Classical Mechanics: Kinematics, Dynamics, Work, Energy, and Momentum

Vocabulary flashcards covering core physics concepts from Classical Mechanics, including kinematics, dynamics, Newton's laws, energy, work, impulse, and momentum conservation.

Kinematics

The branch of mechanics that studies how objects move, describing motion in terms of position, displacement, velocity, and acceleration without considering its cause.

Dynamics

The branch of mechanics that studies why objects move, explaining motion in terms of forces, mass, interactions, and Newton's Laws of Motion.

Position

The location of an object relative to a specific reference frame.

Velocity

The rate and direction of change in an object's position.

Acceleration

Any change in velocity over time, including speeding up, slowing down, or changing direction.

Inertia

The tendency of an object to resist any changes in its state of motion.

Mass

A quantitative measure of an object's resistance to changes in its motion state.

Newton's First Law of Motion

Also known as the Law of Inertia; it states that an object in motion stays in motion unless acted on by a net external force.

Mechanical Equilibrium

The state of a physical system in which the net external force acting on it is equal to zero.

Newton's Second Law of Motion

The principle stating that net force causes acceleration in the same direction, where greater mass results in less acceleration for a given force, and greater net force results in greater acceleration for a given mass.

Newton's Third Law of Motion

The law stating that forces always occur in simultaneous, equal, and opposite pairs acting on two different objects.

Work

An energy transfer that occurs only when a force causes displacement along the direction of that force.

Negative Work

Work done by resistive forces like friction that removes mechanical energy from a system.

Energy

A scalar quantity defined as the capacity to cause change.

Gravitational Potential Energy

Stored position energy within a gravitational field.

Kinetic Energy

The active energy an object possesses due to its motion.

Momentum

A vector quantity describing mass in motion—quantifying how difficult an object is to stop based on its mass and velocity.

Impulse

Force applied over a time interval, which produces a change in momentum.

Conservation of Momentum

The law stating that in an isolated system, total momentum before an interaction equals total momentum after, regardless of energy loss in collisions.

Isolated System

A system that is free from any net external forces.

Law of Inertia Demonstration in Transportation

An illustration showing that when a jeepney abruptly brakes, standing passengers lurch forward because their bodies resist changes in motion while friction slows down the vehicle.

Surface Friction Motion Experiment

An experiment comparing the movement of a toy jeepney rolling down a ramp onto a smooth surface versus a textured surface to observe the effects of friction.

Ramp Height Collision Experiment

An experimental setup demonstrating how releasing a toy jeepney from low height versus high height affects its motion and impact when colliding with a stationary block.

Qualitative Collision Stages

A diagram breaking down changes in motion, energy states, and outcomes into three stages: Before, During Collision, and After.