres
 Gravity varies with latitude
o Earth is rotating so we have centripetal acceleration - we are not in mechanical
equilibrium except at the poles
o Smallest at the equator

THERMODYNAMICS

 Heat flows from a warmer body to a cooler body

 Physical properties that change with temperature
o Volume of a liquid - increases when heated
o Dimensions of a solid
o Pressure of a gas at constant volume - increases when heated
o Volume of gas at constant pressure - increases when heated
o Color change
O
 0 C = 273.15 K
 Absolute minimum temperature = 0K
 Balloon with air inside a flask connected to a vacuum - the balloon will expand as the vacuum
decreases the pressure. This reduces the force of the outer gas molecules on the balloon, while
the air molecules inside the balloon exerts the same force, hence the balloon expands
 When liquid nitrogen is poured onto an inflated balloon, the balloon contracts. This is because
the air molecules are cooled down, so they move slower and act on the balloon with less force.
Outside air particles apply more force on the balloon so it contracts.
 As temperature decreases, pressure decreases
 A number of assumptions are made:
o The number of molecules in the gas is large
o The average separation between them is large compared with their dimensions (not
colliding too frequently and plenty of room to move about)
o Molecules obey Newton's Laws of Motion but as a whole, they move randomly
o Molecules interact only by short-range forces during elastic collisions (e.g. gravity is
negligible as mass of the particles are tiny)
o The molecules make elastic collisions with the walls (don't lose kinetic energy)
o The gas is a pure substance and all the molecules are identical
 Degree of freedom is the way in which a molecule/atom can store energy
1
 Theorem of Equipartition of Energy – Each degree of freedom contributes k T to the energy
2 B
of the system
 Mean free path is the average distance traversed between collisions
  Heat is the transfer of energy across the boundary of a system due to a temperature difference
between the system and its surroundings
 Energy (in a system) is always conserved
 Any transfer of energy into or out of a system will result in a change in the internal energy of the
system
 Gasses have a specific heat - the amount of heat needed to raise one mole of a gas by 1 Kelvin

 Specific heat capacity - The amount of energy (usually in the form of heat) that need to be
added to raise 1kg of a substance 1OC
 Latent heat – the energy needed for a substance to undergo a change of state (but temperature
doesn’t change)
 Three methods of heat transfer – conduction, convection, radiation
o Convection – hot air expands, causing it to become less dense  moves upwards
o Radiation – emissivity relates to how well an object absorbs all the radiation that falls on
it (1 for a perfect black body)

WAVES AND OSCILLATIONS

 SHM -
o Omega is angular frequency
 SHM occurs when the force is proportional to the distance from equilibrium and directed back
towards the equilibrium position
 Energy is assumed to be conserved – non-conservative forces (e.g. friction) do no work
 Energy is converted between potential and kinetic energy
1
o Total energy = k A2
2
 Particle travelling around in a circle moves in SHM

 A physical pendulum undergoes SHM and obeys the equation: T =2 π

√ I
mgd
 Damped oscillations occur when non-conservative forces (e.g. friction, air resistance) are
present – takes some of the energy away from the system
 When damping is very large you cease to get oscillations - this is said to be critically damped
when it stops oscillating
 Forced oscillations - it is possible to also do work and add energy in each cycle
 When the frequency of the driving force equals the natural frequency of the oscillator,
resonance occurs
 Pulse: (If wave is travelling to the left, x+vt)

o Wave has a speed along the string

o A point on the string moves with SHM

 Waves interfere constructively if there is a phase difference of 0, 2 π , 4 π ,6 π , etc between

them
 This is equivalent to having a "path difference " of 0, λ , 2 λ , 3 λbetween them
 Standing waves are generated when two identical waves move in opposite direction
o 2Asin(kx)cos(wt)
o Amplitude is given by 2Asin(kx)
 Nodes – places where the amplitude of motion is zero (stationary)

 Standing waves on a string are a resonance

effect
 For sound waves:
 If wind is present, make the wind the
frame of reference
 Shock waves occur when the source
moves faster than its wave, conical
wave front produced
 λ 3λ
 First resonance is heard when , next when
4 4

 End effects occur at the ends of the pipe and ‘lengthens’ the pipe – antinode slightly outside
pipe
 Beating is the periodic variation in amplitude of a given point due to the superposition of two
waves having slightly different frequencies