General Physics 1

SCHEDULE:
STEM A- MONDAY 3-5PM/ TUESDAY 2-5 PM
STEM B-MON 2-3 PM/WED 1:30 – 4:30 PM

INSTRUCTOR: MR. DAVID JENIL C. NABUA, LPT.

Intro to Physics

Physics is the study of the physical world

including motion, energy, light, electricity,
magnetism, sound etc.
 Physics
 Mechanics
 Kinematics (motion)
 Statics, Dynamics (forces)
 Electricity
 Magnetism
 Waves
 Optics (geometric optics)
 Nuclear Physics (Modern Physics)
 Aristotle (Greek 4th Century BC)

 Logic
 Studied motion
 Natural and violent motion
 4 elements:
earth, water, air, fire
 Geocentric view
 Aristarchos(310-230 BC),
disagreed and believed in
heliocentric view.
 Democritus

 Greek who devised the

first atomic theory.
 Galileo Galilei (1564 AD)

 Father of the scientific

method (along with the
Englishman Francis
Bacon 1500’s).
 Studied motion.
 Agreed with the Greek
Aristarchos and Polish
Copernicus (1473-1543)
on heliocentric view
point. This lead to his
house arrest.
Isaac Newton
 English (1642-1727) related force and
motion and studied light.
 A Glance at Some Scientists who
Studied Electricity and Magnetism

 American Benjamin Franklin (1706-

1790), experimented with electricity.
 Michael Faraday (1791-1867), English
with a grammar school education,
found that a moving magnet induces
electric current to flow.
 The BIG Guy

 Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

 Relativity: there is no absolute
frame of reference that is at
rest.
 Photoelectric effect (Light is
quantized) (Nobel Prize)
 Related mass and energy
E=mc2
The Scientific Method

 Steps followed during scientific

investigations.
Scientific Method
 Recognize a problem
 Hypothesis- educated guess, testable
 When tested and confirmed becomes a law
 Observation -measurement, data
collection (experiment)
 Theory – information including tested
hypothesis
 Conclusion
Law or Principle

 A hypothesis that has been repeatedly

tested and not contradicted.

 Laws change or are abandoned when

contradicted.
Math and Units
 Math- the language of Physics
 Units SI – International System
 Basic Units MKS
 Meter m
 Mass kg
 Time s
 Prefixes
Vectors and Scalars
 Scalar
A SCALAR is ANY Scalar Magnitude
quantity in physics Example
that has MAGNITUDE,
but NOT a direction Speed 20 m/s
associated with it.
Magnitude – A Distance 10 m
numerical value with
units. Age 15 years

Heat 1000
calories
Vector
Vector Magnitude
A VECTOR is ANY
& Direction
quantity in physics that
has BOTH MAGNITUDE Velocity 20 m/s, N
and DIRECTION. Acceleration 10 m/s/s, E

   
Force 5 N, West
Vectors are typically illustrated by
drawing an ARROW above the symbol.
v , x, a, F The arrow is used to convey direction
and magnitude.
 Applications of Vectors
VECTOR ADDITION – If 2 similar vectors point in the SAME
direction, add them.
 Example: A man walks 54.5 meters east, then another 30
meters east. Calculate his displacement relative to where
he started?
54.5 m, E + 30 m, E Notice that the SIZE of
the arrow conveys
MAGNITUDE and the
84.5 m, E way it was drawn
conveys DIRECTION.
Applications of Vectors
VECTOR SUBTRACTION - If 2 vectors are going in
opposite directions, you SUBTRACT.

 Example: A man walks 54.5 meters east, then 30

meters west. Calculate his displacement relative
to where he started?
54.5 m, E
-
30 m, W

24.5 m, E
 Non-Collinear Vectors
A man walks 95 km, East then 55
km, north. Calculate his
The hypotenuse in Physics is Finish RESULTANT DISPLACEMENT.
called the RESULTANT.
c2  a 2  b2  c  a 2  b2
55 km, N c  Resultant  952  552
Vertical
Component
c  12050  109.8 km
Horizontal Component

95 km,E
Start
The LEGS of the triangle are called the COMPONENTS
 BUT……what about the
direction?
In the previous example, DISPLACEMENT was asked for
and since it is a VECTOR we should include a
N
DIRECTION on our final answer.
W of N E of N
N of E
N of W
W E
N of E S of W S of E

NOTE: When drawing a right triangle that

conveys some type of motion, you MUST W of S E of S
draw your components HEAD TO TOE. S
 BUT…..what about the VALUE of
the angle???
Just putting North of East on the answer is NOT specific enough
for the direction. We MUST find the VALUE of the angle.
To find the value of the
angle we use a Trig
function called TANGENT.
109.8 km
55 km, N
opposite side 55
Tan    0.5789
 N of E adjacent side 95
95 km,E   Tan 1 (0.5789)  30

So the COMPLETE final answer is : 109.8 km, 30 degrees North of East

 What if you are missing a
component?
H.C. = ? Suppose a person walked 65 m, 25 degrees East
of North. What were his horizontal and vertical
V.C = ? components?
25 65 m The goal: ALWAYS MAKE A RIGHT
TRIANGLE!

To solve for components, we often

use the trig functions since and
cosine.
adjacent side opposite side
cosine   sine  
hypotenuse hypotenuse
adj  hyp cos  opp  hyp sin 

adj  V .C.  65 cos 25  58.91m, N

opp  H .C.  65 sin 25  27.47m, E
 A bear, searching for food
wanders 35 meters east
then 20 meters north.
Frustrated, he wanders
another 12 meters west
then 6 meters south.
Calculate the bear's
displacement.
 Example
23 m, E
- =

12 m, W
- =
14 m, N
6 m, S
20 m, N
R  14 2  232  26.93m
14
35 m, E R 14 m, N Tan   .6087
23

  Tan 1 (0.6087)  31.3
23 m, E
The Final Answer: 26.93 m, 31.3 degrees NORTH or EAST
A boat moves with a velocity
of 15 m/s, N in a river which
flows with a velocity of 8.0
m/s, west. Calculate the
boat's resultant velocity with
respect to due north.
Example
Rv  82  152  17 m / s
8.0 m/s, W
8
15 m/s, N
Tan   0.5333
Rv  15
  Tan 1 (0.5333)  28.1

The Final Answer : 17 m/s, @ 28.1 degrees West of North

 A plane moves with a
velocity of 63.5 m/s at
32 degrees South of
East. Calculate the
plane's horizontal and
vertical velocity
components.
Example

adjacent side opposite side

cosine   sine  
H.C. =? hypotenuse hypotenuse
32 adj  hyp cos  opp  hyp sin 
V.C. = ?

63.5 m/s
adj  H .C.  63.5 cos 32  53.85 m / s, E
opp  V .C.  63.5 sin 32  33.64 m / s, S
 A storm system moves 5000 km
due east, then shifts course at
40 degrees North of East for
1500 km. Calculate the storm's
resultant displacement.
Example
adjacent side opposite side
cosine   sine  
1500 km hypotenuse hypotenuse
V.C.
adj  hyp cos  opp  hyp sin 
40
5000 km, E H.C.
adj  H .C.  1500 cos 40  1149.1 km, E
opp  V .C.  1500 sin 40  964.2 km, N

5000 km + 1149.1 km = 6149.1 km R  6149.12  964.2 2  6224.14 km

964.2
Tan   0.157
6149.1
R
964.2 km   Tan 1 (0.364)  8.91

6149.1 km The Final Answer: 6224.14 km @
8.91 degrees, North of East