Chapter 1:Introduction To Physics

Physical Quantities
Base quantities

Definition
QUANTITIES that are measurable
PHYSICAL QUANTITIES that cannot be defined in terms of other physical

Derived quantities

quantities but has its own definition

PHYSICAL QUANTITIES that are derived from base quantities by

Scientific
notation/standard form
Prefixes

multiplication or division or both

POWERS of the base number 10 to show a very large or small number
GROUP OF LETTERS placed at the beginning of a word to modify its meaning,

Scalar quantity

which act as multipliers

QUANTITY which has only magnitude or size(time, temperature, mass,

Vector quantity

volume, distance, density, power)

QUANTITY which has both magnitude or size and direction(force, velocity,

Error

displacement, acceleration, momentum)

DIFFERENCE between actual value of a quantity and the value obtained in

Systematic errors

measurement
CUMULATIVE ERRORS that can be corrected, if the errors are known.(zero

Random errors

error, incorrect calibration of measuring instrument)

ERRORS that arise from unknown and unpredictable variations in condition,
and will produce a different error every time. Random errors are caused by
factors that are beyond the control of observers.(human limitations, lack of

Zero error

sensitivity, natural errors, wrong technique)

ERROR that arises when the measuring instrument does not start from

Parallax error

exactly zero
ERROR in reading an instrument because the observers eyes and the pointer

Measurement

are not in a line perpendicular to the plane of scale

PROCESS of determining value of a quantity using a scientific instrument

Consistency

with a standard scale

ABILITY to register the same reading when a measurement is
repeated(improve eliminates parallax error, greater care, not detective

Accuracy

instrument)
DEGREE to which a measurement represents the actual value(improve

Sensitivity

repeat readings, avoid parallax/zero error, high accuracy instrument)

ABILITY to detect quickly a small change in the value of a

Inferences

measurement(thermometer thin wall bulb, narrow capillary)

EARLY CONCLUSION that you draw from an observation or event using

Hypothesis

information that you already have on it

GENERAL STATEMENT that is assumed to be true regarding the
relationship between the manipulated variable and responding variable

Chapter 2: Forces and Motion

Distance

Definition
The distance traveled by an object is the total length that is traveled by

Displacement

that object.
Displacement of an object from a point of reference, O is the shortest
distance of the object from point O in a specific direction.

Speed
Velocity
Mass
Acceleration
Inertia
Momentum
Force
Impulsive force
Gravity

The rate of change in distance

RATE OF CHANGE of displacement
MEASURE of an objects inertia
AMOUNT of matter in the object
RATE OF CHANGE of velocity
PROPERTY of matter that causes it to resist any change in its motion or
state of rest
PRODUCT of mass and velocity
pulling or a pushing ACTION on an object
LARGE FORCE which acts over a very short time interval
RATE OF CHANGE in momentum
FORCE originated from centre of the Earth that pulls all objects towards the

Free fall

ground
FALLING of an object without encountering any resistance from a height

Forces in equilibrium

towards the earth with an acceleration due to gravity

An object is said to be in a state of equilibrium when forces act upon an

Resultant force
Work

object and it remains stationary or moves at a constant velocity

SINGLE FORCE which combines two or more forces which act on an object
Work is done when a force causes an object to move in the direction of the

Energy
Gravitational PE

force.
CAPACITY of a system to do work
ENERGY STORED in the object because of its height above the earth

Elastic PE
Kinetic energy
Power
Efficiency

surface
ENERGY STORED in the object as a result of stretching or compressing it
ENERGY possessed by a moving object
RATE at which work is done or energy is changed and transferred
ABILITY of an electrical appliance to transform energy from one form to

Elasticity

another without producing useless energy or wastage

PROPERTY of an object that enables it to return to its original shape and

Spring constant
Elastic limit

dimensions after an applied force is removed

FORCE needed to extend a spring per unit length
MAXIMUM STRETCHING FORCE which can be applied to an elastic material
before it ceases to be elastic

Principle

Hookes Law

Definition
Hookes law states that the force,F, applied to a spring is directly
proportional to the springs extension or compression, x, provided the elastic

Principle of conservation
of energy

limit is not exceeded.

Principle of conservation of energy states that total energy in an isolated
system is neither increased nor decreased by any transformation. Energy
cannot be created nor destroyed, but it can be transformed from one kind to

Principle of conservation
of momentum

another, and the total amount stays the same.

The principle of conservation of momentum states that, in any collision or
interaction between two or more objects in an isolated system, the total
momentum of the system will remain constant; that is, the total initial

Newtons first law of

motion
Newtons second law of
motion

momentum will equal the total final momentum.

Newtons first law of motion states that a body will either remain at rest or
continue with constant velocity unless it is acted on by an external
unbalanced force.
Newtons second law of motion states that the acceleration a body
experiences is directly proportional to the net force acting on it, and
inversely proportional to its mass.
F =ma

Newtons third law of

motion

Newtons third law of motion states that to every action there is an equal but
opposite reaction

Chapter 3: Forces and Pressures

Pressure
Gas pressure

Definition
FORCE acting normally on a unit surface area
FORCE per unit area exerted by the gas particles as they collide with the

Buoyant force

walls of their container (due to the rate of change of momentum)

NET FORCE acting upwards due to the difference between the forces
acting on the upper surface and the lower surface

Principle

Law of Flotation

Definition
Law of floatation states that the weight of an object floating on the
surface of a liquid is equal to the weight of water displaced by the object.

Pascals Principle

(weight of object = weight of water displaced)

Pascals principle states that a pressure applied to a confined fluid is

Archimedes principle

transmitted uniformly in all directions throughout the fluid.

Archimedes principle states that the buoyant force on a body immersed in a
fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by that object

Bernoullis principle

(buoyant force = weight of water displaced)

Bernoullis principle states that the pressure of a moving fluid decreases as
the speed of the fluid increases, and the converse is also true.

Chapter 4: Heat

Temperature
Thermometric property

Definition
DEGREE of hotness of an object
PHYSICAL PROPERTY of a substance which is sensitive to and varies

Thermal equilibrium

linearly with the temperature change

A STATE when heat transfer between the two objects are equal and the

Heat capacity
Specific heat capacity

net rate of heat transfer between the two objects are zero
HEAT ENERGY required to raise its temperature by 1C or 1 K
HEAT ENERGY required to produce 1C or 1 K rise in temperature in a mass

Latent heat

of 1 kg.
HEAT ABSORBED OR RELEASED when a substance changes its state

Specific latent heat of

fusion
Specific latent heat of
vapourisation

without a change in temperature is called the latent heat of the substance

HEAT ENERGY required to change 1 kg of a substance from solid state to
liquid state, without a change in temperature
HEAT ENERGY required to change 1 kg of a substance from liquid state to
gaseous state, without a change in temperature

Principle

Boyles Law

Definition
Boyles Law states that the pressure of a fixed mass of gas is inversely
proportional to its volume provided the temperature of the gas is kept
constant

Pressure Law

(PV = k)
The pressure law states that the pressure of a fixed mass of gas is directly
proportional to its absolute temperature (in Kelvin), provided the volume of
the gas is kept constant

Charles Law

(P/T = k)
Charles law states that the volume of a fixed mass of gas is directly
proportional to its absolute temperature (in Kelvin), provided the pressure
of the gas is kept constant
(V/T = k)

Chapter 5: Light
Definition
PHENOMENON where the direction of light is changed when it crosses the

Refraction

boundary between two materials of different optical densities as a result

Apparent depth, d

of a change in the velocity of light.

DISTANCE of the image from the surface of water

Real depth, D

(or the boundary between the two mediums involved)

DISTANCE of the object from the surface of the water

Total internal reflection

(or the boundary between the two mediums involved)

TOTAL REFLECTION of a beam of light at the boundary of two mediums,
when the angle of incidence in the optically denser medium exceeds a

Critical angle

specific critical angle

GREATEST ANGLE OF INCIDENCE in the optically denser medium for

Power of lens

which the angle of refraction, r = 90

MEASURE OF ITS ABILITY to converge or diverge an incident beam of
light

Principle

Laws of Reflection
Law of Refraction

Definition
the angle of incidence, i, is equal to the angle of reflection, r (i = r)
the incident ray, normal and reflected ray will all lie in the same plane
The incident ray and the refracted ray are on the opposite sides of the
normal at the point of incidence, all three lie in the same plane
Obey Snells law

Snells Law

The value of sin i is a constant.

sin r
IMAGE CHARACTERISTICS

Virtual
Real
Laterally inverted
Upright
Diminished
Magnified

Definition
an image which cannot be projected (focused) onto a screen
an image which can be projected (focused) onto a screen
an image which left and right are interchanged
an image which in vertical position
image formed is smaller than the object
image formed is larger than the object