Physics - Notes

Class Combined & Coordinated Sciences

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Mock Paper Physics - Mock Paper (with answer key).pdf

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Teacher Mr. Dwayne D’Souza

Motion
Measuring Length and Volume

To measure thickness of thin objects

Take many thin objects and measure the thickness and divide it by the
amount of thin objects you took

To measure length of curved lines

Take a thread and lay it along the curved line

Straighten the thread and measure

Volume

The space occupied by an object

SI unit - M3 

Regular shaped solids

Length x Breadth x Height

Liquid

Use measuring cylinder and observe the lower meniscus

Irregular shaped solids

You must place it in a measuring cylinder with liquid and observe the
volume change

1 ml = 1cm3 

Physics - Notes 1
 Density

The ratio of mass to volume for a substance

The amount of matter in a given volume

Density = Mass / Volume

Materials less dense than water will float in it

Measuring Time

Measuring short intervals of time

Using a pendulum and a mass known as a plumb bob (a mass hanging from
a string to define a vertical line) you may swing the pendulum from one side
to another

You can measure using a stopwatch the total time taken of a large number of
oscillations and divide it by the number of oscillations to get average time per
oscillation

Oscillation

A repetitive motion or vibration

Period

The time taken for a single oscillation (when it swings from left to
right and back again)

Scalar and Vector Quantities

Scalar Quantity

Has magnitude (size) but no direction

Vector Quantity

Has both magnitude and direction

Understanding Speed

Average Speed = Total Distance / Total Time

The distance travelled by an object per unit time

m/s

Distance time graphs

Diagram

Physics - Notes 2
 Gradient = Speed of the body

Understanding Acceleration

Acceleration = (Final velocity — Initial velocity) / (Final time — Initial time)

The rate of change of an object’s velocity

m/s2 

Speed time graphs

Diagram

Gradient = Acceleration of the body

Straight upward diagonal line = Constant acceleration, increasing speed

Straight downward diagonal line = Constant deceleration (constant

retardation), decreasing speed

Straight horizontal line = 0 acceleration, constant speed

Mass, Weight and Gravity

Mass

The amount of matter in a substance or object

Weight

Physics - Notes 3
 The downward force of gravity that acts on a force because of it’s mass

Weight = mass x gravity

Gravity

The force that exists any between any 2 objects with mass

Gravitational field strength

The gravitational force exerted per unit mass placed at that point

Acceleration due to gravity (acceleration of free fall)

The acceleration of any object falling freely under gravity

9.8m/s2 

Forces

Measured in newtons (N)

May change the shape and size of an object

Objects can deform when forces act upon them

States of objects

Undeformed

Stretched (tensile forces)

Compressed (compressive forces)

Bent (bending forces)

Twisted (torsional forces)

May change the motion of an object

Unbalanced forces change motion

Forces push and pull

When the resultant force on the object has a value in one direction it
will have motion

Important Forces

Weight

Contact Force

Physics - Notes 4
 The equal and opposing force of the ground against something else
applying force on it

Friction

The force between 2 surfaces which may impede motion and

produce heating

2 surfaces moving, or trying to move, against each other

Air resistance (drag)

Friction (usually from air particles) acting upon an object moving

through air

Upthrust

Upward force of liquid or gas on an object

Resultant Force

The single force that has the same effect on the body as 2 or more
forces

The total, net or resultant force acting on an object

Bigger force — smaller force

Example

2000N (right) — 1000N (left) = 1000N (right) resultant force

Force, Mass, and Acceleration

Force Calculations

Force = mass x acceleration

Stretching Springs

Load

The force (usually weight) that stretches an object (usually a spring)

Extension

Increased length of an object (spring when a load is attached to it)

Extension = length of stretched spring — original length

Load is usually proportional to extension

Physics - Notes 5
 Limit of proportionality

Up to this limit, the extension on a spring is proportional to load

Spring constant

Constant of proportionality, the measure of the stiffness of a spring

Stiffer the spring, bigger the load required to change it’s length

The extend to which the load is proportional to the extension

F = kx

F = load (force)

k = spring constant

x = extension (of the spring)

k=F/x

Turning Forces

The moment of a force

Turning effect

When a force causes an object to rotate or would make the object

rotate if there were no resistive forces

Pivot

Fixed point about which a lever turns (fulcrum)

Moment

Physics - Notes 6
 Turning effect of a force about a pivot

Moment of a force = force x perpendicular distance from pivot

Equilibrium

When no resultant force and no resultant moment act on a body

When 2 or more things are balanced

No resultant force

No resultant turning effect

Principle of moments

When an object is in equilibrium, the sum of anticlockwise moments

about any point equals the sum of clockwise moments around that
point

Stability and centre of gravity

Stable

Object that is unlikely to topple over

If a vertical line from the centre of gravity does not pass through an
object’s base, it will topple over

Things that make it stable

Low centre of gravity and wide base

Centre of gravity

All the mass of an object could be located here and the object would
behave the same (when ignoring any spin)

Finding the centre of gravity if a lamina (flat 2d shape)

Suspend the shape from a pin

Plumb bob used to mark a vertical line below the pin

Process repeated 2 more times (3 lines total)

The intersection of the lines is the centre of gravity

Pressure

The force acting per unit area at right angles to a surface

SI unit = Pa (Pascals)

Physics - Notes 7
 Pa = N / m2 

Pressure = force / area

Energy, Work and Power

Energy stores, transfers and conservations

Energy

Measured in joules (J)

Energy stores

Types of energy

Energy Store Definition

Kinetic Energy Energy store of a moving object

Energy store of an object raised up

Gravitational Potential Energy (GPE)
against the force of gravity

Energy stored in bonds between atoms

Chemical Energy that can be released when chemical
reactions take place

Energy stored in the changed shape of

Elastic (Strain) Energy
an object

Nuclear Energy Energy stored in the nucleus of an atom

The energy stored when charges are

Electrostatic Energy
separated or squashed together

Total kinetic energy and potential

Internal (Thermal) Energy
energies of it’s particles

Energy Transfers

Principle of conservation of energy

Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be stored an

transferred

Total amount of energy remains the same

Can be transferred in an event or process

Doing work

Transferring energy by means of a force

Physics - Notes 8
 Energy Efficiency

The fraction or percentage of energy supplied that is usually transferred

or put to use

Calculations

Efficiency = useful energy output / total energy output

% efficiency = (useful energy output / total energy output) x 100%

Energy Calculation

Gravitational Potential Energy (GPE)

GPE = mass x gravity x height

GPE = weight x height

Kinetic Energy

GPE = 0.5 x mass x velocity2 

Energy Resources

Most energy comes from sun, but mostly indirectly and must be transferred
to a more useful form

World energy use, by resource

Renewables and non-renewables

Renewables

Physics - Notes 9
 An energy resource that will be replenished (replaced) naturally
when used

Non-renewables

An energy resource that is gone forever once used

Energy direct from the sun

When you shine light on solar cells

Solar cells

Also known as photocells, or photovoltaic cells

An electrical device that transfers energy of sunlight to directly

electricity by producing a voltage when light falls on it

Wind Power

Cause by the effects of the sun

Sun heats some parts of atmosphere more than others (unevenly)

Heated air starts to move around (convection current)

Can be harnessed by wind turbines or wind mills

Wave Power

Energy of winds is transferred to the sea as waves, formed by the friction

between the wind and the water

Kinetic energy can be harnessed by turbines

Hydroelectric Power

Produced in hydroelectric power stations

Water stored behind a dam is released to turn turbines which make

generators spin

Biofuels

Material, recently living, used as fuel

Releases energy captured during photosynthesis from the sun in the

recent past

Fossil Fuels

Material, from a long dead material, used as fuel

Physics - Notes 10
 Store of chemical energy, can be burnt in the presence of oxygen to
generate heat or electricity

Usually hydrocarbons (compounds of hydrogen and carbon)

Oil, gas, coal

Nuclear Fuels

Inside a nuclear reactor, the radioactive decay of radioactive materials

such as uranium or plutonium is sped up so that the energy they store is
released more quickly

Nuclear Fission

The process by which energy is released from nuclear fuels by

the splitting of a large heavy nucleus into two or more smaller
nuclei

Geothermal Energy

Energy stored in hot rocks underground

Water is pumped down into the rocks, where it boils, generating steam
where it can be used to generate electricity

Tidal Energy

Generated by moving water

Using energy resources to generate electricity

Boiler

Device where thermal energy is transferred to water to turn it into

steam

Turbine

Device that is made to turn by moving air, water or steam; often used
to generate electricity

Generator

Device which generates electricity using electromagnetic induction

Factors to consider when comparing energy resources

Renewability

Cost

Physics - Notes 11
 Availability

Reliability

Scale (size to supply ratio)

Environmental Impact

Harnessing Nuclear Power

Nuclear Fusion

When energy is released when 2 lighter nuclei join together to form

one heavy nucleus

Nuclear Fission

When energy is released when 1 heavier nucleus splits to form 2 or

more smaller light nuclei

Doing Work

The amount of energy transferred when one body exerts a force on another;
the energy transferred by a force when it moves

Work done = Energy transferred

Work done = Force x distance

W = Fd

J = Nm

Work done = final energy — initial energy

Power

The rate at which work is done, or the rate at which energy is transferred

Power = Work done / time

Watts = Joules / second

1W=1J/s

Efficiency

Efficiency = useful power output / power input

% efficiency = (useful power output / power input) x 100%

Physics - Notes 12