WEEK 11 : ROTATIONAL MOTION

Calculating the Moment of Inertia (I)

Moment of inertia, or rotational inertia, refers to an object’s resistance to rotational
acceleration. It is different from the previous definition of inertia (a.k.a. translational inertia),
which is the object’s ability to resist linear motion. Note that objects that have their mass near
their rotational axis have smaller moments of inertia compared to objects with their mass farther
from the axis. Such is the reason why a ballerina spins faster with their arms pulled in than when
their arms outstretched.

In calculating an object’s moment of inertia of a given system, we use the general formula
below:

I = ∑¡ m¡r¡²
Where I is the moment of inertia, m is the mass of the ith particle, and r is the distance
between the ith particle from the axis of rotation. The unit for the moment of inertia is kg ∙ m 2.

Let us consider the following problem: Calculate the moment of inertia of two 3-kg
bowling balls joined by a 2-meter metal rod of negligible mass when rotated about its center.
Using the formula, we can do the following:

Given:
m1 = m2 = 3 kg
r1 = r2 = 1 m

I = ∑i m i ri 2
1r1 + m2r2
I=m 2 2

I = (3)(1)2
+ (3)(1)2
= 6 kg ∙ m2

Therefore, its moment of inertia is 6 kg ∙ m2.

Refer to the table below for the many variations of the formula, each according to the type
of shape:
Torque: an application of the cross product
Torque is defined according to the following formula:

τ = r × F = rFsin(θ),
Where τ is the torque vector which denotes the magnitude of the torque, r is the radial
distance from the rotational axis or the position vector, F is the force vector, and θ is the angle
between the two vectors. On the other hand, the × indicates that torque is a cross product, which
is simply the product of two vectors in a three-dimensional system. With that said, let us consider
the following problem: How much torque is produced by opening a jar of mayonnaise if its lid
has a radius of 4.2 centimeters and the force exerted tangentially is 115 N?

By plugging in the values into our formula, we get the answer of 4.83 N ∙ m, where the
unit for torque is in Newton meters (N ∙ m). Note that we would need to convert centimeters into
meters before substituting the values to our formula. In determining the direction of the torque,
the right hand rule is often used. Here are the steps on how one should follow the rule:

1. Using your right hand, align your fingers (excluding the thumb) with the radial distance r.
2. Curl them towards the direction of the force while sticking out your thumb.
3. Check out the direction where your thumb points to, which can either be an outward (∙) or
inward (×) direction.

Rotational Quantities as Vectors

In order to understand the relationship among different rotational quantities, it is
important to treat them as vector quantities, that is, by having magnitude and direction.
Moreover, an object’s full kinematic description must include both translational and
rotational quantities, which are provided by the table below:
As such, the following rotational quantities follow the same kinematic relations as translation,
assuming that the object is under a constant angular acceleration.

How to determine if an object is in static equilibrium

In order for an object to be in static equilibrium, all the forces (translational) and torque
(rotational) that act upon it must be balanced or equal to zero. Most of the problems in static
equilibrium will be two-dimensional, where:

∑ Fx=0; ∑ Fy=0; and ∑ τz=0

Which simply means that the force components (x and y) and torque τ should be equal to
zero. As such, you would need to recall previous modules on vector addition and on finding the
resultant vector. Consider the following example: Three masses are attached to a uniform
meter stick, as shown below. The stick’s mass is 150.0 g and the masses to the left of the fulcrum
are m1 = 50.0g and m2 = 25.0g. Find the mass m3 that, when attached at the right end, balances the
system.

First, we should identify the forces acting on the meter stick, namely:
w1= m1g (the weight of mass m1);
w2= m2g (the weight of mass m2);
w= mg (the weight of the meter stick itself); and
Fs (the normal reaction force at the pivot point).
 After choosing a pivot point (the point where the stick touches the support), we can now
proceed in sketching the free-body diagram:

Notice that w is located at the midpoint, where the center of mass of a uniform stick is located.
With that in mind, let us now proceed with the solution:

r1 = 25cm + 30cm = 55cm

r2 = 30cm
r = 37.5 cm - 20 cm = 17.5 cm
rs = 0 cm
r3 = 20 cm

We can now find the torques with respect to the pivot point:

τ1=+r1w1 sin sin 90° =+r1m1g (counterclockwise rotation, positive sense)

τ2=+r2w2 sin sin 90° =+r2m2g (counterclockwise rotation, positive sense)
τ=+rw sin sin 90° =+rmg (gravitational torque)
τs=0 (because rs is zero)
τ3=-r3w3 sin sin 90° =-r3m3g (clockwise rotation, negative sense)

Based from the definition of static equilibrium, all torques should be equal to zero. With
this, the second equilibrium is

By substituting the torque values in the equation, we can omit torques with zero values.
Thus, the new condition for the second equilibrium equation is

Selecting the +y-direction to be parallel to F2, the first equilibrium condition would be
 Alternatively, we can have the following:

After solving the two previous equations simultaneously, we would get

Therefore, in order to balance the system, the third weight should have a mass of 306.25 g.

Angular Momentum
In Layman’s terms, the angular momentum is the rotational equivalent of linear
momentum. It can occur on either a point object (said object is attached to a fixed point) or an
extended object (the whole object is rotating around the point). Depending on the type of object,
here are the following formulas for angular momentum:

Where L is the angular momentum, r is the radial distance, p is the linear momentum of an
object (mass times velocity). As for the extended object, I is the object’s moment of inertia and ω
(omega) is the angular velocity of the object. Note that the unit for angular momentum is kg ∙
m2/s.

WEEK 12 : GRAVITATIONAL AND PLANETERY MOTION

Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
Recall that planets move in nearly circular orbits around the sun. The force that
keeps these planets from coasting off in a straight line is called gravitational force. The
gravitational force is a field force that always exists between two masses, regardless of the
medium that separates them. It does not only exists between large masses, such as the sun, moon,
and Earth. It also exists between any two masses regardless of size and composition. For
instance, chairs in a room have a mutual attraction because of a gravitational force. However, the
force between the chairs is relatively small compared to the force between the moon and the
Earth because the gravitational force is proportional to the product of the object’s masses.

Gravitational force acts such that objects are always attracted to one another. Let’s take a
look at the illustration of the Earth and moon in Figure 1 below. The gravitational force between
Earth and the moon is attractive, and following the principle of Newton’s third law, we can say
that the force exerted on Earth by the moon, FmE, is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction
to the force exerted on the moon by Earth, FEm.

If two masses, m1 and m2, are separated by distance r, the magnitude of the gravitational force is
given by the following equation:

The G in the equation stand for the universal constant called the constant of universal
gravitation. This constant can be used to calculate gravitational forces between any two particles
and has been determined experimentally.

The law of universal gravitation is an example of an inverse square law, because the force
varies as the inverse square of separation. That is, the force between two masses decreases as the
masses move farther apart.

In a previous module, we define the weight of the body as the attractive gravitational force
exerted on it by the Earth. In this module, we can now broaden that definition. The weight of the
body is the total gravitational force exerted on the body by all other bodies in the universe, not
just the Earth. When the body is near the surface of the Earth, we can neglect all gravitational
surface forces and consider the weight as just the Earth’s gravitational attraction. At the surface
of the moon we consider a body’s weight to be the gravitational attraction of the moon, and so
on. If we picture the Earth as a spherically symmetric body with radius RE and mass mE, the
weight w of a small body of mass m at the Earth’s surface will be
 But the weight w of a body is also the force that causes the acceleration g of free fall, so by
Newton’s second law, w = mg. Equating this with the previous equation, we will get

The g is also called the acceleration due to gravity and it is independent of the mass m of
the body because m does not appear in the equation above. If we substitute the values of the
Earth’s mass and radius to the previous equation, we will get the following value

The value above, 9.80, is the expected value of acceleration due to gravity on Earth.
Newton’s law of gravitation takes Galileo’s observation that all masses fall with the same
acceleration a step further, explaining the observation in terms of a universally existing forces of
attraction between masses.

Example
Find the distance between a 0.300 kg billiard ball and a 0.400 kg billiard ball if the
magnitude of the gravitational force is 8.92 x 10-11 N.
Solution
Use the equation for Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation.

Gravitational Field
Consider a space surrounding a massive body we will call as body A. When another
massive body, body B, is introduced in this space and it experienced a force, then we have
altered the properties of this surrounding space. We refer to the force as the gravitational
force between A and B and the altered surrounding space as the gravitational field of body
A.
 Although, there is an interaction between bodies A and B, we can also consider B as
interacting with the gravitational field of A. For instance, a falling apple is interacting with
Earth, but we can also look at this in a different way, that is, the apple interacting with
Earth’s gravitational field. Another example would be the moon and Earth pulling on each
other even though they are not in contact with each other. We can also think of it as moon
interacting with Earth’s gravitational field. Likewise, we can also consider a distance space
probe being influenced by the gravitational field where it is exactly located rather than by
Earth, other planets and stars acting on it from a distance. So, it seems that the field
concept plays an in-between role when we consider forces between different bodies in
space.

The gravitational field then has its physical significance in the force between bodies.
It is common to consider of distant satellites, rockets, and the like as interacting with
gravitational fields rather than with the masses of Earth, other planets and other bodies
producing the fields. The pattern of gravitational field of Earth can be represented by
arrows and are known as field lines. When this field lines are closest together, the
gravitational field is strongest. Hence, the distance between field lines is inversely
proportional to the field strength. Field strength, like force between bodies follows the
inverse square law.

This strength of the gravitational field f at any point is equal to the force F per unit
mass m of the body placed there. That is

Its SI basic unit is N/kg. The field g is the same g that we know to be the acceleration due
to gravity or the gravitational acceleration. Arrows show the direction of the field. At each point
on a field line, the direction of the field line at that point is along the lines. Hence, any body
within Earth’s vicinity will accelerate in the direction of the field right where it is in space.

Gravitational Potential Energy

The work done on an object of mass m is given by the equation: W = Fd = mgh. We define
this equation to be the gravitational potential energy (PEg) put into the object-Earth system. This
energy is associated with the state of separation between two objects that attract each other by
the gravitational force. For convenience, we refer to this as the PEg gained by the object,
recognizing that this is energy stored in the gravitational field of Earth. Why do we use the word
“system”? This is because potential energy is a property of a system rather than of a single object
– due to its physical position.

An object’s gravitational potential energy is due to its position relative to the surroundings
within the Earth-object system. The force applied to the object is an external force from outside
of the system. When it does positive work, it increases the gravitational potential energy of the
system. Because gravitational potential energy depends on relative position, we need a reference
level at which to set the potential energy equal to 0. Usually, this would be the Earth’s surface,
but this point is arbitrary; what is important is the difference in gravitational potential energy,
because that is what relates to the work done. The expression for gravitational potential energy U
= mgy is only accurate when the height y is much less than the radius of the Earth r. The
appropriate definition for gravitational potential energy is

The gravitational potential energy depends on the distance r between the body of mass m
and the center of the Earth. When the body moves away from the Earth, r increases, the
gravitational force does negative work, and U increases. When the body “falls” toward the Earth,
r decreases, the gravitational work is positive, and the potential energy decreases.

In overcoming the force of a gravity on the surface of an astronomical body, work must be
done. The work done is the product of the force in consideration and the displacement in the
direction of this applied force. Furthermore, this work done is just the magnitude of the
gravitational potential energy above. When this potential energy is equated to the kinetic energy
of a moving body way above the surface of the Earth, we come up with the following expression

The variable ve is known to be the escape velocity or escape speed. This escape speed is
the minimum speed a body must have in order to escape or be free from the gravitational field of
Earth without ever falling back. By dividing out the mass m of the body and rearranging the
remaining terms, the defining equation for escape speed is given by:

This is a general expression and applicable for any astronomical body. It can be noted that
the escape speed does not depend on the mass m of the moving body, but on the mass and radius
of the astronomical body in consideration. For the equation above mE and r are the mass and
radius of Earth, respectively.

Example
The asteroid Dactyl, discovered in 1993, has a radius of only about 700 m and a mass of
about 3.6 x 1012kg. Calculate the escape speed for an object at the surface of Dactyl.

Simply substitute the values given to the equation of escape speed.

Orbits
Artificial satellites orbiting the Earth are a familiar fact in our modern society. How
do these satellites stay in orbit, and what determines the properties of their orbits? The
answers to these questions can be found in Newton’s laws and the law of gravitation.

A closed orbit is one in which the orbiting body will eventually return to the same angular
position it began at. This is characterized by being either an elliptical or circular orbit. An open
orbit is one that doesn’t return to the same angular position - the body only approaches once, and
then flies off again to infinity. This is characterized as either a parabolic or hyperbolic orbit.

A circular orbit is the simplest case we can imagines in terms of orbits. It is also an
important case, since many artificial satellites have nearly circular orbits and the orbits of the
planets around the sun are also fairly circular. The only force acting on a satellite in circular orbit
around the Earth is the Earth’s gravitational attraction, which is directed towards the center of the
Earth and hence toward the center of the orbit. This means that the satellite is in uniform circular
motion and its speed is constant. The satellite is not falling toward Earth; instead, it is constantly
falling around Earth. In a circular orbit the speed is just right to keep the distance from the
satellite to the center of the Earth constant.

How can we determine the constant speed v of a satellite in a circular orbit? The radius of
the orbit is r, measured from the center of the Earth; the acceleration of the satellite has
magnitude arad = v2/r and is always directed toward the center of the circle. By the law of
gravitation, the net gravitational force on the satellite of mass m has a magnitude F g = GmEm/r2
and is in the same direction as the acceleration. Newton’s second law, F = ma, then tells us that

Solving for v, we find

 The equation above shows us that we can’t choose the orbit radius r and the speed v
independently. That is, for every given radius r, the speed v for a circular orbit is determined.
This equation also shows us that the satellite’s motion does not depend on its mass m because the
variable m does not appear in the equation.

We can also derive a relation between the radius r of a circular orbit and the period T, the
time for one revolution. The speed v is the distance 2πr travelled in one revolution divided by the
period. To get an expression of T, we rearrange this relation and substitute v from the equation
above.

The equation above show that larger orbits correspond to slower speed and longer periods.
Since the speed v in a circular orbit is determined for a given orbit radius r, the total mechanical
energy E = K+ U is determined as well. It is defined by:

We have mostly discussed earth satellites, but the same analysis can be applied to the
circular motion of any body under its gravitational attraction to a stationary body. Other
examples include the Earth’s moon, the moons or satellites of other planets, and the rings of
Saturn.

Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion

Johannes Kepler was the one to discover three empirical laws that accurately describe the
motions of the planets.

4. Each planet moves in an elliptical orbit, with the sun at one focus of the ellipse.
5. A line from the sun to a given planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
6. The periods of the planets are proportional to the 3/2 powers of the major lengths of their
orbits.
The first Kepler’s law of planetary motion is also called the Law of Elliptical Orbit, which
states that
the orbit of each planet about the sun is an eclipse with the sun at one focus.

As shown in Figure 2a, an ellipse is a closed curve such that the sum of the distances from
a point on the curve to the two foci (f1 and f2) is a constant. For any closed gravitational orbit as
shown above in Figure 2b, m follows an elliptical path M at one focus. Kepler’s first law states
this fact for planets orbiting the sun.

The second law also known as Law of Equal Areas states that each planet moves so that an
imaginary line drawn from the sun to the planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times. This is
seen below in Figure 3. The shaded regions have equal areas. It takes equal times for m to go
from A to B, from C to D, and from E to F. The mass m moves fastest when it is closest to M.

The third law, Law of Harmony, states that the ratio of the squares of the periods of any
two planets about the sun is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their average distances from the
sun. In equation form, this is:
 where T is the period and r is the average radius. This equation is valid only for comparing
two small masses orbiting the same large one. Most importantly, this is a descriptive equation
only, giving no information as to the cause of the equality. Note that Kepler’s laws were initially
stated for planets orbiting the sun, but they are actually valid for all bodies satisfying the two
previously stated conditions.

WEEK 13 : OSCILLATORY MOTION

Periodic Motion
Periodic motion refers to any motion that repeats itself in a given time interval.
Because it repeats itself in a time interval, the amount of time needed remains constant and
is called a period, and that it is usually expressed in seconds (s). Another similar concept is
frequency, which is defined to be the number of oscillations per time. As such, the mathematical
relationship between the two is

The unit for frequency is Hertz (Hz), or the number of cycles per second.

Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)

On the other hand, SHM refers to any periodic motion where the net force can be portrayed
by Hooke’s Law (recall previous modules). In a system where SHM is applied, the oscillator will
oscillate with equal displacement from both sides of the equilibrium position, where the
maximum displacement is called the amplitude (X), and will eventually return to its original
position due to a restoring force.

In SHM, both the frequency and the period in a given system are independent of amplitude.
Let us have a guitar string, for example. Regardless of how it is plucked, it will oscillate with the
same frequency. As such, only the mass m and the k constant affect both the frequency and
period of an SHM, which is given by

Consider the following problem: Calculate the frequency of an object’s oscillations if its
mass is 700 kg and that the force constant of its suspension system is 6.40 × 104 N/m.

By substituting the values into the equation for frequency, we get

In this module, two types of SHM systems will be discussed, namely, the mass-spring
oscillator and the simple pendulum.
Mass-spring oscillator

In a mass-spring oscillator, the period and frequency can be expressed as

Since m is at the numerator, we can conclude that the mass of the object is directly
proportional to the period T of the system. On the other hand, the opposite happens when the
spring constant k increases since k is inversely proportional to the period.

Note that Hooke’s law can be applied in a given mass-spring system, assuming that the
displacement is small enough for it to behave perfectly elastically. As such, we can also calculate
the spring constant k as

Where x is the displacement caused by the force F.

Simple Pendulum
 A simple pendulum, on the other hand, is composed of a mass m attached on a light string.
In terms of its frequency and period, they are given by

Where L is the length of the string and gis the acceleration due to gravity. Similarly, L and
g are directly proportional and inversely proportional to the period of a simple pendulum,
respectively.

WEEK 14 : OSCILLATION AND WAVES

Damped Oscillation
The idealized oscillating systems that have been discussed in the previous module are
frictionless. In those systems, non-conservative forces are not involved, the total mechanical
energy is constant, and a system set into motion continues oscillating forever with no
decrease in amplitude.
 This is, of course, not possible in real life. Real world systems always have some
dissipative forces and oscillations do die out with times unless some means for replacing the
dissipated mechanical energy are provided. Imagine a mechanical pendulum clock. The
clock will continue to run because potential energy stored in the spring or a hanging weight
system replaces the mechanical energy lost due to friction in the pivot and in the clock’s
gears. But eventually the spring runs down or the weights reach the bottom of their travel.
Then no more energy is available, and the pendulum swings decrease in amplitude until it
eventually stops.

The decrease in amplitude caused by dissipative forces is called damping, and the
corresponding motion is called damped oscillation. The simplest case to analyze in detail is a
simple harmonic oscillator with a frictional damping force that is directly proportional to the
velocity of the oscillating body. This behavior occurs in friction involving viscous fluid flow,
such us in shock absorbers or sliding between oil-lubricated surfaces. The body then have an
additional force on it due to the friction. This force is expressed as Fx = -bvx, where vx = dx/dt is
the velocity and b is a constant that describes the strength of the damping force. The negative
sign indicates that the force is always opposite in direction to the velocity. The net force on the
body is then

If the damping force is relatively small, the motion is described by

The angular frequency of oscillation ω' is given by

The motion described by the equation of a motion with relatively small damping force
differs from an undamped case in two ways. First, the amplitude is not constant

but decreases with time because of the decreasing exponential factor . Second, the
angular frequency ω' given by the equation above is no longer equal to but is
somewhat smaller. It becomes zero when b becomes so large that
 When the equation above is satisfied, the condition is called critical damping. The system
in critical damping no longer oscillates but returns to its equilibrium position without oscillation
when it is displaced and released.

If b is greater than 2√km, the condition is called overdamping. Like critical damping,
there is no oscillation in this system, but the system return to equilibrium more slowly than with
critical damping. When b is less than the critical value, the condition is called underdamping. In
this case, the system oscillates with steadily decreasing amplitude.

In a vibrating tuning fork or guitar string, it is usually desirable to have as little damping as
possible. By contrast, damping plays a beneficial role in the oscillations of an automobile’s
suspension system. The shock absorbers of cars provide a velocity-dependent damping force so
that when a car goes over a bump, it does not continue bouncing forever. For optimal passenger
comfort, the system should be critically damped or slightly underdamped. Too much damping
would be counterproductive, however. If b is excessively large, the system is overdamped and
the suspension return to equilibrium more slowly. If the suspension is overdamped and the car
hits a second bump just after the first one, the springs in the suspension will still be compressed
from the first bump and will be unable to fully absorb the impact.

In damped oscillations the damping force is non-conservative which means that the
mechanical energy of the system is not constant but decreases continuously, approaching zero
eventually. The rate of change of energy of the system can be expressed through

The right side of the equation above is always negative, whether v is positive or negative.
This shows that E is continuously decreasing, though not at a uniform rate. The term is
the rate at which the damping force does negative work on the system. This also equals the rate
of change of the total mechanical energy of the system.

Driven Oscillation
As we learned from the previous section, a damped oscillator left to itself will eventually
stop moving altogether. But we can maintain a constant-amplitude oscillation by applying a force
that varies with time in a periodic or cyclic way, with a definite period and frequency. As an
example, consider your friend on a playground swing. You can keep your friend swinging with
constant amplitude by giving them a little push once each cycle. We call this additional force a
driving force.
 If we apply a periodically varying driving force with angular frequency to a
damped harmonic oscillator, the motion that results is called a driven oscillation or a forced
oscillation. In a driven oscillation, the angular frequency with which the mass oscillates is equal

to the driving angular frequency .

Waves
A mechanical wave is a disturbance that travels through some material or substance called
the medium for the wave. As the wave travels through the medium, the particles that make up the
medium undergo displacements of various kinds, depending on the nature of the wave. Figure 1
shows the two kinds of mechanical waves. In Fig. 1a, let us picture the medium to be a rope or a
string under tension. If we give the left end a small upward shake or wiggle, the wiggle travels
along the length of the string. Successive sections of string go through the same motion that we
gave to the end, but at successively later times. Because the displacements of the medium are
perpendicular or transverse to the direction of travel of the wave along the medium, this is called
a transverse wave.

In Fig. 1b the medium is a spring. If we give the left end of the string a single back and
forth motion, displacement and pressure fluctuations travel down the length of the medium. This
time the motions of the particles of the medium are back and forth along the same direction that
the wave travels. We call this a longitudinal wave. It is possible that a displacement of a
medium have both longitudinal and transverse components.

Each of these systems has an equilibrium state. For the string in Fig. 1a it is the state in
which the system is at rest, stretched out along a straight line. For the spring in Fig. 1b it is a
state in which the spring is at rest with uniform pressure. In each case the wave motion is a
disturbance from the equilibrium state that travels from one region of the medium to another.
And in each case there are forces that tend to restore the system to its equilibrium position when
it is displaced, same as the tendency of the force of gravity to pull a pendulum toward its
straight-down equilibrium position when it is displaced.

The examples above have three things in common. First, in each case the disturbance
travels or propagates with a definite speed through the medium. This speed is called the speed of
propagation or wave speed. It is determined in each case by the mechanical properties of the
medium. Second, the medium itself does not travel through space; its individual particles
undergo back-and-forth or up-and-down motions around their equilibrium positions. The overall
pattern of the wave disturbance is what travels. Third, to set any of these systems into motion, we
have to put in energy by doing mechanical work on the system. The wave motion transports this
energy from one region of the medium to another. Waves transport energy, but not matter, from
one region to another.

Let us take a look again at the transverse wave found in Fig. 1a which is an example of a
wave pulse. On the left end of the string, a hand shakes the string up and down just once,
exerting a transverse force on it as it does so. The result is a single “wiggle” or pulse that travels
along the length of the string. The tension in the string restores its straight-line shape once the
pulse has passed. A more interesting situation develops when we give the end of the string a
repetitive or periodic motion. Then each particle in the string also undergoes periodic motion as
the wave propagates, and this will result to a periodic wave.

Suppose we move the spring up and down with simple harmonic motion (SHM) as seen in
Figure 2. The wave that results is a symmetrical sequence of crests and troughs. Periodic waves
with simple harmonic motion are called sinusoidal wave. Any periodic wave can be represented
as a combination of sinusoidal waves. When a sinusoidal wave passes through a medium, every
particle in the medium undergoes simple harmonic motion with the same frequency.

Figure 2. Periodic Wave

For a periodic wave, the shape of the string at any instant is a repeating pattern. The length
of one complete wave pattern is the distance from one crest to the next, or from one trough to the
next, or from any point to the corresponding point on the next repetition of the wave shape. We
call this distance the wavelength of the wave denoted by lambda, . The wave pattern travels
with a constant wave speed v and advances a distance of one wavelength  in a time interval of
one period T. So the wave speed v is given by

v=f
The speed of propagation equals the product of wavelength and frequency.

Mathematical Description of a Wave

A wave function is a function that describes the position of any particle in the medium at
any time. In this section, we will focus on sinusoidal waves wherein each particle undergoes
simple harmonic motion about its equilibrium position.
 When we want to find the displacement of the particle at time t and point x, we can use the
following expression for the wave function

Because , we can rewrite the wave function above

as

The displacement y (x,t) is a function of both the location x of the particle and the time t.
The wave functions above are the functions of a sinusoidal wave moving in a positive direction.
We could rewrite the wave function above by expressing it in terms of the period T = 1/f and the
wavelength  = v/f.

We get another convenient form of the wave function if we define a quantity k, called the
wave number.

Substituting  = 2/k and f = /2 into the wavelength-frequency relation v = f gives

the following

ω = vk
We can then rewrite the wave function above as

Which of the various forms of the wave function y (x,t) you use in any specific problem is
a matter of convenience. We can modify these wave functions to represent a wave traveling in
the negative direction.
Wave Intensity
Waves on a string carry energy in just one dimension of space which is along the
direction of the string. But there are other type of waves, such as sound waves and seismic
waves, carry energy across all three dimensions of space. For waves that travel in three
dimensions, we define the intensity, I, to be the time average rate at which energy is
transported by the wave, per unit area, across a surface perpendicular to the direction of
propagation. In short, intensity I is average power per unit area. Its unit is watts per
square meter, W/m2.

If waves spread out equally in all directions from a source, the intensity at a distance r
from the source is inversely proportional to r2. This follows directly from energy conservation
and we are given the following inverse-square law for intensity.

The intensity I at any distance r is therefore inversely proportional to r2. This relationship
is referred to as the inverse-square law for intensity.

WEEK 16: WAVES AND SOUND

Wave Interference and Superposition

In the previous module, we discussed waves that propagate continuously in the same
direction. But when a wave strikes the boundaries of its medium, all or part of the wave is
reflected. Imagine yelling at a wall or a cliff facing a distance away. The sound wave is reflected
from the rigid surface and you hear an echo of the sound. Picture flipping the end of a rope
whose other end is tied to a rigid support. The pulse that was caused by your movement travels
the length of the rope, hits the rigid support, and is reflected back to you. In both examples, the
initial and reflected waves overlap in the same region of the medium. This overlapping of waves
is called interference. In general, the term interference refers to what happens when two or more
waves pass through the same region at the same time.

Let us go back again to the example of the stretched string and the transverse waves on it.
If the end of the string is connected to a rigid support, the wave that arrives at the end of the
string faces a fixed end that cannot move. The arriving wave exerts a force on the rigid support;
the reaction to this force, exerted by the rigid support, “kicks back” on the string and sets up a
reflected pulse or wave that travels in the opposite direction of the original wave. Figure 1 below
is a series of illustrations showing the reflection of a pulse at the fixed end of a string. The
reflected pulse moves in the opposite direction from the initial or incident pulse and its
displacement is also opposite.

Figure 1. String with a fixed end.

The opposite situation from that of the above is an end that is held stationary, which is
called a free end. A free end is perfectly free to move in the direction perpendicular to the length
of the string. In Figure 2 below, the string is tied to a ring that slides on a frictionless rod
perpendicular to the string. When a wave arrives at this free end, the ring slides along the rod.
The ring reaches maximum displacement, and both it and the string come momentarily to rest.
But the string is now stretched, giving increased tension, so the free end of the string is pulled
back down, then a reflected pulse is produced. The reflected pulse moves in the opposite
direction from the initial pulse, but the direction of the displacement is the same as for the initial
pulse. The conditions at the end of the string, such as a rigid support or the complete absence of
transverse force, are called boundary conditions.

Figure 2. String with a free end.

Let us take a look at Figure 3a below which shows two pulses with the same shape, one
inverted with respect to the other, and traveling in opposite directions. As the pulses overlap and
pass each other, the total displacement of the string is the algebraic sum of the displacements at
that point in the individual pulses. Because the two pulses have the same shape, the total
displacement in the middle is zero at all times.
Figure 3b shows two pulses with the same shape, traveling in opposite directions but not
inverted relative to each other. The displacement in the middle is not zero, but the slope of the
string at this point is always zero.
 The complexity of some waves’ appearances result from simple waves adding together.
When two or more waves arrive at the same point, they superimpose themselves on one another.
More specifically, the disturbances of waves are superimposed when they come together. This
phenomenon is called superposition. Each disturbance corresponds to a force, and forces add up
when they come in contact with each other. If the disturbances are along the same line, then the
resulting wave is a simple addition of the disturbances of the individual waves.

Combining the displacements of separate pulses at each point to obtain actual

displacement is an example of the principles of superposition. The principles of superposition
state that when two waves overlap, the actual displacement of any point on the string at any time
is obtained by adding the displacement the point would have if only the first wave was present
and the displacement it would have if only the second wave was present. In other words, the
wave function y(x,t) that describes the resulting motion in this situation is obtained by adding the
two wave functions for the two separate waves.

The principle of superposition is of central importance in all types of waves. For example,
when a friend talks to you while you are listening to music, you can distinguish the sound of
speech and the sound of music from each other. This is precisely because the total sound wave
reaching your ears is the algebraic sum of the wave produced by your friend’s voice and the
wave produced by the speakers of your earphones. If the two sound waves did not combines in
this linear way, the sound you would hear in this situation would be indiscernible.

Standing Waves on a String

Look at Figure 4 below which shows a string that is fixed at its left side. Its right end is
moved up and down in simple harmonic motion to produce a wave that travels to the left, then
the wave reflected from the fixed end travels in the right direction. As seen in the illustration, the
resulting motion when the two waves combine no longer looks like two waves traveling in
opposite directions. The string appears to be subdivided into segments. There are particular
points called nodes (labelled N in Fig. 4) that never move at all. Midway between these nodes
are points called antinodes (labelled A in Fig. 4) where the amplitude of motion is greatest.
Because the wave pattern does not appear to be moving in either direction along the string, it is
called a standing wave. The waves that we discussed earlier that does move along the string is
called a traveling wave.

At a node, the displacements of the two waves are always equal and opposite and cancel
each other out. This cancellation is called destructive interference. Midway between the nodes
are the points of greatest amplitude also called antinodes. At the antinode, the displacement of
two waves are identical, providing a larger resultant displacement; this phenomenon is called
constructive interference. The following is the wave function for the standing wave.
 The standing wave amplitude ASW is twice the amplitude A of either of the original
traveling waves:

Sound Waves
Sound as a physical phenomenon is defined as a disturbance of matter that is transmitted
from its source outward. Sound is a wave and it can travel through any gas, liquid, or solid. In
sound waves, the vibrations of air molecules are parallel to the direction of wave motion. Thus,
sound waves are longitudinal waves. As discussed in the previous module, a longitudinal wave
produced by a vibrating object can be represented by a sine curve. The crests of the sine curve
correspond to compressions in the sound wave. Compressions are regions of high molecular
density and high pressure. On the other hand, the troughs of the sine curve correspond to
rarefactions. Rarefactions are regions of lower density and pressure. Because of the varying
pressure in compressions and rarefactions, the sine curve represents the changes in air pressure
due to the propagation of the sound wave.

Sound waves that the average human ear can hear are called audible sound waves, and
these waves have frequencies between 20 to 20, 000 Hz. Sound waves with frequencies less than
20 Hz are called infrasonic waves, and those above 20, 000 Hz are called ultrasonic waves.

The frequency of an audible sound wave determines how high or low we perceive the
sound to be, which is also known as pitch. As the frequency of a sound wave increases, the pitch
rises. The frequency of a wave is an objective quantity that can be measured, while pitch refers
to how different frequencies are perceived by the human ear.

When two waves of slightly different frequencies interfere, the interference pattern varies
in such a way that a listener hears an alteration between loudness and softness. The variation
from soft to loud and back to soft is called a beat.

Sound waves can travel through solids, liquids, and gases. Because waves consist of
particle vibrations, the speed of a wave depends on how quickly one particle can transfer its
motion to another particle. For instance, solid particles respond more rapidly to a disturbance
than gas particles do because the molecules of a solid are closer together than those of a gas are.
As a result, sound waves generally travel faster through solids than through gases. The speed of
sound also depends on the temperature of the medium. As temperature rises, the particles of a
gas collide more frequently. Thus, in a gas, the disturbance can spread faster at higher
temperatures than at lower temperatures. In liquids and solids, the particles are close enough
together that the difference due to temperature changes is less noticeable.
Doppler Effect
Imagine you are standing on the street while someone drives by honking a car horn. In this
situation, you will notice the pitch of the horn change. The pitch will be higher as the car
approaches and will be lower as the car moves away. As mentioned earlier, the pitch of a sound
depends on its frequency. But in this example, the car horn is not changing its frequency. How
can we explain this change in pitch?

In the previous section, we assume that the source of the sound waves and the listener are
stationary. Let us go back to the sound of a car horn as our example. If a horn is honked in a
parked car, an observer standing on the street will hear the same pitch that the driver hears. But
when the car is moving (like the first example we described), there is relative motion between
the moving car and a stationary observer. This relative motion affects the way the wave fronts of
the sound waves produced by the car’s horn are perceived by an observer.
Let us picture the observer standing where the car is going. Although the frequency of the
car horn (the source frequency) remains constant, the wave fronts reach the observer in front of
the car more often than they would if the car was stationary. This is because the source of the
sound waves is moving toward the observer. Thus, the frequency heard by this observer is
greater than the source of frequency. Now, let us picture an observer standing behind the car.
The wave fronts reach an observer behind the car less often than they would if the car were
stationary. As a result, the frequency heard by this observer is less than the source of frequency.
This frequency shift observed in the two observers is known as the Doppler Effect. Doppler
Effect is the result of relative motion between the source of waves and an observer.
WEEK 17: FLUID MECHANICS

Specific Gravity

An important property of any material is its density, defined as its mass per unit volume.
We use the Greek letter ρ (“rho”) for density. If mass m of homogenous material has volume V,
the density ρ is

The density of some materials varies from point to point within the material; some
examples are the Earth’s atmosphere, which are denser at greater depths. In general the density
of a material depends on environmental factors such as temperature and pressure. The SI unit of
density is the kilogram per cubic meter (1 kg/m3). The unit gram per cubic centimetre (1 g/cm3) is
also widely used. The conversion factor below is useful.
 The specific gravity of a material is the ratio of its density to the density of water at 4.0°C,
1000 kg/m3. Specific gravity is a pure number without any units. For example, the specific
gravity of aluminium is 2.7. Water, in this case, is the standard used for solids and liquids. For
gases, air is considered as the standard having the density of 1.29 g/L at standard temperature
and pressure. If the specific gravity of an object is less than one, it floats. On the other hand, if its
specific gravity is greater than one, it sinks. If an object’s specific gravity is exactly 1, then it
remains suspended in the fluid, it will neither sink nor float.

Pressure
When a fluid (either liquid or gas) is at rest, it exerts a force perpendicular to any surface in
contact with it, such as a container wall or a body immersed in fluid. This is the force that you
feel pressing on your legs when you dangle them in a swimming pool. While the fluid as a whole
is at rest, the molecules that make up the fluid are in motion. The force exerted by the fluid is
then due to molecules colliding with their surroundings.

Consider a small surface area dA centered on a point in the fluid. The normal force exerted
by the fluid on each side is dF. We define the pressure ρ at that point as the normal force per
unit area, that is, the ratio of dF to dA:

If the pressure is the same at all points of a finite plane surface with area A, then

where F is the net normal force on one side of the surface. The SI unit of pressure is the
pascal, where
 In addition to Pascal, there are many other units for pressure that are commonly used. In
meteorology, atmospheric pressure is often described in units of millibar (mb) where 100 mb =
1.0 x 105 Pa. Pounds per square inch (lb/in2) or psi is still sometimes used as a measure of tire
pressure, and millimetres of mercury (mm Hg) is still often used in the measurement of blood
pressure. Pressure is defined for all states of matter but is particularly important when discussing
fluids.

Pressure vs Depth Relation

If the weight of the fluid can be neglected, the pressure in a fluid is the same throughout
its volume. But often the fluid’s weight is not negligible. Atmospheric pressure is less at high
altitude than at sea level, which is why an airplane cabin has to be pressurized when flying at 35,
000 feet. When you dive into deep water, your ears tell you that the pressure increases rapidly
with increasing depth below the surface.

Consider a container with a fluid inside it. The bottom of the container supports the
weight of the fluid in it. How do we find the pressure exerted on the bottom by the weight of the
fluid? The pressure is the weight of the fluid mg divided by the area A supporting it. In this case,
it is the area of the bottom of the container.

We can find the mass of the fluid from its volume and density.

The volume of the fluid V is related to the dimensions of the container. It is V = Ah,
where A is the cross-sectional area and h is the depth of the container. Combining the last two
equation gives us:
 If we enter this into the expression for pressure, we obtain:

The variable for area cancels and by rearranging the variables, we will get:

The value obtained in the equation above is the pressure due to the weight of a fluid. The
shape of the container that holds the fluid does not matter as the area cancels out in the equation.

Pascal’s Principle
When you pump a bicycle tire, you apply a force on the pump that in turn exerts a force
on the air inside the tire. The air responds by pushing not only against the pump but also against
the walls of the tire. As a result, the pressure increases by an equal amount throughout the tire.

In general, if the pressure in a fluid is increased at any point in a container (in the
example with a bicycle tire, it is the valve of the tire), the pressure increases at all points inside
the container by exactly the same amount. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) noted this fact in what is
now called Pascal’s principle or Pascal’s law.

Pascal’s principle states that pressure applied to a fluid in a closed container is

transmitted equally to every point of the fluid and to the walls of the container. Let us take a look
at the illustration in Figure 1 below.
 The hydraulic lift makes use of Pascal’s principle. A small force F1 applied to a small
piston area A1 causes a pressure increase in the fluid inside the lift. According to Pascal’s law,
this increase in pressure, Pinc , is transmitted to a larger piston of area A2 and the fluid exerts a
force F2 on this piston. Applying Pascal’s principle and the definition of pressure gives the
following equation:

Rearranging the equation above to solve for F produces the following:

2

The equation above shows that the output force F2 is larger than the input force F1 by a
factor equal to the ratio of the areas of the two pistons.

Buoyancy and Archimedes’ Principle

 Buoyant force is the force that acts upward on an object submerged in a liquid or floating
on the liquid’s surface. If you have ever floated on water, you have experienced buoyant force.
The buoyant force is what kept you afloat. The buoyant force acts in a direction opposite the
force of gravity. Because of that, objects submerged in a fluid such as water have a net force on
them that is smaller than their weight. This means that they appear to weigh less in water than
they do in air. The weight of an object immersed in a fluid is the object’s apparent weight. In the
case of a heavy object, such as a brick, its apparent weight is less in water that in air, but it may
still sink in water because the buoyant force is not enough to keep it afloat.

Picture yourself submerging a brick in a container of water. An opening on the side of

the container at the water’s surface allows water to flow out of the container. As the brick sinks,
the water level rises and water flows through the opening into a smaller container that is placed
beside the container with water. The total volume of water that flows out of the larger container
into the smaller container is the displaced volume of water from the large container. The
displaced volume of water is equal to the volume of the portion of the brick that is underwater.

The magnitude of the buoyant force acting on the brick at any given time can be
calculated by using a rule known as Archimedes’ principle. This principle states that: Any
object completely or partially submerged in a fluid experiences an upward buoyant force equal in
magnitude to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. Using mf to represent the mass of
the displaced fluid, Archimedes’ principle can be written symbolically as follows:

which reads as the magnitude of buoyant force is equal to the weight of the fluid
displaced. Whether an object will float or sink depends on the net force acting on it. This net
force is the object’s apparent weight and can be calculated as follows:

Now we will apply Archimedes’ principle, using m0 to represent the mass of the
submerged object.

Remember that m = ρV, so the expression above can be rewritten as follows:

 For floating objects, the buoyant force and the weight of the object are equal in
magnitude.

Notice in the equation above that Archimedes’ principle is not required to find the
buoyant force on a floating object if the weight of the object is unknown.

A simple relationship between the weight of a submerged object and the buoyant force
on the object can be found by considering their ratios as follows:

The expression above is useful in solving buoyancy problems.