A level Physics

Summer Project

Name: .

Source: xkcd.com
 Contents
Chapter Topic

1 Introduction

2 Physical Quantities/Units

3 Standard Form

4 Converting Units to SI Units

5 Prefixes/Converting Unit Magnitudes

6 Re-arranging Equations

7 Using Your Calculator

8 Significant Figures

9 Solving Numerical Problems

If you require any additional help with this project please email
[email protected]

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Chapter 1
Introduction
Welcome to A level Physics at Wadebridge School. We hope you will find this summer project useful
as a primer for starting your advanced studies in September.

One of things that many people find disconcerting when studying Physics is the idea of having to
deal with lots of complicated equations. On first sight, it can be very daunting to see a page full of
letters and symbols but with practice you will see that this is just to save us having to write words
out over and over again (physicists like to work efficiently).

The purpose of this project is to help you develop the core skills needed to solve numerical problems
which will make your Year 12 Physics studies much more enjoyable and successful than they
otherwise would be. Without these core skills solving problems becomes much more difficult if not
impossible, a bit like trying to build a house with no wood or bricks. A bit of work before the course
starts will pay huge dividends later and allow you to work and learn much more efficiently.

In order to give you the best possible chance of success you should complete all the exercises in this
project (on separate lined paper) and bring it with you on the first lesson in September. Within the
first week you will be given a mathematical skills test which will examine your ability to solve more
complex problems using the maths covered in this booklet.

Steps to success
The key to success is to break numerical problems, where calculations are necessary, into smaller,
simpler steps. These steps are the same for all numerical problems and should be followed every
time.

The steps can be summarised as follows:-

Step 1: Write down the values of everything you are given and put a question mark next to what you
are asked to work out.
Step 2: Convert all the values into SI units i.e. time in seconds, distances in metres and so on.
Step 3: Pick an equation that contains the values we know and the quantity we are trying to work
out.
Step 4: Re-arrange the equation so what we are trying to work out is the subject.
Step 5: Insert the values into the equation including the units.
Step 6: Type it into our calculator to get the answer and quote the answer to a reasonable number of
significant figures and with units.
Step 7: Pause for one moment and think about if our answer is sensible.

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With experience some of these steps can be done more quickly or in your head but you should
always show your working. This is for several reasons:-

1. If you don’t show your working, you will needlessly lose many marks in the exam (probably
enough to drop your score by one whole grade, i.e. from B  C).
2. It will help make the steps outlined above more apparent and easy to follow when tackling
numerical problems.
3. It makes it easier for the teacher to see where you have gone wrong and therefore help you
learn more quickly and effectively.

Chapter 2:
Physical Quantities/Units
When we first look at numerical problem in Physics we need to be able to recognise what quantities
we are given in the question. This can be made a lot easier if we know what quantity corresponds to
the units given in the question. For example, if a question says someone’s speed changes at a rate of
5 ms-2, you need to be able to recognise that ms-2 is the unit of acceleration and so we know that we
have been given an acceleration (even though the word acceleration wasn’t used in the question).

We can classify physical quantities as either

(a) Basic: These are fundamental which are defined as being independent

There are seven basic quantities defined by the Systeme International d’Unites (SI Units).
They have been defined for convenience not through necessity (force could have been
chosen instead of mass, for instance). Once defined we can make measurements using the
correct unit and measure with direct comparison to that unit.

Unit
Basic quantity
Name Symbol
Mass Kilogram kg
Length Metre m
Time Second s
Electric current Ampere A
Temperature Kelvin K
Amount of a substance Mole mol
Luminous intensity Candela cd

NOTE: Base units are also referred to as dimensions. You do not need to learn this table, it is
included for information only.

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 (b) Derived: These are obtained by multiplication or division of the basic units without
numerical factors. For example:

Unit
Derived quantity
Name Symbols used
Volume Cubic metre m3
Velocity Metre per second ms-1
Density Kilogram per cubic metre kgm-3

Some derived SI units are complicated and are given a simpler name with a unit defined in
terms of the base units.

Farad (F) is given as m-2kg-1s4A2 Watt (W) is given as m2kgs-3

A table of quantities with their units is below along with the most commonly used symbols for both
the quantities and units. (Note that in GCSE we wrote units like metres per second in the format of
m/s but in A-level it is written as ms-1, and this is the standard way units are written at university
level Physics.)

Quantity Quantity SI Unit Unit Symbol

Length L or l
Symbol Metre m
Distance s Metre m
Height h Metre m
Thickness (of a Wire) d Metre m
Wavelength λ Metre m
Mass m or M kilogram kg
Time t second s
Period T second s
Temperature T Kelvin K
Current I Ampere A
Potential Difference V Volt V
Area A Metres squared m2
Volume V Metres cubed m3
Density ρ Kilograms per metre cubed kg m-3
Force F Newton N
Initial Velocity u Metres per second ms-1
Final Velocity v Metres per second ms-1
Energy E Joule J
Kinetic Energy EK Joule J
Work Done W Joule J
Power P Watt W
Frequency f Hertz Hz
Charge Q Coulomb C
Resistance R Ohm Ω
Resistivity ρ Ohm Metre Ωm
Momentum p kilogram metres per second kg ms-1
Gravitational Field Strength g Newtons per kilogram N kg-1
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 This table needs to be memorised – once you know this it will significantly improve your ability to
answer numerical questions. It is so important that we will test you on this very early on in Year
12.

Exercise
For each of the following questions write down the quantities you are trying to work out and write a
question mark next to the quantity you are asked to find out with SI units shown.

You are not expected to actually answer these questions.

Example
1. Find the momentum of a 70 kg ball rolling at 2 ms-1.
𝑀 = 70 𝑘𝑔
𝑣 = 2 𝑚𝑠 −1
𝑝 = ? 𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑠 −1

1. The resultant force on a body of mass 4.0 kg is 20 N. What is the acceleration of the body?
2. A particle which is moving in a straight line with a velocity of 15 ms-1 accelerates uniformly for 3.0s,
increasing its velocity to 45 ms-1. What distance does it travel whilst accelerating?
3. A car moving at 30 ms-1 is brought to rest with a constant retardation of 3.6 ms-2. How far does it
travel whilst coming to rest?
4. A man of mass 75 kg climbs 300 m in 30 minutes. At what rate is he working?
5. What is the maximum speed at which a car can travel along a level road when its engine is
developing 24kW and there is a resistance to motion of 800 N?
6. Find the current in a circuit when a charge of 40 C passes in 5.0s.
7. What is the resistance of a copper cylinder of length 12 cm and cross-sectional area 0.40 cm2
(Resistivity of copper = 1.7 × 10-8 Ωm)?
8. When a 12 V battery (i.e. a battery of EMF 12 V) is connected across a lamp with a resistance of 6.8
ohms, the potential difference across the lamp is 10.2 V. Find the current through the lamp.
9. Calculate the energy of a photon of wavelength 3.0 × 10-7 m.
10. Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of an electron moving at 3.0 × 106 ms-1 (Planck’s constant = 6.63
× 10-34 Js, mass of electron = 9.1 × 10-31 kg).

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Chapter 3:
Standard Form
You may well already be familiar with Standard Form from GCSE Maths, but just in case you aren’t or
could do with refreshing your memory then this chapter will explain what it is and why we use it.

Why use standard form?

Standard form is used to make very large or very small numbers easier to read. Standard form also
makes it easier to put large or small numbers in order of size.

In Physics, we often deal with quantities that are either really large, such as a parsec

1 pc = 30 900 000 000 000 000 m

Or really small like Planck’s Constant:-

h= 0.000000000000000000000000000000000663 Js

Now, it would be tiresome to write out numbers like this over and over again and so we use a
different notation known as standard form. Standard form shows the magnitude (size) of the
number as powers of ten. We write a number between 1 and 10 and then show it multiplied by a
power of 10.

4 -4
For example 1.234 x 10 1.234 x 10

This means 1.234 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 1.234 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10

Which is 12340 0.0001234

Let’s see some more examples.

0.523 = 5.23 × 10-1 (note that × 10-1 means divide 5.23 by 10)

52.3 = 5.23 × 101 (note that × 101 means multiply 5.23 by 10)

523 = 5.23 × 102 (note that × 102 means multiply 5.23 by 100)

5230 = 5.23 × 103 (note that × 103 means multiply 5.23 by 1000)

0.00523 = 5.23 × 10-3 (note that × 10-3 means divide 5.23 by 1000)

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Note that the sign (positive or negative) in the index tells you whether you are dividing or
multiplying; a positive number means you are multiplying and a negative number means you are
dividing. The number tells you how many times you are either dividing or multiplying by 10. So 1.60
× 10-19 means take the number 1.60 and divide it by 10 nineteen times (divide by 1019). A quick way
to do this in your head is to move the decimal point 19 places to the left.

And to go back to our examples from above:-

1 pc = 30 900 000 000 000 000 m = 3.09 × 1016 m

h = 0.000000000000000000000000000000000663 Js = 6.63 × 10-34 Js

So this is a much shorter way of writing these numbers!

Exercise:
To put a list of large numbers in order is difficult because it takes time to count the number of digits
and hence determine the magnitude of the number.

1. Put these numbers in order of size,

5239824 , 25634897 , 5682147 , 86351473 , 1258964755 , 142586479 , 648523154

But it is easier to order large numbers when they are written in standard form.

2. Put these numbers in order of size,

6 7 6 7 9 8 8
5.239 x 10 , 2.563 x 10 , 5.682 x 10 , 8.635 x 10 , 1.258 x 10 , 1.425 x 10 , 6.485 x 10

You can see that it is easier to work with large numbers written in standard form. To do this we
must be able to convert from one form into the other.

3. Convert these numbers into normal form.

3 4 2 6
a) 5.239 x 10 b) 4.543 x 10 c) 9.382 x 10 d) 6.665 x 10
2 5 3
e) 1.951 x 10 f) 1.905 x 10 g) 6.005 x 10

4. Convert these numbers into standard form.

a) 65345 (how many times do you multiply 6.5345 by 10 to get 65345 ?)

b) 28748 c) 548454 d) 486856
e) 70241 f) 65865758 g) 765

Standard form can also be used to write small numbers

e.g. 0.00056 = 5.6  10-4

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5. Convert these numbers into normal form.

a) 8.34  10-3 b) 2.541  10-8 c) 1.01  10-5

d) 8.88  10-1 e) 9  10-2 f) 5.05  10-9

6. Convert these numbers to standard form.

a) 0.000567 b) 0.987 c) 0.0052

d) 0.0000605 e) 0.008 f) 0.0040302

7. Calculate, giving answers in standard form,

a) (3.45  10-5 + 9.5  10-6)  0.0024

b) 2.31  105  3.98  10-3 + 0.0013

Chapter 4:
Converting Units to SI Units
Some common non-SI units that you will encounter during Year 12 Physics:-

Quantity Quantity Alternative Unit Unit Symbol Value in SI Units

Energy E
Symbol electron volt eV 1.6 × 10-19 J
Charge Q charge on electron e 1.6 × 10-19 C
Mass m atomic mass unit u 1.67 × 10-27 J
Time t hour hr 3600 s
Time T day dy 8.64 x 104 s
Time t year yr 3.16 × 107 s
Distance d light year ly 9.46 × 1015 m
It is essential that you recognise these units and also know how to change them to SI units and
back again. A lot of marks can be lost if you are not absolutely competent doing this.

When you are converting from these units to SI units you need to multiply by the value in the right
hand column. When you convert back the other way you need to divide.

Example
The nearest star (other than the Sun) to Earth is Proxima Centauri at a distance of 4.24 light years.

What is this distance expressed in metres?

4.24 light years = 4.24 × 9.46 × 1015 m = 4.01 × 1016 m

What is this distance expressed in kilometres?

4.01 × 1016 m = 4.01 × 1016 / 1000 km = 4.01 x 1013 km

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Exercise
Convert the following quantities:-

1. What is 13.6 eV expressed in joules?

2. What is a charge of 6e expressed in coulombs?

3. An atom of Lead-208 has a mass of 207.9766521 u, convert this mass into kg.

4. It has been 47 years since England won the World Cup, how long is this in seconds?

5. A TV program lasts 2560 s, how many hours is this?

6. The semi-major axis of Pluto’s orbit around the Sun is 5.91 × 1012 m, what is this distance in
AU?

Converting Speeds
Things get a little more complicated when you have to convert speeds. For example, if Usain Bolt
runs at an average speed of 10.4 ms-1, what is this speed in kilometres per hour?

First, we will change from ms-1 to kms-1:-

10.4 ms-1 = 10.4 / 1000 kms-1 = 1.04 × 10-2 kms-1

Now we have to change from kms-1 to kmhr-1

1.04 × 10-2 kms-1 = 1.04 × 10-2 × 3600 kmhr-1 = 37.44 kmhr-1

Notice that in last line we had to multiply by the number of seconds in an hour. This is because you
would go further in an hour than you would in a second. If you find this hard to understand
sometimes you can multiply by the conversion factor and divide by it and see which value is sensible.
Let’s see what would have happened if we had divided by 3600:-

1.04 × 10-2 kms-1 = 1.04 × 10-2 / 3600 kmhr-1 = 2.89 × 10-6 kmhr-1

Do you think Usain Bolt was running at a speed of about 2 millionths of a kilometre an hour? This is
clearly wrong so we would have realised that we needed to multiply by 3600.

Exercise
1. Convert 0.023 kms-1 into ms-1.

2. Express 3456 mhr-1 into kmhr-1

3. What is 30 kmhr-1 in ms-1?

4. What is 50 ms-1 in km hr-1?

5. Convert 33 kmhr-1 into ms-1.

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Chapter 5:
Prefixes & Converting Unit Magnitudes
How to use and convert prefixes

Often in Physics, quantities are written using prefixes which is an even shorter way of writing
numbers than standard form. For example instead of writing 2.95 × 10-9 m we can write 2.95 nm
where n means nano and is a short way of writing × 10-9. Here is a table that shows all the prefixes
you need to know in Year 12 Physics.

Prefix Symbol Name Multiplier

pico p trillionth 10-12
nano n billionth 10-9
micro µ millionth 10-6
milli m thousandth 10-3
centi c hundredth 10-2
kilo k thousand 103
mega M million 106
giga G billion 109
tera T trillion 1012
Again, it is essential you know all of these to ensure that you don’t lose easy marks when
answering numerical problems. Make sure you spot the difference between the capital and
lowercase letters.

When you are given a variable with a prefix you must convert it into its numerical equivalent in
standard form before you use it in an equation.

Example
Always start by replacing the prefix symbol with its equivalent multiplier.

For example: 0.16 μC = 0.00000016C = 0.16 x 10-6 C

3 km = 3000m = 3 x 103 m

10 ns = 0.00000001 s = 10 x 10-9 s

You might want to avoid taking these further into perfect standard form (for example: 0.16 x 10-6 C
should actually be 1.6 x 10-7 C and also 10 x 10-9 s = 10-8 s) unless you are absolutely confident that
you will do it correctly. It is always safer to stop at the first step (10 x 10-9 s) and type it like this into
your calculator.

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Exercise
1. Convert these into standard form.

a) 1.4 kW = b) 10 μC =
c) 24 cm = d) 340 MW =
e) 46 pF = f) 0.03 mA =
g) 52 Gbytes = h) 43 kΩ =

2. Convert the following: (Remember that milli = 10-3 and centi = 10-2)

a) 5.46 m to cm
b) 65 mm to m
c) 3 cm to m
d) 0.98 m to mm
e) 34 cm to mm
f) 76 mm to cm

Converting between unit magnitudes for areas and volumes

It’s really important that when we convert areas and volumes that we don’t forget to square or cube
the unit.

Let’s take the example of converting a sugar cube of volume 1 cm3 into m3.

If we just use the normal conversion, then 1 cm3 = 1 x 10-2 m3  Wrong Answer!

STOP! Let’s think about this one second:

Imagine in your head a box 1m by 1m by 1m, how many sugar cubes could you fit in there? A lot
more than 100! That would only fill up one line along one of the bottom edges of the box! So our
answer must be wrong.

What we have to do is do the conversion and then cube it, like this:-

1 cm3 = 1 (x 10-2 m)3 = 1 x 10-6 m3.

So this means we could fit a million sugar cubes in the box, which is right.

Exercise
1. What is 5.2 mm3 in m3?

2. What is 24 cm2 in m2?

3. What is 34 m3 in μm3?

4. What is 0.96 x 106 m2 in km2?

5. Convert 34 Mm3 into pm3.

12
Chapter 6:
Re-arranging Equations
The first step in learning to manipulate an equation is your ability to see how it is done once and
then repeat the process again and again until it becomes second nature to you.

In order to show the process once I will be using letters rather than physical units.

You can rearrange an equation a  bc with

a
b as the subject b
c

a
or c as the subject
c
b

Example
Equation First Rearrangement Second Rearrangement
v v
v  f  f   
 f
1 1
T  1T  f f 
f T

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Exercise

From now on the multiplication sign will not be shown, so a  b  c will be simply written as
a  bc
Equation First Rearrangement Second Rearrangement
1
(Power of lens) P
f 1 f 
v
(Magnification of lens) m  v u
u
c
(refractive index) n c v
v
Q
(current) I
t
E
(electric potential) V
Q
E
(power) P
t

(power) P  VI

I
(conductance) G
V
V
(resistance) R
I
1
(resistance) R
G

(power) P  I 2R

V2
(power) P
R
F
(stress)  F A
A

x
(strain)  x l
l

14
Exercise
Further rearranging practice questions:

1. a = bc b=?

2. a = b/c b=? c=?

3. a = b – c c=?

4. a = b + c b=?

5. a = bc + d c=?

6. a = b/c – d c=?

7. a = bc/d d=? b=?

8. a = (b + c)/d c=?

9. a = b/c + d/e e=?

Chapter 7
Using Your Calculator
In A Level Physics you will need to use a scientific calculator. We recommend a ‘natural display’
calculator such as the Casio fx-83ES model, shown here:

15
Exercise
Using your calculator, evaluate:
30
=?
5×3
What answer did you get? 18 or 2? If you got 18 you were wrong. Nope – there’s nothing wrong
with your calculator we just need to establish exactly how it works.

You need to be able to use your calculator confidently to do the following things:

 Fractions or decimals
 Powers and surds (i.e. square roots)
 Making corrections or reusing a previous result
 Using your calculator for negative numbers
 Using the calculator memory
 Using standard form on your calculator
 Trigonometry on your calculator
 Radians on your calculator
 Logarithms, Natural logarithms and powers of e on your calculator

If you are in any doubt about how to the things above on your calculator you should visit the Open
University website and complete their ‘Using a Scientific Calculator’ module here:

http://www.open.edu/openlearn/education/mathematics-education/using-scientific-
calculator/content-section-0

Exercise
Always give your answer in standard form,
e.g. 7.0 x 10-3 and not as 7.0-3 or 7000 which is how it may be displayed on the calculator.

Your answer should have the same amount of significant figures as the question.

1. (7.5 × 103 ) × 24 =

2. (6.2 × 10−5 ) × (5.0 × 10−3 ) =

3. (1.4 × 105 ) × (2.0 × 104 ) =

(4.5×103 )
4. (7.0×104 )
=

4.3×10−6
5. 6.0×103
=
16
Exercise
In each case, find the value of “y”.

1. 𝑦 = (7.5 × 103 )2

(1.3×103 )× (1.6×10−4 )
2. 𝑦 = (6.6×106 )+(3.27×10−3 )

(5.6×10−4 )2 ×(7.8×108 )
3. 𝑦 = (6.6×106 )+(3.27×10−3 )

(4.12×103 )+(6.5×102 )
4. 𝑦 = √ (2.3×104 )×(8.1×102 )

Chapter 8
Significant Figures
You can lose a mark if you quote too many significant figures in an answer, it is just as bad as leaving
off a unit when answering a question –why lose marks needlessly when you don’t have to?

The Rules
1. All non-zero digits are significant. E.g. 65290, 5000, 0.34 (numbers highlighted bold are
significant)

2. In a number without a decimal point, only zeros BETWEEN non-zero digits are significant. E.g.
the zeros are significant in 12001 but not in 12100.

3. In a number with a decimal point, all zeros to the right of the right-most non-zero digit are
significant. E.g. 12.100, 2.010, 3.01, 0.0120

Examples
39.389  5 s.f. (5 significant figures)

120000000000000 2 s.f.

3400.000  7 s.f.

34224000  5 s.f.

200000.0004  10 s.f.

17
Exercise
How many significant figures are the following numbers quoted to?

1. 224.4343
2. 0.00000000003244654
3. 3442.34
4. 200000
5. 43.0002
6. 24540000
7. 543325
8. 23.5454353
9. 4.0000000000
10. 4456001

For the numbers above that are quoted to more than 3 s.f., convert the number to standard form
and quote to 3 s.f.

Using a Reasonable Number of S.F.

When answering a question you should write your final answer using the same number of s.f. as
those provided in the question. You can sometimes go to just one more.

Example
Let’s say we were faced with this question:

A man runs 110 metres in 13 seconds, calculate his average speed.

Distance = 110 m

Time = 13 s

Speed = Distance/Time = 110 metres / 13 seconds

= 8.461538461538461538461538461538 ms-1

This is a ridiculous number of significant figures!

= 8.46 ms-1 seems acceptable (i.e. given to 3 s.f.) because the figures we were given in the
question we given to 2 s.f. We’ve used just one more than was given in our question which is
fine.

18
Exercise
How many significant figures would you quote the answers to the following questions to?

1. The resultant force on a body of mass 4.0 kg is 20 N. What is the acceleration of the body?

2. A particle which is moving in a straight line with a velocity of 15 ms-1 accelerates uniformly for
3.0s, increasing its velocity to 45 ms-1. What distance does it travel whilst accelerating?

3. A car moving at 30 ms-1 is brought to rest with a constant retardation of 3.6 ms-2. How far does
it travel whilst coming to rest?

4. A man of mass 75 kg climbs 300 m in 30 minutes. At what rate is he working?

5. What is the maximum speed at which a car can travel along a level road when its engine is
developing 24kW and there is a resistance to motion of 800 N?

Chapter 9
Example Numerical Problems
A Step by Step Guide on Tackling a Numerical Problem

This example may look lengthy, but that’s because I am describing every step that I do in my head.
Only the yellow shaded bits will end up written down on my paper.

Let’s try a typical question from a worksheet given out in class:

The question says:

Gravitational field strength (g) = 9.81 Nkg-1

2. A book is picked up from the floor by a librarian and placed onto a shelf 2.5 m high. The book has a
mass of 500 g. Calculate:
(a) The energy gained by the book.

Step 1: Write down the values of everything you are given and put a question mark next to what you
are asked to work out:

g = 9.81 Nkg-1
h = 2.5 m
m = 500 g
E=?

19
Step 2: Convert all the values into SI units i.e. time in seconds, distances in metres and so on:

From the table on page 11:

1 kg = 103 g

So now replace 500 g with 500/103 kg:

g = 9.81 Nkg-1
h = 2.5 m
m = 500 g = 0.5 kg
E=?

So our list of known values becomes:

g = 9.81 Nkg-1
h = 2.5 m
m = 500 g = 0.5 kg WRITE THIS DOWN
E=?

Step 3: Pick an equation that contains the values we know and the quantity we are trying to work
out:
So we want an equation with m, g, h and E in it. This looks like a job for the gravitational potential
energy equation:

𝐸 =𝑚×𝑔×ℎ
Step 4: Re-arrange the equation so what we are trying to work out is the subject.

We got lucky this time, the thing we are trying work out is the Energy, E, and that is already the
subject, so no re-arranging to do!

Step 5: Insert the values into the equation including the units:

WRITE THIS
𝐸 = 𝑚 × 𝑔 × ℎ = 0.5 𝑘𝑔 × 9.81 𝑁𝑘𝑔−1 × 2.5 𝑚
DOWN

Step 6: Type it into our calculator to get the answer and quote the answer to a reasonable number of
significant figures:

Answer in the calculator:

𝐸 = 12.2625
The value g was quoted to 3 significant figures and the value of h was given to 2 s.f. However the
value for m appeared to be only quoted to 1 s.f. but it’s not clear whether this actually was actually
to 3 s.f. or if it was indeed rounded to only 1 s.f. In this case quoting our answer to either 2 or 3
significant figures seems reasonable, and both would be given a mark in the exam.

20
𝐸 = 12.2 𝐽 (3 𝑠. 𝑓. ) WRITE THIS DOWN

Make sure you remember to put the unit as well. Energy is measured in Joules (J).

Step 7: Pause for one moment and think about if our answer is sensible.

This comes with practice and experience. The first time I tried this calculation out I got an answer of
1.226 × 104 J. I know that a typical car on a motorway has a kinetic energy of around 10 5 J and it is
(hopefully) clear that lifting a book 2.5 m off the floor should require much less energy than that, so
clearly I went wrong somewhere.

Looking back over my working, I could see that I had accidentally used a value of 500 for the mass,
m, instead of the correct value of 0.5 – I had forgotten to convert grams into kilograms in step 2.

After a few practice questions, you can do the same and in the exam it is reassuring when you
calculate an answer and know that it looks about right.

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General Information
Useful Web Links
These are general links which you may find useful for revision and independent study during the AS
and A2 courses.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Physics_Websites

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=131

http://www.khanacademy.org/#Physics

http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/physics

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/

http://www.school-for-champions.com/physics.htm

http://www.cyberphysics.co.uk/index.html

http://jersey.uoregon.edu/vlab/

Textbooks and revision guides

Within the first couple of days of term you should go to the Library and collect an AS Physics
textbook. This book is a detailed guide to the course and it will be yours to look after for the whole
of Year 12. The textbook should be brought to every lesson.

Should you wish to purchase a revision guide in addition to the course textbook we will be looking at
organising a bulk order at some point in the Autumn term which will normally be at a discount to
typical store prices. We do not consider a revision guide a requirement for the course, however, and
it will not be needed in lessons.

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