Physical quantities The foundation of physics rests upon physical quantities in terms of which the laws of physics are

expressed. Therefore, these quantities have to be measured accurately. Among these are mass, length, time velocity, force, density, temperature, electric current, and numerous others. Physical quantities are often divided into two categories: base quantities and derived quantities. Derived quantities are those whose definitions are based on other physical quantities. Velocity acceleration and force etc. are usually viewed as derived quantities. Base quantities are not defined in terms of other physical quantities. The base quantities are the minimum number of those physical quantities in terms of which other physical quantities can be defined. Typical examples of base quantities are length, mass and time. Length Length is the distance between two points. S.I. unit of the length is meter (m). Note: Length is a scalar quantity. Length-Measurement Length can be measured using micrometers, vernier calipers, rulers and measuring tapes.
Length to be measured Long length (Several meters) Measuring instrument Measuring tape Meter rule Vernier calliper Micrometer screwgauge

Example Length of the class room

Medium length Length of table Short length Very short length External or internal diameter of the test tube Diameter of the wire

Measurement of Length
A metre rule and a measuring tape can be used to measure length. These two instruments provide an precision of 0.1 cm. When using such instruments, parallax error must be avoided. Taking several readings of the subject to be measured can also help to reduce reading errors.

Vernier Calipers

Vernier calipers can be used to measure up to a precision of 0.01 cm. The advantage of a pair of vernier calipers is that it can be used to measure 1. external diameter of a container 2. internal diameter of a container 3. depth of a container Usually, a vernier calipers measures up to a maximum length of about 15 cm due to its physical size.

Micrometer Screw Gauge

Vernier calipers and micrometer screw gauge can be used to measure up to a precision of 0.01 cm and 0.001 cm respectively, which is 10 times and 100 times better than a ruler. You can learn how to read these instruments at this site. Zero error must be taken into account when doing these readings.

Measurement of Volume

Volume of liquid can be measured using a measuring cylinder. To read the volume of water correctly, the eye should be placed at the bottom of the water meniscus. Most liquid such as water and alcohol have meniscus that curves downwards. However, some liquids such as mercury has meniscus that curves upwards. For such situations, read from the top of the meniscus. The volume of liquid in a measuring cylinder can also be calculated if the length of the liquid column and cross sectional area is known. The volume can be calculated using refers to the cross sectional area of the liquid column as seen from above the measuring cylinder. Measurement of Time Time may be measured using a stopwatch, which provide precision of 0.01 s. Other devices that may be used to measure time include clocks and pendulum. Clocks have a precision of 1 s. Pendulum (Fig. 1) is a time measuring instrument with the square of the period of oscillation directly proportional to the length of pendulum. The period of a pendulum is defined as the time taken for the pendulum bob to swing from position A to C and back to A.

Speed, velocity and acceleration

Core

Define speed and calculate speed from Plot and interpret a speed/time graph or a distance/time graph Recognise from the shape of a speed/time graph when a body is o at rest o moving with constant speed o moving with changing speed Calculate the area under a speed/time graph to work out the distance travelled for motion with constant acceleration Demonstrate some understanding that acceleration is related to changing speed State that the acceleration of free fall for a body near to the Earth is constant o Describe qualitatively the motion bodies falling in a uniform gravitational field with and without air resistance (including reference to terminal velocity)

Supplementary

Distinguish between speed and velocity Recognise linear motion for which the acceleration is constant and calculate the acceleration Recognise motion for which the acceleration is not constant

Kinematics is a very important topic in physics. Any objects or particles that move can be studied with kinematics. Basically, kinematics allows one to calculate the speed, velocity, acceleration and displacement of a moving object.

Speed

When we talk about rate, we always mean the change with respect to time. Or what is the change in 1 s time. So speed refers to the change in distance in one second. A speed of 5 m/s means that in 1 s, the object travels 5 m. 45 km/h means the object travels 45 km in 1 hour. Note the "/s" or "/hr", which refers to per second and per hour.

To calculate speed, the formula can be used:

Average Speed
When I travel to work, I stopped at traffic lights, slows down when a car in front of me slows down. My speed changes constantly throughout the journey. It is meaningless to talk about my speed at any time because it always changes. Hence, we use the quantity average speed to represent my speed throughout the whole journey.

Average speed can be calculated using If the original speed and final speed is known, then average speed can also be calculated using the formula

Instantaneous Speed
Instantaneous speed refers to the speed at any particular instance of time. Instantaneous speed cannot be calculated using the above formulae. Instead, it can be obtained using the gradient of a distance-time graph. The gradient of a displacement-time graph is the instantaneous speed of the object at that instance of time.

Velocity
Speed is a scalar quantity. Velocity is the vector equivalence to speed.

When I travel from my house to work, my average speed is 40 km/h. When I travel home in the evening, my average speed is also 40 km/h. However, when we talk about vector, direction becomes important. My average velocity when I travel home is -40 km/h because the direction is opposite to the direction I travel in the morning. However with the difference, the formula to calculate velocity is still the same.

Similar to velocity, displacement is the vector equivalence to distance. Direction is important. If I travel 20 km to work in the morning, I travel -20 km in the evening back home. When I am back to my original starting point, my total displacement is However, the total distance travel I travel is the sum of both journeys: .

Displacement-time Graph
When the displacement of an object is plotted against time, the gradient of the resulting graph represents velocity. When the graph is a linear straight line(A), it means the object is moving at a constant velocity. If the straight line is a horizontal(B), then the velocity is zero, since the gradient of a horizontal line is zero. If the line slopes with negative gradient(C), the velocity is negative and the object is moving towards it starting point.

It is important to take note that velocity is solely represented by the gradient. If the straight line is below the time-axis(D), the above results are still valid. In this case, the velocity is a positive constant.

Acceleration

To calculate acceleration, use the formula where is acceleration, is final velocity, is initial velocity and is the time taken for the velocity change.

If an object's velocity change from 1 m/s to 3 m/s over a time of 2 s, then the acceleration may be calculated as

Velocity-time Graph
In a velocity-time graph, the gradient of the curve represents the velocity and the area under the graph represents the displacement covered.

Since displacement is a vector, if the graph dips below the -axis, then the total displacement have to account for the negative part of the displacement. When the acceleration is not constant. the gradient of the v-t graph will not be a linear graph. Instead, it can curve up or curve down, as seen below.

In graph A, the gradient is increasing. This illustrates a body moving with increasing acceleration. In graph B, it shows the motion of a decreasing acceleration, finally reaching a constant velocity.

Example 1
Calculate the total displacement of the moving body after 10 s as shown in the graph below.

Solution
Displacement can be found from the area under a velocity-time graph.

In fact, the above v-t graph represents an object thrown upwards with a velocity of decelerates to rest at its maximum height before it starts to fall back to the Earth.

. The object

Example 2
A car travels at a constant acceleration to a velocity of for 10 seconds and then travels at a constant velocity for the next 20 seconds. It then decelerates with a decreasing deceleration until rest over the next 15 seconds. Sketch the velocity-time graph of the above motion. Solution

Explanation: For first 10 seconds, the car is moving at constant acceleration. Since the gradient represent velocity, it must have a constant gradient for the first 10 seconds. Between 10 and 30 seconds, the car is moving with no acceleration(constant velocity). A gradient of 0 is represented by a horizontal line. Finally, from 30 to 45

seconds, the car decelerates with a decreasing deceleration. The gradient must slope more and more gentle since the deceleration decreases.

Acceleration of Free Fall

An object on the Earth surface falls at an acceleration of varies according to the location, and generally varies from sometimes approximated to . . This acceleration if not a constant. It to . The value is

This acceleration is a constant if air resistance is ignored. Hence, two objects of different mass, say 1 kg and 10 kg, will fall and strike the ground at the same time if they are released from the same height at the same time. This acceleration is constant at all stages of the objects fall. If an object is thrown upwards, the acceleration of this object is also at all time. When air resistance is significant, such as a parachutist jumping from an airplane and falling towards Earth, the acceleration of the falling object decreases. This is because air resistance increases with velocity. As the parachutist falls faster, air resistance increases and the net force on the parachutists decreases. Since acceleration is directly proportional to the net force on a body, the parachutist's acceleration decreases. It must be highlighted that the above situation is applicable before the parachute opens. During the period that the acceleration decreases, the velocity of the parachutist still increases, but at a decreasing rate. The velocity of the parachutist only decrease when the parachute opens, which is when there is a large opposite net force acting upwards, thereby reducing the parachutist's velocity.

Effects of Forces
Core

State that a force may produce a change in size and shape of a body Plot extension/load graphs and describe the associated experimental procedure o Interprete extension/load graphs o State Hooke's Law and recall and use the expression o Recognise the significance of the term 'limit of proportionality' for an extension/load graph Describe the ways in which a force may change the motion of a body o Recall and use the relation between force, mass and acceleration (including the direction) Find the resultant of two or more forces acting along the same line
o

Describe qualitatively motion in a curved path due to a perpendicular force ( not required)

is

Force is a very important study in Physics. There are many kinds of forces, and study of later topics such as electric charges also involve forces. Hence, it is very important for students to get well versed in the Newton's laws of motion. In this unit, I shall explain the first two laws of Newton and its application in solving problems.

What are Forces

A force is a pull or push that can change 1. change the speed of an object, 2. change the direction of an object, and 3. change the shape of an object.

Newton's First Law

Newton's First Law states that

Newton's First Law concerns balanced forces acting on a body. For example, the computer you are using is resting on the desk. There is a weight due to gravity acting on the computer. However, we also know that the computer is at rest. By Newton's First Law, there must exist a force that balance this weight such that the net force acting on the computer is zero. As such, this force must be directed vertically upwards on the computer. The source of this force is the table. The contact force between the table and the computer create such force that balances the weight.

An ice skater can skate a long distance on an ice rink because after she gave herself a push(which is a force), she attains a particular velocity. When she reach that velocity, there is little other horizontal forces that will slows her down. There is no forward pushing force and backward pulling force. There is not net force acting on her. Hence, she will continue her velocity at a constant velocity, same speed and same direction for a very long distance.

Example 1
An object is being pulled by a horizontal string with tension 6 N. The object is moving at down the magnitude of the friction that is acting on the object. . Write

Solution
Since the object is moving at a constant velocity, it does not matter what its velocity actually is. There is just no acceleration, and hence no resultant force acting on the object. Since the object is pulled by a forward 6 N force, the friction must also be 6 N in the opposing direction such that the two forces cancels out each other.

Newton's Second Law

Newton's Second Law concerns forces that do not balance. It states that

In equation form, Newton's Second Law can be expressed as where is the resultant force, is the mass of the object and is the acceleration attained by the mass.

Example 2
An object of mass 2 kg is pulled by a forward 5 N force. If the object is accelerating at the friction that is acting on the object. Solution Since the object is accelerating, we know that there is a resultant force acting on the object. In other words, the forces acting on the body do not balance. Always draw a clear free body diagram to represent the situation. , calculate

Using Newton's Second Law,

(1)
In , we always write on the left hand side of the equation the sum of all the forces acting on the object. On the right hand side, we just substitute the values for . Then we solve for the unknown.

Forces
Circular Motion
If an object has no acceleration, it will move at a constant speed in a straight line. In a circular motion, the object's speed is constant. However, its direction is always changing. The direction of the object is along the tangent of the circle where the object is at that instance. Since the direction is always changing, we can conclude that an object moving in a circle has an acceleration.

By Newton's Law, an object that is accelerating has a resultant force. In a circular motion, the resultant force is acting towards the centre of the circle. This centripetal force is a resultant force and can manifest in many different forms. 1. The centripetal force that makes the Moon revolves round Earth is due to gravity. 2. The centripetal force that makes a stone move round when we swing is the tension in the rope. 3. The centripetal force that makes a car move in a circular road is the friction between its tyres and the road. Since the velocity of the object is along the tangent of the circle at any point in time, if the centripetal force is suddenly removed, such as when the string is cut, the object will move in a straight line in the direction of the tangent prior to the centripetal force was removed.

Hooke's Law
When a force pulls a spring, the spring stretches. The extension of the spring is directly proportional to the pulling force. This is Hooke's Law. It states that

In equation form, where is spring constant and is the extension of spring after pulling.

Experiment to measure Hooke's Law

Set up the apparatus as shown in the figure. Place the hangar on the end of the spring and take the reading off the rule. Add different loads of 100 g one at a time. Take the reading each time a load is added. Add the loads slowly so that the spring stretches slowly. After all the loads are added, reverse the process by taking off one load at a time. Measure the extension concurrently. 6. Tabulate the readings into the table below 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Scale reading Load / Increasing load /

Scale Reading Decreasing load / Average reading / Extension /

g 100 200 300 400 500 600

cm

cm

cm

cm

The result will show that the extension of the load is directly proportional to the load added. Plotting a graph of extension against mass, a straight line graph that pass through the origin is obtained.

Limit of Proportionality
Hooke's law is not a universal law. By this I mean that it is only applicable under certain condition and the condition is the limit of proportionality is not exceeded. Limit of proportionality is the point which if exceeded, the spring extension will no longer be proportional to the load. Usually, when we pull a spring, it will restore back to the original length once the pulling force is removed. If pulled hard enough, the spring will not spring back to the original length. The maximum extension to which it can restore to original length is called the elastic limit. This elastic limit usually coincide with the limit of proportionality.

How Materials are affected by Stretching

Some strings such as guitar strings break easily after the limit of proportionality is exceeded. However, rubber can stretch a lot for a small force. The polymers in the rubber is straightened during stretching. This allows rubber to stretch a long extension before breaking.

Metal such as copper wire can also stretch easily, but the wire gets thinner as it stretches more. This happens until the wire finally breaks.

Forces
1.5 (a) Effects of forces

State that a force may produce a change in size and shape of a body Plot extension/load graphs and describe the associated experimental procedure o Interprete extension/load graphs o State Hooke's Law and recall and use the expression o Recognise the significance of the term 'limit of proportionality' for an extension/load graph Describe the ways in which a force may change the motion of a body o Recall and use the relation between force, mass and acceleration (including the direction) Find the resultant of two or more forces acting along the same line
o

Describe qualitatively motion in a curved path due to a perpendicular force ( not required)

is

1.5 (b) Turning effect

Describe the moment of a force as a measure of its turning effect and give everyday examples o Perform and describe an experiment (involving vertical forces) to show that there is no net moment on a body equilibrium Describe qualitatively the balancing of a beam about a pivot o Apply the idea of opposing moments to simple systems in equilibrium

1.5 (c) Conditions for equilibrium

State that, when there is no resultant force and no resultant turning effect, a system is in equilibrium

1.5 (d) Centre of mass

Perform and describe an experiment to determine the position of the centre of mass of a plane lamina Describe qualitatively the effect of the position of the centre of mass on the stability of simple objects

1.5 (e) Scalars and vectors

Demonstrate an understanding of the difference between scalars and vectors and give common examples Add vectors by graphical representation to determine a resultant Determine graphically the resultant of two vectors

Scalars and vectors

Demonstrate an understanding of the difference between scalars and vectors and give common examples Add vectors by graphical representation to determine a resultant Determine graphically the resultant of two vectors

Force is a vector.

Examples of vector are velocity, displacement and force. In addition to vectors, there is a kind of quantity called scalars. Example of scalars are distance, speed, time, temperature. Scalars can be added arithmetically. However, vectors can only be added arithmetically if they are parallel. Otherwise, vectors must be added using vector addition methods. There are two ways to add vectors. They are the parallelogram law of vector addition and the tip-to-tail method. In the parallelogram law, two vector to be added must be drawn such that they are splitting apart. Two additional vectors parallel to the first two vectors must be drawn so that they form a closed parallelogram. The resultant vector is the diagonal of the parallelogram starting from the point where the first two vectors split and ends at the point where the two vectors meet. This is shown in the diagram below:

In the tip-to-tail method, the hear of first arrow must meet the tail of the second arrow. The resultant vector is the arrow drawn from the tail of the first arrow to the head of the second arrow. This is illustrate in the second diagram above. Scale Drawing Scale drawing is a technique which allows one to find the resultant vector without using complicated trigonometry. To add two vectors, fix an appropriate scale such that the vectors do not appear too short or too long on the paper. For example, 1 cm can be used to represent 10 N if you are to add two vectors of 30 N and 40 N. The two vectors drawn will have length 3 cm and 4 cm.

Next, by using the parallelogram law or tip-to-tail, draw the resultant vector. The magnitude of the resultant vector can be found by measuring the length of the vector and convert it back into the actual size using the fixed scale.

Turning Effect

Describe the moment of a force as a measure of its turning effect and give everyday examples o Perform and describe an experiment (involving vertical forces) to show that there is no net moment on a body equilibrium Describe qualitatively the balancing of a beam about a pivot o Apply the idea of opposing moments to simple systems in equilibrium

Moment of a force is the turning effect of a force. A door opens easier if it is pushed from the knob rather than close to the hinge. Moment is closely related to force, with an additional factor from the perpendicular distance. Mathematically, From the equation, it can be seen that moment can increase by increasing 1. magnitude of the force, and 2. the perpendicular distance of the line of action of force to the pivot The SI unit of moment is newton metre (N m). To completely describe a moment, we must state its magnitude and its direction. The direction of a moment is either clockwise or anti-clockwise. The figure below illustrates this.

Force A exerts a clockwise moment about pivot while force B exerts an anti-clockwise moment about the same pivot. If the system is in equilibrium, then we can say that the clockwise moment must equal to the anticlockwise moment. This is the principle of moments.

Beside the example of opening door given earlier, another example where moment is at work is turning a nut with a spanner. The force exerted is at a large distance from the pivot, creating a large turning effect that

allows the nut to turn easily. Another example is when using a screw driver to drive a screw into a block of wood.

Experiment to verify principle of moments

Apparatus needed:

uniform metre rule, a suitable pivot, various weights, and cotton loops.

Procedure: 1. Set up the apparatus as shown with the pivot at the centre of the uniform metre rule. 2. Hang a weight at one end of the rule using a cotton loop. 3. Balance the system by hanging another weight on the other side, adjusting the distance until the system is in equilibrium. Record the distance and the weight 4. Repeat the experiment with another weight and distance . 5. Record the corresponding values of and in the table below. 6. Calculate the anti-clockwise moment due to and the corresponding moments of .

Anti-clockwise moment 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 60 70 80 90 100

Clockwise moment

50

50

110

Result: It will be observed that the anti-clockwise moment must balance the clockwise moment when the system is in equilibrium. Thus, the principle of moments is verified.

Conditions for Equilibrium

State that, when there is no resultant force and no resultant turning effect, a system is in equilibrium

Previously, we learnt that when there is no resultant force acting on a body, the body will remain at rest or continue its motion at a straight line. That is Newton's First Law. What about the situation when two forces of equal and opposite magnitude act along a rod as shown below?

There is no resultant force acting on the rod. However, the rod will rotate in an anti-clockwise direction. Hence, for an object to stay in equilibrium, it must satisfy two conditions: 1. the sum of forces on the body is zero, and 2. the sum of moments on the the body is zero. For the above body, it can only stay in equilibrium is there is an equal but opposite clockwise moment as shown below:

Centre of mass

Perform and describe an experiment to determine the position of the centre of mass of a plane lamina Describe qualitatively the effect of the position of the centre of mass on the stability of simple objects

In other words, if a body is pivoted directly below its centre of gravity, the body will be in equilibrium.

Experiment to determine centre of gravity of plane lamina

Apparatus:

retort stand cork plumb line pin lamina

Procedure: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. On the lamina, make three holes near the edge of the lamina. Suspend the lamina through one of the holes as shown in the diagram. Hang the plumb line on the pin. When the plumb line is steady, make a dot on the position of the line at the edge of the lamina Repeat steps 2-4 for the other two holes

The point where the lines meet is the centre of mass of the body.

Stability
Let us investigate the stability of an object placed in three different positions as shown.

In the first position, if the object it tilted a little, it will fall back to its original position. This form of equilibrium is called stable equilibrium. The weight which acts through the centre of mass, creates a clockwise moment about the point of contact of the object with the ground. This clockwise moment cause the object to return to its original position.

In the second position, if the object is tilted a little, the object will topple. This form of equilibrium is called unstable equilibrium. As it can be seen, the weight creates an anti-clockwise moment about the point of contact. This anti-clockwise moment cause the object to tilt further from its original position until it finally topples.

The last position is called neutral equilibrium. The object stays in its new position if it is displaced slightly. The weight acts directly at the point of contact and no net moment is created to displace the object further.

Applications of Stability

As can be seen from above, an object is stable if its centre of mass is low and it is unstable if its centre of gravity is high. Due to this reason, machines which require stability are purposely designed with a low centre of gravity, for example a sports car. In a long distance coach, the luggage of its passengers are placed at the bottom of the coach rather than top as in an aircraft. This is to ensure that the centre of mass of the coach remains low with the luggage so that the coach do not turn over when it is moving.

Mass and Weight

Core

Show familiarity with the idea of the mass of a body o Demonstrate an understanding that mass is a property that 'resists' change in motion State that weight is a force o Describe, and use the concept of weight as the effect of a gravitational field on a mass Demonstrate understanding that weights (and hence masses) may be compared using balance

All matter has mass. Mass is a amount of substance, or material, present in a body. All mass has a property called inertia. Inertia is the reluctance of a body to change its state of rest or motion. When an object is at rest, it will remain at rest if there is no net force to change its state. An object that is moving will continue its motion at a straight line if there is no net force acting on it. Both of these observations can be explained by the fact the mass has inertia. Weight is the force of gravity acting on a mass. If a mass is present in a gravitational field, the mass experiences the force called weight. Weight can be calculated with the formula strength where the object is located. where is the mass and is the gravitational field

Gravitational field is a region around the Earth where a mass experiences a force. Gravitational field strength is the force of gravity acting on a unit mass. In simple words, gravitational field strength is the weight of a 1 kg mass. On the surface of Earth, ranges from to . Usually, we take a value of or . Since mass is the amount of matter in a body, the value will not change if the body is intact. The mass of an object remains the same whether it is on Earth or on the Moon. However, since weight is dependent on the gravitational field strength, weight will change as the object's location changes. The weight of a body is lower on a high mountain than it is at the sea level.

Common weighing instruments

Since mass is constant, it can be measured by comparing it against some known masses. Such an instrument is called a beam balance. A beam balance is a level that works using the principle of moments. The object to be measured is placed at one side of the balance and some known masses are placed on the other side. When the lever balances, the unknown mass it equal to the known masses. Weight can be measured using a spring balance. A spring balance works when an unknown weight hangs by the spring and the weight pulls the spring. The extension can be calibrated first so that it will produce a reading corresponding to the weight of the object. The electronic balances used in laboratories measures weight because it makes use of compression, which is affected by the gravitational pull on the object. However, the reading is usually calibrated to give a unit in g or kg, which are the units for mass. This can be done prior to delivery in the manufacturing plant. However, such electronic balances can only be use at the sea level where the gravitational field strength is assumed to be . If the field strength is not of this value, such as on the Moon, the electronic balance cannot be used.

Energy
1.6 (a) Energy

Demonstrate an understanding that an object may have energy due to its motion or its position, and that energy may be transferred and stored. Give examples of energy in different forms, including kinetic, gravitational, chemical, strain, nuclear, internal, electrical, light and sound
o Recall and use the expression Give examples of conversion of energy from one form to another, and of its transfer from one place to another Apply the principle of energy conservation to simple examples

The SI unit of energy is joule (J). Energy exists in different forms.

Kinetic Energy
A moving object possess kinetic energy. Hence, running water has kinetic energy. For a moving object, the amount of kinetic energy it possess can be calculated from the formula

Gravitational Potential Energy

Gravitational potential energy is the energy stored in a body due to its position with respect to the centre of the Earth. An object on a high altitude has more gravitational potential energy than when it is at a low altitude.

Hence, an object on a higher ground will convert its gravitational potential energy when it falls to produce kinetic energy. In usual cases, we are more interested in the relative difference in gravitational potential energy. Usually, we fix the ground level as reference and an object that is at a height has a gravitational potential energy calculated by

Chemical Potential Energy

Potential energy is stored energy. Such energy can be used to do work or provide heat. For example, our food contains chemical potential energy which provide us the energy when we eat food. Fuel also has chemical potential energy which produces heat when burnt.

Strain Energy / Elastic Potential Energy

Strain energy is the energy stored in compress/extended springs. When released, the spring produces kinetic energy which can be used to do work.

Nuclear Energy
Einstein discovered that mass can be converted to energy through either nuclear fusion or fission. The energy created from these two nuclear reactions is called nuclear energy. Fission nuclear energy has been tapped by humanity to create an energy source that produces electrical energy that can drive the industry and society. Nuclear energy is the source of energy where the Sun gets its energy from.

Internal Energy
All matter are made of atoms or molecules. These particles are constantly moving or vibrating. There are also interatomic or intermolecular forces between individual particles. These forces that exists between particles create potential energies in the particles. The collective sum of all the kinetic energies and potential energies of the individual particles is called internal energy. Hence, a cup of water at rest on a table has internal energy due to the water molecules that made up the water. Electrical Energy Electricity produced from batteries contain electrical energy that can be used to produce light in bulb, heat in heater or kinetic energy in motor.

Light
Light energy can be tapped with a solar cell to produce electrical energy. Hence, light is a form of energy.

Sound
Sound is also a form of energy because sound can make an object vibrate to produce kinetic energy. For example, sound of a certain frequency can make glass vibrates until it shatters.

Principle of Conservation of Energy

Examples of Energy Conversion

A ball dropped from a table initially has gravitational potential energy due to its height. As it drops, its gravitational potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. The lower the height, the less is the GPE. This loss of GPE is converted into kinetic energy which is observed as increase in speed. Sunlight contains heat energy. This energy when absorbed by water on the ground, evaporates the water, converting the water to water vapour. Water vapour has more internal energy than water due to its particles motion. As the water vapour rises, its gravitational potential energy increases because the height increases. When the water vapour condenses to form rain, it falls and convert its gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy.

Energy Resources
1.6 (b) Energy Resources

Distinguish between renewable and non-renewable sources of energy o Show an understanding that energy is released by nuclear fusion in the Sun Describe how electricity or other useful forms of energy may be obtained from: o chemical energy stored in fuel o water, including the energy stored in waves, in tides, and in water behind hydroelectric dams o geothermal resources o nuclear fission o heat and light from the Sun (solar cells and panels) Give advantages and disadvantages of each method in terms of cost, reliability, scale and environmental impact Show a qualitative understanding of efficiency
o

Recall and use the equation efficiency

The main source of energy which drives the industry comes from fossil fuel. Although fossil fuel is a rich energy source, its amount is limited. If fossil fuel runs out and mankind have not discovered a substitute, many of our industries will have to slow down the output. Hence, it is important that students are aware which energy sources are renewable and which are non-renewable.

Renewable energy sources are energy that can be tapped again and again without fear of running out. Some examples of renewable energy is wind energy and solar energy. Wind is moving air and has kinetic energy. The kinetic energy can be tapped by windmills to create electrical energy. Non-renewable sources are energy that once tapped, will not be able to produce energy again. The most common example is our fossil fuel. Once the fuel is burnt to create heat, the waste will not be able to burn again to produce heat.

Electricity and other useful energy

Electricity is very useful because it can drive our equipment. Electricity can be obtained from a few sources.

Chemical Fuel
The biggest source of energy that produces our electricity comes from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are the remains of dead animals and plants that are compressed by the high pressure of the ground over many millions of years. The chemical energy comes from the chemical bonds in the molecules. When burnt, this chemical energy is released in the form of heat. The main advantage of fossil fuel is that it is easy to store and transport around. The disadvantage however, is that this resource is limited. Another disadvantage is that when the fuel is burnt, pollutants are produced which may cause global warming.

Water
Water at a high level has gravitational potential energy that can be used to drive turbines to produce electricity. Water can be positioned at high level in the form of tides, which occurs twice every day. Water high in the mountain can be trapped behind water dam so that when released to lower level, the water can produce kinetic energy that can drive turbines. Waves at the sea are cause by wind blowing across the sea surface. This waves contain kinetic energy that can be used to drive turbines too. The advantage of using water to create electricity is that water does not produce pollutants. Energy from water is also renewable because tides occurs everyday, water behind dams comes from rain, and waves from the sea occurs every day. The disadvantage is that tides is unreliable. Some times, the tides is not high. Waves is also unreliable because waves can be small if the wind is small. Many dams have seriously affected the surrounding ecology, depleting fiona of their habitat.

Geothermal
Geothermal energy is heat energy that comes from below the Earth's surface. Such energy resources can be found in volcanic regions. The advantage is that geothermal energy is renewable because the heat from the Earth is always present. Ground water can be channelled to the hot rocks to get heated up. The steam produced can drive turbines to produce electricity. The disadvantage is that geothermal energy is small scale. Such hot spots usually occurs in small pockets at volcanic regions. Hence, they cannot produce the required electricity to drive cities.

Nuclear Fission
Nuclear fission is the process which a heavy nucleus, such as Uranium-238, is broken into smaller constituent nuclei, thereby producing energy. This energy, in the form of heat, is used to produce steam from water which can in turn, drive turbines. The advantage is that a small quantity of the nuclear fuel can produce a very large amount of energy to power big cities. The disadvantage is that the nuclear fuel, after used, becomes nuclear waste which is a source of harmful radiation that can cause illnesses and birth defects. Such nuclear waste can remain active for many years because of their long half-lives.

Heat and Light

Heat from the sun can be trapped using solar panels. Solar panels are black metal plates that can absorb heat from the sun and transfer this heat to the water to produce hot water. Solar cells are special semiconducting materials that can directly convert light from the sun into electricity. The advantage of the above two methods is that sun's energy is plentiful and cheap. The disadvantage is that this energy depends on the weather. If the weather is cloudy or at night where sun is not available, this energy source cannot be used to produce heat or electricity. Another disadvantage is that solar cells is expensive. Hence, it can only be used to produce electricity on a small scale, such as to power lightings or small electrical devices.

Efficiency
Since energy resource is limited, it is important that when we tap from these energy resources, we want to ensure that we get the maximum energy out from the process. This ratio of useful energy output to the total input energy is termed efficiency. Mathematically, In a power station, we want to extract heat energy to heat up the water so as to produce steam to drive turbines. However, when we burn the fossil fuel, a lot of heat is also lost to the environment. This energy lost cannot be retrieved. Hence, we can only obtain a certain percentage of the energy present in the fuel to do useful work, i.e. to create electricity. When wind is used to turn windmills, friction in the spinning windmill results in lost of energy to heat. hence, we cannot extract all the energy from the wind to produce electricity. Given that wind is already an unreliable source, this lost of efficiency is going to reduce the energy output further. As such, it is important to design the power plant so that less energy is lost during its operation. It must be mentioned that 100% efficiency is not possible due to physics law.

Energy, Work and Power

1.6 (a) Energy

Demonstrate an understanding that an object may have energy due to its motion or its position, and that energy may be transferred and stored. Give examples of energy in different forms, including kinetic, gravitational, chemical, strain, nuclear, internal, electrical, light and sound
o Recall and use the expression Give examples of conversion of energy from one form to another, and of its transfer from one place to another Apply the principle of energy conservation to simple examples

1.6 (b) Energy resources

Distinguish between renewable and non-renewable sources of energy o Show an understanding that energy is released by nuclear fusion in the Sun Describe how electricity or other useful forms of energy may be obtained from: o chemical energy stored in fuel o water, including the energy stored in waves, in tides, and in water behind hydroelectric dams o geothermal resources o nuclear fission o heat and light from the Sun (solar cells and panels) Give advantages and disadvantages of each method in terms of cost, reliability, scale and environmental impact Show a qualitative understanding of efficiency
o

Recall and use the equation efficiency

1.6 (c) Work

Relate (without calculation) work done to the magntidue of a force and the distance moved o Describe energy changes in terms of work done o Recall and use

1.6 (d) Power

Relate (without calculation) power to work done and time taken, using appropriate examples
o

Recall and use the equation

in simple systems

Work

Relate (without calculation) work done to the magnitude of a force and the distance moved o Describe energy changes in terms of work done o Recall and use

In physics, work is the amount of energy used when a force is applied over a distance. Work can be calculated from the formula

Since work is energy used, the SI unit of work is joule (J). The important thing about work in physics is that the force and the distance moved by the force must be parallel. In Fig. 1 below, work done by the force is . In Fig. 2, work done by the force is . The work done in the second situation has a negative value because the direction of the force is opposite to the direction of the displacement. One example of this is the work done by gravity on a ball that is thrown upwards. The ball is moving up but the force is downwards. The other example is friction. Friction always opposes motion. Hence, the work done by friction on the moving object is negative. When work is done to an object, the object gains more energy. This energy can be in the form of kinetic energy or gravitational potential energy. A force pulling an object across a smooth surface results in an increase in speed because the work done increases the kinetic energy of the box. A force lifting a book up results in an increase in gravitational potential energy because the work done by the lifting force is converted to gravitational potential energy. In the example shown in Fig. 3, the pulling force provides a positive work done on the object. However, there is an opposing friction, which does a negative work on the object. The result is that there is no net work done on the object, meaning that the object's kinetic energy does not increase. However, we must be mindful that the force still does a positive work, and the friction still does a negative work. It is the object that does not gain extra energy from the two forces.

Power

Relate (without calculation) power to work done and time taken, using appropriate examples.
o

Recall and use the equation

in simple systems

Power is very closely related to energy. However, power is not energy because of the time factor. The SI unit of power is watt (W). Another unit for power is joule per second . For all purposes, use watt as the unit for power.

Power can be calculated from the formula If a force lift a 20 N weight up a height of 10 m over 5.0 s at constant speed, the power of the lifting force is

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Molecular Model

Describe qualitatively the molecular structure of solids, liquids and gases

Relate the properties of solids, liquids and gases to the forces and distances between molecules and to the motion of the particles Interpret the temperature of a gas in terms of the motion of its molecules Describe qualitatively the pressure of a gas in terms of the motion of its molecules Describe qualitatively the effect of a change of temperature on the pressure of a gas at constant volume Show an understanding of the random motion of particles in a suspension as evidence for the kinetic molecular model of matter Describe this motion (sometimes known as Brownian motion) in terms of random molecular bombardment o Show an appreciation that massive particles may be moved by light, fast moving molecules

Matter is made up of atoms and molecules. An atom is the basic unit of matter. Each element has its own unique atom, which differ from each others by the number of protons in its nuclei. For example, a hydrogen atom has one proton while a helium atom has two protons. A neutral atom has equal number of protons and electrons. The way the individual atoms or molecules(collectively call particles) arrange themselves form the characteristics of the states of matter. Most materials fall under the three states of matter: solid, liquid and gases. Solid In a solid, the particles are packed closely together. The inter-atomic forces or inter-molecular are very strong because the distances between the individual particles are very closed together. The particles in a solid vibrate in place within the structure. Since the forces holding the particles are very strong, the particles are not free to move about. This provides the explanation why a solid has a regular shape and fixed volume. Solids has the following properties

Fixed shape and volume because the particles are held firmly in place within the structure Usually hard and rigid High density because the particles are packed closely together Incompressible because the particles are already closely packed

Liquid
In a liquid, the particles are also closely packed, but a little further apart than solid. The particles in a liquid are not rigidly fixed. They can move to different places. This explains why a liquid can flow but the volume is not very much larger than a solid. Liquid has the following properties

Fixed volume but not fixed shape.

High density because the particles are closely packed Incompressible because the particles are close together

Gas
In a gas, the particles are very far apart. Since the particles are not held in place, a gas can flows like a liquid. However because the particles are far apart, a gas has a volume larger than either its solid or liquid states. A gas has the following properties

No fixed shape and volume because the particles loosely interact with each other over the very large distance between the particles Low density because the particles are far apart Compressible because the particles are far apart and can be pushed closer together

Temperature of a gas
Gas particles are in constant motion. When these particles collide with the walls of the container, they create a pressure on the wall. This pressure is the pressure of the gas as we commonly know. If the particles are traveling very fast, upon collision with the wall, they will lose kinetic energy to the particles in the wall. This mechanism is similar to how conduction work, by transferring kinetic energy through particle collisions. If the temperature is higher, the particles move faster and have more kinetic energy. In other words, the hotter the gas, the faster are its particles motion. When the temperature lowers, the particles begin to move slower. If the volume of the container remains constant, upon collisions with the walls, the pressure exerted by the colliding particles will not be as high as before. Alternatively, when the temperature is high and the particles are moving fast, they exert a high pressure on the walls when they collide with the walls of the container.

Random motion of particles

All the motion describe earlier are random. One cannot predict how one individual particle will travel. The only thing that is known is that the average kinetic energy of the particles is directly proportional to the temperature in the kelvin scale. Even though the particles are too small to be observed with the eyes, their effects can be seen in Brownian motion. The actual Brownian motion is due to dust/pollens suspended in air constantly bombarded by invisible air particles. Approximately the same number of air particles strike the dust/pollen. However, since the air particles are moving randomly, some parts of the dust/pollens will be struck by more air particles on one side than the other side.

Simple Kinetic Molecular Model of Matter

2.1 (a) States of matter

State the distinguishing properties of solids, liquids and gases

2.1 (b) Molecular model

Describe qualitatively the molecular structure of solids, liquids and gases o Relate the properties of solids, liquids and gases to the forces and distances between molecules and to the motion of the particles Interpret the temperature of a gas in terms of the motion of its molecules Describe qualitatively the pressure of a gas in terms of the motion of its molecules Describe qualitatively the effect of a change of temperature on the pressure of a gas at constant volume Show an understanding of the random motion of particles in a suspension as evidence for the kinetic molecular model of matter Describe this motion (sometimes known as Brownian motion) in terms of random molecular bombardment o Show an appreciation that massive particles may be moved by light, fast moving molecules

2.1 (c) Evaporation

Describe evaporation in terms of the escape of more-energetic molecules from the surface of a liquid o Demonstrate an understanding of how temperature, surface area and draught over a surface influence evaporation Relate evaporation to the consequent cooling

2.1 (d) Pressure changes

Relate the change in volume of a gas to change in pressure applied to the gas at constant temperature

Simple kinetic molecular model of matter

Evaporation

Describe evaporation in terms of the escape of more-energetic molecules from the surface of a liquid o Demonstrate an understanding of how temperature, surface area and draught over a surface influence evaporation Relate evaporation to the consequent cooling

Evaporation can be explained using the kinetic model of matter. All particles in a liquid are in constant random motion. Some particles are moving faster than the others. On the surface of the water, those particles that are moving faster will escape from the water. Since the faster molecules escaped, what is left in the water are those particles that are moving slower. Since we have concluded earlier that the kinetic energy of a system of

particles is directly proportional to the average velocity of the particles, we can deduce in this case that the water after evaporation occurs, has a lower temperature i.e. evaporation causes cooling. Using the above mechanism for evaporation, we can see that any circumstances that promote the escape of the molecules from the surface will increase the rate of evaporation. Hence, 1. high temperature results in molecules with higher velocities. Such molecules have greater tendencies to escape from the pool of water. High temperature causes higher rate of evaporation. 2. bigger surface area of water allows more molecules to escape per unit time. Hence, evaporation rate can increase if we spread out the water over a larger surface area. 3. high draught increase rate of evaporation. Draught is a current of flowing air. High draught removes molecules that have already escaped, thus exposing more of the dry air for further evaporation.

Simple kinetic molecular model of matter

Pressure changes

Relate the change in volume of a gas to change in pressure applied to the gas at constant temperature o Recall and use the equation

The pressure of a gas is caused by air molecules colliding with the walls of a container. It can be shown experimentally that pressure is inversely proportional to the volume of a container. In other words, decreasing the volume of a container increases its pressure if the temperature remains constant. Conversely, increasing the volume reduces the pressure of the gas, temperature being constant. Hence, This can also be written as

Example 1
A container contains 200 cm3 of gas at 50000 Pa. Calculate the volume which will generate a pressure of 60000 Pa, assuming that the temperature of the gas do not change.

Solution

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Pressure

Relate (without calculation) pressure to force and area, using appropriate examples
o Recall and use the equation Describe the simple mercury barometer and its use in measuring atmospheric pressure Relate (without calculation) the pressure beneath a liquid surface to depth and to density, using appropriate examples

Recall and use the equation Use and describe the use of a manometer

Mathematically, The SI unit of pressure is pascal (Pa). One pascal is the force of 1 N acting per unit square metre i.e.

Liquid Pressure
Liquids have weight. A column of liquid will have a weight which acts towards the bottom. The deeper the liquid, the greater is the weight acting down because there is a larger amount of the liquid above to create the weight. This weight over the area it exerts is the liquid pressure. As explained above, the pressure of a liquid is dependent upon the depth. The greater the depth, the higher is the pressure. This relationship is expressed as where is the depth of liquid, is the density of the liquid, and is the gravitational field strength.

Liquids and gases are fluids. Fluids are anything that flows. Hence, our atmosphere does exert an atmospheric pressure due to the same reason as for liquid. However, we do not calculate the atmospheric pressure using the above equation because the atmosphere is not uniform. To measure atmospheric pressure, we use the mercury barometer.

Mercury Barometer
The figure below shows a mercury barometer. Such a device is used to measure atmospheric pressure. The atmospheric pressure acts on the surface of the mercury as seen with the red arrows. This pressure pushes the mercury down the external surface and up inside the tube. Since there is no air inside the tube, we can say that the pressure due to the mercury in the tube equals to the atmospheric pressure.

Students must be aware that the tube need not be vertical, although vertical is the usual way a barometer is constructed. The reason why the glass needs not be vertical is because liquid pressure is only dependent on the vertical height of the column. The atmospheric pressure is equivalent to the column of mercury. Hence, if the mercury is 76 cm, we can read the atmospheric pressure as 76 cm Hg. Hg is the symbol for mercury in the periodic table. However, if we want to express the pressure in SI unit, we can use the formula , where is the height of the mercury column and is the density of the mercury.

Manometer
To measure gas pressure, we use the manometer. A manometer is a tube filled with mercury with one end connected to the gas supply and the other end exposed to the atmosphere.

In the figure above, we can see that the air pressure is balanced by the combined pressures of the gas and the height of mercury column. Thus,

Rearranging,

As opposed to a barometer, the liquid used in a manometer is usually oil and not mercury. Oil has a lower density and so the pressure difference between the gas and atmosphere results in a longer column that can be measured with less error.

Simple kinetic molecular model of matter

States of Matter

State the distinguishing properties of solids, liquids and gases.

There are three states of matter: solid, liquid and gas. We shall discuss generally the difference between these three states of matter.

Solid
Solids have fixed volume and shape.

Liquid
Liquids have fixed volume but the shape is not fixed. Liquid flows to take up the shape of the container.

Gas
Gas do not have fixed volume and shape. A gas flows like a liquid to take up shape of the container.

Difference between liquid and gas

The difference between liquid and gas is that since the volume of a liquid is fixed, if a liquid is injected into a container with a volume larger than the liquid's volume, the liquid will flow to fill up the bottom of the container. For a gas, it will flow to fill up whatever container it is injected, because a gas do not have a fixed volume. A gas will take up the entire volume of the container. If a container is open, the gas will escape from the container until the external pressure equals to the internal pressure. A liquid will not escape from an open container if the opening is above the highest level of the liquid.

Thermal Properties
Thermal expansion of solids, liquids and gases

Describe qualitatively the thermal expansion of solids, liquids and gases

Show an appreciation of the relative order of magnitude of the expansion of solids, liquids and gases Identify and explain some of the everyday applications and consequences of thermal expansion Describe qualitatively the effect of a change of temperature on the volume of a gas at constant pressure

Matter in general expands when heated. This can be explained using the molecular model of matter. When a solid is heated, its molecules vibrate faster about their fixed positions. As a result of this, the molecules move slightly further apart than when they are cold. The cumulative effect of all the molecules result in the volume expansion of the solid.

Solid expansion
The expansion of a solid when heated is small. A metre rule may expands by 1 2 mm when heated. Through small, this expansion can create a very large force if it is restrained. Railway tracks expand during a hot day. If the tracks are not designed for the expansion, the entire track may bend out of shape during expansion. However, the expansion of solid may also be put into good use. Two pieces of different metals with different expansion coefficients may be bound together. When temperature changes, the two metals expands differently. This causes the strip to bend according to the temperature. This bimetallic strip may be used to open and close an electric circuit to control temperature.

Liquid expansion
Liquid also expands for the same reason. However, since liquid particles are usually less tightly bound to each other molecules, they generally move further than solid particles when heated. Hence, liquid expands more than solid if the temperature rise is the same. This expansion of liquid may be used in a liquid-in-glass thermometer. The volume increase of alcohol or mercury may be calibrated to provide a temperature reading since the expansion is almost directly proportional to the temperature rise.

Gas expansion
Gases behave differently from solids and liquids. Gas molecules are far apart and weakly attracted to each other. Heat causes the molecules to move faster and the volume increases much more than solids and liquids. However, gas do not have to expands when heated. If the gas is confined to a fixed volume, the increase in temperature may cause the pressure to increase if the volume of kept constant. If the gas is allowed to expand, the pressure may be kept constant. We may use the kinetic model to explain this. When a gas is heated, the molecules move faster. The higher speed of molecules result in a higher frequency of collision with the container walls. These collisions are also harder as the molecules are faster. Together, these cause the pressure to increase. As the pressure is higher than original value, the gas will push the piston out. This result in a volume increase. As the volume is now larger, the frequency of collisions with the container walls is less and the pressure decrease. The volume stops expanding when the internal pressure equals to the original external pressure. This is expansion of gas under constant pressure.

Thermal Properties
2.2 (a) Thermal expansion of solids, liquids and gases

Describe qualitatively the thermal expansion of solids, liquids and gases o Show an appreciation of the relative order of the expansion of solids, liquids and gases Identify and explain some of the everyday applications and consequences of thermal expansion Describe qualitatively the effect of a change on the volume of a gas at constant pressure

2.2 (b) Measurement of temperature

Appreciate how a physical property that varies with temperature may be used for the measurement of temperature, and state examples of such properties o Demonstrate understanding of sensitivity, range and linearity Recognise the need for and identify fixed points Describe the structure and action of liquid-in-glass thermometers Describe an structure of a thermocouple and show understanding of its use for measuring high temperatures and those that vary rapidly

2.2 (c) Thermal capacity

Relate a rise in the temperature of a body to an increase in internal energy o Describe an experiment to measure the specific heat capacity of a substance Show an understanding of the term thermal capacity

2.2 (d) Melting and boiling

Describe melting and boiling in terms of energy input without a change in temperature o Distinguish between boiling and evaporation State the meaning of melting point and boiling point Describe condensation and solidification o Use the terms latent heat of vaporisation and latent heat of fusion and give a molecular interpretation of latent heat o Describe an experiment to measure specific latent heats for steam and for ice

Thermal Properties
Measurement of temperature

Appreciate how a physical property that varies with temperature may be used for the measurement of temperature, and state examples of such properties o Demonstrate understanding of sensitivity, range and linearity Recognise the need for and identify fixed points Describe the structure and action of liquid-in-glass thermometers

Describe the structure of a thermocouple and show understanding of its use for measuring high temperatures and those that vary rapidly

Temperature can be measured by using any physical properties that vary with temperature. Such properties are called thermometric properties. Examples of thermometric properties are 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. volume of a liquid liquid-in-glass thermometer length of solid bimetallic strip gas pressure constant volume gas thermometer electrical resistance resistance of a platinum resistor electromotive force e.m.f of a thermocouple when the junctions are placed in different temperature

When a liquid is heated, it expands. This expansion may be related to the temperature of the liquid. If the volume of the liquid is calibrated with the temperature, then by using the existing scale, one may obtain the temperature by reading the volume of liquid. All gases exert a pressure on the wall of its container. At certain temperature, the gas exerts a certain pressure. At another temperature, it exerts another pressure. By calibrating using a known lower and upper fixed points, a scale relating pressure to temperature may be obtained. Hence, by reading off the pressure of the gas, the temperature may be obtained. Other thermometric properties may also be utilised using the same method as described above.

Calibrating a temperature scale

A temperature scale is calibrated by choosing two fixed points, usually the lower fixed point of melting ice (0 C) and the upper fixed point of boiling water(100 C). Firstly, the thermometer is placed in a beaker of melting ice. Mark the reading on the thermometer as 0 C. Next, place the thermometer in boiling water and mark this reading as 100 C. Divide the two readings into 100 equally spaced units, each corresponding to 1 C change. After getting the scale, we can put the thermometer into the system which the temperature is to be measured. By reading the thermometric property at that temperature, we can interpolate the temperature according to the scale obtained earlier.

Characteristics of a thermometer
All thermometers have limitations. In general, there are three characteristics concerning a thermometer.

Sensitivity
Sensitivity refers to the ability to give a large response to a small change in temperature. A sensitive thermometer is able to detect small changes in temperature. It can also give a rapid response to temperature change. To make a liquid-in-glass thermometer sensitive, a large bulb is used. Large bulb will cause a big

change in volume of the mercury, which will appear as a change in the length of mercury up the capillary tube. Making the capillary tube small also increase the sensitivity of the thermometer because volume change results in a big change in the length of liquid up the tube. Lastly, a liquid-in-glass thermometer may increase its sensitivity by choosing a liquid that expand more. Alcohol expands more than mercury, and would make a thermometer more sensitive than a mercury-in-glass thermometer.

Linearity
A temperature scale is calibrated using two fixed points. Between these two fixed points, 100 equal divisions are marked to represent temperature change of 100 C. To obtain the temperature, one read off the scale using the interpolated divisions. This assumes that the thermometric property changes linearly between the two fixed points. In actual case, this is not true. Different materials change their thermometric properties differently at different temperatures. Hence, a good thermometer should have thermometric property that changes linearly in between the two fixed points such that the thermometric property at a particular temperature corresponding to the reading on the interpolated scale.

Range
Range refers to the operating temperature which the thermometer can be used. A laboratory thermometer can measure from -10 C to 110 C, beyond which the scale will not be able to register any readings. The expanding liquid column may even break the thermometer if the expansion is restrained beyond the maximum 110 C. A thermocouple which uses two metal junctions can have a large range from -200 C to over 1000 C. This make thermocouple a very versatile thermometer and is suitable in many situations.

Thermocouple
Thermocouple is a very common electrical thermometer used widely in industry. Often, two different metals, copper and constantan are used. Advantages of a thermocouple are

since it is electrical, it can be read from a remote site. a thermocouple can be made very small. Hence, it can respond to changes in temperature very fast.

A thermocouple works because when two different metals are in contact, they will generate a tiny electromotive force, which can be read by a sensitive voltmeter. In order to measure this voltage, the wire need to form a closed circuit, forming two junctions. No voltage is produced when the two junctions are placed at the same temperature. However, if one junction is placed at the lower fixed point and the other junction is placed at the temperature to be measured, then the generated e.m.f.can be read as the temperature.

Thermal Properties
Thermal Capacity

Relate a rise in the temperature of a body to an increase in internal energy o Describe an experiment to measure the specific heat capacity of a substance

Show an understanding of the term thermal capacity

Matter becomes hotter when heat is transferred to them. This energy is absorbed by the molecules which result in the molecules gaining kinetic energy, hence moving faster. The faster moving molecules cause the temperature of the system to rise. These kinetic energies of individual molecules, together with the potential energies that come from the intermolecular forces, are collectively called the internal energy of the system. When a system is heated up, its molecules gained energy. If the mass of the system is large, then the heat supplied will be distributed to more particles, which result in less energy changes per particle. This means that the temperature of the system will not rise much because the temperature rise is related to the energy supplied to the system. This relationship between the energy supplied, mass and the temperature change can be expressed in the formula: where is the energy supplied, is the mass of system, is the temperature change and is the specific heat capacity of the material. The SI unit of specific heat capacity is J/kg. The specific heat of some common materials are show in the table below.

Materials Pure water Copper Aluminium Stainless steel

Specific heat capacity / J kg-1K-1 4200 390 910 510

Thermal Capacity
We shall discuss the physical meaning of thermal capacity. Consider the situation when we have a 100 g of copper and a 1 kg copper block. It is common sense that the 1 kg will need to absorb more heat in order to increase its temperature by the same amount compared to the 100 g copper block. We say that the 1 kg copper block has a larger thermal capacity than the 100 g block, even though they are made from the same material. If we have 2 blocks of copper of same mass, we can see that they will absorb the same amount of heat to rise the same temperature. Thus, two objects made of same material and having same mass will have the same thermal capacity. If we are to standardize this mass to 1 kg, then we can say that the two objects have the same specific thermal capacity, or specific heat capacity.

Consider another situation. We have two blocks, one made of 1 kg of copper and the other made of 100 g of aluminium. The copper block needs to absorb more heat than the 100 g aluminium block in order to rise the same temperature. We can say that the copper block have a higher thermal capacity than the aluminium block. However, we can see that this is not a fair comparison as the copper has a larger mass. If we standardize the alunimium to 1 kg, we can see that it now requires more heat than the 1 kg copper. Thus, the aluminium has a higher specific heat capacity than copper.

P3-3 : Light & Sound

Light Reflection There are a number of different types of mirror. A plane mirror (or flat mirror) will show you an exact mirror image of yourself if you look into it. Some mirrors bend outwards, these are called convex mirrors - if you look in one of these you see yourself being really tall and thin like at a funfairs Hall of Mirrors. Similarly, looking into a concave mirror which folds inwards will present a shortened, fatter image than the true object.

An image seen in a mirror is there because of reflection of light. The diagram shows how light reflection works. There are two angles against a ray of light in reflection. You have the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection. The line perpendicular to the mirror is called the normal. The angle between the incident ray and normal is the angle of incidence. The angle between the reflected ray and normal is the angle of reflection. These are equal for any ray reflected by a mirror.

The image being reflected in the first diagram above is a virtual image. When looking at a mirror image, the light rays that reflect off the mirror into your eye appear to come from the image. This virtual image cannot be projected onto a screen like at the cinema, unlike a real image. A real image can because it is formed by focusing light rays onto a screen. Concave & Convex Mirrors

A concave mirror folds inward. For a distant object, the light rays are parallel when they reach the mirror, as shown. They are then focused to a principal focus (or focal point), F, of the mirror. A real image of the object is formed. The distance between the mirror and the principal focus is the focal length, f, of the mirror.

If

an

object

is

beyond the principal focus, an inverted image is formed (appears upside-down) by the reflected rays. The position and size of the image depends on the distance from the object to the mirror. The diagram below shows how to use a ray diagram to locate the image:

The light rays from the tip of the object are used to locate the tip of the image. Themagnification of the image is: image height object height When the object is between the focal point and the mirror, the reflected rays form an upright virtual image. The diagram below shows how the image is formed using threeconstruction rays. The image is magnified and behind the mirror:

A convex mirror folds outwards. They are used for rear-view mirrors in cars. It gives drivers a much wider view because the light reflects outwards, not inwards. This enables them to see more than an 180 plane, which is very useful. Light The change of direction in light rays is called light refraction. Refraction

The diagram shows a simple experiment using a ray box and a glass block, which displays refraction of light. What happens is:

there will be no change in direction if the light ray is along the normal as the light ray travels from air to glass, it bends towards the normal, so the angle of refraction, r, is smaller than the angle of incidence, i as the light ray travels from glass to air, it bends away from the normal, so angle r is larger than angle i Refraction applies to all types of wave, including light and sound. The diagram below demonstrates refraction using waves of water in a ripple tank:

A glass plate is submerged in the ripple tank. The water above the glass tank is shallower than the water in the rest of the tank. Waves are slower in shallow water than in deep water. Because they change speed as they cross the boundary between shallow and deep, they have to change direction:

towards the normal as they go from deep to shallow and slow down away from the normal as they go from shallow to deep and speed up Light travels slower in glass than in air. When a light ray travels from air to glass, it refracts towards the normal because it slows down upon entering the glass block. When a light ray travels from glass to air, it refracts away from the normal because it speeds up upon leaving the glass. Lenses A lens works by changing the direction of light passing through it. The diagram below shows how a lense refracts the rays so that they all meet as a point.

Different lens shapes can be tested using:

a converging lens makes parallel rays converge to a focus, where the point the parallel rays are focused is the principla focus (or focal point) of the lens a diverging lens makes parallel rays diverge (or spread out), where the point the parallel rays appear to originate from is the principal focus of the lens Again, the distance between the centre of the lens to the principal focus (in both lens types) is the focal length. Look at the below diagram, which shows a lens being used to project an image onto a white screen:

When the object is at a distance from the lens which is further than the principal focus, the position of the screen has to be adjusted until a clear image of the object is seen on the screen. The image is real because the image is formed where the light rays meet. When the object is a long distance away from the lens, the image is formed at the principal focus. If the object is moved nearer towards the lens and the principal focus, the white screen must be moved further from the lens to see a clear image. The nearer the object is to the lens, the larger the image. When the object is nearer to the lens than the principal focus, a magnified virtualimage is formed, but you can only see the image when you look into the lens from the other side to the object. The lens acts as a magnifying glass in this situation.

Formation of a real image by a converging lens The object must be beyong the principal focus, F, of the lens. The image formed is on the other side of the
lens to the object.

As the diagram shows, three construction rays are used to locate the image, which is real, inverted and smaller than the object. Notice:

ray 1 is refracted through F after the lens, because before the lens, the ray is parallel to the principal axis ray 2 passes through the centre of the lens and does not change direction ray 3 passes through F, the focus, before the lens, and so after passing through the lens is refracted to be parallel to the principal axis

The image is smaller because the distance of the object from the lens is more than twice the focal length of the lens. This is how a camera works, as shown in the diagram to the left. The image is formed on the film, using a converging lens. For a distant object, the distance between the lens and the film must be equal to the focal length of the lens.

converging

Formation of a virtual image by a lens -

The object must be between the lens and its principal focus. The image formed is on the same side as the object, and is upright (i.e. not inverted) and larger than the real object. The image can only be seen by looking at it through the lens, as the diagram shows. This is how a magnifying glass works. The diagram shows how the image is smaller than the actual object and how it is formed.

Formation

of

virtual

image

by

diverging

lens

The image formed by a diverging lens is also always upright and virtual, but, it is smaller than the object. The diagram shows the formation of a diverging lens image. For this reason, a diverging lens would not be of any use as a magnifying glass , using a diverging lens will produce a smaller image than the object. Sound Any object which vibrates sends out sound waves through the air, and vibrate your eardrums so you hear sound. Sound waves cannot travel through a vacuum. They arelongitudinal waves, so vibrate in the direction they travel in, unlike electromagnetic waves which are transverse (i.e. vibrate perpendicularly to the direction of travel). Sound can be reflected in an echo. This can be heard in large rooms with bare, smooth walls. If the walls were covered in fabric, the sound would be absorbed, so no echo heard. If the walls are not smooth, and are uneven, there wont be an echo because the sound is broken up.

Sound refraction depends on the temperatures of the air. At nighttime, sound refracts back down to the ground so you can hear it a long distance from the sound source. Whereas during the daytime, sound refracts upwards not downwards because the air nearer the ground is warmer. Musical sounds are gentle to listen to because they are rhythmic and the wave pattern repeatedly repeats itself. Noise consists of sound waves with varying frequency and no set pattern.

Increasing loudness of a sound increases the amplitude (biggest disturbance) of the waves, i.e. makes them taller. Increasing the frequency of a sound (the number of waves per second) increasespitch, i.e. makes more waves appear closer together. Ultrasound Humans can hear frequencies between 20Hz and 20,000Hz any sound waves with frequencies above the human ear are said to be ultasonic waves. We have many uses for ultrasound.

One example of its use is for ultrasound scanning, used for scanning body organs or babies in the womb. A probe sends out ultrasonic pulses and detects pulses that

are deflected back and when they are deflected back. As the probe is moved around, for example, the mother, an entire virtual image is built up. Another use is for finding flaws in metals. A flaw is an internal crack. The utlrasonic transmitter sends out ultrasonic pulses along the metal, which are deflected back along the boundary the flaw lies on.

P3-4 : Electromagnetism
Basic Download this document to learn the basics on P3-4: Electromagnetic Fields (PDF) The the motor effect. Motor Effect Magnetism magnetism:

When a current is passed along a wire in a magnetic field, a force may be exerted on the wire. This is

There is always a force acting on the wire unless the wire is parallel to the magnetic fields. The force can be increased by increasing the current or using a stronger magnet. The force depends on the angle between the wire and the magnetic field lines. The force is biggest when the wire is perpendicular to the field lines, nil when parallel. An electric motor is designed to use the motor effect. We can change its speed by alternating the current, and reverse its speed by reversing the current.

The coil in the motor shown (the armature coil) is forced to rotate. The coil is connected to a battery via two metal or graphite brushes. These brushes are fixed onto asplit-ring commutatorwhich is connected to the rectangular coil. When a current is passed through the coil, it spins because:

a force acts on either side due to the motor effect the force on one side is in the opposite direction to the other side The split ring commutator reverses the current every half-turn of the coil and because the sides swap over every half turn, the coil is pushed continually in the same direction over and over. Electromagnetic Induction

Hospitals have emergency electricity generators in case the mains fails. A generator contains coils of wire which spin in a magnetic field. A potential difference (orvoltage) is created (or induced) in the wire when it cuts across field lines. If the wire is part of a complete circuit, the induced potential difference makes an electric current pass around the circuit.

If you connect some insulated wire to an ammeter and move it between two poles of a U-shaped magnet, you notice the ammeter pointer deflects as a current is

generated when the wire cuts a magnetic field line. This effect is known as thedynamo effect. Making the wire into a coil would increase the current. A simple a.c. generator is made using a rectangular coil forced to spin in a magnetic field.

The

coil

is

connected to an ammeter via the metal brushes attached to the commutator rings. When the coil turns steadily in one direction, the meter pointer deflects one way first, then the opposite way, and then back again. This carries on as long as the coil continues turning. The current through the meter is alternating current (a.c.).

The faster the coil rotates, the larger the peak value of the alternating current; and the greater the frequency (i.e. number of cycles per second) of the alternating current.

Transformers Electricity reaches our homes from a power station via a network of cables called theNational Grid. Atransformer is used at each stage to change the alternating voltage. A transformer consists of two coils of insulated wire, both wound round the sameiron core. When an alternating current passes through theprimary coil, an alternating potential difference is induced in the secondary coil. This happens because the alternating current in the primary coil induces an alternating magnetic field, and those alternating magnetic field lines pass through the secondary coil and induce an alternating voltage. The induced alternating potential difference in the secondary circuit causes a current and so the bulb lights up. Therefore, electrical energy has been passed from the primary coil to the secondary coil even though they are not connected as one circuit. Transformers will only work with an alternating current, because a direct current does not induce alternating magnetic fields and so an alternating secondary voltage cannot be produced.

The

primary

and

secondary coils are both wound round the same part of the core. The core is layered (laminated) to cut out induced current in the iron layers. If it was not laminated, the efficiency of the transformer would be greatly reduced. The National Grid

Electricity is supplied to our homes via the National Grid. The higher the potential difference, the greater the efficiency of transferring the electrical power through the grid. This is why we use:

step-up transformers to take the p.d. from a power station up to the Grid p.d. step-down transformers to step the p.d. down to mains voltage

The secondary p.d. of a transformer depends on the primary p.d. and the number of turns on both coils:

For

step-up transformer,

NS

is

greater

than

NP

and

VS

is

more

than

VP

For a step-down transformer, NS and VP are less than NP and VP Transformers are almost 100% efficient: power supplied to transformer = primary current x primary p.d. power delivered by transformer = secondary current x secondary p.d. Therefore, with 100% efficiency: primary current x primary p.d. = secondary current x secondary p.d. IPVP = ISVS