Physics Day 1Units, Vectors, and Kinematics

Units
Velocity and Acceleration
x
m
units are
v
t
s
v
m
units are 2
a
t
s
Force (Newtons)
F ma

m kg m
N kg 2
s2
s

Energy/Work (Joules)

kg m 2
s2
2
kg m 2
m
J kg
s2
s
kg m 2
m
J kg 2 m
s2
s
J N m

W Fd

KE

1 2
mv
2

PE mgh

Power (Watts)
P

W
t

Density
m

kg m 2
2
J
kg m 2
s

s
s
s3

units are

Pressure (Pascal)
F
P
A
P fluid gD

kg
m3

N
kg

2
m
m s2
kg
kg m
Pa 3 2 m
m s2
m s
Pa

SI Units
Length
Mass
Time
Electric current
Temperature
Luminous intensity

m
kg
s
A
K
Cd (candela)

Derived Units
Volume
Force
Energy/Work
Power
Pressure
Charge
Resistance
Capacitance

m3
N
J
W
Pa
C

Electric Field Strength

F
F qE so E
q

units are

N
(not usually broken down further but could be)
C

Potential/Voltage (Volts)
PE qV so V

PE
q

kg m 2
3
J W s W
kg m 2
Volts

C
C
A
A
A s3

Current (Ampere)
q
C
I
Amps
t
s

Resistance (Ohms)
V IR so R

Capacitance
Q
C
V

J
V
J s kg m 2 s 2 kg m 2 kg m 2
C 2 2

2 3 (a little tricky)
A C
C
C s
C 2 s3
A s
s

V
I

C
C
C2
C2
C 2 s2
C 2 s4
A2 s 4

(a little tricky)
V J
J
kg m 2 kg m 2 s 2 kg m 2 kg m 2

s2
C

Magnetic Field Strength (Tesla)

F qvB sin so B

F
qv sin

F IB sin so B

F
I sin

m
s
2
N
N s
kg
s
T

m C m
C m
Cs
C
s
m
kg 2 s
N
N
N s
kg
s
T

C
A m
C m
C m
Cs
m
s
kg

Vectors

Kinematics
Displacement = x (change in position) or d
(Difference from Distance)
v

v
x
i
f
Velocity v
vavg =
(Difference from Speed)
t
2
v
Acceleration a
t
-acceleration due to gravity
-acceleration while moving along a curve
-signs () are important when displacement, velocity, and acceleration dont all point in the same direction
d vt
d vavg t

(no acceleration)
(constant acceleration)

1
d vi t at 2 (constant acceleration)
2
2
2
v f vi 2ad (constant acceleration)

1 2
at when starting from rest
2
used when no time information is available
d

1. A car accelerates from 40mph to 60 mph in 4 seconds. What is its acceleration?

2. A car travels north at 60mph for 5 hours. What is its total displacement?

3. From rest a car accelerates at 3m/s2. What is the cars velocity after 6s? How far has it traveled?

4. A penny is dropped from the roof of a building and takes 4s to reach the ground. From what height was the
penny dropped? (Ignore air resistance and use g=10m/s2)

5. A penny is dropped from the roof of a 100m tall building. How long does it take for the penny to reach the
ground? (Ignore air resistance and use g=10m/s2)

6. A penny is dropped from a building. Its final velocity just before it reaches the ground is 40m/s. From what
height was the penny dropped?

Graphs
x

x
slope
v
t

7.

slope

v
a
t

area = d
Area = d

Graph B

Graph A

Projectile Motion

0 v yi

time to max height (tup)

t up

max height (ymax)

y max v yavg t up

total time (ttotal)

t total 2t up

horizontal displacement (x)

x v x t total

g = gravity

g
v yi
2

t up

8. A potato is fired from a potato gun with an initial velocity of 100m/s 30 above the horizontal. What is the
time of flight of the potato? What is its maximum height during flight? What is the distance between where it
was fired and where it lands?

Physics Day 2Mechanics

Newtons Laws
1st Law An objects velocity remains constant unless a net force is acting upon it.
If F=0, then v=constant
2nd Law F=ma
3rd Law For every force exerted by one object on a second object, there is an equal but opposite force by the
second object on the first.
F12 F21
1. Two astronauts of masses 100kg and 150kg are at rest floating in space. The larger pushes the smaller so that
they are moving away from each other. The 100 kg astronaut has a resulting acceleration of 2m/s. What was
the force of the larger astronaut on the smaller astronaut? What was the resulting acceleration of the larger
astronaut?

Gravity
W = mg

Fg G

m1 m2
r2

G 6.67 x10 11

For an object on the surface of the earth, Fg G

N m2
kg 2

mM E
rE

mg , so g G

ME
m
9.8 2
2
rE
s

2. A new planet with twice the mass and a radius that is three times greater than that of earth has been
discovered. How will its gravitational acceleration compare to that of earth?

Normal Force Perpendicular component of the contact force that a surface exerts on an object.
Friction
F f k FN

kinetic

F f max s FN

static

3. A 100kg man is on an elevator that is accelerating upward 2m/s2. What is his apparent weight?

4. A 10 kg object is being pulled horizontally along a surface with a force of 200N resulting in a net
acceleration of 18m/s2. What is the coefficient of kinetic friction between the object and the surface?

Inclines
5. A 10 kg object is at rest on a plane inclined 30 above the
horizontal. What is the force of friction acting upon the
object? What is the coefficient of friction (Be careful!)?

6. A 10 kg object slides down a frictionless plane inclined 30

above the horizontal. What is its acceleration?

7. An object slides down a 45 incline at constant velocity? What is the coefficient of kinetic friction between
the object and the incline?

Pulleys
8. For pulley 1, what is the tension in the rope if the mass is suspended at
rest?

9. For pulley 2, what is the acceleration of the 7.5kg mass?

10. For pulley 3, what is the acceleration of the 7.5kg mass?

Centripetal Force/Acceleration
v2
mv 2
ac
F
mac
r
r
11. A boy is twirling a 100g yoyo with a 600cm radius horizontally in a circle
above his head with a speed of 2m/s. What is the maximum centripetal force
acting on the yoyo?

12. Give an expression for the radius of a satellite in a stable orbit around the Earth in terms of the gravitational
constant G, the mass of the Earth ME, and the velocity v of the satellite.

13. A roller coaster car completes a loop-d-loop on its track. Is the normal force acting on the car by the track
greater at the top or bottom of the loop-d-loop? By how much (answer in terms of m, v, r, and g)?

Work and Energy

(only force component in the direction of motion)
W Fd
14. How much work is performed by an Alaskan husky pulling a dog sled 10m across the snow with a pulling
force of 300N.

Mechanical Energy
E KE PE

KE

1 2
mv
2

PE mgh

(gravitational)

Conservation of Mechanical Energy ( E 0 )

1 2
1
(if no work is done by nonconservative forces)
mvi mghi mv 2f mgh f
2
2
WNC E

(work performed by nonconservative forces; when mechanical energy is not conserved)

Work-Energy Theorem
(work performed by a net force)
W KE
15. A ball is dropped from a 45m cliff. What is the velocity of the ball just before it reaches the ground (ignore
air resistance)?

16. A 1.5m long pendulum is released from an angle of 60 from the vertical. What is the maximum velocity
achieved by the pendulum?

17. A 1kg ball is dropped from a 45m cliff. Its velocity just before it reaches the ground is 20m/s. How much
work is done by air resistance on the ball?

Power

W
Fv
t

18. If John can do twice as much work as Bill in half the time, how much greater power is John providing?

Momentum and Impulse

Momentum
p mv
Impulse-Momentum Theorem

Impulse
Ft mv

19. A 1kg baseball traveling at 40m/s towards home is sent in the opposite direction at 30m/s after being hit
with a baseball bat. If the bat is in contact with the ball for 0.05s, with what force was the ball struck by the
bat?

Collisions
Elastic Collisions
p = 0

m1v1i m2 v2i ... m1v2 f m2 v2 f ...

p = 0

KE = 0

1
1
1
1
m1v12i m2 v22i ... m1v12f m2 v22 f ...
2
2
2
2

KE 0

Perfectly Inelastic Collisions

(objects stick together)
m1v1i m2 v2i ... m1v2 f m2 v2 f ...
(some mechanical energy is lost)

20. A 2kg ball heading west at 5m/s across a frictionless surface collides head-on with a 4kg ball that had also
been moving. After the collision, the two balls are stuck together and are moving with a velocity of 5m/s
directly east. What was the original velocity of the 4kg ball?

21. A stationery bomb explodes into 3 fragments. The 1st fragment weighing 2kg is moving directly north with
a velocity of 100m/s after the explosion. The 2nd fragment weighing 4kg is moving directly west with a
velocity of 50m/s after the explosion. What is the velocity of the 3rd fragment (weighing 2kg) immediately
after the explosion?

Physics Day 3-Rotational Kinematics/Dynamics and Fluids

Rotational Kinematics
Angular Displacement = or

Angular Velocity
t

Angular Acceleration
t

d r

v r

a r

Rotational Kinematics Eqns

t
avg t

Analagous Translational Kinematics Eqns

(no acceleration)
d vt
(constant acceleration)
d vavg t

1
i t t 2
2
2
2
f i 2

1
d vi t at 2 (constant acceleration)
2
2
2
v f vi 2ad (constant acceleration)

1. A fly is sitting on the edge of a record with a radius of 0.2m spinning at constant velocity. If the fly
completes 6 revolutions in 30s, what is the angular velocity of the record? What is the translational velocity
of the fly?

2. A boy is riding a horse on a carousel located 2m from its center, while his father is sitting on a bench on the
carousel located 5m from its center. How much greater is the angular velocity of the boy compared to his
father? How much greater is the translational velocity of the boy compared to his father?

Rotational Dynamics
Center of Mass

xCM

m1 x1 m2 x 2 ...
m1 m2 ...

Torque

F
I

Inertia

I mr 2

Angular Momentum L I
Rotational KE

1 2
I
2

lever arm
(just like F=ma)

(for point masses about an axis)

Rotational/
Angular

1
KE I 2
2
W
L I

Translational
d
v
a
m
F
1
KE mv 2
2
W Fd
p mv

3. Where would a fulcrum need to be placed for the following bar to be balanced perfectly?

4. A 20kg sign is hanging on the end of a 50kg boom that is suspended by a wire attached to the wall as in the
following figure. What is the tension in the cable?

5. A solid cylinder and a hollow cylinder of equal mass and radius roll down an incline. Which one reaches the
bottom first?

6. A wheel with a moment of inertia of 100kg.m2 is accelerated from rest by a motor to an angular velocity of
80rad/s. How much work is performed by the motor?

Hydrostatics
Density:

m
V

Pressure
F
P
A

Specific Gravity

H O
2

H O 1000
2

kg
m3

1atm = 760torr = 760mmHg ~ 100,000Pa

1. The applied force is tripled and the area over which it is applied is cut in half. What is the affect on the
pressure?

Hydrostatic Pressure (Gauge Pressure)

where D=depth
P fluid gD

Every 10m depth in H2O is ~1 atm pressure

2. A snorkeler dives to a depth of 25m in a freshwater lake. What is the total pressure at this depth? What is
the hydrostatic pressure?

Manometers
Buoyancy Force (Archimedes Principle)
FB W fluid _ displaced fluidVsubmergedg
FB Wobject

(if the object is floating)

% submerged

object
100
fluid

3. A large piece of Styrofoam with a mass of 2kg and a specific gravity of 0.05 is floating in a pool of water.
What volume of the piece of Styrofoam is submerged below the surface?

4. If an object normally weighs 500N and while submerged in water it has an apparent weight of 300N, what is
the density of the object?

5. A block of wood having a specific gravity of 0.6 is floating in a pool of water. What percentage of the block
of wood is above the surface?

Hydraulic Jack
F1 F2

A1 A2

A1d1 A2 d 2

6. For the following hydraulic jack, how much force must be applied to the small side of the jack in order to lift
a 250kg engine on the large side?

Hydrodynamics
Laminar flow vs Turbulent flow
Flow Rate: f Av

A = cross-sectional area

v velocity

A1v1 A2 v2
Bernoullis Equation
1
1
P1 v12 gy1 P2 v22 gy 2
2
2
7. If the radius of the larger portion of the pipe is 3 times larger than the radius of the smaller end of the pipe, in
which portion of the pipe is the velocity of an ideal fluid undergoing steady flow higher and how much higher?
Where is the pressure higher?

8. For an ideal fluid undergoing steady flow, in which region of the pipe is the pressure higher? Region 1?
Region 2? Not enough information given to determine?
2
1

Physics Day 4 Waves and Periodic Motion, Sound, and Solids

Simple Harmonic Motion
x A cos t or x Asin t

A=Amplitude

x A cos(t )

= phase shift or phase angle

vmax A

amax A 2

2f

2
T

1
T

Spring
k

f = frequency

Pendulum
g

=frequency factor

T = period

(for small angles)

1. A spring with a 1kg mass attached obeying simple harmonice motion follows the following equation of
motion: x (100cm) cos 5t . What is the velocity of the mass as it passes through the equilibrium position?
What are the frequency and period of oscillation?

2. A mass on a spring undergoing simple harmonic motion has another mass glued to the original mass while in
motion effectively quadrupling the mass. What is the effect on the period of oscillation?

3. If the length of a pendulum is increased by a factor of 10 and the mass of the bob is doubled, what will be the
effect on the frequency of oscillation?

Springs
F kx
P.E.

1 2
kx
2

k=spring constant

x=displacement from equilibrium position

4. If a 50N force displaces a spring 2cm from its equilibrium position, what displacement would a 10N force
result in?

5. A spring with a spring constant of 800N/m and a 2kg mass on the end is stretched 10cm from its equilibrium
position. What is the velocity of the mass on the end of the spring as it passes through the equilibrium position?

Sound
Longitudinal waves, not transverse waves

f v

vsound ~ 343m / s

Sound generally travels faster in solids than in liquids than in gases.

The speed of sound in solids/liquids is inversely related to its density.
Speed of sound in gases: v

P = pressure

= density

6. The wavelength of a sound wave in air is 1.70m. What is its frequency? (vsound=340m/s)

7. A ship on the surface of the water uses sonar to detect a submarine that is below it. If the sonar pulse takes 3s
to return to the ship on the surface, what is the depth of the submarine? (vsound=1500m/s in water)

Standing Waves
2L
n
n
4L
n
n odd #
n

(pipe open at both ends)

Same as rope with both ends fixed

(pipe open at one end)

n=1 is first harmonic or fundamental frequency

Beat Frequency difference between two frequencies of two different sound waves

8. What is the fundamental frequency of a 0.25m pipe that is open at both ends? (vsound=340m/s)

9. After the fundamental frequency, what is the next harmonic of a 0.75m pipe that is open at one end?
(vsound=340m/s)

Intensity
P
P
I
A 4r 2
I
10 log
I0

I 0 10 12

W
m2

10. If the intensity level of a siren is 80dB at a distance of 10m from a fire truck, what is the intensity level at a
distance of 100m?

Doppler Effect
v vO
fO f S
v vS

fO f S if, relatively, object and source are moving towards each other
fO f S if, relatively, object and source are moving away from each other

11. You are moving in a car toward a stationery ambulance with a velocity of 32m/s. Is the frequency of the
ambulances siren you observe higher or lower than the actual emitted frequency? By what percentage is the
frequency you observe different from the actual frequency?

12. A bat is moving with a velocity of 15m/s toward a moth flying directly toward the bat also with a velocity
of 15m/s. If the bat sends out a sound wave of 20kHz, what is the observed frequency (by the bat) of this sound
wave after its reflected off of the moth?

Elasticity of Solids
Stress = Modulus x Strain
Stretching/Compression
F
L
Y
A
L0

Stress Modulus Strain

Youngs Modulus
F
L
Y
=
Stretching/Compression
A
L0
Shear Modulus
S
F
X
=
Shear Deformation
A
L0
Bulk Modulus
P =
V
B
Volume Deformation
V0

Shear Deformation
F
X
S
A
L0

Volume Deformation
V
P B
V0

13. A stretching force of 100N is applied to a 100cm length of wire of radius 1mm resulting in an elongation of
5mm. What is the Youngs modulus of the wire?

14. A solid piece of metal with a bulk modulus of 1.0x1011 is dropped to a depth of 1000m. What is the
fractional change in the volume of this piece of metal?

Physics Day 5-Electricity and Magnetism

Electric Forces and Fields
F qE
qq
k = 9x109 N.m2/C2
F k 1 22
r
q
Ek 2
r
q
V k
r
PE qV

Coulombs Law
Electric Field due to a point charge

Charge on an electron
e=1.6x10-19C

Potential (voltage)
Potential Energy

1. Two point charges of +2C are 1mm apart. What are the magnitudes of the force and the electric field
experienced by either of the point charges? (k=8.99x109 N.m2/C2)

2. For the following arrangement of point charges, at what location is the electric field zero?
+9C

-1C
10mm

3. An electron (q=1.6x10-19C, m=9.11x10-31kg) is accelerated from rest through a potential difference of

1x10-6V. What is its final velocity?

Electric Circuits
V = potential
V IR

Ohms Law

I = current

R = resistance

L = length

A = cross-sectional area

Current
q
I
t
Resistance
L
R
A

= resistivity

Req R1 R2 ...

Resistors in Series

1
1
1

...
Req R1 R2

Resistors in Parallel

P VI I 2 R

V2
R

Power

4. A piece of copper wire of resistance R is replaced with a new piece of copper wire that is twice as long and
has a radius that is 3 times larger. What is the resistance of the second piece of wire?

5. If the resistance of 3 resistors hooked up in parallel are each doubled, what is the effect on the equivalent
resistance of the circuit?

6. What is the equivalent resistance in the following circuit?

What is the total current in the circuit?
What is the potential across R1?
What is the current through R4?
What is the power dissipated through R4?

Alternating Current
V
Vrms max
2

I rms

I max
2

7. The peak voltage in an AC circuit is 280V. What is the rms voltage?

Capacitance
Q
C
V
Parralel Plate Capacitor
A
C 0
d
A
C 0
d

1
P.E. CV 2
2

CHARGING

V Ed

DISCHARGING

Qmax

Qmax

Q
t

( dielectric constant)
Vmax

Vmax

(stored in a capacitor)

1
1
1

...
C eq C1 C 2

Capacitors in Series

Ceq C1 C2 ...

Capacitors in Parallel

Imax

Imax

8. When a parallel plate capacitor is fully charged in a circuit with a 16V battery, there are 1x1012 excess
electrons on one of the two plates. What is the capacitance of the capacitor. When fully charged how much
energy is stored on this capacitor?

9. The lengths of the sides of each of the plates of a square parallel plate capacitor are doubled and so is the
distance of separation between the two plates. What is the effect on its capacitance?

Magnetism and Electricity

Charged Particle Moving through a Magnetic Field
F qvB sin
v velocity

Current-carrying Wire in a Magnetic Field

F IB sin

Magnetic Field Due to a Current Carrying Wire

I
B 0
2r

B=magnetic field

Right Hand Rule

thumb=v
Fingers=B
Palm=force

Right Hand Rule

thumb=I
Fingers=B
Palm=force

Right Hand Rule

thumb=I
Fingers (curled)=B

10. When the electron in the diagram below enters the magnetic field, it permanently starts moving in a
repeating circular pattern. Give an expression for the radius of the electrons circular motion and state whether
the motion is clockwise or counterclockwise.

11. Is the force between the following two wires attractive or repulsive?
What would be the effect of doubling the current in both wires on the force between the two wires?
I

12. The charged particle in the field below is experiencing a force in the upward direction due to the magnetic
field created by the current in the wire. Which direction does the current in the wire point?
+e

I?

Physics Day 6 Light and Optics

Light
f v
E photon hf

hc

h 6.63 10 34 J s

c 3.0 108 m / s

Electromagnetic Spectrum

E f

Gamma Rays
X-rays
UV
VIS
IR
Microwaves
Radio Waves

Violet
Indigo
Blue
Green
Yellow
Orange
Red

Law of Reflection
Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection
Snells Law of Refraction
n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2

c
v

sin critical

Index of Refraction

n2
n1

(Frequency of light doesnt change from medium to medium)

Total Internal Reflection

Dispersion
The index of refraction is different for different wavelengths.
1. If the angle of incidence of a flashlights beam into a lake is 60, what is the angle of reflection? (nair=1,
nwater=1.33)

2. Light passes from air (n=1) into a glass block (n=1.5). Is the angle of refraction larger or smaller than the
angle of incidence? What is the speed of light in the glass block?

Interference
Double Slit Interference
Bright Fringes: d sin m
1

Dark Fringes: d sin m

2

m 0, 1, 2,

d = distance between slits

m 0, 1, 2,

d = distance between slits

Diffraction Grating
Bright Fringes: d sin m

m 0, 1, 2,

d = slit separation

Single Slit Diffraction

Dark Fringes: a sin m

m 0,1. 2,...

a = slit width

Thin Films
Reflected rays are inverted when going from smaller to larger index of refraction.
1

2t m film
2

2t m film

m 0, 1, 2,

(No phase shift)

m 1, 2,

(Phase shift between reflected rays)

t = thickness of film

3. What is the minimum thickness of a layer of gasoline (n=1.40) floating on water (n=1.33) if green light (air =
565nm) is eliminated from the reflected light by destructive interference?

X-Ray Diffraction Diffraction of x-rays by atoms can be used to determine a substances crystal structure

Optics
Mirrors and Lenses
1
1
1
d o distance to object

do di
f

di
h
i
d o ho

m magnification

1
R
2

Lens Strength =
Mirror Type
Concave
Convex

Lens Type
Converging
Diverging

d i distance to image

f focal length

hi height of image

ho height of object

R radius of curvature

1
f

(unit is Diopters; f must be in meters)

di
+ (do>f)
- (do<f)
-

do
+

f
+

di
+ (do>f)
- (do<f)
-

do
+

f
+

Lens Aberration (such as spherical and chromatic)

di>0
di<0
m>0
m<0

real image (and inverted)

virtual image (and upright)
upright
inverted

4. If an object is placed 6cm in front of a concave mirror (f=2cm), what will be the magnification of the image?
Is it real or virtual, upright or inverted?

5. If an object is placed 6cm from a diverging lens (f=2cm), what is the magnification of the image? Is it real or
virtual, upright or inverted?

6. If an object is placed 6cm from a converging lens (f=4cm), where will the image appear? Will the image be
real or virtual, upright or inverted?