1.

Physical Quantities And Units

SI Units:
The International System of Units is one of the most widely used system for taking and recording
measurements.

Prefixes:
Sometimes a physical quantity is too big or too small to be conveniently expressed in basic units.
Then prefixes are used.

These are multiples or decimals of ten.

Scaler Quantities:
Scaler quantities are those quantities which have a magnitude only.

Examples: mass , volume , distance , speed

Vector Quantities:
Vector quantities are those quantities which have magnitude as well as direction.

Examples: displacement, velocity , current , weight , force , acceleration

 Measurement of length:

Verneir caliper:
The following figure shows a vernier caliper, which consists of a main scale and a vernier scale.

How to read a vernier Caliper:

 Check zero error
 Place the object between the two jaws whose diameter is to be measured
 Place the object between the two jaws whose diameter is to be measured and close it until
it is tight (not very tight,not very less).
 Read the main scale before the zero marking for the 1st place of decimal.( )
 For the 2nd place of decimal, look at the vernier scale. Find a marking on the vernier
scale that is in line with the main scale.
 The diameter is fund now by adding the main scale reading and the vernier scale reading
Inside jaws of vernier caliper….. Calculate internal diameter

Outside jaws of vernier caliper … Calculate external diameter

Zero Error In Vernier Caliper:

The error in the instrument which occurs when the zero of the main scale and vernier

Scale do not coicide when the jaws of the caliper coincide

 
 Micrometer Screw Gauge:

How to read a Micro Meter Screw Gauge:

 Turn the thimble until the anvil and the spindle gently grip the object .
 Then turn theRatchet untill it starts to click.
 Read the main scale releasing o the edge of the thimble/
 Now look at the circular scale on the thimble. find a marking on the circular scale that is
in line with the horizontal line of the main scale.
 Diameter is found by simply adding up the two decimal numbers.
Measurement of Time Using  a Pendulum:
A simple pendulum consists of a bob and a string

The time taken for 1 compete oscillation of the bob is called the PERIOD (T) of the pendulum.

The number of complete oscillations made by the pendulum per second is called the frequency.
Period depends on:

1. The length of the pendulum (increase with length).

2. Acceleration due to gravity (decreases with increasing gravity).

2 Kinematics 
 Distance (in terms of kinematics) is length covered by a moving object.
Displacement is the linear distance between two points.
Displacement is the linear distance traveled by an object from the starting point to
the endpoint.
Linear distance means distance in a straight line. 
The  SI units of both Distance and Displacement is in meters(m).
Distance is a scalar quantity.
Displacement is a vector quantity. 

Let's look at this concept with an example.

Example 1:

Suppose a car travels from A to B and then from B to C (see diagram). What is the car's
total distance and displacement?  

Answer: The car's total distance is the length that it moved. That is,
distance = 15 + 7 = 22m

And it's displacement is

displacement = 10m

Because this is the linear distance covered between the starting and the endpoint.

The car now further travels from C to A. What is now the car's total
distance and displacement starting from A and traveling back to A?

Answer: Now the total distance will be,

distance = 22 + 20 = 40m

And the total displacement will be

displacement = 0m

Because the starting and endpoints are the same and there is zero meters of linear distance in
between them.  

Speed is rate of change of distance. It is measured in meters per second (m/s). It is a scalar
quantity.

speed = distance traveled / time taken 

Velocity is the rate of change of displacement. It is also measured in meters per second (m/s). It
is a vector quantity.

velocity = displacement / time taken   

Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. It is measured in meters per second square
(m/s^2). 
It is vector quantity.   

acceleration = change in velocity / time taken 

  
Whenever there is a change in velocity, there is an acceleration. If the velocity is not changing
then there is zero or no acceleration. But another thing to note is that velocity is a vector quantity
so if the direction of an object changes, then it's velocity changes. Hence it's acceleration
changes.
So, either change in magnitude or change in direction, both results in an acceleration.
There are two types of acceleration:

  uniform acceleration
  non-uniform acceleration  
Uniform acceleration
Uniform acceleration is when the rate of change of velocity remains constant.
Another name for uniform acceleration is constant acceleration. Constant acceleration means that
the acceleration does not change but remains constant. It does not increase or decrease with
time. 
But what actually does that mean?

It means that for an object traveling with acceleration of 5m/s/s every one second, it's velocity
increases 5m/s each second. This means every one second, the object's speed changes like this
5m/s,  10m/s, 15m/s and so on. Thus the velocity changes by 5m/s each second (or each unit
time).

It forms a straight line on a velocity-time graph.

Thus a formal definition would be...

Uniform acceleration is when the velocity changes at a steady rate.
  

Non-uniform acceleration 
As you can assume from the definition above
Non-uniform acceleration is when the velocity does not change at steady rate. 

For example, an object's velocity changes like this each second: 2m/s, 3m/s, 5m/s, 10m/s, 19m/s
and so on. Thus I can no longer say that the velocity changes by the fixed, same unit every
second. (In the example of uniform acceleration, it was changing by 5m/s each second). 

Remember,
Uniform means NOT CHANGING, non-uniform means CHANGING.
  
Note that these do not hold the same meaning as acceleration and deceleration.

Acceleration is also known as positive acceleration. When an object speeds up it is called

positive acceleration.
When an object speeds up with time it is called positive acceleration.
An upward sloping graph represents positive acceleration in a velocity time graph.

deceleration is negative acceleration. When an object slows down it is called deceleration or

negative acceleration.
When an object slows down with time it is called deceleration.
A negative slope represents deceleration in a velocity time graph.  

Note that this just a simple representation of the concept using straight lines. These could be
curves as well. What is important to notice over here is the slope of the graph which shows
acceleration and deceleration. 

Distance-time Graphs
Gradient = y-axis/x-axis 

The gradient of a distance-time graph is speed.
The gradient of a velocity-time graph is acceleration.

The unit of the speed/velocity shown on the gradient can be found from the x and y axes of the
gradient. Generally it is either m/s or km/h.

Note that since distance is a scalar quantity, a distance-time graph only goes in one direction. But
change of direction can be shown in displacement-time graph. 
 
Velocity-time Graphs
The gradient of a velocity-time graph is Acceleration.

The area under a velocity-time graph gives the distance travelled. 

    We know that the steeper a graph, the greater the gradient. Thus a steeper v-t graph means
higher acceleration. 
We also know that the area under a speed-time graph gives the distance and area under velocity-
time graph gives displacement
Free-fall acceleration  
The acceleration caused by the pull of Earth's gravity is constant near the Earth's surface and is
approximately 10m/s/s. This is called acceleration of free fall and is denoted by g.

g=10m/s2
(We now know what constant/uniform acceleration means.) 

Motion of bodies with constant weight falling with and without air resistance  

Because there are plenty of diagram based explanations and graphs of these in books, I am going
to keep it brief and to the point only.

Falling without air resistance    

Any object falling near the earth's surface experiences a force called air resistance that tends to
slow the object down.

To observe the effect of falling body without air resistance, we carry it out in a vacuum
container. In a vacuum container, air resistance does not act on a falling object.

When the object falls, the only force acting on the object is gravity. Thus the object accelerates
until it hits the ground. This is called free-fall acceleration.
Because the earth's pull on every object is the same, objects hit the ground at the same time in a
vacuum tube. For example, a feather and a coin will hit the ground with the same speed and at
the same time. (They both accelerate at 10m/s/s).

Falling with air resistance   

An object falling near the earth's surface experiences a force called air resistance. Air resistance
is force that acts in the opposite directing of a falling object (it acts upwards) and tries to slow
the object down. Air resistance increases as the speed of the falling object increases.
So the object initially falls with uniform, free-fall acceleration that is 10m/s2. As the object falls,
it's speed increases and hence, air resistance increases. This happens until the the air resistance is
equal to the weight of the falling object. The object then starts to travel with a uniform velocity
called terminal velocity until it hits the ground.

3. Force:
 A force is a pull or push that one object exerts on another which produces or tends to produce a
motion, stops or tends to stop a motion.

Force = Mass * Acceleration

SI unit: Newton (N)

    F =MA

Force Can Cause:

 A Stationary object to start moving.
 A moving object to increase speed.
 A moving object to decrease speed.
 A moving object to change its direction of motion.
 An object to accelerate or decelerate. 
Balanced Forces:
Forces acting on an object are balanced if the resultant force is zero.

Unbalanced Forces:
Forces acting on an object are unbalanced if the resultant force is not zero.
Newton’s First Law Of Motion:
Every object will continue its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless a resultant
force acts on it to change its state.

Newton’s Second Law Of Motion:

When a resultant force acts on an object of constant mass the object will accelerate and move in
the direction of the resultant force. The product of the mass and acceleration of the object is
equal to resultant force.

Force = Mass × Acceleration

Newton’s Third Law Of Motion:

For every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction and these forces act on mutually
opposite bodies.

In simpler words: Action and reaction are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.
Friction:
The force which resists the motion of one surface on another surface is known as friction.

Remember: In order to reduce friction add lubricants like : lubricating oil, graphite or water.

4.Mass Weight And Density

Mass:
Mass is the measure of amount of substance in a body. (Irrespective of its shape, location and
speed.
 Mass depends on the number and composition of atoms and molecules.

SI unit: kilogram (kg)

Remember: mass is a scalar quantity.

Mass can’t be changed by location, shape and speed of the body.

Weight:
Weight is a force and has direction.

Weight = Mass × Gravity

W = mg

SI unit: Newton (N)

The direction of the weight acts downwards towards the center of the earth.

It is sometimes also called gravitational force / gravity.

Mass And Weight Relation:

Mass is directly proportional to weight.

Thus if mass increases weight increases and vice versa if mass decreases weight also decreases.

How To Measure Mass And Weight:

In order to measure weight:
 Use electronic balance, spring balance and bathroom scales.
 These machines are calibrated to give readings in grams (g) or kilograms (kg).
 Weighing scales calibrated for use on earth can’t be used on the moon.
In order to measure mass:
 Use beam balance or calibrated electronic balance.
 
Difference Between Mass And Weight:
 Gravitaitonal Field:
The region around the earth where gravity is experienced is called the gravitational field.

Gravitational Field Strength:

It is defined as the gravitational force acting per unit mass on an object.

On earth gravitational field strength is about 10 Nkg-1

It means that 1 kg of mass experiences a force of 10 N kg-1

Gravitaional Force:
 All masses attract one another with this force.
 The larger the mass, the stronger the force.
 The smaller the distance between the mass the stronger the force. 
Inertia:
Inertia of an object refers to the reluctance of the object to change its state of rest or motion.

Inertia of an object depends on its mass. An object with greater mass has greater inertia and vice
versa an object with lower mass would have lower inertia.

In other words the larger the mass of an object, the harder it is to start moving , slow down, move
faster or change direction 

Density:
Density is defined as mass per unit volume

SI unit:  kgm-3  or  g/cm3

Finding density of a regular shaped object:
Use a beam balance to measure mass

Use a ruler to measure the sides and calculate volume using formula of the volume of shape.
Calculate density by using the formula:  Density = mass / volume

Finding density of an irregular shaped object:

Use a beam balance to measure mass

Lower the object into a half filled measuring cylinder gently and measure the volume by
subtracting initial water level from final water level.

Circular Motion

An object at steady speed in circular orbit is always accelerating as its direction changes, but it
gets no closer to the centre.The speed of the ball stays constant.

Centripetal force is the force acting towards the centre of circle.It is a force that needed, not
caused by circular motion. For example, when you rotate a stone attached to a string round in a
circle, the force is acting towards centre of circle.

Load-Extension

Forces can cause objects to deform (i.e. change their shape). The way in which an object
deforms depends on its dimensions, the material it is made of, the size of the force and direction
of the force.

If you measure how a spring stretches (extends its length) as you apply increasing force and
plot extension (e) against force (F);

Note: Because the force acting on the spring (or any object), causes stretching; it is sometimes
called tension which acts towards fixed end(upward).

The graph shows force-extension curve and point P is limit of proportionality.

This shows that Force is proportional to extension. This is Hooke's law. It can be written as:

F = ke

Where:.

F = tension acting on the spring.

e is extension = (l-lo); l is the stretched length and lo is original length, and.

k is the gradient of the graph above. It is known as the spring constant.

The above equation can be rearranged as

Spring constant = Applied force/extension

The spring constant k is measured in Nm-1 because it is the force per unit extension.

The value of k does not change unless you change the shape of the spring or the material that the
spring is made of.

A stiffer spring has a greater value for the spring constant

We can apply the concept of spring constant to any object obeying Hooke's law. Such an
object is called (linearly) elastic.

1. An elastic object will return to its original form if the force acting on it is removed.

2. Deformation in an elastic object increases linearly with the force.

Turning Effects Of Forces

Moments:
The moment of a force is the product of the force and the perpendicular distance from the pivot
to the line of action of the force.

Moment of force =  Force × Distance

SI unit: Nm (Newton per metre)

It is a vector quantity as it has both magnitude and direction.

When more than one force acts in one direction, their overall turning effect is just the sum of
their moments.
 Principal of a Moment:
For a system to be in equilibrium, the sum of the clockwise moment must be equal to the sum of
the anti-clockwise moment.

Sum of anticlockwise moment =sum of clockwise moment

F1×D1=F2×D2

Conditions Of Equilibrium:
 The resultant force acting is zero or the forces are balanced.
 The resultant moment about the pivot is zero.
 
 
 

Centre Of Gravity:
Centre of gravity of an object is defined as the point through which weight appears to act.It
depends on the distribution of the mass. The cerntre of gravity of uniform shapes is the middle
point and for irregular shapes it is towards large base area.

The centre of gravity may also lie outside the object e.g. a ring   
 

Experiment For Finding Out The Centre Of Gravity Of

An Irregular Shaped Lamina:    
                           
 Make three holes near the edge of the lamina. The holes should be as far apart as possible
from one another.
 Suspend the lamina through one of the holes using a pin.
 Hang a plumb line on the pin in front of the lamina.
 When the plumb line is steady draw a line on the lamina over the plumbline.
 Repeat the above for other two holes.
 The point of intersection of the three lines is the position of the centre of gravity.
Precautions:
The holes should be small so that not too much of the lamina is removed.

The lamina should be free to swing about its point of suspension. 

Stability:
Stability refers to the ability of the object to regain its original position after it has been tilted
slightly.

Stable equilibrium:
 Occurs when an object is placed in such a position that any disturbance effort would raise
its centre of gravity.
 The centre of gravity will still fall in its base so it returns to its original position (as an
anti clockwise moment is created as shown above by the arrow
 Unstable equilibrium
 Occurs when an object is placed in such a position that any disturbance effort would
lower its centre of gravity
 The centre of gravity will no longer fall in its bade so it topples over to fall into a more
stable position ( A clockwise moment is created shown by an arrow)

Neutral equilibrium:

 Neutral equilibrium occurs when an object is placed in such a position that any
disturbance effort would not change the level of its centre of gravity.
 Thus, no such moment is created
How to determine the stability of an object:
 The area of its base should as wide as possible.
 Centre of gravity should be as low as possible.

 
Pressure
Pressure is defined as the force acting per unit area.

SI unit: Pascal (P) or Nm-2

Pressure In Liquids:
Pressure in liquids is given by the formula:

Pressure = density × gravity × height

Pressure increases with the depth and density of the liquid.

While calculating pressure in liquids height should be always measured from the bottom.

Pressure In Gases:
Pressure in gases is due to the bombardment of molecules on walls of container and it can be
measured by manometers.

Barometer:
It is an instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure. There are two types of barometers
mercury barometer and water barometer

Boyle’s  Law:
Boyle’s law states that the pressure exerted by gas is inversely proportional to the volume
provided the temperature remains constant.

Therefore:

P1v1 = p2v2

Whenever temperature increases the volume increases.

Temperature:

It is the degree of hotness or coldness. As it refers to how hot or cold the object is .

Heat:

Heat refers to the amount of thermal energy that is being transferred from a hotter to a cooler
region.

Constructing a Thermometric Scale:

1. Choose a thermometric substance.

 Mercury or alcohol

2. Select two fixed points.

 Ice point – as the upper fixed point.

 Steam point – as the lower fixed point.

3. Divide the temperature range between the two fixed points into equal divisions.
 

Ice point (lower fixed point):

This is the temperature of pure melting ice at a pressure of one standard atmosphere. It is
assigned a value of 0°C

Steam point (upper fixed point)

This is the temperature of steam from water boiling at a pressure of one standard atmosphere. It
is assighned a value of  100 °C

Centigrade Scale:

A Temperature scale that defines the freezing points of water as 0 °Cand the boiling  points of
water as 100 °C

Determination Of Ice Point :

 Immerse the bulb of the thermometer into a funnel containing pure melting ice.

 The mercury level in the stem should be just above the ice.

Determination Of Steam Point:

Insert the thermometer into the apparatus. The bulb of the thermometer should be above the
boiling water.

Manometer is used to ensure pressure inside the apparatus is same as the atmospheric pressure
outside.

Measuring temperature using centigrade scale:

Advantages And Disadavantages Of Using Mercury As A Thermometric Liquid:

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Alcohol As A Thermometric Liquid:

Responsiveness:

This measures how quickly the thermometer can register changes in temperature.

Sensitivity:

This measure the amount of changes in the thermometric property (e.g. length of mercury
column) per unit change in temperature.

Range:

This denotes the minimum and maximum temperature that the thermometer can measure.

Laboratory Thermometer:
Mercury is contained in a thin walled glass bulb:

Thin wall of the glass bulballows conduction of heat quickly through the glass(poor conductor)
to the liquid.

The bulb is made small to contain a small amount of liquid:

A smal amount of liquid responds more quickly to changes in temperature.

The bore of the capillary tube is fine and uniform:

The fine tube allows a noticeable movement of the liquid column for a small change in
temperature. (good sensitivity).

Uniform tube ensures even expansion of liquid.

The walls of the long tube above the bulb are made thick:

This acts as a magnifying glass for easy reading of the mercury thread in the stem.

The size of the thermometer is relatively small:

The small size allows it to be portable and cheap to produce.

Clinical Thermometer:
The scale is limited to a small range of between 34 to 42:

Since the normal body temperature is 36.9 the short range allows for greater accuracy and the
stem can be made responsibally short

Narrow constriction:

It prevents mercury from flowing back into the bulb by breaking the mercury thread at the
constriction.

Thermocouple Thermometer:

It consists of two wires made of different metals such as iron and copper. The ends of wires are
joined together to form two junctions.

When two junctions are at different temperature e.g. one is hot and the other is cold. An emf is
produced.

The greater the change in temperature the greater the emf is produced across the two junctions.
Advantages:

 Large temperature range (-200 to 1500 ).oc

 Very responsive to rapidly changing temperature due to its low thermal capacity, due to
its small mass and metals are good conductors of heat.

 Output is elctrical signal therefore can be connected to a suitable electrical equipment for
checking rapid or sudden temperature changes.

Work Energy And Power

Work:
Work done by a constant force is given by the product of the force and the distance moved in the
direction of the force.
 Work = Force (N) × Distance (m)

The SI unit for work is Joule (J).

Remember:
Work is not done when

 The direction of the applied force and the direction in which the object moves are
perpendicular to one another.
 The force is applied on the object (such as the wall) but the object doesn’t move.
 
Energy:
Energy can be defined as the ability to do work.

SI unit: Joule (J)

Types Of Energy:

Kinetic Energy:
It is the energy possessed by a body by virtue of its motion .In simpler words ,any moving object
has kinetic energy.

SI unit: Joules (J)

 
Gravitational Potential Energy:
 Gravitational potential energy = Mass × Gravity ×Height

GPE =mgh

Kinetic And Potential Energy In Simple Pendulum:

Conversion And Conservation Of Energy:

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed in any process. It can be converted from one form to
another or transferred from one body to another, but the total amount remains constant.

 
Power:
Power is defined as the rate of work done or energy converted.

SI unit for power is Watts (w)

Therefore work =power × time

Energy =power × time

Efficiency Of A Machine:
Efficiency of a machine is a ratio of output work to input work.

It shows the percentage of output work from the input work.

 
No machine is hundred percent efficient because there is always energy in the form of  heat and
sound.