Physics - Notes
Class Combined & Coordinated Sciences
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Mock Paper Physics - Mock Paper (with answer key).pdf
Status Done
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
