Chapter 1:Introduction To Physics

Physical Quantities
Base quantities

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

Derived quantities

physicalquantities but has its own definition

PHYSICAL QUANTITIES that are derived from base quantities by

Scientific
notation/standard
form
Prefixes

multiplication ordivision 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

Scalar quantity

meaning,which act as multipliers

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

Vector quantity

mass, volume, distance, density, power)

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

Error

velocity, displacement, acceleration, momentum)

DIFFERENCE between actual value of a quantity and the value

Systematic errors

obtained inmeasurement
CUMULATIVE ERRORS that can be corrected, if the errors are

Random errors

known.(zero error, incorrect calibration of measuring instrument)

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

Zero error

technique)
ERROR that arises when the measuring instrument does not start

Parallax error

from exactly zero

ERROR in reading an instrument because the observers eyes and the

Measurement

pointer arenot in a line perpendicular to the plane of scale

PROCESS of determining value of a quantity using a scientific

Consistency

instrument with astandard scale

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

Accuracy

detective instrument)
DEGREE to which a measurement represents the actual value(improve
repeat readings, avoid parallax/zero error, high accuracy

Sensitivity

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

Hypothesis

usinginformation that you already have on it

GENERAL STATEMENT that is assumed to be true regarding the
relationshipbetween 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

Displacement

traveled by 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

Speed
Velocity
Mass
Acceleration
Inertia
Momentum
Force
Impulsive force
Gravity
Free fall

direction.
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 ground
FALLING of an object without encountering any resistance
from a height towards the earth with an acceleration due to

Forces in equilibrium

gravity
An object is said to be in a state of equilibrium when forces act
upon an object and it remains stationary or moves at a constant

Resultant force

velocity
SINGLE FORCE which combines two or more forces which act

Work

on an object
Work is done when a force causes an object to move in the

Energy
Gravitational PE

direction of the force.

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

Elastic PE

the earth surface

ENERGY STORED in the object as a result of stretching or

Kinetic energy
Power

compressing it
ENERGY possessed by a moving object
RATE at which work is done or energy is changed and

Efficiency

transferred
ABILITY of an electrical appliance to transform energy from

one form to another without producing useless energy or

Elasticity

wastage
PROPERTY of an object that enables it to return to its original

Spring constant
Elastic limit

shape and 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

Principle of
conservation of
energy

compression,x, provided the elastic 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 another, and the total

Principle of
conservation of
momentum

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 momentum will equal the total

Newtons first law of

motion
Newtons second
law of motion

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

Definition
FORCE acting normally on a unit surface area

Gas pressure

FORCE per unit area exerted by the gas particles as they

collide with the walls of their container (due to the rate of

Buoyant force

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 transmitted uniformly in all directions throughout the

Archimedes
principle

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 linearly with the temperature change

Thermal equilibrium A STATE when heat transfer between the two objects
are equal and the net rate of heat transfer between the
Heat capacity

two objects are zero

HEAT ENERGY required to raise its temperature by 1C

Specific heat

or 1 K
HEAT ENERGY required to produce 1C or 1 K rise in

capacity
Latent heat

temperature in a mass of 1 kg.

HEAT ABSORBED OR RELEASED when a substance
changes its state without a change in temperature is

Specific latent heat

of fusion
Specific latent heat
of vapourisation

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
Refraction

Apparent depth, d
Real depth, D
Total internal
reflection
Critical angle
Power of lens

Definition
PHENOMENON where the direction of light is changed
when it crosses the boundary between two materials of
different optical densities as a result of a change in the
velocity of light.
DISTANCE of the image from the surface of water
(or the boundary between the two mediums involved)
DISTANCE of the object from the surface of the water
(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 specific critical angle
GREATEST ANGLE OF INCIDENCE in the optically denser
medium for 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

Snells Law

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
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