John Christopher P.

Palacio

BS PhysicsII

ENG.102

Definition Method
Physics is the natural science which is a branch of science concerned with the
description, prediction, and understanding of natural phenomena known as an observable event
which is not man-made., based on observational and empirical evidence known as a sense of
experience. It involves the study of matter and its motion through space and time, along with
related concepts such as energy and force. One of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, the
main goal of physics is to understand how the universe behaves and it is one of the oldest
academic disciplines or academic field which is a branch of knowledge, perhaps the oldest
through its inclusion of astronomy. Over the last two millennia, physics was a part of natural
philosophy study of nature and the physical universe along with chemistry, biology, and certain
branches of mathematics, but during the scientific revolution or the emergence of modern
science during the early modern period, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy,
biology (including human anatomy) and chemistry transformed the views of society about
nature, in the 17th century, the natural sciences emerged as unique research programs in their
own right. Physics intersects with many interdisciplinary that has involves the combining of two
or more academic disciplines into one activity areas of research, such as biophysics is known as
an interdisciplinary science that applies the approaches and methods of physics to study
biological systems and quantum chemistry known as a branch of chemistry whose primary focus
is the application of quantum mechanics in physical models and experiments of chemical
systems also called molecular quantum mechanics., and the boundaries of physics are not rigidly
defined or known as demarcation problem, which is define by the philosophy of the science on
how to distinguish between science and non-science.

New ideas in physics often explain the fundamental mechanisms of other sciences while
opening new avenues of research in areas such as mathematics and philosophy means the study
of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values,
reason, mind, and language. It can also make significant contributions through advances in new
technologies or the collection of techniques, skills, methods and processes used in the production
of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation that
arise from theoretical breakthroughs. For example, advances in the understanding of
electromagnetism known as a branch of physics which involves the study of the electromagnetic
force, a type of physical interaction that occurs between electrically charged particles or nuclear
physics known as the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and
interactions that has led directly to the development of new products that have dramatically
transformed modern-day society, such as television, computers, domestic appliances known as a
large machine in home appliance used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing
laundry, or food preservation, and nuclear weapons known as an explosive device that derives its
destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission
and fusion (thermonuclear weapon).
Advances in thermodynamics known as the branch of science concerned with heat and
temperature and their relation to energy and work, led to the development of industrialization
known as the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an
agrarian society into an industrial one, involving the extensive re-organization of an economy for
the purpose of manufacturing, and advances in mechanics means an area of science concerned
with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the
subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment that inspired the development of calculus

means the mathematical study of change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape
and algebra is the study of operations and their application to solving equations.

Classification Method
Physics can be classified into different category such as mechanics, optics, electromagnetism
and thermodynamics. The mechanics is an area of science concerned with the behavior of
physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the
bodies on their environment. There are three kinds of mechanics that we have; classical
mechanics, quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics. In classical mechanics it is a model of
the physics of forces acting upon bodies. It is often referred to as "Newtonian mechanics" after
Isaac Newton and his laws of motion. It deals with motion of particles and general system of
particles. This classical mechanics has three branches such as kinematics concerned with the
motion of objects without reference to the forces that cause the motion, kinetics concerned with
the relationship between the motion of bodies and its causes, namely forces and torques and
lastly the dynamics which is concerned with the study of forces and torques and their effect on
motion. In quantum mechanics it is based on the observation that all forms of energy are released
in discrete units or bundles called "quanta". Lastly the statistical mechanics which is concerned
with the analysis of loads (force and torque, or "moment") on physical systems in static
equilibrium, that is, in a state where the relative positions of subsystems do not vary over time, or
where components and structures are at a constant velocity.
In second branch of physics the optics in which involves the behavior and properties of
light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect.
There are three broad subfields in the study of optics which are Geometrical optics, the study of
light as rays, Physical optics, the study of light as waves and Quantum optics, the study of light
as particles. In geometrical optics has a subtopic of reflection and refraction of light. In physical

optics which may be roughly grouped into three categories: interference, diffraction, and
polarization. Interference is the ability of a wave to interfere with itself, creating localized
regions where the field is alternately extremely bright and extremely dark. Diffraction is the
ability of waves to bend around corners and spread after passing through an aperture.
Polarization refers to properties of light related to its transverse nature. In quantum optics deals
with the application of quantum mechanics to optical systems.
In third branch of physics known as electromagnetism which involves the study of the
electromagnetic force, a type of physical interaction that occurs between electrically charged
particles. The electromagnetic force usually exhibits electromagnetic fields known as a physical
field produced by electrically charged objects such as electric fields which is a vector field that
associates to each point in space the Coulomb force that would be experienced per unit of
electric charge, by an infinitesimal test charge at that point, magnetic fields which is the
magnetic effect of electric currents and magnetic materials, and light. The electromagnetic force
is one of the four fundamental interactions (commonly called forces) in nature or known as the
interactions in physical systems that do not appear to be reducible to more basic interactions. The
other three fundamental interactions are the strong interaction which is the mechanism
responsible for the strong nuclear force (also called the strong force, nuclear strong force), the
weak interaction which is responsible for radioactive decay, which plays an essential role in
nuclear fission, and gravitation interaction a natural phenomenon by which all things with energy
are brought toward (or gravitate toward) one another, including stars, planets, galaxies and even
light and sub-atomic particles.

In the last branch of physics known as the thermodynamics deals with the relations
between heat and other forms of energy (such as mechanical, electrical, or chemical energy), and,
by extension, of the relationships between all forms of energy. It states that the behavior of these
quantities is governed by the four laws of thermodynamics. These are zeroth law of
thermodynamics: If two systems are in thermal equilibrium with a third system, they are in
thermal equilibrium with each other and this law helps define the notion of temperature, First law
of thermodynamics: When energy passes, as work, as heat, or with matter, into or out from a
system, the system's internal energy changes in accord with the law of conservation of energy
and equivalently, perpetual motion machines of the first kind are impossible. Second law of
thermodynamics: In a natural thermodynamic process, the sum of the entropies of the interacting
thermodynamic systems increases and equivalently, perpetual motion machines of the second
kind are impossible. Third law of thermodynamics: The entropy of a system approaches a
constant value as the temperature approaches absolute zero. With the exception of noncrystalline solids (glasses) the entropy of a system at absolute zero is typically close to zero, and
is equal to the logarithm of the product of the quantum ground states.

Description Method
Physics is one the most interesting part of all sciences. It gives you more knowledge on
how and why is this things work. It deals with the reality that happening all around us. Physics is
not just only concerned with the explanation of something but it concerned with the
manipulations of the motions of every object. In the study of physics it is not about how good
you are at it but it is about how good your analysis in everything that govern in this course or
subject. For some students it is hard for them to stick at the topic of this course but the good way
you need to do is that, knowing first the concept and having a time to analyze every problem in
this subject. It helps you more to become excellent if you try to love the mathematics. Physics
concerned to some calculations so it is necessary for us to know aside from its wonderful
explanation of the abnormalities in our surrounding it gives us more ideas and concepts in our
reality. The sweep of physics is broad, from the smallest components of matter and the forces
that hold it together, to galaxies and even larger things. There are only four forces that appear to
operate over this whole range. However, even these four forces (gravity, electromagnetism, the
weak force associated with radioactivity, and the strong force which holds protons and neutrons
in an atom together) are believed to be different parts of a single force.
Physics is mainly focused on the goal of making ever simpler, more general, and more
accurate rules that define the character and behavior of matter and space itself. One of the major
goals of physics is making theories that apply to everything in the universe. In other words,
physics can be viewed as the study of those universal laws which define, at the most basic level
possible, the behavior of the physical universe.

Physics uses the scientific method. That is, data from experiments and observations are
collected. Theories which attempt to explain these data are produced. Physics uses these theories
to not only describe physical phenomena, but to model physical systems and predict how these
physical systems will behave. Physicists then compare these predictions to observations or
experimental evidence to show whether the theory is right or wrong. The theories that are well
supported by data and are especially simple and general are sometimes called scientific laws. Of
course, all theories, including those known as laws, can be replaced by more accurate and more
general laws, when a disagreement with data is found.
Physics is more quantitative than most other sciences. That is, many of the observations in
physics may be represented in the form of numerical measurements. Most of the theories in
physics use mathematics to express their principles. Most of the predictions from these theories
are numerical. This is because of the areas which physics has addressed work better with
quantitative approaches than other areas. Sciences also tend to become more quantitative with
time as they become more highly developed, and physics is one of the oldest sciences.
There are many approaches to studying physics, and many different kinds of activities in physics.
There are two main types of activities in physics; the collection of data and the development of
theories.
The data in some subfields of physics is amenable to experiment. For example, condensed matter
physics and nuclear physics benefit from the ability to perform experiments. Experimental
physics focuses mainly on an empirical approach. Sometimes experiments are done to explore
nature, and in other cases experiments are performed to produce data to compare with the
predictions of theories.

Some other fields in physics like astrophysics and geophysics are mostly observational sciences
because most of their data has to be collected passively instead of through experimentation.
However, observational programs in these fields use many of the same tools and technology that
are used in the experimental subfields of physics.
Theoretical physics often uses quantitative approaches to develop the theories that attempt to
explain the data. In this way, theoretical physics often use tools from mathematics. Theoretical
physics often can involve creating quantitative predictions of physical theories, and comparing
these predictions quantitatively with data. Theoretical physics sometimes creates models of
physical systems before data is available to test and support these models. There are many
important uses of physics like measuring houses or any measure. Also, it can be used to measure
falling objects like planes.
These two main activities in physics, data collection and theory production and testing, use many
different skills. This has led to a lot of specialization in physics, and the introduction,
development and use of tools from other fields. For example, theoretical physicists use
mathematics and numerical analysis and statistics and probability and computer software in their
work. Experimental physicists develop instruments and techniques for collecting data, using
engineering and computer technology and many other fields of technology. Often the tools from
these other areas are not quite appropriate for the needs of physics, and need to be changed or
more advanced versions have to be made.

Cause and Effect Method

It is considered to be fundamental to all natural science, especially physics. Causality is
also a topic studied from the perspectives of philosophy and statistics. Causality means that an
effect cannot occur from a cause which is not in the back (past) light cone of that event.
Similarly, a cause cannot have an effect outside its front (future) light cone. In classical physics,
an effect cannot occur before its cause. In relativity theory, causality means that an effect cannot
occur from a cause which is not in the back (past) light cone of that event. Similarly, a cause
cannot have an effect outside its front (future) light cone. These restrictions are consistent with
the grounded belief (or assumption) that causal influences cannot travel faster than the speed of
light and/or backwards in time. In quantum field theory, observables of events with a spacelike
relationship, "elsewhere", have to commute, so the order of observations or measurements of
such observables do not impact each other.
Causality should not be confused with Newton's second law, which is related to the conservation
of momentum, and is a consequence of the spatial homogeneity of physical laws. The name
causality suggests that all effects must have specific causes, which is a concept unrelated to the
common use of causality in physics, and is violated in some mainstream interpretations of
quantum mechanics.
Another requirement, at least valid at the level of human experience, is that cause and effect be
mediated across space and time (requirement of contiguity). This requirement has been very
influential in the past, in the first place as a result of direct observation of causal processes (like
pushing a cart), in the second place as a problematic aspect of Newton's theory of gravitation
(attraction of the earth by the sun by means of action at a distance) replacing mechanistic

proposals like Descartes' vortex theory; in the third place as an incentive to develop dynamic
field theories (e.g., Maxwell's electrodynamics and Einstein's general theory of relativity)
restoring contiguity in the transmission of influences in a more successful way than did
Descartes' theory.
The empiricists' aversion to metaphysical explanations (like Descartes' vortex theory)
lends heavy influence against the idea of the importance of causality. Causality has
accordingly sometimes been downplayed (e.g., Newton's "Hypotheses non fingo").
According to Ernst Mach[3] the notion of force in Newton's second law was pleonastic,
tautological and superfluous. Indeed, it is possible to consider the Newtonian equations of
motion of the gravitational interaction of two bodies,
as two coupled equations describing the positions and of the two bodies, without interpreting the
right hand sides of these equations as forces; the equations just describe a process of interaction,
without any necessity to interpret one body as the cause of the motion of the other, and allow one
to predict the states of the system at later (as well as earlier) times.
The ordinary situations in which humans singled out some factors in a physical interaction as
being prior and therefore supplying the "because" of the interaction were often ones in which
humans decided to bring about some state of affairs and directed their energies to producing that
state of affairsa process that took time to establish and left a new state of affairs that persisted
beyond the time of activity of the actor. It would be difficult and pointless, however, to explain
the motions of binary stars with respect to each other in that way.
The possibility of such a time-independent view is at the basis of the deductive-nomological (DN) view of scientific explanation, considering an event to be explained if it can be subsumed

under a scientific law. In the D-N view, a physical state is considered to be explained if, applying
the (deterministic) law, it can be derived from given initial conditions. (Such initial conditions
could include the momenta and distance from each other of binary stars at any given moment.)
Such 'explanation by determinism' is sometimes referred to as causal determinism. A
disadvantage of the D-N view is that causality and determinism are more or less identified. Thus,
in classical physics, it was assumed that all events are caused by earlier ones according to the
known laws of nature, culminating in Pierre-Simon Laplace's claim that if the current state of the
world were known with precision, it could be computed for any time in the future or the past (see
Laplace's demon). However, this is usually referred to as Laplace determinism (rather than
`Laplace causality') because it hinges on determinism in mathematical models as dealt with in the
mathematical Cauchy problem. Confusion of causality and determinism is particularly acute in
quantum mechanics, this theory being a causal in the sense that it is unable in many cases to
identify the causes of actually observed effects or to predict the effects of identical causes, but
arguably deterministic in some interpretations (e.g. if the wave function is presumed not to
actually collapse as in the many-worlds interpretation, or if its collapse is due to hidden
variables, or simply redefining determinism as meaning that probabilities rather than specific
effects are determined).

Comparison and Contrast

PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS

The relationship, similarities and differences between the principles
and concepts of physics and mathematics have been a subject of study of
mathematician and physicist. Their relationship is somehow complex,
mathematics has already been described as an essential tool for physics
since it is important to the concept of physics, without mathematics physics
would mean nothing. Physics and mathematics are inter-related. However
there are differences between these two branches of science.
Physics deals with quantitative expressions, it usually deals with small
and large quantities since it makes use of measurements. Similarly,
mathematics also deals with numbers, quantities and thus measurements.
Physics use the concepts of mathematics in order to show and explain things
that cannot be explained alone by its concepts. It makes use of
mathematical approach to calculate its important aspects such as the speed
of light, the force exerted by an object to another object, and the work that is
done. Mathematics is also useful in calculating the masses of different
objects and even the masses of the heavenly bodies such as moons, sun,
planets and other terrestrial objects. It even contributed to the calculations
of different distances from one object to another such as the distance from
the earth to its moon, the distance of the sun to the earth, the distance
between two planets and other distances between two objects. Mathematics
is useful to almost all branches of physics such as mechanics, optics,

quantum physics, electromagnetism and thermodynamics. There is no

branch of physics where concepts of mathematics are not needed, one of the
important principles in mathematics that is used by physics is the concept of
Calculus. The derivatives and integrals concepts of calculus is one of the
most important aspects of mathematics that is being used by physics in
calculating

and

solving

problems

that

cannot

be

solved

by

basic

mathematics. The creation and development of calculus led physics to its

peak of success in its different fields. It is helpful in almost all branches of
pure and applied physics even in the field of astronomy.
Physics focuses on both conceptual, calculations and problem solving.
On the other hand mathematics can only do calculations and problem
solving, it cannot explains and sometimes does not have the concepts of
what physics have and therefore it cannot answers questions that physics
can. Such as what is gravity? What is light? What is electron? What is
magnetic attraction? And many other such conceptual questions. Physics can
also explain questions such as why airplane flies. It can also explain topic
related to light like the reflection and refraction of light. Such questions and
concepts cannot be explained by mathematics because mathematics only
deals with numbers and totally with concepts that physics has.
Mathematics and physics are both branches of science that use
measurements and quantities to represent the amount, size, weight and
other

quantitative

representation

of

particular

objects,

things

or

substances. Both are useful to society and to the world around us. They
contributed to the discovery of new knowledge and ideas and can lead to
invention of new technologies which make the lives of the human being
easier and better. Physics and mathematics is also useful in tracing
earthquakes, its magnitude and location. Astronomers also use the concepts
of physics and mathematics in order to determine the mass, location and
orbits of any terrestrial objects and satellites. The ideas gained in physics
and mathematics can be used by engineers and architects in building and
constructing buildings and infrastructures. Soldiers and air forces make use
of the concept of physics and mathematics in their respective fields.