Significant Figure Rules
estimate one sig fig past smallest division on measuring device; every non-zero digit is significant; zeros between non-zeros are significant; leftmost zeros in front of non-zeros are not significant; zeros past a number to the right of a decimal are significant; zeros before understood decimals are not significant; zeros before indicated decimal are significant; counts and exact quantities are significant
Length Units
SI- meter (m)
CGS- centimeter (cm)
BE- foot (ft)
Mass units
SI- kilogram (kg)
CGS- gram (g)
BE- slug (sl)
Time units
SI- second (s)
CGS- second (s)
BE- second (s)
Adding and Subtracting Sig Figs
retain as many places to the right of the decimal as the original number with the least places after the decimal
Multiplying and Dividing with Sig Figs
retain as many sig figs as the original number with the least
Scientific Notion
shorthand for writing really big or rally small numbers; * 10number
Scalars
quantitiy that only needs a magnitude (number with unit)
Scalars examples
time, temperatuer, mass, length, speed, distance
vectors
a quantity that needs a magnitude (number with a unit) and a direction to be complete
vectors examples
force, velocity, acceleration, displacement
resultant
R with arrow on top; result of combining two or more vectors
How do you calculate the resultant?
use a graph method by drawing the each vector and placing the tail of each next to the head of the previous; measure the angle and resultant OR vector component method to find x-component and y-component and using Pythagoras theorem to find resultant
equilibrant
RE with arrow on top; vector equal in magnitude to, but in the opposite direction of, the resultant
How do you calculate the equilibrant?
keep same magnitude of resultant and put in opposite direction; ex. south of East turns into North of West
Kinematics
study of motion
Speed
rate of change in distance; scalar quantity; no particular direction can be assigned; d/t
Distance
length between objects or points without regard to direction
Displacement
s; distances that have a specific direction; sign indicates direction of displacement (- is left or down)
Displacement Unit
SI- m
CGS- cm
BE- ft
Velocity
v; rate of change in displacement; vector quantity; NEED to specifiy a direction
Velocity Units
SI- m/s
CGS- cm/s
BE- ft/s
Instantaneous Velocity
rate of change in displacement (or distance) at a given instant
Acceleration
rate of change in velocity; vector quantity; points in direction of the CHANGE in velocity (speeding up and slowing down)
Acceleration Units
SI- m/s²
CGS- cm/s²
BE- ft/s²
Kinematics equation for constant acceleration
Position vs. Time Graphs
The slope is equal to velocity; If linear, v is constant (i.e. no acceleration); If linear and horizontal the object is stationary (i.e. the speed is zero); If linear, horizontal, and along the x-axis, the object is stationary at the origin; If the graph is not linear, the object’s velocity is changing. (i.e. the object is accelerating) The slope of the tangent line is equal to instantaneous velocity
Velocity vs. Time Graphs
The slope is equal to acceleration; If linear, a is constant (i.e. constant acceleration); If linear and horizontal the object is not accelerating (i.e. the speed is constant); If linear, horizontal, and along the x-axis, the object is stationary; If the graph is not linear, the object’s acceleration is varying; The slope of the tangent line is equal to instantaneous acceleration
Free Fall
object falls accelerating only because of gravity; outside forces like air resistance are neglected
Acceleration due to Gravity
Everything is accelerated towards earth at the same constant rate. For every second of freefall, an object speeds up 9.80m/s (usually negative); AP CB uses 10m/s²
Variables for two dimension kinematics
components of variables with x and y subscripts
How do you use trig to resolve quantities into components?
use trig (cos and sin) to split the quantity into components; solve for opposite and adjacent
Projectiles
any object that moves through air or space and is acted only by gravity (neglect air resistance/wind); ax = 0 m/s² and ay = -9.80 m/s²
Horizontal Projectile
a projectile that is launched with no initial upward angle; ex: rolling an object off of a table; voy = 0 m/s
Horizontal Projectile mathematically manipulate
know that ax = 0 m/s², voy = 0 m/s, and ay = -9.80 m/s²; use equations to solve
Vertical Projectile
a projectile that is launched with an initial upward angle; ex: cannonball being fired; has vox and voy
Vertical Projecile mathematically manipulate
know ax = 0 m/s² and ay = -9.8 m/s²; usually will be given angle and initial velocity or just the initial velocity components; use equations to solve
Relative Velocity frame of reference
the velocity of an object is relative to the observer
Relative velocity 1-D situations
vpg = vpe + veg; add if going in the same direction; make one negative if going in different directions
Relative Velocity 2-D situations
vps = vpr + vrs; need to use pythagorean theorem and have angles to solve using equations
Forces
pushes or pulls on an object
Contact Forces
there needs to be contacts for the force to cause motion; ex: friction, lift, air resistance
Non-Contact Forces
no contact is necessary for motion to occur; ex: gravity, magnetism
Newton’s 1st Law of Motion name
Law of Inertia
Newton’s 1st Law of Motion stated
an object in motion will remain in motion, an object at rest will remain at rest, unless acted upon by a net external force
Newton’s 1st Law of Motion net force
ΣF; vector sum of all forces
Newton’s 1st Law of Motion mass
intrinsic value that is a quantitative measure of inertia (doesn’t change based on where we are)
Newton’s 1st Law of Motion Inertia
tendency for an object to remain in its state of either motion or rest
Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion name
Law of Acceleration
Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion Stated
when a net external force, ΣF, is applied to a mass, m, it imparts acceleration a; ΣF=ma = kg*m/s² = Newton (N)
Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion units
Si- kg, m/s², Newton
CGS- gram, cm/s², dyme (dyn)
BE- slug, ft/s², lb
Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion Free Body Diagram
diagram that represents the forces acting on a single object; place a dot to represent the object, construct an xy axis with the dot as the origin, and draw and label forces using size appropriate arrows
Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion name
Law of Reciprocal Actions
Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion stated
when one body exerts a force on another body, the second body exerts a force equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to first
Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion examples
swimming
Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation stated
every particle in the universe exerts an attractive force on every other particle based on Fg= (G*m1m2)/r²
Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation equation
Fg = (G * m1m2)/r²; Fg- force due to gravity; G- universal gravitational constant; m1- mass of object 1; m2- mass of object 2; r- distance between the object’s centers
Universal Gravitational Constant
6.67 × 10^-11 Nm²/kg²
Significance of [G(m/r²)]
acceleration due to gravity; determines the gravity of a planet; is Fg = m * g when objects are close to a planet’s surface
Pound → Newton
1 lb → 4.45N
Kilogram → Newtons
kg * gravity
Normal Force (FN)
a component of force that a surface in contact with something exerts perpendicular to itself; opposite of gravity; without it we would accelerate downwards; if resting on horizontal, non-accelerating surface, FN = Fg
Apparent Weight
weight displaed that is different than Fg that arises from either acceleration or a non-horizontal surface; FN = Fg + Fapplied = mg + ma; ex: elevator
Friction
component of force that acts parallel to a surface and opposes motion
Static Friction definition
Fs; force that must be overcome to set an object into motion; depends on coefficient of static friction and amount of Normal Force present
Static Friction equation
Fsmax = μs FN
Static Friction coefficient
μs; dependent on surfaces in contact
Kinetic Friction definition
FK; force that must be overcome to keep an object in motion; depends on coefficient of kinetic friction and amount of Normal Force present
Kinetic friction equation
Fk= μKFN
Kinetic Friction coefficient
μK; dependent on surfaces in contat
Friction on an incline Fg ≠ FN
FN = F⊥
Fperpendicular (⊥)
= Fg cos()
Fparallel (∥)
=Fgsin()
sum of forces (ΣF) in equilibrium
ΣF = 0N; the object is either stationary or moving at a constant velocity
Acceleration in equilibrium
a = 0m/s²; the object is either stationary or moving at a constant velocity
sum of forces (ΣF) in non-equilibrium
ΣF ≠ 0N; the object is accelerating or decelerating
acceleration in non-equilibrium
a ≠ 0m/s²; the object is accelerating or decelerating
work
done when a force (F) creates a displacement (s)
work in same direction equation
W = Fs or W = ∆K
work in different directions equation
W = Flls; W = Fcos(angle)s
work units
SI- J = N * m
CGS- erg = Dyne * cm
BE- ft * lb
work energy theorem
when work is done on something, its kinetic energy changes
work energy theorem equation
W = ΔK; derived from F = ma where a is replaced by (v²-vo²)/2s
kinetic energy
energy of motion
kinetic energy equation
K = ½ m v²
kinetic energy unit (SI)
J
gravitational potential energy
U; energy of position (energy based on a position above a reference level)
gravitational potential energy equation
U = mgh
gravitational potential energy unit (SI)
J
gravitational potential energy is related to work done by
gravity; Wg = -ΔU becomes Wg = mgh0 - mgh
spring force
Hooke’s Law; force that opposes the stretching or compressing (restoring force)
spring force equation
Fspring= -k∆x; k is spring constant and ∆x is change in length
spring force unit
N
spring constant
k; changes based on the spring
spring constant unit
N/m
spring potential energy
equal to the work done by spring; W = F * d changes into W = ½kx * x and then to Uspring = ½ k x2
mechanical energy
E, the sum total of kinetic and potential energy
mechanical energy equation
E = U + K
conservative force
a force that does not net work if there is no displacement; ex: gravity
conservation of mechanical energy
if there is no non-conservative work done, mechanical energy is conserved; used for finding final or initial heights or speeds