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  IV Quarter Test Content:  Weight  Normal Force   Friction   Torque   Simple Machines   Work   Kinetic Energy   Work-Kinetic Energy Theorem   Potential Energy   <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; text-align: center;"> Content <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">**Month:** Work

Energy

Work- Kinetic Energy Theorem

Potential Energy

Conservation of Energy

Power

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: center;"> Definition and Mathematics of Work

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">When a force acts upon an object to cause a displacement of the object, it is said that work was done upon the object. There are three key ingredients to work - force, displacement, and cause. In order for a force to qualify as having done work on an object, there must be a displacement and the force must cause the displacement. There are several good examples of work that can be observed in everyday life - a horse pulling a plow through the field, a father pushing a grocery cart down the aisle of a grocery store, a freshman lifting a backpack full of books upon her shoulder, a weightlifter lifting a barbell above his head, an Olympian launching the shot-put, etc. In each case described here there is a force exerted upon an object to cause that object to be displaced.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Mathematically, work can be expressed by the following equation.



<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">where F is the force, d is the displacement, and the angle (theta) is defined as the angle between the force and the displacement vector. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the above equation is the angle "theta." The angle is not justany 'ole angle, but rather a very specific angle. The angle measure is defined as the angle between the force and the displacement. To gather an idea of it's meaning, consider the following three scenarios.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Scenario A: A force acts rightward upon an object as it is displaced rightward. In such an instance, the force vector and the displacement vector are in the same direction. Thus, the angle between F and d is 0 degrees.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Scenario B: A force acts leftward upon an object that is displaced rightward. In such an instance, the force vector and the displacement vector are in the opposite direction. Thus, the angle between F and d is 180 degrees.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Scenario C: A force acts upward on an object as it is displaced rightward. In such an instance, the force vector and the displacement vector are at right angles to each other. Thus, the angle between F and d is 90 degrees.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">To Do Work, Forces Must Cause Displacements <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Let's consider Scenario C above in more detail. Scenario C involves a situation similar to the waiter who carried a tray full of meals above his head by one arm straight across the room at constant speed. It was mentioned earlier that the waiter does not do work upon the tray as he carries it across the room. The force supplied by the waiter on the tray is an upward force and the displacement of the tray is a horizontal displacement. As such, the angle between the force and the displacement is 90 degrees. If the work done by the waiter on the tray were to be calculated, then the results would be 0. Regardless of the magnitude of the force and displacement, F*d*cosine 90 degrees is 0 (since the cosine of 90 degrees is 0). A vertical force can never cause a horizontal displacement; thus, a vertical force does not do work on a horizontally displaced object!!

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">It can be accurately noted that the waiter's hand did push forward on the tray for a brief period of time to accelerate it from rest to a final walking speed. But once up to speed, the tray will stay in its straight-line motion at a constant speed without a forward force. And if the only force exerted upon the tray during the constant speed stage of its motion is upward, then no work is done upon the tray. Again, a vertical force does not do work on a horizontally displaced object.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The equation for work lists three variables - each variable is associated with one of the three key words mentioned in the definition of work (force, displacement, and cause). The angle theta in the equation is associated with the amount of force that causes a displacement. When a force is exerted on an object at an angle to the horizontal, only a part of the force contributes to (or causes) a horizontal displacement. Let's consider the force of a chain pulling upwards and rightwards upon Fido in order to drag Fido to the right. It is only the horizontal component of the tension force in the chain that causes Fido to be displaced to the right. The horizontal component is found by multiplying the force F by the cosine of the angle between F and d. In this sense, the cosine theta in the work equation relates to the cause factor - it selects the portion of the force that actually causes a displacement.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Meaning of Theta <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">When determining the measure of the angle in the work equation, it is important to recognize that the angle has a precise definition - it is the angle between the force and the displacement vector. Be sure to avoid mindlessly using any 'ole angle in the equation. A common physics lab involves applying a force to displace a cart up a ramp to the top of a chair or box. A force is applied to a cart to displace it up the incline at constant speed. Several incline angles are typically used; yet, the force is always applied parallel to the incline. The displacement of the cart is also parallel to the incline. Since F and d are in the same direction, the angle theta in the work equation is 0 degrees. Nevertheless, most students experienced the strong temptation to measure the angle of incline and use it in the equation. Don't forget: the angle in the equation is not just any 'ole angle. It is defined as the angle between the force and the displacement vector.


 * <span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Units of Work **

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Whenever a new quantity is introduced in physics, the standard metric units associated with that quantity are discussed. In the case of work (and also energy), the standard metric unit is the Joule (abbreviated J). One Joule is equivalent to one Newton of force causing a displacement of one meter. In other words,

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Joule is the unit of work. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">1 Joule = 1 Newton * 1 meter <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">1 J = 1 N * m

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In fact, any unit of force times any unit of displacement is equivalent to a unit of work. Some nonstandard units for work are shown below. Notice that when analyzed, each set of units is equivalent to a force unit times a displacement unit.



<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In summary, work is done when a force acts upon an object to cause a displacement. Three quantities must be known in order to calculate the amount of work. Those three quantities are force, displacement and the angle between the force and the displacement.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: center;">Kinetic Energy

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. An object that has motion - whether it is vertical or horizontal motion - has kinetic energy. There are many forms of kinetic energy - vibrational (the energy due to vibrational motion), rotational (the energy due to rotational motion), and translational (the energy due to motion from one location to another). To keep matters simple, we will focus upon translational kinetic energy. The amount of translational kinetic energy (from here on, the phrase kinetic energy will refer to translational kinetic energy) that an object has depends upon two variables: the mass (m) of the object and the speed (v) of the object. The following equation is used to represent the kinetic energy (KE) of an object.



<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">where m = mass of object

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">v = speed of object

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This equation reveals that the kinetic energy of an object is directly proportional to the square of its speed. That means that for a twofold increase in speed, the kinetic energy will increase by a factor of four. For a threefold increase in speed, the kinetic energy will increase by a factor of nine. And for a fourfold increase in speed, the kinetic energy will increase by a factor of sixteen. The kinetic energy is dependent upon the square of the speed. As it is often said, an equation is not merely a recipe for algebraic problem solving, but also a guide to thinking about the relationship between quantities.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kinetic energy is a scalar quantity; it does not have a direction. Unlike velocity, acceleration, force, and momentum, the kinetic energy of an object is completely described by magnitude alone. Like work and potential energy, the standard metric unit of measurement for kinetic energy is the Joule. As might be implied by the above equation, 1 Joule is equivalent to 1 kg*(m/s)^2.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: center;">Potential Energy

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">An object can store energy as the result of its position. For example, the heavy ball of a demolition machine is storing energy when it is held at an elevated position. This stored energy of position is referred to as potential energy. Similarly, a drawn bow is able to store energy as the result of its position. When assuming its //usual position// (i.e., when not drawn), there is no energy stored in the bow. Yet when its position is altered from its usual equilibrium position, the bow is able to store energy by virtue of its position. This stored energy of position is referred to as potential energy. **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Potential energy **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> is the stored energy of position possessed by an object. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 1.5;">Gravitational Potential Energy

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">The two examples above illustrate the two forms of potential energy to be discussed in this course - gravitational potential energy and <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[|elastic potential energy] <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. Gravitational potential energy is the energy stored in an object as the result of its vertical position or height. The energy is stored as the result of the gravitational attraction of the Earth for the object. The gravitational potential energy of the massive ball of a demolition machine is dependent on two variables - the mass of the ball and the height to which it is raised. There is a direct relation between gravitational potential energy and the mass of an object. More massive objects have greater gravitational potential energy. There is also a direct relation between gravitational potential energy and the height of an object. The higher that an object is elevated, the greater the gravitational potential energy. These relationships are expressed by the following equation: <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">PEgrav = mass • g • heightPEgrav = m *• g • h <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">In the above equation, **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">m **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> represents the mass of the object, **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">h **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> represents the height of the object and **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">g **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> represents the gravitational field strength (9.8 N/kg on Earth) - sometimes referred to as the acceleration of gravity.



<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">To determine the gravitational potential energy of an object, a //zero height position// must first be arbitrarily assigned. Typically, the ground is considered to be a position of zero height. But this is merely an arbitrarily assigned position that most people agree upon. Since many of our labs are done on tabletops, it is often customary to assign the tabletop to be the zero height position. Again this is merely arbitrary. If the tabletop is the zero position, then the potential energy of an object is based upon its height relative to the tabletop. For example, a pendulum bob swinging to and from above the tabletop has a potential energy that can be measured based on its height above the tabletop. By measuring the mass of the bob and the height of the bob above the tabletop, the potential energy of the bob can be determined.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Since the gravitational potential energy of an object is directly proportional to its height above the zero position, a //doubling// of the height will result in a //doubling// of the gravitational potential energy. A //tripling// of the height will result in a //tripling// of the gravitational potential energy.


 * <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 1.5;">Elastic Potential Energy **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">The second form of potential energy that we will discuss is elastic potential energy. **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Elastic potential energy **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> is the energy stored in elastic materials as the result of their stretching or compressing. Elastic potential energy can be stored in rubber bands, bungee chords, trampolines, springs, an arrow drawn into a bow, etc. The amount of elastic potential energy stored in such a device is related to the amount of stretch of the device - the more stretch, the more stored energy.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Springs are a special instance of a device that can store elastic potential energy due to either compression or stretching. A force is required to compress a spring; the more compression there is, the more force that is required to compress it further. For certain springs, the amount of force is directly proportional to the amount of stretch or compression (x); the constant of proportionality is known as the spring constant (k). <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Such springs are said to follow Hooke's Law. If a spring is not stretched or compressed, then there is no elastic potential energy stored in it. The spring is said to be at its //<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">equilibrium position //<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. The equilibrium position is the position that the spring naturally assumes when there is no force applied to it. In terms of potential energy, the equilibrium position could be called the zero-potential energy position. There is a special equation for springs that relates the amount of elastic potential energy to the amount of stretch (or compression) and the spring constant. The equation is

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">To summarize, potential energy is the energy that is stored in an object due to its position relative to some zero position. An object possesses gravitational potential energy if it is positioned at a height above (or below) the zero height. An object possesses elastic potential energy if it is at a position on an elastic medium other than the equilibrium position.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: center;">Power

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">The quantity <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">[|work] <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> has to do with a force causing a displacement. Work has nothing to do with the amount of time that this force acts to cause the displacement. Sometimes, the work is done very quickly and other times the work is done rather slowly. For example, a rock climber takes an abnormally long time to elevate her body up a few meters along the side of a cliff. On the other hand, a trail hiker (who selects the easier path up the mountain) might elevate her body a few meters in a short amount of time. The two people might do the same amount of work, yet the hiker does the work in considerably less time than the rock climber. The quantity that has to do with the rate at which a certain amount of work is done is known as the power. The hiker has a greater //power rating// than the rock climber. <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Power is the rate at which work is done. It is the work/time ratio. Mathematically, it is computed using the following equation.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">The standard metric unit of power is the **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.5;">Watt **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. As is implied by the equation for power, a unit of power is equivalent to a unit of work divided by a unit of time. Thus, a Watt is equivalent to a Joule/second. For historical reasons, the //horsepower// is occasionally used to describe the power delivered by a machine. One horsepower is equivalent to approximately 750 Watts.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Most machines are designed and built to do work on objects. All machines are typically described by a power rating. The power rating indicates the rate at which that machine can do work upon other objects. Thus, the power of a machine is the work/time ratio for that particular machine. A car engine is an example of a machine that is given a power rating. The power rating relates to how rapidly the car can accelerate the car. Suppose that a 40-horsepower engine could accelerate the car from 0 mi/hr to 60 mi/hr in 16 seconds. If this were the case, then a car with four times the horsepower could do the same amount of work in one-fourth the time. That is, a 160-horsepower engine could accelerate the same car from 0 mi/hr to 60 mi/hr in 4 seconds. The point is that for the same amount of work, power and time are inversely proportional. The power equation suggests that a more powerful engine can do the same amount of work in less time.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">A person is also a machine that has a //power rating//. Some people are more power-full than others. That is, some people are capable of doing the same amount of work in less time or more work in the same amount of time. A common physics lab involves quickly climbing a flight of stairs and using mass, height and time information to determine a student's personal power. Despite the diagonal motion along the staircase, it is often assumed that the horizontal motion is constant and all the force from the steps is used to elevate the student upward at a constant speed. Thus, the weight of the student is equal to the force that does the work on the student and the height of the staircase is the upward displacement. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> Rotational motion

Torque Analysis and addition

Simple Machines <span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: center;">WHAT IS TORQUE? || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Torque is a measure of how much a force acting on an object causes that object to rotate. The object rotates about an axis, which we will call the pivot point, and will label 'O'. We will call the force 'F'. The distance from the pivot point to the point where the force acts is called the moment arm, and is denoted by 'r'. Note that this distance, 'r', is also a vector, and points from the axis of rotation to the point where the force acts. (Refer to Figure 1 for a pictoral representation of these definitions.)

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;">Torque is defined as

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">T = r x F = r F sin.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">In other words, torque is the cross product between the distance vector (the distance from the pivot point to the point where force is applied) and the force vector, 'a' being the angle between r and F.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">Using the right hand rule, we can find the direction of the torque vector. If we put our fingers in the direction of r, and curl them to the direction of F, then the thumb points in the direction of the torque vector.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;"> Imagine pushing a door to open it. The force of your push (F) causes the door to rotate about its hinges (the pivot point, O). How hard you need to push depends on the distance you are from the hinges (r) (and several other things, but let's ignore them now). The closer you are to the hinges (i.e. the smaller r is), the harder it is to push. This is what happens when you try to push open a door on the wrong side. The torque you created on the door is smaller than it would have been had you pushed the correct side (away from its hinges).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">Note that the force applied, F, and the moment arm, r, are independent of the object. Furthermore, a force applied at the pivot point will cause no torque since the moment arm would be zero (r = 0). || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Another way of expressing the above equation is that torque is the product of the magnitude of the force and the perpendicular distance from the force to the axis of rotation (i.e. the pivot point). Let the force acting on an object be broken up into its tangential (Ftan) and radial (Frad) components (see Figure 2). (Note that the tangential component is perpendicularto the moment arm, while the radial component is parallel to the moment arm.) The radial component of the force has no contribution to the torque because it passes through the pivot point. So, it is only the tangential component of the force which affects torque (since it is perpendicular to the line between the point of action of the force and the pivot point).

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">There may be more than one force acting on an object, and each of these forces may act on different point on the object. Then, each force will cause a torque. The net torque is the sum of the individual torques.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;"> Rotational Equilibrium is analogous to translational equilibrium, where the sum of the forces are equal to zero. In rotational equilibrium, the sum of the torques is equal to zero. In other words, there is no net torque on the object.



<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">Note that the SI units of torque is a Newton-metre, which is also a way of expressing a Joule (the unit for energy). However, torque is not energy. So, to avoid confusion, we will use the units N.m, and not J. The distinction arises because energy is a scalar quanitity, whereas torque is a vector. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Weight
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Everyday Forces:
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Weight
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Normal Force
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Frictional Force
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Kinetic and Static Friction Coefficient

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> **What is mass?** <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mass is a measurement of how much matter is in an object. Mass is a combination of the total number of atoms, the density of the atoms, and the type of atoms in an object.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">**How to Measure Mass** <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mass is usually measured in kilograms which is abbreviated as kg. In physics there are different ways of determining the quantity of mass. Two of the most commonly used are inertial mass and gravitational mass. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">When scientists want to express mass in terms of atoms and molecules they use the atomic mass unit which is abbreviated "u". One atomic mass unit is equal to 1/12 of the mass of carbon-12.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Inertial mass - Inertial mass is determined by how much the object resists acceleration. For example, if you push two objects under the same conditions with the same amount of force, the object with the lower mass will accelerate faster.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Gravitational mass - Gravitational mass is a measurement of how much gravity an object exerts on other objects. It can also be the measurement of how much gravity an object experiences from another object.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">**What is the difference between mass and weight?** <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Weight is different from mass. Weight is the measure of the force of gravity on an object. The mass of an object will never change, but the weight of an item can change based on its location. For example, you may weigh 100 pounds on Earth, but in outer space you would be weightless. However, you will always have the same mass on Earth as you have in outer space.

M<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">**easuring Weight** <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">In the United States we usually measure weight in pounds, but in physics when we are describing weight as a force, it is generally measured in Newtons which is abbreviated as "N".

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">**Converting Mass to Weight** <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Since gravity is fairly consistent on Earth, weight will be consistent as well. This allows us to use a formula to convert weight into mass or mass into weight. The formula is:

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> force = mass * acceleration or f = ma

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> In this equation force is equal to the weight. The acceleration is the acceleration caused by gravity "g" which is 9.8 m/s2. Now we can substitute weight for mass and 9.8 m/s2 for acceleration to get the formula: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">weight = mass * g

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> weight = mass * 9.8 m/s2

__<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> Example: __

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> What is the weight of a 50 kg mass object?

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> weight = 50 kg * 9.8 m/s2

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> weight = 490 N

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> **Is mass the same as size?** <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">No, mass is different than size or volume. This is because the type of atoms or molecules as well as their density helps to determine the mass. For example, a balloon filled with helium will have much less mass than a similar sized item made of solid gold.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> **The Law of Conservation of Mass**

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> The law of conservation of mass states that the mass of a closed system must remain constant over time. This means that although changes are being made to the objects in a system, the overall mass of the system must remain the same.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Interesting Facts about Mass and Weight **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The word "mass" comes from the Greek word "maza" meaning "lump of dough."
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Scientists estimate that the total mass of the universe is between 1052kg and 1053 kg.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">1000kg is equal to a metric tonne.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Greek philosopher Plato said that weight was the natural tendency of objects to seek their kin.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The gravity of Earth can vary as much as 0.5% depending on where you are on Earth.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth you would weigh 37.7 pounds on Mars and 236.4 pounds on Jupiter.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">**Exercises:**

__<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">http://www.physics247.com/physics-homework-help/friction-and-weight.php __ media type="youtube" key="nMCbv-byeng" width="560" height="315" align="center"

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">media type="youtube" key="aJc4DEkSq4I" width="560" height="315" <span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">(and Symbol) || <span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Description of Force || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">An applied force is a force that is applied to an object by a person or another object. If a person is pushing a desk across the room, then there is an applied force acting upon the object. The applied force is the force exerted on the desk by the person. || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The force of gravity is the force with which the earth, moon, or other massively large object attracts another object towards itself. By definition, this is the weight of the object. All objects upon earth experience a force of gravity that is directed "downward" towards the center of the earth. The force of gravity on earth is always equal to the weight of the object as found by the equation:
 * <span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Type of Force <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">==== ====
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Applied Force <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Fapp <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== || [[image:http://zonalandeducation.com/mstm/physics/mechanics/energy/work/work2.gif width="200" height="151" align="left"]]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Gravity Force <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(also known as Weight) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">===
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">Fgrav ** || [[image:http://eschooltoday.com/science/forces/images/GRAVITATIONAL-FORCE.jpg width="199" height="179" align="right"]]

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Fgrav = m * gwhere g = 9.8 N/kg (on Earth)and m = mass (in kg) <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(Caution: do not confuse weight with mass.) || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The normal force is the support force exerted upon an object that is in contact with another stable object. For example, if a book is resting upon a surface, then the surface is exerting an upward force upon the book in order to support the weight of the book. On occasions, a normal force is exerted horizontally between two objects that are in contact with each other. For instance, if a person leans against a wall, the wall pushes horizontally on the person. || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The friction force is the force exerted by a surface as an object moves across it or makes an effort to move across it. There are at least two types of friction force - sliding and static friction. Thought it is not always the case, the friction force often opposes the motion of an object. For example, if a book slides across the surface of a desk, then the desk exerts a friction force in the opposite direction of its motion. Friction results from the two surfaces being pressed together closely, causing intermolecular attractive forces between molecules of different surfaces. As such, friction depends upon the nature of the two surfaces and upon the degree to which they are pressed together. The maximum amount of friction force that a surface can exert upon an object can be calculated using the formula below: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ffrict = µ • Fnorm || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The air resistance is a special type of frictional force that acts upon objects as they travel through the air. The force of air resistance is often observed to oppose the motion of an object. This force will frequently be neglected due to its negligible magnitude (and due to the fact that it is mathematically difficult to predict its value). It is most noticeable for objects that travel at high speeds (e.g., a skydiver or a downhill skier) or for objects with large surface areas. || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The tension force is the force that is transmitted through a string, rope, cable or wire when it is pulled tight by forces acting from opposite ends. The tension force is directed along the length of the wire and pulls equally on the objects on the opposite ends of the wire. || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The spring force is the force exerted by a compressed or stretched spring upon any object that is attached to it. An object that compresses or stretches a spring is always acted upon by a force that restores the object to its rest or equilibrium position. For most springs (specifically, for those that are said to obey "Hooke's Law"), the magnitude of the force is directly proportional to the amount of stretch or compression of the spring. ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Normal Force <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Fnorm <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== || [[image:http://francesa.phy.cmich.edu/people/andy/physics110/book/Chapters/Chapter3_files/image032.jpg width="195" height="150" align="left"]]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Friction Force <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ffrict <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== || [[image:http://www.edu.pe.ca/gray/class_pages/krcutcliffe/physics621/5%20forces/friction.gif width="258" height="116" align="right"]]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Air Resistance Force <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Fair <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== || [[image:http://www.mikecurtis.org.uk/images/parachute.gif width="87" height="223" align="left"]]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Tension Force <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ftens <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== || [[image:https://www.cdli.ca/courses/ep/predesign/t03/02knowledge-skills/images/activity03/force6-tension.jpg width="302" height="147" align="right"]]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Spring Force <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Fspring <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">=== || [[image:http://images.tutorvista.com/content/motion-laws/spring-force.gif width="265" height="133" align="left"]]

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: center;">Sliding versus Static Friction

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The friction force is the force exerted by a surface as an object moves across it or makes an effort to move across it. For the purpose of our study of physics at The Physics Classroom, there are two types of friction force - static friction and sliding friction.Sliding friction results when an object slides across a surface. As an example, consider pushing a box across a floor. The floor surface offers resistance to the movement of the box. We often say that the floor exerts a friction force upon the box. This is an example of a sliding friction force since it results from the sliding motion of the box. If a car slams on its brakes and skids to a stop (without antilock brakes), there is a sliding friction force exerted upon the car tires by the roadway surface. This friction force is also a sliding friction force because the car is sliding across the road surface. Sliding friction forces can be calculated from knowledge of the coefficient of friction and the normal force exerted upon the object by the surface it is sliding across. The formula is:

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Sliding Ffrict = μ • Fnorm

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The symbol <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">represents the coefficient of sliding friction between the two surfaces. The coefficient value is dependent primarily upon the nature of the surfaces that are in contact with each other. For most surface combinations, the friction coefficients show little dependence upon other variables such as area of contact, temperature, etc. Values of coefficient of static friction have been experimentally determined for a variety of surface combinations and are often tabulated in technical manuals and handbooks. The values of μ provide a measure of the relative amount of adhesion or attraction of the two surfaces for each other. The more that surface molecules tend to adhere to each other, the greater the coefficient values and the greater the friction force.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Friction forces can also exist when the two surfaces are not sliding across each other. Such friction forces are referred to as static friction. Static friction results when the surfaces of two objects are at rest relative to one another and a force exists on one of the objects to set it into motion relative to the other object. Suppose you were to push with 5-Newton of force on a large box to move it across the floor. The box might remain in place. A static friction force exists between the surfaces of the floor and the box to prevent the box from being set into motion. The static friction force balances the force that you exert on the box such that the stationary box remains at rest. When exerting 5 Newton of applied force on the box, the static friction force has a magnitude of 5 Newton. Suppose that you were to push with 25 Newton of force on the large box and the box were to still remain in place. Static friction now has a magnitude of 25 Newton. Then suppose that you were to increase the force to 26 Newton and the box finally budged from its resting position and was set into motion across the floor. The box-floor surfaces were able to provide up to 25 Newton of static friction force to match your applied force. Yet the two surfaces were not able to provide 26 Newton of static friction force. The amount of static friction resulting from the adhesion of any two surfaces has an upper limit. In this case, the static friction force spans the range from 0 Newton (if there is no force upon the box) to 25 Newton (if you push on the box with 25 Newton of force). This relationship is often expressed as follows:

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ffrict-static ≤ μfrict-static• Fnorm

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The symbol μfrict-static represents the coefficient of static friction between the two surfaces. Like the coefficient of sliding friction, this coefficient is dependent upon the types of surfaces that are attempting to move across each other. In general, values of static friction coefficients are greater than the values of sliding friction coefficients for the same two surfaces. Thus, it typically takes more force to budge an object into motion than it does to maintain the motion once it has been started.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">media type="youtube" key="TkXAJHitPAY" width="420" height="315"



Newton’s Third law of motion  Determining net force   Equilibrium **<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 16.5pt;">Third Law **

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">The third law says that for every action (force) there is an equal and opposite reaction (force). Forces are found in pairs. Think about the time you sit in a chair. Your body exerts a force downward and that chair needs to exert an equal force upward or the chair will collapse. It's an issue of symmetry. Acting forces encounter other forces in the opposite direction. There's also the example of shooting a cannonball. When the cannonball is fired through the air (by the explosion), the cannon is pushed backward. The force pushing the ball out was equal to the force pushing the cannon back, but the effect on the cannon is less noticeable because it has a much larger mass. That example is similar to the kick when a gun fires a bullet forward.

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 1.5;">Let's study how a rocket works to understand Newton's Third Law. **   **<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">The rocket's action is to push down on the ground with the force of its powerful engines, and the reaction is that the ground pushes the rocket upwards with an equal force. **

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 1.5;">UP, ** **<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">UP, ** **<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">and **

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">AWAY! **

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;">Game: <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;">http://www.sciencechannel.com/games-and-interactives/newtons-laws-of-motion-interactive.htm [] [] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> Force Forces and Motion Forces in two dimensions Force Diagrams Drawing Free-Body Diagrams Inertia Newton’s first law of motion Newton’s Second law of motion <span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; text-align: center;">Drawing Free-Body Diagrams

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Free-body diagrams are diagrams used to show the relative magnitude and direction of all forces acting upon an object in a given situation. These diagrams will be used throughout our study of physics. The size of the arrow in a free-body diagram reflects the magnitude of the force. The direction of the arrow shows the direction that the force is acting. Each force arrow in the diagram is labeled to indicate the exact type of force. It is generally customary in a free-body diagram to represent the object by a box and to draw the force arrow from the center of the box outward in the direction that the force is acting. An example of a free-body diagram is shown at the right.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">The free-body diagram at the righg depicts four forces acting upon the object. Objects do not necessarily always have four forces acting upon them. There will be cases in which the number of forces depicted by a free-body diagram will be one, two, or three. There is no hard and fast rule about the number of forces that must be drawn in a free-body diagram. The only rule for drawing free-body diagrams is to depict all the forces that exist for that object in the given situation. Thus, to construct free-body diagrams, it is extremely important to know the various types of forces. If given a description of a physical situation, begin by using your understanding of the force types to identify which forces are present. Then determine the direction in which each force is acting. Finally, draw a box and add arrows for each existing force in the appropriate direction; label each force arrow according to its type. If necessary, refer to the list of forces and their description in order to understand the various force types and their appropriate symbols.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; text-align: center;">Newton's First Law <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The variety of ways by which motion can be described (words, graphs, diagrams, numbers, etc.) was discussed. In this unit (Newton's Laws of Motion), the ways in which motion can be explained will be discussed. Isaac Newton (a 17th century scientist) put forth a variety of laws that explain why objects move (or don't move) as they do. These three laws have become known as Newton's three laws of motion. The focus of this lesson is Newton's first law of motion - sometimes referred to as the law of inertia.

N<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">ewton's first law of motion is often stated as: >
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">o An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.





<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 1.5;">Everyday Applications of Newton's First Law <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">There are many applications of Newton's first law of motion. Consider some of your experiences in an automobile. Have you ever observed the behavior of coffee in a coffee cup filled to the rim while starting a car from rest or while bringing a car to rest from a state of motion? Coffee "keeps on doing what it is doing." When you accelerate a car from rest, the road provides an unbalanced force on the spinning wheels to push the car forward; yet the coffee (that was at rest) wants to stay at rest. While the car accelerates forward, the coffee remains in the same position; subsequently, the car accelerates out from under the coffee and the coffee spills in your lap. On the other hand, when braking from a state of motion the coffee continues forward with the same speed and in the same direction, ultimately hitting the windshield or the dash. Coffee in motion stays in motion.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Have you ever experienced inertia (resisting changes in your state of motion) in an automobile while it is braking to a stop? The force of the road on the locked wheels provides the unbalanced force to change the car's state of motion, yet there is no unbalanced force to change your own state of motion. Thus, you continue in motion, sliding along the seat in forward motion. A person in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction ... unless acted upon by the unbalanced force of a seat belt. Yes! Seat belts are used to provide safety for passengers whose motion is governed by Newton's laws. The seat belt provides the unbalanced force that brings you from a state of motion to a state of rest. Perhaps you could speculate what would occur when no seat belt is used.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">There are many more applications of Newton's first law of motion. Several applications are listed below. Perhaps you could think about the law of inertia and provide explanations for each application.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Blood rushes from your head to your feet while quickly stopping when riding on a descending elevator.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The head of a hammer can be tightened onto the wooden handle by banging the bottom of the handle against a hard surface.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">A brick is painlessly broken over the hand of a physics teacher by slamming it with a hammer. (CAUTION: do not attempt this at home!)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">To dislodge ketchup from the bottom of a ketchup bottle, it is often turned upside down and thrusted downward at high speeds and then abruptly halted.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Headrests are placed in cars to prevent whiplash injuries during rear-end collisions.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">While riding a skateboard (or wagon or bicycle), you fly forward off the board when hitting a curb or rock or other object that abruptly halts the motion of the skateboard.

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<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; text-align: center;">State of Motion <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. But what is meant by the phrase state of motion? The state of motion of an object is defined by its velocity - the speed with a direction. Thus, inertia could be redefined as follows: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">An object at rest has zero velocity - and (in the absence of an unbalanced force) will remain with a zero velocity. Such an object will not change its state of motion (i.e., velocity) unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. An object in motion with a velocity of 2 m/s, East will (in the absence of an unbalanced force) remain in motion with a velocity of 2 m/s, East. Such an object will not change its state of motion (i.e., velocity) unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Objects resist changes in their velocity.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">o Inertia: tendency of an object to resist changes in its velocity.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">As learned earlier, an object that is not changing its velocity is said to have an acceleration of 0 m/s/s. Thus, we could provide an alternative means of defining inertia: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> Inertia: tendency of an object to resist accelerations.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; text-align: center;">Determining the Net Force

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">If you have been reading, then Newton's first law of motion ought to be thoroughly understood.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">o An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">In the statement of Newton's first law, the unbalanced force refers to that force that does not become completely balanced (or canceled) by the other individual forces. If either all the vertical forces (up and down) do not cancel each other and/or all horizontal forces do not cancel each other, then an unbalanced force exists. The existence of an unbalanced force for a given situation can be quickly realized by looking at the free-body diagram for that situation. Free-body diagrams for three situations are shown below. Note that the actual magnitudes of the individual forces are indicated on the diagram.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: center;">In each of the above situations, there is an unbalanced force. It is commonly said that in each situation there is a net force acting upon the object. The net force is the vector sum of all the forces that act upon an object. That is to say, the net force is the sum of all the forces, taking into account the fact that a force is a vector and two forces of equal magnitude and opposite direction will cancel each other out. At this point, the rules for summing vectors (such as force vectors) will be kept relatively simple. Observe the following examples of summing two forces: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">Observe in the diagram above that a downward vector will provide a partial or full cancellation of an upward vector. And a leftward vector will provide a partial or full cancellation of a rightward vector. The addition of force vectors can be done in the same manner in order to determine the net force (i.e., the vector sum of all the individual forces). Consider the three situations below in which the net force is determined by summing the individual force vectors that are acting upon the objects.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; text-align: center;">Equilibrium W <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">hen all the forces that act upon an object are balanced, then the object is said to be in a state of equilibrium. The forces are considered to be balanced if the rightward forces are balanced by the leftward forces and the upward forces are balanced by the downward forces. This however does not necessarily mean that all the forces are equal to each other. Consider the two objects pictured in the force diagram shown below. Note that the two objects are at equilibrium because the forces that act upon them are balanced; however, the individual forces are not equal to each other. The 50 N force is not equal to the 30 N force.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">If an object is at equilibrium, then the forces are balanced. Balanced is the key word that is used to describe equilibrium situations. Thus, the net force is zero and the acceleration is 0 m/s/s. Objects at equilibrium must have an acceleration of 0 m/s/s. This extends from Newton's first law of motion. But having an acceleration of 0 m/s/s does not mean the object is at rest. An object at equilibrium is either ...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">at rest and staying at rest, or
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">in motion and continuing in motion with the same speed and direction.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">This too extends from Newton's first law of motion. <span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; text-align: center;">Newton's Second Law of Motion <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Newton's second law of motion pertains to the behavior of objects for which all existing forces are not balanced. The second law states that the acceleration of an object is dependent upon two variables - the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the object. The acceleration of an object depends directly upon the net force acting upon the object, and inversely upon the mass of the object. As the force acting upon an object is increased, the acceleration of the object is increased. As the mass of an object is increased, the acceleration of the object is decreased. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;">Newton's second law of motion can be formally stated as follows: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">This verbal statement can be expressed in equation form as follows:
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">a = Fnet / m

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> The above equation is often rearranged to a more familiar form as shown below. The net force is equated to the product of the mass times the acceleration.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Fnet = m * a
 * [[image:http://www.physics4kids.com/files/art/motion_force3_240x180.gif width="191" height="145" align="left"]]

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">In this entire discussion, the emphasis has been on the net force. The acceleration is directly proportional to the net force; the net force equals mass times acceleration; the acceleration in the same direction as the net force; an acceleration is produced by a net force. The NET FORCE. It is important to remember this distinction. Do not use the value of merely "any 'ole force" in the above equation. It is the net force that is related to acceleration. As discussed in an earlier lesson, the net force is the vector sum of all the forces. If all the individual forces acting upon an object are known, then the net force can be determined.

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<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[]

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Uniform Circular Motion Tangential Speed and Velocity <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">Centripetal Acceleration and Force **<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;">Speed and Velocity **

<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center;">The same concepts and principles used to describe and explain the motion of an object can be used to describe and explain the parabolic motion of a projectile. In this unit, we will see that these same concepts and principles can also be used to describe and explain the motion of objects that either move in circles or can be approximated to be moving in circles. Kinematic concepts and motion principles will be applied to the motion of objects in circles and then extended to analyze the motion of such objects as roller coaster cars, a football player making a //circular// turn, and a planet orbiting the sun. We will see that the beauty and power of physics lies in the fact that a few simple concepts and principles can be used to explain the mechanics of the entire universe. Lesson 1 of this study will begin with the development of kinematic and dynamic ideas that can be used to describe and explain the motion of objects in circles.
 * <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Uniform circular motion **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> is the motion of an object in a circle with a constant or uniform speed.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Calculation of the Average Speed

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Uniform circular motion - circular motion at a constant speed - is one of many forms of circular motion. An object moving in uniform circular motion would cover the same linear distance in each second of time. When moving in a circle, an object traverses a distance around the perimeter of the circle. So if your car were to move in a circle with a constant speed of 5 m/s, then the car would travel 5 meters along the perimeter of the circle in each second of time. The distance of one complete cycle around the perimeter of a circle is known as the **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.5;">circumference **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. With a uniform speed of 5 m/s, a car could make a complete cycle around a circle that had a circumference of 5 meters. At this uniform speed of 5 m/s, each cycle around the 5-m circumference circle would require 1 second. At 5 m/s, a circle with a circumference of 20 meters could be made in 4 seconds; and at this uniform speed, every cycle around the 20-m circumference of the circle would take the same time period of 4 seconds. This relationship between the circumference of a circle, the time to complete one cycle around the circle, and the speed of the object is merely an extension of the average speed equation. The circumference of any circle can be computed using from the radius according to the equation.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> Combining these two equations above will lead to a new equation relating the speed of an object moving in uniform circular motion to the radius of the circle and the time to make one cycle around the circle ( **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">period **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">). <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">where **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">R **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> represents the radius of the circle and **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">T **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> represents the period. This equation, like all equations, can be used as an algebraic recipe for problem solving. It also can be used to guide our thinking about the variables in the equation relate to each other. For instance, the equation suggests that for objects moving around circles of different radius in the same period, the object traversing the circle of larger radius must be traveling with the greatest speed. In fact, the average speed and the radius of the circle are directly proportional. A twofold increase in radius corresponds to a twofold increase in speed; a threefold increase in radius corresponds to a three--fold increase in speed; and so on. To illustrate, consider a strand of four LED lights positioned at various locations along the strand. The strand is held at one end and spun rapidly in a circle. Each LED light traverses a circle of different radius. Yet since they are connected to the same wire, their period of rotation is the same. Subsequently, the LEDs that are further from the center of the circle are traveling faster in order to sweep out the circumference of the larger circle in the same amount of time. If the room lights are turned off, the LEDs created an arc that could be perceived to be longer for those LEDs that were traveling faster - the LEDs with the greatest radius. This is illustrated in the diagram at the right.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">The Direction of the Velocity Vector

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Speed is a <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">scalar quantity <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> and velocity is a <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">vector quantity <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. Velocity, being a vector, has both a magnitude and a direction. The magnitude of the velocity vector is the instantaneous speed of the object. The direction of the velocity vector is directed in the same direction that the object moves. Since an object is moving in a circle, its direction is continuously changing. At one moment, the object is moving northward such that the velocity vector is directed northward. One quarter of a cycle later, the object would be moving eastward such that the velocity vector is directed eastward. As the object //rounds// the circle, the direction of the velocity vector is different than it was the instant before. So while the magnitude of the velocity vector may be constant, the direction of the velocity vector is changing. The best word that can be used to describe the direction of the velocity vector is the word **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">tangential **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. The direction of the velocity vector at any instant is in the direction of a tangent line drawn to the circle at the object's location. (A tangent line is a line that touches a circle at one point but does not intersect it.) The diagram at the right shows the direction of the velocity vector at four different points for an object moving in a clockwise direction around a circle. While the actual direction of the object (and thus, of the velocity vector) is changing, its direction is always tangent to the circle.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">To summarize, an object moving in uniform circular motion is moving around the perimeter of the circle with a constant speed. While the speed of the object is constant, its velocity is changing. Velocity, being a vector, has a constant magnitude but a changing direction. The direction is always directed tangent to the circle and as the object turns the circle, the tangent line is always pointing in a new direction. **<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;">Acceleration **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">An object moving in uniform circular motion is moving in a circle with a uniform or constant speed. The velocity vector is constant in magnitude but changing in direction. Because the speed is constant for such a motion, many students have the misconception that there is no acceleration. "After all," they might say, "if I were driving a car in a circle at a constant speed of 20 mi/hr, then the speed is neither decreasing nor increasing; therefore there must not be an acceleration." At the center of this common student misconception is the wrong belief that acceleration has to do with speed and not with velocity. But the fact is that <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">an accelerating object <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> is an object that is changing its velocity. And since <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">velocity is a vector <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> that has both magnitude and direction, a change in either the magnitude or the direction constitutes a change in the velocity. For this reason, it can be safely concluded that an object moving in a circle at constant speed is indeed accelerating. It is accelerating because the direction of the velocity vector is changing.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center;">To understand this at a deeper level, we will have to combine the definition of acceleration with a review of some basic vector principles. Acceleration as a quantity was defined as the rate at which the velocity of an object changes. As such, it is calculated using the following equation: <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">where **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">vi **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> represents the initial velocity and **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">vf **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> represents the final velocity after some time of **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">t **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. The numerator of the equation is found by subtracting one vector ( **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">vi **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">) from a second vector ( **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">vf **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">). But the addition and subtraction of vectors from each other is done in a manner much different than the addition and subtraction of scalar quantities. Consider the case of an object moving in a circle about point C as shown in the diagram below. In a time of t seconds, the object has moved from point A to point B. In this time, the velocity has changed from **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">vi **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> to **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">vf **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. The process of subtracting **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">vi **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> from **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">vf **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> is shown in the vector diagram; this process yields the change in velocity. **<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 1.5;">The Centripetal Force Requirement **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">An object moving in a circle is experiencing an acceleration. Even if moving around the perimeter of the circle with a constant speed, there is still <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">a change in velocity <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> and subsequently an acceleration. This acceleration is directed towards the center of the circle. And in accord with <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Newton's second law of motion <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">, an object which experiences an acceleration must also be experiencing a net force. The direction of the net force is in the same direction as the acceleration. So for an object moving in a circle, there must be an inward force acting upon it in order to cause its inward acceleration. This is sometimes referred to as the **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">centripetal force requirement **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. The word //centripetal// (not to be confused with the F-word//centrifugal//) means center seeking. For object's moving in circular motion, there is a net force acting towards the center which causes the object to //seek// the center.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">To understand the importance of a centripetal force, it is important to have a sturdy understanding of the <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Newton's first law of motion <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> - **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">the law of inertia **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. The law of inertia states that ...   <span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center;">According to Newton's first law of motion, it is the natural tendency of all moving objects to continue in motion in the same direction that they are moving ... unless some form of unbalanced force acts upon the object to deviate its motion from its straight-line path. Moving objects will tend to naturally travel in straight lines; an unbalanced force is only required to cause it to turn. Thus, the presence of an unbalanced force is required for objects to move in circles.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">|| ... objects in motion tend to stay in motion with the same speed and the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. ||

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">The Centripetal Force and Direction Change

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Any object moving in a circle (or along a circular path) experiences a **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">centripetal force **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. That is, there is some physical force pushing or pulling the object towards the center of the circle. This is the centripetal force requirement. The word//centripetal// is merely an adjective used to describe the direction of the force. We are not introducing a new //type// of force but rather describing the direction of the net force acting upon the object that moves in the circle. Whatever the object, if it moves in a circle, there is some force acting upon it to cause it to deviate from its straight-line path, accelerate inwards and move along a circular path. Three such examples of centripetal force are shown below. **<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt;">Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation **
 * [[image:http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circles/u6l2a2.gif]] || [[image:http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circles/u6l1c3.gif align="center"]] || [[image:http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circles/u6l4b3.gif]] ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">As a car makes a turn, the force of friction acting upon the turned wheels of the car provides centripetal force required for circular motion. || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">As a bucket of water is tied to a string and spun in a circle, the tension force acting upon the bucket provides the centripetal force required for circular motion. || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">As the moon orbits the Earth, the force of gravity acting upon the moon provides the centripetal force required for circular motion. ||

<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center;">Isaac Newton compared the acceleration of the moon to the acceleration of objects on earth. Believing that gravitational forces were responsible for each, Newton was able to draw an important conclusion about the dependence of gravity upon distance. This comparison led him to conclude that the force of gravitational attraction between the Earth and other objects is inversely proportional to the distance separating the earth's center from the object's center. But distance is not the only variable affecting the magnitude of a gravitational force. Consider Newton's famous equation

<span style="color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: center;">Fnet = m • a

<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center;">Newton knew that the force that caused the apple's acceleration (gravity) must be dependent upon the mass of the apple. And since the force acting to cause the apple's downward acceleration also causes the earth's upward acceleration (Newton's third law), that force must also depend upon the mass of the earth. So for Newton, the force of gravity acting between the earth and any other object is directly proportional to the mass of the earth, directly proportional to the mass of the object, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance that separates the centers of the earth and the object. <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">The constant of proportionality (G) in the above equation is known as the **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.5;">universal gravitation constant **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. The precise value of G was determined experimentally by Henry Cavendish in the century after Newton's death. The value of G is found to be

**<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">G = 6.673 x 10-11 N m2/kg2 **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">The units on G may seem rather odd; nonetheless they are sensible. When the units on G are substituted into the equation above and multiplied by **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">m1• m2 **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> units and divided by **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">d2 **<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> units, the result will be Newtons - the unit of force.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center;">Knowing the value of G allows us to calculate the force of gravitational attraction between any two objects of known mass and known separation distance.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Scalars and vectors Properties of vectors Coordinate systems in two dimensions Determining resultant magnitude and direction Coordinate systems in two dimensions Resolving vectors into components <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">Vector addition **<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 16.5pt;">Scalars and Vectors **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Scalar is the measurement of a medium strictly in magnitude.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Vector is a measurement that refers to both the magnitude of the medium as well as the direction of the movement the medium has taken.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Scalar Quantities

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Scalar quantities, as stated above, are the measurements that strictly refer to the magnitude of the medium. There are absolutely no directional components in a scalar quantity - only the magnitude of the medium.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Time - Scalar quantities often refer to time; the measurement of years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds, and even milliseconds.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Volume - Scalar quantity can refer to the volume of the medium, as in how much of the medium is present. Everything from tons to ounces to grams, milliliters and micrograms are all scalar quantities, as long as they are applied to the medium being measured and not the movement of the medium.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Speed and temperature - Two more commonly used scalar quantities in physical calculations are speed and temperature. As long as they are not associated with a directional movement, they remain scalar quantities. For instance, the measurement of speed in miles or kilometers-per-hour or the measurement of the temperature of the medium both remain scalar quantities as long as they aren’t associated with the direction of the medium’s travel.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Vector Quantities <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Vector quantities, however, refer to both the direction of the medium’s movement as well as the measurement of the scalar quantity.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Increase/Decrease in Temperature - The measurement of the medium’s temperature is a scalar quantity; the measurement of the increase or decrease in the medium’s temperature is a vector quantity.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Velocity - The measurement of the rate at which an object changes position is a vector quantity. For example:

> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">If a person quickly moves one step forward and then one step backward there would certainly be a lot of activity; but, there would be "zero velocity." > > <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">In order to measure the vector quantity of the medium, there must be:


 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">A directional measurement applied to the scalar quantity. For example:

> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Regardless of how fast an object is going, the direction of the movement must be described in the velocity vector such as "rightwards" or "forward."


 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">A beginning reference point for the directional measurement in order to provide the directional element of the vector quantity. Your beginning point could be centered in a north, south, east and west quadrant so that the vector quantity can be applied to the medium’s movement. For example:

> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">To describe a car's velocity you would have to state it as 70 miles per hour, south.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another directional element that may be applied to the vector quantity is the different between vertical and horizontal movements.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> http://physics-help.info/physicsguide/appendices/vectors.shtml
 * <span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 16.5pt; text-align: center;">Properties of Vectors **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 16.5pt; text-align: center;">Determining Resultant Magnitude and Direction **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: latoregular,Tahoma; font-size: 16px;">A variety of mathematical operations can be performed with and upon vectors. One such operation is the addition of vectors. Two vectors can be added together to determine the result (or resultant). The //net force// experienced by an object was determined by computing the vector sum of all the individual forces acting upon that object. That is the net force was the result (or resultant) of adding up all the force vectors. During that unit, the rules for summing vectors (such as force vectors) were kept relatively simple.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: latoregular,Tahoma; font-size: 16px;">There are a variety of methods for determining the magnitude and direction of the result of adding two or more vectors. The two methods that will be discussed in this lesson and used throughout the entire unit are:
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: latoregular,Tahoma; font-size: 16px;">the Pythagorean theorem and trigonometric methods
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff3330; font-family: latoregular,Tahoma; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;">[|the head-to-tail method using a scaled vector diagram]

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 16.5pt; text-align: center;">Vector Resolution http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/vectors/Lesson-1/Vector-Resolution

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Changes in velocity Motion with constant acceleration <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5;">Free Fall <span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; text-align: center;">Acceleration

<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center;">The final mathematical quantity discussed in Lesson 1 is acceleration. An often confused quantity, acceleration has a meaning much different than the meaning associated with it by sports announcers and other individuals. The definition of acceleration is:
 * <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Acceleration <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> is a <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">vector quantity <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> that is defined as the rate at which an object changes its <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">velocity <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. An object is accelerating if it is changing its velocity.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 1.5;">The Meaning of Constant Acceleration

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Sometimes an accelerating object will change its velocity by the same amount each second. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the data table above show an object changing its velocity by 10 m/s in each consecutive second. This is referred to as a <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">constant acceleration <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> since the velocity is changing by a constant amount each second. An object with a constant acceleration should not be confused with an object with a constant velocity. Don't be fooled! If an object is changing its velocity -whether by a constant amount or a varying amount - then it is an accelerating object. And an object with a constant velocity is not accelerating. The data tables below depict motions of objects with a constant acceleration and a changing acceleration. Note that each object has a changing velocity.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Since accelerating objects are constantly changing their velocity, one can say that the distance traveled/time is not a constant value. A falling object for instance usually accelerates as it falls. If we were to observe the motion of a <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">free-falling object <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> ( <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">free fall motion <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> will be discussed in detail later), we would observe that the object averages a velocity of approximately 5 m/s in the first second, approximately 15 m/s in the second second, approximately 25 m/s in the third second, approximately 35 m/s in the fourth second, etc. Our free-falling object would be constantly accelerating. Given these average velocity values during each consecutive 1-second time interval, we could say that the object would fall 5 meters in the first second, 15 meters in the second second (for a total distance of 20 meters), 25 meters in the third second (for a total distance of 45 meters), 35 meters in the fourth second (for a total distance of 80 meters after four seconds). These numbers are summarized in the table below. || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">Time Interval **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ave. Velocity During Time Interval ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">Distance Traveled During Time Interval ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">Total Distance Traveled from 0s to End of Time Interval ** ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">0 - 1 s || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">~ 5 m/s || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">~ 5 m || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">~ 5 m ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">1 -2 s || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">~ 15 m/s || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">~ 15 m || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">~ 20 m ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">2 - 3 s || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">~ 25 m/s || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">~ 25 m || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">~ 45 m ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">3 - 4 s || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">~ 35 m/s || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">~ 35 m || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 10pt;">~ 80 m ||

<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center;">Note: The ~ symbol as used here means approximately. <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">This discussion illustrates that a <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">free-falling object <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> that is accelerating at a constant rate will cover different distances in each consecutive second. Further analysis of the first and last columns of the data above reveal that there is a square relationship between the total distance traveled and the time of travel for an object starting from rest and moving with a constant acceleration. The total distance traveled is directly proportional to the square of the time. As such, if an object travels for twice the time, it will cover four times (2^2) the distance; the total distance traveled after two seconds is four times the total distance traveled after one second. If an object travels for three times the time, then it will cover nine times (3^2) the distance; the distance traveled after three seconds is nine times the distance traveled after one second. Finally, if an object travels for four times the time, then it will cover 16 times (4^2) the distance; the distance traveled after four seconds is 16 times the distance traveled after one second. For objects with a constant acceleration, the distance of travel is directly proportional to the square of the time of travel.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; text-align: center;">Calculating the Average Acceleration

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">The average acceleration ( <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">a <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">) of any object over a given interval of time ( <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">t <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">) can be calculated using the equation



<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Acceleration values are expressed in units of velocity/time. <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Typical acceleration units include the following: <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.5;">m/s/s <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">mi/hr/s <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">km/hr/s <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.5;">m/s2

<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-align: center;">These units may seem a little awkward to a beginning physics student. Yet they are very reasonable units when you begin to consider the definition and equation for acceleration. Since acceleration is a velocity change over a time, the units on acceleration are velocity units divided by time units - thus (m/s)/s or (mi/hr)/s. The (m/s)/s unit can be mathematically simplified to m/s2.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; text-align: center;">The Direction of the Acceleration Vector

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Since acceleration is a <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">vector quantity <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">, it has a direction associated with it. The direction of the acceleration vector depends on two things:
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">whether the object is speeding up or slowing down
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">whether the object is moving in the + or - direction

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">The general <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">RULE OF THUMB <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> is: <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">This <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">RULE OF THUMB <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> can be applied to determine whether the sign of the acceleration of an object is positive or negative, right or left, up or down, etc. <span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; text-align: center;">Free Fall
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">If an object is slowing down, then its acceleration is in the opposite direction of its motion.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">A free falling object is an object that is falling under the sole influence of gravity. Any object that is being acted upon only by the force of gravity is said to be in a state of <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">free fall <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. There are two important motion characteristics that are true of free-falling objects: <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Because free-falling objects are accelerating downwards at a rate of 9.8 m/s/s, a <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">ticker tape trace <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> or dot diagram of its motion would depict an acceleration. The dot diagram at the right depicts the acceleration of a free-falling object. The position of the object at regular time intervals - say, every 0.1 second - is shown. The fact that the distance that the object travels every interval of time is increasing is a sure sign that the ball is speeding up as it falls downward. Recall from an <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">earlier lesson <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">, that if an object travels downward and speeds up, then its acceleration is downward.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Free-falling objects do not encounter air resistance.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">All free-falling objects (on Earth) accelerate downwards at a rate of 9.8 m/s/s (often approximated as 10 m/s/s for //back-of-the-envelope// calculations)

<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;">Free-fall acceleration is often witnessed in a physics classroom by means of an ever-popular strobe light demonstration. The room is darkened and a jug full of water is connected by a tube to a medicine dropper. The dropper drips water and the strobe illuminates the falling droplets at a regular rate - say once every 0.2 seconds. Instead of seeing a stream of water free-falling from the medicine dropper, several consecutive drops with increasing separation distance are seen. The pattern of drops resembles the dot diagram shown in the graphic at the right.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;">The Acceleration of Gravity

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">A free-falling object is an object that is falling under the sole influence of gravity. A free-falling object has an acceleration of 9.8 m/s/s, downward (on Earth). This numerical value for the acceleration of a free-falling object is such an important value that it is given a special name. It is known as the <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">acceleration of gravity <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> - the acceleration for any object moving under the sole influence of gravity. A matter of fact, this quantity known as the acceleration of gravity is such an important quantity that physicists have a special symbol to denote it - the symbol <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">g <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. The numerical value for the acceleration of gravity is most accurately known as 9.8 m/s/s. There are slight variations in this numerical value (to the second decimal place) that are dependent primarily upon on altitude. We will occasionally use the approximated value of 10 m/s/s in The Physics Classroom Tutorial in order to reduce the complexity of the many mathematical tasks that we will perform with this number. By so doing, we will be able to better focus on the conceptual nature of physics without too much of a sacrifice in numerical accuracy.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">g = 9.8 m/s/s, downward ( <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">~ 10 m/s/s, downward) **<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 16.5pt;">How Fast? and How Far? **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Free-falling objects are in a state of <span style="color: #980000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">acceleration <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">. Specifically, they are accelerating at a rate of 9.8 m/s/s. This is to say that the velocity of a free-falling object is changing by 9.8 m/s every second. If dropped from a position of rest, the object will be traveling 9.8 m/s (approximately 10 m/s) at the end of the first second, 19.6 m/s (approximately 20 m/s) at the end of the second second, 29.4 m/s (approximately 30 m/s) at the end of the third second, etc. Thus, the velocity of a free-falling object that has been dropped from a position of rest is dependent upon the time that it has fallen. The formula for determining the velocity of a falling object after a time of <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">t <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> seconds is    **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">vf = g * t **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">where <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">g <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> is the acceleration of gravity. The value for g on Earth is 9.8 m/s/s. The above equation can be used to calculate the velocity of the object after any given amount of time when dropped from rest.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: center;">Motion in One Dimension: <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: center;">Distance <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: center;">Displacement <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: center;">Speed <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: center;">Velocity Distance and Displacement <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Distance and displacement are two quantities that may seem to mean the same thing yet have distinctly different definitions and meanings.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to "how much ground an object has covered" during its motion.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Displacement is a vector quantity that refers to "how far out of place an object is"; it is the object's overall change in position.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> To understand the distinction between distance and displacement, you must know the definitions. You must also know that a vector quantity such as displacement is direction-aware and a scalar quantity such as distance is ignorant of direction. When an object changes its direction of motion, displacement takes this direction change into account; heading the opposite direction effectively begins to cancel whatever displacement there once was.

Speed and Velocity <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Just as distance and displacement have distinctly different meanings (despite their similarities), so do speed and velocity. Speed is a scalar quantity that refers to "how fast an object is moving." Speed can be thought of as the rate at which an object covers distance. A fast-moving object has a high speed and covers a relatively large distance in a short amount of time. Contrast this to a slow-moving object that has a low speed; it covers a relatively small amount of distance in the same amount of time. An object with no movement at all has a zero speed.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> Velocity is a vector quantity that refers to "the rate at which an object changes its position." Imagine a person moving rapidly - one step forward and one step back - always returning to the original starting position. While this might result in a frenzy of activity, it would result in a zero velocity. Because the person always returns to the original position, the motion would never result in a change in position. Since velocity is defined as the rate at which the position changes, this motion results in zero velocity. If a person in motion wishes to maximize their velocity, then that person must make every effort to maximize the amount that they are displaced from their original position. Every step must go into moving that person further from where he or she started. For certain, the person should never change directions and begin to return to the starting position.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">Velocity is a vector quantity. As such, velocity is direction aware. When evaluating the velocity of an object, one must keep track of direction. It would not be enough to say that an object has a velocity of 55 mi/hr. One must include direction information in order to fully describe the velocity of the object. For instance, you must describe an object's velocity as being 55 mi/hr, east. This is one of the essential differences between speed and velocity. Speed is a scalar quantity and does not keep track of direction; velocity is a vector quantity and is direction aware.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The task of describing the direction of the velocity vector is easy. The direction of the velocity vector is simply the same as the direction that an object is moving. It would not matter whether the object is speeding up or slowing down. If an object is moving rightwards, then its velocity is described as being rightwards. If an object is moving downwards, then its velocity is described as being downwards. So an airplane moving towards the west with a speed of 300 mi/hr has a velocity of 300 mi/hr, west. Note that speed has no direction (it is a scalar) and the velocity at any instant is simply the speed value with a direction.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> As an object moves, it often undergoes changes in speed. For example, during an average trip to school, there are many changes in speed. Rather than the speed-o-meter maintaining a steady reading, the needle constantly moves up and down to reflect the stopping and starting and the accelerating and decelerating. One instant, the car may be moving at 50 mi/hr and another instant, it might be stopped (i.e., 0 mi/hr). Yet during the trip to school the person might average 32 mi/hr. The average speed during an entire motion can be thought of as the average of all speedometer readings. If the speedometer readings could be collected at 1-second intervals (or 0.1-second intervals or ... ) and then averaged together, the average speed could be determined. Now that would be a lot of work. And fortunately, there is a shortcut. Read on.


 * <span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 16.5pt;">Calculating Average Speed and Average Velocity **

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The average speed and average velocity during the course of a motion are often computed using the following formulas:



<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Since a moving object often changes its speed during its motion, it is common to distinguish between the average speed and the instantaneous speed. The distinction is as follows.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Average Speed versus Instantaneous Speed **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Instantaneous Speed - the speed at any given instant in time.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Average Speed - the average of all instantaneous speeds; found simply by a distance/time ratio.



<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">You might think of the instantaneous speed as the speed that the speedometer reads at any given instant in time and the average speed as the average of all the speedometer readings during the course of the trip. Since the task of averaging speedometer readings would be quite complicated (and maybe even dangerous), the average speed is more commonly calculated as the distance/time ratio.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> Moving objects don't always travel with erratic and changing speeds. Occasionally, an object will move at a steady rate with a constant speed. That is, the object will cover the same distance every regular interval of time. For instance, a cross-country runner might be running with a constant speed of 6 m/s in a straight line for several minutes. If her speed is constant, then the distance traveled every second is the same. The runner would cover a distance of 6 meters every second. If we could measure her position (distance from an arbitrary starting point) each second, then we would note that the position would be changing by 6 meters each second. This would be in stark contrast to an object that is changing its speed. An object with a changing speed would be moving a different distance each second. The data tables below depict objects with constant and changing speed.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">In conclusion, speed and velocity are kinematic quantities that have distinctly different definitions. Speed, being a [|scalar quantity] <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">, is the rate at which an object covers [|distance] <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">. The average speed is the [|distance] <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> (a scalar quantity) per time ratio. Speed is ignorant of direction. On the other hand, velocity is a [|vector quantity] <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">; it is direction-aware. Velocity is the rate at which the position changes. The average velocity is the [|displacement] <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> or position change (a vector quantity) per time ratio.

The Meaning of Shape for a p-t Graph <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Our study of 1-dimensional kinematics has been concerned with the multiple means by which the motion of objects can be represented. Such means include the use of words, the use of diagrams, the use of numbers, the use of equations, and the use of graphs. The specific features of the motion of objects are demonstrated by the shape and the slope of the lines on a position vs. time graph. The first part of this lesson involves a study of the relationship between the shape of a p-t graph and the motion of the object.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">The position vs. time graphs for the two types of motion - constant velocity and changing velocity (acceleration)




 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">The Importance of Slope **

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The shapes of the position versus time graphs for these two basic types of motion - constant velocity motion and accelerated motion (i.e., changing velocity) - reveal an important principle. The principle is that the slope of the line on a position-time graph reveals useful information about the velocity of the object. It is often said, "As the slope goes, so goes the velocity." Whatever characteristics the velocity has, the slope will exhibit the same (and vice versa). If the velocity is constant, then the slope is constant (i.e., a straight line). If the velocity is changing, then the slope is changing (i.e., a curved line). If the velocity is positive, then the slope is positive (i.e., moving upwards and to the right). This very principle can be extended to any motion conceivable.



<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">C <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 1.5;">The principle of slope is an incredibly useful principle for extracting relevant information about the motion of objects as described by their position vs. time graph. Once you've practiced the principle a few times, it becomes a very natural means of analyzing position-time graphs.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;">The Topics of Physics <span style="display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Scientific Method Using Models in Physics Measurements in Experiments SI prefixes Metric Prefixes Accuracy and Precision

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">What is Physics? <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The dictionary definition of physics is “the study of matter, energy, and the interaction between them”, but what that really means is that physics is about asking fundamental questions and trying to answer them by observing and experimenting. Physicists ask really big questions like: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you think these questions are fascinating, then you’ll like physics.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">How did the universe begin?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">How will the universe change in the future?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">How does the Sun keep on shining?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">What are the basic building blocks of matter?

<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">What do Physicists do? <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Many physicists work in ‘pure’ research, trying to find answers to these types of question. The answers they come up with often lead to unexpected technological applications. For example, all of the technology we take for granted today, including games consoles, mobile phones, mp3 players, and DVDs, is based on a theoretical understanding of electrons that was developed around the turn of the 20th century.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Physics doesn’t just deal with theoretical concepts. It’s applied in every sphere of human activity, including: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">…in fact, pretty much every sector you can think of needs people with physics knowledge.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Development of sustainable forms of energy production
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Treating cancer, through radiotherapy, and diagnosing illness through various types of imaging, all based on physics.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Developing computer games
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Design and manufacture of sports equipment
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Understanding and predicting earthquakes

<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">What about mathematics? <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Many apparently complicated things in nature can be understood in terms of relatively simple mathematical relationships. Physicists try to uncover these relationships through observing, creating mathematical models, and testing them by doing experiments. The mathematical equations used in physics often look far more complicated than they really are. Nevertheless, if you are going to study physics, you will need to get to grips with a certain amount of maths. <span style="color: #0fc40f; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">…and computers? <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Physicists are increasingly using advanced computers and programming languages in the solution of scientific problems, particularly for modelling complex processes. If the simulation is not based on correct physics, then it has no chance of predicting what really happens in nature. Most degree courses in physics now involve at least some computer programming.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Scientific Method <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The scientific method is a set of techniques used by the scientific community to investigate natural phenomena by providing an objective framework in which to make scientific inquiry and analyze the data to reach a conclusion about that inquiry.



<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">Steps of the Scientific Method <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The goals of the scientific method are uniform, but the method itself is not necessarily formalized among all branches of science. It is most generally expressed as a series of discrete steps, although the exact number and nature of the steps varies depending upon the source. The scientific method is not a recipe, but rather an ongoing cycle that is meant to be applied with intelligence, imagination, and creativity. Frequently, some of these steps will take place simultaneously, in a different order, or be repeated as the experiment is refined, but this is the most general and intuitive sequence. As expressed by Shawn Lawrence Otto in Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America: > <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is no one "scientific method"; rather, there is a collection of strategies that have proven effective in answering our questions about how things in nature really work. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Depending on the source, the exact steps will be described somewhat differently, but the following are a good general guideline for how the scientific method is often applied.
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ask a question – determine a natural phenomenon (or group of phenomena) that you are curious about and would like to explain or learn more about, then ask a specific question to focus your inquiry.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Research the topic – this step involves learning as much about the phenomenon as you can, including by studying the previous studies of others in the area.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Formulate a hypothesis – using the knowledge you have gained, formulate a hypothesis about a cause or effect of the phenomenon, or the relationship of the phenomenon to some other phenomenon.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Test the hypothesis – plan and carry out a procedure for testing the hypothesis (an experiment) by gathering data.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Analyze the data – use proper mathematical analysis to see if the results of the experiment support or refute the hypothesis.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">If the data does not support the hypothesis, it must be rejected or modified and re-tested. Frequently, the results of the experiment are compiled in the form of a lab report (for typical classroom work) or a paper (in the case of publishable academic research). It is also common for the results of the experiment to provide an opportunity for more questions about the same phenomenon or related phenomena, which begins the process of inquiry over again with a new question.

<span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Metric Prefixes

Some Videos to Watch: media type="custom" key="23649102" align="center"

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'trebuchet ms',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0fc40f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Study Guides and other Cumulatives: Unit Conversions:

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