Physics

Introduction to Physics

Objective

In this lesson, you will

Introduction

Modern technology, which enables people located thousands of miles away from each other to communicate

in real time, is rooted in the discovery of rules that govern the movement of heavenly and earthly bodies.

Many scientists contributed to our understanding of these rules.

Timeline: Pioneers of Physics

• Nicolaus Copernicus, 1473–1543: He was the first scientist to ______________ the idea that Earth was

the center of the universe. Instead, he proposed that the Sun remained stationary in the center and

Earth revolved around it. This theory was known as the ______________________ model.

• Galileo Galilei, 1564–1642: He supported the _______________________ view stating that Earth and

other planets revolve around the stationary Sun located at the center of the solar system.

• Isaac Newton, 1643–1727: Newton's conclusions about universal ______________________ and the

three laws of ______________ were so fundamental to the field of physics that we still describe most

of the physical phenomena we experience as "Newtonian mechanics."

• Benjamin Franklin, 1706–1790: He proved that lightning is a form of ____________________, which

could be carried by a conductor into the ground.

• Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, 1736–1806: In honor of his contributions to the field of electricity and

magnetism, the SI unit of _________________ charge, the Coulomb, is named after him.

• Amedeo Avogadro, 1776–1856: He put forth a hypothesis about gases, stating that equal volumes of

gases at the same temperature and pressure must contain the same number of _______________.

• Marie Curie, 1867–1934: Curie is known for her discovery of two radioactive elements, polonium and

radium. The discovery of _____________ revolutionized the fields of physics, chemistry, and medicine.

• Albert Einstein, 1879–1955: He is known for his theory of mass-energy equivalence, a consequence of

special ________________.

• Niels Bohr, 1885–1962: His major contributions to physics are in the fields of _____________ structure

and ______________ mechanics.

What Is Physics?

Physics is one of the three main fields of ______________, the other two being biology and chemistry.

Physics is the scientific study of ____________ and ____________ and their interactions.

• Classical physics includes the study of ____________, electricity, ___________, heat, sound, light, and

_________________.

• Modern physics deals with topics such as nuclear physics, ____________ physics, astrophysics, and

__________________.

Mechanics

Mechanics is the study of _____________ and ___________ for bodies affected by a system of ___________.

There are four basic ___________ known in the universe.

• Quantum forces and nuclear forces apply only to _____________ interactions.

• Gravitational and electrical forces are the root causes of all the day–to–day ________________ events.

Properties of Gases, Liquids, and Heat

The laws of mechanics apply all the way down to the ____________ level. Large numbers of molecules behave

as a group in ______________________ ways and knowing how they behave is useful.

• Scientists such as Robert Boyle, Jacques Charles, Joseph Louis Gay–Lussac, John Dalton, and

Amedeo Avogadro studied the behavior of gases and the relationships among pressure,

______________, and temperature of a sample of gas. They developed various laws that could be

applied to all ___________.

• In the same way, scientists have studied the properties of ______________ with respect to their

volume, pressure, buoyancy, and flow.

• In physics, heat is studied as thermal energy. The study of how __________ is related to pressure,

density, and temperature is known as thermodynamics.

Waves, Light, and Sound

The laws of mechanics apply to ___________ on a spring, in water, or in ________.

• Wave properties: amplitude, __________________, and wavelength.

• We study these properties when we study light, ___________, or periodic motion.

• Acoustics is the branch of physics devoted to __________ and sound waves.

• Optics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior and properties of __________.

Electricity and Magnetism

Physics also includes the study of electricity, which is one of the four basic forces of nature. Electrical charges

follow the laws of mechanics.

• Electricity appears in nature in different forms, the most prominent being _________________.

• Magnetism is the study of the phenomena by which materials __________ an attractive or repulsive

__________ on other materials. Electricity and magnetism are fundamentally ____________.

Quantum and Nuclear Forces

Two of the basic forces of the ________________, the "strong" and the "weak" forces, are observed only on

the atomic or nuclear scale.

• Quantum mechanics is the branch of physics that studies the motions and interactions of

_______________________ bodies such as atoms, atomic nuclei, and elementary particles.

• Quantum ________ provide formulas and designs for electronic devices, nuclear reactors, and

superconductive ______________.

Physics not only _______________________ to our technological infrastructure but also forms

the basis for future technological advances.

Mechanical, civil, aeronautical, electrical, chemical, and hydrological engineers all rely on the

_____________________ of physics.

Medical equipment, ranging from simple blood pressure monitors to complex heart–lung machines,

pacemakers, and dialysis, were ________________ and improved through our understanding of physics.

Physics also enhances our knowledge of other fields, such as agriculture, __________________________

science, and forensics.

How Physics Links to Biology and Chemistry

Biology, as we know, is the study of __________. Medical students study how different organs function.

However, they also need to know the laws of physics to understand body _________________.

• For example, regulation and circulation of body ____________ follows the laws of physics

governing temperature, ________________, volume, and density.

Physics and Chemistry: The discovery of ________________ and their atomic structure.

• The theory of __________ was largely developed through experiments in atomic and nuclear physics.

• Quantum mechanics ultimately explains how elements combine to form ______________.

• Physics also explains ______ laws, _______________ energy changes, the shape of a molecule, and the

kinds of bonds formed between ___________.

How Physics Links to Earth and Space Science

The tools and laws of physics are essential _________________ for an understanding of space and cosmology.

The _________________ of heavenly bodies can be explained in terms of the physical phenomena of gravity,

relativity, _________________, thermodynamics, electromagnetic ____________, and quantum mechanics.

Earth science also borrows heavily from the laws of physics. The structure and ______________ of

Earth's interiors involve heat, pressure, and __________________. Weather forecasters who work

with atmosphere and ______________ systems must understand volume, pressure, velocity, density, heat,

and electromagnetism.

Galileo Galilei

Galileo is considered to be the first ____________ scientist, as well as the first modern ________________.

His work became the foundation for _______________ work in defining the field of mechanics.

• Most of his research focused on finding out how things __________. As a result, Galileo was the first

scientist to reveal the basic structure and working rules of the _________________.

• Galileo carried out numerous experiments on the relationship between _______________ and time.

Summary

What areas of daily life are the effects of the laws of physics seen?