General Physics

Lesson 1: Accurate and Precise

THE NATURE OF PHYSICS
- The science that deals with the structure of matter and the interactions between the
fundamental constituents of the observable universe.
- The word physics comes from the Greek word physikos, which means it is concerned
with all aspects of nature on both the macroscopic and submicroscopic levels.
- Physics is the basic physical science. Until rather recent times physics and natural
philosophy were used interchangeably for the science whose aim is the discovery and
formulation of the fundamental laws of nature.
- Physics plays an important role in all the natural sciences, however, and all such fields
have branches in which physical laws and measurements receive special emphasis,
bearing such names as astrophysics, geophysics, biophysics, and even psychophysics.
- Physics can, at base, be defined as the science of matter, motion, and energy. Its laws
are typically expressed with economy and precision in the language of mathematics.
- Physical experiments result in measurements, which are compared with the outcome
predicted by theory. A theory that reliably predicts the results of experiments to which it is
applicable is said to embody a law of physics.

Introductory physics is divided into the following sub-fields:

- Mechanics
- Thermal physics
- Wave motion and sound
- Electricity and magnetism
- Light and optics
- Modern physics

MECHANICS
Mechanics is generally taken to mean the study of the motion of objects (or their lack of
motion) under the action of given forces.

Mechanics may be divided into three branches: statics, which deals with forces acting on
and in a body at rest; kinematics, which describes the possible motions of a body or
system of bodies; and kinetics, which attempts to explain or predict the motion that will
occur in a given situation.
Historically, mechanics was among the first of the exact sciences to be developed. Its
internal beauty as a mathematical discipline and its early remarkable success in
accounting in quantitative detail for the motions of the Moon, Earth, and other planetary
bodies had enormous influence on philosophical thought and provided impetus for the
systematic development of science.

The discovery of classical mechanics was made necessary by the publication, in 1543, of
the book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri VI (“Six Books Concerning the
Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs”) by the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, which
sparked the scientific revolution that culminated in Newton’s Principia about 150
years later.

Among the many problems posed by Copernicus’s book was an important scientific
question: If Earth is hurtling through space and spinning on its axis as Copernicus’s model
prescribed, why is the motion not apparent?

Galileo Galilei, an Italian Mathematician invented experimental physics through

studying the motion of balls rolling on inclined planes: the surface of Earth and
everything on and around it are always in motion together and therefore only seem to
be at rest.

This observation, which was improved upon by the French philosopher and scientist
René Descartes, who altered the concept to apply to motion in a straight line, would
ultimately become Newton’s first law, or the law of inertia.

With Galileo’s newly improvised telescope about 1610, what he saw there, particularly the
moons of Jupiter, either prompted or confirmed his embrace of the Copernican System.

The brilliant German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler who was a follower
of Copernicus devoted much of his scientific career to elucidating the Copernican
system with his discovery of the three laws of planetary motion.

By the middle of the 17th century, the work of Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, and others had
set the stage for Isaac Newton’s grand synthesis. Their contribution and principles,
taken together and the way it worked, is what is now referred to as classical mechanics.

The principles of mechanics have been applied to three general realms of phenomena.
The motions of such celestial bodies as stars, planets, and satellites can be predicted with
great accuracy thousands of years before they occur. Celestial Mechanics.

As the second realm, ordinary objects on Earth down to microscopic size all of which
moving at speeds much lower than that of light. Classical Mechanics.

The third realm of phenomena comprises the behavior of matter and electromagnetic
radiation on the atomic and subatomic scale. Quantum Mechanics.

PHYSICS AROUND US:

- Rocketry and development of space travel roots firmly planted on the Physical Laws of
Galilei and Newton
- Transportation industry relies heavily on physics in the development of engines and
the design of aerodynamic vehicles.
- Entire electronics and computer industries owe their existence to the invention of the
transistor, which grew directly out of the laws of physics that describe the electrical
behavior of solids.
- The telecommunications industry depends extensively on electromagnetic waves,
whose existence was pre directed by Maxwell in his theory in electricity and
magnetism.
- The medical profession uses x-ray, ultrasonic, magnetic resonance method for obtaining
images of the Interior of the human body, and physics lies at the core of all these.
- The most widespread impact in modern technology is due to the laser mostly used in
fields ranging from space exploration to medicine benefit from this incredible device, which
is a direct application of atomic physics.

Lesson 2: Scalar and Vector

➢ A physical quantity is the measurable and quantifiable physical property that
carries unique information with it. Based on the dependency of direction, physical
quantities can be classified into two categories — scalar and vector. Both these
quantities are in use to represent the motion of an object. Let us now discuss what
is the difference between scalar and vector.
➢ A scalar quantity is one that can be described with a single number (including any
units) giving its size or magnitude.
Example:
• Volume of 50 m² • Time in 11.3 s
• Mass of 85 kg • Distance of 67 ft
• Angle of 90° • Energy of 142 J
 ➢ A vector quantity is a physical quantity that deals inherently with both magnitude
and direction.
➢ Because direction is an important characteristic of vectors, arrows are used to
represent them: the direction of the arrow gives the direction of the vector. By
convention, the length of the vector arrow is proportional to the magnitude of the
vector.
Examples:
• Force of 20 Newtons (N) to the left
• Velocity of 11 meters per second (m/s) upward
• Momentum of 250 kilograms meters per second (kg m/s) southwest

SCALAR QUANTITIES = HAVE MAGNITUDE BUT NO DIRECTION

• Distance
• Speed
• Mass
• Energy
• Density
• Power
• Length, Area, Volume
• Time
• Temperature
• Work
VECTOR QUANTITIES = HAVE MAGNITUDE AND DIRECTION
• Displacement
• Velocity
• Weight
• Acceleration
• Force
• Impulse
• Pressure
• Momentum
• Gravity
• Drag

Lesson 3: Kinematics in One Dimension

Kinematics in One Dimension

• Displacement
• Speed
• Velocity
• Acceleration
• Free Fall

Mechanics is a branch of physics that is concerned with the motion of bodies under the
action of forces, including the special case in which a body remains at rest (Goodstein
2015):
1. Static — deals with forces acting on and in a body at rest.
2. Kinematics — describes the motions of a body or system of bodies.
3. Kinetics — attempts to explain or predict the motion that will occur in a given
situation.

Kinematics is the study of motion. To describe the motion of an object, we must always
specify the location of the object. Position refers to the location of an object relative to the
origin.
Where;
A = starting positing
B = final position
Di = initial distance
Df = final distance
 △d = displacement
Ti = initial time
Tf = final time
△t = time interval

TAKE NOTE!

Average Speed — is calculated as the ratio between the total distance and the time interval (Santos
2017).

Average Velocity — is calculated as the ratio between the displacement and the time interval during
the displacement (Bacabac 2016).

Instantaneous speed is speed reading at a specific period of time.

Instantaneous velocity is the velocity reading (how fast of slow you are going) at a point in time.

The reading of a speedometer of a car gives the value of the instantaneous speed.

When direction is added, it refers to the instantaneous velocity.

Displacement
— the displacement is a vector that points from an object’s initial position to its
final position and has a magnitude that equals the shortest distance
between the two positions. SI Unit: meter (m)
— to describe the motion of an object, we must be able to specify the location
of the object at all times.
x0 + △x = x or △x = x – x0
x0 = initial position of the object
x = new/final position of the object
△x = displacement of the object
Speed
— one of the most obvious features of an object in motion is how fast it is
moving. If a car travels 200 meters in 10 seconds, its average speed is 20
m/s. SI Unit: meter per second (m/s).
— the average speed being the distance traveled divided by the time required to
cover the distance.
Average speed = distance ÷ elapsed time
NOTE‼️
 — speed is a useful idea, because it indicates how fast an object is moving.
However, speed does not reveal anything about the direction of the motion.
Velocity
— to describe both how fast an object moves and the direction of its motion, we
need the vector concept of velocity. The two concepts of displacement and
time are necessary in defining velocity.
— the average velocity being the object’s displacement over the elapsed time of
motion.
Average Velocity = displacement ÷ elapsed time
v = △x ÷ △t or v = x-x0 ÷ t-t0
— instantaneous velocity “v” of the car indicates how fast the car moves and
the motion at each instant of the time.
Acceleration
— in a wide range of motions, the velocity changes from moment to moment. To
describe the manner in which it changes, the concept of acceleration is
needed. SI Unit: meter per second squared (m/s2).
— the velocity of an object may increase when the driver steps on the gas pedal
to pass the car ahead, or it may decrease when the driver applies the brakes
to stop at a red light
— the notion of acceleration emerges when the change in the velocity is
combined with the time during which the change occurs.
Average Acceleration = change in velocity ÷ elapsed time
α = v – v0 / t – t0 or α = △v ÷ △t
— If you’re not changing your speed and you’re not changing your direction,
then you simply cannot be accelerating-no matter how fast you’re going
(Khan Academy 2015)
Free Fall
— gravity causes objects to fall downward and in the absence of air resistance,
it is found that all bodies at the same location above the earth fall vertically
with the same acceleration. This idealized motion is known as free-fall.
— the acceleration of free-falling body is called the acceleration due to gravity
and its magnitude is denoted by the symbol g.
g = 9.80 m/s2 or 32.2 ft/s2
NOTE‼️
— In reality, however, g decreases with increasing altitude and varies slightly
with latitude.
v = v0 + αt
x = ½ (v0 + v)t
 x = ½ (v0 + v0 + αt)t
x = ½ (2v0t + αt²)
x = v0t + ½αt
y = v0t + ½αt

The equation v = v0 + αt is a fundamental kinematic equation used in physics to describe

the motion of an object under constant acceleration.
Here's what each term means:
v: Final velocity of the object after a certain amount of time has passed.
vα: Initial velocity of the object before it starts accelerating.
A: Acceleration of the object, which is the rate at which the velocity changes over time.
T: Time during which the object has been

Lesson 4: Kinematics in Two Dimensions

Projectile Motion
— Is the motion of an object thrown into the air when, after the initial force that
launches the object, air resistance is negligible and the only other force that
the object experiences is the force of gravity. The object is called a projectile,
and its path is called its trajectory. In a projectile motion, we consider the
horizontal and vertical parts of the motion separately.
— In a Projectile Motion, there are two simultaneous independent rectilinear
motions:
1. Along the x-axis: uniform velocity, responsible for the horizontal (forward) motion of the
particle.
2.Along the y-axis: uniform acceleration, responsible for the vertical (downwards) motion
of the particle.
— Conventionally, the positive x-direction is horizontal and to the right, and the
y direction is vertical and positive upward.
— The most important experimental point about projectile motion in two
dimensions is that the horizontal and vertical motions are completely
independent of each other.
— This means that motion in a specific line of action will have no effect on the
motion of the other line of action. If a ball is tossed in a parabolic path, the
motion in the y-direction would look like being tossed straight up under the
influence of gravity.
REMEMBER:
vα projectile is any object upon which the only force is gravity, / Projectiles travel with a
parabolic trajectory due to the influence of gravity,
— There are no horizontal forces acting upon projectiles and thus no horizontal
acceleration,
— The horizontal velocity of a projectile is constant (a never changing in value),
— There is a vertical acceleration caused by gravity; its value is 9.8 m/s/s, down,
— The vertical velocity of a projectile changes by 9.8 m/s each second,
— The horizontal motion of a projectile is independent of its vertical motion.

Projectile is launched from the ground with speed vat an angle 0 above the horizontal.
Assuming the ground is flat and horizontal, the following are the general equation for: