Republic of the Philippines

Aurora State College of Technology

Zabali Baler, Aurora

Engineering Department
Bridging Program

Physics:

Introduction:
Physics is often called an exact science because of the high degree of accuracy and
precision with which the physicist measures the wide range of magnitudes with which he deals.
Physics deals with fundamental concepts like time, matter, energy, motion, forces, space,
gravity, and radiation. It is simply defined as the science which deals with matter and energy and
their transformations.

What is Physics?
Physics relates to matter, energy, and their interactions.
Matter – material substance that occupies space, has mass, and is composed
predominantly of atoms consisting of protons, neutrons, and electrons, that
constitutes the observable universe, and that is interconvertible with energy.
Energy- a fundamental entity of nature that is transferred between parts of a
system in the production of physical change within the system and usually
regarded as the capacity for doing work.
Work- sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an
objective or result.

Physics Defined:
- A science that deals with matter and energy and their interactions
- The physical processes and phenomena of a particular system
- The physical properties and composition of something.
The Exact Science
o Measurements
o Systems of measurements
o Comparison of the two systems of measurement
o Limitations of measurement
o Significant figures
o Scalars and Vectors

Measurement
Measurement consist in the comparison of an unknown quantity with a known, fixed
unit-quantity. For example, to the height, we first need a satisfactory standard unit for length.
Measurement consist of two parts: the unit and the number that indicates how many of
the units there are in the quantity being measured.

System of Measurement
There are only two international systems of measurement used, they are the English
System (from England) and the Metric System (from France). The said systems have a complete
set of standard units for all the fundamental quantities.
A collection of the standard units of both systems is kept in Serves, Paris, France and in
The National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. for security against destruction
and theft.
The metric system is used as the system of measurement in most countries throughout the
world, while the United States has traditionally used the English system, although the use of the
metric system has become more common in the recent years.

- Fundamental and Derived Quantities

Several quantities in physics like volume, density, velocity, and acceleration are
expressed in units which are not measurable directly by instruments. These are
combinations of fundamental units used for the three fundamental quantities namely:
length, mass, and time.
Fundamental quantities are measurable directly using standard instruments. All
other quantities are considered derived quantities, which are obtained by multiplying or
dividing the fundamental units.

- SI Units
In 1960, an international agreement was made specifying a particular choice of
metric units for use in scientific measurements. These preferred units are called SI Units.
It was named after the French Le Systeme International d’Unites which opted for a
universal, unified and self-consistent system of measurement units based on the MKS
(meter-kilogram-second) system.
Limitations of Measurement
Numbers obtained by measurement are always approximate. There are always inherent
limitations in the equipment used to measure quantities (equipment errors) and there are
differences in how different people make the same measurement (human errors). Measured
values may be described as either precise or accurate depending on degree of uncertainties.
Precision is a measure of how closely individual measurements agree with one another while
accuracy refers to how closely individual measurements agree with the true value.

Significant Figures
Measured quantities are generally reported in such way that only the last digit is
uncertain. All digits, including the last one, are called significant figures. Significant figures
represents the number of units we have counted in making the measurement. The number of
significant figures indicates the exactness of measurement.

Listed below are the guidelines to apply for determining the number of significant figures
in a measured quantity:
1. All non-zero are significant. (for example the mass 286.9 g has four (4) significant
figures; the time 22.5 sec has only three (3))
2. A zero appearing between two non-zero digits are significant. (201.06 cm has five (5)
significant figures while 4.008 kg has only four (4))
3. Zeroes that appear to the left of an understood decimal point but to the right of a non-zero
digits are not significant (unless otherwise indicated). (for example, 93,000,000 miles has
only two significant figure and 186,000 mi/s has only three)
4. Zeroes to the left of an expressed decimal point and to the right of a non-zero digit are
significant. (for example 5,280. ft contains four significant figures and 104,800. has six)
5. Zeroes to the right of a decimal point but to the left of a non-zero digit are not significant.
(ex. 0.00129 gm/cm3 contains three (3) significant figures and the measurement 0.00047
mm has only two)
6. Zeroes to the right of a decimal point and to the right of a non-zero digit are significant.
(for example, 0.0510 cm contains three significant figures and 16.0000 cm has six
significant figures) Note: in decimal numbers less than one, the zero that is placed to the
left of the decimal point is never significant.

Scalars and Vectors

Many of the quantities we use in physics are completely described when their magnitudes
is given (ex. temperature of an object, cost of a unit of energy, or a volume of a box). Quantities
like these are called scalars. Scalar is a quantity which is completely specified by a number or by
its magnitude. Vectors, on the other hand, is a quantity which requires both direction and
magnitude for its complete specification.
Motion
- Velocity: Average velocity, Instantaneous velocity, and Motion with constant velocity.
- Falling Bodies
- Projectiles

What is Motion?

Motion means a change of place or position. There is motion when a body changes
position relative to the position of another body.
For example, a car is in motion when it changes position with respect to the road.
And if when two cars move side by side at exactly the same speed and direction
maintaining the same distance between them, one car has no motion with respect to the other and
vice versa. But, if one moves faster than the other or one changes direction from the other then
there is a motion in one car with respect to the other and vice versa.
The study of the relations of distance, velocity, and acceleration is known as Kinematics.
Kinematics is concerned with motions only, with no references to the forces involved.

Velocity:
Speed and velocity are different in the study of physics. Because speed is the scalar
magnitude of the velocity vector (for example: the speed of the car is approximately 66 km per
hour). Velocity, on the other hand, is defined as the time rate of change of motion, the change
being possible in the magnitude of the motion, its direction, or both simultaneously (for example:
the velocity of the car is at 36 km per hour in a North-West direction).
(in a straight-line motion at constant speed, both speed and velocity are constant)

Average Velocity
It is defined as the distance traveled per unit time.
Obviously, the value of the average velocity will vary with the time intervals we take.

Examples:
1. A car covers a distance of 50 km in ½ hour. What is its speed in km/hr and in m/s?
2. How far a car travels in 40 minutes if the average speed is 70 km/hr?
3. How long does it take a light to travel the 93,000,000 miles between the earth and the sun
if the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second?

Instantaneous Velocity
The instantaneous velocity of an object is its actual velocity at a given instant, as it might
be measured by a speedometer. In many situations, the instantaneous velocity will be given or
known, such as when the velocity is constant or when it is changing uniformly.

Motion with constant velocity

Motion with constant velocity is the simplest case of motion possible.

Motion with uniform acceleration

An object is said to be accelerated whenever its velocity changes in magnitude, direction,
or both at once.
 Acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity, the change being possible in the
magnitude of the velocity, in its direction, or in both simultaneously.

Examples
1. A car starts from rest and reaches a speed of 57 km/hr in 10 seconds. What is the
acceleration?
2. An object, starting from rest, is given an acceleration of 11 m/s2 for 10 seconds. What is
the speed at the end of the given time?
3. How long will it take a rocket to attain a speed of 3,500 ft/s if it is given an acceleration
of 958 ft/s2?

Distance-time Relation for Constant Acceleration

If a car is uniformly accelerated from rest, how far does it travel in a given time?

Example: A car starts from rest and reaches a speed of 60 m/s in 30 seconds. How far does it
travel during this time?

Distance-velocity Relation for Constant Acceleration

In some motion problems we may not be interested in the time explicitly.

Positive and Negative Acceleration (Horizontal Motion)

Whenever the acceleration is opposite in direction to the velocity, it is a negative
acceleration.

Falling Bodies

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

He was born in Pisa, Italy, in February 15, 1564. His life contributed an important
chapter to the struggle for the freedom of expression of scientific ideas. After overcoming many
obstacles, Galileo became a skilled experimenter and a famous university lecturer. While
watching the swinging lamps of a cathedral, he discovered a law concerning the behavior of a
pendulum. He was one of the first to build a telescope, and he was the first to see the moons of
Jupiter, His fame, however, rest mainly on an experiment he is said to have performed at the
Leaning tower of Pisa.
For nearly two thousand years learned men had thought that all heavy objects fell faster
than light objects, for Aristotle (384-322 BC), the great Greek philosopher, had stated that this
was the case. Galileo suggested that this statement should be tested by an experiment.
Accordingly (if the story is true), he balanced a 10 pound weight and a 1 pound weight on
the overhanging ledge of the tower of Pisa. He then pushed them off together, they fell together
and struck the earth together.
To study the laws of falling objects, Galileo built a board about 10 meters long with a
trough in it lined with parchment to reduce friction, he then raised the board slightly at one end
and allowed a polished brass ball to roll down the inclined plane. In this way Galileo decreased
the effective force of gravity that acts on a freely falling ball and thereby reduced its downward
acceleration. The smaller acceleration made it possible for him to make a more accurate
measurements than he could have with a ball falling vertically.
 After many trials, Galileo discovered two laws governing the motion of the ball. The first
law is that the velocity of a ball rolling down an inclined plane is proportional to the time that it
rolls. The second law was the distance that the ball rolls is proportional to the square of the time
it rolls.

Freely Falling Bodies

The two laws of Galileo also apply to any object falling freely in space when air
resistance is negligible. A freely falling object accelerates close to 9.81 m/s 2 or 32 ft/s2 due to
gravity.

Examples
1. A ball starting from rest rolls down an inclined plane 350 cm long in 5 seconds. (a) What
is the speed of the ball at the end of 5 seconds? (b) How far did the ball roll during the
third second?
2. A stone was dropped from a tower 650 feet high. (a) How long did it take to reach the
ground? (b) What was the final velocity when it struck the ground? (c) What was the
average velocity?

Positive and Negative Acceleration (Vertical Motion)

Suppose you threw a ball straight up into the air. How will its velocity change during its
rise and fall, assuming that any resistance is neglected?
During all the time the ball is in the air the force of gravity acts on it and gives it a
downward acceleration of 9.81 m/s2. As long as the ball is rising, it velocity is upward and its
acceleration due to gravity is downward.
When acceleration on an object is opposite in direction to its velocity, the acceleration is
said to be negative. In its rise upward, the ball continues to lose velocity until it reaches the top
of its flight, then it starts to fall, gaining a downward velocity at the rate of 32 ft/s2. As the
acceleration and the velocity are in the same direction, the acceleration is called positive.
Since the ball loses velocity during its rise at the same rate it gains velocity during its fall,
the time of rise is the same. Neglecting all resistance and friction, the time of rise of any matter
that is thrown upward is the same to the time of fall.

Example: A ball is thrown upward with a velocity of 42.6 m/s (neglect air resistance) (a) how
long will it remain in the air, and (b) how high will it rise?

Projectiles
Suppose an object is moving horizontally at the same time it is falling. Does the
horizontal motion affect the vertical motion or vice-versa? It turns out that the two motions,
horizontal and vertical, are quite independent to each other. This behavior is called projectile
motion. A projectile is a body moving horizontally and falling like the bullet from a rifle that is
fired in a horizontal position.
The path traced by its projectile is called trajectory. Because of the force of gravity, the
bullet begins to fall the instant it leaves the rifle. For this reason, rifle sights are so adjusted that
the rifle is aimed at a point above the target, while the line of sight is in line with the target. The
longer the range is, the more time the bullet has to fall.