Name: General Physics

Track: Pointers to Review

Who is Sir Isaac Newton?

Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, England, was a Physicist and Mathematician who devel-
oped the principles of modern physics, including the laws of motion, and is credited as one of the
great minds of the 17th century. In 1687, he published his most acclaimed work, Philosophiae Nat-
uralis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), which has been
called the single most influential book on physics. In 1705, he was knighted by Queen Anne of
England, making him Sir Isaac Newton.

Newton’s First Law of Motion (Law of Inertia)

It states that an object will not change its motion unless acted on by an unbalanced force. If it is
at rest, it will stay at rest. If it is in motion, it will remain at the same velocity.

Some Important Terms:

Mass - is the amount of matter in an object.
Weight - is the force that results from the acceleration by gravity on the mass of an object. It is
the product between the mass and the gravitational acceleration.
Acceleration - measures the time rate of change of velocity.
Force - is simply defined as a push or a pull. It is an influence which changes or tends to change
the state of rest or uniform motion of a body. It is the product between the mass and acceleration.
F = ma
Gravity - the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth, or toward any other phys-
ical bonding having mass. The gravitational acceleration is approximately 9.81m/s2 or 32.2f t/s2 .

Inertia Equation
The quatitative form of a force is

F = ma
Hence, for an object of mass m, the force that is needed to change acceleration by a unit of a rest
is m × a. Thus, for a given force, the greater the mass of an object, the lesser the acceleration it
acquires and vice versa.

Problem: How much force is needed to prevent a body of mass 15kg from falling?

Solution:

F = ma
= (15kg)(9.81m/s2 )
= 147.15N

Newton’s Second Law of Motion (Law of Force and Acceleration)

It states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the resultant force acting on
the object and inversely proportional on the mass of an object.

October 10, 2018 page 1

Name: General Physics
Track: Pointers to Review

Problem: Calculate the force needed to accelerate an object with a mass of 5kg by 4m/s2 .

Solution:

F orce = mass × acceleration

F = ma
= (5kg)(4m/s2 )
= 20kg.m/s2
= 20N
Problem: A net force of 15N is exerted on an encyclopedia to cause it to accelerate at a rate of
5m/s2 . Determine the mass of the encyclopedia.

Solution:

F
m=
a
15kg.m/s2
=
5m/s2
= 3kg

Newton’s Third Law of Motion (Law of Action and Reaction)

It states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Problem: A cat of mass 5kg jumps on a dining table of mass 30 kg. As the cat walks around
on the table, what is the average force that the table applies to the cat?

Solution:

F = ma
= (5kg)(9.81m/s2 )
= 49.05N

Problem: A book exerts a force of 3N downwards into a chair that exerts a force of 6N downwards
to the floor. What is the total force that the floor exerts upward on the chair?

Solution:

FT = F1 + F2
= 3N + 6N
= 9N

October 10, 2018 page 2

Name: General Physics
Track: Pointers to Review

Work and Energy

Terminologies:
Work - is the product between the force and the distance. It is a measure of energy transfer that
occurs when an object is moved over a distance by an external force at least part of which is applied
in the direction of the displacement.
Energy - ability to do work.
Joule (J) - mks unit of work and energy, named after the English Physicist, James Prescott
Joule equivalent to a N ewton − meter (Nm), or kg − m2 /s2 .
erg - cgs system unit of work equal to 1 dyne-centimeter. Note: 1erg = 0.0000001J = 10−7 J
Newton - is a force necessary to provide a mass of 1 kg with an acceleration of 1m/s2 .
Law of Conservation of Energy - is a law of Science that states that energy is never created or
destroyed. It is only changed from the state to another.

Problem: A baseball player throws a ball with a force of 10N. The ball travels 20m. What is
the total work?
Solution:

W =F ×d
= 10N × 20m
= 200J

Different Forms of Energy:

1. Chemical Energy - comes from atoms and molecules and how they interact.

2. Electrical Energy - generated by the movement of electrons.

3. Gravitational Energy - large objects such as the Earth and Sun creates gravity.

4. Heat Energy - also known as thermal energy. It comes from molecules of different temperatures
interacting.

5. Light Energy - also known as radiant energy.

6. Kinetic Energy - is a moving energy or energy in motion.

7. Nuclear Energy - huge amounts of nuclear energy can be generated by splitting atoms.

8. Potential Energy - is a stored energy or energy at rest.

Problem: A 2 − kg hammer is 0.4 m up. What is it’s potential energy? Solution:

P E = mgh
= (2kg)(9.81m/s2 )(0.4m)
= 7.848J

Problem: What is the kinetic energy of a 1500-kg car going at sub-urban speed of 14m/s?

October 10, 2018 page 3

Name: General Physics
Track: Pointers to Review

Solution:

1
KE = mv 2
2
1
= (1500kg)(14m/s)2
2
= 147, 000J
= 147kJ

Impulse and Momentum

Momentum is a measurement of mass in motion. It is the product of the mass and velocity. Its
SI unit is kg.m/s.
p = mv
Impulse is the product of the average force and the time interval during which the force acts. Its
SI unit is kg.m/s.
I = F ∆t = ∆p = pf − pi
Problem: A freight train moves due north with a speed of 1.4 m/s. The mass of the train is
4.5 × 105 kg. How fast would a 1800-kg automobile have to be moving due north to have the same
momentum?

Solution:

ptrain = mtrain · vtrain

= (4.5 × 105 kg)(1.4m/s)
= (450, 000kg)(1.4m/s)
= 630, 000kg.m/s

Note that
ptrain = pauto = 630, 000kg.m/s
Solving for the velocity of the automobile

pauto = mauto · vauto

pauto
vauto =
mauto
630, 000kg.m/s
=
1, 800kg
= 350m/s

Problem: What is the impulse of an object that collides with the wall and stops after collision if
the 2-kg object travels with a velocity of 10m/s before it hits the?

October 10, 2018 page 4

Name: General Physics
Track: Pointers to Review

Solution:

I = ∆p
= pf − pi
= m(vf − vi )
= (2kg)(0 − 10m/s)
= −20kg.m/s

Collision - refers to the mutual action of the molecules, atoms and etc., when they encounter one
another.

Three Categories of Collision

1. Elastic Collision - is a collision which conserves kinetic energy.

2. Inelastic Collision - is a collision which does not conserve kinetic energy. Some kinetic
energy is converted into heat energy, sound energy, and so forth.

3. Completely or Perfectly Inelastic Collision - is the collision in which the objects stick
together afterward. In such collisions the kinetic energy loss is maximum.

October 10, 2018 page 5

Name: General Physics
Track: Pointers to Review

Communications Systems, Analysis, and Design (lab)

1. Design a simple parallel resonant circuit to provide a 3 − dB bandwidth of 20M Hz at a

center frequency of 200M Hz. The source and load impedances are each 1500Ω. Assume the
capacitor to be lossless. The Q of the inductor (that is available) is 85. What is the insertion
loss of the network?

2. Design a resonant circuit with a loaded Q of 20 at a center frequency of 100 MHz that will
operate between a source resistance of 50Ω and a load resistance of 2000Ω. Use the tapped-C
approach and assume that inductor Q is 100 at 100M Hz.

3. Design a top-L coupled two-resonator tuned circuit to meet the following requirements:

(a) Center Frequency = 75 MHz

(b) 3-dB Bandwidth = 3.75 MHz
(c) Source Resistance = 100 ohms
(d) Load Resistance = 1000 ohms

Assume that inductors are available that have unloaded Q of 85 at the frequency of interest.
Finally, use a tapped-C transformer to present an effective source resistance (Rs0 ) of 1000
ohms to the filter.

4. Desig a low-pass filter to meet the following specifications:

(a) fc = 35 MHz,
(b) Response greater than 60-dB down at 105 MHz,
(c) Maximally flat passband-no ripple,
(d) Rs = 50Ω
(e) RL = 500Ω

5. Design a LC high-pass filter with an fc of 60 MHz and a minimum attenuation of 40 dB at

30 MHz. The source and load resistance are equal at 300 ohms. Assume that a 0.5 − dB
passband ripple is tolerable.

6. Design a bandpass filter with the following requirements:

(a) f0 = 75M Hz
(b) BW3dB = 7M Hz
(c) BW45dB = 35M Hz
(d) Passband Ripple = 1 dB
(e) Rs = 50Ω
(f) RL = 100Ω

October 10, 2018 page 6