Physics: Laminated QuickStudy Reference Guide

WHAT IS PHYSICS ALL ABOUT?

Physics seeks to understand the natural phenomena that occur in our universe; a description of a natural phenomenon uses many specific terms, definitions and mathematical equations Solving Problems in Physics In physics, we use the SI units (International System) for data and calculations

Other physical quantities are derived from these basic units: Prefixes denote fractions or multiples of units; many variable symbols are Greek letters Math Skills: Many physical concepts are only understood with the use of algebra, statistics, trigonometry and calculus

CLASSICAL MECHANICS

 Classical or Newtonian Mechanics  The position of a body is given by an equation of motion with position, velocity and acceleration as variables; mass is the measure of the amount of matter; the standard unit for mass is kg, 1 kg = 1000 g.; inertia is a property of matter, and as such, it occupies space

Motion along a straight line is called rectilinear; the equation of motion describes the position of the particle and velocity for elapsed time, t

Velocity (v): The rate of change of the displacement (s) with time (t):

Acceleration (a): The rate of change of the velocity with time:

; a & v are vectors, with magnitude and direction

Speed is the absolute value of the velocity; scalar with the same units as velocity

Equations of Motion for One Dimension (1-D) Equations of motion describe the future position (x) and velocity (v) of a body in terms of the initial velocity (vi), position (x0) and acceleration (a)

For constant acceleration, the position is related to the time and acceleration by the following equation of motion: x(t) = x0 + vit + ½ a t²

For constant acceleration,