Reviewer for Physics Lec

Prepared by: Sai Xenia Mendez - CE-2E - P2

DEFENITIONS
Physics
- is the branch of science that deals with the structure of matter and how the
fundamental constituents of the universe interact.
- It studies objects ranging from the very small using quantum mechanics to the
entire universe using general relativity.

Physicists seek patterns that relate to the phenomena of nature.

The patterns are called physical theories.
A very well established or widely used theory is called a physical law or principle.

Physical Quantity
- Value used to describe physical phenomena that can be quantified by
measurements
[Physical Quantity] = [Number (magnitude)] + [Unit (Standard)]

•Defines the nature of the measurable quantity and the standard with which you are
comparing to Systems of Measurement : 1. English System 2. SI system

•An equation describing a physical phenomena must always be dimensionally

consistent, i.e., the units on the left-hand side and right-hand side of the equation
must be the same.

Dimensional analysis can be used to:

•Derive an equation
•Check if the equation is dimensionally correct
•Know the units or the dimension of a physical quantity

Uncertainty
• Margin of error inherent to a measurement due to limitations of a measuring
device.
• Tells how precise a measurement is.

Accuracy Vs. Precision

- Accuracy measures how close the results are to the true or known value. Precision,
on the other hand, measures how close results are to one another.

Significant Figures

- The uncertainty is indicated instead by the number of meaningful digits or

significant figures.
Scientific Notation

- When we work with very large or very small numbers, we can show
significant figures much more easily by using scientific notation, sometimes
known as the powers-of-10 notation.

Scalar

- A scalar is a quantity that is described by its magnitude: a number and its

corresponding unit.

Vector

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

Vector Representation

1. Bearing (Magnitude-Direction)
• Displacement vector

2.Components
• Unit vectors: vectors of magnitude 1
3D:

2D: Project the vector to the x and y axes.

Vector Magnitude
Magnitude of vector A :
2 2 −1 𝐴𝑦
A= 𝐴𝑥 + 𝐴𝑦 θ = 𝑡𝑎𝑛 ( 𝐴𝑥 )

● Velocity is the time rate of change in displacement of an object. It is a

vector. Speed is the magnitude of velocity. It is a scalar.

Vector Addition

- C is the vector sum or resultant

Graphical way: “tail-to-head method”

•Negative of a vector is just a vector with the same magnitude but opposite in
direction.

•This means we can perform vector subtraction.

KINEMATICS – MOTION IN ONE DIMENSION
Mechanics
– study of the relationships among forces, matter and motion.
Kinematics
– mathematical description of motion; describes motion without regard to its causes
Kinematics in one dimension: motion along a straight line.
Dynamics
– effects that forces have on motion; the study of motion and of physical concepts
such as force and mass.
• Idealization – “treat objects as point particles”
• Basic quantities in Kinematics: Displacement, Velocity, Acceleration, and Time
Displacement
- The displacement is a vector that points from an object's initial position to its final
position.

- Distance is the total length of the path taken (scalar)

- Displacement only depends on the starting and final position, not on the actual path
taken. (vector)

Time

- Time states when and how long the motion occurs.

- Time is an important scalar quantity that describes motion.

- It is used in referring to a specific time an object is at a particular point.

Average velocity

– rate of displacement (change in position) over a time interval.

𝑋𝑓 − 𝑋𝑖 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑉𝑎𝑣𝑒 = 𝑇𝑓 − 𝑇𝑖
𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚/𝑠 Average speed = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙

Position-Time Graph

● Average Velocity – slope of the line connecting x1 and x2

● Instantaneous Velocity – velocity at a specific instant in time. It is the slope of
the tangent line in the x-t graph: “first derivative of velocity.”

Velocity-Time Graph

● Average Acceleration – slope of the line joining v1 and v2

● Instantaneous Acceleration – acceleration at a specific instant in time. Slope
of the tangent line in the v-t graph: “second derivative”
Acceleration

- •When the object’s velocity and acceleration are in the same direction, the speed of
the object increases with time.

•When the object’s velocity and acceleration are in opposite directions, the speed of
the object decreases with time.

•Positive and negative accelerations specify directions relative to chosen axes, not
“speeding up” or “slowing down.”

•Speeding up or slowing down refer to an increase and a decrease in speed,

respectively.
Motion Diagrams – representations of a moving object at successive time intervals,
with velocity and acceleration vectors sketched at each position.

Uniform Acceleration
- If the acceleration is uniform, the instantaneous acceleration is equal to the
average acceleration.

•Kinematic Equations for uniformly accelerated motion (UAM) in 1-D

•“Initially at rest” means v0 = 0

FREEFALL
- Constant acceleration of a body falling under the influence of
the earth’s gravitational attraction.

- Constant acceleration due to gravity: g = 9.80 m/s2

2
𝑉𝑖 𝑉𝑖
𝐻𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 2𝑔
𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑔
KINEMATICS: MOTION IN TWO DIMENSIONS

Position Vector
- Describes the position of a particle in the Cartesian plane/space.

Displacement Vector
- As the particle moves from 𝑃1 to 𝑃2 over a
time interval Δ𝑡, it traces a curved path.

Average Velocity Vector

Net displacement per unit time

Direction of the Acceleration Vector

- When acceleration is parallel to the velocity, it acts to change the magnitude
of the velocity.
- When acceleration is perpendicular to the velocity, it acts to change the
direction of the velocity.

Components of Acceleration
a. When speed is constant along a curved path, acceleration is normal to the
path.
b. When speed is increasing along a curved path, acceleration points ahead
of normal.
c. When speed is decreasing along a curved path, acceleration points behind
the normal.

Projectile Motion Projectile

- Any body that is given an initial velocity and then follows a path determined
entirely by effects of gravitational acceleration.
- In the x-component, the acceleration is zero.
- In the y-component, the acceleration is constant and equal to a = −9.8 𝑚/𝑠2

Trajectory
- The shape of Trajectory is Parabola.
- The path followed by a projectile.
- A projectile moves in a vertical plane that contains the initial velocity vector.
- Its trajectory depends only on 𝑣0 and on the downward acceleration due to
gravity.
- At the top of the trajectory, the projectile has zero vertical velocity, but its
vertical acceleration is still -g.
- Horizontally, the projectile is in constant-velocity motion: It’s horizontal
acceleration is zero, so it moves equal x-distances in equal time intervals.
- Vertically, the projectile is in constant-acceleration motion in response to the
Earth’s gravitational pull. Thus its vertical velocity changes by equal amounts
during equal time interval.

Quantities of Interest

Circular Motion
Tangential (parallel) component – changes the speed
Normal (perpendicular) component – changes the direction

Uniform Circular Motion

- A particle moving in a circle with a constant speed.
- Acceleration has constant magnitude but varying direction.
- Velocity and Acceleration are always perpendicular.
- Acceleration has no tangential (parallel) component.
 2 2𝜋𝑟
Magnitude of α𝑟𝑎𝑑 =
𝑣 Speed 𝑣 =
𝑅 𝑇
ins acceleration
2 2
Centripetal α𝑟𝑎𝑑 =
4𝜋 𝑅
, rev Radius 𝑅 =
𝑣
2 𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑
Acceleration 𝑇

𝑡
Period = Distance 2𝜋r
𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑣

Non-uniform Circular Motion

- A particle moving in a circle with time-varying speed
- Acceleration has both tangential and radial components
- Acceleration vector does not always point radially inwards, i.e., it does not
pass through the center if you continue the line

Relative Velocity
- Relative velocities are quantified based on a reference.

Frame of Reference
- A frame of reference is a choice of coordinate axes that defines the starting
point for measuring any quantity

➢Frame of reference: where velocity is measured

1) Inertial reference frame: non-accelerating
2) Non-inertial reference frame: accelerating

Relative Position, Velocity, and Acceleration

NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

Mechanics – study of the relationships among forces, matter and motion.

Dynamics – effects that forces have on motion
Force
- A push or a pull. An interaction between two bodies
- The physical quantity responsible for an object's motion.
- Present in the interaction of objects
- Action: contact or long range
- Vector: magnitude and direction Unit: Newton, 1 N = 1 [kg m/s2]

Common Types of Forces

1) Contact Forces Forces (or interactions) that occur upon contact.
a. Normal Force (𝑵) - A pushing force exerted by the surface on an object.
It is always perpendicular to the plane of the surface.
b. Frictional force (𝒇) - Exerted on an object by a surface and acts parallel
to the surface. It opposes the relative motion between the surfaces.
c. Tensional force (𝑻) - A pulling force exerted by and acting along a
stretched string/rope or cable.

2) Long-range forces Forces that act even at a distance from the object.
a. Weight - The gravitational force of earth on an object. It is always
directed downward.
b. Electric force
c. Magnetic force

Superposition Principle
- Any number of forces applied at a point on an object have the same
effect as a single force equal to the vector sum of the forces, a.k.a. the
resultant force. 𝑭𝑅 = 𝑭1 + 𝑭2 + ⋯ = ∑𝑭

Mass, m unit: [kg]

• intrinsic property of an object
• related to the compactness of an object’s molecules and molecular mass
• constant anywhere in the universe

Weight, W unit: [N]

• force that gravity exerts on a body
• weight on Earth (𝑔 = 9.81 m/s2 ),
• 𝑾 = 𝑚𝑔(− 𝒋)
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Newton’s First Law
“An object continues in state of rest or in a state of motion at a constant
velocity, unless compelled to change the state by a net force.”
- When an object is either at rest or moving with constant velocity, we say that
the object is in equilibrium. The resultant force must be zero.

Inertia
• Tendency of an object to keep moving once set in motion
• The inertia of an object is measured by its mass.

Inertial Frame of Reference

1. Frame of reference where Newton's laws are valid.
2. In an inertial reference frame, an object at rest (or with constant velocity)
will remain at rest (or in that constant velocity)
3. Only the presence of non-zero net force accelerates an object.
4. A frame of reference that is moving with constant velocity with respect to
an inertial frame of reference is also a valid inertial frame.
Note: No circular paths, no increasing or decreasing speed or change of direction.

Newton’s Second Law

A (non-zero) net force acting on an object causes
the object to accelerate in the same direction as the
net force.
- For any given object, the magnitude of the
acceleration is directly proportional to the
magnitude of the net force acting on the body.
∑𝑭
∑ 𝑭 = 𝑚𝒂 Alternatively, 𝒂 = 𝑚
- If the object moves aroumd a curved path, at all points, the acceleration and
the net force point at the same direction - towards the center of the circle.

Newton’s Third Law

If body A exerts a force on body B (an “action”), then body B exerts a force on
body A (a “reaction”). These two forces have the same magnitude but are
opposite in direction. These two forces act on different bodies.

The equal sign tells us that the magnitudes of these

forces are equal. The negative sign tells us that they
are directed oppositely. These forces (𝑭𝐴 on 𝐵 and
𝑭𝐵 on 𝐴) are collectively called an action-reaction pair.

Free Body Diagram Definition

- A sketch that depicts an object as a point, with all the forces acting on it
drawn as vectors.
Applying Newton’s Laws (Frictional Forces)

Frictional Force, 𝒇
- Forces experienced when a body is at rest or slides on a surface
- Results from interaction of surface molecules
• Act parallel to the surface
• Perpendicular to the normal force
• Opposite the direction of motion

Friction Types:
1)Static Friction 𝒇s
- Acts when there is no relative motion
• The maximum magnitude of 𝑓𝑠 depends on the normal force 𝑓𝑠 ≤ 𝜇𝑠𝑛
• 𝜇𝑠 is the coefficient of static friction
• The values of 𝑓𝑠 range from 0 to 𝜇𝑠𝑛

2)Kinetic Friction 𝒇𝒌
- Acts when a body slides over a surface as the object is moving
• Magnitude increases when normal force increases. 𝑓𝑘 = 𝜇𝑘𝑛
• 𝜇𝑘 is the coefficient of kinetic friction
• The more slippery the surface, the smaller the value of 𝜇𝑘

Friction and Motion

a) No applied force, box at rest. No friction: 𝑓𝑠 = 0
b) Weak applied force, box remains at rest. Static friction: 𝑓𝑠 < 𝜇 𝑠 𝑛
c) Stronger applied force, box just about to slide. Static friction: 𝑓𝑠 = 𝜇 𝑠 𝑛
d) Box sliding at constant speed. Kinetic friction: 𝑓𝑘 = 𝜇 𝑘 𝑛