AS Level Physics: Terms & Definitions:-

Measurement
Random errors are errors of measurements in which the measured quantities differ from the mean
value with different magnitudes and directions.
Systematic errors are errors of measurements in which the measured quantities are displaced from the
true value by fixed magnitude and in the same direction.
Accuracy is a measure of how close the results of an experiment agree with the true value.
Precision is a measure of how close the results of an experiment agree with each other.
Scalar quantity is one which has magnitude but no direction.
Vector is a quantity which has direction as well as magnitude.

Thermal Physics:
The internal energy is a function of state and the total microscopic kinetic and potential energies of the
particles composing the system.
The specific latent heat of fusion, Lf , is defined as the amount of heat required per unit mass to change a substance
from the solid phase to the liquid phase without any change in temperature
The specific latent heat of vaporization, Lv, is defined as the amount of heat required per unit mass to change a
substance from the liquid phase to the vapor phase without any change in temperature.
First law of thermodynamics state that internal energy is a function of state and the increase in internal energy is
equal to the sum of the heat supplied to system and work done on system.

Kinematics:
Speed is the rate of change of distance traveled with respect to time.
Velocity is the rate of change of its displacement with respect to time.
Acceleration of an object is the rate of change of its velocity with respect to time.

Forces And Dynamics:

Normal contact force is a force perpendicular to the surface experienced by a body when it is in physical contact with
something else.
Hooke’s Law states that within the limit of proportionality, the extension produced in a material is directly proportional
to the load applied.
The principle of moments states that, when an object is in equilibrium, the sum of anticlockwise moments about any
point equals the sum of clockwise moments about the same point.
The moment of a force is the product of the force and the perpendicular distance between the axis of rotation and the
line of action of the force.
A couple is a pair of forces, equal in magnitude but opposite in direction, whose lines of motion do not coincide.
Centre of gravity is the point on an object through which the entire weight of the object may be considered to act.
Stability of an object refers to its ability to return to its original position after it has been displaced from that position.
Pressure is force acting per unit area.
Upthrust/buoyancy force is an upward force on a body produced by the surrounding fluid (i.e., a liquid or a gas) in
which it is fully or partially immersed, due to the pressure difference of the fluid between the top and bottom of the
object.
Archimedes’ Principle states that the upthrust experienced by an object partially or entirely immersed in a fluid is
equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.
Newton’s first law of motion states that a body will continue in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line
unless an external resultant force acts on it.
Newton’s second law states that the rate of change of momentum of a body is proportional to the resultant force
acting on it and the change takes place in the direction of the force.
Newton’s third law states that: If body A exerts a force on body B, then body B exerts a force of equal magnitude but
in the opposite direction on body A.
The principal of conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of a system of objects remains constant
provided no resultant external force acts on the system.
Work, Energy And Power
Work is the mechanical transfer of energy to a system or from a system by an external force on it.
Heat is the non-mechanical transfer of energy from the environment to the system or from the system to the
environment because of a temperature difference between the two.
The Principle of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed in any process.
Gravitational Potential Energy is defined as the amount of work done in order to raise the body to the height h from a
reference level.
Power is defined as the rate of work done or energy converted with respect to time.

Circular Motion:
Angular displacement, ? is the angle subtended at centre of a circle by an arc of equal length to the radius.
Angular velocity, ? is the rate of change of angular displacement with respect to time.
The period T of an object in circular motion is the time taken for the object to make one complete revolution.
The frequency f of an object in circular motion is the number of complete revolutions made by the object per unit time.

Waves:
Displacement is the distance moved by the particle from its equilibrium position.
The amplitude of a wave is the maximum displacement of the particle from its equilibrium position.
The wavelength is the distance between 2 successive points on a wave which are in phase with one another.
The period is the time taken for a particle on the wave to complete one oscillation.
The frequency of a wave is the number of complete oscillations that pass through a given point in 1 second. (Units:
Hertz(Hz) or s-1)
A compression is a region where particles are close to one another. (High pressure)
A rarefaction is a region where the particles are further apart. (Low pressure)
Phase Difference (?) between two particles or two waves tells us how much a particle (or wave) is in front or behind
another particle (or wave).
Intensity of a wave is the rate of transfer of energy per unit area perpendicular to the direction of travel of the wave.

Oscillations:
Periodic motion is the regular, repetitive motion of a body which continually retraces its path at regular intervals.
Period T of a periodic motion is the time to make one complete cycle.
Frequency f of a periodic motion is the number of cycles per unit time.
Angular frequency of a periodic motion is the rate of change of angular displacement with respect to time.
Displacement of an object is the distance of the oscillating particle from its equilibrium position at any instant.
Amplitude of a periodic motion is the magnitude of the maximum displacement of the oscillating particle from the
equilibrium position.
Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM) is defined as the oscillatory motion of a particle whose acceleration a is always
directed towards a fixed point and is directly proportional to its displacement x from that fixed point but in the opposite
direction to the displacement.
Damping is the process whereby energy is taken from the oscillating system.
Natural frequency of the system is the frequency at which it will vibrate freely.
Superposition:
Diffraction refers to the bending or spreading out of waves when they travel through a small opening or when they
pass round a small obstacle.
The Principle Of Superposition states that when two waves of the same kind meet at a point in space, the resultant
displacement at that point is the vector sum of the displacements that the two waves would separately produce at that
point.
Interference refers to the superposing of two or more coherent waves to produce regions of maxima and minima in
space, according to the principle of superposition.

Gravitation:
Newton’s Law Of Universal Gravitation states that every particle in the Universe attracts every other particle with a
force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them.
Gravitational field strength at a point is defined as the gravitational force per unit mass acting on a mass placed at
that point.
Gravitational potential energy, U of a point mass m, in a gravitational field, is the work done by an external force in
bringing that point mass from infinity to that point.
Gravitational potential at a point in a gravitational field is the work done per unit mass, by an external force, in
bringing the mass from infinity to that point.
Escape speed is the minimum speed with which a mass should be projected from the Earth’s surface in order to
escape Earth’s gravitation field.

Electric Field
The coulomb’s law states that the electrostatic force between two point charges is proportional to the product of their
charges and inversely inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
The Electric field strength at a point in an electric field is the electrostatic force per unit charge experienced by a small
positive test charge placed at that point.
Electric Potential at a point in an electric field is the work done per unit charge by an external agent in bringing a
positive test charge from infinity to that particular point without acceleration.
Electric potential energy of a charge in an electric field is defined as the work done by an external force in bringing
the charge from infinity to that point a distance r away.
The electron volt is defined as energy that an electron (or proton) gains (or loses) when it is accelerated(or
decelerated) through a potential difference of 1 volt.

Current Of Electricity
Electric Current is the rate of flow of charge through a particular cross sectional area with respect to time.
The potential difference between two points in an electrical circuit is the electrical energy converted into other forms
of energy per unit charge passing from one point to the other.
One volt is the potential difference between two points in an electrical circuit when one joule of electrical energy is
converted to other form of energy as one coulomb of charge passes from one point to the other.
Ohm’s Law states that the ratio of the potential difference across a conductor to the current flowing through it, is a
constant, provided that its physical conditions, such as temperature, remain constant.
The electromotive force ( ) of a source is the energy converted from other forms to electrical per unit charge
delivered round a complete circuit.
Internal resistance (r) of any real source is the resistance that charge moving through the material of the source
encounters.

DC Circuits
Kirchhoff’s First Law states that the total current entering a junction is equal to the total current leaving the junction.
OR The algebraic sum of currents at a junction is zero.
Kirchhoff’s second law states that the net electromotive force around a closed circuit loop is equal to the sum of
potential drops around the loop. OR The algebraic sum of the changes in potential encountered in a complete
traversal of a closed circuit loop must be zero.

Electromagnetism
Magnetic flux density (B) is defined as the force acting per unit current per unit length on a wire placed at right angles
to the magnetic field.
1 Tesla is defined as the magnetic flux density of a uniform magnetic field when a wire of length 1m , carrying a
current of 1A, placed perpendicular to the field, experiences a force of 1N in a direction at right angles to both the
field and the current.

Electromagnetic Induction
Magnetic flux through a plane surface is the product of the magnetic flux density normal to the surface BN and the
area A of the surface.
The weber is defined as the magnetic flux through a surface if a magnetic field of flux density 1 T exists
perpendicularly to an area of 1 m2.
Magnetic Flux Linkage is defined as the product of the number of turns N of the coil and the magnetic flux linking
each turn.
Faraday’s Law states that the induced e.m.f. is directly proportional to the rate of change of magnetic flux linkage or
rate of cutting of magnetic flux linkage.
Lenz’s Law states that the induced e.m.f. will be directed such that the current which it causes to flow opposes the
change that is producing it.
Alternating Current
The root-mean-square (r.m.s.) value of an alternating current is equivalent to the steady direct current that converts
electrical energy to other forms of energy at the same average rate as the alternating current in a given resistance.
Rectification is the process in which an alternating current is forced to only flow in one direction.

Semiconductors
Band gap is the energy difference between top of valence band and bottom of conduction band. It is also a range of
energy in a solid where no electron states exist.
An intrinsic semiconductor is a pure semiconductor crystal containing only one element or one compound.
Extrinsic semiconductors doped with donor impurities are called n-type semiconductors because they donate an
excess of negative charge carriers.

Quantum Physics & Lasers

Photoelectric Effect is the emission of electrons from metal by electromagnetic radiation.
Photoelectron is used to indicate that the electron has been emitted when light falls on the surface of a metal.
The work function of a material is defined as the minimum amount of the work necessary to remove a free electron
from the surface of the material.
Threshold frequency is the minimum frequency of an incident radiation required to just remove an electron from the
surface of a metal.
The scanning tunnelling microsope (STM) is a non-optical microscope which uses the concept of quantum tunnelling
by electrons to study surfaces of conductors or semi-conducors at the atomic scale of about 2 Å or 0.2 nm.

Nuclear Physics
The mass defect of a nucleus is defined as the difference between the mass of the separated nucleons and the
combined mass of the nucleus.
Nuclear fission is the disintegration of a heavy nucleus into two lighter nuclei of approximately equal masses.
Nuclear fusion is the combining of the two light nuclei to produce a heavier nucleus.
Radioactive decay is the spontaneous disintegration of the nucleus of an atom which results in the emission of
particles.
Background radiation refers to ionizing radiation emitted from a variety of natural and artificial radiation sources.
The activity of a radioactive substance is defined as the average number of atoms disintegrating per unit time.
The decay constant ? of a nucleus is defined as its probability of decay per unit time.
Half-life is defined as the time taken for half the original number of radioactive nuclei to decay.

Mechanics:-

Displacement: Distance moved in a particular direction.

Speed: The distance travelled per unit time.

Velocity: The distance travelled in a particular direction/ the displacement per unit time.

Acceleration: The rate of change of velocity.

Acceleration Of Free Fall: The acceleration on an object when the only force acting on it is the
gravitational pull of the Earth.
Free Fall: The downward motion of an object under the influence of force of gravity with a constant
acceleration (g = 9.81 ms-2).

Newton’s First Law Of Motion: An object will maintain uniform velocity or remain stationary unless an
external force acts upon it.

Newton’s Second Law Of Motion: The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the resultant
force acting on it in the same direction. (F = m x a)

Newton’s Third Law Of Motion: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. (If one body exerts a
force on another, it will experience a force by the other body, which is equal in magnitude & opposite in
direction.)

Mass: It is a measure of inertia of a body or It is a body’s reluctance to undergo linear acceleration.

Weight: It is the gravitational force exerted on an object’s mass.

Momentum: It is the product of a body’s mass & velocity, with its direction always being the same as the
body’s direction of velocity.

Force: It is defined as the rate of change of momentum of a body, or the product of a body’s mass & its
acceleration.

Principle Of Conservation Of Momentum: The total momentum of a system remains constant before &
after a collision, provided that no external force acts upon the system.

Elastic Collisions: A collision in which both the total momentum & the total Kinetic Energy of a system is
conserved.

Inelastic Collisions: A collision in which the total momentum of a system is conserved, but the total
Kinetic Energy is not conserved.

Upthrust: It is the resultant force on a submerged object due to the upward pressure of the fluid applied
on it. It is also known as Buoyancy Force.

Centre Of Gravity: The point on an object at which the entire weight of the body seemingly acts. It is the
point at which the Earth actually applies the pull of gravity.

Moment: It is the turning effect of a force. It is the product of the force & the perpendicular distance
between the axis of rotation/pivot & the line of action of the force.

Torque Of A Couple: The turning effect caused by two equal & opposite forces when their line of actions
are different.

Torque of a Couple = Magnitude of any one force x Linear Distance between the forces

The Principle Of Moments: The sum of clockwise moments taken about any point is equal to the sum of
anti-clockwise moments taken about the same point when a system is in equilibrium.

Energy: It is the stored ability to do work.

Kinetic Energy: The energy possessed by an object by virtue of its motion.

Potential Energy: It is the energy possessed by an object by virtue of its position.

Gravitational Potential Energy: The energy possessed by an object due to the height raised above the
ground/against the force of gravity.

Elastic Potential Energy: The energy possessed by an elastic object by virtue of its compression or
expansion, due to elastic restoring force. (k x X)

Internal Energy: It is the total of the microscopic Kinetic & Potential energies of particles of a material.

Impulse: It is the product of a force & the time during which the force is applied.

Work: It is the product of a force & the distance moved in the direction of the force.

Power: It is the rate at which work is done. It is work done per unit time.

Power: It is the product of force & velocity.

Efficiency: It is the fraction of the useful power output obtained from the total power input.

Matter:-

Density: It is the amount of mass per unit volume of a substance.

Brownian Motion: The haphazard or random movement of tiny suspended particles (such as smoke,
pollen etc.) in a fluid is known as Brownian Motion.

It gives direct evidence for perpetual molecular movement. This experiment demonstrates the random
haphazard movement of smoke particles in water as they collide with invisible particles of the medium
itself.
Crystalline Solids: They have closely packed structures in a regular arrangement. Elastic strain is usually
less than about 1%. Individual molecules move a small distance from their equilibrium position on
application of a force & the return to their original equilibrium position once the force is removed. E.g.
Diamond

Polymeric Solids: Solids with very long chains of molecules. The molecular chains are tangled up, &
occasionally have cross-links between the chains. Hence, when a force is applied, then the strands can
be pulled out to lie more parallel to one another. Some reorganization of the cross-links does take place,
& therefore there can be permanent distortion as well. E.g. Rubber

Amorphous Solids: These differ from crystalline solids because they lack the crystalline arrangement of
molecules. Any pattern or regularity that does occur in structure takes place over very short distances,
of the order of a few molecular diameters. E.g. Glass & soot

Pressure: It is the perpendicular/normal force applied per unit area.

The Kinetic Theory Of Gases:

· Any gas consists of a very large number of molecules.

· The molecules are in rapid, random motion.
· Collisions between gas molecules are elastic.
· Collisions between molecules & the walls of the container are elastic.
· There are no intermolecular forces of attraction.
· Intermolecular forces of repulsion only act during collisions between the molecules. The duration of
collisions as compared to the time interval between collisions is negligible.
· The volume that the molecules themselves take up is negligible in comparison to the volume of the
container itself.

Melting: The process by which a solid changes into its liquid state at a constant specific temperature,
known as melting point.

Boiling: The process by which a liquid changes into its gaseous state at a constant specific temperature,
known as boiling point.

Evaporation: The process by which molecules on the surface of a liquid with sufficient Kinetic Energy
break from the attractive intermolecular forces of the liquid & escape as gas particles. This process
occurs below the boiling point of a liquid.

Stress: It is the force per unit area of cross-section required to stretch a material. It is sometimes called
Tensile Stress, as forces can be applied in different ways to objects. E.g. Under compression, a
compressive stress is applied. All stresses have the same formula & unit as pressure.
Strain: As a result of applying a tensile stress to an object, a tensile strain is set up within the object.
Stress is the cause & strain is the effect. It is defined as the extension per unit length. It is a ratio of two
lengths, & therefore does not have a unit. Temperature also effects strain.

Young’s Modulus: It is the ratio of stress to linear strain. It is also known as the modulus of elasticity.

Elastic Deformation: When a material is elastic, it returns to its original shape on removal of the
distorting force. Elastic Deformation is temporary distortion. Most materials are elastic for low stresses.

Plastic Deformation: It is when a small increase in stress causes a large increase in the strain on an
object. A material that receives deformation in this way is said to be ductile, meaning it has a large
plastic region. Within the plastic region, it is more difficult to measure the strain at a particular value of
stress.

Necking: In wires, when a sufficiently large force is applied, localized narrowing occurs at weak points, &
the wire eventually breaks at one of these points.

Creep: Plastic distortion is time-dependant. For an applied stress, the initial strain will have a particular
value, but if the strain is measured later, it is often found to have increased.

Area under a Force-Extension Graph: The area under such a graph is the work done in stretching a
material. For the straight-line portion of the graph, it is a measure of the elastic potential energy stored
by the material, provided that the graph for decreasing loads is the same as that for increasing loads. It
is also known as strain energy.

Ductile Materials: Materials which undergo plastic deformation after a considerable elastic deformation.
Ductile materials are used for wiring etc. E.g. copper

Brittle Materials: Materials which do not undergo plastic deformation. They undergo elastic deformation
to a certain point & then break along cleavages within the material’s structure at the Breaking
Point/Breaking Stress. E.g. china, marble

Polymeric Materials: Materials which can undergo great strain, & deform to a very great degree. E.g.
rubber, glass, cement

Ultimate Tensile Stress: It is the maximum value of stress that an object can sustain before it breaks or
cleaves.

Waves:-

Displacement: It is the change in position of an oscillating particle from its rest or mean position in a
particular direction. It is a vector.

Amplitude: It is the magnitude of the maximum value of displacement. It is a scalar.

Phase Difference: If two oscillations are in step with one another, they are said to be in phase with one
another. Oscillations are said to be in antiphase if they are always moving in opposite directions. For
example; if the crest of one wave falls with the trough of another, then they are said to be out of phase
by 180 degrees.

Period: The time taken to complete one oscillation.

Frequency: The number of oscillations per unit time. It is measured in Hertz (Hz). 1 Hz is one cycle per
second.

Wavelength: It is the smallest distance between two points that are in phase with one another.

(Wave) Speed: It is the speed with which crests of the wave move or the speed with which energy is
transferred. It is NOT the speed with which particles in the wave move.

The Transfer of Energy: The transfer of energy is due to a progressive wave, NOT a standing/stationary
wave.

Transverse Waves: A wave in which displacement of particles is perpendicular to the direction of wave
propagation, resulting in crests & troughs. E.g. light waves (the entire electromagnetic spectrum)

Longitudinal Waves: A wave in which displacement of particles is parallel to the direction of wave
propagation, resulting in compressions & rarefactions. E.g. sound waves

Electromagnetic Waves: These are transverse waves. The displacement in the case of electromagnetic
waves is a variation in the electric & magnetic fields perpendicular to each other.

Polarisation: As a result of the transverse nature of vibrations, transverse waves have an additional
property that is not possessed by longitudinal waves. The movement of particles in transverse
mechanical waves is at right angles to the direction of wave propagation. This, however, still leaves
many possibilities for the direction of the particle in 3D. Frequently, oscillations take place in a
transverse wave in many different directions, & the wave is said to be unpolarised. If the oscillation does
take place in only one direction, however, the wave is then said to be polarized in that direction. That
wave is then known as a plane-polarised wave.

Stationary Waves: A stationary wave is produced because of superposition of two waves of similar
wavelength & amplitude, but travelling in opposite directions. A characteristic of a stationary wave is
that there are some parts of the wave where the amplitude is always zero. The points are known as
nodes. Halfway between the nodes, the amplitude is at its maximum, & these points are called
antinodes. Energy is NOT transferred in standing waves.

Diffraction: The spreading of waves near an obstacle is called diffraction. If the width of the opening is
comparable with a single wavelength, the magnitude of diffraction is large as compared with say, if the
width of the opening was five wavelengths.

Diffraction Grating: It is a series of narrow parallel slits. If parallel monochromatic light waves approach
a series of narrow slits close to one another, the waves from each slit are spread out over 180 degrees
after passing the slits. It is the ability of a diffraction grating to give a dark background, where the
intensity is near zero, that makes it useful for examining spectra.

Principle of Superposition Of Waves: When two waves of the same type with similar frequency & speed
are in phase with each other, their total amplitude on joining together/adding together is the sum of
their individual amplitudes.

Interference: When two waves superimpose, they cause interference. When the crests of both waves
fall on each other, constructive interference is achieved & the displacement of particles is at its
maximum value. If the crest of one wave falls on the trough of the other, destructive interference takes
place & the displacement of particles is at its minimum value, or zero.

Coherence: If monochromatic light is used, only one wavelength is present, as compared to if white light
was used. Since speed & frequency are the same, all imperfections within the wave occur
simultaneously for both sources of the monochromatic light. Two waves maintaining a constant phase
difference are said to be coherent.

Fringe Width/Separation: The separation between one bright fringe & the next bright fringe.

Conditions for Observing Two-Source Interference:

· The two waves should be of the same type. (Both transverse or longitudinal).
· They should almost similar wavelength or frequency.
· They should arrive at a point at the same time (superimposed).
· They should maintain a constant phase difference. (Coherent sources are required).

Electricity:-

Electric Field: It is the modified area or region around a charged object in which it can apply an
electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion on a test charge. Electric field strength is force per unit
positive charge.
Electric Current: It is the amount of charge flowing through a circuit per unit time or It is the rate of flow
of charged particles.

Ampere: If a charge of 1 Coulomb passes through an electrical component per second, then the current
maintained is 1 Ampere.

Potential Difference: The P.D across an electrical component is the energy converted from electrical to
other forms of energy when unit charge passes through it.

Volt: One volt is the P.D between two points in a circuit in which one joule of energy is converted when
one coulomb of charge passes from one point to the other.

Resistance: The ratio of P.D to the current for an electrical component at a particular time is known as
its resistance.

Ohm: A resistor has a resistance of one ohm if a P.D of one volt is to be maintained, to allow a passage
of one ampere of current.

Resistivity: The resistivity of a wire of a particular material is its resistance for unit length.

Coulomb: If a current of one ampere (6.25x1018 electrons) passes through a conductor, then the charge
flowed is one Coulomb or It is the amount of charge required to maintain a current of one ampere in a
conductor.

Ohm’s Law: The current through a metallic conductor is proportional to the P.D across it provided that
its temperature remains constant.

Thermistor (NTC): A specific type of resistor, in which, as temperature increases, the magnitude of the
resistor’s resistance decreases, & vice versa.

Electromotive Force: The e.m.f of any source of electrical energy is the energy converted into electrical
energy per unit charge supplied. It has the same unit as P.D; the volt.

E.m.f & P.D: While e.m.f refers to the amount of energy converted into electrical energy per unit charge
supplied, P.D refers to the amount of electrical energy converted into other forms of energy per unit
charge supplied. The e.m.f of a source is equal to the potential difference across its terminals as the
current approaches zero.

Effect of Internal Resistance on P.D & Output Power: The higher the internal resistance of the
battery/cell, the lower the terminal P.D, & hence, the lower the output power as well. This is due to the
equation V = E – Ir
Potentiometer: When a potential divider arrangement is used to compare e.m.fs of two sources, it is
known a potentiometer.

Kirchhoff’s First Law: The algebraic sum of the currents at a junction is zero. In other words, charge
cannot be created or destroyed.

Kirchhoff’s Second Law: Around any closed loop in a circuit, the algebraic sum of the e.m.fs is equal to
the algebraic sum of the P.Ds. In other words, each & every point in a stable electrical circuit has a
particular value of potential. Any gains in electrical energy of a charge must be balanced by
corresponding losses of energy.

Kirchhoff’s First & Second Laws are in correspondence & actually are an appreciation of the Law of
Conservation of Charge & the Law of Conservation of Energy respectively.

Nuclear Physics:-

The Atom: The simple model of the atom is made up of three sub-atomic particles: The proton (which is
positively charged), the neutron (which is uncharged but equal in mass to the proton), & the electron
(which is negatively charged & equal to the charge on the proton, but much smaller in size & mass).

Mass Number & Proton Number: The mass number (also known as nucleon number) of an atom is the
number of protons & neutrons (collectively also known as nucleons) within its nucleus, whereas the
proton number refers simply to the number of protons within the nucleus, which is consequently also
the number of electrons (provided that the atom has no overall charge).

Isotopes: These are atoms of the same element which have the same proton number, but a different
nucleon number, due to a change in number of neutrons in their nuclei.

Radioactive Decay: This spontaneous & random process refers to the decay of unstable isotopes of
elements until they gain a stable atomic configuration, with the emission of either Alpha, Beta or
Gamma radiation. There is no order to this process, nor is there a way to predict the decay, as is shown
by fluctuations in every radioactive sample’s count rate.

Effect of Internal Resistance on P.D & Output Power: The higher the internal resistance of the
battery/cell, the lower the terminal P.D, & hence, the lower the output power as well. This is due to the
equation V = E – Ir

Potentiometer: When a potential divider arrangement is used to compare e.m.fs of two sources, it is
known a potentiometer.

Kirchhoff’s First Law: The algebraic sum of the currents at a junction is zero. In other words, charge
cannot be created or destroyed.

Kirchhoff’s Second Law: Around any closed loop in a circuit, the algebraic sum of the e.m.fs is equal to
the algebraic sum of the P.Ds. In other words, each & every point in a stable electrical circuit has a
particular value of potential. Any gains in electrical energy of a charge must be balanced by
corresponding losses of energy