Chapter 1

LINEAR MOTION
Introduction

Linear motion is the study of bodies moving in a straight line. In linear motion, the size and mass
of the body is neglected. Bodies are simply taken as moving points.

Scalar and vector quantities

Most quantities in physics fall in two groups. These are scalar and vector quantities. A scalar
quantity has magnitude or size only, while a vector quantity has both magnitude and direction.

Distance and displacement

When a car is moving from Nairobi to Mombasa it will move through several curves and the
distance covered by the car is the total length of the road. Distance is a scalar quantity and it is
the length of the path taken by a moving body. When a helicopter takes off from Nairobi to
Mombasa in a straight line, it covers a shorter distance and in a specific direction. Displacement
is a vector quantity and it is the distance covered by a moving body in a specific direction.

For example, if the length of the road from Nairobi to Mombasa is 500 km, when a car moves from
Nairobi to Mombasa and back, the 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 will be 1000 km, but the 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 will be zero.

Speed and velocity

Speed is a scalar quantity and it is the distance covered by a body per unit time, i.e.
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑠
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = .
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡
Uniform speed is when a body covers equal distances in equal time intervals. If the speed of a
body is not uniform, it is said to have variable speed and if it covers a distance 𝒔 in time 𝒕, the
average speed is given by:
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑, 𝒔
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝒕

Velocity is a vector quantity and it is the displacement covered by a body per unit time, i.e.

𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝒔
𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑡𝑦 = =
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝒕

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 𝒔
𝒗=
𝒕
Uniform velocity is when a body covers equal displacements in equal time intervals. If the velocity
of a body is not uniform, it is said to have variable velocity and is given by:

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝒔
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝒕

The SI unit of both speed and velocity is metres per second (𝑚/𝑠).

Acceleration

It is the change in velocity per unit time, i.e.,

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 ∆𝒗
𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝒂 = = .
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝒕
SI unit of acceleration is metres per second squared (𝑚/𝑠 2 ).
Acceleration in terms of initial velocity, 𝒖 and final velocity, 𝒗, is given by:
𝒗−𝒖
𝒂=
𝒕
When the velocity of a body decreases uniformly, the body is said to be decelerating or retarding.
Deceleration is a negative acceleration. For a uniformly accelerated motion,
𝒖+𝒗
𝑨𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 =
𝒕

MOTION GRAPHS

(a) 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆-𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒔

Graph B
Graph A: The body is stationary (or at rest) since
Graph C
there is change in time and no change in distance.
Distance (m/s)

Graph B: The body is moving with constant (or

Graph A
uniform) speed, since the distance changes
uniformly at equal time intervals.
Graph C: Body moving with variable speed since
the change in the distance covered varies for
equal time intervals.
Time (s)

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(b) 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕-𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒔

Graph A: The body is stationary (or at rest) since

Graph B
there is change in time and no change in
Graph D
displacement.
Graph C

Displacement (m/s)
Graph B: The body is moving with constant (or
uniform) velocity, since the displacement Graph A
changes uniformly at equal time intervals.
Graph C: Body moving with variable velocity
since the change in the displacement covered
varies for equal time intervals. It is accelerating.
Graph D: Body is decelerating. Time (s)

(c) 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅-𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒔

Graph A: The body is stationary (or at rest) since

the speed is zero as time moves. (Graph is lying
Graph C
on the time axis)
Speed (m/s)

Graph B: The body is moving with constant (or

Graph B
uniform) speed, since there is no change in speed
with time.
Graph C: Body is moving with variable speed. Graph A
Since it is a straight line, the rate of change of
Time (s)
speed is constant.

(d) 𝑽𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚-𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒔

Graph A: The body is moving with constant (or uniform) velocity, since there is no change in
velocity with time.
Graph B: The body is moving with constant (or uniform) acceleration, since the velocity changes
uniformly with equal time intervals.
Graph C: Body is moving with variable velocity or increasing acceleration.
Graph D: Body is moving with variable velocity or decreasing acceleration (decelerating)

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 Graph B
Graph D

Graph C

Graph A

Velocity (m/s)

Time (s)

Area under the velocity-time graph

A body starting from rest accelerates uniformly to a final velocity, 𝒗 within a time 𝒕 is represented
by the velocity-time graph below.

𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒.

0+𝑣
Velocity (m/s)

= ቀ ቁ×𝑡
2
1 𝒗
𝑠= 𝑣𝑡
2
It can be seen that the above represents the
equation of the area of the velocity-time graph.
∴ 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦-𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ
𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦.
𝒕 Time (s)

Determination of velocity and acceleration

These quantities can be determined with the help of a ticker-tape timer. A ticker timer has an arm,
with a pointed screw, which vibrates regularly due to changing current in the mains alternating
current (a.c.) supply. As the arm vibrates, the pointed screw presses on a carbon paper disc and
makes a dot on the tape. Successive dots are marked at the same interval of time. Most ticker timer
operates at a frequency of 50 Hertz (50 cycles/second), i.e. they make 50 dots per second. The time
1
interval between two consecutive dots is = 0.02 𝑠. The time is known as the periodic time, 𝑻.
50
This time interval is called a tick. The figure below shows part of the ticker-tape timer.

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 Pointed screw

Vibrating arm

Carbon disc

Tape

The following should be noted when the arm is vibrating:

(i) If the tape is at rest, the screw makes 50 dots per second at the same point on the tape.
(ii) If the tape is pulled with uniform velocity, the dots will be equally spaced.
(iii) If the tape is pulled with certain acceleration, the spacing between the dots goes on
increasing. For the deceleration, the spacing between the dots reduces.

(a) 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚

Consider the tape below produced from a ticker timer vibrating at 50 Hz when it was attached to
a frictionless trolley.
A B

12 cm
1
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑐 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝑻 = = 0.02 𝑠
50
There are 10 ticks between points 𝑨 and 𝑩 of the tape. Therefore, the time taken for the trolley to
cover the distance 𝑨𝑩 is (0.02 × 10) = 0.2 𝑠.
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 12
𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = = = 𝟔𝟎 𝒄𝒎/𝒔 or 𝟎. 𝟔 𝒎/𝒔
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 0.2

(b) 𝑶𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

Acceleration of the trolley attached to the tape below is obtained as follows:

A
𝒙 B C
𝒚 D

2 cm 4 cm

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 2 2
Average velocity between 𝑨 and 𝑩, 𝒗𝑨𝑩 = = = 50 𝑐𝑚/𝑠
(2×0.02) 0.04
4 4
Average velocity between 𝑪 and 𝑫, 𝒗𝑪𝑫 = = = 100 𝑐𝑚/𝑠
(2×0.02) 0.04

Change in velocity = 100 − 50 = 50 𝑐𝑚/𝑠

To get the time taken for the velocity to change from 𝒗𝑨𝑩 to 𝒗𝑪𝑫 the ticks are counted from 𝒙 to
𝒚. Number of ticks are 8, hence,
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 = 8 × 0.02 = 0.16 𝑠
∆𝑣 50
𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = = = 𝟑𝟏𝟐. 𝟓 𝒄𝒎/𝒔𝟐 or 𝟑. 𝟏𝟐𝟓 𝒎/𝒔𝟐
𝑡 0.16

Example 1

The figure below shows a section of a tape used to study the motion of a body. Determine the
acceleration of the body.

𝒙 𝒚
A B C D

4 cm 9 cm

Solution
4 4
Average velocity, 𝑣𝐴𝐵 = = = 100 𝑐𝑚/𝑠
(2×0.02) 0.04
9 9
Average velocity at, 𝑣𝐶𝐷 = = = 150 𝑐𝑚/𝑠
(3×0.02) 0.06

The ticks are counted from 𝒙 to 𝒚. Number of ticks are 7.5, hence,
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 = 7.5 × 0.02 = 0.15 𝑠
∆𝑣 150−100
𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = = = 𝟑𝟑𝟑. 𝟑 𝒄𝒎/𝒔𝟐 or 𝟑. 𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝒎/𝒔𝟐
𝑡 0.15

Example 2

The figure below shows a tape chart from the paper tape obtained from a ticker tape time of
frequency 50 Hz. Calculate the acceleration of the tape if each tape has 10 ticks.

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 Solution
6 16
Average velocity of the first tape = 0.2
= 30 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 14
16
Average velocity of the last tape = 0.2

Distance (cm)
12
= 80 𝑐𝑚/𝑠
Change in velocity = 80 − 30 = 50 𝑐𝑚/𝑠 10
Time taken for the velocity to change = 1.2 − 0.2
= 1.0 𝑠 8
∆𝑣 50
Acceleration = = = 𝟓𝟎 𝐜𝐦/𝐬 𝟐 6
𝑡 1

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2

Time (s)

Determination of acceleration due to gravity, 𝒈

(a) Using the ticker tape timer

A ticker-timer is fixed at a high point using a retort Timer

stand with a clamp. The tape is passed through the
timer and a small mass is attached on the tape as
shown in beside. The timer is switched on and at the
same time the mass is released to fall freely. The tape Stand
Tape
is removed from the timer and acceleration calculated.
The value gotten is approximately the acceleration
due to gravity, 𝑔. Mass

(b) Using free fall method

The time, 𝒕 taken for a small mass to fall freely through a known height, 𝒉 is determined. Since
the mass is just left to fall, hence its initial velocity, 𝒖 is zero. The process is repeated several
times and the average time calculated. The acceleration due to gravity, 𝒈 is then obtained using
the formula:
𝟐𝒉
𝒈= .
𝒕𝟐

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(c) Using a simple pendulum
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐞:
(i) The apparatus is set as shown below.

Stand Thread
𝒍

Bob

(ii) Starting with a length of 30 cm, the pendulum bob is given a small angular displacement
of about 100 sand left to swing freely and time for 20 oscillations is determined. The
process is repeated once more and the average time calculated. NB: The length of the
pendulum is the length of the thread plus the radius of the bob.
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 20 𝑜𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠
(iii) The time 𝑻 for one oscillation is calculated. Period, 𝑻 =
20
(iv) Steps (ii) and (iii) are repeated for lengths 30 cm, 40 cm, 50 cm, 60 cm, 60 cm, 70 cm and
80 cm. Record the times in the table below. NB: All calculations must be to 4 significant
figures.

Time for 20 oscillations (s)

Length of
pendulum, 𝑡1 + 𝑡2 Period, 𝑻 (s) 𝑻𝟐 (𝑠 2 )
𝑡1 𝑡2 𝑡𝑎𝑣. =
𝑙 (𝑚) 2
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80

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(v) A graph of 𝑻𝟐 against 𝒍 is plotted.
(vi) Determine the slope, 𝒎 of the graph.

𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:

For a pendulum oscillating with a small angular displacement,

𝒍
𝑻 = 2𝜋 √ ……………………………………………………… (1)
𝑔

where 𝑻 is the periodic time, 𝒍 is the length and 𝒈 is the acceleration due to gravity.
𝒍 4𝜋2
Thus, 𝑻𝟐 = 4𝜋 2 = 𝒍 ……………………….…………… (2)
𝑔 𝒈

From equation of straight line, 𝑦 = 𝒎𝑥 + 𝑐, a graph of 𝑻𝟐 against 𝒍 represented by equation (2),

4𝜋2
has a gradient, 𝒎 equals to and the y-intercept, 𝒄 is the origin, (0,0).
𝒈

4𝜋2
∴ 𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆, 𝒎 =
𝒈

4𝜋2
Hence, 𝒈 = …………………………….…………………… (3)
𝒎

Equations of motion for uniformly accelerated bodies

If a body having an initial velocity, 𝒖 m/s takes 𝒕 seconds to reach a final velocity, 𝒗 m/s when it
is accelerating at 𝒂 𝑚/𝑠 2 and covers a displacement, 𝒔 m, then,
From definition of acceleration,
𝑣−𝑢
𝑎=
𝑡
𝑎𝑡 = 𝑣 − 𝑢, hence
𝒗 = 𝒖 + 𝒂𝒕 ……………………….…………………………….. (1)
𝑣+𝑢
The average velocity of the body is, . The displacement, 𝒔 is given by,
2

𝒔 = 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒.

𝒖+𝒗
∴ 𝒔=ቀ 𝟐
ቁ 𝒕 …………………………………….………… (2)
From equation (2), 𝑣 can be substituted with (𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡),
𝑢+(𝑢+𝑎𝑡)
𝒔=ቀ ቁ𝑡
2

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Opening the brackets and simplifying,

𝒔 = 𝒖𝒕 + 𝟏𝟐 𝒂𝒕𝟐 ……………………………………………… (3)

From equation (3), 𝑢 can be substituted with (𝑣 − 𝑎𝑡).
1
𝑠 = (𝑣 − 𝑎𝑡)𝑡 + 2 𝑎𝑡 2

= 𝑣𝑡 − 𝑎𝑡 2 + 12 𝑎𝑡 2

𝒔 = 𝒗𝒕 − 𝟏𝟐 𝒂𝒕𝟐 ………………………………………………. (4)

𝑣−𝑢
From equation (1), substituting 𝑡 with ቀ ቁ in equation (2), we get,
𝑎
𝑢+𝑣 𝑣−𝑢 (𝑢−𝑣)(𝑢+𝑣) 𝑣 2 −𝑢2
𝑠=ቀ ቁቀ ቁ= = (Difference of two squares)
2 𝑎 2𝑎 2𝑎
2𝑎𝑠 = 𝑣 2 − 𝑢2

∴ 𝒗𝟐 = 𝒖𝟐 + 𝟐𝒂𝒔 …………………………………………. (5)

Projectiles

A projectile is any object that once projected or dropped, it continues in motion by its own inertia
and the only force acting on it is the downward force which is the force of gravity.

All freely falling bodies are subjected to a uniform acceleration. Its values at the equator and the
poles are different. Its value is usually taken to be approximately 10 𝑚/𝑠 2 which is denoted by
‘𝑔’. The equations of linear motion above, apply to falling bodies as well. The acceleration, 𝑎 is
replaced by 𝑔.
A body moving upwards is decelerating, hence 𝑔 = −10 𝑚/𝑠 2 , while a falling body is
accelerating and 𝑔 = +10 𝑚/𝑠 2 .

Example 3

A car sets out from rest with a constant acceleration of 2 𝑚/𝑠 2 for 10 s. It then continues at a
constant velocity for a further 25 s and then decelerates to rest in 5 s. Calculate the total
displacement.

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Solution
Method 1
Stage 1
𝑢 = 0 𝑚/𝑠, 𝑎 = 2 𝑚/𝑠 2 𝑡 = 10 𝑠
1
𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 2 𝑎𝑡 2
1
= (0 × 10) + ቀ2 × 2 × 102 ቁ = 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝒎

Stage 2

Final velocity, 𝑣 during the 1st stage of the journey is calculated first.
𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡 = 0 + 2(10) = 20 𝑚/𝑠
𝑠 = 𝑣𝑡 = 20 × 25 = 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝒎
Stage 3

𝑢 = 20 𝑚/𝑠, 𝑣 = 0 𝑚/𝑠, 𝑡 = 5 𝑠
𝑢+𝑣 20+0
𝑠=ቀ ቁ𝑡 = ቀ ቁ 5 = 𝟓𝟎 𝒎
2 2
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 100 + 500 + 50 = 𝟔𝟓𝟎 𝒎
Method 2

The velocity-time graph can also be used. The final velocity during the 1st stage of the journey is
the only quantity to be calculated using the equations of motion.
𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡 = 0 + 2(10) = 20 𝑚/𝑠
Velocity (m/s)

20

Stage 2
Stage 1
Stage 3

0 10 35 40
Time (s)
1 1
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ = ቀ2 × 10 × 20ቁ + (25 × 20) + ቀ2 × 5 × 20ቁ

= 100 + 500 + 50 = 𝟔𝟓𝟎 𝒎

or simply,

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 1
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑧𝑖𝑢𝑚 = × 20 × (25 + 40) = 𝟔𝟓𝟎 𝒎
2

Example 4
A cyclist’s motion is represented by the graph below. Calculate:
(i) The distance covered.
(ii) The displacement of the cyclist.

10
Velocity (m/s)

8
0
2 4 5 Time (s)

-6
Solution
1
(i) Area under the graph up to the 5th second = 2 × 10 × (5 + 2) = 35 𝑚
1
Area under the graph from the 5th to the 8th second = 2 × 3 × 6 = 9 𝑚

𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 = 35 + 9 = 𝟒𝟒 𝒎
1
(ii) Area under the graph up to the 5th second = 2 × 10 × (5 + 2) = 35 𝑚
1
Area under the graph from the 5th to the 8th second = 2 × 3 × (−6) = −9 𝑚

𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 35 − 9 = 𝟐𝟕 𝒎

Example 5
A ball is thrown vertically upwards with an initial velocity of 20 m/s. Calculate:
(i) Maximum height reached.
(ii) Time of flight.
(iii) Time when the ball is at a height of 15 m.
(iv) Position of the ball after 2.5 s.

12 |SJBHS
Solution
(i) Upward motion
𝑢 = 20 𝑚/𝑠, 𝑣 = 0 𝑚/𝑠, 𝑔 = −10 𝑚/𝑠 2
𝑣 2 = 𝑢2 + 2𝑎𝑠
02 = 202 − 2 × 10 × 𝑠
400
𝑠= = 𝟐𝟎 𝒎
20
(ii) Time taken, 𝒕 to reach maximum height is first calculated.
𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡
0 = 20 − 10𝑡
𝑡 =2𝑠
Time of flight (time the ball is in air) = 2 × 2 = 𝟒 𝒔
OR
Displacement, 𝑠 = 0 𝑚
1
𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 2 𝑎𝑡 2
1
0 = 20𝑡 − × 10𝑡 2
2
⟹ 0 = 20𝑡 − 5𝑡 2
𝑡 =𝟒𝒔
(iii) 𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 12 𝑎𝑡 2
1
15 = 20𝑡 − × 10𝑡 2
2

5𝑡 − 20𝑡 + 15 = 𝑡 2 − 4𝑡 + 3 = 0
2

𝑡 = 1 or 3
After 1 s (going up) and after 3 s (coming down) from time of projection.
(iv) After 2.5 seconds, it will be coming down, and from maximum height, time taken to the
required position is 0.5 seconds.
𝑢 = 0 𝑚/𝑠, 𝒕 = 𝟎. 𝟓 𝒔, 𝑔 = 10 𝑚/𝑠 2
𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 12 𝑎𝑡 2
1
𝑠 = (0 × 0.5) + 2 × 10 × 0.52 = 𝟏. 𝟐𝟓 𝒎 (𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡)
OR,

𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 12 𝑎𝑡 2 = (20 × 2.5) − ቀ12 × 10 × 2.52ቁ = 𝟏𝟖. 𝟕𝟓 𝒎

(𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)

13 |SJBHS
Example 6
A body is thrown horizontally with an initial velocity of 15 m/s from a vertical cliff which is 80 m
high. Calculate the:
(i) Time taken to reach the ground.
(ii) The distance from the bottom of the cliff to the landing, (i.e. the range).
(iii) The vertical velocity with which it hits the ground.
Solution
(i) Considering vertical motion, 𝑠 = 80 𝑚, 𝑢 = 0 𝑚/𝑠, 𝑔 = 10 𝑚/𝑠 2
1
𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 2 𝑎𝑡 2
1
80 = (0 × 𝑡) + 2 × 10𝑡 2 ⟹ 𝑡 2 = 16
𝑡 =𝟒𝒔
(ii) Considering horizontal motion, 𝑡 = 4 𝑠 , 𝑢 = 15 𝑚/𝑠
𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 = 15 × 4 = 𝟔𝟎 𝒎.
(iii) Taking the vertical motion, 𝑢 = 0 𝑚/𝑠, 𝑔 = 10 𝑚/𝑠 2 , 𝑡 = 4 𝑠
𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡
𝑣 = 0 + 10(4)
𝑣 = 𝟒𝟎 𝒎/𝒔
Exercise
1. A body is moving with uniform acceleration. Its velocity after 5 s is 26 𝑚/𝑠 and after 9 s, it is
42 𝑚/𝑠. Calculate:
(i) The initial velocity and the acceleration of the body. (𝒖 = 𝟔 𝒎/𝒔, 𝒂 = 𝟒 𝒎/𝒔𝟐 )

(ii) Its displacement after 10 s. (𝟐𝟔𝟎 𝒎)

2. A white car travelling on a straight road with a uniform velocity of 10 𝑚/𝑠 is followed by a red
car moving with a speed of 15 𝑚/𝑠. At a time when they are 14 m apart, the red car accelerated
at 2 𝑚/𝑠 2 and caught up with the white car. Calculate the distance the red car travelled to catch
up with the white car. (𝟑𝟒 𝒎)

3. A small iron ball is dropped from the top of a vertical cliff and takes 2.5 s to reach the sandy
beach below. Calculate:
(i) The velocity with which it strikes the sand. (𝟐𝟓 𝒎/𝒔)

(ii) The height of the cliff. (𝟑𝟏. 𝟐𝟓 𝒎)

(iii) The retardation of the ball through the sand if it penetrates to a depth of 12.5 m.
(𝟐𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝒎/𝒔𝟐 )

14 |SJBHS
 Chapter 2
FORCE AND NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION
Introduction

One of the major effects of force earlier discussed was that, it can change the motion of bodies. The idea
that forces control the motion of bodies was first described by Sir Isaac Newton in three laws of motion,
named after him.

(a) Newton’s first law of motion

It states that, 𝐴 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒
𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑢𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒.

Inertia

This is the tendency of a body to remain at rest or to be in motion in a straight line. Its effect is evident
when a vehicle suddenly stops causing the passengers to suddenly move forward or when a vehicle starts
moving suddenly, the passengers are forced backwards.

Mass of a body is a measure of its inertia. A larger mass requires a larger force to produce acceleration
or deceleration.

(b) Newton’s second law of motion

It states that, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒
𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒.

Momentum

It’s defined as the product of mass of the body and its velocity. The greater the mass of the body and
velocity, the greater the momentum it possesses.
𝑴𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒎 = 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒔 × 𝑽𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚
The SI units of momentum is kilogram-metres per second (kg.m/s or kg.ms-1).
A heavy truck requires a larger force to accelerate it to a given velocity compared to a smaller car.
Similarly, two similar trucks moving with different velocities will require different forces to stop them.
The one with a higher velocity will require a larger force.

15 |SJBHS
The law enables one to establish an important relationship involving mass, force and acceleration.
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 𝑚𝑣 − 𝑚𝑢
𝑚𝑣 − 𝑚𝑢
𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 =
𝑡
By Newton’s second law of motion,
𝑚𝑣 − 𝑚𝑢
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 ∝
𝑡
𝑚(𝑣 − 𝑢)
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 ∝
𝑡
𝑣−𝑢
But, 𝑎 =
𝑡

∴ 𝐹 ∝ 𝑚𝑎

𝐹 = 𝒌𝑚𝑎
Experiments shows that 𝒌 = 1

∴ 𝑭 = 𝒎𝒂
Impulse
When a force acts on a body in a given time interval, the force is referred to as the 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒.
The result produced is known as the 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒.
𝑚(𝑣−𝑢)
Since, 𝐹 = ,
𝑡
𝐹𝑡 = 𝑚(𝑣 − 𝑢) = 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒 = 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚
SI units of impulse is Newton-second or kilogram-metres per second (N.s or kg.m/s).
NB: The area of force-time graph will give impulse or change in momentum.

20
Force (N)

0 6 Time (s)

𝑨𝒓𝒆𝒂 = 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 × 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 = 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒆 = 𝟐𝟎 × 𝟔 = 𝟏𝟐𝟎 𝑵𝒔

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(c) Newton’s third law of motion
When a car crashes into a tree, it exerts a force on the tree. The tree also exerts a force on the car. This is
an example of Newton’s third law of motion, which states that, 𝐼𝑓 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑨 𝑒𝑥𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟
𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑩, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑩 𝑒𝑥𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑨.

This law simply means that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The rocket uses this
law. When the exhaust gases come out, they push the rocket in an opposite direction with the same
magnitude of the force with which it comes out with.

Worked examples on Newton’s laws of motion

Example 1

Calculate the force required to accelerate a mass of 0.8 kg from 15 m/s to 60 m/s in 15 s.

Solution

𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝑣−𝑢 60−15
=𝑚×( ) = 0.8 × ( ) = 𝟐. 𝟒 𝐍
𝑡 15

Example 2

A car of mass 1500 kg is moving with a velocity of 30 m/s. Calculate:

(i) The momentum of the car.
(ii) The retardation force, if the velocity is reduced uniformly to zero in 45 seconds.
(iii) The distance covered during the retardation.
Solution
(i) 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 𝑚𝑣 = 1500 × 30 = 45 000 𝑘𝑔𝑚/𝑠
(ii) 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑣−𝑢 0−30
=𝑚×( ) = 1500 × ( ) = −𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐍
𝑡 45

(𝑁𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒)

𝒖+𝒗 30+0
(iii) 𝑠=( ) × 𝑡 =( ) × 45 = 𝟔𝟕𝟓 𝒎
𝟐 2

17 |SJBHS
Example 3
A breakdown truck tows a car of mass 1000 kg along a level road and accelerates at 0.5 m/s2. Calculate:
(i) The tension in the tow-line.
(ii) The distance the car will move before coming to rest if a braking force of 5000 N is applied
when the car had reached 36 km/h.
Solution
(i) 𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = 𝑚𝑎 = 1000 × 0.5 = 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝑵
(ii) −5000 = 1000 × 𝑎 (𝐹 is negative because it’s a braking force and acts in opposite direction)
−5000
𝑎= = −5 𝑚𝑠 −2
1000
Initial velocity = 36 km/h = 10 m/s and final velocity = 0 m/s
Using 𝑣 2 = 𝑢2 + 2𝑎𝑠
0 = 102 + 2(−5)𝑠 = 102 − 10𝑠
𝑠 = 𝟏𝟎 𝒎

Example 4

A cricket ball with a mass of 0.1 kg is bowled at 30 m/s. The batsman hits it straight back towards the
bowler at 40 m/s. What are the ball’s initial momentum, final momentum and change in momentum? If
the ball is in contact with the bat for 0.01 s, what is the average force of the bat on the ball?

Solution
Let the direction from the batsman to the bowler be positive.
𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 0.1 × (−30) = −3 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚/𝑠
𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 0.1 × 40 = 4 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚/𝑠
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 4 − (−3) = 7 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚/𝑠
𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒 = 𝐹𝑡 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚
𝐹 × 0.01 = 7
7
∴ 𝐹= = 𝟕𝟎𝟎 𝑵
0.01

18 |SJBHS
Example 5
A car of mass 1000 kg is travelling at a velocity of 15 m/s. It collides head on with a wall. Calculate the
force of impact if it stops in:

(i) 0.5 s
(ii) 0.01 s

Solution
(i) 𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 1000 × 15 = 15000 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚/𝑠
𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 0 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚/𝑠
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = (15000 − 0) = 15000 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚/𝑠
𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒 = 𝐹𝑡 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚
𝐹 × 0.5 = 15000
15000
∴ 𝐹= = 𝟑𝟎 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝑵
0.5
(ii) 𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 1000 × 15 = 15000 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚/𝑠
𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 0 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚/𝑠
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = (15000 − 0) = 15000 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚/𝑠
𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒 = 𝐹𝑡 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚
𝐹 × 0.01 = 15000
1500
∴ 𝐹= = 𝟏 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝑵
0.01

Example 6
The valve of a cylinder containing 12 kg of compressed gas is opened and the cylinder empties in 60 s.
If the gas jets out from the nozzle with an average velocity of 25 m/s, find the force exerted on the
cylinder.
Solution
The velocity of the gas changes from rest to 25 m/s
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 12 × (25 − 0)
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = = =5𝑁
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 60
By Newton’s third law, an equal reaction force is exerted on the cylinder.
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 = 𝟓 𝑵

19 |SJBHS
Exercise
1. A car of mass 1000 kg travelling at 36 km/h is brought to rest over a distance of 20 m. Calculate:
(i) The average retardation. (−𝟐. 𝟓 𝒎𝒔−𝟐 )
(ii) The average retarding force. (−𝟐𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝑵)
2. A body of mass 500 g is to be accelerated from rest on a frictionless surface so that it covers a
distance of 20 m in 4 seconds. Determine:
(i) The acceleration that must be imparted on the body. (𝟐. 𝟓 𝒎𝒔−𝟐 )
(ii) The magnitude of the minimum force required to produce the acceleration. (𝟏. 𝟐𝟓 𝑵)
(iii) The momentum of the body at the end of the 4 seconds. ( 𝟓 𝒌𝒈. 𝒎/𝒔)

Weight of a body in an elevator

(i) Upward acceleration
The resultant force which the body of mass 𝑚, exerts on the floor of the elevator is given by;
𝐹 = 𝑊 + 𝑚𝑎, where 𝑊 is the weight of the body and 𝑎 is the acceleration of the body.

∴ 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑔 + 𝑚𝑎
(ii) Downward motion (𝒂 < 𝒈)
The resultant force which the body of mass 𝑚, exerts on the floor of the elevator is given by;
𝐹 = 𝑊 − 𝑚𝑎.

∴ 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑔 − 𝑚𝑎
(iii) Downward motion (𝒂 = 𝒈)
The resultant force which the body of mass 𝑚, exerts on the floor of the elevator is given by;
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑔 − 𝑚𝑎.
Since 𝑔 = 𝑎, then

∴ 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 − 𝑚𝑎 = 0 𝑁
(iv) Downward motion (𝒂 > 𝒈)
In this case the resultant force will not be on the floor of the lift but on the ceiling of the elevator
and it is given by:
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 − 𝑚𝑔.
(v) Constant velocity (𝒂 = 𝟎)
If the velocity is constant, the acceleration is zero, hence the force on the floor is given by:
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑔

20 |SJBHS
Worked examples

Example 7

A girl of mass 40 kg is standing on a compression balance in a lift which is moving upwards with an
acceleration of 2 m/s2. Calculate the reading on the compression balance.

Solution

𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒

𝐹 = 𝑊 + 𝑚𝑎 = (40 × 10) + (40 × 2) = 𝟒𝟖𝟎 𝑵

Example 8

A girl of mass 50 kg is standing on the floor of an elevator which is moving downwards with an
acceleration of:
(i) 5 m/s2
(ii) 12 m/s2
Calculate the force exerted on the bottom and roof of the elevator.
Solution
(i) 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟 = (50 × 10) − (50 × 5) = 𝟐𝟓𝟎 𝑵
(ii) 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 = (50 × 12) − (50 × 10) = 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝑵

The principle of conservation of linear momentum

It states that:
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑓 𝑛𝑜 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑐𝑡
𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚.
If the momentum is conserved, then the total momentum before collision is equal to the total momentum
after collision.

COLLISIONS
In terms of the directions of motion, if two bodies collide head-on on a straight line and move along the
same straight line, the collision is said to be linear but if they collide at an angle and move at angle, the
collision is non-linear or oblique.

21 |SJBHS
(a) Elastic collision
In this type of collision, both the momentum and Kinetic Energy is conserved. If the bodies bounce off
after collision in this case, the collision is said to be 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐. Suppose two bodies of masses
𝒎𝟏 and 𝒎𝟐 moving with initial velocities 𝒖𝟏 and 𝒖𝟐 collides and after collision, they move velocities
𝒗𝟏 and 𝒗𝟐 respectively, then if the momentum is conserved,
𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑚1 𝑢1 + 𝑚2 𝑢2 = 𝑚1 𝑣1 + 𝑚2 𝑣2
Since Kinetic Energy is conserved,
1 1 1 1
𝑚1 𝑢1 2 + 𝑚2 𝑢2 2 = 𝑚1 𝑣1 2 + 𝑚2 𝑣2 2
2 2 2 2

(b) Inelastic collision

In this type of collision, the momentum is conserved but Kinetic Energy is not conserved. In inelastic
collisions, kinetic energy is lost because the bodies undergo some deformation and some of the energy is
transferred to heat and sound. If the bodies stick together after collision, the collision is said to be
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐. The collision has the following characteristics:
(i) The total mass is the sum of the masses of the individual bodies.
(ii) The bodies end up with a common velocity.

Worked examples
Example 9
A trolley of mass 2 kg rests on a horizontal table. Another trolley of mass 1 kg moving at 6 m/s collides
with the stationary trolley and the two move together. Calculate their common velocity if the momentum
is conserved.

Solution
𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑚1 𝑢1 + 𝑚2 𝑢2 = (𝑚1 + 𝑚2 )𝑣𝐶
(2 × 0) + (1 × 6) = (2 + 1)𝑣𝐶
3𝑣𝐶 = 6
𝑣𝐶 = 𝟐 𝒎/𝒔

22 |SJBHS
Example 10
An object of mass 4 kg is moving with velocity of 3 m/s collides head on with another object of mass
2 kg with a velocity of 3 m/s. If they both stick together and move with a common velocity 𝑽𝒄 , calculate
their common velocity 𝑽𝑪 .
Solution
𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛
(4 × 3) + {2 × (−3)} = (4 + 2)𝑉𝐶 (Negative sign signifies velocity is in the opposite direction)
12 − 6 = 6𝑉𝐶
𝑉𝐶 = 𝟏 𝒎/𝒔

Example 11
A 5 g stone is released from a catapult at a velocity of 200 m/s sticks into a 200 g lamp of plasticine
hanging from one end of a high string. If the two move together, calculate:
(i) Velocity of the stone and plasticine after the impact.
(ii) The maximum height the two would swing.
(iii) The Kinetic energy of the stone before and after the impact.
(iv) Account for the difference in energy in (iii) above.
Solution
(i) 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛
(0.005 × 200) + (0.2 × 0) = 0.205 × 𝑉𝐶
1
𝑉𝐶 = 0.205 = 𝟒. 𝟖𝟕𝟖 𝒎/𝒔

(ii) Kinetic energy is converted to potential energy

1
∴ 2
(𝑚𝑠 + 𝑚𝑝 )𝑣 2 = (𝑚𝑠 + 𝑚𝑝 )𝑔ℎ

1
× 0.205 × 4.8782 = 0.205 × 10 × ℎ
2
4.8782
ℎ= = 𝟏. 𝟏𝟗𝟎 𝒎
10 × 2
1
(iii) 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 = × 0.005 × 2002 = 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝑱
2
1
𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 = × 0.205 × 4.8782 = 𝟐. 𝟒𝟑𝟗 𝑱
2
(iv) Some energy is lost in the form of heat and sound, hence the collission is inelastic.

23 |SJBHS
Example 12
A bullet of mass 0.005 kg is fired from a gun of mass 0.5 kg. If the muzzle velocity of the bullet is
300 m/s, determine the recoil velocity of the gun.
Solution
Both the gun and the bullet are initially at rest and therefore, the initial momentum is zero.
𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 0.005 × 300 = 1.5 𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑠 −1
𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔
∴ 0 = 1.5 + 0.5𝑣 , where 𝑣 is the recoil velocity.
0.5𝑣 = −1.5
𝑣 = −3 𝑚/𝑠
The recoil velocity, 𝑣 = 𝟑 𝒎/𝒔

Exercise
1. A man stands on a frictionless ice and fires a 0.5 kg arrow horizontally at 50 m/s. The combined
mass of the man and bow is 60 kg. Calculate the velocity of the man across the ice after firing
the arrow. (−𝟎. 𝟒𝟏𝟑𝟐 𝒎/𝒔)

2. A bullet of mass 20 g is fired horizontally with a velocity of 200 m/s into a suspended stationary
wooden block of mass 1980 g. Determine:
(i) The common velocity of both the bullet and the block, if the bullet is embedded into the
block. (𝟐 𝒎/𝒔)

(ii) The height to which the block rises. (𝟎. 𝟐 𝒎)

If the block was loosely held at a height of 10 m above the ground and the string snaps
during impact, how far will the block travel before hitting the ground? (𝟐. 𝟖𝟐𝟖 𝒎)

3. Suppose that you have two toy electric trains set up on a long, straight track running east and
west. Train 𝑨 has a mass 1.60 kg and travels east at 0.250 m/s. Train 𝑩 has a mass of 2.50 kg and
travels west at 0.500 m/s. The trains have stick pads on the fronts of their engines so that if they
collide, they will not bounce off each other. Suppose that the friction in the wheel bearings is
zero and the instant the trains collide, you shut off the power to the engines. How fast and in
which direction will the composite train be moving after the crash?
(𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝟎. 𝟐𝟎𝟕𝟑 𝒎/𝒔)

24 |SJBHS
 4. The diagram shows trolley 𝑨 of mass 3 kg with a light frictionless wheel which is at rest on a
smooth inclined plane. When it is released, the trolley is lowered through a vertical height of
1.25 m while it is accelerating down the slope. It then collides with a second trolley B of mass 2
kg which is at rest on a horizontal plane. After collision, the two trolleys travels forward with a
common velocity as a single body.

B
1.25 m

(i) Calculate the speed of trolley A just before collision. (𝟓 𝒎/𝒔)

(ii) Determine the common velocity of the two trolleys after collision. (𝟑 𝒎/𝒔)

(iii) Calculate the kinetic energy before and after collision for the system of trolleys. (𝟑𝟕 𝑱, 𝟐𝟐. 𝟓 𝑱)

FRICTIONAL FORCE
Friction is the name given to the force which opposes or tends to oppose relative motion of two surfaces
in contact with one another.
Investigating factors affecting friction
If one end of a string is attached to a block 𝑨 and placed on a bench and another to a scale pan S and
passed over a frictionless pulley, it will be observed that the pan will not move. This is because the
frictional force is greater than the weight of the pan.
R

Block A Frictionless pulley

Frictional force

mg

Pan and masses

25 |SJBHS
On adding very small masses on the scale pan. The block still doesn’t move. Adding more weight the
block will suddenly slip. At this point, the frictional force between the block and the bench is called the
limiting frictional force which is equal to the weight of the pan and the masses.

The arrangement is repeated for various surfaces of block 𝑨 so that the area of contact is varied.
The above experiment shows that the ratio of the limiting frictional force to the normal reaction is a
constant.
For static friction, the constant is known as the coefficient of static friction between the two surfaces and
it’s denoted by a Greek letter called 𝑚𝑢, (𝝁).
𝐿𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒, 𝐹𝑠
𝐶𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝜇𝑆 =
𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑅
∴ 𝐹𝑠 = 𝝁𝑆 𝑅
The experiment shows that the limiting frictional force remains the same if the block is turned so that the
area of contact varies.
Kinetic friction
This is the force acting between two surfaces which are in contact and are in relative motion to each
other.
𝐹𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒, 𝐹𝑘
𝐶𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝜇𝑆 =
𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑅
∴ 𝐹𝑘 = 𝝁𝑘 𝑅
Experiments shows that, 𝝁𝑆 > 𝝁𝑘

Laws of friction
(i) The frictional force between two surfaces oppose their relative motion.
(ii) The frictional force is independent of the area of contact for a given normal reaction.
(iii) The limiting frictional force is proportional to the normal reaction for static friction.
(iv) The force of kinetic friction is proportional to the normal reaction and is independent of the relative
velocity.

26 |SJBHS
Example 13
A block of wood of mass 15 kg requires a horizontal force of 25 N to drag it along a horizontal surface.
Calculate the coefficient of friction between the surfaces.
Solution
𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑅 = 𝑚𝑔 = 15 × 10 = 150 𝑁
𝐹𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = 25 𝑁
𝐹 25
𝜇= = = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟔𝟔𝟕 (𝐶𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠, 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑎 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠)
𝑅 150

Exercise
A box of mass 50 kg is dragged on a horizontal floor by means of a rope tied to it. If the coefficient of
kinetic friction between the box and the floor is 0.3, calculate the force required to move the box at
uniform velocity. (𝟏𝟓𝟎 𝑵)

Methods of reducing friction

The friction can be reduced by:
(i) Making the sliding surfaces smooth.
(ii) Making the fast moving objects have a streamline shape (fish shaped) such as cars, aeroplanes,
e.t.c. This causes the smooth flow of air and thus minimizes air resistance at high speeds.
(iii) Lubricating the sliding surfaces.
(iv) Using ball bearings or roller bearings, because the rolling friction is lesser than the sliding
friction.

Viscosity and terminal velocity

𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤. Fluids resist the relative
motion of immersed objects through them as well as to the motion of layers with differing velocity
within them.
A steel ball dropped in a cylinder full of glycerine takes a longer time to reach the bottom of the cylinder
than into a cylinder full of water. This is because the glycerine has a higher viscosity than water.
Considering the cylinder having glycerine, the steel ball will accelerate at first but it soon attains a
steady velocity. This steady velocity is known as 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑽𝒐 , at it is reached midway along
the height of the tall cylinder.

27 |SJBHS
 𝑽𝒐

Velocity

Time

For terminal velocity 𝑽𝒐 to be attained, the downward force which is the weight, 𝑾 of the steel ball,
should be equal to the sum of the upward forces. The upward forces are the upthrust, 𝑼 and the viscous
force, 𝑭.

∴ 𝑭+𝑼 =𝑾

𝑼 𝑭

28 |SJBHS
 Chapter 3
WORK, ENERGY, POWER AND MACHINES
WORK
Work is done when a force moves its point of application in the direction of the force along its line of
action. Work depends on the amount of force used to displace a body and also the magnitude of the
displacement.

𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 = 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 × 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕

𝑾 = 𝑭𝒅

The SI unit for work is Joule (J), and 1 Joule of work is done when a force of 1 Newton moves a
distance of 1 metre.

1 𝑁𝑚 = 1 𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒
1 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑜𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒 (𝑘𝐽) = 1000 𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
1 𝑀𝑒𝑔𝑎𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒 (𝑀𝐽) = 1 000 000 𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠

Example 1

Calculate the work done when a builder rises a block of 9 kg to a vertical height of 2 m.

Solution

Work is done against gravity.

𝑊 = 𝐹𝑑
= (9 × 10) × 2
= 𝟏𝟖𝟎 𝑱
Example 2
Calculate the work done when a horizontal force of 20 N is used to pull a box along the ground for a
distance of 10 m.
Solution
Work is done against friction
𝑊 = 𝐹𝑑
= 20 × 10
= 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝑱

29 |SJBHS
Example 3
A force, 𝑭 is used to pull a body over a distance 𝒅 as shown below in a Force−displacement graph.
Calculate the total work done.
Force (N)
8

3 5 6
0 2
Displacement (m)
_ (N)
−5

Solution
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ
1 1
= (2 × 8 × 2) + (2 × 5 × (2 + 4))

= 8 + 15 = 𝟐𝟑 𝐉

Work done in stretching a spring

The work done in stretching a spring is given by the product of the average force and the extension
produced.

1
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 2 𝐹𝑒………………………………………………… (i)

Where 𝐹 is the force applied and 𝒆 is the extension produced.

Since, 𝐹 = 𝒌𝒆, then, from eq. (i),
1
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 = (𝒌𝒆) × 𝑒
2
1
∴ 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 2 𝑘𝑒 2 ……………………………………….….. (ii)

Work done by resolved forces

Consider a block being displaced from point 𝑨 to 𝑩 by a force 𝐹 inclined at an angle 𝜃 to the horizontal.

𝑭
𝑹

𝜃 𝜃
𝑷
𝑸

𝒅
𝑨 𝑩

30 |SJBHS
 𝑃𝑄
From ∆ 𝑃𝑄𝑅, cos 𝜃 = 𝑃𝑅

In terms of forces, force 𝑷𝑸 can be calculated as follows,

𝑃𝑄
cos 𝜃 =
𝐹
∴ The resolved force acting horizontally along 𝑷𝑸 is given by:
𝑃𝑄 = 𝐹 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃
Also, the resolved force acting vertically along QR is given by:
𝑄𝑅 = 𝐹 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃
Therefore, the work done by the resolved from point 𝑨 to 𝑩 is given by:

𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 × 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = (𝐹 cos 𝜃 ) × 𝑑

Example 4

A man pulls a block of wood with a force of 100 N which is 300 to the horizontal. Calculate the work
done if it is pulled through a distance of 10 m.

Solution

𝑊 = 𝐹 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 × 𝑑
= 100 cos 300 × 10
= 𝟖𝟔𝟔 𝐉

Exercise

1. A force of 50 N is used to pull a box along the ground a distance of 8 m. Calculate the work
done by the force. (𝟒𝟎𝟎 𝑱)

2. A load is pulled 100 m at a steady velocity along a level track by a force of 20 𝑘𝑁 which is
inclined upwards at an angle of 600 to the vertical. Calculate the work done. (𝟏. 𝟕𝟑𝟐 × 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝑱)

3. A spring is stretched such that the extension is 10 cm with a force of 100 N. Calculate the work
done in stretching the spring. (𝟓 𝑱)

31 |SJBHS
ENERGY
Energy is the ability to do work and is measured in Joules. An object is said to have energy if it can do
work.

Sources of energy
The following are the major sources of energy:
(i) 𝑺𝒖𝒏
It’s the main source of energy on earth that produces both light and heat.
(ii) 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒅
It is air in motion hence it possesses energy that can be used to produce electricity, drive wind mills,
pump water, e.t.c.
(iii) 𝑭𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒔
They produce energy when burnt.
(iv) 𝑮𝒆𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍
The earth’s crust is very hot, hence when underground water is exposed to heat, it turns to steam and
comes out with a lot of pressure hence it can be used to turn turbines in power generating stations.

Renewable and non-renewable energy sources

Renewable energy is the type which is supplied by processes in the environment and can be recycled
or re-used over and over again. The supplies are inexhaustible, e.g. solar energy, geothermal energy,
tidal energy, e.t.c.
Non-renewable energy is that which is supplied by processes that are exhaustible in nature. The
materials once used up cannot be re-used, e.g. firewood, charcoal, coal, petroleum, nuclear energy,
e.t.c.
Forms of energy
(a) 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚
It is contained in substances of oxidation (burning). This form of energy is found in food, fuel
e.t.c.
(b) 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚
Light is very essential for vision and is also used by green plants to manufacture their own food
by a process known as photosynthesis.
(c) 𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚
This form of energy is obtained by converting other forms of energy using electrical generators.

32 |SJBHS
 (d) 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚
It is obtained or produced by burning fuels, radiation from the sun and also from electrical heaters.
(e) 𝑴𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚
There are two types of energy in this form. These are: potential energy (P.E.) and kinetic energy
(K.E.)
(i) 𝑃𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
It is possessed by a body due to its relative position or state and it depends on mass, height and
force of gravity.
𝑃. 𝐸. = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 × ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝑷. 𝑬. = 𝒎𝒈𝒉
(ii) 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
It is possessed by bodies in motion and it depends on the mass and velocity of the body. If a force
𝑭, acts on a body at rest and makes it accelerate to a final velocity 𝒗, within 𝒕 seconds and covers
a distance, 𝒔, then;
0+𝑣
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
2
0+𝑣 𝑣𝑡
∴ 𝑠=( )𝑡 =
2 2
Since K.E.= work done by the force, then,
𝐾. 𝐸. = 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 × 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝐹 × 𝑠.
but 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎
𝑣𝑡 𝑣 𝑣𝑡
∴ 𝐾. 𝐸. = 𝑚𝑎 × =𝑚𝑡 ×
2 2
𝟏
Finally, 𝑲. 𝑬. = 𝟐 𝒎𝒗𝟐

Law of conservation of energy

𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚
𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟.
A device that converts one form of energy to another is known as a 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑟.
Energy transformation in a simple pendulum
At point 𝑨 and 𝑩, the velocity of the bob is zero and the height, 𝒉 is at maximum. Therefore, the bob
has maximum potential energy and zero kinetic energy.
At point 𝑪, the bob has maximum velocity hence maximum kinetic energy. Since the height 𝒉 is at
minimum, the bob has minimum potential energy.

33 |SJBHS
 𝑨 𝑩
K.E.= 0 K.E.= 0
P.E.= Maximum P.E.= Maximum

K.E.= Maximum
P.E.= Minimum

Energy
Potential Energy

Kinetic Energy

A C B Position of bob

Examples of energy transformation

𝑳
Solar 𝑪 Electrical Potential
Energy Energy Energy
𝑲
𝑱
𝑨
𝑫 𝑬
𝑩 𝑯

Chemical Heat Light

𝑮
Energy Energy 𝑭 Energy

Transducers
Transducers 𝐹 − 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟
𝐴 − 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝐺 − 𝐷𝑦𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑜/𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟
𝐵 − 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝐻 − 𝑃ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙
Mechanical
𝐶 − 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝐽 − 𝐵𝑢𝑙𝑏
𝐷 − 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 Energy
𝐾 − 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝
𝐸 − 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝐿 − 𝐻𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑜-𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐

34 |SJBHS
Example 5
A body of mas 5 kg is raised a distance of 2 m above the ground. Calculate the potential energy for the
new position.

Solution
𝑃. 𝐸. = 𝑚𝑔ℎ
= 5 × 10 × 2 = 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝑱
Example 6

A stone of mass 10 kg gains a velocity of 10 m/s starting from zero. Calculate the gain in K.E.

Solution

1 1
𝐾. 𝐸. = 𝑚𝑣 2 = × 10 × 102 = 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝑱
2 2

Example 7

A body is at 5 m from the ground as shown below. Calculate the velocity of the body by the time it is
at point B, assuming the surface is frictionless.

5m

Solution
All the P.E. is converted to K.E.
1
𝑚𝑣 2 = 𝑚𝑔ℎ
2
𝑣 2 = 2𝑔ℎ
𝑣 = √2 × 10 × 5 = 𝟏𝟎 𝒎/𝒔

35 |SJBHS
POWER

𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘. In other words, power is a measure of how fast work
can be done.
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛
𝑾
𝑷=
𝒕
The SI unit for power is the Watt (W). Other multiples of Watt are the kilowatt and megawatt.
i.e. 1 𝑘𝑊 = 1000 𝑊
1 𝑀𝑊 = 1 000 000 𝑊

The power of an appliance is a measure of how fast it can convert a given amount of energy to another,
e.g. a bulb rated 75 W converts 75 J of electrical energy to light and heat energy in 1𝑠.

Example 9

A boy of mass 60 kg climbs up the stairs 3 m high in 4 s. Calculate the power developed by the boy.

Solution

𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 (60 × 10) × 3

𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = = = 𝟒𝟓𝟎 𝑾
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 4

Example 10

The engine of a car provides a force of 10 000 N when a car is moving with a velocity of 72 km/h.
Calculate the power developed by the engine.

Solution

𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 × 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡

𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = = = 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 × ( )
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
But = 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

72 × 1000
∴ 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 × 𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 10 000 × ( ) = 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝒌𝑾
3600

36 |SJBHS
MACHINES

𝐴 𝑚𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦.
Machines are generally used to multiply forces, change the direction of force, increase the speed of
movement.
Terms used in machines
(a) 𝑴𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 (𝑴. 𝑨. )
It is defined as the ratio of the force exerted by the machine on the load to the force exerted on
the machine by the effort.
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑
Mechanical Advantage =
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡
𝑳
𝑴. 𝑨. =
𝑬
(b) 𝑽𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐 (𝑽. 𝑹. )
It is the ratio of the distance moved by the effort to the distance moved by the load.
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
Velocity Ratio =
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
(c) 𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 (𝑬)
It is the ratio of the work done on the load to the work done by the effort and it is expressed in
percentage.
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑
Efficiency = × 100
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡
OR
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡
Efficiency = × 100
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡

Relationship between M.A., V.R. and Efficiency

𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑

Efficiency = × 100
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑×𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑
= × 100
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡×𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑
= × × 100
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡

𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 1

But, = 𝑀. 𝐴. and =
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑉.𝑅.

37 |SJBHS
 1 𝑴.𝑨.
∴ 𝐸 = 𝑀. 𝐴. × × 100 ⟹ 𝑬= × 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝑉.𝑅. 𝑽.𝑹.

Perfect machine
A perfect machine is friction free and has 100 % efficiency. There is no loss in energy as the machine
works. For a perfect machine, 𝑀. 𝐴 = 𝑉. 𝑅.
Real machines are always less than 100 % efficient and therefore the mechanical advantage is less than
the velocity ratio.
Examples of simple machine
(a) 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓
It is a rigid bar capable of rotating about a fixed point called the pivot or fulcrum. There are three
classes of levers depending on the position of pivot with respect to the load to be overcome and
effort applied.
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
Velocity Ratio =
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒎
𝐕. 𝐑. =
𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒎

Load arm Effort arm

Effort
Load

(b) 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒙𝒍𝒆

It consists of a large wheel of radius 𝑹 attached to an axle of radius 𝒓. If the load moves a distance
equals to 1 revolution i.e. 𝟐𝝅𝒓, the effort will also make 1 revolution which is equal to 𝟐𝝅𝑹.

2𝜋𝑅
∴ 𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 =
2𝜋𝑟 𝑹
𝒓
𝑹
𝑽. 𝑹. =
𝒓

Effort
Load

38 |SJBHS
(c) 𝑮𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎

Gear is a wheel which rotates about its centre

and has equally spaced teeth or cogs around it.
A machine is an arrangement of two or more
gears. Consider a case where the effort gear and
load gear has 𝒏 and 𝑵 teeth respectively. The
effort and the load are applied to the shafts of
the gears. If the effort makes the effort gear to
make 1 revolution, then, the load gear will make
𝒏
revolutions.
𝑵

𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 1 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑁

𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 = = 𝑛 =
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑛
𝑁

𝑵 𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒂𝒓

𝑽𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐 = 𝒏 =
𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒂𝒓

(d) 𝑰𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒆

It’s a slope or ramp that enables one to raise heavy loads to a certain vertical height by pushing or
pulling them along the plane more easily than lifting them vertically to the same height.

Effort

𝒍
𝒉

𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑙 Load

Velocity Ratio = =
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 ℎ
ℎ
Since, = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃
𝑙
𝟏
Then, 𝐕. 𝐑. =
𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝜽

39 |SJBHS
 (e) 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒘
The thread of a screw is an inclined plane twisted round a given axis. The distance between two
successive threads is known as the pitch of the screw. A screw with a small pitch needs less force
to drive it into a piece of wood. The screw is used on bench vices, screw jacks e.t.c.

𝑹
𝐶𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑤 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑,
𝑉. 𝑅. =
𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑤, 𝑝
𝟐𝝅𝑹
𝑽. 𝑹. =
𝒑
Threads Pitch, 𝒑

(f) 𝑯𝒚𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕

When the effort piston moves downwards, the load piston will be pushed upwards. Since the fluid
is incompressible, volume of the fluid that leaves the effort cylinder is equal to the volume of the
fluid that enters the load cylinder.
Load

Effort

Effort piston
Load piston

Effort cylinder
Load cylinder

Effort distance × Cross section are of effort piston

= Load distance × cross section of load piston
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐶𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛
∴ =
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐶𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛
𝑨𝑳
Thus, 𝑽. 𝑹. = ,
𝑨𝑬

where 𝑨𝑳 and 𝑨𝑬 are the cross-sectional area of the load piston and effort piston respectively.

40 |SJBHS
 2𝜋𝑅 2
If the cross-sectional area of the pistons have circular cross-sectional area, then, 𝑉. 𝑅. = where,
2𝜋𝑟 2
𝑹 and 𝒓 are the cross-sectional area of the load piston and effort piston respectively.
𝑹𝟐
∴ 𝑽. 𝑹. =
𝒓𝟐
(g) 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒔

If the radius of the effort (driving) wheel is 𝒓 and the radius of the load (driven) wheel is 𝑹, then,
2𝜋𝑟 𝑟
if the driving wheel makes 1 revolution, then, the driven pulley will make = revolutions.
2𝜋𝑅 𝑅

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙

𝑉. 𝑅. =
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙
1 𝑅 𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙
𝑉. 𝑅. = 𝑟 = =
⁄𝑅 𝑟 𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙

(h) 𝑷𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎

A pulley is a grooved wheel which turns an axis or axle fixed to a block. A strong cable is made to pass
over the grooved wheel or ream. If the block of the pulley is fixed, the system is known as a fixed
pulley and if the block is movable, the system is known as movable pulley. If two pulleys are set such
that one is fixed and the other is allowed to move, the pulley system is called block and tackle.

Pulleys are used to change the direction of force and to gain a mechanical advantage greater than 1.

Assuming that the rope and lower pulleys are weightless and that the system is frictionless, then the
tension in every part of the rope is the same.

(i) 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 (ii) 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦

𝑽. 𝑹. = 𝟐

𝑽. 𝑹. = 𝟏

E
L
L

41 |SJBHS
(iii) 𝑇𝑤𝑜 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 (iv) 𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 (v) 𝐹𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚

E E
E

𝑽. 𝑹. = 𝟐 𝑽. 𝑹. = 𝟑

𝑽. 𝑹. = 𝟓

L L

L
The velocity ratio of a pulley system is given by the number of cables/ropes supporting the load and
not by the number of pulleys.

Worked examples on simple machines

Example 1

A load of 3000 N is pulled along an inclined plane of length 8 m by a force of 2100 N. Calculate the
efficiency of the system if the load is raised through a vertical distance of 4 m.

Solution

𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 3000 10
𝑀. 𝐴 = = =
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 2100 7

𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 8
𝑉. 𝑅 = =4=2
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑

𝑀. 𝐴 10 1
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = × 100% = × × 100%
𝑉. 𝑅 7 2

= 𝟕𝟏. 𝟒𝟑 %

42 |SJBHS
Example 2

An effort of 50 N is applied to the brace of a car’s screw jack whose handle moves through a circle of
radius 14 cm. The pitch of the screw is 2 mm. Calculate:
(i) The velocity ratio of the screw jack.
(ii) The load raised, if the efficiency of the machine is 30 %
Solution

2𝜋𝑟 2×3.142×14
(i) 𝑉. 𝑅 = = = 𝟒𝟑𝟗. 𝟖
𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ 0.2
𝑀.𝐴
(ii) 𝐸 = × 100
𝑉.𝑅
𝑀.𝐴
30 = 439.8 × 100
30×439.8
𝑀. 𝐴 = = 131.94
100
𝐿
𝑀. 𝐴 = 131.94 =
50
∴ 𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 = 131.94 × 50
= 𝟔𝟓𝟗𝟕 𝑵
Example 3

In the pulley system shown below, an effort of 20 𝑘𝑁 is required to lift a load of 32 𝑘𝑁.

20 kN

32 kN

43 |SJBHS
Calculate the:

(i) V.R.
(ii) M.A.
(iii) Efficiency of the system.

Solution

(i) 𝑉. 𝑅 = 𝟑
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 32
(ii) 𝑀. 𝐴 = 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 = 20 = 𝟏. 𝟔
𝑀.𝐴
(iii) 𝐸= × 100
𝑉.𝐸

1.6
= × 100 = 𝟓𝟑. 𝟑𝟑 %
3

EXERCISE

1. The radii of a wheel and axle, are radius 6 cm and 1.5 cm respectively. If an effort of 50 N is used
to lift a load of 150 N, calculate the efficiency of the machine. (𝟕𝟓 %)
2. A bicycle has wheels 66 cm in diameter. Its crank wheel has 44 teeth and the rear sprocket 16
teeth. If the crank radius is 16.5 cm, calculate the velocity ratio. Find the efficiency of the bicycle
if its mechanical advantage is 0.14. (𝑽. 𝑹 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟖 , 𝑬 = 𝟕𝟕%)
3. In the hydraulic press, the larger cylinder is 20 times the diameter of the smaller one. If the pump
is operated by a lever of V.R. of 6, calculate the V.R. of the whole machine. If the efficiency is
70 %, calculate the force that the machine can exert when a force of 100 N is applied to the handle.
(𝑽. 𝑹 = 𝟐𝟒𝟎𝟎, 𝑳 = 𝟐𝟏𝟔 𝒌𝑵)

44 |SJBHS
 Chapter 4
REFRACTION OF LIGHT
Introduction

In a transparent medium of constant optical density, light travels in a straight line; but when light crosses
a boundary from one medium to another, for example from air into glass or water, the light rays change
direction. The change in direction of the light rays due to change in speed of light in the two media is
called refraction. Two examples of refraction are observed when a straight rod partly in water appears
bent at the water surface and a coin below the water surface appears closer to an observer than it actually
is.
Eye

Apparent Water
depth
Real
depth

Image

Object

The terms used in refraction are illustrated in the diagram below showing passage of ray of light from air
to glass.
A P

𝑨𝑩 is the incident ray

𝑩𝑪 is the refracted ray
𝒊 Air
B 𝑪𝑫 is the emergent ray
Glass 𝑷𝑸 is the normal line to the air-glass interface
𝒓 ∠𝑨𝑩𝑷 = 𝑖, is the angle of incidence
∠𝑪𝑩𝑸 = 𝑟, is the angle of refraction.

Q C

45 |SJBHS
Glass has a higher optical density than air. Therefore, light travelling to a medium of lower optical
density will bend towards the normal and vice versa.

Laws of refraction

(i) The incident ray, refracted ray and the normal, at the point of incidence all lie on the same plane.
(ii) (Also known as Snell’s law). The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the
angle of refraction is a constant for a given pair of media.
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑖
i.e. = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑟

EXPERIMENT 1
𝑨𝒊𝒎: To verify Snell’s law
𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒔: Block of glass, 4 optical pins, 4 office pins, soft board, plain white paper and protractor.
𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆:
(i) Place the paper on the soft board and hold it in position with the help of the office pins.

A
A’
White sheet
B of paper
B’ 𝒊 Air
E
Glass

F
C
Lateral
D displacement, 𝒅

(ii) Place the block on the sheet of paper and draw its outline carefully with a pencil. Remove the
block. At point 𝑬 on the outline, a normal to the surface is drawn.
(iii) Draw a line at an angle, say 𝒊 = 300, to meet the outline at 𝑬. Stick optical pins 𝑨 and 𝑩 upright
on the line drawn.

46 |SJBHS
 (iv) Return the glass block on its outline. By viewing through the block on the opposite side, set pins
𝑪 and 𝑫 in a way such that they appear to lie on a straight line with 𝑨’ and 𝑩’ which are the
images of pins 𝑨 and 𝑩 respectively.
(v) Remove the block and draw a line through the marks made by 𝑪 and 𝑫 to cut the outline at 𝑭.
Join the points 𝑭 and 𝑬, then draw a normal to the outline at 𝑭. Measure the angles marked 𝒊
and 𝒓.
(vi) Repeat the above procedure for 𝒊 = 400 , 500 , 600 , 700 and 800 and record the values of 𝒊 and 𝒓
as shown in the table below.
(vii) Complete the table for the values of 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒊 and 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒓 the ratio 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒊⁄𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒓 for each pair of angles.
(viii) Plot a graph of 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒊 against 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒓.

sin 𝑖
𝒊 𝒓 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒊 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒓
sin 𝑟
300
400
500
600
700
800
Conclusions
(a) The ratio 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒊⁄𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒓 for each pair of angles is a constant.
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑖
i.e. = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑟
(b) A graph of 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒊 against 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒓 is a straight line through the origin, which implies that 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒊 is
directly proportional to 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝒓.

Refractive index

sin 𝑖
The value of the constant for a ray passing from one medium to another is called the refractive
sin 𝑟
index of the 2nd medium in respect to the 1st one. It is denoted by 𝜼.

sin 𝑖
𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 =
sin 𝑟

For example, refractive index of glass is written as 𝑎𝜼𝑔.

47 |SJBHS
Principle of reversibility of light

The principle states that: the paths of light rays are reversible and thus the refractive indices for a ray
passing from air to glass and from glass to air may be distinguished by using the symbols 𝑎𝜼𝑔 and 𝑔𝜼𝑎
respectively.

sin 𝑖 sin 𝑟
Therefore, air to glass = and glass to air =
sin 𝑟 sin 𝑖

Velocity of light and refractive index

Refractive index of air to glass, 𝑎𝜼𝑔 can be expressed in terms of velocity of light in the two media.

𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑟

i.e. 𝑎𝜼𝑔 =
𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠

Real and apparent depth C

𝒊
A B Air
Glass

𝒊 𝒓
I 𝑨𝑰 = Apparent depth
𝑨𝑶 = Real depth

O
By principle of reversibility of light, refractive index of glass is given by:

sin 𝑖
Refractive index, 𝜼 =
sin 𝑟

but ∠𝐴𝐼𝐵 = 𝒊 (corresponding angles)

and ∠𝐴𝑂𝐵 = 𝒓 (alternate angles)

𝑠𝑖𝑛 ∠𝐴𝐼𝐵 𝐴𝐵⁄ 𝐵𝑂

𝐵𝐼
𝜼 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 ∠𝐴𝑂𝐵 = 𝐴𝐵 =
⁄𝐵𝑂 𝐵𝐼

When 𝑩 is very close to 𝑨, then 𝑩𝑰 ≈ 𝑨𝑰 and 𝑩𝟎 ≈ 𝑨𝟎

48 |SJBHS
 𝐵𝑂 𝐴𝑂
Therefore, =
𝐵𝐼 𝐴𝐼
𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ
Refractive index, 𝜂 is equal to
𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ

Measurement of refracted index using real depth and apparent depth method
(a) Glass

A glass block is placed vertically over a straight line ruled on a sheet of paper. A pin on a sliding cork
adjacent to the block is then moved up and down until there is no parallax between it and the image of
the line seen through the block. Measurements of the real and apparent depth are then taken as indicated
in the diagram and the refractive index calculated.
Eye

Glass block

Glass rod

Image of B Sliding cork with

line N optical pin
Paper with line
drawn on it
Line

𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑨𝑪
𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 = =
𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑨𝑩

(b) Liquid

The same method as that described above may be used to determine the refractive index of a liquid. The
glass block is replaced by a tall beaker containing the liquid and having a pin lying at the bottom.

Tall beaker Glass rod

A

Image of B Sliding cork with

pin N optical pin

Liquid

Pin

49 |SJBHS
Total internal reflection and critical angle

Reflection and refraction take place when light passes from one medium to a more optically dense
medium for all angles of incidence, but this is not always so, when light passes from one medium to a
less optically dense medium.

(a) (𝒊 < 𝒄) Consider a ray passing from glass to air. Starting with a small angle of incidence, 𝒊, a weak
internally reflected ray and a strong refracted ray are formed.

Strong refracted ray

𝒊 𝒊

Incident ray Weak reflected ray

ray
Figure (a)

(b) (𝒊 = 𝒄) On increasing the angle of incidence, a certain critical angle 𝒄, the angle of refraction 𝒓,
becomes 90°.

𝒓 Refracted ray

𝒄 𝒊

Incident ray Reflected ray

Figure (b)

(c) (𝒊 > 𝒄) Angle of refraction, 𝒓, can never be greater than 90°, and it follows that for all angles of
incidence greater than critical angle 𝒄, the incidence light undergoes total internal reflection.

𝒊 𝒓
Incident ray
Strong reflected ray

Figure (c)

50 |SJBHS
𝑵𝑩: For total internal reflection to occur;

(i) The ray must move from higher optically dense medium to a lower optically dense medium.
(ii) Angle of incidence 𝒊 must be more than the critical angle, 𝒄.

Relationship between critical angle and refractive index

From figure (b) above;

1
𝑔𝜼𝑎 = ,
𝑎𝜼𝑔

𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑐 1
and = , but 𝑠𝑖𝑛 900 = 1
𝑠𝑖𝑛 900 𝑎𝜼𝑔

1
∴ 𝑠𝑖𝑛 c =
𝑎𝜼𝑔

Worked examples

Example 1

The horizontal glass slab below has a layer of water above it. A ray of light 𝑷𝑸 is incident upwards on
the lower surface of the glass and is refracted successively at 𝑨, 𝑩 and 𝑪, the points where it crosses the
interfaces.

𝟔𝟎𝟎
𝐂

𝒚𝟎

𝒚𝟎
𝐁

𝒙𝟎

𝒙𝟎

𝐀
𝟎
𝟔𝟎

51 |SJBHS
Calculate:
(i) Angle 𝑥 0 .
(ii) Angle 𝑦 0 .
(iii) The refractive index for light passing from glass to water.
3 4
( Take ,𝑎𝜂𝑔 = 2 and 𝑎𝜂𝑤 = 3 )

Solution
3 sin 600
(i) 𝑎𝜂𝑔 = 2 = sin 𝑥0

0
2 sin 600
sin 𝑥 = = 0.5774
3
𝑥 0 = 𝟑𝟓. 𝟐𝟕𝟎
3 sin 𝑦0
(ii) 𝑤𝜂𝑎 = =
4 sin 600
3 sin 600
sin 𝑦 0 = = 0.6495
4
𝑦 0 = 𝟒𝟎. 𝟓𝟏𝟎
2 sin 600 2⁄
sin 𝑥0 2 4 𝟗
(iii) 𝑔𝜂𝑤 = sin 𝑦0 = 3
3 sin 600
=33= 3×3 =𝟖
⁄4
4

3 2
Since = 𝑎𝜂𝑔, then, 3 = 𝑔𝜂𝑎.
2

Therefore, from the above calculations, 𝒈𝜂𝒘 = 𝒈𝜂𝑎 × 𝑎𝜂𝒘

Example 2

The figure below shows a glass prism of triangular cross-sectional area. The incident ray meets the
prism at an angle of 300.

600

300
P 𝒓𝟎 𝒊𝟎 Q

600 600
B C

52 |SJBHS
 (i) Calculate the angle of refraction on face 𝑨𝑩.
(ii) If the critical angle for glass is 420, use the refracted ray on face 𝑨𝑩 as the incident ray on face
𝐴𝐶 to calculate the angle of incidence and angle of refraction, if any, on face 𝑨𝑪.
(iii) What angle of incidence on face 𝑨𝑩 is required in order that the ray does not emerge into air
through surface 𝑨𝑪?
Solution
3 sin 300
(i) 𝑎𝜂𝑔 = 2 = sin 𝑟0

2 sin 300
sin 𝑟 0 = = 0.3333
3

𝑟 0 = 𝟏𝟗. 𝟒𝟕𝟎

(ii) ∠𝐴𝑃𝑄 = (90 − 19.47) = 70.530

∠𝐴𝑄𝑃 = 180 − (60 + 70.53) = 49.470
∠𝑖 = (90 − 49.47) = 𝟒𝟎. 𝟓𝟑𝟎
𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 420 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑨𝑪.
0
2 sin 𝑖
𝑔𝜂𝑎 = =
3 sin 𝑟
3 sin 40.530
sin 𝑟 = = 0.9748
2
r = 𝟕𝟕. 𝟏𝟎𝟎
(iii) For the ray not to emerge, let ∠𝑖 = 420

∠𝐴𝑄𝑃 = (90 − 42) = 480 and ∠𝐴𝑃𝑄 = 180 − (48 + 60) = 720

𝑟 = 90 − 72 = 180

3 sin 𝑖
𝑎𝜂𝑔 = =
2 sin 180

3 sin 180
sin 𝑖 0 = = 0.4635
2

𝑖 0 = 𝟐𝟕. 𝟔𝟏𝟎

Therefore, for ray to emerge out through face 𝐴𝐶, 𝒊 > 𝟐𝟕. 𝟔𝟏𝟎

53 |SJBHS
Example 3

A microscope is focused on a mark on a table. When the mark is covered by a plate of glass 2 cm thick,
the microscope has to be raised 0.67 cm for the mark to be once more in focus. Calculate the refractive
index of the glass.

Solution

If the microscope is raised 0.67 cm, it means the image of the mark has also moved 0.67 cm upwards.

Therefore, the apparent depth is (2 − 0.67) = 1.33 𝑐𝑚

𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 2
∴ 𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 = = = 𝟏. 𝟓𝟎𝟒
𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 1.33

Example 4

A ray of light travels from a medium into air. Calculate the refractive index of the medium if its critical
angle is 450 .

Solution

1 1
𝑠𝑖𝑛 c = or 𝑎𝜂𝑔 =
𝑔𝜼𝑎 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝐶

1 1
𝑎𝜂𝑔 = = = 𝟏. 𝟒𝟏𝟒
𝑠𝑖𝑛 45 0.7071

Example 5

The refractive index of water is 1.333. Calculate the velocity of light in water if its velocity in air is
3.0 × 108 𝑚/𝑠.

Solution

𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑟

𝑎𝜼𝑔 =
𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

3.0 × 108
1.333 =
𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

3.0 × 108
𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = = 𝟐. 𝟐𝟓𝟏 × 𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒎/𝒔
1.333

54 |SJBHS
Triangular glass prism and refractive index

Consider a ray of light 𝑨𝑩 incident to the triangular glass prism at point 𝑩. The ray will be refracted and
changes the direction and meets the glass-air interface at point 𝑪. At point 𝑪, the ray is again refracted
and leaves the prism towards point 𝑬.

Angle of refraction, 𝒓𝟐

Angle of refraction, 𝒓𝟏
𝑨𝟎
Angle of deviation, 𝒅
Angle of incidence, 𝒊

The angle of deviation, 𝒅 through a triangular glass prism is defined as the angle between the incident
ray and the emerging ray. The angle of deviation 𝒅 decreases with increase in the angle of incidence up
to a particular angle. The angle of incidence where the angle of deviation in a prism is minimum is
called the 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 of the prism and that very deviation angle is known as the
𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒏 . When the angle of incidence is increased beyond the minimum
deviation position, the angle of deviation increases.
Angle of deviation, 𝒅

𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒏

Angle of incidence, 𝒊

55 |SJBHS
For minimum deviation, the following conditions hold:

(i) The refracted ray in the prism is parallel to its base.

(ii) The angle of incidence and angle of emergence are equal, i.e. 𝒊 = 𝒆
(iii) The two angles of refraction are equal, 𝒓𝟏 = 𝒓𝟐 .

It can be shown that:

𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑛 + 𝐴0
sin ( )
2
𝜂=
𝐴0
sin 2

This is a convenient way to measure the refractive index of a prism by directing a light ray through the
prism such that it produces the minimum deviation angle.

Effects of refraction and total internal reflection

(i) 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕

When sunlight (white light) falls on a triangular glass prism, a band of colours called a spectrum is
obtained. The effect is termed dispersion. It arises because white light is a mixture of many colours; the
prism separates the colours because the refractive index of glass is different for each colour. It is greatest
for violet light hence it is refracted most.

(ii) 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆

A mirage is a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays forms a concave surface when
viewed from above, via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky below the
ground. Refraction is due to the change in optical density from one layer to another layer. On a sunny
day on tarmac roads, it may look as if water or oil has been spilled.

56 |SJBHS
In a cold region, when the ground is much colder than the air above it, the rays form a convex surface
when viewed from above and the image is seen above the ground. The polar bears are seen upside down
in the sky and the sun can be seen earlier before it rises.

(iii) 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒑𝒊𝒑𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒃𝒓𝒆

Light can be trapped into a bent glass rod and 'piped ' along a curved path. The glass inside has a higher
refractive index than the one outside. This is known as 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔. Light travels through a curved glass
rod or fibre by total internal reflection. If several thousand such fibres are taped together, a flexible light
pipe is obtained that can be used, for example, by doctors as an ′𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑒′ to obtain an image from
inside the body or by engineers to light up some awkward spot for inspection.

57 |SJBHS
The latest telephone 'cables' are optical fibres carrying information as pulses of laser light. Main
advantages of optical fibres to copper cables, in telecommunication are:
➢ They can carry large amount of data.
➢ They are immune to electromagnetic interference and tapping.

(iv) 𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒔

Right-angled isosceles (angle of 900 , 450 and 450 ) glass prisms is commonly used for reflecting light.
Depending on their arrangement, they can be used to:
𝑨
(a) 𝑇𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑎 𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 900

The incident ray passes through face AB undeviated

and meets face AC at an angle of 450 . Since the angle
of incidence is more than the critical angle, it
𝑩 𝑪
undergoes total internal reflection and made to leave
the glass prism normal to face BC.

(b) 𝑇𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑎 𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 1800

𝑨
The incident ray passes through face AC undeviated and
meets face AB at an angle of 450 . Since the angle of
incidence is more than the critical angle, it undergoes total
internal reflection to face BC at an angle of 450 . The ray 𝑩

undergoes the second total internal reflection and made to

leave the glass prism again at face AC. The ray undergoes a
total deviation of 1800 . 𝑪

𝑨
(c) 𝐼𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑿

𝑶
The object 𝑶𝑿 has its image 𝑰𝒀 𝑩
inverted and deviated. 𝑰

𝒀
Eye
𝑪

58 |SJBHS
 (d) 𝐼𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝑩
𝑿 𝑰

𝑶 𝑨 𝑪 𝒀

The object 𝑶𝑿 has its image 𝑰𝒀 inverted and but not deviated.

(v) 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒔

Two prisms are used mainly to shorten

the length of a telescope and also to
correct the inverted and laterally inverted
image that is produced by the objective
lens.

(vi) 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒆

Rays from the object 𝑶𝑿, meets the face

of the first prism at right angle then under
total internal reflection. The rays then get
into the second prism where they undergo
the second total internal reflection and
finally to the eye which sees the image
𝑰𝒀, of the object exactly below the object.
Prisms in periscopes are preferred to
plane mirrors because all the light from
the object is totally reflected to the eyes
while in the latter, some of the light is
lost due to partial absorption.

59 |SJBHS
 Chapter 5
CURRENT ELECTRITY
Measurement of current, voltage and resistance

(a) 𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕

Meters that measure electric current may be ammeters, milliammeters, or microammeters, depending
on the size of the current to be measured. A galvanometer can detect current thousands of times smaller
than the microampere. To measure current, an ammeter must always be placed in a circuit so that the
current measured flows directly through it. The connection is sad to be in series.

𝑆𝑦𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠

𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟

(b) 𝑷𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 (𝒑. 𝒅. )

This is a charge difference produced between the terminals of a battery or power supply which creates
a supply of electrons at the negative terminal and a shortage at the positive terminal. It is defined as the
energy per coulomb released when electricity moves from one point to another.

The potential difference is measured using a voltmeter. The voltmeter is connected in parallel. Since it
requires very little current to operate, the voltmeter should have very high resistance.

𝑆𝑦𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟

60 |SJBHS
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟

(c) 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆
Different materials can be classified as good conductors, poor conductors or insulators. The ability of
a material to resist the flow of current through it is referred to as resistance. A good conductor is said
will have low resistance while a poor conductor or insulator is will have high resistance. An instrument
for measuring resistance is called an ohmmeter.

𝑆𝑦𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑜ℎ𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟

Ohms’ law
𝐼𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒
𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑖𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒
𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡.
i.e. 𝑉𝛼 𝐼
∴ 𝑉 = 𝑘𝐼
The constant is the gradient of the voltage-current graph called the resistance of the resistor.
∴ 𝑽 = 𝑰𝑹
Devices that obey Ohms’ law are known as ohmic conductors while those that do not obey Ohms’ law
are known as non-ohmic conductors. Examples of non-ohmic conductors are diodes, filament bulbs,
thermistors, e.t.c.
A graph of voltage against current for ohmic conductors is as shown below.

61 |SJBHS
 𝑽

EXPERIMENT: To investigate the relationship between voltage across a conductor and current flowing
through it.

Apparatus

Two dry cells, Ammeter (Sensitivity 0 − 1 𝐴), Voltmeter (Sensitivity 0 − 3 𝑉), Rheostat, Resistance wire and
Connecting wires

Method

(a) Set up the circuit as shown below.

V Resistance wire

(b) Use the rheostat to adjust the circuit current. Record the current, 𝑰 and the corresponding voltage, 𝑽 as
you adjust the current in equal intervals from the minimum value obtained when the rheostat is at its
maximum settings, to the maximum value when the rheostat is at a minimum.
(c) Plot a graph of 𝑽 against 𝑰 for your results.

𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝑰 (𝑨)

𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝑽 (𝑽)

(d) Given that 𝐕 = 𝑅𝑰, find 𝑅, the resistance of the wire provided.

62 |SJBHS
Ohmic and non-ohmic conductors
An ohmic conductor is one whose 𝑉 − 𝐼 graph is linear and passes through the origin. The slope of
the graph at any point is a constant which is the resistance of the conductor. Most metals are ohmic
conductors if the temperature doesn’t change.

𝑽 ∆𝑽
𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆 = ∆𝑰
= 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆

𝑰
Non-ohmic conductor is one that does not obey Ohm’s law and its graph is nonlinear and sometimes it
does not pass through the origin. The slope varies hence the resistance also varies. A filament bulb does
not obey Ohms law because its temperature changes. Other examples of non-Ohmic conductors are,
diodes, thermistors, Light Dependent Resistors (LDR), e.t.c.

Arrangement of resistors
(a) 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔
A number of resistors 𝑹𝟏 , 𝑹𝟐 , 𝑹𝟑 … 𝑹𝑵 in ohms, are said to be connected in series if they are connected
end to end consecutively so that the same current 𝑰, in amperes, flows through each.

𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟑

𝑽𝟏 𝑽𝟐 𝑽𝟑

𝑽𝑻
I

If 𝑅𝑇 is the total resistance, and 𝑉𝑇 is the total voltage across the resistors, then,
𝑉𝑇 = 𝐼𝑅𝑇
𝑉𝑇 = 𝑉1 + 𝑉2 + 𝑉3
𝐼𝑅𝑇 = 𝐼𝑅1 + 𝐼𝑅2 + 𝐼𝑅3
𝐼𝑅𝑇 = 𝐼(𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3 )
Dividing by 𝐼 throughout, we get:

63 |SJBHS
 𝑅𝑇 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3
For 𝑁 resistors in series, the total resistance is given by
𝑹𝑻 = 𝑹𝟏 + 𝑹𝟐 + 𝑹𝟑 … … … + 𝑹𝑵

(b) 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒍

Resistors are said to be in parallel when they are placed side by side and their corresponding ends joined
together. The current is shared among the resistors depending on the resistance of the resistors. The
p.d. is the same across each of the resistors.

𝑰𝟏 𝑹𝟏

V
𝑰𝟐 𝑹𝟐

V
𝑰𝟑
𝑹𝟑

𝑰𝑻
v

Total current, 𝐼𝑇 = 𝐼1 + 𝐼2 + 𝐼3

V V V V
=R + +
RT 1 R2 R3

Dividing throughout by 𝑉, we get

1 1 1 1
=R + +
RT 1 R2 R3

For 𝑁 resistors in parallel, the total resistance is given by,

𝑽 𝑽 𝑽 𝑽 𝑽
= + + ………+
𝑹𝑻 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝑹𝟑 𝑹𝑵

For TWO resistors in parallel,

𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐
Total resistance, 𝑅𝑇 = = (𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑤𝑜)
𝑺𝒖𝒎 𝑹𝟏 +𝑹𝟐

64 |SJBHS
‘Lost volts’

Let’s suppose that a voltmeter connected to the terminals of a dry cell of internal resistance, 𝑟 = 2 Ω,
gives a reading of 1.5 V. This is the e.m.f. of the cell.
𝒓

A 3 Ω resistor is now connected to the terminals of the cell so that the cell drives a current through it.
The voltmeter now reads 0.90 V. The cell appears to have ‘lost’ 0.60 V.

𝟑𝛀

𝟎. 𝟑 𝐀

Current flowing in the circuit is given by;

𝒆.𝒎.𝒇 𝑬
I= = ,
𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑹+𝒓

where 𝑬 = e.m.f of the cell,

𝑹 = external circuit resistance,
𝒓 = internal resistance of the cell.
1.5
𝐼= = 0.30 𝐴
3.0+2.0

P.d required to drive the 0.30 A through the external 3.0 Ω resistor is;
𝑽 = 𝑰𝑹 = 0.30 × 3 = 0.90 𝑉
The p.d. required to drive the current through itself is given by,
𝑽 = 𝑰𝒓 = 0.3 × 2 = 0.6 𝑉, which is the ‘lost voltage’, (𝑬 − 𝑽) of the cell.

65 |SJBHS
Worked examples on Ohm’s law
Example 1
Resistors are connected in a circuit as shown below.

𝟔𝛀 𝟑𝛀

𝟓𝛀
𝑨 𝑩 𝑪 𝑫

𝟖𝛀 𝟔𝛀

𝟏𝟐 𝑽

Calculate:
(i) The total resistance in the circuit.
(ii) The total current in the circuit.
(iii) The current in the 3 Ω resistor.
(iv) The current in the 8 Ω resistor.
Solution
6×8 24
(i) Total resistance between points 𝐴 and 𝐵 = 6+8 = Ω
7
3×6 18
Total resistance between points 𝐶 and 𝐷 = 3+6 = Ω=2Ω
9
24 73
∴ The total resistance in the whole circuit, 𝑅𝑇 = +2+5= = 𝟏𝟎. 𝟒𝟑 Ω
7 7
𝑉 12
(ii) Total current 𝐼𝑇 = 𝑅 = 10.43 = 𝟏. 𝟏𝟓𝟏𝑨
𝑇

(iii)
𝟐𝟒ൗ Ω 𝟓Ω 𝟐Ω
𝟕
𝑨 𝑩 𝑪 𝑫

Voltage across 𝐶𝐷 = 𝐼𝑅 = 1.15 × 2 = 2.30 𝑉

𝑉 2.3
∴ Current through the 3 Ω resistor = 𝑅 = A = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟔𝟔𝟕 𝑨
3

(iv) Voltage across 𝐴𝐵 = 𝐼𝑅 = 1.15 × 24

7
= 3.943 𝑉
𝑉 3.943
∴ Current through the 8 Ω resistor = = = 𝟎. 𝟒𝟗𝟐𝟗 𝑨
𝑅 8

66 |SJBHS
Example 2
The diagram below shows a 12 V battery of internal resistance 0.6 Ω connected to three resistors
1 Ω , 4 Ω and 6 Ω . Find the current in each resistor.
𝟒𝛀

𝟏𝛀

𝟔𝛀

𝟏𝟐 𝑽
Solution
Combined resistance of 4 Ω and 6 Ω,
𝑉 24
R = 𝐼 = 10 = 2.4 Ω

Total resistance in the circuit = 2.4 + 1 + 0.6 = 4.0 Ω

𝑉 12
Total current = 𝑅 = =3A
4

P.d. across both 4 Ω and 6 Ω = 𝐼𝑅 = 3 × 2.4 = 7.2 V

∴ i) Current through 1 Ω = 𝟑 𝑨
𝑉 7.2
ii) Current through 4 Ω = 𝐼 = = 𝟏. 𝟖 𝑨
4

𝑉 7.2
iii) Current through 6 Ω = = = 𝟏. 𝟐 𝑨
𝐼 6

Example 3

When a particular cell is on open circuit, the p.d. between its terminals is 1.5 V. When a 10 Ω resistor
is connected between the terminals of the cell, the p.d. falls to 1.0 V and when the 10 Ω resistor is
replaced by resistor of resistance 𝑹 Ω, the p.d. becomes 0.5 V. Calculate:
(i) The internal resistance, 𝒓, of the cell.
(ii) The value of 𝑹.
Solution 𝟏𝟎 𝛀

(i) 𝟏. 𝟎 𝑽

𝑬 = 𝟏. 𝟓 𝑽

67 |SJBHS
Voltage across the 10 Ω = 1.0 V
Voltage across 𝒓 = 0.5 V
1
Current in the circuit =10 A = 0.1 A
0.5
Internal resistance, 𝒓 = 0.1 Ω = 5 Ω

(ii)
𝑹𝛀

𝟎. 𝟓 𝑽

𝟓𝛀

𝑬 = 𝟏. 𝟎 𝑽

Voltage across the internal resistance = 1.5 − 0.5 = 1.0 𝑉

1
Current through, 𝒓 = 5 = 0.2 A
0.5
∴𝑅= = 𝟐. 𝟓 Ω
0.2

Exercise

1. Study the circuit diagram below.

𝟏𝟐 𝑽

𝟗𝛀

𝟑𝛀 𝟔𝛀

Determine the p.d. across the 3 Ω resistor. (𝟒 𝑽)

2. When a cell having an e.m.f. of 1.5 V is giving current of 0.5 A, a high-resistance voltmeter across
its terminals reads 1.2 V. Find what the voltmeter will read when the cell is giving 0.6 A. (1.14 V)

3. The terminal p.d. of a battery is 12 V when an external resistance of 20 Ω is connected and 13.5 V
when an external resistance of 45 Ω is connected. Calculate the e.m.f. and the internal resistance of the
battery. (𝑬 = 𝟏𝟓 𝑽, 𝒓 = 𝟓 Ω)

68 |SJBHS
Resistivity

The resistance of an object depends on its shape and the material of which it is made from. The
cylinder's electric resistance R is directly proportional to its length L, similar to the resistance of a pipe
to fluid flow. The longer the cylinder, the more collisions charges will make with its atoms. The greater
the diameter of the cylinder, the more current it can carry (again similar to the flow of fluid through a
pipe). In fact, R is inversely proportional to the cylinder's cross-sectional area A.

𝐿
𝑅∝ ……………………………………….……….. (1)
𝐴
𝑳
𝑹=𝝆 …………………………………………………. (2)
𝑨
Where 𝝆 is a constant called resistivity and it depends on the resistance it can offer in a given length.
The SI unit is 𝑜ℎ𝑚 − 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒 (Ω𝑚)

Exercise
1. A car headlight filament is made of tungsten and has a cold resistance of 0.350 𝛺. If the filament is
a cylinder 4.0 cm long (it may be coiled to save space), what is its diameter if the resistivity is
5.5 × 10−8 Ω𝑚? (𝟗 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟓 𝒎)

2. A coil consists of 2000 turns of copper wire having a cross-sectional area of 0.8 mm2. The mean
length per turn is 80 cm and the resistivity of copper is 0.02 μ Ωm. Find the resistance of the coil.
(40 𝜴)
3. A piece of silver wire has a resistance of 1 Ω. What will be the resistance of manganin wire of one-

third the length and one-third the diameter, if the specific resistance of manganin is 30 times that of
silver? (𝟗𝟎 𝛀)

Determination of resistance

(a) 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆

Suppose that four resistors, R, P, S and Q in ohms are connected as shown below. Assuming that R is
the unknown resistance whose value is to be determined, the centre-zero galvanometer is made to
balance. It is balanced when no current flows through it.

69 |SJBHS
 𝑰𝟏 R 𝑰𝟏 S
B

A G C

𝑰𝟐 P D 𝑰𝟐 Q

Since the current flowing is not detected by the galvanometer, the potentials of 𝐵 and 𝐷 are equal.
Therefore,
𝑃. 𝑑. 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑹 = 𝑝. 𝑑. 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑷

𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃. 𝑑. 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑺 = 𝑝. 𝑑. 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑸

𝑰𝟏 𝑹 = 𝑰𝟐 𝑷 …………………………….………………………………………… (1)

𝑰𝟏 𝑺 = 𝑰𝟐 𝑸 ………………………………………………………….…………… (2)

Dividing equation (i) by (ii),

𝐼1 𝑅 𝐼2 𝑃
=
𝐼1 𝑆 𝐼2 𝑄

𝑹 𝑷
Hence, =
𝑺 𝑸

𝑺𝑷
i.e. R =
𝑸

(b) 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆

The figure below shows a practical form of the metre-bridge. The resistors 𝑷 and 𝑸 are replaced by a
wire 𝑨𝑪 of uniform cross-sectional area and 1 metre long. The ratio of 𝑷 to 𝑸 is altered by changing
the position on the wire of the movable contact called ‘jockey D’. The position of 𝑫 is adjusted until
no deflection on G. Then,
𝐑 Resistance of AD 𝒙
= =
𝐒 Resistance of DC 𝐲
𝑺𝒙
∴𝑹 =
𝒚

70 |SJBHS
Example

In one arm of the bridge is placed a 5 Ω coil. In the other arm a 2 Ω coil is placed. If the bridge wire is
a metre long, where must the jockey make contact with the wire for the bridge to be balanced?
Solution
From the metre-bridge above, let us take R = 5 Ω, S = 2 Ω, AD = x m and DC will automatically be
(𝟏 − 𝒙) m.
𝟓 𝒙
Therefore, =
𝟐 𝟏−𝒙

𝟓(𝟏 − 𝒙) = 𝟐𝒙

𝟓
x = = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟏𝟒 𝒎
𝟕

Exercise
The figure below shows the metre-bridge and the position where the jockey makes the galvanometer
to balance with resistors P and Q. When a 15 Ω resistor is connected across resistor 𝑸, the jockey
balances at the new position where 𝐴𝐷 = 60 𝑐𝑚 and 𝐷𝐶 = 40 𝑐𝑚. Calculate the resistances of 𝑷 and
𝑸. (𝑸 = 𝟏𝟖. 𝟕𝟓 𝜴 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷 = 𝟏𝟐. 𝟓 𝜴)

71 |SJBHS
 Chapter 6
WAVES II
PROPERTIES OF WATER WAVES

The properties of water waves like reflection, refraction, diffraction, interference e.t.c. can be
studied with the aid of a ripple tank.

The ripple tank

It consists of a transparent tray containing water, having a light source above and a white screen
below to receive the wave images. Pulses (i.e. short bursts) of ripples are obtained by dipping a
finger in the water for circular ripples and a ruler for straight ripples. Continuous ripples are
generated using an electric motor and a bar. The bar gives straight ripples if it just touches the
water or circular ripples if it is raised and a small ball fitted to it. Continuous ripples are studied
more easily if they are 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦 stopped ('frozen') by viewing the screen through a disc with
equally spaced slits known as a stroboscope, which can be spun by hand. If the disc speed is such
that the waves have advanced one wavelength each time a slit passes your eye, they appear at rest.

(a) Reflection
(i) 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔

The diagrams below show the incident water waves approaching different reflectors and the
reflected waves.

72 |SJBHS
 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓

Incident straight waves Reflected straight waves

Concave reflector Convex reflector

Centre of
F reflected wave

Incident straight Reflected circular Incident straight Reflected circular

waves waves waves waves

(ii) 𝑪𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔

Straight reflector Concave reflector

Incident circular
waves Reflected Reflected Incident circular
circular waves straight waves waves

73 |SJBHS
 (b) Refraction

Refraction is the change in direction of a wave, resulting from a change in speed when it travels
from one medium to another. For water waves, the change in velocity is varied by changing the
depth of the water. The depth of the water is reduced by placing a thick glass on the tray of the
ripple tank. When the water waves move from a 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑒𝑛𝑑, the 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠. Since the frequency remains constant, the 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠 towards the
shallow end.

Glass block

Deep region Shallow region Deep region

The refraction of water waves through various regions are illustrated below.

Refracted waves
Incident waves
Incident waves

Deep region Deep region

Refracted waves
Shallow region

74 |SJBHS
(c) Diffraction

It is the spreading of waves round the edge and corners of obstructions. If continuous plane wave
fronts are made to pass through a gap between two barriers, e.g. a slit, diffraction occurs. The
diffraction effect depends upon the width of the slit as compared to the wavelength. If the width
of the slit is greater than the wavelength, there is a slight curve at the edges, but if the slit width is
less than the wavelength, the wave fronts become circular. The diffraction of water waves through
various openings are illustrated below.

Fig. (a) 𝑆𝑙𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ > 𝑊𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ Fig. (b) 𝑆𝑙𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ < 𝑊𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ

Diffracted
wave
Incident wave Diffracted
Incident wave
wave

Fig. (c) Fig. (d)

Incident wave

Diffracted Diffracted
wave wave

Small obstacle

(d) Interference

Interference of waves is a phenomenon in which two waves merge to form a resultant wave of
greater, lower or the same amplitude. When the two are in phase, the resultant wave will have a
greater amplitude hence it’s called 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒.

𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 is when the two waves are 1800 out-of-phase and the resultant wave
will have an amplitude of zero.

75 |SJBHS
 (a) Wave are in phase (b) Wave are 1800 out of phase

Wave 1

Wave 2

Resultant wave

Destructive interference
Constructive interference (Amplitude is zero)
(Amplitude doubles)

NB: The resultant amplitude is the algebraic sum of the amplitudes of the two waves.
In a ripple tank, two dippers touching the water surface are fitted about 3 cm apart and the motor
switch on. Two circular waves which are in phase are produced by the dippers as shown below.
These sources are of the same frequency, hence they are called 𝑐𝑜ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠.

At the Antinodal lines (𝑨), there are

points where the crest of the two waves
Antinodal line
meet and constructive interference
Nodal line
occurs, hence there is a larger amplitude.
A
At the Nodal lines (𝑵), there are points
N
where the crest of one of the wave meets
A
the trough of another wave and
Dipper 1 N
destructive interference occurs hence the
A
amplitude becomes zero.
N
Dipper 2
A

76 |SJBHS
PROPERTIES OF SOUND WAVES

(a) 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

When sound hits an obstacle at right angles, the sound is reflected back to the source but when it
hits the surface at an angle less than 900, then angle of incidence 𝒊, will be equal to the angle of
reflection 𝒓.

Reflecting surface

Pipe 1 Pipe 2
𝒊 𝒓
Incident sound wave Reflected sound wave

Ear
Ticking clock Sound barrier (Normal to
reflecting surface)
The reflected sound is more pronounced when the reflecting surface is hard enough. Reflection in
some liquids surface is very weak.

(b) 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

Velocity of sound in warm air is faster than in cold air. This makes it to undergo refraction. During
the day, the air on the ground is warmer than air above and when sound travels from warm air to
cold air, it undergoes multiple refraction making it to bend away from the normal, hence sound
curves away from the ground.

During the night, the air on the ground is colder than air above and when sound travels from cold
air to warm air, it undergoes multiple refraction making it to bend towards the normal, hence sound
curves towards the ground. This is the reason why sound can be heard very far from the source at
night compared to day time.

77 |SJBHS
(c) 𝑫𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

Sound has a much longer wavelength than light. Sound waves can even diffract around buildings
or through doorways. That is why you can often hear people when you can't see them. As with all
wave diffraction, the amount of diffraction will depend on the wavelength of the sound wave and
the size of the gap or opening the wave is travelling through.

(d) 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆

This can be demonstrated by using two loudspeakers connected to the same signal generator and
spaced about 3 m apart. A person walking along line 𝑨𝑩 parallel to the line joining the speakers
hears a note of varying intensity or loudness. A soft note (S) of minimum intensity is heard
whenever a compression from one loudspeaker coincides with a rarefaction from the other speaker
and a loud note (L) of maximum intensity is heard whenever two compressions coincide followed
a moment later by two rarefactions from the two speakers.
𝑨
Speaker 1 S
6m
L

S
Audio frequency 3m L
generator
S

S
Speaker 2
𝑩

PROPERTIES OF LIGHT WAVES

(a) 𝑫𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

Light rarely undergoes diffraction because it has a smaller wavelength compared to normal
openings. Light passing through a diffraction grating will undergo diffraction. Diffraction grating
has a series of very fine equidistant parallel slits ruled on a plate of glass with a fine diamond point.
Slit width can be as small as 2 × 10−6 𝑚.

78 |SJBHS
 (b) 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆

Thomas Young discovered that when a source 𝑺 of monochromatic light (light of a single colour
or wavelength) was directed to two closely spaced pinholes, 𝑺𝟏 and 𝑺𝟐 , 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑠 or 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 of
brightness and darkness were produced on a screen behind.

𝑩𝟐
Monochromatic
source of light
𝑺𝟏 𝑫𝟏

S 𝑩𝟏

𝑺𝟐

Single slit Double slit

Screen

The bright fringes of light are observed at 𝑩𝟏 and 𝑩𝟐 when the path difference is zero or an even
number of half-wavelengths.

𝑃𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝐵1 𝑆1 − 𝐵1 𝑆2 = 0 , or Constructive

𝜆 interference
𝑃𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝐵2 𝑆2 − 𝐵2 𝑆1 = 𝒎 , where 𝒎 is an even integer.
2
The dark fringes are observed when the path difference is an odd number of wavelengths.

𝜆 Destructive
𝑃𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝐷1 𝑆2 − 𝐷1 𝑆1 = 𝒎 , where 𝒎 is an odd integer.
2 interference
The fringe separation is equidistant along the screen but, it should be noted that:

(i) When the source 𝑺 is moved closer to the double slit, the fringe separation is unaffected but
the intensities of the fringes increases.
(ii) If the slit separation is reduced, the fringe separation increases.
(iii) When one slit is blocked, the fringes disappear.
(iv) The fringes gradually disappear when the size of the single slit is increased.
(v) When white light is used, the central fringe is white while the others are coloured on either
sides, with blue nearer the central fringe and red is further away.

79 |SJBHS
STATIONARY WAVES

When two progressive waves of the same type travel in opposite directions through the same
medium at the same point, they combine to form a 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑦 or 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒. A stationary
wave does not travel in the direction of either component. Over one complete cycle, the amplitude
of the wave grows to a maximum value then collapses to zero, grows to the same maximum value
in the opposite direction and collapses to zero amplitude again.

Some points of the medium do not move at all during the complete cycle. These points are called
𝑁𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑠 (𝑵). Midway between two adjacent nodes, the medium oscillates with maximum
amplitude called 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑠 (𝑨).

𝑨 𝑨 𝑨 𝑨

𝑵 𝑵
𝑵 𝑵 𝑵
𝝀

Conditions for a stationary wave to be formed

For the two progressive waves travelling in opposite direction to form a stationary wave, they must
have:

(i) Same velocity.

(ii) Same frequency and wavelength.
(iii) Same or nearly equal amplitude.

The stationary wave below has two progressive waves of same frequency, wavelength, velocity
but different amplitudes.

80 |SJBHS
Properties of stationary wave

(i) It is formed when two progressive waves are travelling in opposite directions in the same
medium.
(ii) It has nodes at points of zero displacement and antinodes at points of maximum
displacement.
𝜆
(iii) The distance between successive nodes (or antinodes) is equal to and distance between a
2
𝜆
node and the next antinode is equal to .
4
(iv) Vibrations of particles between successive nodes are in phase.
(v) Between successive nodes, particles have different amplitudes of vibration.

Differences between stationary and progressive wave

(i) In a stationary wave, particles between the nodes vibrate in phase while in a progressive
wave, neighbouring particles vibrate with different phases.
(ii) In a stationary wave, the particles vibrate with different amplitudes while in a progressive
wave, all particles vibrate with the same amplitude.
(iii) In a stationary wave, there is no transfer of energy from the source since the wave profile
does not move, while in a progressive wave, there is transfer of energy from the source to
some point away.
𝜆
(iv) In a stationary wave, the distance between successive nodes (or antinodes) is equal to ,
2
while in a progressive wave, the distance between successive crest (or troughs) is equal
to 𝜆.

81 |SJBHS
 Chapter 7
ELECTROSTATICS II
Force between two charges
A French scientist by the name Charles Coulomb came up with the factors that affect the force
between two charged bodies. The force is either repulsive if they are like charges or attractive if
they are unlike charges. Coulomb discovered that the Force 𝑭, depended on the magnitude of
charge 𝑸, the particles have and the distance 𝒓, between the charges. The larger the magnitude of
the charges, the larger the force and the shorter the distance, the larger the force. Mathematically,
if the two bodies have charges 𝑸𝟏 and 𝑸𝟐 and are separated by a distance 𝒓, then force between
them can be expressed as:
𝑸𝟏 𝑸𝟐
𝑭∝
𝒓𝟐

ELECTRIC FIELD

An 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 is defined as the region where a charged body experiences a force. The charge
a body has is measured in Coulomb, C. A positively charged body of charge 1 C is called a test
charge or a unit positive charge.

The 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 at a particular point is defined as the direction in which the
unit positive charge will move when placed at that point. From the basic law of electrostatics, the
unit charge will move away from a positively charged body or move towards a negatively charged
body.

An 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 or an 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 is the path along which a test charge moves.
If the path is a curve, the tangent at any point gives the direction of the electric field. In the diagram
below, the arrows represent the direction of the electric field at points 𝑷 and 𝑸.

𝑸
𝑷

Electric line of force

82 |SJBHS
The 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛 is the arrangement of a group of field lines around a charged body
and it will depend on the shape of the body and whether the body is isolated or not.

Investigating electric field patterns

A petri dish, metal plates, high voltage source, castor oil, chalk dust, connecting wires and switch
is required.

The plates are connected to the high voltage source, with the switch off. Enough castor oil is then
poured into the petri dish and plates immersed into the oil. Chalk dust is then sprinkled on top of
the oil. The power is switched on and observation made on the arrangement of the chalk dust
particles. The process is repeated for other arrangement of electrodes.
Electrodes

Chalk dust on Petri dish

castor oil

Switch

To high voltage source

The following are some examples of electric field patterns produced by different electrodes.

(a) 𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑠

𝑃𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑁𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒

83 |SJBHS
 (b) 𝑈𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑠 (c) 𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑠

(d) 𝑃𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 ሺ𝑒ሻ 𝑂𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠

Properties of electric lines of force

(i) Electric lines of force start from the positive charge to the negative charge.
(ii) Electric lines of force do not intersect each other.
(iii) Electric lines of force are parallel where the field is uniform, weaker where they are
widely spaced and stronger where they are closely packed.

CHARGE DISTRIBUTION ON CONDUCTORS

A proof plane consists of a small metal disc with an insulating handle and is used to sample charge
in various places of a conductor. The disc is charged by making it touch a charged conductor.

(a) 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓

If the inside of a charged hollow sphere is touched with a proof plane and then the proof plane is
made to touch the cap of uncharged electroscope, there will be no effect on the leaf. If the same
process is repeated by touching the outside of the sphere, the leaf will diverge. This shows that a
charged hollow sphere has charges residing only on the outside and not inside.

84 |SJBHS
 Proof plane

Negatively charged
hollow sphere
Insulated
stand

(b) 𝑺𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓

(i) 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟

If a proof plane is used to test the charge at different points of a charged spherical conductor, the
divergence in the leaf of the electroscope is the same for all the positions. It can be concluded that
there is equal distribution of charge on the surface of a solid sphere.

Negatively charged
solid sphere

Insulated
stand

(ii) 𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒓-𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓

If a proof plane is used to test the charge at different points of a charged pear-shaped conductor,
the divergence in the leaf of the electroscope will not be the same. The divergence is more at the
sharp region compared to other part of the conductor. It can be concluded that charges are more
concentrated at the pointed part.

Insulated stand Positively charged

pear-shaped solid

85 |SJBHS
(c) 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕

The high charge concentration at sharp points makes it easier to gain or lose charges. The effects
of high charge concentration at sharp points can be seen in the following cases:

(i) ‘𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑’

A highly charged sharp rod will ionise the air hence produce both negative and positive ions. When
it is brought close to a candle flame, the flame is observed to drift away as if there was wind. This
is because the opposite charges are attracted to the rod while similar charges are repelled away
from the point hence blowing the flame away.

Highly charged rod Diverted flame

If the highly charged sharp rod is brought much closer to the flame, the flame splits into two
directions. This is because the negative ions are attracted to the rod, diverting part of the flame
towards it and at the same time, positive ions are repelled away, diverting part of the flame away.

Splitted flame

(ii) 𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟

A tall building is protected by a lightning conductor consisting of a thick copper strip fixed on the
outside of the building connecting metal spikes at the top to a metal plate in the ground. A
negatively charged cloud passing overhead, repels electrons from the spikes to the earth. The
points of the spikes are left with a large positive charge (charge concentrates on sharp points)
which removes electrons from nearby air molecules, so charging them positively and causing them
to be repelled from the spike. This effect, called 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠, results in an 'electric wind' of
positive air molecules streaming upwards which can neutralize electrons discharging from the

86 |SJBHS
thundercloud. If a lightning flash occurs, it is now less violent and the conductor gives it an easy
path to ground.

CAPACITORS

A capacitor is a device for storing charge. It may consist of two plates with a material medium or
vacuum between them. If the material medium exists, it is called a 𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐. Capacitors are
made in different geometrical shapes and sizes. Some have fixed area between the plates and others
have variable area between the plates.
The symbols for a capacitor in the circuit are as shown below.

Fixed area capacitor Variable area capacitor

(a) 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓

A circuit is connected as shown below. On closing switch 𝑲, current 𝐼, in the microammeter 𝑨, is
observed to be initially about 60 µA and it slowly decreases to zero. At this point, the capacitor
𝑪, is fully charged and it will not allow any current to flow through it. It is fully charged at time
𝒕𝟏 .
The graph for charge against time is the same as that of current against time.

87 |SJBHS
 𝑲 𝑨
𝟔𝟎
𝝁𝑨

Current ሺ𝝁𝑨ሻ
𝟎 𝒕𝟏 Time (s)
𝑪 𝑹

Supply voltage

𝟎 𝒕𝟏 Time (s)

(b) 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓

The charged capacitor 𝑪, above is connected in the circuit below. The current will be observed to
be initially at 60 µA but flowing in opposite direction in the microammeter 𝑨. The current slowly
decreases to zero. This flow of current shows that 𝑪 stored charge when it was connected to the
battery originally. Capacitor is fully discharged at time 𝒕𝟐 . The graph for charge against time is the
same as that of current against time.
𝑲 𝑨
𝒕𝟐 Time ሺ𝒔ሻ
𝝁𝑨 𝟎
Current ሺ𝝁𝑨ሻ

𝑹
𝑪 −𝟔𝟎
Supply voltage

𝟎 𝒕𝟐 Time (s)
88 |SJBHS
Capacitors in A.C. circuits

Current flows to and fro in the wires to which they are connected to, because the plates are charged
and discharged repeatedly according to the frequency of the alternating current (a.c.)

Capacitance

Experiments shows that the charge stored in the parallel plates of a capacitor is directly
proportional to the p.d. across the plates.
i.e. 𝑸∝𝑽
𝑸 = 𝑘𝑽
where 𝑘 is a constant depending on the construction of the capacitor. The constant is known as the
capacitance. Therefore,
𝑸 = 𝑪𝑽
The unit of capacitance is the farad, symbol 𝐹. By definition, 1 𝐹 is the capacitance of a capacitor
when a p.d. provides it with a charge of 1 𝐶. A 1 𝐹 capacitor has an enormous size hence the
practical unit of capacitance is the microfarad, µ𝐹. A capacitor has capacitance of 1 µ𝐹 if it stores
a charge of 1 µ𝐶 when a p.d. of 1 𝑉 is applied.
𝟏 𝑭 = 𝟏 × 𝟏𝟎𝟔 µ𝑭 𝟏 𝝁𝑭 = 𝟏 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟔 𝑭

Arrangement of capacitors

(i) 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕

The figure below shows the capacitors arranged in series. In this arrangement, the voltage 𝑉, will
charge each capacitor to final charge 𝑸.
𝑪𝟏 𝑪𝟐 𝑪𝟑

𝑽𝟏 𝑽𝟐 𝑽𝟑

𝑽
The p.d. across individual capacitors is given by:
𝑄 𝑄 𝑄
𝑉1 = 𝐶 𝑉2 = 𝐶 𝑉3 = 𝐶
1 2 3

89 |SJBHS
The sum of these is equal to the applied p.d. 𝑽.
Therefore, 𝑉 = 𝑉1 + 𝑉2 + 𝑉3 .
𝑄 𝑄 𝑄
𝑉= + +
𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶3
1 1 1
𝑉 = 𝑄 (𝐶 + 𝐶 + 𝐶 )
1 2 3
𝑉 1 1 1
= ( + + )
𝑄 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶3
𝑄 𝑉 1
From, 𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉, 𝐶 = . Hence, =
𝑉 𝑄 𝐶
1 1 1 1
∴ = + +
𝐶 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶3

For 𝑛 capacitors in series, total capacitance 𝑪𝑻 is given by:

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
= + + …
𝑪𝑻 𝑪𝟏 𝑪𝟐 𝑪𝒏
For two capacitors, 𝑪𝟏 and 𝑪𝟐 in series, total capacitance 𝑪𝑻 , is given by:
1 1 1 𝐶2 +𝐶1
= + =
𝐶𝑇 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶1 𝐶2

𝑪𝟏 𝑪𝟐
𝑪𝑻 = ሺ𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔ሻ
𝑪𝟏 +𝑪𝟐

(ii) 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕

𝑪𝟏
𝑸𝟏

𝑪𝟐
𝑸𝟐

𝑪𝟑
𝑪𝟑
𝑸𝟑

90 |SJBHS
The capacitors have the same p.d. 𝑽, as that of the supply p.d. The charges on the individual
capacitors are respectively, 𝑄1 = 𝐶1 𝑉, 𝑄2 = 𝐶2 𝑉 and 𝑄3 = 𝐶3 𝑉
The total charge 𝑸𝑻 , on the arrangement is the sum of the individual charges stored in the
capacitors.
𝑄𝑇 = 𝑄1 + 𝑄2 + 𝑄3
= 𝐶1 𝑉 + 𝐶2 𝑉 + 𝐶3 𝑉
= 𝑉 ሺ𝐶1 + 𝐶2 + 𝐶3 ሻ
𝑄𝑇
= 𝐶1 + 𝐶2 + 𝐶3
𝑉
Q
From, 𝐶 =
𝑉
𝑪𝑻 = 𝑪𝟏 + 𝑪𝟐 + 𝑪𝟑

Therefore, for 𝑛 capacitors in parallel,

𝑪𝑻 = 𝑪𝟏 + 𝑪𝟐 + ⋯ 𝑪𝒏

Energy stored in a capacitor

Capacitors are charge stores and therefore contain electrical energy. The energy stored in the
capacitor may be converted to heat as in a heater, light as in a lamp or mechanical as in a motor.
The work done in moving a charge of 1 C in an electric field created by a p.d. of 1 V is equal to
1 J. Therefore,
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑊 = 𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒, 𝑄 × 𝑃𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑉
𝑾 = 𝑸𝑽
A graph of p.d. against charge is a straight line.

𝑽
P.d., ሺ𝑽ሻ

𝐎
𝑸 Charge, ሺ𝑸ሻ

91 |SJBHS
 1
Area of triangle = QV
2
Work done = Energy stored
𝑊 = 𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 × 𝑝. 𝑑.
Hence,
𝟏
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑑, 𝑾 = 𝟐 𝐐𝐕
𝟏
Also, 𝐖 = 𝟐 𝐂𝐕 𝟐 and,

𝟏 𝐐𝟐
𝐖=
𝟐 𝐂

Parallel plate capacitors

The capacitance depends on:
(i) 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠. The shorter the distance, the larger is the capacitance.
1
𝐶∝
𝑑
(ii) 𝑂𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠. The larger the area, the larger is the
capacitance.
𝐶∝𝐴
(iii) 𝑇𝑦𝑝𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 introduced between the plates.
Therefore,
𝐴
𝐶∝
𝑑
𝑨
𝑪=𝒌
𝒅
The constant 𝒌, will depend on the dielectric introduced. For air, the value is 8.854 × 10−12 𝐹/𝑚.
Suppose the capacitance is 1 𝐹 and the area between them is 1 𝑐𝑚, the area of the plate can be
calculated as follows.
𝑑𝐶 0.01×1
𝐴= = = 𝟏. 𝟏𝟐𝟗 × 𝟏𝟎𝟗 𝒎𝟐
𝑘 8.854×10−12
This area is equivalent to 𝟐𝟕𝟖 𝟗𝟖𝟐 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒔.
It can now be seen that 1 𝐹 capacitor is extremely too large, hence the ones used in electronic
circuits are measured in microfarads, 𝜇𝐹 because of their small sizes.

92 |SJBHS
Worked examples on capacitance
Example 1
Find the charges in the capacitors and the potential differences across them.

𝑪𝟐 = 𝟐𝝁𝑭
𝑸𝟐
𝑪𝟏 = 𝟐𝝁𝑭

𝑽𝟐
𝑸𝟏
𝑽𝟏
𝑸𝟑
𝑪𝟑 = 𝟏𝝁𝑭

𝟏𝟐𝟎 𝑽
Solution
Effective capacitance for capacitors in parallel = ሺ2 + 1ሻ = 3 𝜇𝐹
𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 3×2 6
Total capacitance = = = = 1.2 𝜇𝐹
𝑆𝑢𝑚 3+2 5
Total charge, 𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉
= 1.2 × 120
= 144 𝜇𝐶
𝑸𝟏 = 𝑄2 + 𝑄3 = 𝟏𝟒𝟒 𝝁𝑪
𝑄1 144×10−6
𝑽𝟏 = = = 𝟕𝟐 𝑽
𝐶1 2×10−6

𝑉2 = 𝑉 − 𝑉1
𝑽𝟐 = 120 − 72 = 𝟒𝟖 𝑽
Voltage across the capacitors 𝑪𝟐 and 𝑪𝟑 in parallel is 𝟒𝟖 𝑽.
𝑸𝟐 = 𝐶2 𝑉2 = 48 × 2 = 𝟗𝟔 𝝁𝑪
𝑸𝟐 = 𝐶2 𝑉2 = 48 × 1 = 𝟒𝟖 𝝁𝑪

93 |SJBHS
Example 2

A capacitor of capacitance 4 µF is charged to a potential of 100 V and another of capacitance 6 µF

is charged to a potential of 200 V. These capacitors are now joined with plates of like charges
connected together. Calculate;

(i) The p.d. across each capacitor after joining,

(ii) The total electrical energy stored before joining,
(iii) The total electrical energy stored after joining.
(iv) Account for the difference between the energies in part (ii) and part (iii)

Solution
(i) Charge stored by the 4 µF capacitor = 4 × 100 = 400 𝜇𝐶
Charge stored by the 4 µF capacitor = 6 × 200 = 1200 𝜇𝐶
Total charge = 400 + 1200 = 1600 𝜇𝐶
When joined, they will be in parallel. Hence, the total capacitance = ሺ4 + 6ሻ µ𝐹 = 10 𝜇𝐹
𝑄 1600
Therefore, p.d. across the capacitors = = = 𝟏𝟔𝟎 𝑽
𝐶 10

1 1 2
(ii) Energy stored in the 4 𝜇𝐹 capacitor = CV2 = × 4 × 10−6 × 100 = 2 × 10−2 J
2 2
1 1 2
Energy stored in the 6 𝜇𝐹 capacitor = CV2 = × 6 × 10−6 × 200 = 12 × 10−2 J
2 2
Total energy = ሺ2 + 12ሻ × 10−2 = 14 × 10−2 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏𝟒 J
1 1 2
(iii) Energy stored in the after joining = CV2 = × 10 × 10−6 × 160 = 𝟏𝟐𝟖 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟒 J
2 2
= 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟖 J
(iv) Some electrical energy is converted to heat in the wires.

Example 3
In the arrangement below, determine:
(i) The effective capacitance.
(ii) Charge on the 6 𝜇𝐹.

94 |SJBHS
 𝑪𝟐 = 𝟔𝝁𝑭
𝑸𝟐
𝑪𝟏 = 𝟗𝝁𝑭

𝑸𝟏
𝑽𝟏
𝑸𝟑
𝑪𝟑 = 𝟑𝝁𝑭

𝟏𝟐 𝑽
Solution
(i) Effective capacitance, 𝐶𝐸 for capacitors in parallel = ሺ6 + 3ሻ = 9 𝜇𝐹
𝐶𝐸 𝐶1 9×9
Total capacitance = =
𝐶𝐸+𝐶1 9+9
= 𝟒. 𝟓 𝝁𝑭

(ii) Total charge = 𝐶𝑉 = 12 × 4.5 = 54 𝜇𝐶

Charge in 𝐶1 = 54 𝜇𝐶
54
Voltage across 𝐶1 = =6𝑉
9

Voltage across 𝐶2 = Voltage across 𝐶3 = 12 − 6 = 6 𝑉

∴ Charge in the 3 𝜇𝐹 capacitor = 3 × 6 = 𝟏𝟖 𝝁𝑪

𝑶𝑹
Since charge is directly proportional to the capacitance, then the total charge will be shared to the
ratios of the two capacitors.
3
∴ Charge in the 3 𝜇𝐹 capacitor = × 54 = 𝟏𝟖 𝝁𝑪
9
6
Likewise, charge in the 6 𝜇𝐹 capacitor = × 54 = 36 𝜇𝐶
9
Exercise
1. In the circuit below, when the switch is closed, the voltmeter across 𝐶3 indicates a p.d. of 4 V.
Calculate:
(i) Equivalence capacitance of the capacitors. ሺ𝟒 𝝁𝑭ሻ
(ii) Amount of charge in each of the capacitors. ሺ𝑸𝟏 = 𝟐𝟒𝝁𝑪, 𝑸𝟐 = 𝟖𝝁𝑪, 𝑪𝟑 = 𝟑𝟐𝝁𝑪ሻ

(iii) The e.m.f. of the battery. ሺ𝑬 = 𝟖 𝑽ሻ

95 |SJBHS
 𝑪𝟐 = 𝟐𝝁𝑭

𝑪𝟑 = 𝟖𝝁𝑭

𝑪𝟏 = 𝟔𝝁𝑭

2. Two capacitors when connected in parallel give an equivalent capacitance of 9 𝜇𝐹 and give an
equivalent capacitance of 2 𝜇𝐹 when connected in series. What is the capacitance of each
capacitor? ሺ𝟑 𝝁𝑭 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝟔 𝝁𝑭ሻ
3. A 100 µF capacitor is charged to a p.d. of 50 V, the charging battery is then disconnected. The
capacitor is then connected in parallel with a second uncharged capacitor. If the measured
potential difference falls to 35 V, what is the capacitance of this second capacitor? ሺ𝟒𝟐. 𝟗 𝝁𝑭 ሻ

4. In the arrangement below, switch 𝑺𝟏 is closed, then after a few minutes, switch 𝑺𝟐 is also closed.
Calculate the charge on each capacitor when,
(i) switch 𝑺𝟏 is closed. ሺ𝑪𝟏 = 𝑪𝟑 = 𝟗 𝝁𝑪, 𝑪𝟐 = 𝑪𝟒 = 𝟏𝟔 𝝁𝑪ሻ

(ii) switch 𝑺𝟐 is also closed. ሺ𝑪𝟏 = 𝟖. 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝝁𝑪, 𝑪𝟐 = 𝟏𝟔. 𝟔𝟕𝝁𝑪, 𝑪𝟑 = 𝟏𝟎. 𝟕𝟏𝝁𝑪, 𝑪𝟒 = 𝟏𝟒. 𝟐𝟗𝝁𝑪ሻ

𝑪𝟏 = 𝟏𝝁𝑭 𝑪𝟑 = 𝟑𝝁𝑭

𝑺𝟐

𝑪𝟐 = 𝟐𝝁𝑭 𝑪𝟒 = 𝟒𝝁𝑭

𝑺𝟏
𝟏𝟐 𝑽

96 |SJBHS
Types of capacitors and their uses

All types of capacitors are made in the form of parallel plate capacitors even though they come in
variety of forms. Depending on their capacitance, they are used for different purposes.

(i) 𝑽𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓

In mechanically controlled variable capacitors, the distance between the plates, or the amount of
plate surface which overlaps, can be changed. The most common form arranges a group of semi-
circular metal plates on a rotary axis (rotor) that are positioned in the gaps between a set of
stationary plates (stator) so that the area of overlap, hence its capacitance, can be changed by
rotating the axis.

It is used in a radio ‘𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑖𝑡’ where radio waves of different frequencies can be selected.

Rotor

Rotating shaft
Stator

(ii) 𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒚𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓

The electrolytic type of capacitor has a very thin layer of aluminium oxide as the dielectric between
two strips of aluminium foil, giving large capacitances. One plate is always connected to the
positive terminal of the battery and the other plate to the negative terminal. Wrong connection will
damage the capacitor.

It is used in power supply circuits as power packs. Also used to control the head light of a car and
time-delay electronic circuits.

(iii) 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒊𝒍 - 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓

It has plastic as its dielectric and is small in size as compared to other capacitors. Such capacitors
are used in the ignition system of a car engine. Photoelectric camera flash units also use these type
of capacitors, which can get charged and discharged very quickly.

97 |SJBHS
 Chapter 8
HEATING EFFECT OF AN ELECTRIC CURRENT
Introduction
When electric current flows through a conductor, it generates heat energy, i.e. the electrical energy
is converted into heat energy. For example, the heating effect produced by the electric kettle or
immersion heater is made use to heat water. Similarly, the heating effect produced by an electric
iron box is used to press clothes.

Factors affecting heat produced by electric current

An electric current flowing through a conductor produces some heating effect. The heating effect
depends on:

(i) 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆, 𝒕

A steady current flowing through a fixed resistor will produce a heating effect 𝑯, depending on
the duration the current is flowing through it. The longer the time 𝒕, the greater is the heating effect.

∴𝑯∝𝒕

(ii) 𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝑰

The larger the current, the greater is the heating effect. Experiments shows that, the heating effect
is directly proportional to the square of the current flowing through the conductor.

∴ 𝑯 ∝ 𝑰𝟐

(iii) 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝑹

An increase in the resistance of the conductor, results into an increase in the heating effect.

∴𝑯∝𝑹

The three factors can be combined into a single expression as:

𝑯 ∝ 𝑰𝟐 𝑹𝒕
𝑯 = 𝒌𝑰𝟐 𝑹𝒕 where 𝒌 is a constant equals to 1.
𝑯 = 𝑰𝟐 𝑹𝒕

98 | S J B H S
The heat energy 𝑯, produced is from conversion of electrical energy, 𝑬. Therefore, the electrical
energy producing the heat effect is expressed as:
𝑬 = 𝑰𝟐 𝑹𝒕 …………………….……………………………………….. (1)
From Ohm’s law, 𝑽 = 𝑰𝑹, electrical energy can also be expressed in other forms as follows:
𝑉 2 𝑉2𝑡
𝐸 = 𝐼 2 𝑅𝑡 = (𝑅) 𝑅𝑡 = 𝑅

𝑽𝟐 𝒕
𝑬= ……………………………………………………………… (2)
𝑹
𝑉
𝐸 = 𝐼 2 𝑅𝑡 = 𝐼 2 ( 𝐼 ) 𝑡 = 𝑉𝐼𝑡

𝑬 = 𝑽𝑰𝒕 ……………………………………………………………….. (3)

Electrical power
Power is the rate of doing work. Therefore,
𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦, 𝐸
𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, 𝑃 =
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝑡
𝑉𝐼𝑡
𝑃= = 𝐼𝑉
𝑡
𝑷 = 𝑰𝑽 ………………………………………………………………... (4)
From Ohm’s law, power can also be expressed as,
𝑃 = 𝐼(𝐼𝑅) = 𝐼 2 𝑅
𝑷 = 𝑰𝟐 𝑹 …………………………...………………………………..… (5)
𝑉 𝑉2
𝑃 = 𝐼𝑉 = ( ) 𝑉 =
𝑅 𝑅

𝑽𝟐
𝑷= …………………….…………………………………….……. (6)
𝑹

The SI units for electrical power is 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠 (W). For larger amounts of power, it can be measured
in kilowatts (𝑘𝑊) or Megawatts (𝑀𝑊).

Worked examples on electrical power

Example 1
An electrical bulb is labelled 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝑾; 𝟐𝟒𝟎 𝑽. Calculate:
(i) The current through the filament when the bulb is working normally.
(ii) The resistance of the filament used in the bulb.

99 | S J B H S
 Solution
𝑃 100
(i) 𝐼= = = = 𝟎. 𝟒𝟏𝟔𝟕 𝑨
𝑉 240
𝑃 100
(ii) 𝑅= = = 𝟓𝟕𝟔 Ω
𝐼2 𝟎.𝟒𝟏𝟔𝟕𝟐

Example 2

Calculate the energy dissipated in 5 minutes by an electric bulb with a filament of resistance
500 Ω connected to a 240 V supply.

Solution

𝑉2 2402
𝑃= = = 𝟏𝟏𝟓. 𝟐 𝑾
𝑅 500

𝐸 = 𝑃𝑡 = 115.2 × (5 × 60) = 𝟑𝟒 𝟓𝟔𝟎 J

Example 3

A 2.5 𝑘𝑊 immersion heater is used to heat water. Calculate the:

(i) Operating voltage of the heater if its resistance is 24 Ω.
(ii) Electrical energy converted into heat energy in 2 hours.
Solution

𝑉2
(i) 𝑃= 𝑅

𝑉2
2500 =
24
𝑉 2 = 2500 × 24 = 60 000
𝑉 = 𝟐𝟒𝟒. 𝟗𝟒𝟗 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒔

(ii) 𝐸 = 𝑃𝑡 = 2 500 × (2 × 3600)

= 𝟏. 𝟖 × 𝟏𝟎𝟕 J

EXERCISE

1. If 1 m of wire were used in the heating element of a 𝟏𝟐 𝑽; 𝟔𝟎 𝑾 heater, what length of wire of
the same material having double the cross sectional area would be required for a 𝟐𝟒 𝑽; 𝟔𝟎 𝑾 ?
(8 m)

100 | S J B H S
2. A 3 kW electric fire is designed to operate from a 240 V supply. Calculate the resistance of the
fire. (𝟏𝟗. 𝟐 Ω)

The fire is connected to the supply by long leads of resistance 0.8 Ω. Assuming their resistance
remains constant, determine:
(i) The current in the leads. (𝟏𝟐 𝑨)

(ii) The power dissipated in the leads. (𝟏𝟏𝟓 𝑾)

3. A radiation room heater consumes 28.8 MJ of energy in 4 hours when connected to the main
power supply of 240 V. Calculate the current through the filament of the heater. (𝟖. 𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝑨)

4. An electric fire rated 1000 𝑊; 240 𝑉. Calculate the rate of heat production when it is connected
to 220 V power supply. (𝟖𝟒𝟎. 𝟐𝟖 𝑾)

Applications of heating effect of electric current

(a) Electrical lighting

(i) 𝑰𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 (𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕) 𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒃

It has a filament which is made of a metal with very high melting point such as tungsten. When
current passes through this filament, large amount of heat get generated. The filament becomes so
hot that it starts emitting light. Normally, the bulbs are filled with nitrogen and argon gases to
prevent the oxidation of the filament and hence to increase its life.

Glass bulb
Tungsten filament

Glass supporting Inert gas at

filament low pressure

Contacts
to power

𝐴𝑑𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠: They require no external regulating equipment, have low manufacturing costs and
work equally well on either alternating current or direct current.
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠: They are much less efficient than other types of electric lighting, since they
only convert less than 5 % of the energy they use into visible light.
101 | S J B H S
 (ii) Fluorescent lamp

A filament lamp transfers only 5 % of the electrical energy supplied to light and the other 95 % to
heat. Fluorescent strip lamps are five times more efficient and may last 3000 hours compared with
the 1000 hours life of filament lamps. They cost more to install but running costs are less. When a
fluorescent strip lamp is switched on, the mercury vapour emits invisible ultraviolet radiation
which makes the powder on the inside of the tube fluoresce (glow), i.e. visible light is emitted.
Different powders give different colours.

Fluorescent Ballast or Choke

powder

Mercury
vapour

(b) Electrical heating

(i) 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕

In domestic appliances such as electric fires, cookers, kettles and irons, the heating elements are
made of tungsten or nichrome (alloy of nickel and chromium) which has a very high resistivity
and does not oxidize readily when red hot. The actual form of the design depends on the intended
purpose of the heater. The diagram below shows a cross-section of the heating element.

Resistance heating element

Electrical insulator
Metal casing

102 | S J B H S
𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒-ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ :

This is sometimes used to control heating appliances. It has three settings and uses two identical
elements.
On ′ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ′, the elements are in parallel across the supply voltage (𝐹𝑖𝑔. 𝑎).
On ′𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚′, there is only current in one (𝐹𝑖𝑔. 𝑏).
On ′𝑙𝑜𝑤′, they are all in series (𝐹𝑖𝑔. 𝑐).

(𝐹𝑖𝑔. 𝑎)
𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉

(𝐹𝑖𝑔. 𝑏) 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎

(𝐹𝑖𝑔. 𝑐) 𝑳𝒐𝒘

(ii) 𝑭𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔

A fuse protects a circuit. It is a short length of wire made of material with a low melting point,
which melts and breaks the circuit when the current through it exceeds a certain value. Two reasons
for excessive currents are 'short circuits' due to worn insulation on connecting wires and
overloaded circuits. Without a fuse, the wiring would become hot in these cases and could cause
fire. A fuse should ensure that the current-carrying capacity of the wiring is not exceeded. The fuse
current rating is selected with a large enough current capability so that it does not break under
steady state conditions but break during an abnormal overload or short circuit conditions. This
results in selecting a fuse that is approximately 125 % of the maximum steady state input current.

103 | S J B H S
 Chapter 9
QUANTITY OF HEAT
Heat normally flows from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature. The
rise in temperature for a given time depends on the materials which have different heat quantities.
The quantity of heat depends on the following;

(i) 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚

Heat is supplied to two bodies of different masses so that their temperature change is the same. It
will be observed that the larger the mass the longer it will take to reach the required temperature.
The longer time taken implies that it requires a larger amount of heat. In this case the larger body
has a larger quantity of heat.

(ii) 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚

Two bodies of same mass, same temperature but made from different materials are heated
separately so that their temperature change becomes the same. It’ll be observed that they’ll take
different times to reach the expected temperature.

Heat Capacity (C)

It is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of any given mass of a substance by 1
Kelvin (K).
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 (𝑄)
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝐶) =
𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 (𝛥𝜃)

⸫ 𝑸 = 𝑪𝜟𝜽

The SI unit of heat capacity, 𝐶 is 𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝐾𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛 (J/𝐾).

SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY

It is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by 1 K.
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 (𝑄)
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑐 =
𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 (𝛥𝜃)×𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 (𝑚)

Therefore, 𝑸 = 𝒎𝒄𝜟𝜽.
The SI unit of specific heat capacity is 𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝐾𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛 (J/𝐾𝑔𝐾)

104 | S J B H S
Determination of specific heat capacity, c

(a) 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔

A well-lagged copper calorimeter is used for this method. It is highly polished to minimize heat
loss. A calorimeter is weighed when empty. It is then filled with cold water half-way. The
calorimeter is then re-weighed with cold water. The calorimeter is replaced in its lagged jacket.
The temperature of cold water is recorded. The mass of metal, whose specific heat capacity is to
be determined, is measured.

The metal is suspended by a thread and dipped inside water in a beaker and the water heated to
boiling point. Temperature of the boiling water is recorded then immediately the hot metal is
quickly transferred to the cold water in the calorimeter. The water is well stirred and its final steady
maximum temperature is noted.

Results
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑 = 𝑚𝑠
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 𝑚𝑐
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 & 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 𝑚1
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 (𝑚1 – 𝑚𝐶 ) = 𝑚𝑤
𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 𝜃1
𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑜𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 𝜃2
𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 𝜃3

Calculations
Assuming no heat loss during transfer, and 𝒄𝒔 is the specific heat capacity of solid whose value is
to be determined, then,
Heat lost by metal block = Heat received by cold water + Heat received by calorimeter
𝑚𝑠 𝒄𝒔 (𝜃2 − 𝜃3 ) = 𝑚𝑤 𝑐𝑤 (𝜃3 − 𝜃1 ) + 𝑚𝑐 𝑐𝑐 (𝜃3 − 𝜃1 ).
If the specific heat capacities of water, 𝑐𝑤 and that of calorimeter 𝑐𝑐 is known, then the specific
heat capacity of solid 𝒄𝒔 , can be calculated.
(𝑚𝑤 𝑐𝑤 + 𝑚𝑐 𝑐𝑐 )(𝜃3 − 𝜃1 )
𝒄𝒔 =
𝑚𝑠 (𝜃2 − 𝜃3 )

NB: For determination of specific heat capacity, 𝒄𝒍 of a liquid, the above procedure is repeated
with a metal block whose specific heat capacity is known and cold water is replaced with a liquid
whose specific heat capacity is to be determined.

105 | S J B H S
𝑚𝑠 𝑐𝑠 (𝜃2 − 𝜃3 ) = 𝑚𝑙 𝒄𝒍 (𝜃3 − 𝜃1 ) + 𝑚𝑐 𝑐𝑐 (𝜃3 − 𝜃1 )
𝑚𝑠 𝑐𝑠 (𝜃2 −𝜃3 )−𝑚𝑐 𝑐𝑐 (𝜃3 −𝜃1 )
𝒄𝒍 =
𝑚𝑙 (𝜃3 −𝜃1 )

(b) 𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅

It is used to determine the specific heat capacity of a substance of good thermal conductivity. The
circuit is arranged with other apparatus as shown below.

Thermometer V To power supply

Lid

Insulator/Lagging

Immersion heater

Metal block

The mass and the initial temperature of the block is measured. The current through the heater is
switched on and at the same time a stop watch is started. The current 𝑰, flowing and the p.d.
𝑽, across the heater is read from the ammeter and voltmeter respectively. Current is then switched
off and stop watch stopped after a temperature rise of about 15 0C.

Results
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘 = 𝑚𝑠
𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 𝜃1
𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 = 𝜃2
𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 =𝐼
𝑃. 𝑑 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 𝑉
𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 𝑡1
𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 𝑡2

106 | S J B H S
Calculations
The time current is passed = (𝑡2 – 𝑡1 ) = 𝑡
Energy supplied by the heater = 𝑉𝐼𝑡
Rise in temperature = (𝜃2 − 𝜃1 ) = 𝛥𝜃
If the specific heat capacity of metal is 𝒄𝒔 , then assuming that the energy supplied by the heater =
is equal to the energy received by the block, then
𝑉𝐼𝑡 = 𝑚𝑠 𝒄𝒔 (𝜃2 − 𝜃1 )
𝑽𝑰𝒕
𝒄𝒔 =
𝒎𝜟𝜽

Worked examples on specific heat capacity, c

Example 1
Calculate the specific heat capacity of paraffin if 22 000 J of heat is required to raise the
temperature of 1.5 kg of paraffin from 20 0C to 30 0C.

Solution

𝑄 = 𝑚𝑐𝛥𝜃
22000 = 1.5 × 𝑐 × 10
⸫ 𝑐 = 𝟏𝟒𝟔𝟔. 𝟕 J /𝐤𝐠𝐊

Example 2

4 g of a substance is burnt completely and the heat produced, raises the temperature of 1200 g of
water from 16 0C to 26 0C. Calculate the calorific or energy value of the substance in kilojoules
per gram.

Solution

Heat energy required to raise temperature of 1200 g of water from 16 0C to 26 0C = 𝑚𝑐𝛥𝜃

𝑄 = 1200 × 4.2 × (26 − 16) = 50 400 𝐽

= 50.4 𝑘J
⸫ If 4 g produces 50.4 𝑘J, then
50.4 ×1
1g will produce = = 12.6 𝑘J
4

⸫ Calorific or energy value = 12.6 𝒌𝐉⁄𝒈

107 | S J B H S
Example 3
A girl wants to have a bath of water at 50 0C. How much water at 80 0C should she mix with
60 kg of water at 10 0C to achieve the desired temperature?

Solution

Let the mass of water at 80 0C be 𝒎 kg.

Assuming no heat loss during mixing,
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑏𝑦 ℎ𝑜𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝒎𝑐𝑤 (80 – 50) = 60𝑐𝑤 (50 – 10)
30𝒎 = 2400
𝒎 = 80 𝑘𝑔

Example 4

200 g of a liquid at 21 0C was heated to 51 0C by a heater using 5 A at 6 V for 5 minutes. Neglecting

heat losses, calculate the specific heat capacity of the liquid.

If the current was charged to 2.5 A and all other factors remained the same, calculate the
temperature rise.

Solution
Heat given out by heater = Heat received by liquid
𝑉𝐼𝑡 = 𝑚𝑐𝛥𝜃
6 × 5 × (5 × 60) = 0.2 × 𝑐 × 30
6×2.5×(5×60)
𝑐=
0.2 ×30
= 𝟏𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝑱/𝒌𝒈𝑲
𝑉𝐼𝑡 = 𝑚𝑐𝛥𝜃
6 × 2.5 × (5 × 60) = 0.2 × 1500 × 𝛥𝜃
6×2.5×(5×60)
𝛥𝜃 =
0.2×1500
= 𝟏𝟓 𝑲

108 | S J B H S
 Exercise

1. An immersion heater rated at 100 W supplies heat for 440 seconds to 2 kg of paraffin oil. If all
the heat from the heater is received by the paraffin, calculate the rise in temperature if its specific
heat capacity is 2.2 × 103 J/kgK. (𝟏𝟎 𝑲)

2. 100 g of metal at 100 0C is dropped into 50 g of liquid at 20 0C and the final tempt of the final
mixture is 40 0C. If the specific heat capacity of the liquid is 3 J/gK. Calculate the specific heat
capacity of the metal. (𝟎. 𝟓 𝑱/𝒌𝒈𝑲)

3. An electric water heater raises the tempt of 0.5 kg of water by 30 0C every minute. The specific
heat capacity of water is 4200 J/kgK. Assuming no heat is lost to the surrounding, what is the
power of the water heater? (𝟏𝟎𝟓𝟎 𝑾)

4. A piece of copper of mass 40 g at 200 0C is placed in a copper calorimeter of mass 60 g containing

50 g of water at 10 0C. Ignoring heat losses, what will be the final steady temperature after
stirring? (𝑐𝑤 = 4.2 J/gK; 𝑐𝑐 = 0.4 J/gK) (𝟐𝟐. 𝟏𝟔 𝟎 𝑪)

5. A car of mass 1000 kg travelling at 72 𝑘𝑚⁄ℎ is brought to rest by applying the brakes. Assuming
that the K.E. of the car becomes transferred to internal energy in the four steel brake drums of
equal mass, find the rise in temperature of the drums, if their total mass is 20 kg, specific heat
capacity of steel is 450 J/kgK, and the work done is equal on all the four drums. (𝟐𝟐. 𝟐 𝑲)

6. A tank holding 60 kg of water is heated by a 3 kW electric immersion heater. If the specific heat
capacity of water is 4200 J/kgK, estimate the time for the temperature to rise from 10 °C to 60 °C.
(𝟒𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝒔)
7. A piece of copper weighing 14 g is heated in a bunsen flame and then transferred to a copper
calorimeter of mass 50 g containing 95 g of water. The temperature of the calorimeter and
contents rises from 11 0C to 21 0C. Calculate the temperature of the bunsen flame. (𝟖𝟎𝟎 𝟎 𝑪)

8. A copper container weighing 120 g and containing 151.6 g of water at 12.3 0C, is heated for a
definite time by means of a small immersion heater to a final temperature of 22.5 0C. When the
experiment is repeated, using the same time of heating, with the container having 132.1 g of a
liquid initially at 12.3 0C, the final temperature is 31.6 0C. Assuming that there are no heat losses
and that the heat capacity of the heater is negligible, calculate the specific heat capacity of the
liquid if the specific heat capacity of copper and water is 400 J/kgK and 4200 J/kgK respectively.
(2376 J/kgK)

109 | S J B H S
SPECIFIC LATENT HEATS OF FUSION AND VAPORIZATION
Latent heat is the amount of heat required to change the state of a substance at constant
temperature. The quantity of heat required to change the state of a substance is given by the product
of its mass and the specific latent heat.
𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 = 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡
𝑸 = 𝒎𝒍
SI unit for specific latent heat Joules per Kilogram (J/Kg)

Specific latent heat of fusion, 𝒍𝒇

It is the quantity of heat required to change the state of a unit mass of a substance from solid to
liquid state at constant temperature.

Determination of specific latent heat of fusion of ice, 𝒍𝒊

(a) 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔

The copper calorimeter and stirrer are first weighed when empty. The calorimeter with about two-
thirds full of hot water at a temperature of about 10 K above the room temperature is reweighed.
A thermometer is placed in the water and small pieces of ice added. More ice is added and stirring
continued till the final steady temperature of about 10 K below room temperature is reached. The
final temperature is noted and the calorimeter with its contents weighed.

Results
Mass of calorimeter and stirrer = 𝑚𝑐
Mass of calorimeter, stirrer & water = 𝑚1
Mass of calorimeter, stirrer, water & ice = 𝑚2
Temperature of warm water = 𝜃1
Final steady temperature of mixtures = 𝜃2

Calculations
Mass of water = (𝑚1 − 𝑚𝑐 ) = 𝑚𝑤
Mass of ice = (𝑚2 − 𝑚1 ) = 𝑚𝑖
Specific latent heat of ice = 𝒍𝒊
Specific heat capacity of water = 𝑐𝑤
Specific heat capacity of calorimeter = 𝑐𝑐

110 | S J B H S
Heat given out by calorimeter, stirrer and water in cooling from 𝜃1 − 𝜃2 equal to heat received by
ice in melting it to 0 0C and raising temperature of water formed at 0 0C to 𝜃2 . Thus,

𝑚𝑤 𝑐𝑤 (𝜃1 − 𝜃2 ) + 𝑚𝑐 𝑐𝑐 (𝜃1 − 𝜃2 ) = 𝑚𝑖 𝒍𝒊 + 𝑚𝑖 𝑐𝑤 (𝜃2 − 0)

(𝑚𝑤 𝑐𝑤 +𝑚𝑐 𝑐𝑐 )(𝜃1 −𝜃2 )−𝑚𝑖 𝑐𝑤𝜃2

𝒍𝒊 =
𝑚𝑖

(b) 𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅

An electrical heater is placed in a filter funnel and small pieces of dry ice are packed around it,
then the heater is switched ON for a few minutes and the mass of water collected in the beaker is
determined. The voltage across the heater and current flowing is read from the voltmeter and
ammeter respectively.

V To power supply

A
Immersion heater

Funnel Crushed ice

Beaker

Water

Results
P.d. across heater =𝑉
Current through heater =𝐼
Time heat is supplied =𝑡
Mass of empty beaker = 𝑚1
Mass of beaker + melted ice = 𝑚2
Mass of Ice = 𝑚2 − 𝑚1 = 𝑚𝑖

111 | S J B H S
Calculations
Heat given by heater = Heat received by ice at 0 0C in melting to form water at 0 0C
Therefore, 𝑉𝐼𝑡 = 𝑚𝑖 𝒍𝒊
𝑉𝐼𝑡
𝒍𝒊 =
𝑚𝑖

Specific latent heat of vaporisation, 𝒍𝒗

It is the quantity of heat required to change the state of a unit mass of a substance from liquid to
gaseous state at constant temperature.

Determination of specific latent heat of vaporisation of water, 𝒍𝒘

(a) 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔

A calorimeter with the stirrer is weighed. Some water is poured into the calorimeter then mass and
temperature of stirrer, calorimeter and water is taken. Steam is generated and the temperature of
steam noted. Steam is passed into the calorimeter containing water for some minutes as the mixture
is continuously stirred. The final temperature and mass of the final mixture is taken.

Results

Mass of calorimeter and stirrer = 𝑚𝑐

Mass of calorimeter, stirrer and water = 𝑚1
Mass of calorimeter, stirrer, water and steam = 𝑚2
Initial temperature of water, calorimeter and stirrer = 𝜃1
Temperature of steam = 𝜃2
Final temperature of the mixture = 𝜃3

112 | S J B H S
Calculations

𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 𝑚1 − 𝑚𝑐 = 𝑚𝑤
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 = 𝑚2 − 𝑚1 = 𝑚𝑠
Heat given out by steam during change of state = 𝑚𝑠 𝒍𝒘
Heat given out by water formed to water at final temperature, = 𝑚𝑠 𝑐𝑤 (𝜃2 − 𝜃3 )
Total heat given out = 𝑚𝑠 𝒍𝒘 + 𝑚𝑠 𝑐𝑤 (𝜃2 − 𝜃3 )
Heat received by water = 𝑚𝑤 𝑐𝑤 (𝜃3 − 𝜃1 )
Heat received by calorimeter and stirrer = 𝑚𝑐 𝑐𝑐 (𝜃3 − 𝜃1 )
Total heat received = 𝑚𝑤 𝑐𝑤 (𝜃3 − 𝜃1 ) + 𝑚𝑐 𝑐𝑐 (𝜃3 − 𝜃1 ) = (𝑚𝑤 𝑐𝑤 +𝑚𝑐 𝑐𝑐 )(𝜃3 − 𝜃1 )
Assuming no heat loss during mixture, heat given out = heat received.

𝑚𝑠 𝒍𝒘 + 𝑚𝑠 𝑐𝑤 (𝜃2 − 𝜃3 ) = (𝑚𝑤 𝑐𝑤 +𝑚𝑐 𝑐𝑐 )(𝜃3 − 𝜃1 )

(𝑚𝑤 𝑐𝑤 +𝑚𝑐 𝑐𝑐 )(𝜃3 −𝜃1 )−𝑚𝑠 𝑐𝑤 (𝜃2 −𝜃3 )

𝒍𝒘 =
𝑚𝑠

(b) 𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅

The water inside the vacuum flask is
boiled by a heater coil supplied with a
current 𝐼, in amperes at a p.d of 𝑉, in
volts. After the water has been boiling
for some time, a steady temperature
state is reached and under these
conditions, the rate of supply of heat
energy 𝐼𝑉, is equal to the rate of
absorption of latent heat into vapour.
When steady temperature conditions
have been reached, a dry weighed
beaker, whose mass had been
measured, is placed under the outlet
tube and the time for about 20 g of
water to collect is measured. The
beaker and water collected is weighed.

113 | S J B H S
Results

P.d. across heater =𝑉

Current through heater =𝐼
Time heat is supplied =𝑡
Mass of empty beaker = 𝑚1
Mass of beaker + collected water = 𝑚2
Mass of evaporated water (steam) = 𝑚2 − 𝑚1 = 𝑚𝑠
Calculations

Heat given by heater = Heat received by water at 100 0 C to form steam at 100 0 C
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 𝑉𝐼𝑡
𝐿𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑟 = 𝑚𝑠 𝒍𝒘
𝑚𝑠 𝒍𝒘 = 𝑉𝐼𝑡

𝑉𝐼𝑡
𝒍𝒘 =
𝑚𝑠

Heating curve of pure substances

𝑭
Temperature

𝑫 𝑬
𝑇2

𝑩 𝑪
𝑇1

𝑨 Time

AB (Solid only) - Temperature of solid is increasing.

BC (Solid and liquid) - Solid is changing to liquid, i.e. latent heat of fusion is used in melting.
CD (Liquid only) - Temperature of liquid is increasing.
DE (Liquid and gas) -Liquid is changing to gas, i.e. latent heat of vaporisation is used in boiling.
EF (Gas only) - Temperature of gas is increasing.
𝑻𝟏 – Melting point
𝑻𝟐 – Boiling point

114 | S J B H S
Worked examples on specific latent heat
Example 1

Calculate the quantity of heat required to melt 4 kg of ice and to raise the temperature of water to
50 0C. (𝑙𝑖 = 3.4 × 105 𝐽/𝑘𝑔, 𝑐𝑤 = 4200 J/kgK)

Solution

Heat in changing ice at 0 0C to water at 0 0C = 𝑚𝑙𝑖

= 4 × 3.4 × 105 J
= 1360 kJ
Heat in changing water at 0 0C to water at 50 0C= 𝑚𝑐𝛥𝜃
= 4 × 4200 × 50
= 840 kJ
⸫ Total heat required = 1360 + 840
= 𝟐𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝒌𝑱

Example 2

A refrigerator can convert 400 g of water at 20 0C to ice at −10 0C in 3 hours. Calculate the average
rate of heat extraction from the water in joules per second. (𝑐𝑖 = 2100 J/kgK, 𝑐𝑤 = 4200 J/kgK,
𝑙𝑖 =3.36 × 105 J /kg)

Solution

Heat extracted to convert water at 20 0C to water at 0 0C= 𝑚𝑐𝛥𝜃

= 0.4 × 4200 × 20
= 33600 J

Heat extracted in converting water at 0 0C to ice at 0 0C = 𝑚𝑙𝑖

= 0.4 × 336000
= 134400 J
Heat extracted in converting ice at 0 0C to ice at −10 0C= 𝑚𝑐𝛥𝜃
= 0.4 × 2100 × 10
= 8400 J
⸫ Total heat extracted = (33600 + 134400 + 8400) = 176400 J

115 | S J B H S
 176400
⸫ Rate of heat extraction =
3600 × 3
= 𝟏𝟔. 𝟑𝟑 J/s
Example 3

An electric kettle which produces energy at a rate of 2250 W contains 0.8 kg of water. It takes 150
seconds to heat the water from 10 0C to 100 0C.

(a) Calculate the:

(i) Heat produced by the kettle in this time.
(ii) Heat taken by water in this time.

Comment on the values above.

(b) If the heater continues to supply energy for a further 100 s, it is found that 0.1 kg of water
is converted to steam. Calculate the value for the specific latent heat of steam.

Solution

(a) (i) Heat produced by electric kettle= 𝑃𝑡

= 2250 × 150
= 𝟑𝟑𝟕 𝟓𝟎𝟎 J
(ii) Heat received by water = 𝑚𝑐𝛥𝜃
= 0.8 × 4200 × 90
= 𝟑𝟎𝟐 𝟒𝟎𝟎 J
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡
𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔.
(b) Heat taken in converting 0.1 kg of water at 100 °C=Heat given by heater in 100 s
⸫ 𝑚𝑙𝑤 = 𝑃𝑡
0.1𝑙𝑤 = 2250×100
2250×100
𝑙𝑤 =
0.1
= 𝟐. 𝟐𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎𝟔 J/kg

116 | S J B H S
Exercise
1. 160 g of molten silver at its melting-point which is 900 °C, is allowed to solidify at the same
temperature and gives out 16 800 J of heat. Calculate the specific latent heat of silver.
(𝟏𝟎𝟓 𝟎𝟎𝟎 J/𝒌𝒈)
2. A copper can together with a stirrer of total heat capacity 60 J/K contains 200 g of water at
10 °C. Dry steam at 100 °C is passed in while the water is stirred until the whole mixture reaches
a temperature of 30 °C. Calculate the mass of steam condensed. (𝟕. 𝟎𝟓 𝒈)

3. 600 g of lead is melted in a crucible and it is found that a 42 W electric immersion heater will
keep it in the liquid state at its melting point. If the heater is switched off, the temperature of
the lead begins to fall 5 minutes later. Calculate the specific latent heat of lead. (𝟐𝟏 𝟎𝟎𝟎 J/𝒌𝒈)

4. 1 tonne of iron is heated from 40 °C in an electric furnace until it is all melted at 1540 °C and it
is found that 1664 MJ of electric energy are required. If the mean specific heat capacity of iron
over the temperature range involved is 590 J/kgK, and assuming that 30 % of the energy is
wasted, calculated the specific latent heat of iron. (𝟐𝟖𝟎 𝟎𝟎𝟎 J/𝒌𝒈)

5. When heat is supplied at the rate of 450 W to an electric kettle containing boiling water, steam
escapes at such a rate that the loss of water is 0.15 𝑔⁄𝑠. When heat is supplied at the rate of
650 W the rate of water loss becomes 0.25 𝑔⁄𝑠. Calculate the:
(i) Specific latent heat of steam. (𝟐𝟑𝟎𝟎 J/𝒈)

(ii) Rate of heat loss from the kettle due to factors other than evaporation. (𝟏𝟎𝟓 J/𝒔)

Factors affecting melting and boiling point

The melting point and boiling point is affected by pressure and impurities

(a) 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆
(i) 𝑀𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡

When pressure is increased in liquids which expand on solidifying e.g. water, the melting point
decreases. If ice is placed on a wooden surface and copper wire is made to go round it and some
weights hang on it, the ice below the wire will melt faster because of increased pressure. The water
formed below will be displaced and forced above the wire where it refreezes. The refreezing takes
place because the copper wire conducts heat to the surrounding. The process is repeated till the
wire goes through the ice block, without splitting it into two. The process of refreezing is called
𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.

117 | S J B H S
 Ice block

Wooden block
Copper wire

Weights

Effects of pressure on melting point involves:

➢ Ice skating: Increase in pressure lowers the melting point of ice making it to readily turn to
water hence making the ice path slippery.
➢ Joining of two blocks of ice.

(ii) 𝐵𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡

A round bottom flask is filled with water and heated till it boils. The heating is stopped and the
flask covered with a rubber stopper fitted with a thermometer. The flask is turned upside down and
cold water let to run on the flask. It will be observed that; water stops boiling when heating is
stopped and when cold water is run over the flask, the water starts boiling again even though the
temperature is below the boiling point of water.

118 | S J B H S
The cold water condenses the steam and reduces the vapour pressure inside the flask which then
reduces the boiling point of the water. Therefore, decrease in pressure, lowers the boiling point of
a liquid.

Effect of pressure on the boiling point is made use in the pressure cooker where steam is prevented
from escaping hence making the pressure to increase to almost twice that of atmospheric pressure.
The increased pressure can make the water to boil at around 120 0C, hence cooking food faster.
The cooker has a safety valve to prevent explosion.

(b) Impurities
(i) 𝑀𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡

If the ratio of ice to common salt is 3:1, the mixture will melt at −20 0C. therefore, impurities
affect the melting point of solids and for this case, the melting point is reduced.

(ii) 𝐵𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡

The boiling point of salt solution is higher than that of distilled water because impurities raises the
boiling point of liquids.

Evaporation
It is a process whereby a liquid change to gaseous state at any temperature. It occurs at the surface
of a liquid where fast-moving molecules leaves the rest of the molecules of the liquid hence
reducing the temperature of the liquid. The rate of evaporation increases when;

(i) Air current is passed over the liquids surface.

(ii) Temperature is increased.
(iii) Surface is increased.
(iv) Humidity is low.

Difference between boiling and evaporation

(i) Evaporation occurs at all temperatures while boiling occurs at a fixed temperature.
(ii) Evaporation occurs at the surface of the liquid with no bubbles while boiling occurs
throughout the liquid with formation of bubbles.
(iii) Rate of evaporation increases with decrease in atmospheric pressure while boiling point
decreases with decrease in atmospheric pressure.

119 | S J B H S
 Applications of cooling by evaporation
(i) 𝑺𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈

When sweat evaporates, it draws intense heat from the skin hence a cooling effect is experienced.
Animals like dogs expose their tongues when it is hot while the muzzle of a cow gets more wet.

(ii) 𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒕

A porous pot has tiny pores through which water slowly sips out. When it evaporates it cools the
pot and its contents.

(iii) 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓

A pump circulates a volatile fluid, known as the

refrigerant, through pipes between the inside
(evaporator) and outside (condenser) the
insulated box. Refrigerant starts as a gas at the
compressor which rises its pressure and makes
the temperature to rise. The compressed gas
passes through the condenser coils where the HEAT
gas loses heat in them and turns to a liquid. The
liquid refrigerant goes to the expansion valve
HEAT
and because of the low pressure between the
compressor and the expansion valve, the liquid
Radiator fins
boils and evaporates inside the evaporator pipes Condenser

and takes heat from the food compartment.

From the evaporator coils, the gas goes back
into the compressor and the cycle is repeated.

120 | S J B H S
 Chapter 10

THE GAS LAWS

The behaviour of gases is affected by temperature, volume and pressure. One factor is kept
constant and the relation between the other two is determined.

(a) Charles’s law

Expansion of a gas is caused by increase in temperature which also results in to an increase in
volume, this was discovered by a French scientist by the name of Charles. Charles’s law gives the
relation between temperature and volume of a gas at constant temperature. The apparatus to
investigate the relationship is shown below.

Millimetre
scale

HEAT
Air is trapped by a drop of concentrated sulphuric acid which also acts as an index and drying
agent for the air. Pressure is constant and is equal to atmospheric pressure plus pressure due to
length of the acid drop.

The temperature of the air is varied by heating or cooling the water bath which must be well stirred
so that the temperature of water is the same as the temperature of the air. The length of the air
column is taken to be proportional to the volume of the air and is measured for different
temperatures.

A graph of volume against temperature is drawn and a straight line is obtained. When this is
extended to meet the temperature axis, it is found that the volume becomes zero at −2730 𝐶 or
0 𝐾.

121 |SJBHS
 Volume

𝟎𝐊 𝟐𝟕𝟑 𝐊 Temperature
−𝟐𝟕𝟑 𝟎 𝐂 𝟎 𝟎𝐂

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑒𝑠’𝑠 𝑙𝑎𝑤 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑓𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜
𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒.
𝑉∝𝑇
𝑉 = 𝑘𝑇
𝑉
∴ 𝑘=
𝑇
𝑽𝟏 𝑽𝟐
Hence, = = 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕
𝑻𝟏 𝑻𝟐

The temperature at which the volume of a gas is zero on the kelvin scale is known as
𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑧𝑒𝑟𝑜 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒.

(b) Boyle’s law

The apparatus below will be used to find the relationship between pressure and volume of a fixed
mass of gas at constant temperature.

Tap

122 |SJBHS
The initial volume 𝑽, of the trapped gas and its corresponding pressure 𝑷, from the Bourdon gauge,
is read when the level of oil in the reservoir and the one in the glass tube are equal. This is the
atmospheric pressure. The foot pump is used to slowly increase the pressure of the gas then the tap
is closed and new set of reading is taken after a minute. NB: This is necessary to enable the
temperature of the gas to revert back to room temperature. The process is repeated for at least 5
more sets of readings of pressure and volume and the values tabulated. A graph of 𝑷 against 𝑽 will
𝟏
produce a smooth curve. The values of are obtained for each value of 𝑽 and a graph of P against
𝑽
𝟏
is plotted. This is the appropriate graph in this experiment. A straight line is obtained which
𝑽
shows that the pressure is inversely proportional to the Volume.

𝐵𝑜𝑦𝑙𝑒’𝑠 𝑙𝑎𝑤 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑓𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜
𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒.

1
𝑉∝
𝑃
𝑻𝟐 > 𝑻𝟏
𝑘
𝑉= 𝑽
𝑃
∴ 𝑃𝑉 = 𝑘 𝑻𝟐
𝑻𝟏

Hence, 𝑷𝟏 𝑽𝟏 = 𝑷𝟐 𝑽𝟐 = 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕
An appropriate graph for volume and pressure of a gas at constant temperature is one of 𝑽 against
𝟏 𝟏
or 𝑷 against .
𝑷 𝑽

𝟏
𝑷

123 |SJBHS
 (c) Pressure law
Some air in a strong flask containing thermometer is enclosed and a glass tube joined to a pressure
gauge. The flask is immersed in a water bath and the water heated. The temperature and
corresponding pressure on the gauge are recorded.

Gas

A graph of pressure against temperature gives a straight line that cuts the temperature axis at the
absolute zero temperature where the pressure of a gas is zero.

Pressure

𝟎𝐊 𝟐𝟕𝟑 𝐊 Temperature
−𝟐𝟕𝟑 𝟎 𝐂 𝟎 𝟎𝐂

124 |SJBHS
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑤 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑓𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜
𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒.
𝑃𝛼𝑇
𝑃 = 𝑘𝑇, where 𝑘 is a constant
𝑃
= 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝑇
𝑷𝟏 𝑷𝟐
= = 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕
𝑻𝟏 𝑻𝟐

Equation of state
The gas laws can be combined as a more general expression called the 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 or
𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒. The equation is;

𝑃𝑉 = 𝑛𝑅𝑇 or

𝑷𝟏 𝑽𝟏 𝑷𝟐 𝑽𝟐
= = 𝒏𝑹
𝑻𝟏 𝑻𝟐

Where 𝒏 represents the number of moles of a gas and 𝑹 is the universal gas constant which has a
value of 𝟖. 𝟑𝟏𝟒𝟓 J/𝒎𝒐𝒍𝑲.

Real gases and ideal gases

A gas that obey all the three gas laws or the equation of state exactly under any conditions would
be an 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑔𝑎𝑠. Practically, no gas perfectly conforms to the equation of state at all temperatures
and pressures. Therefore, most gases are 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑔𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠.

Under the conditions of high temperatures and low pressures, present under much of the earth’s
surface, most real gases approaches the behaviour of ideal gases.

Kinetic theory of gases

The theory explains how the pressure of a gas arises from the bombardment of its particles on the
walls of the container. The theory makes the following assumptions;

(i) The particles of a gas are widely separated and are in random motion.
(ii) The forces between molecules are negligible except during collisions.
(iii) The volume of the molecules is negligible in comparison to the volume of the gas.
(iv) The time during collisions is negligible compared to the time between collisions.

125 |SJBHS
(v) Between collisions, the velocity of the molecules is uniform.
(vi) During collisions, there is no loss of K.E. since the collisions are elastic.

Causes of gas pressure

All the molecules in a gas are in rapid random motion with a wide range of speeds and repeatedly
hit and rebound from the walls of the container in huge numbers per second. At each rebound, a
gas molecule undergoes a change of momentum which produces a force on the walls of the
container. The force on the wall of the container causes pressure.

Boyle’s law
If the volume of a fixed mass of gas is decreased, the number of molecules per unit volume will
increase. There will be increased collisions per second with the wall i.e. the pressure will increase.
This is Boyle’s law.

Pressure law
When a gas is heated and its temperature rises, the average speed of its molecules increases. If the
volume of the gas stays constant, its pressure increases because there are more frequent and more
collisions per second of the molecules with the walls. This is Pressure law.

Charles’s law
If the pressure of the gas is to remain constant, during the heating, the volume must increase so
that the frequency of collisions does not go up. This is Charles’s law.

Worked examples on gas laws

Example 1
A fixed mass of a gas at constant volume exerts a pressure of 1 × 105 Pa at 17 0C. At what
temperature will the pressure exerted be 1.5 × 105 Pa?

Solution

From pressure law;

𝑷𝟏 𝑷𝟐
= = 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕
𝑻𝟏 𝑻𝟐

𝑃1 = 1 × 105 Pa
𝑇1 = 17 + 273 = 290 𝐾

126 |SJBHS
𝑃2 = 1.5 × 105 Pa
1 × 105 1.5 × 105
⸫ =
290 𝑇2

𝑇2 = 𝟒𝟑𝟓 𝑲 𝒐𝒓 𝟏𝟔𝟐 𝟎 𝑪

Example 2
A fixed mass of gas at constant pressure has a volume of 300 cm 3 at 250 K. Calculate the volume
at 600 K.

Solution

From Charles’ law

𝑽𝟏 𝑽𝟐
=
𝑻𝟏 𝑻𝟐

300 ×600
⸫𝑉2 = = 720 cm3
250

Example 3
A gas of volume 84 cm3 is compressed gradually at a constant temperature until its pressure rises
from 75 cmHg to 140 cmHg. Calculate the final volume of the gas.

Solution

𝑃1 = 75 cmHg
𝑉1 = 84 𝑐𝑚3
𝑃2 = 140 cmHg
From Boyle’s law,
𝑷𝟏 𝑽𝟏 = 𝑷𝟐 𝑽𝟐
75 × 84
𝑉2 =
140

𝑉2 = 𝟒𝟓 𝒄𝒎𝟑

127 |SJBHS
Example 4
Air is trapped in a vertical tube by a thread of mercury 15 cm long as shown below.

𝟏𝟓 𝒄𝒎

𝑽𝟏 = 30 𝒄𝒎𝟑

If the temperature of trapped air is constant and the atmospheric pressure is 75 cmHg, calculate
the volume of trapped air when the tube is held
(i) Horizontally.
(ii) Vertically with the open end down.

Solution

(i)

𝑽𝟐 𝟏𝟓 𝒄𝒎

If atmospheric pressure is 𝑃 cmHg, then,

𝑃1 = (𝑃 + 15) = 75 + 15 = 90 𝑐𝑚𝐻𝑔

𝑉1 = 30 𝑐𝑚3
𝑃1 = 75 𝑐𝑚𝐻𝑔
From Boyle’s law, 𝑷𝟏 𝑽𝟏 = 𝑷𝟐 𝑽𝟐

90 × 30
𝑉2 = = 𝟑𝟔 cm3
75

(ii)
𝑽𝟑

𝟏𝟓 𝒄𝒎

128 |SJBHS
𝑃2 = 75 𝑐𝑚𝐻𝑔
𝑉2 = 36 𝑐𝑚3
𝑃3 = (𝑃 − 15) = 75 − 15 = 60 𝑐𝑚𝐻𝑔

From Boyle’s law, 𝑃2 𝑉2 = 𝑃3 𝑉3

75 × 36
𝑉3 = = 𝟒𝟓 cm3
60

𝑶𝑹,

𝑃1 = 90 𝑐𝑚𝐻𝑔
𝑉1 = 30 𝑐𝑚3
𝑃3 = 60 𝑐𝑚𝐻𝑔

𝑃1 𝑉1 = 𝑃3 𝑉3

90 × 30
𝑉3 = = 𝟒𝟓 cm3
60

Example 5
A container holds 70 cm3 of air. The pressure is 100 𝑘𝑃𝑎 and the temperature is 7 0C. What is the
final pressure when the air is compressed to 30 cm3 and the temperature is 27 0C?

Solutions

𝑉1 = 70 𝑐𝑚3 𝑉2 = 30 𝑐𝑚3
𝑇1 = (7 + 273) = 280 𝐾 𝑇2 = (27 + 273) = 300 𝐾
𝑃1 = 100 𝑘𝑃𝑎
From equation of state;

𝑷𝟏 𝑽𝟏 𝑷𝟐 𝑽𝟐
=
𝑻𝟏 𝑻𝟐

100×70×300
𝑃2 = = 𝟐𝟓𝟎 𝒌𝑷𝒂
280×30

129 |SJBHS