Physical quantity – a quantity that can be measured

Scalar quantities – physical quantities with only magnitude

Vector quantities – physical quantities with both magnitude and direction
Speed – distance moved per unit time
Velocity – rate of change of displacement
Acceleration – rate of change of velocity
Uniform acceleration – constant rate of change of velocity
Mass – measure of amount of matter in a body
Weight – the gravitational force acting on an object with mass
Gravitational field – a region in which a mass experiences a force due to gravitational field
strength
Gravitational field strength – gravitational force per unit mass placed at that point
Newton’s First Law of Motion – every object will continue in its state of rest or uniform motion
unless a resultant force acts on it
Newton’s Second Law of Motion – when a resultant force acts on an object of a constant
mass, the object will accelerate in the direction of the resultant force
Newton’s Third Law of Motion – If body A exerts a force on body B, body B will exert an
equal and opposite force on body A
Inertia – The reluctance of an object to move from its state of rest or motion, due to its mass
Friction – contact force that opposes or tends to oppose motion between surfaces in contact
Terminal velocity – when the air resistance acting against an object equals its weight, the
object will travel at constant speed and experience zero acceleration
Moment – product of the force and the perpendicular distance from the pivot to the line of
action of the force
Principle of moments – When a body is in equilibrium, the sum of clockwise moments about
a pivot is equal to the sum of anticlockwise moments about the same pivot
Centre of gravity – an imaginary point where the entire weight of the object seems to act
Stability – a measure of an object and its ability to return to its original position
Pressure – force acting per unit area
Density – Mass per unit volume
Principle of conservation of energy – energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can transfer
from one store to another. Energy remains constant
Work done – the product of the force and the distance moved by the object in the direction of
the force
Power – work done or energy transferred per unit time
Renewable energy source – sources of energy that can be replenished
Thermal equilibrium – the state in which two or more objects have the same transfer and
there is no net transfer of energy between them
Conduction – Energy transfer where energy is transferred trough the passing on of
vibrational motion from one particle to another
Describe conduction –
IN NON-METALS (no presence of free electrons)
Particles nearest to the heat source starts vibrating vigorously. Through collisions, energy is
transferred from more energetic particles to the less energetic particles. More energy is
transferred as particles on the other end begin to vibrate more vigorously.
IN METALS
Particles nearest to the heat source starts vibrating vigorously. Free electrons gain energy
from interacting with the particles. Through collisions, energy is transferred from more
energetic particles to the less energetic particles. Small sized and high-speed electrons
move easily and quicker to the cooler end to transfer energy to the particles there. More
energy is transferred as particles on the other end begin to vibrate more vigorously.
Convection – energy transfer by means of convection currents of a fluid, due to difference in
density
Radiation – energy transfer by electromagnetic waves. Does not require a medium
Internal Energy – energy store made up of total kinetic energy associated with the random
motion of the particles and the total potential energy between the particles in the system
Heat capacity – Change in amount of its internal energy per unit change in its temperature
Specific heat capacity – change in amount of its internal energy per unit mass for each unit
change in its temperature
Wave – a disturbance that propagates through space, transferring energy but not mater
Transverse – direction of vibration is perpendicular to the direction of wave travel
Longitudinal – direction of vibration is parallel to the direction of wave travel
Frequency – number of oscillations each point completes per second
Wavelength – shortest distance between crest/troughs or rarefaction/compression (sound
waves)
Wave front – imaginary point joining all adjacent points that are in phase
In phase – 2 points on a wave that always have the same direction of motion
First law of reflection – incident ray, reflected ray and normal at the point of incidence lie on
the same plane
Second law of reflection – angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection
Refraction – bending of light as it passes from one optical medium to another
First law of refraction – incident ray, reflected ray and normal at the point of incidence lie on
the same plane
Second law of refraction – ration of the sine of incidence angle to the sine of the refractive
angle is constant
Refractive index – ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in that medium
Principle of reversibility of light rays - regardless of how many times a light ray has been
reflected/ refracted, it will follow the same path when its direction is reversed.
Critical angle- the angle of incidence in an optically denser medium, angle of refraction in the
less dense medium is 90°
Total Internal Reflection – complete reflection of a light ray in an optically denser medium at
the boundary with an optically less dense medium
CONDITIONS FOR T.I.R
- optically dense medium to an optically less dense medium
- Incidence angle must be greater than critical angle
 MOTION ARRANGMENT

Particles are closely packed Particles vibrate about fixed

SOLID and arranged in a regular positions. Strong attractive
pattern. forces between the particles
Particles are less closely Particles sliver over each
packed than solids and other throughout the liquid
LIQUID arranged in an irregular without fixed positions.
pattern Forces are weaker than
solid
Particles are very far apart Particles can move freely in
GAS from one another in an any direction. Weak
irregular pattern attractive forces between
the particles

USES
INSTRUMENT SMALLEST DIVISION
Measure length
Measuring tape 0.1cm or 1mm
Measure length
Metre rule 0.1cm or 1mm
Internal and External
Digital Calipers 0.001cm or 0.01mm diameters
Digital micrometer screw Very small objects
gauge 0.0001cm or 0.001mm

Why does sound travel faster in glass than air?

Glass particles are packed closely together while particles in air are far apart. Particles in
glass collide with each other more regularly thus energy is transferred more quickly from one
particle to the next
How is sound transmitted from a vibrating speaker to a listener’s ear?
The vibrating speaker displaces the air sound around it creating regions of compressions
and rarefactions. As the particles vibrate, they collide with each other transferring energy
from one particle to the next. Thus, sound travels in the form of longitudinal waves and
eventually the energy will reach the listeners ear without any movement of matter.