Physics Notes

Physics is an experimental science, patterns that relate to the phenomena of nature are physical
theories, or physical laws when well established.
Physics is the process by which the general principles are arrived at
Physics can never be proved to be always correct, but can be disproved
Every physical theory: range of validity, and boundary of which it is not applicable
Physical law- principles in the book established by experimental evidence
Model- simplified version of a physical system that would be too complicated to analyze in full without
the simplifications (makes things easier)
Usually represent objects as a particle- an object that has no size but is completely localized at a single
point in space.
Use judgment to decide which features to leave out
Physical quantity-any number that is used to describe an observation of a physical phenomenon
quantitatively
Operational definition- describing a procedure for measuring a fundamental physical quantity
Use a ruler to measure length, stopwatch to measure time
unit- standard that defines a quantity
meter- 1/10 millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole
second- pendulum 1 meter long to swing from one side to the other
International System/ SI- metric system
Dimensionally consistent- having the same units
Conversion factor- ratio of units
Significant figures/digits- when numbers are multiplied or divided, the number of significant figures in
the result is no greater than in the factor with the fewest significant figures.
IMPORTANT: zero can count as a significant figure: 0.580 has 3 sig figs; leading zeros arent
siginificant but TRAILING zeros are. When adding: the answer can have no more decimal places than the
term with the fewest decimal places