Physics Grade9 All in One

AMBO IFA BORU SPECIAL BOARDING SECONDARY
SCHOOL
Physics Short Notes on unit 1

For Grade 9
By: Desta Negash
November 2022
UNIT 1
and vector Quantities
Introduction
Science is the study of nature and natural phenomena(laws)
Biological it deals with live matter. e.g Bio

Physical it deals with nonliving things. E.g phy, chem
Physics
deals with the study of properties of matter, energy and their mutual
r/ships.
Systematic study of structure & behaviors of the physical world.
Involves experimentation & measurement w/c leads to development of
theories.
Introduction
Importance / scope of physics
 to watch any event occurring any where in the world.
(Satellite communication)
 to observe stars, galaxies & edge of the universe (telescope)
 to use radio, TV, wireless, computer, etc (electricity)
 to run vehicles on the road & fly airplane in the air(heat engine)
 to preserve food(freezers)
 for medical diagnosis(MRI, CT Scan, ultrasound, etc)
 Etc
1.1 measurement & uncertainty
1.1.1 Making measurement
Measurement- is comparing any physical quantity with some standard unit.
Unit- standard with w/c a physical quantity is compared.
e.g meter, kilogram, second, etc
Magnitude- is a pure number with a proper unit.
e.g m = 10 kg, 10- pure number, kg- proper unit
Note
 A physical quantity always expressed interms of numerical value
(magnitude) and unit.
Physical quantity = ( numerical value) unit.
 Physics without unit is meaningless.
Q- What do you mean by physical quantity or non-physical quantity?
Physical quantity(definite)- a quantity w/c is physically measurable & observable.
e.g length, mass, etc
Non-physical quantity ( indefinite)- a quantity w/c is not physically measurable

& observable.
e.g joy, fear, love, thinking, etc
Exercise!
Identify the ff quantities whether they are physical or non-physical.
a) Strong desire
b) Heavy box
c) 5 kg box
d) Deep love
e) Tall person
f) 2 m tall
Physical quantities are classified on the following basis:
1) Based on their directional properties
i) scalars- w/c have only magnitude but no direction.
e.g mass, density, volume, time, etc
ii) vectors- w/c have both magnitude & direction & obeys laws of vector
algebra.
e.g displacement, force, velocity, acceleration, etc
2) Based on their dependency
i) Fundamental or base quantities
- w/c do not depend upon other quantities for their complete definition.
e.g length, mass, time, temp., etc
ii) Derived quantities
- w/c can be expressed in terms of fundamental quantities.
e.g speed, volume, acceleration, force, pressure, etc
Note
Physical quantities can also classified as:
i) Dimensional or dimensionless.
ii) Variables or constant.
Exercise!
Classify the quantities displacement, mass, force, time, speed, velocity,
acceleration, pressure & work under the ff categories
a) base & scalar b) derived & scalar
c) base & vector d) derived & vector

System of Fundamental quantities/ base units
units
Length Mass Time Temp. Electric Amount of Luminous
current substance intensity
FPS Foot Pound Second x x x x
CGS Centimeter Gram Second x x x x
MKS Meter kilogram Second x x x x
SI Meter Kilogram second kelvin ampere mole candela
(m) (kg) (s) (K) (A) (mol) (cd)
Note
 SI is the modification of MKS system
- besides the 3 base units of MKS system 4 fundamental & 2 supplementary units
are included in this system.
While defining base units for a physical quantity the ff characteristics are considered.
i) Well defined iv) reproducibility
ii) Invariability v) convenience in use
iii) Accessibility
Q. What was the original motivation of the development of SI unit?
Ans: b/c existence of diverse units to measure the same quantity created a problem in:
- commerce
- exchanging data
- lack of coordination b/n various disciplines.
Definition of some SI units
The second: 1s is:
1st defn. is 1/86,400 of mean solar day.
2nd defn. the time required for 9,102,631,770 of steady vibration of cesium atom.
The meter: 1m is:
• 1st defn. 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the equator to the north pole.
• 2nd defn. 1,650, 763.73 wavelength of orange light emitted by krypton atoms.
• 3rd defn. is a distance light travels in vacuum 1/299,792,458 of a second.
• The mass: 1kg is:
• 1st defn. very nearly equal to the mass of 1000 𝑐𝑚3 of water.
• 2nd defn. the mass of platinum - Iridium cylinder kept near Paris.
ℎ −2 s
• 3rddefn. equal to 𝑚 (defined in term's of meter, second
6.62607015×10−34
& plancks constant (h))
Q. Why do scientists keep redefining standards ?
Ans. - In order to create unchanging standards for its value or
- for accurate definition.
Supplementary units
In SI of units two supplementary units are defined.
i) radian (rad)- for plane angle (2D)
ii) steradian(sr)- for solid angle(3D)
Dimensions of a physical quantity
Dimensions - are the powers ( exponents) to w/c the base quantities are raised to express that
quantity.
Dimensional formula- is the expression w/c represents how & w/c of the base quantities are
included in that quantity.
- written by enclosing the symbols for base quantities with appropriate powers in square
bracket i.e [ ]
 In mechanics a derived physical quantity ‘x’ can be expressed as:
[x] = [𝑙𝑎 ] [𝑚𝑏 ] [𝑡 𝑐 ] = 𝐿𝑎 𝑀𝑏 𝑇 𝑐
e.g [v] = 𝑀0 𝐿1 𝑇 −1 = L 𝑇 −1
[F] = 𝑀1 𝐿1 𝑇 −2 = ML 𝑇 −2 i.e dimension of force are 1 in mass, 1
in length and -2 in time.
 In general the dimension of any physical quantity ‘u’ can be written as:
[u] = 𝐿𝑎 𝑀𝑏 𝑇 𝑐 𝐼 𝑑 𝜃 𝑒 𝑁 𝑓 𝐽 𝑔 where a, b, c, d, e, f & g are exponents.
e.g dimension of length = 𝐿1 𝑀0 𝑇 0 𝐼 0 𝜃 0 𝑁 0 𝐽0 = L
dimension of density = 𝐿−3 𝑀1 𝑇 0 𝐼 0 𝜃 0 𝑁 0 𝐽0 = M 𝐿−3
Note
 For dimensional quantity all seven powers are zero
 Dimensionless quantity are pure numbers.
The physical quantities which have:
- dimensions but do not have fixed magnitude- dimensional variables.
e.g force, energy, acceleration, etc
- dimensions & fixed magnitude- dimensional constants.
e.g speed of light in vacuum, gravitational constant, etc
- neither dimensions nor fixed magnitude- dimensionless variables.
e.g plane angle, solid angle, strain, etc
- no dimensions but have fixed magnitude- dimensionless constant.
22
e.g pure numbers (1, 2, 3, …), 𝜋 = , 𝑒𝑡𝑐
7
Advantage/application of dimensional analysis
oTo check the correctness of a physical equations.
oTo convert a physical quantity from one system of unit to another.
oTo find dimension of constants used in a relation.
oTo derive a formula.
Limitation of dimensional analysis
Formula that depends on more than three physical quantities cannot be
derived- only checked.
Used only if the dependency is of multiplication type.
Gives no information's about dimensionless constants, logarithm, trigonometry,
etc
If dimension is given, physical quantity is not unique as many of them have the
same dimension.
It gives no information whether a physical quantity is scalar or vector.
Exercise!
Check the ff equations are dimensionally correct.
SI prefixes & scientific Notation
SI prefixes
- means to assign a name to d/t powers of 10, negative or positive.
- written Infront of SI unit without space.
Why do we use prefixes ?
- b/c it is the convenient way of writing very large or very small quantities
compared with basic standard unit.
e.g thickness of piece of paper- mm (convenient), m (not conv.)
long distance b/n two cities – km (conv.), m (not conv.)
Note
Use of double prefixes is not allowed in a measurement.
Examples
Radius of hydrogen atom = 5.3 × 10−11 = 53𝑝𝑚
Distance b/n earth & the sun = 1.495 × 1011 = 149.5𝐺𝑚
Mass of electron = 9.1 × 10−31 = 0.00091yg
Mass of the Earth = 5.983 × 1024 𝑘𝑔 = 5983𝑌𝑔
Convection used in writing SI units & names
 Full name of the unit does not begin with capital letter.
 Symbol of the unit named after the scientist has an initial capital letter.
 The combination of unit written with one space apart.
 Prefixes is written before the unit without any space.
Scientific Notation/ Standard form
- is a way of writing large or small numbers in decimal form.
- a number is expressed in power of 10 ( called exponent) multiplied by a
number b/n 1 & 10 ( called the mantissa)
Number (N) = Mantissa (M) X 10𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡(𝑛)
e.g a) distance b/n the moon & the earth = 384000000m = 3.84 x 108
b) 0.0000045 sec = 4.5 x 10−6 sec
Steps for converting a given number (N) into standard form
1. In a given number (N), move the decimal point & place it after a non-zero
digit.
2. If the decimal point is moved from its initial position towards the:
 left- the power of 10 will be positive. e.g 4500000 = 4.5 x 106
 right- the power of 10 will be negative. e.g 0.0000045 = 4.5 x 10−6
Exercise!
1) Write the ff physical quantities in scientific notation.
2) Write the ff quantities in scientific notation & using SI prefixes.

a) 3270 g b) 0.128 m c) 65000000 W d) 0.0032 s
Significant figures (sfs)
- is the number of accurately known digits & the first doubtful digit in a
measurement.
- is the figure w/c is able to trusted or has greater precision.
 Accurately Known digits- are those that are counted without ambiguity or any
doubt.
 Doubtful digit- digit w/c has chances of error or an estimated digit during a
measurement.
For example: three students measured the length of a book as:
18.11 cm , 18.12 cm & 18.13 cm
known digit: 18.1
doubtful digit: 1, 2 & 3
General rules for writing significant figures.
1) All non-zero digits are always significant. e.g 7645---4 sfs
2) Zero may or may not be significant depending upon its placement.
i) for a number less than 1 zero to the left of first significant digit(leading zero)
is not significant. e.g 0.00123---3 sfs, 0.057---2 sfs
ii) zero b/n two non-zero digit (internal zero) is significant. E.g 101001---6 sfs
iii) zero to the right of significant digit may or may not be significant.
a) in decimal factors, zero to the right of non-zero digit are significant.
e.g 3.570---4 sfs, 0.0500---3 sfs
b) in non-decimal factors, zero to the right of non-zero digit may or may
not be significant depending upon the least count of measuring instrument.
measurement least count standard form significant figure/s
6000kg 1kg 6.000 × 103 4
6000kg 10kg 6.00 × 103 3
6000kg 100kg 6.0 × 103 2
6000kg 1000kg 6 × 103 1
∗ 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑧𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 10 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑡.
iv) in scientific notation, figures other than power of 10 are significant figures.
N = M × 𝟏𝟎𝒏 , M-consists of all sfs of the original numbers.
e.g 0.0000125--3 sfs = 1.25 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟓 (3 sfs)
Significant figures in calculations
Addition & subtraction
- the result obtained is rounded to the smallest number of decimal place of any term in the
data. e.g a) 44.56005 + 0.698 + 1103.2 = 1147.82985 = 1147.8
b) 12.587 – 12.5 = 0.087 = 0.1
Multiplication & Division
- the result obtained is retained/rounded to the measurement w/c has
the least significant figures in the data.
e.g a) 3.6 cm x 3.856 cm = 13.8816 𝑐𝑚2 = 14 𝑐𝑚2
3.3 𝑘𝑔
b) = 0.608856089 𝑘𝑔 = 0.61𝑘𝑔
5.42
Sources and Types of Error
Error – is the d/ce b/n the standard value and experimentally measured value.
Error = actual value – observed value ( incase of smaller reading)
= observed value – actual value ( incase of larger reading )
Types of errors
i) Personal error
Cause – inexperience of person
- negligence and carelessness of person
- wrong way of taking reading
Reduced by – taking care during the experiment.
ii) Random error (uncontrollable)
- a repeated measurement gives different values under the same circumstances.
- is unbiased small vibrations that have both positive or negative values.
Causes- unknown
Reduction – by taking several readings and then having their mean.
iii) Sytematic error (controllable)
- it gives consistent d/ce b/n different readings.
- bias every measurement in the same direction.
Causes – faulty apparatus
- zero error
- poor calibration of instrument.
Reduction – by applying zero correction, comparing our instrument with standard
instrument
Representation of Errors
i) Absolute error (∆𝑎)
- is the d/ce b/n true value and the individual measured value of the quantity.
Suppose a physical quantity is measured n times
Measured Value = 𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 , ………… 𝑎𝑛
𝑎 +𝑎 𝑎 ………… +𝑎𝑛
Arithmetic mean(𝑎𝑚 ) = 1 2 + 3 +
𝑛
∗ if the true value is not given the mean value can be taken as true value.
 The absolute error in individual measurement are:
∆𝑎1 = 𝑎𝑚 − 𝑎1
∆𝑎2 = 𝑎𝑚 − 𝑎2
. . .
. . .
∆𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎𝑚 − 𝑎𝑛
 The mean absolute error is given as:
∆𝑎1 + ∆𝑎2 +……. + ∆𝑎𝑛
(∆𝑎)𝑚 =
𝑛
so, if the measured value of a quantity be ‘𝑎’ and the error in a measurement be ∆𝑎,
then the true value (𝑎𝑡 ) can be written as:
𝑎𝑡 = 𝑎 ± ∆𝑎
ii) Relative(fractional) error
- is the ratio of mean absolute error (∆𝑎)𝑚 to the true value or the mean value (𝑎𝑚 )
of the quantity measured.
(∆𝑎)𝑚 ∆𝑎
Relative error = or
𝑎𝑚 𝑎
iii) Percentage error
∆𝑎
Percentage error = ×100%
𝑎
Note
∗ Absolute errors may be positive or negative.
∗Relative error is unitless and dimensionless.
Uncertainty in measurement
- is the amount of possible error associated with a measuring instrument.
- is a quantification of the doubt about the measurement result.
- It gives the range of values with w/c the true value is believed to lie.
- It gives some level of confidence.
Measurement = (best estimate ± uncertainty) unit
Example
If l = (20.1 ± 0.1)cm, the true value believed to be closest to 20.1cm any where
b/n ( 20.1 – 0.1 ) cm & ( 20.1 + 0.1) cm. i.e b/n 20.0 cm & 20.2 cm.
∗The measurement about w/c we are not confident is called uncertain measurement.
Types of uncertainty
1) Absolute uncertainty
- is equal to the least count of measuring instrument.
- it is denoted by ‘∆′
- it has the same unit as the quantity.
Accuracy and Precision
- are two distinct and independent aspects of measurement related two uncertainties.
Accuracy
- refers to the closeness of a measured value to the true( standard or known) value.
- it describes how well we eliminate systematic error.
- a single reading can be accurate.
Examples
1) If MV = 3.2 kg & TV = 10 kg → 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒.
2) Who is more accurate when measuring a book that has true length of 17.0 cm?
Abdi: 17.0 cm, 16.0 cm, 18.0 cm, 15.0 cm
Bontu: 15.5 cm, 15.0 cm, 15.2 cm, 15.3 cm
Note
 Accuracy of measurement is estimated from relative/fractional/ uncertainty.
∗A measurement having smaller relative uncertainty will be more accurate.
Precision
- refers to the closeness of repeated measurement to each other.
- it describes how well we suppress random errors.
- multiple readings are required.
Examples
1) If MV = 3.2 kg ( 5 times) → 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑒.
2) Who is more precise when measuring a book that has true length of 17.0 cm?
Abdi: 17.0 cm, 16.0 cm, 18.0 cm, 15.0 cm
Bontu: 15.5 cm, 15.0 cm, 15.2 cm, 15.3 cm
Note
 Precision depends on the absolute uncertainty /least count of measuring
instrument.
∗The smaller the least count of the measuring instrument, the more precise will be
the measurement.
2) Relative uncertainty
𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑦
Relative uncertainty =
𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
- it is denoted by “𝜀“
- it has no unit.
3) Percentage uncertainty
% unc. = 𝜀 × 100%
𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑦
% unc. = × 100%
𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
Example
Measuring instrument = metal rod
Least count = 0.1 cm
Measured value = 25.5 cm
0.1
𝜖= = 0.004
25.5
% unc. = 0.004 x 100% = 0.4%
Exercise!
Let the length of the book is 15 cm w/c is measured with meter-ruler having least count 0.5
mm, on the other hand, the distance from Ambo to Finfinnee is 125 km, with speedometer
having least count 0.5 km. which measurement is a)precise? b) accurate?
Note
 Precision and accuracy are independent.
 A measurement can be:
- precise but inaccurate.
- accurate but imprecise
Accuracy vs precision
1.2 Vector Quantities
Continued…. 1.2 Vector Quantities
Notes
 In a polygon if all the vectors are in the same order then their resultant is a null vector.
 If n vectors of equal magnitude are arranged at equal angle of separation the their resultant
is always zero vector
2) Analytical method
 Adding vectors graphically provides limited accuracy.
 Analytical method provide a general method for adding vectors.
i) Triangle rule
 Consider vectors A & B shown below, the magnitude of their resultant R is
analytically determined by the formula:
R= 𝐴 + 𝐵 = 𝐴2 + 𝐵2 + 2𝐴𝐵𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
 The direction of resultant is given
by using sine law as follows:
−𝟏 𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽
𝜶 = 𝒕𝒂𝒏 [ ]
𝑩+𝑨𝒄𝒐𝒔𝜽
Important points
i) Resultant of two vectors will be maximum when they are parallel.
i.e angle b/n them (c) is zero.
𝑅𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐴 + 𝐵 = 𝐴2 + 𝐵2 + 2𝐴𝐵𝑐𝑜𝑠0 = (𝐴 + 𝐵)2 = A+B
ii) Resultant of two vectors will be minimum when the are antiparallel.
i.e the angle b/n them is 1800
𝑅𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝐴 + (−𝐵) = 𝐴2 + 𝐵2 − 2𝐴𝐵𝑐𝑜𝑠180 = (𝐴 − 𝐵)2 = A-B (Bigger- Smaller)
iii) Vector addition is commutative. i.e 𝐴 + 𝐵 = 𝐵 + 𝐴
iv) Vector subtraction is not commutative. i.e 𝐴 − 𝐵 ≠ 𝐵 − 𝐴
v) Resultant of two vectors of equal magnitude will be at their bisector.
vi) If two vectors have equal magnitude i.e A = B = a and the angle b/n them is 𝜃, then their
resultant will be at the bisector of two vectors and its magnitude is
𝜃
R = 2acos
2
Special case: if 𝜃 = 1200 , then R = 𝑎 i.e R = A = B = a
 If resultant of two unit vectors is another unit vector then the angle b/n them is 1200 .
ii) Component method
Example
Example
If A = 2i + 5j , B = 3i − j & C = i + 2j-k determine the following
a) A+ B b) A- C c) A + B- C d) 2 A+ C e) angle b/n A & B
Equilibrium
i) proving equilibrium graphically
 In a vector addition, if you end up where you started by adding those head-to-tail, then all
the vectors canceled out and there is no resultant vector. Then the system is in equilibrium.
Cont……..
ii) Proving equilibrium mathematically
 If the vector sum of the horizontal forces (x-components) add up to zero and the vector
sum of the vertical forces (y-components) add up to zero, then the system is said to be in
equilibrium.
This can be written mathematically as:
 If the sums of x- and y- components independently don’t cancel out or add up to zero, then
the system is not in equilibrium.
Cont……..
Cont……..
Cont……..
Cont……..
Some application of vectors
Vectors have many real-life applications in different fields of science. They are used:
 to calculate the volume of a parallelepiped.
 to find the work done and torque in mechanics.
 to calculate the distance between two aircrafts in the space and the angle between
their paths.
to know the direction in which the force is attempting to move the body.
in the study of electromagnetism, hydrodynamics, blood flow, rocket launching,
and the path of a satellite.
to install the solar panels by carefully considering the tilt of the roof and the
direction of the Sun so that it generates more solar power.
 to measure angles and distance between the panels in the satellites, in the
construction of networks of pipes in various industries, and in calculating angles and
distance between beams and structures in civil engineering.
THE END !
THANK YOU !
AMBO IFA BORU SPECIAL BOARDING
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Physics Short Notes on

unit 2
For Grade 9
By: Desta Negash
December 2022
Unit 2 Motion in a Straight Line
unit 2. Motion in a Straight Line
One Dimensional (x-axis only)
Definitions
1. Kinematics - describes motion without regard to its causes.
2. Motion in physics is broken down into categories

Straight Line
a.) Translational Motion - motion such that an object moves from
one position to another along a straight line.
Spinning
b.) Rotational Motion - motion such that an object moves from one
position to another along a circular path.
Up and Back
c.) Vibrational Motion - motion such that an object moves back and
forth in some type of periodicity.
Example: diatomic molecule moving through space.
Vibrational
Rotational
i
X - Dir Translational
Note: In this chapter all objects are going to be considered POINT

PARTICLES – No Spatial Extent – No Rotations – No Vibrations
2.1 Position, Displacement and Distance
position- the location of a particle relative to reference frame.
Displacement- is the shortest distance moved in specific direction.

- is the change in position in some time interval.
- can be zero for a moving object.
displacement is given by:

Consider a particle that moves along a straight line either to the right or
to the left on the number line as indicated in Fig. below. Find the
displacement when the particle moves from position
a) A to position B to the right.
b) B to position A to the left.
Example: Cartesian coordinate system
y(m) xi = x initial = Initial Position

xf = x final = Final Position
To the left
To the right
x i = 2m x f = 6m x(m)
x1 x2
∆ “Delta” Mathematical
Notation for
Direction
x = Change in x = x  x  6 m- 2 m = + 4 m x
f i
Delta x is the displacement or change in the x position
..
• Distance- is how far away something has travelled from another
object
- is the total path length travelled by a particle.
- cannot be zero for a moving object.
..
Example
Consider the case of a particle moving from point A to point D, as shown. Determine
the total: a) distance b) displacement
..
2. A car moves from O to D along the path OABCD shown in fig.
What is distance travelled and its net displacement ?
2.2 Speed & Velocity

Speed-the rate at which distance is covered w.r.t. time
-for a moving particle it can never be negative or zero,
it is always positive.
Uniform speed- is when a particle covers equal distances in equal
intervals of time.
Uniform speed = Distance/Time
..
..
..
Velocity
 is the rate of change of position i.e. rate of displacement with time.
 It may be positive, negative or zero.
 Its direction is always in the direction of change in position.
Uniform velocity
 if magnitude as well as direction of its velocity remain same.
 is possible only when it moves in a straight line without reversing
its direction.
Non-uniform velocity
 if both either magnitude or direction of velocity change.
Average velocity
 It is the ratio of displacement to time taken by the body.
 Its direction is along the displacement.
Average Velocity = Change in position
≡ Change in time
Equality by Definition
x x f  xi
 vavg  
t t f  ti
Concepts Check – The Negatives
Q. Can speed be negative?

A. NO! – The least speed an object can have is zero – it is at rest
Q. Can velocity be negative?
A . YES! Negative velocity means an object is moving backwards.
E.g. An object moving -10 m s xˆ is moving backwards with a speed of 10 m/s
Q. Can distance be negative?

A. NO! – The least distance an object can move is zero – it is at rest
Q. Can displacement be negative?
A . YES! Negative displacement means an object moved backwards.
E.g. An object with a displacement ∆x of -10 m xˆ moved backwards 10m.
..
Examples
1. A car travels the distance between Adama to Mojo by dividing it
into four segments each with different velocities but in equal time
interval as 15m/s,25m/s, 35m/s, and 45m/s.
a) What are the average speed and velocity of the car?
b) How long does it take the car to arrive Mojo?
2. A particle travels between two points A and B. It travels one-third of
the total distance with 4m/s and the rest pat of the distance with equal
time but with two different speeds 2m/s and 6m/s. What is the average
speed of the particle?
3. A turtle and a rabbit engage in a footrace over a distance of 4 km.
The rabbit runs 0.5 km and then stops for a 90-min nap. Upon
awakening, he remembers the race and runs twice as fast. Finishing
the course in a total time of 1.75 h, the rabbit wins the race.
(a) Calculate the average speed of the rabbit.
(b) What was his average speed before he stopped for a nap?
..
..
Non-uniform acceleration
-if either its magnitude or direction or both change during motion.
Average acceleration
- It is the ratio of total change in velocity to the total time taken
by the particle
Instantaneous acceleration
- It is the acceleration of a particle at a particular instant of time.
Notes
• Acceleration which opposes the motion of body is called
retardation.
..
..
..
Motion Graphs
- It gives detail information about the nature of the motion.
1) position-time graph
..
..
2) velocity-time graph
..
..
3) Acceleration vs time graph
 Area of a–t graph = change in velocity
Notes
 Total area enclosed between speed-time (v-t) graph and time axis
represent distance.
 Vector sum of total area enclosed between v-t graph and time axis
represent displacement.
..
Examples
1.Find the average velocity from position vs time graph shown
in fig below.
2) Find the average velocity as the object moves from: x y
a.) A to B b.) B to C c.) C to D d.) A to E
Time (s) Position
300
250
(m)
B
200
C
0 0
D
150
10 200
Position (m)
100
50
20 200
A F
0 25 150
-50
45 -100
-100
E
-150
60 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (s)
 2000m  0  0 m
a.) vAB  x
t  100s  20 m  Slope b.) vBC  x
t   2010s  0, Stopped
s
150 200m  100 0m

c.) vD E  x
t   25 20s  10 m d.) vA E  x
t   450 s  2.22 m
s s
3) Velocity vs time graph for a complete trip
300
25
A B
+X 250 20
B C
200 15
Area =
D 10 200m
150 E
Velocity (m/s)
F
Position (m)
5
100 B
Area =
C Area =
0 -50m -250m
50
F
-5
A
0
-10 C D E
−X -50 -15 D
-100 -20
E
-25
-150
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (s) Time (s)
4) Positive and Negative Accelerations
v(m/s) D
Moving C
Forward
Stopped 0
B E t (s)
Moving
A
Backward F
A→B: Slowing Down, Moving Backward, Pt. B=Stop

v  () negative a  slope  ( ) positive
B→C: Speeding Up, Moving Forward

v  (  ) Positive a  slope  ( ) positive
C→D: Constant Speed, Moving Forward

v  (  ) positive a  slope  ZERO
D→E: Slowing Down, Moving Forward, Pt. E=Stop

v  (  ) Positive a  slope  ()negative
Speeding Up, Moving Backward

E→F: v  ( ) negative a  slope  ( ) negative
Special Case: Constant Acceleration
We make the assumption that the acceleration does not change.
a(m/s2) Near the surface of the earth, (where most of us spend most of our
time) the acceleration due to gravity is approximately constant ag =
9.8 m/s2
a
a v
 v  at  height (base)
v t
0
0
v f  vi  a (t f  ti )
ti = 0 tf = t t (s)
vf = vi + a t 1.
Area! Slope!
y  b  mx
x  x1  x2
v(m/s)
vf
x2
vi
x1 x  vi t  12 t (v f  vi )
0
ti = 0 tf = t t (s)
Slope!
Area!
x(m)
xf
x  vi t  12 t (at )
1 2
xi xf = xi + v i t + at 2.
2
ti = 0 tf = t t (s)
Solving for the 3rd constant acceleration equation
Solve equation 1 for t and substitute t into equation 2 to get the following equation.
v 2f  vi2  2 a x 3.
v f  vi
t x  vi t  at 1
2
2
a
   
v f  vi v f  vi 2
x  vi a  12 a a
x 
v f vi  vi2
a  1
2a v 2
f  2v f vi  v 2
i 
2ax  2v f vi  2v  v  2v f vi  v 2
i
2
f
2
i
2ax  v  v 2
i
2
f
v  v  2ax
2
f
2
i
Using the following velocity vs. time graph,
i) determine the acceleration of the motion in each interval and
ii) draw the acceleration vs time graph
Motion Under Gravity (Free Fall)
i) If a Body is Projected Vertically Upward
Equations of motion : Taking initial position as origin and direction of

motion (i.e. vertically up) as positive
a = – g [As acceleration is downwards while motion upwards]
So, if a body is projected with velocity u and after time t it reaches a
height h then:
ii) If a Body is Projected Vertically Downward With Some Initial
Velocity From Some Height
Equations of motion : Taking initial position as origin and
direction of motion (i.e., downward direction) as
a positive, we have
iii) If a body is dropped from some height (initial velocity zero)
Equations of motion : Taking initial position as origin and direction
of motion (i.e., downward direction) here we have:
u=0 [As body starts from rest]
a = +g [As acceleration is in the direction of motion]
Important points
In case of motion under gravity the magnitude of velocity (speed ):
 with which a body is projected up is equal to the speed with
which it comes back to the point of projection.
 at any point on the path is same whether the body is moving in
upward or downward direction.
Graph of displacement, velocity and acceleration with respect to time :
(For a body projected vertically upward)
iv) If A Body Is Projected Vertically Upward With Some Initial
Velocity From A Certain Height
Equations of motion :
Taking initial position as origin and direction of motion (i.e., upward
direction) as negative, here we have
Relative Velocity In One Dimension
For the same direction
When two particles are moving in the same direction, then magnitude
of their relative velocity is equal to the difference between their
individual speeds.
For opposite directions

When two particles are moving in the opposite directions, then
magnitude of their relative velocity is always equal sum of their
individual speeds.
Note :- When two particles move simultaneously then the concept of

relative motion becomes applicable conveniently
Examples
1) Buses A and B are moving in the same direction with speeds 20 m/s
and 15 m/s respectively. Find the relative velocity of A w.r.t. B and
relative velocity of B w.r.t A.
2) A police van moving on a highway with a speed of 30 km/hr fires a
bullet at a thief's car which is speeding away in the same direction
with a speed of 190 km/hr. If the muzzle speed of the bullet is 150
m/s, find the speed of the bullet with respect to the thief's car.
3) Two trains A and B which are 100 m and 60 m long are moving in
opposite directions on parallel tracks. Velocity of the shorter train is
3 times that of the longer one. If the trains take 4 seconds to cross
each other find the velocities of the trains ?
THE END!
THANK YOU !
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Physics Short Notes
on unit 3
For Grade 9
By: Desta Negash

Unit-3 Forces and Newtons
Law Of Motions
U-3 Forces & Newton's Law Of Motions
3.1 The concept of force
Q. What are forces and what effect do they have on objects?
A force is:
 a push or pull upon an object.
 only exist as a result of an interaction between two objects.
 a causes for the change in motion. i.e increase/decrease its velocity
Generally the types of interaction can be divided into two categories:
i) contact forces
ii) non-contact forces.
i) Contact forces
-are forces that act between two objects that are physically touching
each other.
Examples: All mechanical forces (frictional forces, tensional
forces, normal forces, air resistance forces, and applied forces.)
a) Frictional Forces
-is the resisting force that exists when an object is moved or tries
to move over a surface.
-it arises due to contact between two surfaces.
Examples:
-lighting a matchstick.
-stopping a moving ball.
b) Normal Force
-is a force which is used to attaches two surfaces together.
c) Applied and Tension Forces
Applied force:- a force that acts when it comes in contact with
another object.
- a force that is applied to a person or object.
 Tension:- is the force applied by a fully stretched cable or wire

anchored on to an object.
d) Spring Force
-a force exerted by a compressed or stretched spring
-it could be a push or pull depending on how the spring is attached.
e)Air Resisting Forces

- are types of forces wherein objects experience a frictional force
when moving through the air.
- are resistive in nature.
 ii)Non-Contact Forces
- is a force applied to an object by another body that is not in direct
contact with it.
- objects do not have physical contact between them.
- applied without objects interaction.
-acts through spaces without making direct contact with the body.
Examples: Gravitational force, magnetic force and electrostatic
force.
Fundamental forces in nature

There are four universal or fundamental forces in nature which are:
Gravitational force
Electromagnetic force
Strong Nuclear force and
Weak Nuclear force.
-Without these forces, all matter in the world will fall apart.
i) Gravitational Force
-is what pulls us towards the Earth & keeps us from drifting off into space.
-it keeps the Earth and other planets in their own orbit around the Sun.
-it is the weakest of the four forces but has an infinite range.
-it is also the attractive force which arises from the gravitational
interaction between any two pieces of matter in nature.
The effect of this gravitational force is dependent upon:
- the mass of the two bodies and
- the distance between them.
𝑴𝟏 𝑴𝟐
𝑭=𝑮
𝒓𝟐
 Newton’s law of gravity states that :
“the gravitational force between two bodies is directly
proportional to the product of their masses and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them”.
ii) Electromagnetic Force
- is the second strongest force after the Strong Nuclear Forces.
- it acts on electrically charged particles and between magnets.
-it causes due to electric and magnetic fields.
- it is magnetic and electric in nature.
-it has unlimited /an infinite range that acts between any two
objects possessing an electric charge.
- it binds electrons to nuclei to form atoms and binds atoms together
in molecules and solids.
-the effect of their forces is diminished over distance due to the
shielding effect.
-it has both attractive and repulsive properties due to the two
charges it possesses; negative and positive.
Like charges repel while unlike charges attract and this can be demonstrated with a
simple magnet or electric charges.
iii)Strong Nuclear Forces
- is a very strong attractive short-range force that binds the protons
and neutrons in the nuclei of atoms together.
-It is the strongest of the fundamental forces, but acts over a very
short distance.
iv)Weak Nuclear Forces
- is weak in nature compared to the Strong Nuclear Force as the name
implies and has the shortest range.
- is the force existing between the elementary particles which are
responsible for certain processes to take place at a low probability.
 - are responsible for the radioactive decay specifically the beta
 decay neutrino interactions.
- It has a very short range and all particles experience this force.
 Both strong and weak nuclear forces are dealing with interactions within the
nucleus of atoms.
Effects of Forces
 Force is applied on an object in different ways such as by holding,
pushing, pulling, stretching, compressing, twisting, hammering,
squeezing and so on.
 When the force acts on an object the objects have experienced
different effects of force. Some effects of force on an object are:
 change the shape or size of an object (deformation).
 set a stationary object into motion
 either stop or make a moving object move faster.
 also change the direction of a moving body
Effect of force on a spring
Robert Hooke demonstrates the relationship between the forces
applied to a spring and its elasticity.
Hooke's Law states that:
“ the force needed to extend or compress a spring by some
distance is proportional to that extension”.
To investigate Hooke's Law, suppose you used springs fixed at
one end. Hang different masses from the spring step by step at its
bottom to stretch it.
 Record each stretching force in N and the corresponding new
length l of the spring in mm in the table below
 Q: What can you obtained from the experiment?
 When the force is doubled or the mass is twice the spring would
extend twice as far.
 When the force is three times increased the spring would extend
three times as far.
 When the force is five times increased the spring would extend five
times as far and so on.
This is true until a certain point of view or limit not forever.
 Hooke's Law is obeyed only up to elastic limit.
What is Elastic Limit?
- is defined as the maximum stress that a material can withstand
before the permanent deformation.
-It is the highest limit of the material before the plastic deformation
of the material can occur.
-It is defined as the point up to which the material remains elastic.
Different springs have different elastic limits depending on their
shape, thickness, nature of material… etc.
Generally Hooke’s law is stated as:
“the extension of the spring is directly proportional to the force
applied until the Elastic limit.”
𝐹𝛼∆𝑥
𝐹
= k(constant)
∆𝑥
𝐹 = 𝑘∆𝑥 ( Hooke's law)
 The spring constant (k)
- is a measure of the stiffness of a spring.
-is different for different springs.
- can be determined from the slope or gradient of the force-
extension graph of the spring.
The slope or the gradient of the straight line gives the constant
proportionality of the spring.
Q: From the slope of the above force-extension graph, determine the
spring constant.
Notice:
The spring constant of 20N/m means you would need to apply a force
of:
 20N to extend the spring by1m.
 40N force would cause an extension of 2m
 60N force would cause an extension of 3m,
 80N force would cause an extension of 4m and so on, within its elastic limit.
Q: Which one of these graphs is the stiffest one? Which one is the
least stiff?
 The two types of deformation
When a force is applied to a certain material or a spring it is deformed
either temporarily or permanently.
Material that temporarily deformed takes place Elastic deformation.
Material that permanently deformed takes place Plastic deformation.
 3.2 Newton’s Laws of motion
- relate an object's motion to the forces acting on it.
In the first law:
-an object will not change its motion unless a force acts on it.
In the second law:
- the force on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration.
In the third law:
-when two objects interact, they exert forces to each other of equal
magnitude and opposite direction.
3.2.1 Newton’s first law of motion
- explains effect forces have on objects.
-states that, if a body is at rest or moving at a constant speed in a
straight line, it will remain at rest or keep moving in a straight line at
constant speed unless it is acted upon by a force
- is sometimes called Law of inertia.
 Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist a change in its state of
motion.
 Examples
1. A book rest on the study table.
2. A bicycle travels at a constant velocity along a level road.
Mass and Inertia
Mass
- is a measure of the amount of matter (or stuff) in an object.
- is determined by the number and types of atoms the object contains.
- is expressed in kilograms.
Inertia
- is the resistance or tendency of any physical object to any change in
its velocity.
- it is the tendency for an object at rest to remain at rest, or for a moving
object to remain in motion in a straight line with constant speed.
That is “Objects tend to keep on doing what they're doing."
-it depends on the mass of that object.
The greater the mass of an object is, the greater its inertia.
 This is why, it is easy to kick a small stone, because it has a small
mass and so a small inertia.
-it is harder a lot to move a 300kg rock than a 30kg rock.
Which would require more force to move or slow down? Why?

3.2.2 Newton’s Second law of motion:
-describes the relationship between force and acceleration.
-can be formally stated as follows:
The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional to
the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely
proportional to the mass of the object.
 in equation form;
 graphically;
 Combining the two equations and then we have:

𝑭𝒏𝒆𝒕
a=
𝒎
𝑭𝒏𝒆𝒕 = ma
 If you increase the force applied to an object, the acceleration of that object
increases by the same factor.
1
 If you increase the mass of an object „n‟ times , its acceleration reduced to of the
𝑛
initial value of its acceleration.
 Consider a force F is applied to an object of mass “m” along a
frictionless surface.
 Twice as much forces produces twice as much acceleration.
 Twice the force on twice the mass gives the same acceleration.
 Twice of the mass, keeping the force remains the same,the acceleration reduces to
half of its initial acceleration.
 Unbalanced or Net force
Q. What does Unbalanced or Net force mean?
-is the total force or the vector sum of the forces exerted on an object.
 Examples
1. Consider a block of mass m that
has forces of magnitude 𝐹1 , 𝐹2 , 𝐹3 & 𝐹4
exerted on it in the directions shown to the right.
𝐹4 −𝐹3 𝐹1 −𝐹2
𝑎𝑥 = and 𝑎𝑦 =
𝑚 𝑚
2.Two forces of magnitude 𝐹1 = 30 N and 𝐹2 = 20 N that are exerted
to the right and left respectively on a block of mass 2kg. Find the net
force acting on the block and the acceleration produced (Assume that
frictional force is neglected)
3. A 2kg block has four forces exerted on it as shown in the diagram
below. a) what is the horizontal & vertical acceleration of the block?
b) What is the resultant or the net force
acting on the block?
 4) In Fig. below 2kg cylinder is accelerated at 3 m/𝑠 2 in the direction
shown by a , over a frictionless horizontal surface. The acceleration is
caused by three concurrent forces, only two of which 𝐹1 and 𝐹2 are
shown in magnitudes of 10 N and 20 N respectively. Find a missing
force by using the acceleration.
3.2.3 Newton’s third law of motion
states, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
This law describes what happens to a body when it exerts a force on
another body. These forces:
always occur in pairs.
always opposite in direction.
always act on different objects.
If an object is going to accelerate you need to look at all the forces acting on that
single object and forget about the reaction force. The reaction force acts on a different
object. For this reason they never cancel out to each other.
Examples:
In the following examples Newton’s third law is used to identify all
force pairs acting in a system.
1. A spacecraft fires its engines to move to higher altitude.
Action: The engines push a jet of hot gases down
Reaction: The hot gases push the spacecraft up
Motion: There‟s only one force acting on the spacecraft (the reaction
force from the hot gases) so this unbalanced force causes the
spacecraft to accelerate up.
2. The Earth and Moon
Action: The Earth pulls on the Moon.
Reaction: The Moon pulls on the Earth with an equal and oppositeforce.
Motion: There‟s only one force acting on the Moon, so it „falls‟ or
accelerates towards the Earth in a circular orbit
3. A person stands on the floor, not moving.
Two action-reaction force pairs act here:
Action:1. He pushes on the ground
Reaction :1. the ground pushes him back.
Action:2. the Earth pulls on him
Reaction:2. he pulls on the Earth
Motion: There are two forces that act only on him (one from each pair):
the reaction force from the ground (pushing him up) and the pull of
gravity from the Earth (pulling him down).These happen to be equal and
opposite, so he remains stationary and do not accelerate up or down.
Q . Determine action-reaction force pairs for the ff motions.
1. When a horse pulls a cart along a road.
2. While rowing a boat.
Application of Newton’s third law of motion
 to jump
 to design rockets and other projectile devices.
 A horse pulls a cart
 A person walks on the ground.
 Hammer pushes a nail.
 Magnets attract paper clip.
 etc
 3.3 Mass and weight
Mass
a quantitative measure of inertia
a fundamental property of all matter
is used to refer to the amount of matter contained in any given
object.
is a scalar quantity.
is unchanged or remains the same everywhere.
The more mass the more stuff or the more matter contained.
The greater the mass of a body is, the greater the inertia of an object.
Weight
is a measure of the downward force gravity exerts on an object.
is the gravitational force that we experienced due to the
gravitational pull of the Earth pulling on our mass.
is directed towards the center of the Earth.
Weight = mass x gravitational field strength
= mg
g -decreases as we go away into the space from the Earth’s surface.
𝑚
-even on the surface of the Earth. It varies from about 9.78 2 at
𝑠
𝑚
the Equator to about 9.83 at the poles.
𝑠2
-It also varies from planet to planet since they have different masses.
-is independent of the mass of the object.
-It decreases as the altitude from the Earth’s surface increases.
The value of g on the Moon is much less than that on the Earth because the Moon has
much less mass than the Earth and so a weaker gravitational field.
Gravity on the moon’s surface is about one-sixth of that on the Earth
An Astronaut found on the surface of the moon can carry very large packs due to the
moon‟s weak gravity.
Example
What is the weight of a 60kg mass on a) the Earth’s surface? b) the
surface of the Moon?
Weightlessness
Actual weight - is determined by mass and acceleration due to gravity
-is comes from the fact that it is supported by floor.
If all supports are removed suddenly and begins to fall freely, then it
feels suddenly “weightless” or “Weightlessness.”
Weightlessness- is the feeling experienced when no counter force is
acting on the body or
- is a term used to describe the feeling of the absence of weight.
- is the absence of the sensation (not a reality ) of weight.
Examples
- Astronauts in deep space orbiting the Earth.
- an object in a state of free fall.
- a car goes over a humpback bridge
- an aircraft climbs up or descends
True weightlessness
- occurs only when your weight is zero or the gravitational field
strength is zero.
- it is unachievable with current technology.
Q: What causes weightlessness?
Answer - is due to the absence of contact force or normal force to
counteract the force of gravity.
3.4 Frictional force
- is the resisting force encountered when one surface slides over another.
-acts along the tangent to the surfaces in contact.
The force necessary to overcome friction depends on:
- the nature of the materials in contact.
- their roughness or smoothness and
-the normal force, but not on the area of contact.
 It is found experimentally that the force of friction is directly
proportional to the normal force. The constant of proportionality is
called the coefficient of friction.
𝑓~𝐹𝑁
𝑓
=μ
𝐹𝑁
𝑓 = 𝜇𝐹𝑁
Static and kinetic Frictions
i) static frictions
-is the frictional force that acts between the surfaces when they
are at rest with respect to each other.
When the force increases, at some point just starts to move maximum
static friction is reached or obtained.
ii) kinetic friction.
-is the force that require to move the block with a constant speed
when it starts sliding.
Notes
 the maximum force of static friction is given as the product of the
coefficient of static friction and normal force.
 force of static friction is less than or equal to the product of the

coefficient of static friction and normal force.
 The force necessary to keep a block on a level surface moving at

constant speed is called limiting friction.
 Sliding friction is the resistance that is created between any two
objects when they are sliding against each other.
 The force of sliding friction is defined as the product of the
coefficient of sliding friction and the normal force 𝐹𝑁 .
 The force of kinetic friction is directed parallel to the surfaces and

opposite to the direction of motion.
 The coefficient of friction depends on the surfaces in contact.
 The force of static friction is generally greater than the force of
kinetic friction.
 Static friction acts to keep the object from moving.
Examples
1) A 5 kg box on a horizontal table is pushed by a horizontal force of 15
N. If the coefficient of friction is 0.4, will the box move? What is the
maximum possible frictional force?
2)A 400-gram package lying on a horizontal surface is attached to a
horizontal string which passes over a smooth pulley. When a mass of 200
grams is attached to the other end of the string, the package is on the
point of moving at constant speed. Find 𝝁𝒔 of the friction.
 3.4.2 Friction along an inclined plane
Consider a mass m lying on an inclined plane;
 Case-1: When the block is not slide or is at rest
-three different forces are acting on the block.
- these forces form a triangle when they are joined head to tail
as you end up where you started them→ no net force acting on
the block
 When the angle of the slope increases:
- cos 𝜃 gets smaller
- as a result the normal force falls
- the frictional force decreases.
- 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠.
- the force required to keep the object stationary, mgsinθ ,increase.
- the force due to friction would be reduced to zero, if the slope
becomes exactly vertical.
In order for the block to remain stationary:
Q. What is the coefficient of static friction in terms of 𝜃?

 Case-2: When the block slides down the plane with a constant
velocity.
-the frictional force 𝑓𝑠 will act up the plane.
From Newton’s second law of motion:
- the net force along the surface of the plane
but 𝑎𝑥 is zero because velocity is constant.
No net force act in the vertical directions.

Case-3:If the block is accelerating down the slope.
-there must be net force acting on the block.
-the net force is equal to the difference between mgsinθ and the
force due to kinematic friction.
Case-4: When the block is pulled up the plane with a constant force (F)
- the direction of the frictional force is reversed down the plane.
- the horizontal component of the weight still acting down the plane.
 Example
A 200N block rests on a 530 inclined plane. (a) What is the normal
force exerted by the plane on the block? (b) What is the magnitude of
the frictional force which keeps the block from sliding?
3.5 Linear momentum and conservation of linear momentum
3.5.1 Linear momentum
Momentum- is a measurement of mass in motion
-is how much mass is in how much motion.
- is a measure of how difficult it is to stop a moving object or it
is a measure of how hard it is to stop a moving object.
-is “unstop ability” of the object.
- is always a vector quantity and its direction is the same as the
direction of the velocity of the object.
The faster an object is moving the harder it is to stop.
Objects with a larger linear momentum are harder to stop.
Linear momentum- is defined as the product of a system's mass
multiplied by its velocity.
- is expressed in symbol as
p = mv
-is directly proportional to the object's mass and also
its velocity.
Notes
The greater an object's mass or the greater its velocity, the greater its
momentum.
All moving objects have momentum.
Examples
1) If two cars have the same mass but one is quicker than the other,
which has greater momentum?
Answer: The faster car.
2) If both cars travel at the same velocity, but one is full with luggage
and the other is empty, which will have greater momentum?
Answer: The heavier car.
Generally, the bigger an object and the faster it moves is the more
momentum it will have and the more difficult it will be to stop.
Examples
1) What is the linear momentum of 24kg boy moving at 15m/s to East.
2) The momentum of a certain car moving at 20m/s is measured to be
36000kgm/s. What was the mas of the car?
3) An aircraft carrier has a mass of 1,000,000kg and a velocity of
15m/s. What is its momentum?
3.5.2 Conservation of Linear Momentum
An isolated system is one for which the sum of the average external
forces acting on the system is zero.
That means, if the net force acting on the system is zero, then the total
momentum does not change.
The total linear momentum before collision must equal to the total
linear momentum after collision if no external forces are acting on the
system.
Momentum before Collision = Momentum after Collision
The momentum of the system is conserved, not necessarily the
momentum of an individual particle.
Consider the head - on collision between two balls of masses 𝒎𝟏 and
𝒎𝟐 approaching to each other along a straight line as shown in Fig.
below. The two balls initially travelling with velocities of 𝒖𝟏 and 𝒖𝟐
respectively towards each other.
During impact or collision the two balls exerts equal force one on
another. The two forces are action and reaction forces.
F21 = -F12
𝑭𝟐𝟏 is force exerted on 𝑚2 due to 𝑚1 and 𝑭𝟏𝟐 is force exerted on 𝑚1 due to
𝑚2
After collision, it gives us several possible outcomes such as:
- Ball-1 may stop while ball-2 moves away with a certain velocity.
- the two balls may return back to their original position with different
velocities.
-the balls may be stick and move together in the same direction as one
object.
- both balls may stop during impact.
-both may move in the same direction with different velocities and so on.
Let us now consider when ball-1 bounce off ball-2 and both balls move
as Fig (c)
Examples
1) A 2kg ball travelling to the right at 6m/s collides with a 3kg ball
initial at rest. If the 3kg ball, after collision, travelling to the right at
3m/s;
a) what is the momentum after collision?
b) what is the velocity of the 2kg ball after collision?
2) A 4kg ball travelling to the right at 5m/s collides to a 3kg ball
traveling to the left at 4m/s. After collision, the less massive ball is
travelling at 2m/s to the right.
a) Find the momentum before and after collision.
b) What is the velocity of the more massive ball after collision?
 3.5.3 Collision and types of Collisions
Consider two particles having a well-defined momenta p1i and p2i
before the collision event and p1f and p2f afterwards. But the sum of the
momenta before and after the collision is conserved, as written in Eq.
3.3 above.
While the total momentum is conserved for a system of isolated
colliding particles:
-the mechanical energy may or may not be conserved.
- the total linear momentum is conserved in all cases.
1) Elastic collision
- the mechanical energy (the total kinetic energy) is the same or
conserved before and after a collision.
- both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved or remains
constant.
3) Inelastic collision
- the total kinetic energy is not the same or not conserved before and
after collision.
- kinetic energy is converted into sound, heat, and deformation of the
objects.
- only momentum is conserved.
 In such a collision there is loss in kinetic energy after collision which
is converted into heat and sound energy.
Kinetic energy before collision >Kinetic energy after collision
If two objects collide, stick together and move off as a combined
mass, we call this a perfectly inelastic collision→ after collision the
balls have common velocity v since they act as one object.
Examples
1) A gun of mass 5kg fires a bullet of mass 5g with velocity 500m/s.
What is the recoil velocity of the gun?
2) Two trolleys A and B with masses 6kg and 4kg respectively
collide and stick together. From the data below, calculate the
velocity of the trolleys after the collision.
a) When both Trolleys A and B initially travel to the right at 5m/s
and 4m/s respectively.
b) When Trolleys A and B initially travel to the right at 5m/s and
to the left at 4m/s respectively.
3.5.4 Momentum and Newton’s second law
The effect of a force on an object depends on how long it acts as well
as how great the force is.
For example, i) a very large force acting for a short time had a great
effect on the momentum of the tennis ball.
ii) a small force could cause the same change in
momentum, but it would have to act for a much longer time.
Newton stated his second law of motion in terms momentum as
“ the time rate of change of the linear momentum of a particle is
equal to the net external force acting on the particle”.
 Force and momentum are intimately related.
 Force on over a time can change momentum.
Newton's second law can be stated in its most broad applicable form
in terms of momentum.
 Impulse
The effect of force on an object depends on how long it acts, as well
as how great the force is.
A very large force acting for a short time and hard a great effect on
the momentum of the body.
By rearranging the above equation we get:
Impulse is defined as the product of force and time and it is a vector

quantity and measured in Ns.
Impulse = Force x time
I=Fnet∆t
Impulse = Change in momentum
Impulse is a measure of what force-in what time is required to stop the
moving object or it is a measure of change in momentum.
 For example, we can stop our car in two ways based on the effect of
force acting on it as described above.
1) By applying a large force within a short period of time or
2) By applying a small force within a long period of time, but the
product of force and time is the same in both cases which cause the
same change in momentum.
Examples
1) Large force x Short time = Small force x Long time
24Nx5sec = 5Nx24sec
20Nx6sec = 6Nx20sec
60Nx2sec = 10Nx12sec … etc.
2) An impulse of 24Ns could be caused by:
a 12N force acting for 2seconds or
a 6N force acting for 4seconds or
an 8N force acting for 3seconds or
Note:
The magnitude of the impulse is equal to the area under the force-time
curve.
Impulse =Area under the graph
= height x base
= Fox∆t
3) A 1500kg mass car is moving at 25m/s along a road. Suddenly the
driver saw a log on the road and applied a 2500N on the footbrake.
How long does it take to stop the car?
3.6 Translational Equilibrium or first condition of equilibrium
What is equilibrium?
Equilibrium- is achieved when the total net force on an object has a
sum of zero.
-the object doesn’t speed up or slow down – it either
maintains a constant velocity or remains motionless.
Translational equilibrium:
- is related to law of inertia.
- relates to any forces on any object.
If all the forces acting on a particular object add up to zero and have no
resultant force, then it‟s in translational equilibrium.
Examples:
- a book resting on a bookshelf.
- someone walks at a steady or constant speed.
If the net force acting on a system is zero, then the body’s acceleration a
 If the body is at rest, it stays at rest; if it is moving at zero
acceleration, it continues to move at constant velocity. In such cases,
any forces on the body balance one another, and both the forces and
the body are said to be in equilibrium.
→The forces still act on the body but cannot change the velocity.
 Example
A 120 N sign is supported in a motionless position by two ropes that
each makes 370 & 530 with the horizontal. What is the tension in the
ropes?
The end!
Thank you!
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Physics Short Notes

on unit 4
For Grade 9
By: Desta Negash

U-4 WORK, ENERGY & POWER
4.1 The Concept of Work
In physics, in 1D a force does work if:
- its point of application moves through a distance or
- its component is in the direction of the displacement.
Energy and work are:
 like two faces of the coin.
 cannot separate to each other.
Energy is:
 a mathematical representation of the amount of work the object can
do.
 ability (capacity) to do work.
 is transferred between the two systems when work is done by system
on another.
4.1.1. Work done by a constant force
If the direction and magnitude of a force applied on a body is constant
then the force is said to be constant.
Work done by a constant force,
W = Force × component of displacement along the force
= displacement × component of force along the displacement.
i.e., W = (𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃)s
= F (s𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃)
Note : The force of gravity (within small altitudes) is an example of work
done by a constant force.
Nature of Work Done
(i) Positive work
W = 𝐹𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
If the angle 𝜃 is acute (𝜃 < 90°) then the work is said to be positive.
Positive work signifies that the external force favors the motion of
the body.
Examples
-when a body falls freely under the action of gravity ( 𝜃= 0°),
the work done by gravity is positive.
-when a spring is stretched, stretching force and the displacement
both are in the same direction.
(ii) Negative work
If the angle 𝜃 is obtuse (𝜃 > 90°), then the work is said to be negative.
It signifies that the direction of force is such that it opposes the motion
of the body.
Examples
- work done by frictional force is negative when it opposes the motion.
- work done by braking force on the car is negative.
(iii) Zero work
Work done will be zero if (F = 0 or s = 0 or 𝜃 = 90°)
Examples
- body moving with uniform velocity.
- net force on the particle is zero.
- we push the wall and it remains at rest
- electron is moving round the nucleus.
- satellite is moving around the earth.
Notes
- SI unit of work is the newton. meter (N m) which is called joule (J)
- Work is scalar quantity.
Plot of force against distance
The area under a force vs. distance moved graph is equal to the work
done.
Examples
1. If you push a box 20 m forward by
applying a force of 15 N in the
forward direction, what is the
work you have done on the box?
2. What is the work done by you on
a car, if you try to push the car up a hill by applying a force of 40 N
directed up the slope, but it slides downhill 30 cm?
3. Calculate the work done on a box, if it is pulled 5 m along the ground
by applying a force of F=10 N at an angle of 600 to the horizontal.
Doing work against gravity
Whenever you lift up an object you are doing work against the force of gravity.
Example
Determine the work done in lifting a 60 kg mass vertically 3 m.
Work done against kinetic friction
whenever you push or pull an object along the ground you are doing work against a force of
kinetic friction.
Kinetic friction always acts in the opposite direction to motion’ that is the kinetic friction and the
displacement makes 1800 .
The negative sign indicates, its effect
is always to decrease the energy of the
body on which it is doing work.
 The work done against friction is the negative of
the work done by friction and is expressible as
Example:
Determine the work done in pushing a 100 kg wooden block 30 m across a horizontal
concrete floor with 𝜇𝑘 = 0.48
Work done against Gravity and friction
If you were to push or pull on an object up a ramp then you end up doing work against both
friction and gravity. In this case the total work done could be found using the following
equation:
Examples
1. A block of mass 4kg is pushed along an inclined plane that makes 450 from the horizontal.
If the coefficient of friction between the plane and the block is 0.2, find the total work done on
the in pushing it 4m along the plane.
2. A 10 N frictional force slows a moving block to a stop after a displacement of 5 m to the
right. The block has a weight of 20 N. Determine the work done by the following forces: normal
force, weight, frictional force.
The relation 𝑾 = 𝑭∆𝒙𝒄𝒐𝒔𝜽 to calculate the work done applies only when F is constant in
magnitude and direction. However, for a force that varies uniformly with the displacement, the
work done can readily be calculated by:
Example:
A force acting a body varies uniformly from 20N to 40N in displacing the body by 5m along the
direction of the displacement. Calculate the work done by the force.
Work done by a spring force
Consider a block on a horizontal, frictionless surface
is connected to a spring. By Hooke's law:
The work done by the spring 𝑊𝑠 from 𝑥𝑖 to 𝑥𝑓 , is
given as:
𝐹𝑖 +𝐹𝑓
𝑊𝑆 = 𝐹𝑎𝑣 ∆x = ( )∆𝑥, but 𝐹𝑖 = −K𝑥𝑖 , 𝐹𝑓 = −K𝑥𝑓 , ∆𝑥 = 𝑥𝑓 − 𝑥𝑖
2
This work done by the spring force 𝑊𝑠 can have a positive or negative or zero value, depending on
whether the net transfer of energy is to or from the block as the block moves from 𝑥𝑖 to 𝑥𝑓 .
The work done on the spring by an external agent that stretches the spring very slowly and
steadily (from rest) from 𝑥𝑖 to 𝑥𝑓 .
The applied force increases uniformly up to the elastic limit of the spring.
Examples
A spring has force constant 100N/m. How much work is done by a boy that compress the
spring by 20cm from its equilibrium position?
4.2 Kinetic energy and work-energy theorem
Kinetic energy (KE)
- is energy associated with the state of motion of an object.
 The faster the object moves, the greater is its kinetic energy.
 When the object is stationary, its kinetic energy is zero.
For an object of mass m whose speed v is well below the speed of light
Example.
An1800kg car travelling at a steady speed is acquired a kinetic energy of 3240kJ. What was the
speed of the car?
Work and kinetic energy
The total work is also related to changes in the speed of the body.
Consider a particle with mass moving along the x-axis under the action of a constant net force
with magnitude directed along the positive x-axis. Suppose the speed changes from 𝑣1 to 𝑣2
while the
particle undergoes a displacement ∆𝑥 = 𝑥2 − 𝑥1 from point 𝑥1 to 𝑥2 .
By Newton’s second law as
Since the force is constant, the acceleration will also remain constant & is given by:
Then work-energy theorem can then be stated as the work done by a net force on
an object is equal to the change in its kinetic energy.
Notes
 If the speed of an object:
- increases, the net work done on it is positive.
- decreases, the net work done on it is negative.
- constant, no work is done.
Example
A car of mass 2000kg is changing its speed uniformly from 10m/s to 30m/s through a distance of
800m.
a) What is the net work done by the car?
b) What was the average net force acting on the car?
4.3. Potential Energy and Conservation of Energy
Potential energy (U)
- associated with the position or configuration (arrangement) of object.
- of a system of interacting objects represents the ability of the system to do work because of
its position or configuration.
- its forms, includes gravitational, elastic, electromagnetic, chemical, and nuclear.
i) Gravitational potential energy(GPE)
-is the energy associated with the state of separation between
two objects that attract each other by the gravitational force.
Consider a physics book of mass lifted from an initial height 𝑦𝑖 to a final height 𝑦𝑓 above the
surface of the earth.
The work done by gravitational force as the book is raised to 𝑦𝑓 .
𝑊𝑔 = 𝐹𝑔 ∆𝑟 cosθ
since 𝐹𝑔 & ∆𝑟 are opposite in direction (𝜃 = 1800 )
𝑊𝑔 = 𝐹𝑔 ∆𝑟 cosθ
𝑊𝑔 = 𝑚𝑔 𝑦𝑓 − 𝑦𝑖 cos1800
𝑊𝑔 = −𝑚𝑔 𝑦𝑓 − 𝑦𝑖
𝑊𝑔 = −(𝑚𝑔𝑦𝑓 − mg𝑦𝑖 )
𝑊𝑔 = −(𝐺𝑃𝐸𝑓 − 𝐺𝑃𝐸𝑖 )
𝑊𝑔 = −∆𝐺𝑃𝐸
The work done by gravitational force is equal to the negative of the change in GPE.
When the object moves down y decreases:
 the gravitational force does positive work, and
 the potential energy decreases.
When the object moves up:
 the work done by the gravitational force is negative and
 the potential energy increases.
Examples
1. A 2kg book is placed on a shelf 2.5m height above the ground. What is the GPE of the book?
2. A 1kg apple is falling down freely through a distance of 1.5m from the top of the tree.
a) What is loss in GPE of the apple?
b) Where does it go the loss in GPE?
ii) Elastic potential energy (EPE)
- energy that is stored in an elastic object when you stretch, compress, twist, or otherwise
deform
The spring may have the potential for doing work because of its stretch (or compression).
Consider an object of mass attached to a spring of spring constant K:
The work done by
spring force when the
spring is stretched from
𝑥𝑖 to 𝑥𝑓 is the product of
the average spring force
and the displacement.
That is;
Example
1.Calculate the energy stored in a spring when it is stretched 8cm by a 100N force?
2. A spring with a spring constant of 1500N/m is compressed by 5cm. How much EPE will be
stored in the spring?
Conservation of Mechanical Energy
If a system is isolated from the environment, the sum of the kinetic and potential energies (
Mechanical Energy) remains constant.
From work-energy theorem we have:

∆𝐾 = −∆𝑈
𝐾𝑓 − 𝐾𝑖 = 𝑈𝑖 − 𝑈𝑓
1 1
m𝑣 + 𝑚𝑔𝑦𝑓 = 𝑚𝑢2 + mg𝑦𝑖
2
2 2
Examples
1.A bird of 5000g is flying at a speed of 20m/s at an altitude of 600m
above the ground. Determine the mechanical energy of this bird?
2. During a flood a tree truck of mass 100 kg falls down a waterfall.
The waterfall is 5m high. If air resistance is ignored, calculate
a. the potential energy of the tree trunk at the top of the waterfall.
b. the kinetic energy of the tree trunk at the bottom of the
waterfall.
c. the magnitude of the velocity of the tree trunk at the bottom of
the waterfall.
Conservative & Non-conservative forces
Conservative forces
- if the work done by the force is independent of the path and
depends only on initial and final positions.
- It does not depend on the nature of the path followed between the
initial and the final positions.
Examples
Gravitational, Electrostatic, Elastic force, Restoring force due to
spring, Intermolecular force etc.
Non Conservative Force

- if work done by the force in moving a body depends upon the path
between the initial and final positions.
Examples
Frictional forces, air resistance, viscous force, etc
Difference Between Conservative forces & Non-conservative Forces
Energy in oscillating systems
When an object thrown vertically up into the air the kinetic energy is
transformed into GPE as it rises and when it falls its GPE is converted
into kinetic energy.
In oscillating systems kinetic energy is continuously being
transformed into potential energy and vice-versa.
If there are no energy losses, then the total mechanical energy will
remain constant forever.
Consider the following examples
A) The oscillation of Simple pendulum
- in the absence of friction, the mechanical energy is conserved when
the bob swings between A and B.
-points A & B are called amplitude position.
-Point C refers to the equilibrium position of the bob.
The mechanical energy at any

position is conserved (the same).
The total mechanical energy = kinetic energy + potential energy
ii) A horizontal mass–spring system.

In this case the potential energy may not be GPE, instead it may
be EPE.
As the spring is compressed the EPE increases and the mass slows
down (its Ek decreases). Eventually the mass will stop; at this point
the EPE is at its maximum and the Ek is zero. The mass then
accelerates as EPE is converted into Ek. This process continues.
iii) Vertically oscillating a mass–spring system
In this case the kinetic energy is changed into
GPE and EPE. In any case the total mechanical
energy of the system remains the same.
Energy resources
- is a source of energy that used by a country or
individuals within that country.
Examples of energy resources are Oil, Fuel, Nuclear, Natural gas,
Solar, Geothermal …etc
The following are factors to be considered in selecting which energy
resources to use:
1. being the availability of the resource.
2. the economics involved and
3. the subsequent environmental impact.
Q. What is energy converter?
- device used to convert the naturally existing energy resources
into useful forms of energy.
Examples
-wind mill.
-Hydroelectric power generator.
-solar power …etc
 Energy resources are often used to generate electricity.

 Most methods of electricity generation involves
- a rotating turbine →turns a generator to converts kinetic
energy into electrical energy.
- burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.
𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑡
chemical energy in fuels released as heat used to
𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚
turn water into steam , turns a turbine to generate
electricity.
 Large fossil fuel power stations can generate up to 4 billion joules
per second!
Fossil fuels is problematic for two main reasons. These are:
 they are a finite energy resources.
 produces several atmospheric pollutants. 𝑠𝑜2 , 𝑐𝑜2
Renewable and non-renewable energy resources
Renewable energy resources
- are the sources which give energy that cant be replaced.
Examples: geothermal, wind, hydro electric & solar
Non-renewable energy resources
-are the sources that give energy that cannot be replaced are known
as non-renewable energy sources.
Once they burned, the energy is used up forever (we cannot
replace).
Examples
 Fossil fuels such as Coal, gas and oil.
 Nuclear energy.
Mechanical Power
- is the time rate of Work done.
- is the rate at which energy is crossing the boundary of the system
by a given transfer mechanism.
If an external force is applied to an object and if the work done by
this force in the time interval ∆t is W, then the average power
during this interval is defined as :
 Power in terms of Force and Velocity, during time interval ∆t the

average power can be defined as:
For steady velocity, 𝑣𝑎𝑣 = v and constant force F, then we can

express the power in terms of force and velocity as:
𝑃 = 𝐹 . 𝑣 = F𝑣cosθ
Where θ is the angle between F and v vector.
When a body accelerates uniformly from 𝑣𝑖 to 𝑣𝑓 , the average
velocity can be taken as for a constant force the average power is:
(𝑉𝑖 + 𝑉𝑓 )
𝑃𝑎𝑣 = F𝑉𝑎𝑣 = F
2
The SI unit of power is called the watt (W)
1W = 1 J/s
Another unit of power is the horsepower (hp)
1 hp = 746 W
Kilowatt-hour
- is a unit of energy, not power.
The amount of energy represented by 1 kWh is:
Note
kilowatt-hour - is used When we:
 pay your electric bill,
we are buying energy and
to transfer amount of energy by electrical
transmission into a home.
Examples
1) How much work is done by a 500 W motor running for 30 minutes?
2) Calculate the power required for a force of 10 N applied to move a
10 kg box at a speed of 1 m/s over a frictionless surface.
Unit 5
Unit 5 Simple Machine
Archimedes: “give me a place to stand and i will move the earth”
outline
Introduction
5.1 The purposes of Machine
5.2 Principles of Simple Machines
5.3 Types of simple machines
5.4 Complex Machines
Machine - is a device that makes work easier by;
 decreasing the force necessary to move an object or
 increasing the speed of an object.
Energy can be;
 transmitted or
 transformed.
Simple machines
- are machines that only use one type of machine.
- are a device:
 that only requires a single force to work
 for doing work that has only one part
 that uses a single effort to do work against a single load
Examples
levers, knife, spoon, Spade, an axe, pulleys, ramps, wedges, gears,
and chain/sprockets.
Complex machines
- are machines that use multiple types of simple machines together.
Examples
 electric motors
 heat engines
 pumps
 Compressors
 refrigerators, etc.
5.1 The purposes of Machines
A Machine makes it easier to do work by performing one or more of the
following functions
 changing the direction of the applied force,
direction changer
 increasing the magnitude of the applied force,
force multiplier
Or  increasing the distance or speed of the applied force.
speed multiplier
Notes
The input force applied to operate the machine is called Effort (E)
The body upon which the machine does work is called the Load (L) or
Force output
The work done on the machine at the effort end is called the work
input
The work done by the machine at the load end is called the work
output.
No machine can create extra energy or power.
i.e 𝑊𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 ≤ 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡
there will always be some loss of energy due to friction or other
dissipative forces.
i.e 𝑊𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 < 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡
the effectiveness of a given machine (efficiency) can be measured by
comparing its output work with the work supplied to it.
No machine can multiply both force and distance/speed at the same
time.
it cannot multiply energy
Work done on the machine
Work input = Effort x distance moved by Effort
Work done by the machine

Work output = Load x distance moved by Lo
Notes
In the ideal world;
 mechanical energy is never lost to other forms
 work input equals work output.
In the real world, however;
 mechanical energy is always lost due to dissipative forces.
 Work input is strictly greater than work output.
According to the principle of conservation of energy;
Work input = work output + work done against friction
Example
If an effort of 300N is applied on a machine moved through a distance
of 2m and it moves a load through a distance of 0.4m. What is the
maximum load that the machine lifts?
Note
 If the distance 𝑆𝐿 < 𝑆𝐸 , then the load can be greater than the effort.
a smaller effort can be used to move a large load.
5.2 Principles of Simple Machines
A machine;
transmit mechanical work from one part of a device to another
part.
multiplies a force and controls the direction and the motion of the
force,
cannot create energy.
 Some machines are more effective than others.
For example
One types of a force multiplier machine might be able to move a 200 N load with a 25N of
effort. Another might be able to move a 1000N load with the same effort.
Any type of simple machines can be fit one or more of the ff;
Force multipliers
 are devices that reduce the amount of force necessary to move an object.
 are useful for lifting heavy objects or doing other things that require large
amounts of force.
 this is only possible if the load moves through a smaller distance than the effort
at the same time or simultaneously.
 inclined planes and most levers are some examples.
Speed multipliers
 are devices that increase the speed of, or distance travelled by, an object.
 the 𝑆𝐿 > 𝑆𝐸
 are useful when an object needs to move a further distance or at a higher
speed.
 this is only possible if the load is smaller than the effort a at the same time.
 wheels and axles and third class levers are some examples.
Notice:
Depending on how they are designed some machines can act as both
force or speed multipliers and direction changer.
the workout put would not be greater than the work input.
energy conservation is still obeyed.
A machine's ability to do work is compared by the following terms.
These are;
(1)Mechanical Advantage (MA)
(2) Velocity Ratio (VR) and
(3) efficiency (𝜂).
Mechanical advantage (MA)
refers to how much a simple machine multiplies an applied force.
It is described by the ratio of the output force to the applied
force or input force.
has no unit (unitless).
most frequently used to compare force multipliers.
Example
If a machine moves a 800N load when an effort of 100N is applied,
What is its Mechanical Advantage?
There are two kinds of Mechanical Advantages.
1) Actual Mechanical Advantage (AMA)
2) Ideal Mechanical Advantage (IMA)
Actual Mechanical Advantage (AMA)
- is determined by physical measurement of the input and output forces.
- takes into account energy loss due to deflection, friction, and wear.
Ideal Mechanical Advantage (IMA)
- is also called theoretical mechanical advantage
- is with the assumption that there is no friction, and there is no loss of
energy.
In this case IMA = AMA
Work input = work output + work done against friction, wf = 0
Velocity Ratio (VR)

refers to the ratio between the distance moved by the effort and the
distance moved by the load.
has no unit since it is a ratio.
It is used to compare between the distance moved by the load and
the effort.
Efficiency of machines
- is the ratio between the works it supplies or work output and the work
put into it or work input.
𝑊𝑜
𝜂= × 100%
𝑊𝑖
- can also be expressed in terms of MA and VR as;
𝐿
𝐿×𝑆𝐿 𝐸
𝜂= = 𝑆𝐸
𝐸×𝑆𝐸
𝑆𝐿
𝐴𝑀𝐴
𝜂= × 100%
𝑉𝑅
The efficiency in terms of power input 𝑃𝑖 and Power output 𝑃𝑜 is given
by;
𝑃𝑜
𝜂 = × 100%
𝑃𝑖
Notes
Simple machines always have efficiencies of less than 1 due to
internal friction.
Wastage energy = Wi - Wo
efficiency has no units, it is unitless.
the machine considered as:
L > 𝐸 or SE > 𝑆𝐿
 force multiplier, if
MA or VR > 1
E > 𝐿 or SL > 𝑆𝐸
 speed multiplier, if
MA or VR < 1
 direction changer, if MA or VR = 1
Example
A simple machine is used to move a 600N load through a distance of
25cm when an input force of 30N is moved through a distance of 5m.
Determine the
a) work input
b) work output
c) Actual Mechanical Advantage
d) Velocity Ratio
e) Ideal Mechanical Advantage
f) Efficiency of the machine
g) What type of machine is it?
Is it ideal or real machine?
5.3 Types of simple machines
They can be categorized into two groups
Wedges
1. Special kinds of inclined plane
Screws
Pulley
2. Special kinds of levers
Wheel and axel
Inclined planes
is used to lift an object to a height (h) by sliding it up the length
of the slope (l).
reduce the force necessary to move a load.
the effort required is less.
the amount of work done must stay the same since the distance
involved increases.
Note
It is easier to push an object up a ramp than it is to lift it to the same
height.
The IMA of an inclined plane is given by:
𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡𝑕 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑙 𝑕 1
𝐼𝑀𝐴 = = 𝑏𝑢𝑡, 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 = =
𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑕𝑒𝑖𝑔𝑕𝑡 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑕 𝑕𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
The AMA of an inclined plane is given by;
From the diagram, when the block moves with constant velocity;
𝐹𝑦 = 0
𝑁 − 𝑊𝑦 = 0
𝑁 − 𝑚𝑔𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = 0
𝑁 = 𝑚𝑔𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 and
𝐹𝑥 = 0
𝐸 − 𝑓 − 𝑊𝑥 = 0
𝐸 = 𝑓 + 𝑊𝑥
= 𝜇𝑘 𝑁 + 𝑚𝑔𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
= 𝜇𝑘 𝑚𝑔𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 + 𝑚𝑔𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
= 𝑚𝑔(𝜇𝑘 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 + 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃)
𝐿 𝑁
𝐴𝑀𝐴 = =
𝐸 𝐸
𝑚𝑔
=
𝑚𝑔(𝜇𝑘 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 + 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃)
1
=
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃+𝜇𝑘 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
The AMA of an inclined plane depends on:
i) the slope of the incline ( 𝜃) and
ii) the coefficient of friction between the block and the plane.
Notes
The MA increases as the slope of the incline ( 𝜃) decreases.
but the load will then have to be moved a greater distance.
friction will be large if objects are slide along the surface of the
inclined plane.
Q. How Efficiency of inclined plane increases?
Ans. by using rollers in conjunction with the inclined plane.
A wedge
- is an adaptation of the inclined plane.
- can either be composed of one or two inclined planes.
- used to separate two objects (load) over a short distance or split
objects (a log) apart.
- effort is applied to the top of the wedge.
A single wedge- can be made from a single incline plane.
A double wedge -can be thought of two inclined plane joined together
with their sloping surfaces outward.
Examples
Knives, Forks, Nails, Spears, Axes and Arrows heads.
t = thickness of the wedge and
P= the penetration length of the wedge
Note
The IMA of a wedge depends on the angle of the thin end.
The smaller the angle;
 the less the force required to move the wedge a given distance
through, say, a log.
the amount of splitting is decreased at the same time.
Screw
- actually an inclined plane wrapped in a spiral around a shaft.
- a usually circular cylindrical with a continuous helical thread around it.
- is used
either as a fastener or as a force and motion modifier
to dig into the ground and
to bore through rock.
- it digs in and moves into the material a distance equal to the
separation b/n the threads (pitch(p)).
Notes
Pitch of the screw is analogous to the height of an inclined plane.
The length of the slope of inclined plane would be the same as the
circumference of the screw shaft.
The movement of the screw tip into the material provides the load.
The force used to turn the screw is the effort.
The maximum theoretical mechanical Advantage (IMA) for a screw can
be determined from:
d = the mean diameter of the screw shaft in m

(πd - is the circumference of the screw shaft).
P = the pitch of the screw in m.
Due to friction, AMA is much less than the value of IMA.
“Give me a lever and a place to stand, and I’ll move the world.”
Archimedes
A Lever
- is a rigid bar that is free to pivot, or rotate, around a fixed point
called the fulcrum.
- provides mechanical advantage.
Applying a force to one end of the rigid bar causes it to pivot about the
fulcrum, resulting in a magnification of the force at another point along the
bar.
MA, VR and efficiency of levers
When dealing with levers;
- the forces are twisting rather than moving in a straight line.
Example
- a balanced see-saw.
In order to balance the
turning forces (moments)
from both the objects
must be equal.
anticlockwise turning force = clockwise turning force
The product of the force and distance for both the left hand side and the
right hand side must be equal.
If F1 is twice as large as F2 ,then F2 will need to be twice as far away from
the fulcrum in order for the see-saw to balance.
For example;
To balance a 10 N rock with a 0.01 N feather.
the feather would need to be 1000 times further from the fulcrum than
the rock.
The AMA of a lever is given by:
• AMA = load / effort
The VR of a lever can be found as ;
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑐𝑟𝑢𝑚
• VR =
distance from the load from the fulcrum.
• VR = dE / dL
If there are no energy losses then IMA = VR and so:
• IMA = dE / dL
The efficiency of a given lever may be found via:
𝐿.𝑑𝐿
• efficiency = η = = AMA/VR
𝐸.𝑑𝐸
Note
Depending on the relative distances levers can be force multipliers/speed
multipliers and/or direction changers.
The closer the resistance is to the fulcrum, the greater the mechanical advantage.
Different classes of lever
There are three different classes of levers depending on the relative positions of the load, fulcrum and effort.
Class Diagram Description Examples
Fulcrum is between
the load and effort Fulcrum is between the load and • See-saw
effort • Crowbar
fulcrum is closer to the load, then less effort • Pliers (double
1st is needed to move the load a shorter distance. lever)
• Scissors (double
force multiplier lever)
The load is between The load is between the effort and

the effort and the the fulcrum
fulcrum load is closer to the fulcrum than the effort, • Wheelbarrow
then less effort will be required to move the • A rowing oar
2nd
load. • Nutcracker (double
lever)
force multiplier
The effort is between The effort is between the load and
the load and fulcrum fulcrum
fulcrum is closer to the effort, then large • Catapult
effort is needed to move the load. • Hoe or spade
3rd
• Tongs (double
lever)
distance/speed
multiplier
Class 1 Lever
Class 2 Lever
Class 3 Lever
Wheel and Axle
Wheel & Axle
- is composed of a large wheel secured to a smaller wheel, which is
called an axle.
An axle is a rod or pole centred in the wheel in such a way that it
allows the wheel to turn around it.
- rotates together and transfer force from one to the other.
- sometimes, there may be two wheels attached to both ends of the
axle.
- includes gears, door-knobs, steering wheels and even screwdrivers.
- used in an electric motor, electric fan, car, bicycle & a Ferris wheel.
There are two main ways to use a wheel and axle;
i) wrap a rope around a supported wheel and apply an effort to the
end of the rope.
 the load is attached to the axle.

 the effort has to move a large way to complete one single
revolution ( diameter of wheel).
 the load moves a much smaller distance (diameter of axle)
 the load can be much greater than the effort → so it acts as a
force multiplier
ii) to have two wheels at the end of an axle.
 like a type of rotating lever
 fulcrum would be the center point of the axle.
 as the wheels turns they can then be used to provide movement.
Note
 A wheel and axle or a windlass used for lifting water from wells.
The VR of a wheel and axle can be determined by the ratio of the radius
of the wheel to the radius of the axle.
this is because as the wheel turns once it covers a distance equal to 2𝜋𝑅;
at the same time the axle turns 2𝜋𝑟.
Where R - is the radius of the wheel and
r - is the radius of the axle.
Since SE > SL and VR >1, then in this arrangement the wheel and axle
acts as a force multiplier.
Gears
- are toothed wheels designed to transmit torque to another gear or
toothed component.
- their teeth are designed so as to minimize wear, vibration and noise,
and to maximize the efficiency of power transmission.
- the direction of rotation is reversed when one gear wheel drives
another gear wheel.
- were used;
in making water-raising devices
to make catapults.
in clocks
cars
odometers
 scales
 conveyor systems, etc
- are often used in conjunction with a wheel and axle.
- can be configured to offer an increase in MA or an increase in the
distance travelled, depending on the requirements of the system.
- As one gear turns its teeth lock into another gear and force it to rotate.
The gear made to turn the other gear is called the driving gear.
The effort is applied on the driving gear.
At a point where the teeth of the two geared wheels make contact, equal
and opposite forces acts on each other.
The two forces are action and reaction forces.
Action force- is the force exerted by the driving gear (A) on the
driven gear (B).
Reaction force- is the force exerted by the driven gear (B) on the
driving gear (A).
the driving gear rotates clockwise whereas the driven gear rotates anticlockwise.
The velocity ratio (gear ratio) of geared wheels is given by;
𝑁𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛
If Ndriving < Ndriven , 𝑉𝑅 = > 1&
𝑁𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝑁𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛
If Ndriving > Ndriven , 𝑉𝑅 = <1
𝑁𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔
Consider a bicycle which has gears that make it easier to cycle, especially up hills.
The reason bicycles are easier to cycle up a hill when the gears are changed is due to what is
called Gear Ratio (velocity ratio).
For example, if the pedal gear revolves once how many times will the sprocket gear revolve?
That means, every time the pedal gear revolves once the sprocket gear on the back wheel
revolves twice to increase speed.
To make it easier to cycle up hill, every time the pedal gear revolves twice the sprocket gear on
the back wheel revolves once slowdown.
From the above example, every time the pedal gear revolves twice the
sprocket gear on the back wheel revolves once making it easier to cycle up
hill.
Notes
Two or more gears together are called Transmission.
 Depending on gear ratio, transmission can produce a change the
speed, magnitude and direction of a force.
Some uses of gear wheel are
• To reverse the direction of rotation
• To increase or decrease the speed of rotation
• To move rotational motion to a different axis
• To keep the rotation of two axes synchronized
Pulley system
A “pulley” is nothing more than a wheel with a groove cut around its
circumference to guide a rope or cable, a bearing and axle supporting
the wheel and allowing it to freely turn.
There are several different kinds of pulleys.
a) Single Fixed Pulley.
a fixed axle with a rope looped over the top.
 will not provide a MA more than one.
it does not multiply either force or speed.
its purpose is to change the direction of the force
b)movable pulley.
there is only one pulley and the axle is free to move up and down in
the system.
 the weight is being supported by the tension in two ropes and the
person pulling on the rope only feels the tension of one rope.
has a velocity ratio of 2.
b)A compound pulley
is a combination of a fixed and a movable pulley.
 is sometimes called a block and tackle.
the movable pulley provides the MA whereas the fixed pulley
changes the direction of the force.
This makes it easy to lift the load when standing on the floor!
The VR of these systems is given by the number (N) of sections of rope
used to lift the load.
If there is only one section then VR = 1, if there are two sections then
the VR = 2, etc.
 VR = number of sections of rope that lift the load
VR = N
systems are never 100% efficient since there is friction on the pulley
and some of the effort is used to lift the lower block instead of the
load.
If the machine was 100% efficient then VR = MA = IMA so:
• IMA = VR = N
Examples
Complex Machines
- is one where two or more simple machines are combined together
to function as a single machine.
Examples
Scissors, Wheelbarrow, bicycles, the differential pulley and the
jackscrew.
The differential pulley
- is a pulley in combination with a wheel and axle.
- It is sometime called a “Chain hoist”
- it can be used to lift extremely large masses over a short distance.
- It is composed of two fixed pulleys at the top.
are attached to each other and both rotate together.
they have different radii (R and r) One long loop of rope passes
around the pulleys.
The mechanical Advantage is calculated using the stated equation:
AMA = load /effort
In this case the load = W and the effort = F so:
• AMA = W / F
The VR (and so the IMA) is given by:
• VR = IMA = 2R / (R – r)
Note, As R – r approaches zero the IMA increases.
able to lift very heavy loads.
The jackscrew
- is a screw in combination with a lever.
The MA from the lever allows large weights to be lifted by the screw.
The MA is calculated using the standard equation:
AMA = Load/Effort = W / F
The VR (and so the IMA) is given by:
• IMA = VR = 2πR / P
Note
The longer the handle (R) and the smaller the pitch (P) the greater the
IMA.
it would take even more turns in order to lift the car!
Ambo Ifa Boru Special Boarding Secondary School Physics Short Notes For G-9 On U-6
Unit 6 Fluid statics

Introduction
Matter exists in three states such as solid, liquid, and gaseous states.
Solids
 strong attraction b/n its molecules
 have a definite shape and a specific volume
 atoms are in close contact
 atoms to vibrate but not to change positions with neighboring atoms.
 resists all types of stress
 cannot be easily deformed.
Liquids
 Weak attraction b/n molecules relative to solids.
 the greater molecule separation allows successive layers to flow past each other.
 have a definite volume but their shape changes depending on the container in which they are held.
 deform easily when stressed relative to solids.
 do not spring back to their original shape once the force is removed (flow).
Gases
 Molecules are far apart.
 hey exert little attraction on each other
 have neither a definite shape nor a specific volume
 forces between atoms are therefore very weak.
 they are relatively easy to compress (compressible)
Notes
 Liquids and gases are considered to be fluids, because their molecules move freely until they expand and fill
their container.
 A fluid refers to a substance that can flow.
 The major distinction b/n gas & liquids is that gases are easily compressed, whereas liquids are not.
 Gases are compressible & liquids are incompressible.
Fluid statics
Fluid mechanics- is the study of fluids either at rest or in motion.
Fluid Dynamics - studies fluids in motion (Grade 11)
Fluid Statics
- deals with fluids at rest
- there is no relative motion between adjacent fluid layers.
- fluid exerts a force on the wall of its container or in its surroundings
- is used to determine the forces acting on floating or submerged bodies and the forces developed
by devices like hydraulic presses and car jacks.
 Fluid statics when the fluid is liquid-hydrostatics.
 Fluid statics when the fluid is gases-aerostatics.
6.1 Density and Relative density of substances
Density(
 the quantity which is useful to compare the masses of different substances of equal volumes.
 is the amount of mass in a unit volume of matter.
By : Desta Negash 1
 The different substance has a different density, which means for the same volume different substances weigh
differently; as they weigh differently heavier substances tend to settle at the bottom.
??? Two identical flasks one filled with water to 250 cm3 mark and the other filled with kerosene to the same
250 cm3 marks when measured in electronic balance the flask filled with water is found to be heavier than
that filled with kerosene why?
The density of a substance is defined as the ratio of the mass of the substance to its volume.
 SI-units of density is kilogram per cubic meter and it is abbreviated as (kg/m3)

Density of some common substances
Example 1
A block of ice with volume 5.5m3 has a mass of 5060kg find the density of ice.
By : Desta Negash 2
V = 5.5 m3
m = 5060kg
Density = mass /volume
= 5060 kg/5.5 m3
= 920kg/m3
The density of ice is 920kg/m3.
Example 2
Beaker contains 262.5cm3 of a certain liquid weigh 410g, if the mass of an empty dry beaker is 200g, find the
density of the liquid.
Solution
Mass of liquid = 410g-200g = 210g
Volume of liquid = 262.5cm3.
Density = mass/volume
= 0.8g/cm3
Relative Density of substances
- is defined as the ratio of its density to the density of pure water.
- It is unit less.
- It will tell us whether it will float or sink.
 If the relative density of a substance is below 1, then it will float and if it is greater than 1, then it will
sink.
Examples
1. The density of wood is found to be 900kg/m3. What is the relative density of the wood as we compared it to
water of density 1000kg/m3?
2. A solid metal cube has an edge length of 2 cm and a mass of 21.6g.

a) What is the relative density of the metal?
b) What type of metal is it?
6.2 Pressure
??? Is the terms pressure and force are the same? If not, explain their differences.
The effect or the normal force per unit area is known as Pressure.
The effectiveness of a given force depends upon the area over which it acts.
 when the area of contact is made small, the force per unit area is large, and when the area of contact
is relatively large, the force per unit area is small.
Example; a woman with narrow heels shoes exerts much greater effect than a woman with flat heels shoes on the
floor.
By : Desta Negash 3
Large pressure Small pressure
The SI-unit of pressure is N/m2 or Pascal (Pa)

1N/m2 = 1Pa
Practical units : atmospheric pressure (atm), bar and torr.
1 atm = 1.01325 × 105 Pa = 1.01325 bar = 760 torr = 760 mm of Hg = 10.33 m of water
1 bar = 105 Pa ; 1 torr = pressure exerted by 1 mm of mercury column = 133 Pa.
Pressure is a scalar quantity, because hydrostatic pressure is transmitted equally in all directions when
force is applied, which shows that pressure is not associated with a definite direction.
Example
1) A woman of mass 60kg is wearing high-heeled shoes with heels of total area 5cm2. What pressure will she exert
when all her weight rests on the heels? Use g=10 N/kg.
2) A standing boy exerts a force equal to his weight on the ground below his feet. If his weight is 500N and the total
area of his shoes is 100cm2, then what is the average pressure that he exerts on the ground when he stands on
a) both feet? b) one foot?
a)
6.3 Air pressure and Atmospheric pressure

Air
 Composition of various gases
 Has specific weight
 Its weight enables it to exert pressure on objects.
By : Desta Negash 4
Air pressure
 is a pressure exerted by air around us.

 caused due to the air molecules above.
 causes air molecules at the earth’s surface to be more tightly packed together than those that are in the
atmosphere.
 is balanced on the surface of the earth in & around of human body.
 decreases with increasing altitudes.
b/c the density of the air decreases as the altitude increases.
 is higher at sea level than at top of mountains.
 at sea level at a standard temperature and pressure is equal to one atmosphere (atm)
 in human body larger than outer at higher altitudes.
Atmospheric pressure & its layer
Atmosphere- is the layer of the air that surrounds the earth.
 basically divided into layers based on its temperature.
From the ground to the space: Troposphere Sstratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere Exosphere.
Troposphere
 Very lowest layer
 Contains largest percent of atmospheric mass.
 Is where living things are found & all weathers occurs.
 Airplane fly at the top to overcome causes turbulence.
Exosphere
 a further region above the Earth's surface.
Atmospheric pressure- is the force exerted at any given point on the Earth’s surface by the weight of the air above
that point.
 is the pressure created by the air that surrounds the Earth and
 is determined by the collective weight of air molecules.
 decreases as we go up from the Troposphere to Exosphere.
There is a kind of equilibrium between the pressures in our bodies and the surrounding atmosphere.
 the pressure inside our bodies is also equal to the atmospheric pressure and cancels the pressure
from outside.
A vacuum pump
 is a machine used to remove the air from inside a chamber.
The effect of altitude on the atmospheric pressure
 The weight of the column of air above 1m2 at ground level is around 101300N.
i.e the atmospheric pressure at sea level is about 101.3kpa or 1atm.
 Because of the density or the weight of the air becomes smaller and smaller as we go away from the
Earth’s surface and the atmospheric pressure correspondingly decreases.
By : Desta Negash 5
 A device that is used to measure altitude is called Altimeter.

 Pressure decreases as altitude increases.
 Temperature and humidity also affect the atmospheric pressure (the above data developed for a temperature
of 15 °C and a relative humidity of 0% near the surface of the Earth.)
Measuring Atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure is measured by a scientific instrument called barometer.
There are different kinds of barometer but here we will discuss only the Mercury barometer.
Torricelli's experiment :- A tube of length 1 m and uniform cross section is taken. It is filled with mercury
and inverted into a mercury tray. The height of the mercury column in equilibrium inside the tube is 76 cm.
Types of Pressures
In our day to day activity we commonly encounter the following three types of pressures :
(i) Atmospheric pressure (Po) (ii) Gauge pressure (Pg) (iii) Absolute pressure (Pab)
1) Atmospheric pressure
Force exerted by atmospheric column on unit cross-sectional area at mean sea level is called atmospheric
pressure (Po)
Po = 101.3 kN/m2 = 1.013×105 N/m2
2) Gauge Pressure
Excess Pressure over the atmospheric pressure (P– Patm ) measured with the help of pressure measuring
instruments is called gauge pressure.
By : Desta Negash 6
Note :- Gauge pressure- is always measured with the help of a "Pressure gauge. ".
- is either positive or negative relative to the atmospheric pressure.
(3) Absolute Pressure:- Sum of the atmospheric and gauge pressure is called absolute pressure.
Pab = Patm + Pg
Pab = Po + gh
Fig. The relationship among atmospheric pressure, gauge pressure and absolute pressure.
Example
By : Desta Negash 7
Some applications of atmospheric pressure

Some common uses of air pressure or atmospheric pressure in daily life are:
 Drinking through straw
 Inflating tires
 Playing musical wind instrument
 Flushing toilets
 Drawing water from well
 Operating barometer
 Blowing up balloon
 Breathing
 Maintaining body shape especially abdomen
 Vacuum cleaner
 rubber sucker/ a suction pad
 a syringe
 siphon
 a lift pump, etc
Siphon- is a convenient way of removing liquid from a container such as a petrol tank.
6.4 Fluids Pressure

- is the pressure at a point within a fluid arising due to the weight of the fluid.
The force exerted by a fluid on the walls of its container must always act perpendicular to the wall.
 At any particular point in a fluid, the pressure is the same in all directions.
To determine the pressure exerted by a liquid on the bottom and walls of a container, consider a rectangular tank
of base area A filled with a liquid of density" ". Suppose the base is at a depth h.
The pressure at the bottom of the tank is caused due to the weight of the water above it.
From the equation:

 pressure in a liquid increases with depth (h) and density ( ).
 pressure in a fluid does not depend on the base area of the container.
Pressure and depth
Pressure and depth have a directly proportional relationship.
 This is due to the greater column of water that pushes down on an object submersed.
 Conversely, as objects are lifted, and the depth decreases, pressure is reduced.
By : Desta Negash 8
Generally, pressure in a liquid at rest depends on the:

1) depth of the fluid
2) density of the fluid
3) gravity on the Earth
Example
Calculate the pressure exerted by the water at the bottom of the sea when its depth is 50m? Assume that the
density of sea water is 1030kg/m3 and use g=10m/s2
Q. why a dam have to be thicker at the bottom? Answer; to withstand the greater Pressure exerted on a dam
6.4.1 Pascal’s principle

- deals about the transmission of pressure in a fluid. According to Pascal’s principle,
The pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted to every part of the fluid, as well as to the walls of the
container without reducing in magnitudes.
 when a force is applied to incompressible fluid in a container the pressure transmitted equally in all
directions throughout the fluid.
If you apply a force, F1, to the piston of cross-sectional area A1, you create a pressure P1 in the fluid. Where F1 is an
effort applied to the smaller piston.
By : Desta Negash 9
Similarly, the pressure at the second piston, P2, must be equal to F2 divided by the cross-sectional area of the second
piston, A2. Where F2 is the load (the car) placed on the larger piston.
Since the pressure is transmitted equally throughout the fluid in all directions according to Pascal’s Principle, P1
must equal P2.
P on the left hand piston = P on the right hand piston
Rearranging to solve for F2, you find that F2 is increased by the ratio of the areas A2 over A1.
In the hydraulic lift diagram shown on the above, the distance over which F1 is applied will be greater than the
distance over which F2 is applied, by the exact same ratio as the force multiplier.
Example
If the chair has a mass of 5 kg, the maximum mass of a customer in the chair must be 148 kg.
Applications of Pascal’s principles in hydraulic machines
Hydraulic machines-machines that rely on the incompressibility of liquids to do work
i) hydraulic lift a hydraulic machine used to raise heavy objects (such as cars).
ii) hydraulics presses a hydraulic machine used to shape metal or compress materials into smaller volumes
Examples
By : Desta Negash 10
 make motor-car bodies

 to press waste paper or cotton wool into bales of small size
 to press oil from oil seeds, and
 to lift cars
iii) hydraulic brakes a mechanism which uses fluid to transfer pressure from a foot pedal to push brake
pads onto brake discs
Measuring pressure
There are two other common mechanical techniques.
Bourdon gauge
- is a more practical instrument for measuring the pressure of a gas.
Manometer
- is a simple instrument often used to measure the pressure of a gas supply.
-It comprises a U-shaped tube open at both ends.
How manometer works?

If one side of the manometer is connected to a system under pressure, the liquid will move. For example, if one end
was connected to a gas supply the liquid would be pushed down as the supply is at a greater pressure than the
surrounding atmosphere.
The height difference between B and C can then be used to determine the pressure of the gas supply.
• pressure of gas = atmospheric pressure + pressure due to the column of liquid BC
• pressure of gas = patm + hBCρg
Example.
If a water-filled manometer was connected to a gas supply and the height difference (BC) was 9 cm the pressure of
the gas would be:
• pressure of gas = patm + hBCρg

• pressure of gas = 101 000 Pa + 0.09 m x1000 kg/m3 x 10 N/kg
• pressure of gas = 101 900 Pa
This would most likely be expressed as a gauge pressure of 900 Pa.
Forces in fluids
An object seems less heavy in water. There is a force from the water that pushes you up, acting against gravity.
 buoyant force (or sometimes upthrust).
If you immerse an object in a fluid the pressure on the bottom will be greater than the pressure on the top.
 so there is a bigger force on the lower surface of the block than on the upper surface.
The difference in pressure can be found by using:
The force on the bottom is greater and so there is net force upwards.
The size of the buoyant force (Fb) depends on a number of factors including the density of the fluid and the volume
of the object.
Buoyant forces are not just limited to liquids. It also applicable for air but it is very small (as the density of air is
much less than that of water).
 Hot air balloons ‘float’ in the air due to the buoyant force of the air pushing them up, acting against their
weight.
Apparent weight
- is occurred when the buoyant force pushes upwards, acting against the objects weight and so the weight appears
to drop but their weight has not changed (w = mg).
- may be calculated using the equation below:
• apparent weight = weight – buoyant force
• buoyant force = weight – apparent weight
Exercise!
Calculate the buoyant force acts on the stone from the fig. shown below.
Archimedes’ principle
Archimedes realized that when an object is immersed in a liquid it displaces a certain volume of the liquid.
 A stone placed in a beaker of water will cause the level of water to rise as it displaces its own volume.
He determined that the weight of the displaced fluid was equal to the buoyant force. Or in his own words:
Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid
displaced by the object.
 In other words, the buoyant force acting on an object is equal to the weight of the displaced liquid.
• buoyant force = weight of displaced fluid
 The greater the volume of liquid displaced the greater the buoyant force.
Using apparent weight in the light of Archimedes’ principle:
• apparent weight = weight – buoyant force

• buoyant force = weight of displaced fluid
• apparent weight = weight – weight of displaced fluid
Consider a body immersed in a liquid of density .
Top surface of the body experiences a downward force
Lower face of the body will experience an upward force
As
So, net upward force
Therefore
Where,
Example
A toy submarine has a weight of 6.2 N in air. When immersed in water it has a weight of 4.6 N. Determine the
buoyant force and the weight of water displaced.
buoyant force = weight – apparent weight
buoyant force = 6.2 N – 4.6 N
buoyant force = 1.6 N
weight of displaced fluid = buoyant force
• weight of displaced fluid = 1.6 N
Floating and sinking
Whether or not an object floats or sinks depends on the weight of the object and the size of the buoyant force acting
on the object.
Law of flotation states that if the buoyant force is equal to the weight of the object then the object will float.
 If the weight of the volume of fluid displaced is equal to the weight of the object then the object will float.
 A large steel ship is able to float because it displaces such a large volume of water.
This volume of water has the same weight as the ship
Example
A floating wooden block has a volume of 0.4 m3 and displaces 0.3 m3 of water. Determine the density of the block.
Exercise !
A wooden block of mass 4kg floats in water of density 1g/cm3. It displaces a volume of water equals to one- fourths
of its volume. Use g=10m/s2.
a) What is the density of the block?
b)What is the weight of the displaced water?
c) What is the buoyant force acting on the block?
Ambo Ifa Boru Special Boarding
Secondary School
Physics Lecture Notes On U-7
For G-9
By: Desta N.
Unit 7 Temperature & Heat
Unit Outline
7.1. Temperature and
molecular
motion
7.2. Thermal Expansion of
solids,
liquids and gases
7.3. Quantity of heat, specific
heat
capacity and heat capacity
7.4. Changes of state
7.1. Temperature and molecular motion
 Matter consists of moving particles (atoms or
molecules).
These particles:
interact more or less strongly with one
another.
speed increased by raising the temperature
& reduced by lowering the temperature
kinetic energy constantly changing as they
undergo changes in speed.
Temperature
- is a measure of the average molecular
kinetic
energy of the particles.
 If the particles in a substance have a higher
average kinetic energy then the object is at a
higher temp.
For example, water molecules in a glass of
water at
500c are, on average, moving faster
than
What is heat?
 is the spontaneous flow of energy into or out
of a system
 caused by a difference in temperature
between;
 the system and its surroundings, or
 two objects.
Note
A body never contains heat (can be identified only as
it crosses the boundary).
i.e heat is a transient phenomenon.
Heat is one form of energy; it is therefore measured
in joules and is a scalar quantity.
Both are at the same temperature, at 1000c.

Water in which beaker will contain more heat
energy?
1kg
0.5 kg
Thermal contact and Thermal equilibrium
Thermal contact
When two bodies at different temperature are in
contact, heat can flow from a body at a higher
temperature to a body at a lower temperature.
 The two bodies are said to be in thermal
contact.
 Heat can flow from body A to body B until they have

the same temperature.
Thermal Equilibrium
Two systems are in thermal equilibrium;
if and only if they have the same
temperature.
there is no heat flow from one system to
another.
may or may not have equal thermal energy.
Zeroth law of thermodynamics (Law of
equilibrium)
Thermodynamics is the branch of physics that
deals with the relationships between heat and
other forms of energy.
Zeroth law of thermodynamics introduces
the concept of temperature.
Two objects in thermal equilibrium do not
exchange energy.
The zeroth law of thermodynamics states that;
“if object A is in thermal equilibrium with
object C,
and object B is in thermal equilibrium with
Note
Temperature is an intensive quantity/
independent of body size.
Temperature scales
Thermometers - are devices used to measure
the
temperature of a system.
Some physical properties that change with
temperature are:
 the volume of a liquid
 the dimensions of a solid
 the pressure of a gas at constant volume
 the volume of a gas at constant pressure
 the electric resistance of a conductor and
 the color of an object.
The three most commonly used temperature
scales are:
1. Kelvin scale(K)
2. Celsius scale(0C) &
3. Fahrenheit scale(0F)
The SI temperature unit is the kelvin, which is;
 abbreviated K
not accompanied by a degree sign.
A substance will have no thermal energy at
absolute
zero temp.(0 K)
The freezing and boiling points of water are:
 0 and 100 in Celsius scale, respectively
 32 and 212 in Fahrenheit scale, respectively
 273.15 and 373.15 in kelvin scale,
respectively
These two fixed reference points are used to
design temperature scale.
Relationships between the Fahrenheit, Celsius,
and Kelvin temperature scales are given by:
Where,
LFP- lower fixed point is marked at the freezing or
melting point of water (at 00c).
UFP - upper fixed point is marked at the boiling point
of water (at 1000c
To convert Fahrenheit scale to Celsius scale:
To convert Celsius scale to Fahrenheit scale:
To convert Celsius scale to Kelvin scale

Exercises !
1. Temperature of a patient is 50°C . Find the
temperature on Fahrenheit scale ?
2. At what temperature is the Fahrenheit scale
reading equal to three times Celsius scale ?
3. The temperature of an iron piece is raised
from
40°F to 80°F. What is the change in its
temperature on the celsius scale and on the
Kelvin scale?
The first law of thermodynamics states that:
“The increase in internal energy of the gas, ΔU,
will be equal to the heat energy it has gained, ΔQ,
plus any work done on the gas, ΔW.”
Note
ΔU, ΔQ and ΔW are either positive or negative
depending on the following situations:
Second law of thermodynamics

it concerns the direction of heat flow between
two bodies.
It might be expressed as:
Heat generally cannot flow spontaneously from a
material at
lower temperature to a material at higher temperature.
 Heat energy will not flow from a colder
object to a hotter one spontaneously unless
work is done.
 Energy must be used to reverse the usual
flow of heat energy.
This principle is used in refrigerators, freezers
7.2. Thermal Expansion of solids, liquids and
gases
The expansion of solids
In general, when matter is heated:
 it expands and when cooled it contracts.
 they vibrate faster and force each other a
little further apart.
 results in expansion.
 Expansion is greater for liquids than for solids;
gases expand even more.
The ball and ring experiment shown in Figure
below is a good demonstration of the expansion
of a solid.
From experiments, it is observed that the increase in

length of a solid bar depends on two factors:
i) original length- directly proportional
ii) change in temperature- directly proportional.

Examples
1) A steel is 40 cm long at 200C. The coefficient of
linear
expansion for steel is 12 x 10-6 /0C. Calculate the
increase in
length and the final length when it is at 700C.
2) At 25 0C, the length of the glass is 50 cm. After
Surface (area) expansion of solids
o It is a two dimensional expansion of solids.
o It is also called surface expansion.
Let us consider metal sheet of area A1 at T1

temp. If we increase the temperature of the
sheet by heating to T2, it will expand. Let A2 be
the area the metal sheet at T2.
Increase in area is given by: ΔA = A2 - A1
Change in area is found to be:
1. Directly proportional to the original area of
the body
ΔA~ A1 -----------------------------------------------(1)
Exercise !
Show that for a given substance, the relation
between α and β is given by;
β= 2α
Example
1. At 20 0C, the length of a sheet of steel is 50
cm and the width is 30 cm. If the coefficient
of linear expansion for steel is 10-5 1/0C,
determine the change in area and the final
area at 60 0C.
2. At 30 0C, the area of a sheet of aluminum is
40 cm2 and the coefficient of linear
expansion is 24 x 10-6 1/0C. Determine the
final temperature if the final area is 40.2 cm2.
Volume expansion of solids

three dimensional expansion.

when they are heated they expand in all
directions i.e., Length, Height and Width.
Consider solid metal of volume V1 at T1

temperature. If we increase the temperature of
the solid metal by heating to T2, it will expand. Let
V2 be the volume the solid metal at T2.
Application of thermal expansion
Engineers must consider thermal expansion of
solids in the construction of Buildings, Bridges,
Asphalts and Railway lines.
1)Allowance or a gap for the expansion of
concretes & between railway lines on a hot day
2) In a hot riveting, a hot steel rivet is used to
join two metal sheets tighter.
3)Telephone wires or electric cables are made

slightly longer or loosen in order to easily
contract the wire during cold weather or night
4) Vessels made thick ordinary glass breaks
easily if hot liquid poured in them. Why?
Because, the inside part of the glass is heated and
tries to
expand, while the outside part of the glass remains
cold and
takes a time the heat to transfer there.
6) The bimetallic strip: can be made by placing two
different metals side by side and welding them together
along their entire length at a particular temperature.
-It is applicable in thermostat; w/c is used as a circuit
breaker or
a switch in:
From the above result we have seen that the real

expansion of liquid is greater than its apparent
expansion.
Table: Volume expansion of some materials
The relationship between the volume of a gas

and its temperature can be shown using the
ideal gas equation:
pV = nRT
This equation indicates volume of gas is not only
affected by temperature, it also affected by:
7.3. Quantity of heat, specific heat capacity and
heat
capacity
Specific heat capacity
The quantity of heat, Q, required to change the
temperature of a body of mass m is proportional
to both the mass and the change in temperature.
Where, c- specific heat capacity

The two commonly used units of quantity of
heat are calorie and Joule.
One calorie(cal) is the quantity of heat required
to change the temperature of one gram of water
through one Celsius degree(0C).
Specific heat capacity (or in short specific heat)

of the substance defined as:
 the amount of heat required to raise the temperature
of a unit mass of any substance through a unit
degree or
 more specifically, is the heat required to rise the
temperature of 1 kg substance by 1 ºC.
The unit of specific heat capacity is the joule
per kilogram per ºC, i.e. J/(kg ºC).
Examples
1. If the temperature of a 5 kg mass of material
of
specific heat capacity 400 J/(kg ºC) rises
from 15ºC to
25 ºC. Calculate the heat received.
2. A body with mass 2 kg absorbs heat 100
calories
0
Principle of Calorimetery
 is used to determine the specific heat capacity of
a solid.
 It indicates the law of conservation of energy.
i.e when a hot body is mixed with a cold body, the
total heat lost by the hot body is equal to the total
heat gained by the cold body provided that no
heat lost in the surroundings.
Examples
1. A 50g of copper at 900C is dropped into 200g of
water at 00C.
Calculate the equilibrium temperature of the mixture?
2. What amount of water at 100C must be added to
400g of water at 800C to bring the equilibrium
7.4. Changes
temperature to 300C?of state
 are physical changes in matter.
 are reversible changes that do not change
matter's chemical makeup or chemical
properties.
 processes involves melting, freezing,
sublimation, condensation, and evaporation.
 during the processes , temperature of the
substance is unchanged.
It remains constant until it changes into other
form of
Q: If the temperature of the substance is
constant, how does the internal energy of the
substance increase?
Latent heat
 means the “hidden heat” of the substance.
 Every substance has its own latent heat.
 does not cause a temperature change; it
seems to disappear.
There are two types of latent heats
1.Specific latent heat of fusion(Lf)
- is the quantity of heat energy required to
change a unit mass of a substance from the
Latent heat of fusion

is heat absorbed by a solid during melting or
given out by a liquid during solidification.
Lf =Q/m and Q= m Lf
Example
1g of ice at 00C absorbs 80cal of heat energy in
forming 1g of water at the same temperature
(at 00C). What is the specific latent heat of
fusion of ice or water?
2.Specific latent heat of vaporization(Lv)
- is the quantity of heat energy required to
change a unit
mass of a substance from the liquid state to a
vapor at
its boiling temperature.
 When steam condenses to form water, latent heat is
given out
Latent heat of vaporization
-
is heat absorbed by a liquid during boiling or
given out by a gases during it converted into
liquid.
Lv =Q/m and Q= m Lv
Generally, heat can be applied to an object to
change its state from solid, through liquid to gas,
according to the following steps:
Heating curves
 The amount of heat released during cooling is the
same as the amount of heat absorbed during
heating for the same substance.
From the curve
The amount of heat required to vaporize is equal to the
amount of heat required to condense the given
substance.
Heat of condensation = heat of vaporization
The amount of heat required to melt is equal to the

amount of heat required to freeze the given substance.
Heat of melting = heat of freezing
Notes
 The melting and freezing occur at the same
temperature.
 During freezing, energy is removed and during
melting, energy is absorbed.
The end!
The End!
Thank
Thank You !
you!
Ambo Special Boarding Secondary School Physics Short Note For G-9 On U-8 In 2015 E.C
UNIT 8
WAVE MOTION AND SOUND
Introduction
What is a wave?
A wave
 is a disturbance or variation which travels through a medium from one region of space to another.
 it transfer energy and momentum from one point of the medium to another point of the medium without
actual transport of matter between two points.
i.e, particles in the medium do not travel with the wave.
Some examples of wave phenomena are water, sound, light, radio and television transmission, and
Earthquakes
8.1 Wave propagation
- is the movement of wave from one point to another through a medium.
A medium is a material through which the wave is travelling.

A wave does NOT carry matter with it.
 That means the material the wave is travelling through does not move along with the wave propagation. In
other words, when waves travel through water the water does not travel along with the wave.
For Examples
 Light waves travelling out from a light source just like a light bulb transfer energy from the bulb to the
surroundings or to your eye.
 Sound wave transfers energy from a speaker to your ear.

When the wave passes through the material medium the particles in the medium simply vibrate from side to side and
they remain in their equilibrium position.
 The vibration could be up and down, left to right or any vibration, but the particles always move back and
forth past their equilibrium position.
A graph of the particle’s displacement from its equilibrium position against time is given below;
By : Desta N.
1
8.1.1 Wave pulses and Continuous waves

Wave pulses
- is a special non-periodic wave form that typically has one major crest.
- are no repeated vibration but only one short pulse.
- It is a single disturbance with a finite length.
- is often associated with a single sudden motion, impact, or even explosion.
- It usually has a sinusoidal shape, but in electronics there are also square and rectangular pulse waves.
- as with other waveforms, a pulse has a velocity and amplitude.
- Since there is primarily only one crest, there is no frequency or true wavelength, although the width of the
pulse relates to wavelength.
For example, if you shook the end of a rope once you would produce a wave pulse as shown below.
 The maximum magnitude of the displacement of the pulse from equilibrium is the amplitude (A).
Types of wave pulses
As with regular waveforms, pulse waves can be compression or transverse.
Transverse pulse wave
It is a transverse waveform.
Compression pulse wave

A compression or longitudinal pulse wave can be seen with a slinky toy
Wave packet
is formed when the pulse wave has sub-harmonic crests.
A drop of water into a pool creates the initial pulse wave, accompanied by a series of smaller wavelets
By : Desta N.
2
Shock wave
- is a special type of pulse wave.
Examples
When an aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound, it is preceded by a shock wave form of a pulse wave.
The following are some forms of shock wave;
- a bullet.
- noise from an explosion.
- thunder.
Continuous wave
- is a continuous motion in the particles of the medium that make up and down movement.
 A wave which travels continuously in a medium in the same direction without the change in its amplitude is
called a travelling wave or a progressive wave.
8.2 Classification of Waves
Waves may be classified based on;
- the way they are produced or on the basis of their ability or inability to transmit energy through a vacuum and
- according to the direction of vibration of the medium’s particles relative to that of the energy transfer.
8.2.1 Classification of waves based on their production
Based on their production or on the basis of their ability or inability to transmit energy through a vacuum, waves
can be classified into two main groups.
1. Mechanical waves
2. Electromagnetic waves
Mechanical waves
- characterized by the oscillatory motion of the particles of a material medium (solid, liquid and gas).
- are produced by a physical disturbance of a material medium.
- include water waves, sound waves, waves on springs or strings, Seismic waves, P-waves in earthquakes
pressure wave and S-waves in earthquakes.
- they need material medium for their propagation or for transporting the energy from one location to another. ---
- they do not travel through vacuum and as a result they can’t transport energy through vacuum.
For example
Sound waves are incapable of traveling through a vacuum.
Electromagnetic waves
- are characterized by the oscillation of magnetic and electric fields.
- are capable of transmitting their energy through a vacuum.
- they are produced by the interaction or the vibration of magnetic and electric fields.
- include Radio waves, Microwaves, Light waves, X-rays, Gamma-rays etc.
- they travel or propagate both through a material medium and vacuum.
- they do not need necessarily a material medium for their propagation.
- they transport energy both through vacuum and matter.
- All have the same speed in vacuum (3x108 m/s).
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- they have different wavelengths and frequencies.

8.2.2 Classification of waves based on the way they propagate
Based on the direction of movement of the individual particles of the medium relative to the direction that the
waves travel or that of the energy transfer a wave can be categorized as; transverse waves, longitudinal
waves, and surface waves.
Transvers wave
- the vibration or oscillation of the particles of the medium is perpendicular to the direction of the wave motion
or the transfer of energy.
Some examples are:
 vibrations on a string
 light waves
 S-wave in earthquakes
 waves on the surface of deep water
 radio waves and
 ripples on the surface of water.
We can make a horizontal transverse wave by moving the slinky vertically up and down.
The particles of the rope vibrate just move up and down past their equilibrium position while the energy transfers
at right angles to this from left to right. This can be seen by the RED particle. There is no transfer of matter from left
to right.
 All transverse waves comprise a series of crests (peaks) and troughs.

A crest is a point on a wave where the particles of the medium have the maximum phase of vibration.
A trough is point on a wave where the particles of the medium have the minimum phase of vibration.
Longitudinal waves
- is a wave in which particles of the medium move;
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 in a direction parallel to the direction that the wave moves or

 in the direction along the direction in which the energy of the wave is transporting.
Some examples are
 Sound wave,
 Pressure waves
 P- Wave in earthquakes, and
 Wave on a spring
Longitudinal wave can be expressed in terms of Compression and Rarefaction.

The regions where the spring is compressed or the particles are pushed together are called Compressions
The regions where the spring is relaxed or the particles are more spread out are called Rarefaction.
The distance between two successive compressions or rarefactions equals to one wave length ( )
The distance between a compression and adjacent rarefaction is equal to half wave length( )
Note
 If the longitudinal wave is travelling through a gas then compression can be thought of an area of higher
pressure and a rarefaction can be an area of low pressure.
 Compression and Rarefaction in longitudinal waves are equivalent to Crest and Trough in transverse
waves respectively.
 In longitudinal and transverse waves, all the particles in the entire bulk of the medium move in a parallel
and a perpendicular direction (respectively) relative to the direction of energy transport.
Surface wave
- is a mechanical wave that propagates along the interface between differing media.
- is a wave in which particles of the medium undergo a circular motion.
- is neither longitudinal nor transverse.
- unlike longitudinal and transverse waves, it is only the particles at the surface of the medium that undergo the
circular motion.
- the motion of particles tends to decrease as one proceeds further from the surface.
- particles of the medium vibrate both up and down and back and forth, so they end up moving in a circle.
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- is combination of a transverse wave and a longitudinal wave.
8.3 Waves characteristics and behaviors

All waves have commonly the following some characteristics.
Consider the two commonly described wave types called Transverse and Longitudinal waves.
1. A wavelength (λ) is the distance between two successive points on a wave or crest or trough that
are in the same state of oscillation.
- is the distance of one complete wave cycle traveled in one period.
For instance; points A and B in Fig. above.
2. Amplitude (A): is the maximum displacement of any particle of the medium from its equilibrium position.
3. The time period (T): is the time taken for one complete wave to pass a given point or to make one complete
wave or cycle.
4. The frequency (f) is the number of complete waves passing a given point per second.
 can be determined by the number of crests/troughs or compressions/rarefactions that pass a given
point per second.
 The higher the frequency, the greater the number of the waves per second.
 is measured in hertz (Hz).
 A frequency of 10Hz would mean 10waves per second.
5. Wave speed (v): is defined as the distance the wave travels or propagates in one second.
Wave equations
Wave speed is related to both wavelength and wave frequency. The equation below shows how the three factors
are related. If a wave travels a distance of one wavelength ( ) in one period (T), then the wave speed (v) is given
by:
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All waves have this equation.

Example:
1. The frequency of a certain microwave in vacuum is 106Hz. a) What is the period of this wave? b) What is the
wavelength of this wave?
Exercise !
3. Consider the displacement-time graph of the transverse wave train shown in figure below. The distance between
a crest and adjacent trough is 0.8cm. Find the amplitude and wavelength of the wave.
4. Consider a transverse wave shown in figure below. Find the amplitude, the period and frequency of the wave.
5. The speed of a wave train shown in the figure below is 20m/s. What is the frequency of this wave?
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Wave’s behaviors
All types of waves behave in certain characteristics ways.
 They can undergo Reflection, Refraction, Diffraction, and Interference.
 These basic properties and define the behavior of all waves.
Reflection
 Is the bouncing off a wave of an obstacle.
Consider when light ray strikes the boundary between two media, such as air and glass; one or more of three
things can happen
 some of the light incident on a glass surface is reflected,
 some passes into the glass.
 the light enters the glass is partially absorbed and partially transmitted.
The reflection might be either Specular or Diffuse reflections.
Light reflection from smooth surfaces such as mirrors or a calm body of water is known as regular reflection or
specular reflection.
Reflection of light from rough surfaces or irregular boundaries such as clothing, paper, and the asphalt roadway
leads to a type of reflection known as diffuse reflection.
Note
Reflection is a sudden change in the direction of propagation of a wave that strikes the boundary between two
different media.
 It occurs when the waves bounce back to the first medium by changing its direction
The law of reflection of waves
Consider the incoming light ray makes an angle θi with the normal perpendicular to the surface. Then the reflected
ray makes an angle θr with this normal and lies in the same plane as the incident ray and the normal.
The law of reflection states;
1) The incident rays, reflected rays and the normal line all lie in the same plane.
2) The angle of incident ray is equal to the angle of reflected ray. ( = )
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Refraction
Light travels in straight lines at a constant speed in a uniform medium. If the medium changes, the speed will also
change and the light will travel in a straight line along a new path. The bending of light ray as it passes obliquely
from one medium to another is known as Refraction.
Note
 Refraction is the change in direction of propagation of a wave when the wave passes from one medium into
another, and changes its speed.
 light waves are refracted when crossing the boundary from one transparent medium into another
because the speed of light is different in different media.
The principle of refraction is illustrated in Figure below for light wave entering water from air.
The angle the incident beam makes with the normal to the surface is refracted to as the angle of incidence.
The angle between the refracted beam and the normal is called the angle of refraction.
Note
The speed of light in glass or water is less than the speed of light in a vacuum or air.
The speed of light in a given substance and in vacuum can be related by index of refraction.
Index of refraction
- is the ratio of the velocity of light in vacuum( c) to the velocity of light in a particular medium.
- is a number which gives a measure of the refraction or „ bending‟ of light when it travels from one medium to
another.
In terms of wavelength, the speed of light in vacuum or air and in medium can be expressed as:
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Notes
 Light slows down when passing into a medium of greater optical density.
 Frequency of the wave is the same in medium-1 as it is in medium-2.
 The wavelength decreases as wave travel into denser medium.
where n1 and n2 are refractive index of medium-1 and medium-2 respectively.

Ripples travel more slowly in shallower water than in deeper water, because they drag on the bottom. A shallow area
can be created in the tank by placing a sheet of glass in the tank.
The deeper the water, the faster the waves travel, and so waves will reflect when they enter deeper or shallower
water at an angle.
Things to be notice:
The ripples change direction as they enter the shallower water.
The ripples are closer together in the shallower water and their wavelength and speed are decreased. ( )
The frequency of the waves remains the same in both cases.
The frequency and wavelength in each case are related to the velocity as follow:
Since > , it follows that V1 > V2 and the velocity of the wave is reduced when the depth of the water is smaller.
Where and , and V1 and V2 are the wavelengths and velocities of the water wave in deeper and shallower water
respectively.
The relationship between wave velocity and wavelength given by;
Notice
Optical density is a property of a transparent material which is a measure of the speed of light through the material.
i) When light passes into a medium of greater optical density, the speed of the light is reduced.
ii) When light passes into a medium of smaller optical density, the speed of the light is increased.
Law of refraction
1) The incident ray, the refracted ray, and the normal to the surface all lie in the same plane
2) The path of a ray refracted at the interface between two media is exactly reversible.
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Snell’s Law
- gives the degree of refraction and relation among the angle of incidence, the angle of refraction and refractive
indices of a given pair of media.
- predicts the degree of the bend.
- it is also known as the law of refraction.
- is defined as “The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is a constant,
for the light of a given colour and for the given pair of media”.
Snell’s law formula is expressed as:
This constant value is called the refractive index of the second medium with respect to the first medium (vacuum).
If the light crosses a boundary between any two media, the smell’s law can be expressed in the form:
Since “n” is greater than one, irrespective the direction the light is travelling in you always put the sine of the larger
angle on top.
Furthermore;
Notes
When light ray travelling from less dense medium to denser medium such as at Air-water interface, the wave
refracted towards the normal.
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When light ray travelling from denser medium to less dense medium such as at water-air interface, the wave
refracted away from the normal.
When light ray travelling at right angle from optically denser/less dense medium to optically less dense/denser
medium, the wave dose not refracted away.
 It travels straight forward but the wave’s wavelength and velocity are changed.
i.e > and then V1 > V2
Example
A red light of wave length 640nm passes from air into a glass plate of refractive index 1.5. What is the
wavelength of the light inside the medium?
Diffraction
- is the spread out of the wave when the wave passes through gap or around an obstacle.
- is the slight bending of light as it passes around the edge of an object.
The amount of bending depends on the relative size of the wavelength of light to the size of the opening.
 If the opening is much larger than the light's wavelength, the bending will be almost unnoticeable.
 However, if the two are closer in size or equal, the amount of bending is considerable, and easily seen with
the naked eye.
 That is the narrow gap is more effective than the wide one to demonstrate the diffraction of wave.
 The effect of diffraction is the greatest when the width of the gap is the same as the wavelength of the
wave.
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Interference of waves
When two or more waves meet propagate through a single medium simultaneously is known as Interference.
When they interfere or mix they add up or cancel out each other based on superposition principle.
The superposition principle states that;
“When two or more waves overlap or interfere in space, the resultant disturbance is equal to the algebraic sum
of the individual disturbances.”
Superposition is the combination of two or more waves at the same location.
Types of Interferences
There are two types of interferences such as constructive interference and destructive interference.
Constructive interference
Consider two pulses of the same amplitude traveling in different directions along the same medium.
Constructive interference occurs whenever ;
 these waves come together so that they are in phase with each other.
 the resulting amplitude at that point being much larger than the amplitude of an individual wave.
Note
For two waves of equal amplitude interfering constructively, the resulting amplitude is twice as large as the
amplitude of an individual wave.
Destructive interference
- is the interference that occurs at any location along the medium where the two interfering waves have
amplitude in the opposite direction.
- the size of the amplitude of the resultant pulse or wave can be obtained by algebraic sum of the individual
amplitude.
- the two waves cancel out resulting in lower amplitude at the point they meet.
Note
If the interfering pulses have the same maximum amplitude and opposite directions, then the resulting wave
is completely destroyed.
 No resultant wave is obtained; the graph will be a horizontal straight line.
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 Is when two identical waves are superimposed exactly out of phase.

 when the crest of the first wave falls exactly on the trough of the second wave or if the two points on
each point are out of phase by 1800.
Interference of ripples
The interference of two sets of periodic and concentric waves with the same frequency produces an interesting
pattern in a ripple tank.
The diagram shown below shows an interference pattern produced by two periodic disturbances.
The crests are denoted by the violet lines and the troughs are denoted by the dotted red lines.
Constructive interference occurs
 wherever a violet line meets with a violet line or a dotted red line meets with a dotted red line
 results in the formation of an antinode. The Antinodes are denoted by a blue dot.
Destructive interference occurs wherever
 a violet line meets with a dotted red line
 results in the formation of a Node. The Nodes are denoted by a green dot.
8.4 Sound waves
Sound is a wave that is created by vibrating objects and propagated through a material medium from one location to
another.
8.4.1 Production and propagation of sound waves
Production of sound waves
Sound waves
- are longitudinal mechanical waves and produced by oscillation or vibration of particles of the medium and audibly
perceived through a sense of hearing.
- are a series of compressions and rarefactions
For examples
1) When the tuning fork is struck, the prongs of the fork begin to vibrate. Each time the prong vibrates, a new sound
wave is produced. The movement of the speed of sound waves depends on the medium by which the sound waves
travel. When the tuning fork strikes, you can hear the sound. Thus we have produced the sound by striking the
tuning forks.
2) A speaker produces a sound wave by oscillating a cone, producing vibrations in the surrounding air molecules.
As the speaker oscillates back and forth, it transfers energy to the air. This situation is creating compressions
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(high-pressure regions) and rarefactions (low-pressure regions) move out as longitudinal pressure waves having
the same frequency as the speaker. This process continues creating a longitudinal wave.
3) Different musical instruments produce sound by making a part of the instrument vibrate. When this produced
sound travels through the air it creates high and low pressure points, or waves. As the same time your ears can
detect the waves and you perceive this as sound.
Propagation of Sound waves
A sound is an energy that is transmitted in the form of sound waves. When the objects vibrate, the air surrounding it
vibrates and sound waves are carried. If there is no medium, then vibrations in an object will not travel through it.
This is the mechanism for the propagation of sound.
Note
A sound wave
 needs a material medium for its propagation and transporting energy.
 It travels through solids, liquids and gases.
 It does not travel in vacuum.
Audible and Inaudible Sounds
Q. Do we hear the sound of every vibrating body? The answer is NO.
We have two types of sound: audible sounds and inaudible sounds.
These sounds are categorized on the basis of their frequency ranges.
Audible sounds
The human ear can easily detect frequencies between 20 Hz and 20 kHz.
 Hence, sound waves with frequency ranging from 20 Hz to 20 kHz is known are audible sound.
 This varies from person to person and factors such as age and exposure to loud music dramatically changes
this range.
 As we grow older and are exposed to sound for a longer period of time, our ears get damaged and
the upper limit of audible frequencies decreases.
 For a normal middle-aged adult person, the highest frequency which they can hear clearly is 12-14
kilohertz.
Inaudible sounds
Human ear cannot detect sound frequencies less than 20 Hz & above 20 KHz which comes under the category of
inaudible frequencies.
 The low-frequency sound which the human ear cannot detect is also known as infrasonic sound.
 The higher range inaudible frequency is also known as ultrasonic sound.
Some have the ability to hear sounds having frequencies higher than 20 kHz.
For examples: Dogs & Ultrasound equipment.
The speed of sound in different materials
The degree of transmission of sound is different for different media.
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The speed of sound varies greatly depending upon the medium it is traveling through.
The speed of sound in a medium is determined by a combination of the medium’s rigidity (or compressibility in
gases) and its density.
 The more rigid (or less compressible) the medium is, the faster the speed of sound.
 The greater the density of a medium is, the slower the speed of sound.
 Sound travels faster through solids than liquids and faster through liquids than gases, although there
are exceptions.
For example, the speed of sound through water is around five times faster than in air and in metals like iron
or steel it is about 15 times faster than in air. What is the reason?
The speed of sound in air

The density of the gases varies with temperature. Therefore, the speed of sound in air varies with the temperature of
the air.
 For a given medium, sound has a slower speed at lower temperatures.
 The faster the particles are moving, the faster the speed of sound through the gas.
Experiment and theory show that the speed of sound “v” in air increases approximately by 0.6m/s for every degree
Celsius rise in temperature.
Generally, the speed of sound traveling through air depends on the temperature of the medium and the relationship
between the speed of sound and temperature is given by;
Example
What is the speed of sound in air at temperature of 60℃?
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Reflection of sound
Sound waves are reflected by surfaces such as walls or by other obstacles. This reflection of sound wave is called
Echo. An echo is a single reflection of a sound wave off a distance surface.
Reverberation is the reflection of sound waves created by the superposition of such echoes.
The human ear can distinguish an echo that comes 0.1second after the emission of the original sound.
 If the time between hearing the original sound and the echo is less than 0.1sec, the original sound appears to
be prolonged, this is called Reverberation.
 An echo can only be heard by humans when the distance between the source of the sound and the
reflecting body is about 17m and the speed sound in air during this time is about 340m/s, keeping
that the temperature of sound is constant.
If the reflecting surface is “S” distance from the source and “t” is the time taken by the observer to hear echo, the
velocity of sound v can be calculated as follow;
Application of Echoes
The following are some examples of the applications of echoes.
 to determine the speed of sound in air
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 to determine the depth of the sea or ocean with the help of SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging).
 for flying of the bat
 for medical diagnosis.
 for echolocation
 for blind person in finding their way
 for find oil (mineral) underground etc
Example:
The speed of sound in water is about 1500m/s. A sound wave sent to the bottom of the sea from the SONAR returns
back to the device 4sec later. What was the depth of the sea at this location?
Characteristics of sound
Sound can be characterized by the following important terms such as: the loudness, pitch and quality.
Loudness:
- is audible strength of sound which depend on the amplitude of the sound wave
When the amplitude is high, it will produce a sound that is loud and when the amplitude is low, it
will produce a sound that is soft.
 is proportional to the square of the amplitude of the vibration.
This means that if the amplitude is doubled, the loudness increases four times.
Pitch:
-is used to distinguishes a sharp or a high-pitched sound from a grave or dull sound.
- is the quality of sound which makes some sounds seems "higher" or "lower" than others.
- It is determined by the number of vibrations produced during a given time period.
- it depends upon frequency.
The higher the frequency of the sound waves is, the higher their pitch.
 denotes the shrillness or flatness of a sound. Sound can be high or low.
We can identify a female and male voice without seeing them.
A woman’s voice generally has a high pitch than a man’s voice. This is because the frequency of a woman’s
voice is higher.
Timbre (Quality):
- is the quality of sound which allows us to distinguish between different sound sources producing sound at the
same pitch and loudness.
The vibration of sound waves is quite complex; most sounds vibrate at several frequencies simultaneously.
The additional frequencies are called overtones or harmonics. The relative strength of these overtones helps
to determine a sound's timbre.
The difference between pitch and timbre
 Pitch allows us to hear intonation in a language and notes in a melody.
 Timbre allows us to distinguish the vowels and consonants that make up words, as well as the unique
sound qualities of different musical instruments.
 Combinations of pitch and timbre enable us to identify a speaker's voice or a piece of music.
Sound Intensity and Distance
The amount of energy that is transported past a given area of the medium per unit of time is known as the intensity
of the sound wave.
The intensity of sound depends on different factors. Such as it is:
directly proportional to the square of the amplitude of vibrations.
inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the source and the observer. 
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directly proportional to the density of the medium.

directly proportional to the surface area of the vibrating body. 
directly proportional to the square of the frequency of the source.
directly proportional to the motion or speed of the particles of the medium.
Generally, they combine together to give a good understanding about the intensity of sound as follow:
The intensity of a sound wave is defined as the rate of flow of energy through a given unit area perpendicular
to the direction of the wave propagate.
 The SI-units for expressing the intensity of a sound wave is Watts/meter2 (W/m2)
 When a sound wave carries energy through a medium the intensity of the sound wave decreases with
increasing a distance from the source.
In a uniform medium, the intensity of a sound wave at a point is inversely proportional to the square of
the distance between the source of the sound and the point of interest.
Since sound wave spreads out in the surrounding air in a spherical pattern, at a given distance “R”
from the source the intensity of sound is by:
Consider any points, like A, B and C, in Figure above. The intensity of sound at A and B can be determined as:
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The sample data in the table below illustrate the inverse square relationship between power and distance from above
figure.
Example:
The Intensity of sound produced from a certain source is found to be 10 -3W/m2 at 5cm away from the source.
a) What will be the intensity of the same sound at distance of 15cm?
b) What power is delivered by the source to its surroundings?
Intensity and Loudness of sound

Intensity is the amount of sound energy passing each second through a given unit area while loudness is a measure
of the response of the ear to the intensity of sound.
Loudness - is a subjective sensation.
- is it depends on the sensitivity of listener’s ear.
- Usually a sound of higher intensity is louder.
- A sound louder for one person may not be louder for the other even they have the same intensity.
Intensity - is objective quantity.
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- It is independent of sensitivity of the human ear but depends on sound’s rate of energy or powers.
The faintest sound that the normal human ear can detect has an intensity of 1x10-12W/m2. This intensity is known as
the threshold of hearing.
The most intense sound that the human ear can safely detect without suffering any physical damage is more than one
billion times more intense than the threshold of hearing. This loudest sound that normal human ear can tolerate is
called threshold of pain. Its intensity is about 1 W/m2.
Intensity Level in Decibels

Although an increase in the intensity of sound may cause the sound to seem louder, the loudness of a sound is not
directly proportional to its intensity.
For example, a sound must be 10 times more intense before it seems twice as loud.
It must be 100 times as intense before it seems three times as loud, and so on.
Therefore the loudness of this relation is not related directly instated it is a logarithmic relation.
The loudness of a sound or the intensity level of a sound relates the intensity of any given sound to the intensity at
the threshold of hearing. It is measured in decibels (dB).
A decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit used to measure sound level.
The scale for measuring intensity is the decibel scale.
If one sound is 10n times more intense than another sound, then it has a sound level that is 10*n more decibels than
the less intense sound.
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AMBO IFA BORU SPECIAL BOARDING SECONDARY

Physics Short Notes on unit 1

Science is the study of nature and natural phenomena(laws)

Biological it deals with live matter. e.g Bio

Non-physical quantity ( indefinite)- a quantity w/c is not physically measurable

c) base & vector d) derived & vector

2) Write the ff quantities in scientific notation & using SI prefixes.

Physics Short Notes on

2. Motion in physics is broken down into categories

Note: In this chapter all objects are going to be considered POINT

Displacement- is the shortest distance moved in specific direction.

displacement is given by:

y(m) xi = x initial = Initial Position

2.2 Speed & Velocity

Q. Can speed be negative?

Q. Can distance be negative?

150 200m  100 0m

A→B: Slowing Down, Moving Backward, Pt. B=Stop

B→C: Speeding Up, Moving Forward

C→D: Constant Speed, Moving Forward

D→E: Slowing Down, Moving Forward, Pt. E=Stop

Speeding Up, Moving Backward

Equations of motion : Taking initial position as origin and direction of

For opposite directions

Note :- When two particles move simultaneously then the concept of

By: Desta Negash

 Tension:- is the force applied by a fully stretched cable or wire

e)Air Resisting Forces

Fundamental forces in nature

Which would require more force to move or slow down? Why?

 Combining the two equations and then we have:

 Twice as much forces produces twice as much acceleration.

 force of static friction is less than or equal to the product of the

 The force necessary to keep a block on a level surface moving at

 The force of kinetic friction is directed parallel to the surfaces and

Q. What is the coefficient of static friction in terms of 𝜃?

but 𝑎𝑥 is zero because velocity is constant.

No net force act in the vertical directions.

Impulse is defined as the product of force and time and it is a vector

Physics Short Notes

By: Desta Negash

By Newton’s second law as

From work-energy theorem we have:

Non Conservative Force

The mechanical energy at any

The total mechanical energy = kinetic energy + potential energy

ii) A horizontal mass–spring system.

 Energy resources are often used to generate electricity.

 Power in terms of Force and Velocity, during time interval ∆t the

For steady velocity, 𝑣𝑎𝑣 = v and constant force F, then we can

Work done by the machine

Velocity Ratio (VR)

d = the mean diameter of the screw shaft in m

The load is between The load is between the effort and

 the load is attached to the axle.

Unit 6 Fluid statics

 SI-units of density is kilogram per cubic meter and it is abbreviated as (kg/m3)

2. A solid metal cube has an edge length of 2 cm and a mass of 21.6g.

Large pressure Small pressure

The SI-unit of pressure is N/m2 or Pascal (Pa)