I.

Introduction

A. The Nature of Physics: Behavior and composition of matter and

energy and their interactions.

1. 2 main branches:
a) Classical Physics:
i) Mechanics (covered in General Physics I).

ii) Thermodynamics (covered in General Physics I).

iii) Fluid Mechanics (covered in General Physics I).

iv) Electromagnetism (covered in General Physics

II).

v) Optics (covered in General Physics II).

vi) Wave Mechanics (covered in General Physics II)..

b) Modern Physics:
i) Special Relativity and General Relativity.

ii) Quantum Mechanics (also called Atomic Physics).

iii) Nuclear Physics.

iv) Statistical Mechanics (thermodynamics in terms

of probabilities).

v) Condensed Matter (once called Solid State Physics).

1
4 Foundation Physics

2. Physics is written in the language of mathematics and is based

upon logical thought processes.
a) Physics represents the foundation of all of the physical
sciences, which includes astronomy, geology, chemistry,
and their various subfields.

b) The science of astronomy, the oldest of all of the physical

sciences, is firmly rooted in physics and both share the
same history as mankind attempted to understand the
workings of nature.

3. Matter moves (i.e., follows trajectories) as a result of a force

being applied to it.
a) Contact forces: Force exerted through a collision as de-
scribed by Newton’s 2nd law of motion: F = ma.

b) Field (or natural) forces: Force exerted on an object

from its location in some natural potential field. There
are 4 field forces in nature:

Interaction Relative Strength Range

Strong‡ 1 10−15 m
Electromagnetic† ‡ 10−2 ∞
Weak† ‡ 10−6 10−17 m
Gravitational 10−43 ∞
† - Under high energies, the electromagnetic and
weak forces act as one — the Electroweak force.
‡ - Under even higher energies, all of the natural
forces (except gravity) also may act as one,
as described by the Grand Unified Theory.
B. The Structure of Physics.

1. There are 6 key definitions that are useful in the description of

physics.
 5

a) Concept: An idea or physical quantity used to analyze

nature (e.g., “space,” “length,” “mass,” and “time”
are concepts).

b) Laws: Mathematical relationships between physical quan-

tities.

c) Principle: A very general statement on how nature op-

erates (e.g., the principle of relativity, that there is no
absolute frames of reference, is the bases behind the the-
ory of relativity).

d) Models: A representation of a physical system (e.g., the

Bohr model atom).

e) Hypothesis: The tentative stages of a model that has

not been confirmed through experiment and/or observa-
tion (e.g., Ptolomy’s model solar system).

f ) Theory: Hypotheses that are confirmed through repeated

experiment and/or observation (e.g., Newton’s theory of
gravity). The word “theory” has different meanings in
common English (i.e., it can mean that one is making a
guess at something). However, it has a very precise
meaning in science! Something does not become
a theory in science unless it has been validated
through repeated experiment as described by the
scientific method.

2. Scientific theories are developed through the use of the scientific

method:

a) A hypothesis is developed from every day experiences or

from an instant of insight.
 4
Foundation Physics

b) Often, a model is constructed from the hypothesis. Note

that not all hypotheses have models associated with them.

c) The hypothesis/model is tested via repeated experiment

and/or observation.

d) If the hypothesis/model is confirmed from the experi-

ments and/or observations, it becomes a theory.

3. Theory is not a dirty word! In science, the word theory does

not mean one has no proof (as this word is commonly used).
Indeed, in order for a hypothesis to be accepted as a theory, one
must present experimental and/or observational verification.

C. Units of Measure.

1. There are three different unit systems that are used in science
and engineering. In the list below, the first two are commonly
called the metric system.
a) International Standard (SI) units (once called mks
[for meter-kilogram-second] units). This is the unit sys-
tem used by most scientists.

b) cgs (for centimeter-gram-second) units. This unit system

is still used in some areas of science (e.g., astronomy and
thermodynamics).

c) English units (foot-slug-second), also called American,

British, or Empirical units. This unit system is considered
archaic by the scientific community. The United States is
the only technologically advanced country that still uses
this system (though American scientists do not use it).
Strangely, American engineers still use the English sys-
tem.
 5

2Si units they are about seven basic units ,the table below shows basic units.
independent concepts in physics: length, mass, and time. For
the SI unit system, these 3 concepts are measured in units of:

3. Metric Prefixes: Since physics often deals with very large and
very small numbers for the measurement of units, the metric
system contain prefixes for units as shown in the table below.

Metric Prefix† Numeric Multiplier Multiplier Name

yotta- (Y-) 1024 septillion
zetta- (Z-) 1021 sextillion
exa- (E-) 1018 quintillion
peta- (P-) 1015 quadrillion
tera- (T-) 1012 trillion
giga- (G-) 109 billion
mega- (M-) 106 million
kilo- (k-) 103 thousand
hecto- (h-) 102 hundred
deka- (da-) 10 ten
deci- (d-) 10−1 tenth
centi- (c-) 10−2 hundredth
milli- (m-) 10−3 thousandth
micro- (µ-) 10−6 millionth
nano- (n-) 10−9 billionth
pico- (p-) 10−12 trillionth
femto- (f-) 10−15 quadrillionth
atto- (a-) 10−18 quintillionth
zepto- (z-) 10−21 sextillionth
yocto- (y-) 10−24 septillionth
6 Foundation Physics

In the previous table, the prefix name (see the column marked
with †), has an abbreviation in parentheses associated with the
name that can be associated with the abbreviation for the unit.
For instance, centimeter is written in abbreviation form as ‘cm’
and microjoule is written in abbreviation form as µJ.

4. In order to solve problems in physics, one needs to express all

parameters given in the same unit system — this is accomplished
with conversion of units:
103 m  1 hr
!  
mi 5.0 mi 1.6 km m
! !
v = 5.0 =  = 2.2 .
hr hr mi km 3600s s
Note in the example above that there are 1.6 km in one mile [mi],
103 m in one kilometer [km], and 3600 s (seconds) in one hour
[hr]. Also note that the conversion fractions have been set up
such that the units cancel until we wind up with the units we
want (SI units).

D. Scientific Notation.

1. In physics you often find numbers that are both very large and
very small. To handle such numbers, scientists express numbers
using scientific notation:

m × 10n .
a) Rule #1: m is called the mantissa of the number and
can be a positive or negative real number, where the ab-
solute value of m ranges anywhere from (and equal to) 1.0
up to (but not including) 10:

1.0 ≤ |m| < 10.

b) Rule #2: n is called the exponent of the number and

must be a positive or negative integer that ranges from
−∞ to +∞:
 7

−∞, ..., −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ..., ∞ .

2. Powers of 10:

1, 000, 000 = 106 0.000001 = 10−6

100, 000 = 105 0.00001 = 10−5
10, 000 = 104 0.0001 = 10−4
1, 000 = 103 0.001 = 10−3
100 = 102 0.01 = 10−2
10 = 101 0.1 = 10−1
1 = 100 1.0 = 100

3. In terms of scientific notation, the numbers 232 and 0.0232 are

expressed as

232 = 2.32 × 102 and 0.0232 = 2.32 × 10−2

4. Multiplication:

(4.6 × 1016 ) (2.0 × 102 ) = (4.6 × 2.0) × 1016+2 = 9.2 × 1018

(−5.0 × 108 ) (6.0 × 10−10 ) = (−5.0 × 6.0) × 108+(−10) = −30. × 108−10
= −30. × 10−2 = −3.0 × 10−1 = −0.30

5. Division:
(6.3 × 108 ) 6.3
4
= × 108−4 = 2.1 × 104
(3.0 × 10 ) 3.0
(6.3 × 108 ) 6.3
−4
= × 108−(−4) = 2.1 × 108+4 = 2.1 × 1012
(3.0 × 10 ) 3.0
I–8 Foundation Physics

6. Raising to a power:

(200)2 = (2.0 × 102 )2 = (2.0)2 × 102×2 = 4.0 × 104

(1600)1/2 = (16 × 102 )1/2 = [(4.0)2 ]1/2 × (102 )1/2
= (4.0)2·1/2 × 102·1/2 = 4.0 × 10 = 40.
√ √
Note that x ≡ x1/2 , 3 x ≡ x1/3, etc. Hence, the square root is
the same as raising a number or variable to the one-half power.
The “≡” symbol means “defined to be.”

7. Significant Digits.
a) In multiplication and division, the number of significant
figures (or digits) in the final result should be equal to
that factor with the least number of significant digits:

(3.0379624 × 10−24 ) (2.6 × 10−2 )

= 2.514261 × 10−20
(3.14156 × 10−6 )
= 2.5 × 10−20

b) In addition and subtraction, the vertical column contain-

ing the least significant digit limits the result:
37.26972 (7 s.d.)
25.43 (4 s.d.)
.837 (3 s.d.)
101.22 (5 s.d.)
3.1 (2 s.d.)
167.85672 = 167.9 (4 s.d.)
Here we rounded the least significant digit up by one since
the digit just to the right of it is 5 or above.

c) To add or subtract numbers written in scientific notation,

one must first re-express the numbers such that they all
have the same power of 10. Then the addition or subtrac-
tion is carried out following the technique above:
 9

3.7697 ×10−4 = 376.97 ×10−6

-2.892 ×10−6 = -2.892 ×10−6
374.078 ×10−6 = 3.7408 × 10−4

d) The significant digits of powers and roots are treated the

same as multiplication and division.

e) When an expression has both addition/subtraction and

multiplication/division, both rules will have to be used in
the order defined by the equation set-up.

E. Coordinate Systems.

1. Cartesian or orthogonal coordinates (x, y, z).

a) 2–D (x, y):

P(x, y)

O x
x

b) 3–D (x, y, z): (Note that the 3 axes in Cartesian 3-D

space have a specific orientation that follows the right-
hand rule: With your right hand thumb extended per-
pendicularly away from your hand, follow the rotation of
10 PYC 101 - Foundation Physics

the x-axis with your fingers curving towards the y-axis.

Then, the direction your thumb points is the direction
that the z-axis points.)
z

P
(x, y, z)

O
y
x

=⇒ Note that the data point P (x, y, z) is x units out of

the page from the origin, y units to the right of the origin,
and z units above the origin.

2. Polar coordinates (r, θ) can also be used in 2–D situations. In

3–D, polar coordinates become either spherical coordinates
(r, θ, φ) or cylindrical coordinates (r, θ, z). Here, we will
just focus on 2-D polar coordinates.

a) r is called the radius vector as is the distance that a

point is from the origin.

b) θ (Greek letter “theta”) is the angle that the radius vec-

tor, r, makes with the +x-axis (i.e., the reference axis).
Note that when the radius vector r rotates in the counter-
 11

clockwise (CCW) direction with respect to the reference

axis, θ is positive (θ > 0), and when r rotates in the clock-
wise (CW) direction with respect to the reference axis, θ
is negative (θ < 0).

P
(r, θ)

θ
O x

3. Coordinate Conversion.
a) To convert from polar coordinates to Cartesian coordi-
nates, use

x = r cos θ (I-1)
y = r sin θ (I-2)

b) To convert from Cartesian coordinates to polar coordi-

nates, use

q
r = x2 + y 2 (I-3)
tan θ = y/x (I-4)
I–12 PYC 101 - Foundation Physics

c) Note that the above ‘tan θ’ conversion equation (Eq. I-4) is

only valid in Quadrant I (+x, +y) of polar plots. If the ra-
dius vector is in Quadrant II or Quadrant III (see the plots
below), the calculated θ in the tangent equation above is
measured with respect to the negative x-axis (hence −x
is the reference axis in these cases). If the radius vector is
in Quadrant IV, +x is the reference axis (like Quadrant
I), but one gets a negative value for θ since it is rotating
clockwise with respect to the reference axis. In this case,
since θ is measured with respect to the +x axis rotating
in the counterclockwise direction, θ = 360◦ +θIV as shown
below.
y y

5 5

II I

θ θII θ
x x
2 -2

III IV
θII = tan-1 (y/x) = tan-1 (5/-2) = -68o
θ = tan-1 (y/x) = tan-1 (5/2) = 68o θ = 180o + θII = 180o + (-68o) = 112o

y y

θIII = tan-1 (y/x) = tan-1 (-5/-2) = 68o θIV = tan-1 (y/x) = tan-1 (-5/2) = -68o
θ = 180o + θIII = 180o + 68o = 248o θ = 360o + θIV = 360o + (-68o) = 292o

-2 θ θ 2

θIII x x
θIV

-5 -5
II. Mathematical Techniques

A. Dimensional Analysis.

1. Always make sure that all terms in an equation have the same
dimensions (i.e., units).

2. Then try to reduce a parameter in an equation to a combination

of the three basic concepts: length [L], mass [M], and time
[T].

3. For example, the acceleration of a body in a gravitational field

is proportional to the mass of the primary body and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance:
M
a=G ,
r2
where G is a constant. From this formula, find the dimensions of
G.
[a] = L T−2 [M ] = M [r] = L ,
where L represents length, M represents mass, and T represents
time. Then
ar2 [a] [r]2 L T−2 L2
G= =⇒ [G] = = = L3 M−1 T−2
M [M ] M
or the dimensions of G in the basic (i.e., fundamental ) units in
SI are m3 /kg/s2 .

4. When a symbol or variable has square brackets around it, this

means: what are the dimensions (i.e., units) of this symbol or
variable?

13
14 Foundation Physics

B. Algebra Review.
x n
1. Cross multiplication: mx = ny ⇐⇒ = .
y m

2. Factoring: y = mx + mb ⇐⇒ y = m(x + b) .

3. Powers & Roots:

a) a × a × a × a × a × a × a = a7
or
a × a × · · · (m − times) · · · × a = am
“a” is raised to the “mth” power.
√
b) a1/m = m
a =⇒ “mth” root of “a.”

c) a0 ≡ 1 (note that the “≡” symbol means “defined to be”).

1
d) a−m = .
am
am
!m
m m m a
e) (ab) = a b , = m = am b−m .
b b

m n am
m+n
f) a a = a , n
= am−n .
a
√
g) (am)n = amn , n am = am/n .

4. Exponentials and Logarithms:

y = ax (base “a” to power “x”)
x = log a y (the exponent of “a” that yields “y”)
a) Product: log a (xy) = log a x + log a y .
x
!
b) Quotient: log a = log a x − log a y .
y

c) Power: log a (y n ) = n log a y .

 15

d) Two common bases:

i) Base 10 ⇒ common logarithms:

log a = log10 ≡ log

x = log y ⇐⇒ y = 10x .

ii) Base e = 2.71828... ⇒ natural logarithms:

log a = log e ≡ ln

x = ln y ⇐⇒ y = ex .

C. Basic Trigonometry.

1. Right-Angle Triangle Relationships:

a) Consider the triangle in the following figure – here a and
b are called ‘legs’ of this triangle and c is called the hy-
potenuse, which is the side opposite the right angle (in-
dicated with a ‘square box’ in the figure below).

φ
c
a

b) Note that the sum of the internal angles of a triangle is

equal to 180◦ , as such, θ + φ + 90◦ = 180◦ . The angles
θ and φ in the diagram above must add up to 90◦ since
the third angle is the ‘right’ angle (i.e., 90◦ ). The angles
θ and φ are said to be complementary angles. Also note
16 Foundation Physics

that besides ‘degrees,’ we can also measure angles in units

of ‘radians,’ where π radians = 180◦ .

c) Below we define the 3 primary trigonometry functions,

sine, cosine, and tangent, and we show the Pythagorean
Theorem in terms of the sides of a right-angle triangle
(i.e., a2 + b2 = c2 ) and the angular version of this theorem
(i.e., sin2 θ + cos2 θ = 1).

a b a sin θ
sin θ = , cos θ = , tan θ = =
c c b cos θ
2 2 2 2 2
a +b =c or sin θ + cos θ = 1
π
θ + φ = 90◦ = radians.
2
d) So we see that the sine of an angle (i.e., using angle θ in
the figure above) is equal to the ratio of the length of the
opposite side (i.e., side a) of the angle to the length of the
hypotenuse (i.e., side c); the cosine of the angle is defined
to be the ratio of the length of the adjacent side (i.e., side
b) to the length of the hypotenuse, and the tangent of
the angle is the length of the opposite side to the length
of the adjacent side.

e) Two triangles are said to be similar if they have the same

internal angles. When we have similar triangles, the ratio
of corresponding sides in both triangles are always equal,
regardless of the lengths of their sides. This fact is of-
ten useful when dealing with vectors in physics. We will
make use of this when we represent vector addition and
subtraction graphically.

f ) All trigonometric functions have an inverse function asso-

ciated with the specific function. For example, for angle
θ in the triangle on page II-3 we have:
 17

a b a
! ! !
−1
θ = sin = cos−1 = tan−1 .
c c b

2. Generic triangle relationships:

Usually, the mathematics of right-angle triangles is sufficient to
add and subtract vector quantities. Occasionally, the more gen-
eral triangle relations summarized here may be useful.

b
C
A

a) Law of sines:
sin A sin B sin C
= = .
a b c
b) Law of cosines:

a2 = b2 + c2 − 2bc cos A ,
b2 = a2 + c2 − 2ac cos B ,
c2 = a2 + b2 − 2ab cos C .

c) The equations above correspond to the generic triangle

shown in the above figure. There are other useful trigono-
metric identities that are sometimes useful in solving physics
problems. In the equations below, angles α and β are two
angles in a given generic triangle shown above.
18 Foundation Physics

3. Additional useful trigonometric identities:

a) Angle-sum and angle-difference relations:

sin(α + β) = sin α cos β + cos α sin β

sin(α − β) = sin α cos β − cos α sin β
cos(α + β) = cos α cos β − sin α sin β
cos(α − β) = cos α cos β + sin α sin β
tan α + tan β
tan(α + β) =
1 − tan α tan β
tan α − tan β
tan(α − β) =
1 + tan α tan β

b) Double-angle relations:

2 tan α
sin 2α = 2 sin α cos α =
1 + tan2 α
cos 2α = cos2 α − sin2 α = 2 cos2 α − 1 = 1 − 2 sin2 α
1 − tan2 α
=
1 + tan2 α
2 tan α
tan 2α =
1 − tan2 α

D. Scalars and Vectors.

1. A scalar has magnitude but no directional information (e.g., ‘v’

is a scalar).
a) 4 kg and 600 K are scalars.

b) 420 km/s is a scalar (i.e., speed).

 19

2. A vector has both magnitude and directional information (e.g.,

‘~v ’ is a vector).
a) 420 km/s to the NW (northwest) is a vector (i.e., veloc-
ity).

b) 420 km/s NW is not equal to 420 km/s SE (southeast)!

c) Note that in these course notes I will always represent

~
a vector with an arrow over the variable letter (e.g., A),
whereas your textbook indicates a vector with a boldface
letter (e.g., A).

d) Arithmetic for scalars and vectors are handled differently

with respect to each other. We will describe vector arith-
metic in §IV of these notes.