Chapter 1: Introduction to Physics Physical quantities

QUANTITIES that are measurable

Base quantities
PHYSICAL QUANTITIES that cannot be defined in terms of other physical quantities but has
its own definition
Derived quantities
PHYSICAL QUANTITIES that are derived from base quantities by multiplication or division
or both
Scientific notation/standard form
POWERS of the base number 10 to show a very large or small number
Prefixes
GROUP OF LETTERS placed at the beginning of a word to modify its meaning, which act as
multipliers
Scalar quantity
QUANTITY which has only magnitude or size(time, temperature, mass, volume, distance,
density, power)
Vector quantity
QUANTITY which has both magnitude or size and direction(force, velocity, displacement,
acceleration, momentum)
Error
DIFFERENCE between actual value of a quantity and the value obtained in measurement
Systematic errors
CUMULATIVE ERRORS that can be corrected, if the errors are known.(zero error, incorrect
calibration of measuring instrument)
Random errors
ERRORS that arise from unknown and unpredictable variations in condition, and will
produce a different error every time. Random errors are caused by factors that are beyond
the control of observers.(human limitations, lack of sensitivity, natural errors, wrong
technique)
Zero error
ERROR that arises when the measuring instrument does not start from exactly zero
Parallax error
ERROR in reading an instrument because the observers eyes and the pointer are not in a
line perpendicular to the plane of scale
Measurement
PROCESS of determining value of a quantity using a scientific instrument with a standard
scale
Consistency
ABILITY to register the same reading when a measurement is repeated(improve
eliminates parallax error, greater care, not detective instrument)
Accuracy
DEGREE to which a measurement represents the actual value(improve repeat readings,
avoid parallax/zero error, high accuracy instrument)
Sensitivity
ABILITY to detect quickly a small change in the value of a measurement(thermometer thin
wall bulb, narrow capillary)
Chapter 2: Forces and Motion Distance
how far a body travels during motion
Displacement
CHANGE IN POSITION of an object from its initial position in a specified direction
Speed
RATE OF CHANGE of distance
Velocity
RATE OF CHANGE of displacement
Mass
MEASURE of an objects inertia AMOUNT of matter in the object

Acceleration
RATE OF CHANGE of velocity
Inertia
PROPERTY of matter that causes it to resist any change in its motion or state of rest
Momentum
PRODUCT of mass and velocity
Force
pulling or a pushing ACTION on an object
Impulsive force
LARGE FORCE which acts over a very short time interval RATE OF CHANGE in momentum
Gravity
FORCE originated from centre of the Earth that pulls all objects towards the ground
Free fall
FALLING of an object without encountering any resistance from a height towards the earth
with an acceleration due to gravity
Forces in equilibrium
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 velocity
Resultant force
SINGLE FORCE which combines two or more forces which act on an object
Work
Work is done when a force causes an object to move in the direction of the force.
Energy
CAPACITY of a system to do work
Gravitational P
ENERGY STORED in the object because of its height above the earth surface
Elastic P
ENERGY STORED in the object as a result of stretching or compressing it
Kinetic energy
ENERGY possessed by a moving object
Power
RATE at which work is done or energy is changed and transferred
Efficiency
ABILITY of an electrical appliance to transform energy from one form to another without
producing useless energy or wastage
Elasticity
PROPERTY of an object that enables it to return to its original shape and dimensions after
an applied force is removed
Spring constant
FORCE needed to extend a spring per unit length
Elastic limit
MAXIMUM STRETCHING FORCE which can be applied to an elastic material before it
ceasas to be elastic
PRINCIPLE Hookes Law
Hookes law states that the force,
F applied to a spring is directly proportional to the springs extension or compression,
x provided the elastic limit is not exceeded.
Principle of conservation of energy
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 amount stays the same.
Principle of conservation of momentum
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 final momentum.
Newtons first law of motion
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

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 Pressure
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 change of momentum)
Buoyant force
NET FORCE acting upwards due to the difference between the forces acting on the upper
surface and the lower surface
PRINCIPLE Law of Flotation
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.(weight of object = weight of water displaced)
Pascals Principle
Pascals principle states that a pressure applied to a confined fluid is transmitted uniformly in
all directions throughout the fluid.
Archimedes principle
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 (buoyant force = weight of water displaced)
Bernoullis principle
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
DEGREE of hotness of an object
Thermometric property
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 two objects are zero
Heat capacity
HEAT ENERGY required to raise its temperature by 1C or 1 K
Specific heat capacity
HEAT ENERGY required to produce 1C or 1 K rise in temperature in a mass of 1 kg.
Latent heat
HEAT ABSORBED OR RELEASED when a substance changes its state without a change in
temperature is called the latent heat of the substance
Specific latent heat of fusion
HEAT ENERGY required to change 1 kg of a substance from solid state to liquid state,
without a change in temperature
Specific latent heat of vapourisation
HEAT ENERGY required to change 1 kg of a substance from liquid state to gaseous state,
without a change in temperature
PRINCIPLE Boyles Law
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(PV = k)
Pressure Law
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(P/T = k)
Charles Law
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
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.
Apparent depth,
d
DISTANCE of the image from the surface of water (or the boundary between the two
mediums involved)
Real depth,
D
DISTANCE of the object from the surface of the water (or the boundary between the two
mediums involved)
Total internal reflection
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
Critical angle
GREATEST ANGLE OF INCIDENCE in the optically denser medium for which the angle of
refraction, r = 90
Power of lens
MEASURE OF ITS ABILITY to converge or diverge an incident beam of light
PRINCIPLE Laws of Reflection
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
Law of Refraction
The incident ray and the refracted ray are on the opposite sides of thenormal at the point of
incidence, all three lie in the same plane
Obey snells law
Snells Law
The value of sin i is a constant.
sin r
IMAGE CHARACTERISTICS
Virtual
an image which cannot be projected (focused) onto a screen
Real
an image which can be projected (focused) onto a screen
Laterally inverted
an image which left and right are interchanged
Upright
an image which in vertical position
Diminished
image formed is smaller than the object
Magnified
image formed is larger than the object