Introduction to Physics

DEFINITIONS

DISTANCE

How much ground an object has covered/traveled.

DISPLACEMENT

The change in position of an object.

SCALAR QUANTITY

Quantity that only has magnitude and no direction.

VECTOR

Physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction.

CONSTANT SPEED

Speed that does not change.

VELOCITY

Speed in a given direction.

FRAME OF REFERENCE

A background used to judge motion/speed (precise location of an object).

INSTANTANEOUS SPEED

Speed at a given moment.

ENERGY

The capacity/power to do work/move an object by applying force.

MATTER

Anything that has mass and takes up space (how much matter).

WEIGHT

Measure of how gravity pulls matter.

SPEED

Amount of distance traveled in a certain amount of time.

AVERAGE SPEED

Total distance divided by total time.

TIME DISTANCE GRAPH

Graph that shows the speed of an object.

ACCELERATION

The change in velocity over time.

MOTION

An object changing position/distance over time relative to a reference.

RATE OF CHANGE

Amount of time it takes to change position/motion.

FORCE

Interaction that when opposed will change the motion of an object (push/pull of an object).

SI UNIT

Metric system of measurement.

MASS

Anything that has matter.

PHYSICS

Science that deals with matter and energy and their interactions.

GRAVITY

Force of attraction.

INERTIA

Tendency of an object to resist changes in motion.

NET FORCE

Sum of all forces acting on an object.

SI UNITS

• TIME (seconds, s)
• TEMPERATURE (kelvin, K)
• LENGTH (meter, m)
• MASS (kilogram, kg)
• ELECTRICITY (ampere, A)
• LUMINOUS INTENSITY (candela, cd)
• AMOUNT OF SUBSTANCE (mole, mol)

FORMULAS

• DISTANCE: S x T
• SPEED: d / t
• ACCELERATION: (vf - vi) / t
• FORCE: M x A

BRANCHES OF PHYSICS

CLASSICAL PHYSICS

The study of motion of particles and fluids.

MODERN PHYSICS

The basic structure of matter (molecular, nuclear).

ATOMIC PHYSICS

Study of protons and neutrons (nucleus) and its interactions with other particles/electric and magnetic fields.

GEOPHYSICS

The study of Earth using physics (gravity, magnetic, electrical methods).

BIOPHYSICS

Studies organisms using physics and chemistry.

MECHANICS

The study of motion, velocity, and acceleration.

ACOUSTICS

Studies sound (waves in liquid, gases, solids).

OPTICS

Studies behavior/properties of light.

THERMODYNAMICS

Studies heat and temperature.

ASTROPHYSICS

The study of how stars and planets work.

CLASSICAL MECHANICS

Studies motion of bodies.

CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS

Studies the macroscopic physical properties of matter, especially solids.

QUANTUM MECHANICS

Study of matter and energy at the subatomic level (small).

COSMOLOGY

Study of the origin/evolution of the universe.