Physics For Science Olympiad

Newton's First Law

Inertia: Every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force.

Newton's Second Law

Force = mass * acceleration

Newton's Third Law

for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Example: If object A acts a force upon object B, then object B will exert an opposite yet equal force upon object A.

7 types of forces

1) Weight (W)

2) Applied Force (Fapp)

3) Normal Force (N)

4) Tension (T)

5) Frictional Force (Ffrict)

6) Spring Force (Fspring)

7) Air Resistance (Fair)

Applied Force

Force which is applied to an object by another object. A person pushing a barrel is an example of applied force.

Weight

The force with which a body is attracted to Earth or another celestial body and which is equal to the product of the object's mass and the acceleration of gravity. A measure of the heaviness of an object.

Normal Force

the force that surfaces exert to prevent solid objects from passing through each other. Normal force is a contact force. If two surfaces are not in contact, they can't exert a normal force on each other.

Tension

the force transmitted through a rope, string or wire when pulled by forces acting from opposite sides. The tension force is directed over the length of the wire and pulls energy equally on the bodies at the ends.

Frictional Force

the force generated by two surfaces that contact and slide against each other

Spring Force

the force that tends to retract the spring back to its original position. This force is called the spring force. It is a contact force that can be found in elastic materials

Air Resistance

the forces that are in opposition to the relative motion of an object as it passes through the air. These drag forces act opposite to the oncoming flow velocity, thus slowing the object down

3 types of acceleration

uniform acceleration, non-uniform acceleration, and average acceleration

uniform or constant acceleration

change of equal velocity in equal intervals of time

non-uniform acceleration

the velocity of a body does not change at a constant rate in a given interval of time

average acceleration

the rate at which velocity changes

Gravity

a force of attraction that tends to draw particles or bodies together. Anything that goes up must come down

heat

the form of energy that is transferred between two materials of different temperature

Motion

the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time

Centripetal force

a force that acts on a body moving in a circular path and is directed toward the center around which the body is moving.

Work

force x displacement/distance

measure of energy transfer that occurs when an object is moved over a distance by an external force

Displacement

the change in position of an object

Energy

the ability to do work

Momentum

product of the mass of a particle and its velocity

Mass x Velocity

Magnetism

the motion of electric charges

the force exerted by magnets when they attract or repel each other

electricity

phenomenon associated with stationary or moving electric charges

Refraction

the bending of a wave of light when it enters a medium of a different speed