Crash Course Summary

CSEC Physics 2022

Topics for June 2022

1. Graph work and Analysis of data
2. Radioactive Decay
3. Half-life
4. Nuclear Energy
5. Vectors
6. Forces
7. Newton’s Law
8. Temperature
9. Gas Laws
10. Hydrostatics
11. Wave Motion
12. Sound
13. Lenses
14. Current Electricity
15. Electrical Quantities
16. Circuit Diagrams
 1. Graph work and Analysis of data
2. Radioactive Decay
3. Half-life
4. Nuclear Energy

Particles in the atom

The emission of ionizing radiation or particles caused by the spontaneous disintegration of atomic nuclei.

Gold oil Experiment – Geiger and Marsden

Conclusion
Ø Empty space
Ø Small positive core
Ø Small dense core

"
!𝑋
A – mass/ number of nucleon
Z- atomic/ umber of protons

Radioactive emissions
1. Alpha- 𝛼 : $#𝐻𝑒 #%

2. Beta- 𝛽 : &'( 𝑒 -1

3. 𝛾 – ray: energy

Half – Life
The time taken for the radioactivity of a specified isotope to fall to half its present value.
 '
Fraction Left: [n – number of half lives]
#!

Einstein energy mass-relationship

E = ∆mc2
∆m = 𝑚) - 𝑚*
C = 3 x 108 ms-1 (speed of light)
 5. Vectors
6. Forces
7. Newton’s Law

Scalar and Vector Quantities

• A scalar quantity is one that has magnitude only eg. Mass

• A vector quantity has both magnitude and direction eg. Force
The following table gives a list of quantities that are either vector or scalar.
Scalar Vector

Mass Displacement

Distance Weight

Speed Velocity

Time Acceleration

Force

Forces

• When force act on a object they ca either cause an object to move or bring it to
equilibrium. Regardless the number of forces acting on the object it can only move
off in one direction. This direction is that of the resultant force. To find the resultant
force acting on an object we can either
1. Find the algebraic sum of all the forces acting on the object
2. Apply paralellogram’s law.

Newton laws of motion

1st: A body stays at rest, or if moving it continues to move with uniform velocity, unless an
unbalanced force makes it behave differently.
Newton’s first law can also be called the Law of Inertia. The inertia of an object is its
reluctance to motion. IF M2 > M1
M2 requires a greater force
M2 has the higher inertia

Note that this implies that the mass of a body measures its inertia.

2nd: (F ∝ a / F = ma) states that the resultant force acting on an object is directly proportional
to its acceleration and they both take place in the same direction. This implies that a large
force is required to have a large acceleration.
SI Unit for Force = Newton (N)
1 Newton is defined as the force that gives a mass of 1kg and an acceleration of 1ms-2

1N = 1kg × 1ms-2 = 1kgms-2

If an object has increasing velocity

↓
It is accelerating
↓
It has a resultant force acting on it

If it has a constant velocity

↓
It has no acceleration
↓
It has no resultant force

3rd: If body A exerts a force on body B then body B exerts an equal but opposite force on
body A.
The law states that every action has an equal but opposite reaction

Note that the equal and opposite forces do not act on the same body.
Momentum

Linear momentum of an object is defined as its product of its mass and velocity. It is given
by the formula:
𝜌 = mv
SI Unit= kgms-1 or Ns
Conservation Of Momentum

It states that when two or more bodies collide the total momentum before collision is equal to
the total momentum after collision provided no external forces act. It can be observed or
illustrated in the following example: (Note that momentum is a vector quantity)
 8. Temperature
9. Gas Laws

Temperature

Temperature – how hot or cold a substance and is measure in Kelvin/K.

To covert from 0C à K …. +273
-273 0C = OK = absolute zero

Upper fixed points- The upper fixed point, or steam point, is the temperature of pure boiling water at normal
atmospheric pressure.
Lower fixed points- The lower fixed point, or ice point, is the temperature of pure melting ice at normal
atmospheric pressure.

Thermometers
Ø Liquid in glass
Ø Clinical
Ø Thermocouple
Ø Resistance

The Table below shows the difference between the Clinical and Liquid in glass thermometer.
 GAS LAWS

Kinetic theory of Gases

1. Gas molecules are in constant random motion.
2. Constantly colliding with each other (resulting in a pressure).
3. The volume of the particles is negligible when compared to the gas itself.
4. Forces of attraction between the particles are negligible.

Gas Laws
Boyle’s law states that the volume of a fixed mass of gas is inversely proportional to the pressure, if the
temperature is kept constant:
'
P ∝ + (temperature is constant). P1V1 = P2V2
Charles law states that the volume of fixed mass of gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature if the
pressure is kept constant:
, ,
v ∝ T (P is constant) -" = -#
" #
Pressure law states that the pressure of a fixed mass of gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature if
the pressure is kept constant:
. .
P ∝ 𝑇 (V is constant) -" = -#
" #

!/ "/ !0 "0
General Gas Law: #/
= #0
used when neither P, V nor T are constant.
 10. Hydrostatics

Hydro Statics
Pressure in a solid – defined as the force acting per unit area.

𝐹
P= SI Unit =
𝐴 Pascal/Pa
= Nm-1

Kgm1s-2 . m-2
→ kgm-1 s-2

For a constant force pressure on a solid depends on the area. A small area exerts a larger
pressure than a large will.

Pressure in a liquid – is defined by the following formulae:

PL = pgh
SI Unit = Pa
= kgm-1 s-2

r = density
g = acceleration due to gravity
h = height

The formula implies that the lower we go into a liquid the greater the pressure exerted.

Experiment to show:
1. Pressure varies by depth
2. Pressure at the same horizontal level is the same
Hydraulic Machines (Application of Pressure)

The hydraulic jack takes a small force applied at the small piston and transfers its pressure
through an incompressible liquid to the last piston. At the large piston the pressure exerts a
large force on the large piston.
Example:
F small= 10
Area small = 5m2
Area large = 25m2

Find force on larger piston

𝐹 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙
Pressure on small piston =
𝐴 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙

=
= 2 Pa

Pressure on large = Pressure on small

= 2 Pa
Therefore F large = PLARGE × ALARGE
= 2 × 25 m2
Force on large piston = 100N

Atmospheric Pressure

The air on the earth’s atmosphere stretches upward a long way, Because of this it exerts
a large pressure because of its weight at sea level. Atmospheric pressure is generally
100kilopascaland it acts equally in all directions.

Note: In absence of atmospheric pressure implies that there is no air and the system is a
vacuum.
Demonstration of Atmospheric Pressure

1. Collapsing can – If air is removed from a can by a vacuum pump the can
collapses because air pressure inside is smaller than the pressure outside.

2. Drinking from a straw – When you pull up through the straw your lungs expand
and air passes into them from the straw. The atmosphere pressure pushing down
on the surface of the liquid is now greater than the pressure of the air in the straw
and as a result forces the liquid up through the straw into your mouth.

3. A simple ‘U’ shaped manometer - Is used to find the pressure of unknown

substances, generally gases. Below is
a simple example of how pressure of gas is found/ can be found.

Archimedes Principle

This states that when an object is wholly or partially submerged in water then the weight a
fluid displaced is equal to an upward force called upthrust.

Up thrust = weight of fluid displaced

= mf g
$
𝑚 Since 𝜌 =%
Mf = pf vf
U = pf vf g

Also Vs = Vf
Therefore U = pf vs g

Experiment to verify Archimedes Principle

Step 1: Find the weight of the object

Step 2: Fully submerged the object into the water.
Step 3: Find the weight of the water in the displacement can.
Step 4: Note the reading on the spring balance when submerged.
Step 5: Find the up thrust → up thrust = weight – reading on spring balance.
Step 6: The up thrust should be equal to the weight of the fluid displaced.

Flotation

For an object to: float: U = W

Sink = W > U
Rise = U < W
 11. Wave Motion
12. Sound
13. Lenses

Waves carry energy from one place to another.

1. Transverse: vibrate perpendicular to direction of motion. E.g. light waves
2. Longitudinal: vibrate parallel to direction of motion. E.g. sound waves

Wavelength, 𝜆 – the distance between successive crests.

Frequency, f – is the number of complete waves generated per second.
Period T – is the time for one wave to be generated.
Speed, v – is the distance moved by the crests or any point on the wave in one second.
Amplitude, a – is the height of the crests.
A displacement time graph for a transverse wave shows how the displacement of one
vibrating particle at a certain distance along the wave varies with time.
The Wave Equation
The faster the end of the rope is waggled, he shorter is the wavelength of the wave produced.
That is, the higher the frequency of the wave, the smaller its wavelength.

Speed of a wave = frequency × wavelength

V=fλ

Sound waves
Ultrasonic
Sound waves with frequencies above 20kHz are called ultrasonic waves. They are emitted by
bats and enable them to judge the distance of an object from the time taken by the reflected
wave to return. The same idea is used in spectacles for the blind. These contain an ultrasonic
sender and receiver. In the echo sounding system called sonar, ships use ultrasonic waves to
measure the depth of the sea and to detect shoals of fish. In the industry they are used to
reveal flaws in welded joints also holes of any shape or size are cut in glass and steel by
ultrasonic drills.
Sound is a vibration that typically propagates as an audible wave of pressure, through a
transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology,
sound is the reception of such waves and their perception by the brain.
Sound also gives interference and diffraction effects. Because of this and its properties, we
believe it is a form of energy which travels as a wave, but of a type called progressive
longitudinal.
Pitch – the pitch of a note depends on the frequency of the sound wave reaching the ear.
Loudness – a note is louder when more sound energy enters our ears per second than before
and is caused by the source vibrating with a larger amplitude.

Lenses
Lenses often has spherical surfaces and are usually made of glass. A convex lens is thickest
in the center and is also called a converging les because it bends light inwards. You may have
used one as a magnifying glass, or as a burning glass. A concave or diverging lens is the
thinnest in the center and spreads out light. It always gives a diminished image. The center of
a lens is its optical center C, the line through C at right angles to the lens is the principal axis.
The action of a lens can be understood by treating it as a number of prisms, each of which
bends the ray towards the base. The center acts as a parallel side block.

Magnification
The linear magnification is given by
&'()&* ,- ($.)'
m = &'()&* ,- ,/0'1*

Lens Maker formula

, , , ./
-
= .
+ /
or. f = .0/

f- focal length
u – object distance
v – image distance
 14. Current Electricity
15. Electrical Quantities
16. Circuit Diagrams

Current, I
1
I = (A)
2
Ø Charge flowing per unit time

Symbols

Supply
AC
DC

Series and Parallel Circuits

I- V Characteristics

The above is circuit is used to determine the I-V characteristics of an electrical

component.

Filament Lamp

Metallic Conductor
 M = Resistor
+
Ohm’s Law = R = 3
V = IR
Other formulae:
W = QV
W = VIT
P= IV
+#
P= 4
P = I2R (Power Loss)
Series Parallel
I Same Splits up

V Splits up Same

R RT =R1 + R2 + R3 ' ' ' '

=4 +4 +4
4$ " # %

Bills
1 unit => 1 KWh
E => P * T