Chapter 1 Notes

Physical
Quantities, Units
_____ & Measurement
Physical quantities and SI units

Basic Quantity Name of SI Unit SI Unit

Length Metre m
Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second s
Thermodynamic temperature Kelvin K
Amount of substance Mole mol

Example 1:
What are the derived units of density?

𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒔
𝑫𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 =
𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆
𝒌𝒈
𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 =
𝒎𝟑

Prefixes

Prefix Multiple Symbol Factor Order of

magnitude
Giga 1 000 000 G 109 9
000
Mega 1 000 000 M 106 6
Kilo 1000 K 103 3
Deci 0.1 D 10-1 -1
Centi 0.01 C 10-2 -2
Milli 0.001 M 10-3 -3
Micro 0.000 001  10-6 -6
Nano 0.000 000 N 10-9 -9
001
 Chapter 1: Physical Quantities, Units & Measurement

Example 2:
Express 0.000 0023m in a suitable magnitude

0.000 0023𝑚 = 2.3𝜇𝑚 = 2.3 × 10−6 𝑚

Scalars and vectors

 A scalar quantity has only magnitude but does not have direction.
 A vector has both magnitude and direction

Scalar Vector
Distance Displacement
Speed Velocity
Energy Force
Time Acceleration
Volume Weight
Density
Mass

Addition of Vector

Example 3:
Find the resultant force R at point P due to F = 4N and F = 20N.

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 Chapter 1: Physical Quantities, Units & Measurement

Method 1: Trigonometric Method

Using Pythagoras’ Theorem:

𝑅 = √42 + 202
𝑅 = √416
𝑅 = 20.4𝑁
4
tan 𝜃 =
20
𝜃 = 11.3°
Method 2: Graphical Method

Step 1: select an appropriate scale (E.g. 1cm to 2N)

Step 2: Draw a parallelogram of vectors to scale
Step 3: measure the diagonal to find R
Step 4: Use the protractor to measure angle 𝜃

3
 Chapter 1: Physical Quantities, Units & Measurement

Measurement of length and time

Range of length, l Instrument Accuracy Example

l > 100cm Measuring tape ±0.1 cm Waistline of a person
5cm < l < 100cm Metre rule ±0.1cm Height of an object
1cm < l < 10cm Vernier calipers ±0.01cm Diameter of a breaker
l<2cm Micrometer screw ±0.001cm Thickness of a length
gauge of wire

Vernier Callipers

 A pair of vernier callipers can be used to measure the thickness of

solids and the external diameter of an object by using the external
jaws.

 The internal jaws of the calliper are used to measure the internal
diameter of an object.

 The tail of the calliper is used to measure the depth or a hole.

 Vernier callipers can measure up to a precision of ±0.01cm

4
 Chapter 1: Physical Quantities, Units & Measurement

Example 4:

𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 2.55𝑐𝑚

𝑍𝑒𝑟𝑜 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = −0.02 𝑐𝑚

𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ – 𝑍𝑒𝑟𝑜 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟

𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 2.55𝑐𝑚 − (−0.02)𝑐𝑚
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 2.57𝑐𝑚

5
 Chapter 1: Physical Quantities, Units & Measurement

Micrometre Screw Gauge

 The jaws of the Micrometre screw gauge are used to measure the
external diameter of an object.

 Micrometre screw gauges can measure up to a precision of ±0.01mm

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 Chapter 1: Physical Quantities, Units & Measurement

Example 5:

𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 7.50𝑚𝑚 + 0.39𝑚𝑚

= 7.89𝑚𝑚

𝑍𝑒𝑟𝑜 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = +0.05 𝑚𝑚

𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ – 𝑍𝑒𝑟𝑜 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟

𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 7.89𝑚𝑚 − (0.05)𝑚𝑚
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 7.84𝑚𝑚

7
 Chapter 1: Physical Quantities, Units & Measurement

Simple Pendulum

 Period is the time taken to move from P > Q > R > Q > P

 One oscillation is when the bob travels from P > Q > R > Q > P

 The amplitude is the distance between the rest position (point Q) of

the bob to the extreme end of the oscillation (either point P or point R)
 The period of the pendulum, T, is affected only by the
o Length of the string, l
o Acceleration due to gravity, g

 T is not affected by the mass of the pendulum bob.

How to find the period:

1. Take the total time for 20 oscillations
2. Repeat step 1
3. Calculate the average of the two timings
4. Divide the average calculated by 20 to obtain the period

8
 Chapter 2 Notes
Kinematics

_____

Physical Quantities
- Scalars
- Has only magnitude (length, mass, time, speed, distance, etc.)
- Kinematics: Only positive values are possible
- Vector
- Has both magnitude and direction (velocity, displacement,
acceleration, etc.)
- Requires a defined origin and a defined positive direction
- Distance
- Scalar
- SI Unit: Meter
- Length covered by a moving body
- Displacement
- Vector
- SI Unit: Meter
- Straight-line distance covered by a moving body measured from
a reference point in a stated direction

Difference between speed and velocity:

Speed Velocity
- Scalar - Vector
- SI Unit: Meter per second - SI Unit: Meter per second
- Distance moved per unit time - Rate of change of
displacement
- Direction of Motion (arrows!)
 Chapter 2: Kinematics
Quantities Type Symbol Unit

Distance Scalar d m

Displacement Vector s m

Speed Scalar v m s-1

Velocity Vector u (initial), v m s-1

(final)

Acceleration Vector a m s-2

Time Scalar t s

Average Speed
- Total distance divided by total time taken

Average Velocity
- Change in displacement (final - initial) divided by change in time (final
minus initial)
- △s represents change in position (length and direction from origin to
final position)

2
 Chapter 2: Kinematics
Cheryl runs once around a 0.25km track in 2.0min and comes back to her
starting position. What is the magnitude of her average speed?
Average Speed
= d/t
= 0.25km/2min
= 250m/120s
= 2.08m s-1 [write out if using later]
= 2.1m s-1 (2 s.f.)

Acceleration
- Vector
- SI Unit: Meter per second per second (ms-2)
- Rate of change of velocity (final minus initial speed, and time)
- △v/△t or vf-vi/tf-ti
- v = u + at where a = acceleration, v = final velocity, u = initial velocity

Velocity of a body changes from 2.50m s-1 to 6.75m s-1 in 3.00s. Determine
its acceleration.
Acceleration
= △v/△t
= (6.75 - 2.50)m s-1/3.00s
= 1.42m s-2 (3s.f.)

3
 Chapter 2: Kinematics

Velocity-Time Graphs
- When an object gains speed, the acceleration has the same sign and
direction as the velocity (graphs = ＜)
- Positive velocity and positive acceleration
- Negative velocity and negative acceleration
- When an object slows down, the acceleration has the opposite sign
and direction as the velocity (graphs = ＞)
- Positive velocity and negative acceleration
- Negative velocity and positive acceleration
- The graph gets closer to 0, meaning the object slows down

Signs of Velocity and Acceleration

- Case 1: Speeding up → v(+) a(+) vf＞vi = a(+)

- Case 2: Slowing down → v(+) a(-) vf＜vi = a(-)

- Case 3: Speeding up (opp. Dir.) ← v(-) a(-) -vf＞-vi = a(-)

- Case 4: Slowing down (opp. Dir.) ← v(-) a(+) -vf＜-vi = a(+)

4
 Chapter 2: Kinematics

Displacement-Time Graphs
- Constant Displacement: v = 0m s-1
- Increasing Velocity: Gradient increases (ref. graph below)
- Decreasing Velocity: Gradient decreases (ref. graph below)

- Displacement/Distance
= Area under velocity/speed-time graph
= Area of triangle/square
- Instantaneous Velocity/Speed
= Gradient of displacement/distance-time graph
- Instantaneous Acceleration
= Gradient of velocity-time graph

5
 Chapter 2: Kinematics
‘Describe Motion’ Questions
- Divide the graph into sections based on the shape of the graph
- X moves in the positive / negative direction from reference point / from
point… to… at a constant / increasing / decreasing speed of __ms-1 from
t = __s to t = __s

Relationships between Graphs

- A curved velocity-time or speed-time graph means acceleration is
increasing or decreasing (non-uniform) at a constant rate.

6
Chapter 2: Kinematics

7
 Chapter 2: Kinematics
Acceleration of Free Fall on Earth:
● About 10ms- 2
○ Objects falling with negligible air resistance
○ If air resistance is present, objects fall with a constant speed

Air resistance:
● Opposes the motion of moving object
● Increases with the speed of the object
● Increases with surface area
● Increases with density of air
● With air resistance, it will reach TERMINAL VELOCITY

8
 Chapter 2 Notes
Kinematics

_____

Physical Quantities
- Scalars
- Has only magnitude (length, mass, time, speed, distance, etc.)
- Kinematics: Only positive values are possible
- Vector
- Has both magnitude and direction (velocity, displacement,
acceleration, etc.)
- Requires a defined origin and a defined positive direction
- Distance
- Scalar
- SI Unit: Meter
- Length covered by a moving body
- Displacement
- Vector
- SI Unit: Meter
- Straight-line distance covered by a moving body measured from
a reference point in a stated direction

Difference between speed and velocity:

Speed Velocity
- Scalar - Vector
- SI Unit: Meter per second - SI Unit: Meter per second
- Distance moved per unit time - Rate of change of
displacement
- Direction of Motion (arrows!)
 Chapter 2: Kinematics
Quantities Type Symbol Unit

Distance Scalar d m

Displacement Vector s m

Speed Scalar v m s-1

Velocity Vector u (initial), v m s-1

(final)

Acceleration Vector a m s-2

Time Scalar t s

Average Speed
- Total distance divided by total time taken

Average Velocity
- Change in displacement (final - initial) divided by change in time (final
minus initial)
- △s represents change in position (length and direction from origin to
final position)

2
 Chapter 2: Kinematics
Cheryl runs once around a 0.25km track in 2.0min and comes back to her
starting position. What is the magnitude of her average speed?
Average Speed
= d/t
= 0.25km/2min
= 250m/120s
= 2.08m s-1 [write out if using later]
= 2.1m s-1 (2 s.f.)

Acceleration
- Vector
- SI Unit: Meter per second per second (ms-2)
- Rate of change of velocity (final minus initial speed, and time)
- △v/△t or vf-vi/tf-ti
- v = u + at where a = acceleration, v = final velocity, u = initial velocity

Velocity of a body changes from 2.50m s-1 to 6.75m s-1 in 3.00s. Determine
its acceleration.
Acceleration
= △v/△t
= (6.75 - 2.50)m s-1/3.00s
= 1.42m s-2 (3s.f.)

3
 Chapter 2: Kinematics

Velocity-Time Graphs
- When an object gains speed, the acceleration has the same sign and
direction as the velocity (graphs = ＜)
- Positive velocity and positive acceleration
- Negative velocity and negative acceleration
- When an object slows down, the acceleration has the opposite sign
and direction as the velocity (graphs = ＞)
- Positive velocity and negative acceleration
- Negative velocity and positive acceleration
- The graph gets closer to 0, meaning the object slows down

Signs of Velocity and Acceleration

- Case 1: Speeding up → v(+) a(+) vf＞vi = a(+)

- Case 2: Slowing down → v(+) a(-) vf＜vi = a(-)

- Case 3: Speeding up (opp. Dir.) ← v(-) a(-) -vf＞-vi = a(-)

- Case 4: Slowing down (opp. Dir.) ← v(-) a(+) -vf＜-vi = a(+)

4
 Chapter 2: Kinematics

Displacement-Time Graphs
- Constant Displacement: v = 0m s-1
- Increasing Velocity: Gradient increases (ref. graph below)
- Decreasing Velocity: Gradient decreases (ref. graph below)

- Displacement/Distance
= Area under velocity/speed-time graph
= Area of triangle/square
- Instantaneous Velocity/Speed
= Gradient of displacement/distance-time graph
- Instantaneous Acceleration
= Gradient of velocity-time graph

5
 Chapter 2: Kinematics
‘Describe Motion’ Questions
- Divide the graph into sections based on the shape of the graph
- X moves in the positive / negative direction from reference point / from
point… to… at a constant / increasing / decreasing speed of __ms-1 from
t = __s to t = __s

Relationships between Graphs

- A curved velocity-time or speed-time graph means acceleration is
increasing or decreasing (non-uniform) at a constant rate.

6
Chapter 2: Kinematics

7
 Chapter 2: Kinematics
Acceleration of Free Fall on Earth:
● About 10ms- 2
○ Objects falling with negligible air resistance
○ If air resistance is present, objects fall with a constant speed

Air resistance:
● Opposes the motion of moving object
● Increases with the speed of the object
● Increases with surface area
● Increases with density of air
● With air resistance, it will reach TERMINAL VELOCITY

8
 Chapter 3 Notes
Dynamics

_____

Dynamics
- The study of how objects move and the relationship of this motion to
physical concepts e.g. force, mass
Force
● A force is something capable of changing an object’s state of motion

Field Forces (non-contact forces)

Contact Force
- between 2 disconnected objects
physical contact between 2 objects

Frictional Force Magnetic Force

Only occurs when there is a capability for

something to move

Normal force Electrical Force

Must always be perpendicular to surface

Spring force Gravitational Force

Tensional force

Air resistance force

Applied force
 Chapter 3: Dynamics
Free Body Diagrams

Addition of Vectors
● When a number of forces act on an object, we can replace these forces
with a single force → NET/RESULTANT force

Vector Diagrams
2 methods:
● PParallelogram
a ra lle log ra m Method
m e thod

● TTriangle
ria ng le Method
me thod

2
 Chapter 3: Dynamics
Net force
When net force is…
● Zero
○ Forces of equal magnitude act in opposite direction
○ referred to as balanced forces
○ Combined effect of all the forces is zero, does not mean that there
are no forces acting on an object
● Non-zero
○ Forces of unequal magnitude act in different direction
○ referred to as unbalanced forces

Newton’s 1st Law (Balanced Forces)

● An object will remain at rest OR continue to move at a constant velocity
if there is no resultant force acting on it
● Implies that matter has a built-in reluctance to change its state of
rest/motion → INERTIA
○ The mass of a body is a measure of its inertia.
○ A smaller mass will have a smaller inertia.

Newton’s 2nd Law (Unbalanced Forces)

● The acceleration of a body is proportional to the net force acting on it
and occurs in the direction of the force.

F net = ma where Fnet = net force (N)

m = mass (kg)

a = acceleration (ms- 2)

● The acceleration produced by the net force will be in the direction of the
net force

Newton’s 3rd Law

● For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction
● These forces act on mutually opposite bodies

3
 Chapter 3: Dynamics
○ action = -reaction
○ force = -opposite force
Note: - sign represents opposite direction

Friction

 When f (frictional force) is equal to F (applied force), there is no net

force acting on the object, so there is no acceleration, and it has a
constant velocity
 Applied force = Frictional force + Net force (force applied has to
overcome friction)

Summary

4
 Chapter 4 Notes
Mass, Weight
and Density
_____

Mass
 The mass of a body is the amount of substance in the body
 Inertia: the ability to resist a change from its state of rest or motion is
called inertia. The inertia of a body depends on its mass.

Weight
 The weight (force) of a body is the pull of gravity on the body due to
gravitational attraction (acceleration)
 Hence F = ma becomes W = mg

W = mg where W = weight

m = mass

g = gravity

Gravitational Field Strength, g

 Defined as gravitational force per unit mass
 Varies from place to place

Difference between Mass and Weight

Mass Weight
Definition the amount of The gravitational pull
substance in a body acting on a body
Dependent on No Yes
location? The weight is same on The weight is different
the Moon as on Earth on the Moon from Earth
Measured using? A beam balance A spring balance
Unit Kilogram Newton
 Chapter 4: Mass, Weight and Density

Density
 The density of a substance is defined as its mass
per unit volume.
 Density = Mass/Volume
 SI unit: kg m-3

2
 Chapter 5 Notes
Turning Effect of
Forces
_____

Turning Effect of Forces

● The turning effect of a force about a point is the product of the force
and the perpendicular distance from the point to its line of action of the
force
○ Also known as ‘ moment’ or ‘ torque’
● Moment = F x d
○ d refers to its perpendicular distance!

● Clockwise vs. Anti-Clockwise Moments

● Unit is Nm (newton meter)

How to find the moment

1. Draw the line of action of force
2. Connect it to the pivot
3. Make sure it’s perpendicular

Principle of Moments

 When an object is in equilibrium, the sum of clockwise moments

about a point = the sum of anticlockwise moments about same point
 Conditions for Equilibrium of an Object
- Resultant force acting on it is zero
- Resultant moment about a pivot is zero
 Chapter 5: Turning Effect of Forces
Example 1:

Example 2:

The masses of P, Q, and R are such that the

rods are horizontal. What are their possible
masses?
- R: 2x distance from pivot → ½ mass of Q
- P: 2x distance from pivot → ½ mass Q+R

Object R falls off. Describe what happens to

rod N.
- Only Q left on rod N, creating an anticlockwise moment about pivot, so
rod N rotates anticlockwise about its pivot

Example 3:
Describe how the largest moment about the pivot can be produced at A.
- With force at A, perpendicular distance of line of action of force from
pivot is greatest
- Using formula ‘moment = F x dh’, this generates largest moment about
pivot

2
 Chapter 5: Turning Effect of Forces
Centre of Gravity

● The point through which its whole weight appears to act

● An object will only balance in equilibrium if the point of balance is

directly below the center of gravity
● For any uniform/regular object, the C.G. is located at its geometrical
center
● If you place the pivot at any point that is NOT C.G., sum of clockwise
moments will not be = sum of anticlockwise moments

3
 Chapter 5: Turning Effect of Forces
Example 1: The front of a helicopter tilts down, while its CG stays at the
same height. How?
- Lift force from front rotor decreased, while lift force from back rotor
increased

Example 2: Where is the CG of the object?

Most of mass is on right of knife, so CG is to

right of it → Exerts clockwise moment to
counter anticlockwise moment caused by
suspended weight

Stability
- Definition: Measure of a body’s ability to maintain its original position
(after being tilted)
- For something to be stable, the line of action must fall within the base
area
- Stability can be increased by lowering center of gravity +
increasing base area
- An object with a lower CG and a larger base area has to be tilted
at a larger angle before the line of action falls outside base area,
so it is more stable

4
 Chapter 5: Turning Effect of Forces
Types of Equilibrium
- Stable Equilibrium : Object returns to original position after being
displaced slightly
- Limiting Equilibrium: Maximum orientation of an object before it
topples
- Unstable Equilibrium: Object continues to move away from original
position
- Neutral Equilibrium: Object remains where it is displaced (new
position)

- Currently in neutral equilibrium position (ramp) → Tilted further, line of

action of weight outside base area → Resultant clockwise moment about
right wheel → Tilts over