Definitions

Compiled By: W.R.David

1. Define displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration.

(a) Displacement: The minimum distance between two points in a given direction is known
as displacement.It is a vector and its unit is meters.

(b) Velocity: The rate of change of displacement over time; the in a particular direction.It
is vector its unit is m/s
Displacement
V =
time
(c) Speed:The magnitude of velocity.The unit of speed is m/s

Distance
V =
time

(d) Acceleration:The rate of change of velocity over time.It is a vector and its unit is m/s2
vu
a=
t
note:If the bodys speed is increasing then the acceleration is taken as positive,if the body
is slowing down (De accelerating) then acceleration is negative.

2. Give the Three linear equations of motion.

v = u + at
s = ut + 21 at2
v 2 = u2 + 2as

3. Define linear momentum

It is the product of mass and velocity.It is a vector and its unit is kgms1

P = mv

4. State each of Newtons laws of motion.

+ I law: In the absence of external forces, an object at rest remains at rest and an object
in motion continues in motion with a constant velocity (that is, with a constant speed in
a straight line).
Implications:
when no force acts on an object, the acceleration of the object is zero.
The tendency of an object to resist any attempt to change its velocity is called iner-
tia.(inertia is measured as mass).

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 + II law:The rate of change of the linear momentum of a particle is equal to the net force
acting on the particle.The following is the mathematical statement of Newtons second law:
P
F =
t
Or we can relate mass, acceleration, and force through

F = ma

+ III law:If two objects interact, the force F~12 exerted by object 1 on object 2 is equal in
magnitude and opposite in direction to the force F~2 1 exerted by object 2 on object 1:

F~12 = F~21

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

5. Define force .
Force is a physical quantity which produces or prevents motion- that which can impose a change
of velocity on a material.It is a vector its SI unit is N ewton its base unit is kgms2 .It is defined
as the rate of change of momentum.

Change in momentum(P ) P
F = =
time t
.

6. Define Weight
The force exerted by a body due to the acceleration due to gravity.It is a vector unit is Newton.

W = mg

7. Define center of gravity

The point at which the weight of the body acts.

8. Define Impulse
Impulse is a vector defined by
I =F t
Where F is the force and t is the time for which the force acts on the body.
The impulse of the force F acting on a particle equals the change in the momentum of the
particle.
I = P
where P is the change in momentum

9. State the principle of Conservation of Momentum.

Whenever two or more particles in an isolated system interact, the total momentum of the
system remains constant.This law tells us that the total momentum of an isolated system at
all times equals its initial momentum.

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10. Define the moment of a force.
Moment of force also known as torque is the tendency of a force to twist or rotate an object
M oment of f orce or T orque( ) = rAB F sin
Where F is the force,rAB is the distance between the point of application of the force and the
pivot.Torque is a vector and its unit is N m
is the angle between the force(rAB ) and Force (F )
Torque of a couple:A couple is a pair of equal and parallel but opposite forces acting at different
points as shown in Figure (See the next page).

Figure 1: couple tending to turn a steering wheel:Torque due to couple=Fd

T he torque of a couple = One of the f orces perpendicular distance

11. Define work

Work done by a force is defined as the product of the force along the direction of displacement
and the magnitude of the displacement.

W = Fd
If the the force is at an angle to the displacement as shown then

Figure 2: If F is inclined at an angle to d the W = F dcos

12. Define Gravitational potential Energy and Kinetic energy

GP E = mgh
1
KE = mv 2
2
13. State the conservation of energy.
The total mechanical energy of the system remains constant (provided the work done by the
external forces such as friction ,air resistance etc is 0)
KE + P E = constant

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14. Define power
Power is work done per unit time.It is a scalar and its SI unit is Watt and its base unit is
kgm2 s3
work done
power =
time

Derive power as the product of force and velocity. Since d/t is velocity(v)
P ower = F v

15. What are the three types of collisions

Elastic collision:KE and momentum are conserved Inelastic collision:KE is not conserved
but momentum is conserved Completely Inelastic collision:KE is not conserved bot mo-
mentum is conserved and the bodies stick together.
16. Define the term density.
Density is mass per unit volume.Its unit is kgm3
M ass
Density =
V olume
17. What is pressure?
F
P = = gh;
A
18. Derive the work done in compressing a gas Consider a cylinder with a piston when it is com-
pressed work is done on the gas enclosed. Let P,be the pressure applied to the gas and let y
be the distance moved by the piston as shown Then work done is

W = F y
W = P Ay
(cause P = F/A)
w = P V
(cause V = Ay)
WHERE V is the change in volume

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19. State the basic assumptions of the kinetic theory of gases.
The kinetic theory of gases is based on the following assumptions:

(a) A gas is composed of a large number of tiny particles which are so small that their sizes
are negligible compared to the average distances between them, ie, most of the volume of
a gas is just empty space.
(b) Gas particles are in constant, random, straight-line motion, colliding with each other and
the walls of the container. All collisions are elastic, there is no net loss or gain of kinetic
energy at each collision.
(c) Pressure (force per unit area) is due to gas particles colliding with the walls of the container
(d) The time during collision of molecule with the containers wall is negligible as comparable
to the time between successive collisions
(e) Gas particles move independently of each other, there are no forces of attraction or repul-
sion between them.
(f) At any given instant there is a wide range of particle speeds and therefore a wide range
of molecular kinetic energies, however, the average kinetic energy of all the gas particles
is proportional to the absolute temperature (temperature in kelvin).
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Average Kinetic energy of the gas = RT
2
Where R is the universal gas constant and T is the temperature in kelvin

20. Define the term pressure and use the kinetic model to explain the pressure exerted by gases.
Pressure is the force exerted per unit area.Its SI unit is Pascal and base unit is kgm1 s2 As
per the kinetic theory of gases

Pressure (force per unit area) is due to gas particles colliding with the walls of the container.
Reducing the volume available to the gas reduces the distances between gas particles which
increases the number of collisions between gas particles and the walls of the container so
the pressure inside the container increases. Increasing the volume available to the gas
increases the distance between gas particles which reduces the number of collisions between
gas particles and the walls of the container so the pressure inside the container decreases.
At high pressures the interactions between particles become significant and the gas will
no longer behave like an ideal gas.
As the temperature increases, the kinetic energy and the average speed of the gas particles
increases. At constant volume this results in more collisions between the gas particles and
the walls of the container, so the pressure inside the container increases.
At temperatures approaching absolute zero (0 Kelvin), the motion of the particles becomes
so slow that interactions between the particles become significant and the gas no longer
behaves like an ideal gas.
Adding more gas particles, as long as those gases do not chemically react with each other,
will increase the gas pressure.

21. Define and use the terms stress, strain and the Young modulus.

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 Stress:Stress is a measure of how strong a material is. This is defined as how much
pressure the material can stand without undergoing some sort of physical change. Hence,
the formula for calculating stress is the same as the formula for calculating pressure:

F
Stress =
A
where F is force and A is the cross sectional area of the sample.
stress has SI unit of Pascals.(remember 1P a = 1N/m2 )
Strain: Stress causes strain. Putting pressure on an object causes it to stretch. Strain is
a measure of how much an object is being stretched. The formula for strain is:

l
Strain =
l
l is the change in length,l is the original length,
Youngs Modulus: Youngs Modulus is a measure of the stiffness of a material. It states
how much a material will stretch (i.e., how much strain it will undergo) as a result of a
given amount of stress. The formula for calculating it is:
stress Fl
Y oung 0 s M odulus = =
strain Al
The values for stress and strain must be taken at as low a stress level as possible, provided
a difference in the length of the sample can be measured. The unit of the Youngs Modulus
is Pascals, as strain has no units, so the units of stress is retained.

22. State Hookes Law

For a material the extension produced is proportional to the applied force (load) as long as
the elastic limit,it of the material is not exceeded.It can also be stated that stress is directly
proportional to the strain within the elastic limit.

F = Kx

23. Springs

F = Kx K is the spring constant,x is the extensiom

Energy stored in springs U = 12 kx2
springs in parallel kt = k1 + k2
1 1 1
Springs in series kt
= k1
+ k2

24. Define electric field strength

Electric field strength is force per unit positive charge.It is a vector and the direction is from
Positive to negative.Its SI unit is N C 1
F
E=
q

For a uniform Elctric field

V
E=
d

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25. Define potential at a point The electric potential at a point is the work done in bringing unit
positive charge from infinity to that point.It is a scalar it can be positive or negative depending
on the sign of the charge.Its unit is Volt(V),(1V = 1Joules/Coulomb).
W
P otential(V ) =
q
Electric potential Energy= qV

26. State Kirchoffs laws.

I Law:At any junction in a circuit, the sum of the currents arriving at the junction is equal to
the the sum of the currents leaving the junction.This law follows from the conservation of
charge.(The law can also be stated as:-The algebraic sum of currents meeting at a junction is
zero.)
II Law:The sum of the potential differences across all elements around any closed circuit loop
must be zero:Kirchoffs second rule follows from the law of conservation of energy.

27. Define charge and the coulomb.

One coulomb is the amount of electric charge transported in one second by a steady current of
one ampere.
Q = It
1C = 1A.1S

28. Define potential difference and the volt.

The difference in electric potential between two points in an electric field; the work that has to
be done in transferring unit positive charge from one point to the other, measured in Volts.
work done
V =
Charge
Volt:The volt is defined as the value of the voltage across a conductor when a current of one
ampere dissipates one watt of power in the conductor. It can be written in terms of SI base
units as: m2 kgs3 A1 . It is also equal to one joule of energy per coulomb of charge,

J
1v =
C
29. State Ohms law.
The Ohms law states that the Voltage is proportional to the Current.

V I

V = IR
R is resistance and ,and is a constant.

30. Define resistance and the ohm.

Resistance is the opposition to the flow of charges.Resistance is defined using the Ohms law
V
R=
I

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31. Relation between resistance and resistivity
L
R=
A
where R is resistance, is resistivity and A is Area.The unit of resistivity is m.

32. Resistance in parallel

1 1 1 1
= + + ...
Rt R1 R2 R3
Note Voltage is constant

33. Electrical Power dissipated

V2
P = IV = I 2 R =
R
34. Resistance in series

Rt = R1 + R2 + R3 ....
Current is constant

35. Define e.m.f.

It is the energy transferred by a source in driving unit charge round a complete circuit.Its unit
is volt.

emf is the external work expended per unit of charge to produce an electric potential difference
across two open-circuited terminals.The electrical potential difference drives the current if a
circuit is attached to the source of emf( say a battery). When current flows, however, the
voltage across the terminals of the source of emf is no longer the open-circuit value (E 6= V ),
due to voltage drops inside the device due to its internal resistance.The relation between emf
and potential difference is given by
E = V + Ir
where E is Emf,V is the potential difference, I is the current and r is the internal resistance of
the battery.

36. Time period(T):Time taken for one complete Oscillations

37. Frequency: The No of oscillations per second

1
f=
T

38. Relation between wave speed frequency and wave length

v = f

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39. Wave intensity
P ower
Intensity =
CrosssectionalArea
For a point source of light or sound
P ower
Intensity =
4R2

I A2 ,Where I is intensity and A is amplitude. Interference Condition for formation of

Interference bands
Bright Bands P athdif f erance = n n=order=0,1,2,3...
Dark Bands P athdif f erance = (n + 1/2) n=order=0,1,2,3... Define Fringe Width
The distance between two consecutive bright bands or dark bands

Figure 3: Youngs double slit Experiment

D
F ringewidth() =
d
40. the grating formula
dsin = n

41. What is Spontaneous decay?

Spontaneous decay means that one nucleus changes into another nucleus without any outside
influence.

42. What is Random Decay?

It is impossible to predict when a given atom will decay and there is certainly no way of speeding
up the process (because the decay is spontaneous).