FINAL EXAMINATION HANDOUTS FOR PHYSCI (G11)
WEEK 9 much smaller than the stars. His used the
Early Views of the Universe (Earth’s Shape):
• The planet Earth is approximately an
oblate spheroid, meaning it is mostly
spherical but slightly flattened at the poles
and bulging at the equator.
• Earth is NOT a perfect sphere unlike how
it is depicted on globes and models.
Early Models of the Earth:
• Flat Earth Model
o Early Egyptians and Mesopotamians
believed that the world (Earth) is flat,
plane, and in discoidal form.
o Homer, a Greek philosopher in the 8th
century BC, also saw Earth as a flat
circular disc, surrounded on all sides by
the great river Okeanos.
o Israelites thought that the earth is like a
disc floating in water where an arched
bowl separates the earth from the
heavens.
o Hebrews also believed that the sky is a
solid dome with the sun, moon, stars, and
other planetary objects embedded in it.
Sphere Earth Model
o Pythagoras introduced the idea of the
round model of the earth in the 6th century
BC. He believed that the “perfect’’ shape is
sphere.
o Anaxagoras (430 BCE) observed that
during lunar eclipse, the earth’s circular
shadow was reflected on the moon’s
surface.
o Aristotle (340 BC) believed that the
universe was spherical and finite. He also
believed that the earth was a sphere,
following 3 evidences as proof:
o He argued that Earth was also
spherical since the moon & sun
were both spherical.
o Earth’s surface must be curved
because the positions of the stars
in the sky changed as you move.
o He also pointed out his “sinking-
ship” evidence. When a ship sails
away, first to disappear is the hull
that suggest a curved horizon.
• Eratosthenes (240 BCE) calculated the
approximate circumference of the earth to
be 250,000 stadia or 46, 250 km (1 stadia
- 185 m).
Modern Evidences of the Spherical Earth:
• Spacecraft Photos: Satellite photos show
that the earth is plainly spherical.
Astronauts in satellites on low Earth orbit
personally observed Earth’s curvature
• Lunar Eclipse: The shadow of the earth
formed on the one side of the moon shows
a dark circle (Circular shadow = Sphere)
• Time Zones: The difference of time in
places across the world is due to the
presence of time zones suggest that Earth
is round and continuously rotating on axis.
• Aerial Transportation: Airplanes are
capable of traveling in a straight line
without falling into any edges and it can
circle the Earth without stopping.
Early Views of the Universe (Astronomical
Observations Before the Telescope):
The advent and discovery of the telescope paved
the way to our understanding of the universe,
explaining various astronomical events and in
creation of new observations.
Evidences of Early Observations:
• Nebra Sky Disk, the “oldest sky map”.
o Northern Europeans (1600 BC) said
to create this 30 cm bronze disk
showing planetary objects like the sun,
lunar crescent, & stars
• Babylon Tablets, the Clay Cuneiforms
o The first documented records of
systematic astronomical observations
of Assyro-Babylonians around 1000
BCE in Mesopotamia is put and carved
in clay tablets.
The 3 Laws of Planetary Motion:
Johannes Kepler (1600), who is a student of
Brahe, utilized the data from Brahe’s observations.
He formulated the laws of planetary motion
through the introduction of elliptical orbits.

• Egyptian Temples (Star Paintings) First Law: The Law of Ellipses

o Paintings on 2000-year-old ancient
• The orbit of every planet is an ellipse (oval
temples of the Egyptians depicts
shape) with the Sun at one of the two foci
constellations like Big Dipper and
rather than following perfectly circular
Orion (aka Hunter) prior to telescopes.
paths.
• Arizona Petroglyphs (Carved Symbols)
o Native Americans dating back on
1006 AD have made rock engravings
depicting a supernova (together with
the Scorpius constellation).

• Chaco Pictographs (Dyed Drawings)

o Chacoan civilization (1054 AD)
created rock drawings that show the
supernova of 1054 that resulted in the
Crab Nebula.
Second Law: The Law of Equal Areas
• The Stonehenge in England is used as
astronomical computer to mark summer and • A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps
winter solstices and to predict lunar/solar
out equal areas during equal intervals of
eclipses. time means which means the speed of a
planet varies along its orbit.
The 3 Main Models of the Universe: • The planet Earth moves faster when
closer to the Sun (perihelion) and slower
• Geocentric Model (Earth-centered)
when farther away (aphelion).
o Ptolemy (200 AD), a Greek astronomer,
provided the mathematical foundation of • Expressed as T1 = T2
the solar system & drafted its first working
model where Earth is the center of the
universe.

• Heliocentric Model (Sun-centered)

o Nicolas Copernicus (1473–1543) was a
Polish scholar who reconstructed
Ptolemy’s model that Sun is the center of
the universe and Earth and other planets
revolve around it.

• Geoheliocentric Model (Hybrid Model)

o Tycho Brahe (1546–1601) rejected the
Copernican model and proposed a hybrid
model with Earth as center, the Sun
revolving around it, while the planets orbit
around the Sun
Third Law: The Law of Harmony
• The square of orbital period of a planet is
directly proportional to the cube of the
semi-major axis of its orbit. 𝑻𝟐 ∝ 𝒂𝟑
 Brief History of Telescopes:
• Hans Lippershey is a Dutch spectacle-maker,
who invented the first refracting telescope in
1608 using convex objective lens and a
concave eyepiece.
• Galileo Galilei is an Italian astronomer who
built his own telescope and used it to observe
the Moon, Jupiter's moons, sunspots, and the
phases of Venus.
• Isaac Newton, English physicist, invented the
1st reflecting telescope using curved mirrors
to gather and focus light in the mid-17th
century. (Newtonian Telescopes)
WEEK 10-11
Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727) was an English
mathematician and physicist who is widely
recognized for his contributions in math (calculus)
and optics. But his most significant work is his laws
of universal gravitation and the three laws of
motion.
• He is called ‘Sir” because he was knighted by
Britain's Queen Anne in 1705, during the
Queen's visit to Trinity College, Cambridge
(where Newton worked).
Newtons 3 Laws of Motion:
• The First Law: Law of Inertia
o This law states that an object will remain in
its state of motion (either stationary or
moving at constant velocity) unless acted
upon by a net external force.
o Inertia is also defined as the tendency of
matter to resist a change in its state of
motion. It is dependent on the mass. A
more massive object has greater inertia.
▪ Objects at rest will remain at rest
unless acted by net external forces.
▪ Objects in motion will remain in
motion unless acted by net
external forces.
• The Second Law: Law of Acceleration
o This law states that the acceleration of an
object is directly proportional to and in the
same direction as the net force acting on it,
and inversely proportional to mass.
o Acceleration is the rate of change of
velocity with respect to time. It could be
positive (speeding up) or negative (slowing
down).
▪ Speed: a scalar quantity that
includes the Distance/ Time
▪ Velocity: a vector quantity that
represents both the speed and
direction of motion
• Increasing the amount of force applied on an
object also increases the acceleration of the
object.
• Increasing the mass of the object makes it
harder to accelerate (decrease).
• a is acceleration in meters per second
squared (m/s2) ,
• F is force in Newtons (N), or can also be
expressed as (kg * m/s2)
• m is mass in kilograms (kg)
• The Third Law: Law of Interaction
o This law states that when an object
exerts a force on another object, the
second object exerts another force
that is equal & opposite in direction.
o Two forces may only be considered as
an action-reaction pair if and only if
these forces are:
▪ (1) acting on two different
bodies;
▪ (2) acting simultaneous on the
system of two bodies;
▪ (3) in opposite directions; and
▪ (4) have the same magnitude.
Common Applications:
• Inertia on Vehicle Safety: Inertia keeps
objects in motion unless acted upon by an
external force. Seat belts and airbags are
designed based on this law to help restrain
most passengers during sudden deceleration
or impact.
• Acceleration on Vehicle Dynamics: This law
is fundamental in automotive engineering,
determining factors like acceleration, braking
distance, and vehicle stability.
• Action-Reaction on Rocket Propulsion: Galilean Views on Motion
Rockets work based on Newton's third law. As
Galileo Galilei was an Italian physicist referred to
the rocket propels gases downward, the equal
as the “father of modern observational astronomy”
and opposite reaction thrusts the rocket
and the "father of modern physics “due to his
upward.
scientific contributions.

• Galileo believed that the vertical motion of

Aristotelian Views on Motion
objects was downward due to gravity. He
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, scientist, and believed that objects fall at the same rate even
polymath who lived from 384 to 322 BCE. He made if they vary in weight.
significant contributions to various fields most o In the absence of air resistance, two
especially in physics. objects that vary in weight will fall on the
ground simultaneously.
• Motion is an object’s change in position with
• Galileo explained horizontal motion that an
respect to time. According to Aristotle, motion
object in motion, if unimpeded, will continue to
can either be a natural motion or a violent
be in motion.
motion.
o He noted that an external force is not
necessary to maintain horizontal
o Natural motion occurs when an object
motion.
moves and returns to its natural state
depending on the object’s
• Galileo described projectile motion as the
composition. An object made of
combination of horizontal and vertical
material similar to earth will return to it.
motions. He referred to this combination of
motions as compound motion.
o Violent motion occurs when an object
o Galileo believed that projectiles follow a
moves after an external force, such as
curved path called a trajectory.
pushing or pulling, is applied. No
motion will occur unless there is a
“mover” in contact with object.

• Aristotle believed that the vertical motion of

an object depends on the kind of element that
makes up the object: made up of earth, water
(going down), air, or fire. (going up)
The comparison between Aristotle’s and Galileo’s
path of a cannonball under projectile motion

WEEK 12
The Properties of Light

• REFLECTION is the bouncing of light when it

reaches a reflecting surface or a boundary
between two media.
o This is true for all smooth surfaces,
• Aristotle explained that horizontal motion is including mirrors and still water. It
caused by force called impetus (an internal explains why we see our reflection in
force inherent to the object itself that causes it mirrors and why light behaves
to continue moving). predictably.

• Aristotle believed that in projectile motion, Elements (Parts) of Reflection:

objects moved parallel to the ground until it was • Incident ray (i)- the ray of light that hits the
the object’s time to fall toward the ground. reflecting surface/boundary.
 • Reflected ray (r)- the ray of light that
bounces back.
• Normal line- line perpendicular to the
reflecting surface.
• Angle of incidence and angle of
reflection are the angles formed by the
incident ray and the reflected ray,
respectively, with the normal line.
Laws of Reflection:
• The angle of incidence, the angle of
reflection, and the normal line always lie on
the same plane.
• The angle of incidence is equal to angle of
reflection. Expressed as i = r
Types of Reflection:
• Specular or aka Regular reflection
occurs when light strikes a smooth
surface. Light rays are reflected uniformly
in one direction. Ex: mirrors, still water
• Diffuse or aka Irregular reflection occurs
when light strikes a rough surface. Light
rays are reflected in random directions.
• REFRACTION is is the bending of light due to
the change in its speed when it obliquely
passes two different media.
o When light enters a medium with a
different optical density, such as from
air to water, its speed changes which
causes the light to bend.
o The refractive index of a material (n)
is the ratio of the speed of light in a
vacuum (c), and the speed of light in
that material (v). always greater than 1.
Law of Refraction:
• Light slows down and refracts closer to the
normal line when it travels from a medium with
a low refractive index to a medium with a higher
refractive index.
o Light speeds up and refracts away
from the normal line when light travels
from a medium with a high refractive
index to a medium with a lower
refractive index.
• TRANSMISSION is the passing of light
through a material without being absorbed. An
example is the passing of light through glass.
o The degree to which light is transmitted
through a medium is determined by its
transmittance, which is the fraction of
incident light that passes through the
material.
3 Types of Objects (Based on Transmittance Rate)
1. Transparent (high transmittance rate)
2. Translucent (moderate) materials can
transmit light but not high or close to 100%
3. Opaque (zero transmittance rate) are
materials that do not transmit light.
• If not transmitted, light may have been
reflected or absorbed.
• ABSORPTION occurs when light strikes a
material, and the energy that it carries is
absorbed by the atoms of the material.
o Light energy is converted into thermal
energy (in the form of heat).
o An object appearing with a particular
color means that it reflects only one
color while absorbing the rest of the
spectrum.
The Visible Light or the White light is the light
thaw we see through our sense of sight. It is
actually composed and can be broken down into 7
colors (particularly seen in rainbows). They are the
colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo, and violet.
• Reflects all light =
• Absorbs all light = BLACK