PHYSICS TERMINOLOGIES MIDTERM

PHYSICS

A basic science that deals with the interaction of matter and energy and their relationship with each other.

MATHEMATICS

It is the language of Physics.

BASIC SCIENCE

Fundamental/foundation of all other sciences.

CLASSICAL

Pre-1900 discoveries with microscopic observations (through the naked-eye).

MECHANICS

The study of motion and forces.

THERMODYNAMICS

The study of heat and temperature and their relationship to each other.

ELECTROMAGNETISM

The study of electrically charged bodies and its relationship with magnets.

OPTICS

The study of light.

ACOUSTICS

The study of sound.

MODERN

Post-1900 discoveries with microscopic observations (atomic observation).

QUANTUM MECHANICS

deals with the behavior of matter and light on a subatomic and atomic level.

RELATIVITY

The study of space and time.

NUCLEAR PHYSICS

The study of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom.

ISAAC NEWTON

Father of classical physics.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Father of modern physics.

GALILEO GALILEI

Father of physics.

Engineering is applied physics. Engineers study the behavior of materials under different conditions, design new materials with specific properties, and to develop techniques.

Engineering students apply the principles of physics and mathematics to solve practical technical problems.

What is the importance of studying Physics in Engineering? (2)

QUANTITATIVE

What type of observations are mostly used in Physics?

DESCRIPTIVE (QUALITATIVE)

Type of observation that is usually imprecise.

QUALITATIVE OBSERVATIONSI

Senses are used to describe/observe. “How do you measure artistic beauty?”

QUANTITATIVE OBSERVATIONS

Instruments are used to describe/observe. “What can be measured with the instruments?”

People used parts of their bodies to measure lengths.

How did people measure different things in the early days?

YARD

Tip of nose to the end of thumb.

CUBIT

From point of elbow to tip of middle finger.

FOOT

Length of human foot.

FATHOM

Space between extended arms.

HAND

Width of hand (including the thumb).

THUMB

Thickest width of thumb.

Body part measurements are not accurate.

People have different-sized body parts.

What are the problems that early people encountered using body parts to measure things? (2)

MEASUREMENT

Art of comparing unknown values to a standard or an accepted set of values for a particular quantity.

INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS (SI) / METRIC SYSTEM

It is the international standard for measurement.

ENGLISH SYSTEM

British Engineering System that evolved from the non-standard units of measure. It requires memorization of conversion factors and is inconvenient to use.

METRIC SYSTEM

Based on the decimal system and is more convenient and accurate because it uses prefixes and the standard unit of measurement, allowing easy conversion from one unit to another.

FUNDAMENTAL (BASE) QUANTITIES

Basic quantities that are independent of one another.

LENGTH, MASS, TIME, THERMODYNAMIC TEMPERATURE, ELECTRIC CURRENT, LUMINOUS INTENSITY, and AMOUNT OF SUBSTANCE.

What are the 7 fundamental quantities?

DERIVED QUANTITIES

Combinations of two or more fundamental quantities and other derived quantities.

MASS (kg/g)

The amount of matter in a substance.

WEIGHT (N) → mass x gravity.

The gravitational pull of a certain body to your body.

SI PREFIXES

Are used to form decimal multiples and submultiples of SI units.

SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

Significant or important digits which convey the meaning according to its accuracy. Provides precision to the numbers.

1. All non-zero digits are significant.

2. Zeroes between non-zero digits are significant.

3. Leading zeroes are never significant.

4. In a number with a decimal point, trailing zeroes are significant.

5. In a number without a decimal point, trailing zeroes may or may not be significant.

What are the 5 concise rules of significant figures?

Expressed in least decimal places.

Final answers in significant figures in addition and subtraction.

Expressed in least significant figures.

Final answers in significant figures in multiplication and division.

SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

Used to express the very large and very small numbers so that problem solving will be made easier. It makes it easier for scientists to work when written this way.

POSITIVE - LEFT

If a number written in scientific notation is greater than 10, the exponent will be:

NEGATIVE - RIGHT

If a number written in scientific notation is less than 10, the exponent will be:

Equal or greater than 1 but less than 10.

When will a number have an exponent of 0?

1. It is needed any time you need to express a number that is very big or small.

2. Ensures accuracy and reduces the possibility of error when using very small or very large numbers.

What is the importance of studying scientific notation?

Express with the same power of ten.

What is the rule for performing calculations in scientific notation for addition and subtraction?

Multiply the first factors and add the exponents

What is the rule for performing calculations in scientific notation for multiplication?

Divide the numerator by the denominator and subtract the exponent in the denominator from the exponent in the numerator.

What is the rule for performing calculations in scientific notation for division?

DIMENTIONAL ANALYSIS

Study of the relationship between physical quantities with the help of dimension and units of measurement.

Keeps the units the same to help perform mathematical calculation smoothly.

What is the importance of dimension analysis?

SI PREFIXES

Used to form decimal multiples and submultiples of SI units.

SUBTRACTION

If the decimal point was moved to the right:

ADDITION

If the decimal point was moved to the left:

Right triangles are prevalent in engineering disciplines and are utilized for calculating forces and voltage, resistance, and impedance in complex currents; as well as determining stability, and analyzing structural elements.

What is the importance of studying right triangle trigonometry in Engineering and Architecture?

ANGLE OF ELEVATION

The angle formed with respect to your horizontal normal line of sight towards an object that is placed above you.

ANGLE OF DEPRESSION

The angle formed between your horizontal line of sight and an object that is placed below you.

MEASUREMENT

These aren’t exactly the same and are always somewhat different from the “true value.”

ERRORS

Are deviations from the true value.

UNCERTAINTY

It is the way of expressing errors.

ACCURACY

Refers to the closeness of a measured value to the expected true value of a physical quantity.

PRECISION

Represents how close or consistent the independent measurements of the same quantity are to one another.

SCIENTIFIC DATA

Scientists always want the most precise and accurate experimental data. The precision and accuracy are limited by the instrumentation and data gathering techniques.

1. Limitations in the sensitivity of the instruments.

2. Imperfections in experimental design or measurement techniques.

The 2 sources of error in a measurement:

RANDOM ERROR

It is the result of unpredictable or inevitable changes during data measurement. electronic noise, slight variations, uncontrollable presences.

SYSTEMATIC ERRORS

Usually comes from the measuring instruments or in the design of the experiment itself. Percent error and percent difference.

PERCENT ERROR

When there is an expected or true value of a quantity and is considered in judging accuracy.

PERCENT DIFFERENCE

Measure of how far apart the different measured values are from each other and serves as an indication for precision.

MECHANICS

The study of the motion of objects.

KINEMATICS

The science of describing thee motion of objects using words, diagrams, numbers, graphs, and equations.

DYNAMICS

The study of the motion of objects and the forces responsible for that motion.

SCALAR

It is any quantity in Physics that has magnitude only.

MAGNITUDE

A number value with units; amount or quantity.

VECTOR

It is any quantity in Physics that has both magnitude (with its unit) and direction.

FORCE

Described as a push or pull involving direction.

DISPLACEMENT

The straight-line distance between starting point and end point.

VELOCITY

The rate of change in displacement.

ACCELERATION

The rate of change in velocity.

VECTOR DIAGRAM

Used to represent a vector quantity with the use of an arrow called a vector (→)

TAIL, LENGTH OF THE ARROW, ARROWHEAD

What are the 3 parts of a vector?

TAIL

Represents origin.

ENERGY

Capacity to do work.

TEMPERATURE

Hotness or coldness of a body.

TIME

Interval separating two points on the continuum in which events occur irreversibly from the past through the present to the future.

MASS

Amount of matter that a body contains.

SPEED

Distance traveled per unit time.

DISTANCE

Length between two points.

DISTANCE

The sum of the actual path traveled and is determined by adding the magnitudes of distance involved in the calculation.

DISPLACEMENT

The measurement of the change in position of the distance from the starting point to the end point.

MOTION

Described by how fast it is going and to what direction.

VELOCITY

Deals with both speed (magnitude) and direction.

RESULTANT VECTOR/RESULTANT (R)

The sum of two or more vector quantities; it represents the resulting magnitude and direction of the combined factors.

GRAPHICAL METHOD and ANALYTICAL METHOD

What are the 2 methods of adding vectors?

POLYGON METHOD and PARALLELOGRAM METHOD

What are the 2 graphical methods?

ANALYTICAL METHOD

Component method:

GRAPHICAL METHOD

Makes use of a graph or an illustration of the component vectors using vector arrows.

HEAD TO TAIL / TIP-TO TAIL / POLYGON METHOD

A vector addition method that involved drawing the first vector a graph and then placing the tail of each succeeding vector off the head of the previous vector. The resultant vector is then drawn from the tail of the first vector to the head of the final vector.