PHYSICS ENRICHMENT | All Concepts

Physical Quantities

numerical equivalents of matter or objects

Scalar Quantity

can be described by a single number

Vector Quantity

has magnitude and direction

Vector Notation

• an arrow is written over the letter symbolizing the quantity

• the magnitude’s notation is written with double lines, similar to the absolute value in math

Vector Diagram

A vector is drawn as a line with an arrowhead at its tip. The length represents the vector’s magnitude while the arrow represents the direction.

Vector Components

can be broken down into two perpendicular components: horizontal (x-axis) and vertical (y-axis). These components help to simplify the analysis of vector problems, especially in 2D and 3D space.

Motion

the change in the position of an object with respect to certain reference point, can be described based on its velocity, displacement, acceleration, and direction

Position

the specific point in space where an object is located relative to a reference point, usually represented by “x”

Distance

how much ground an object has covered

Displacement

change in position of an object, includes both magnitude and direction

Velocity

rate at which an object changes its position, including both speed and direction

Instantaneous Velocity

an object’s velocity at a specific moment in time

Average Velocity

total displacement divided by the total time taken

Acceleration

the rate at which the velocity changes, shows how fast or slow it changes, has the SI unit m/s²

Uniformly Accelerated Motion

object is undergoing this when the rate at which the magnitude of the velocity changes is constant, useful to derive equations that require displacement (x), velocity (v), acceleration (a), and time (t).

Positive Acceleration

happens when the motion is accelerating in the same direction, or the velocity and acceleration vector are pointing in the same direction.

Negative Acceleration

happens when the motion is accelerating in the opposite direction, or the velocity and acceleration vector are pointing in different direction

Free Fall

this is the vertical UAM, where gravity is the only force acting on the object, causing it to fall down; the acceleration is always g or 9.8 m/s²