Physics notes

Year 7
Term 2
Moment of a force
Moment is the turning effect of a force
The force causes a turning effect when it acts on a pivoted
(free to move around a certain point or axis) object
Moment= force x distance from the pivot

Force is measured by Newton, while distance is measured in

meter so the measuring unit of moment is newtonmeter
(N.m) or (N.cm)
The direction of moment:
Since moment is a rotation, its direction is clockwise or
anticlockwise
The relation between moment and the distance from the
pivot:
For the same force, as distance from pivot increases,
moment increases.
It is easier to open the door when we act by a force at the
end of the door than at the middle of the door.
Lever: is a simple machine that can turn around a fixed point
or fixed axis.
Principle of moment:
Clockwise moment = anticlockwise moment
F1 x d2 = F2 x d2
Pressure is the acting force on unit area
Pressure = force (N)
Area (cm2 or m2 )
The measuring unit of pressure is N/cm2 or N/m2(pascal)

The factors that affect the pressure:

There are two factors that affect the pressure which are:
1-the acting force:
Force= Pressure x Area
For the same area, as the force increases pressure increases
2-the area through which the force acts:
𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆
area =𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆

For the same acting force, as the area decreases pressure

increases.
 Pressure in liquids
-the liquids are incompressible: which means that they can’t
be compressed in smaller volume because the liquid particles
are very close to each other.
-the liquid pressure is due to the collision between the walls
and the liquid particles
-the liquid pressure acts in all directions
The relation between the liquid pressure and the depth:
The pressure inside a liquid is directly proportional to the
depth in water
The greater the depth you go, the more water there is above
you pressing down so the pressure is greater.
Pressure in gases
-the gases are compressible (they can be compressed in
smaller volume) because the gas particles are far from each
other.
-gas pressure is due to the collisions between the gas
particles and the walls of the container (the gas particles act
by a force on a given area of the wall causing pressure)
Relation between the gas volume and the gas pressure:
The gas pressure is inversely proportional to the volume
Explain why: the pressure increases when the volume
decreases
When the volume decreases, the gas particles collide more
often with the walls causing greater pressure
Relation between gas pressure and temperature:
The gas pressure is directly proportional to the temperature
Explanation: when the temperature increases, the gas
molecules moving faster so they collide more and harder
causing greater pressure
Atmospheric pressure: it is the pressure due to the weight
of air column acting on the area of earth’s surface
As we go up the atmospheric pressure decreases, because
the weight of air acting on a given area decreases
Diffusion:
It is the movement of gas or liquid particles from an area of
high concentration to an area of low concentration.

How to speed up the diffusion:

1-increase the temperature.(as temperature increases the
particle move faster so they spread faster)
2-increase the difference in concentration.
Current electricity:
It is the electricity due to movement of electric charges in a
conductor
the materials can be divided into two types:

conductors insulators
the materials that allow the The materials that do not
current to pass through allow the current to flow.
they contain free electrons They do not contain free
such as copper,aluminium electrons
and iron Such as plastic and glass

Electric current: is the flow of electrons inside a conductor

Note: electrons are negatively charged.
Electric circuit: is a closed and continuous path of electric
current
The simplest electric circuit: consists of a cell, lamp, switch
and a wire.
The components of the electric circuit:
1-cell: it consists of two terminals; positive terminal and
negative terminal

The symbol of the cell is as follows

Where the long line represents the positive terminal and the
short line represents the negative terminal
2-battery: consists of two or more cells together where the
negative terminal of one cell is connected to the positive
terminal of the other

Note: Electrons flow from the negative terminal to the

positive terminal of the cell because the negative terminal
repels the negative electrons away.
3-switch: it is used to open and close the circuit

The symbol of opened switch is

The symbol of closed switch is
When the switch is opened, no electric current will flow
because the electric current needs a closed path to flow.
When it is closed, the current will flow.

4-lamp: its symbol is

5-buzzer: its symbol is

6-electric wires: wires made of conducting material such as
copper and covered with an insulating layer made of an
insulating material such as plastic to protect any person
touching the wire from getting electrified.
Electric wire is used to connect the circuit components
together and its symbol is
Electric current intensity: is the amount of charges flowing in
the conductor in one second.
The measuring unit of current intensity is ampere(A) or
milliampere(mA)
The measuring device of current is ammeter and its symbol is

Ammeter is connected in series with the circuit components,

its positive terminal should be connected to the positive
terminal of the cell and its negative terminal to the negative
terminal of the cell.

There are two types of ammeter; digital ammeter and analog

ammeter (with a scale and pointer)
Note: Ammeter doesn’t affect the current in the circuit.
1-connection in series:
-Connecting the circuit components in series means
connecting them one behind the other in the same loop.

-The current in case of series connection is the same in all

points It=I1=I2

-Connecting two lamps in series will provide more resistance

to the current so the current will be less than in case of one
lamp
so the two lamps will be dimmer than in case of one lamp

note:if you added more cells in the circuit there will be

more energy provided to the electrons so they move faster
and the current increases.
Magnetism
Magnetic force: is the force of attraction between a
magnet and magnetic materials
Magnet is a piece of iron that has the ability to attract
the magnetic materials
There are two types of magnet:
1-natural magnet: is a rock that attracts magnetic
materials
For example: lodestone which is a rock containing iron
2-artificial magnet: a magnet that is made by human
the magnet made by this method is called
electromagnet
Electromagnet consists of:

1-core: piece of iron

2-coil: copper wire coiled around the core
3-a battery: connected to the solenoid
When the electric current passes in the coil, the core
turns into a magnet, this is because the electric current
has a magnetic effect
When the electric current is cut, the core loses its
magnetism
How to increase the strength of the electromagnet?
1-increase the number of turns of the solenoid
Coiling the wire concentrates the magnetic field inside
the loops
2-increase the intensity of the electric current: If the
core is made of steel, the magnet produced is a
permanent magnet because steel keeps its magnetism
while iron loses its magnetism easily.
Advantage of electromagnets compared to
permanent magnets:
1-it can be switched on and off.
2-its strength can be changed.
Magnetic field around an electromagnet:
How to reverse the direction of magnetic field of an
electromagnet?
1-reverse the direction of the current (reverse the cell)
2-turn the coil in opposite direction.
Uses of electromagnet:
1-Cranes and lifts use electromagnets to separate and
lift large quantities of iron
2-To lift the cars in scrapyard
3- Electromagnets are used by doctors to remove iron
splinters from the patient’s eye
4-It is used in electrical devices like electric bells,
telephones, loud speakers and electric motors
Properties of a magnet:
1-the magnet consists of two poles; the North Pole and
the South Pole
2-the freely suspended magnet refers always to the
north-south direction (the North Pole points to the
north and the south pole points to the south pole of
the earth)
3-the like poles repel while the unlike poles attract
4-the magnetic force is maximum near the two poles
and minimum at the center of the magnet
The materials around us can be divided into two types:
1-magnetic materials: the materials that are attracted
to the magnet
The magnetic materials are iron, cobalt, nickel, their
oxides (such as magnetite and lodestone which contain
iron oxide), their alloys (such as steel which is alloy that
contains iron)
2-non-magnetic materials: the materials that are not
attracted to the magnet such as copper, plastic and
glass
Magnetic field: is the area around the magnet at which
the magnetic force acts
The magnetic field is the strongest at the two poles of
the magnet and it gets weaker as we move away
The magnetic field is represented by lines with arrows
to show their directions, these lines are called
magnetic field lines
Magnetic field lines are always directed from the
North Pole to the South Pole.
The stronger the magnet the closer the magnetic field
to each other.
How to draw the magnetic field lines of a bar magnet?
1-place the magnet on a sheet of drawing paper
2-draw round the magnet and letter the two poles
3-place the compass needle near the magnet and mark
its pointer with a dot
4-move the compass so that its other end is at the dot
again mark the pointer with a dot
5-continue until you reach the magnet again
6-join the points with a smooth line
7-draw as many lines of force as you can
Magnetic field around a bar magnet:
The magnetic field lines around the magnet are oval
and come out from the North Pole to the south pole
Magnetic field between two magnets:

1-if two similar poles are placed in front of each

other:
There are no magnetic field lines at the neutral point x
when two similar poles are facing each other
Neutral point is the point at which the forces due to
two magnets cancel each other
2-if two unlike poles are placed in front of each other:
There are many magnetic field lines between the two
magnets if two unlike poles are facing each other
Earth as a giant magnet:

Geographical north

The core of the earth contains magnetic materials such

as iron and nickel, due to the force caused by the
rotation of earth those magnetic materials causes a
magnetic field.
Notes:
1-the compass needle which is a north pole always
points to the magnetic south pole of earth which is the
geographical north.
2-the magnetic field of the earth shifts as the time
passes but it needs millions of years to switch
completely.
Aurora phenomenon:
The sun rays contain electrons, when they get close to
the two poles where the magnetic field is strong they
get excited and eventually they lose the energy by
emitting light.