PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Physics Definitions

NEWTON'S LAWS AND APPLICATION OF NEWTON'S LAWS

Normal force (N) Force which a surface exerts on an object with which it is in contact, and
which is perpendicular to the surface.

Frictional force Force that opposes the motion of an object and which acts parallel to the
surface.

Static frictional force, Force that opposes the tendency of motion of a stationary object relative
fs to a surface.

Kinetic frictional force, Force that opposes the motion of a moving object relative to a surface.
fk
Newton's First Law of An object continues in a state of rest or uniform velocity unless acted
Motion upon by a net force.

Maximum Static Maximum force that can be applied to an object without it moving
frictional force, fsmax,

Newton's Second Law When a net force is applied to an object it accelerates in the direction of
of Motion the net force. The acceleration is directly proportional to the net force and
inversely proportional to the mass.

Newton's Third Law of When object A exerts a force on object B, object B simultaneously exerts
Motion an oppositely directed force of equal magnitude on object A.

Newton's Law of Each body in the universe attracts every other body with a force that is
Universal Gravitation directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between their centres.

Weight Gravitational force the Earth exerts on any object on or near its surface.

MOMENTUM AND IMPULSE

Momentum Product of the mass and velocity of the object.

Newton’s Second Law The net force acting on an object is equal to the rate of change of
in terms of momentum momentum.

Law of Conservation of The total linear momentum of a closed system remains constant.
Momentum

Impulse Product of the net force and the contact time that the net force acts on
the object.

Elastic collision Collision in which kinetic energy is conserved.

Inelastic collision Collision in which kinetic energy is not conserved.

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 VERTICAL PROJECTILE MOTION

Projectile An object upon which the only force acting is the force of gravity.

Free fall Uninterrupted motion of an object in the absence of air resistance where
only gravitational force influences the object.

Gravitational The acceleration of a free falling object due to gravitational force.

acceleration

Terminal velocity Maximum constant velocity reached by a falling object when the upward
friction force equals the downward gravitational force of the object.
Acceleration is 0m.s-2.

WORK, ENERGY AND POWER

Work Work is the product of the force applied on an object and the
displacement in the direction of the force.

Work-energy theorem The net work done on an object is equal to the change in the kinetic
energy of the object.

Conservative force Force for which the work done in moving an object between two points is
independent of the path taken (e.g. gravitational force).

Non-conservative force Force for which the work done in moving an object between two points
depends on the path taken (e.g. frictional force).

Gravitational Potential The energy an object has because of its position in the gravitational field
Energy relative to some reference level.

Kinetic Energy The energy an object possesses as a result of its motion.

Mechanical Energy The sum of the gravitational potential energy and the kinetic energy of an
object.

Law of Conservation of Mechanical Energy in a closed system is conserved.

Mechanical Energy

Power Rate at which work is done. (Rate at which energy is transferred.)

DOPPLER EFFECT

Doppler effect The change in frequency (or pitch) of the sound detected by a listener
because the sound source and the listener have different velocities relative
to the medium of sound propagation.

ELECTROSTATICS

Coulomb's law The magnitude of the electrostatic force exerted by one point charge on
another point charge is directly proportional to the product of the
magnitudes of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them.

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Electric field Region of space in which an electric charge experiences a force.

Electric field at a point The electric field at a point is the electrostatic force experienced per unit
positive charge placed at that point.

ELECTRIC CIRCUITS

Ohm’s law The potential difference across a resistor is directly proportional to the
current in the conductor provided the temperature stays constant.

Ohmic conductor 𝑉
Obeys Ohm’s law. Ratio stays constant, provided the temperature stays
𝐼
constant. Straight line graph through origin e.g. Nichrome wire

Non-ohmic conductor 𝑉
Doesn’t obey Ohm’s law. Ratio 𝐼 doesn’t remain constant. Not a straight
line graph e.g. light bulb

Electric potential Work done in moving 1C of charge from one point to another point.
difference
Current Rate of flow of charge.

Power Rate at which work is done.

Internal resistance Resistance between the terminals of a battery.

Emf Energy supplied by the battery per unit coulomb charge.

1 kWh amount of energy used when 1 kilowatt of electricity is used for 1hour

ELECTRODYNAMICS

Faradays law Induced emf in the coil is directly proportional to the rate of change of the
magnetic flux
Vrms Root mean square voltage is equivalent to the direct current (DC) voltage
that will produce the same heating effect.

I rms Root mean square current is equivalent to the direct current (DC) that
will produce the same heating effect.

PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

Photoelectric effect Process whereby electrons are ejected from a metal surface when light of
suitable frequency is incident (shine) on that surface.

Threshold frequency, fo Minimum frequency of light needed to emit electrons from a certain metal
surface.

Work function, Wo Minimum energy that an electron in the metal needs to be emitted from
the metal surface.