Bicol University

Bic

College of Science

Research Work
In

Natural
Science

BRUTAS, Allan Val C. IV

LIQUE, Benedict

Newtons Law of Motion

First law of motion
Objects keep on doing what theyre doing.

This law is often called Law of Inertia.

Inertia is the natural tendency of an object to remain at rest or in
motion at a constant velocity. The mass of an object is a quantitative measure
of inertia.
An object continues in a state of rest or in a state of motion at a
constant velocity (constant speed in a constant direction), unless compelled to
change that state by a net force.
An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced
force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the
same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
This means that there is a natural tendency of objects to keep on doing
what they're doing. All objects resist changes in their state of motion. In the
absence of an unbalanced force, an object in motion will maintain this state of
motion.

Inertia and Mass

A greater net force is required to change the velocity of some objects
than of others. For instance, a net force that is just enough to cause a bicycle
to pick up speed will cause only an imperceptible change in the motion of a
freight train. In comparison to the bicycle, the train has a much greater
tendency to remain at rest. Accordingly, we say that the train has more inertia
than the bicycle. Quantitatively, the inertia of an object is measured by its
mass. The following definition of inertia and mass indicates why Newtons
first law is sometimes called the law of inertia:

Second law of motion

More Mass Means More Force Needed To Accelerate.
Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object
being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object).
Everyone unconsciously knows the Second Law. Everyone knows that heavier objects
require more force to move the same distance as lighter objects.
However, the Second Law gives us an exact relationship between force, mass, and
acceleration. It can be expressed as a mathematical equation:
FORCE = MASS times ACCELERATION
In Newtons second law, the net force is only one of two factors that determine the
acceleration. The other is the inertia or mass of the object. After all, the same net force that
imparts an appreciable acceleration to a hockey puck (small mass) will impart very little
acceleration to a semitrailer truck (large mass). Newtons second law states that for a given net
force, the magnitude of the acceleration is inversely proportional to the mass. Twice the mass
means one-half the acceleration, if the same net force acts on both objects. Thus, the second law
shows how the acceleration depends on both the net force and the mass.
Example:

Mike's car, which weighs 1,000 kg, is out of gas. Mike is trying to push the car to a gas
station, and he makes the car go, 0.05 m/s/s. Using Newton's Second Law, you can compute how
much force Mike is applying to the car.
Solution;
F=(1000kg)(O.5m/s/s)
= 50 Newton

Third law of motion

When you push an object it pushes back.
For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action.
This means that for every force there is a reaction force that is equal
in size, but opposite in direction. That is to say that whenever an object
pushes another object it gets pushed back in the opposite direction equally
hard.
Example of this law, are these two red foxes are fighting over territory. In
the process, they exert action and reaction forces on each other.

The Science of Physics

Physics

Science that deals with the structure of matter and the interactions between the fundamental
constituents of the observable universe,

E = mc, F = ma is the most famous equation in all of physics. Yet many people remain
mystified by this fairly simple algebraic expression. It's actually a mathematical representation of
Isaac Newton's second law of motion, one of the great scientist's most important contributions.
The "second" implies that other laws exist, and, luckily for students and trivia hounds
everywhere, there are only two additional laws of motion. All three are presented here, using
Newton's own words:
1. Every object persists in its state of rest or uniform motion - in a straight line unless it is
compelled to change that state by forces impressed on it.
2. Force is equal to the change in momentum per change in time. For a constant mass,
force equals mass times acceleration.
3. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
These three laws form the foundation of what is known as classical mechanics, or the
science concerned with the motion of bodies being acted upon by forces. The bodies in motion
could be large objects, such as orbiting moons or planets, or they could be ordinary objects on
Earth's surface, such as moving vehicles or speeding bullets. Even bodies at rest are fair game.
Physics is the basic physical science. Until rather recent times physics and natural were
used interchangeably for the science whose aim is the discovery and formulation of the
fundamental laws of nature. As the modern sciences developed and became increasingly
specialized, physics came to denote that part of physical science not included in astronomy,
chemistry, geology, and engineering. Physics plays an important role in all the natural sciences,
however, and all such fields have branches in which physical laws and measurements receive
special emphasis, bearing such names as astrophysics, geophysics, biophysics, and
even psychophysics. Physics can, at base, be defined as the science of matter, motion, and
energy. Its laws are typically expressed with economy and precision in the language
of mathematics.
The ultimate aim of physics is to find a unified set of laws governing matter, motion,
and energy at small (microscopic) subatomic distances, at the human (macroscopic) scale of
everyday life, and out to the largest distances (e.g., those on the extragalactic scale). This
ambitious goal has been realized to a notable extent. Although a completely unified theory of
physical phenomena has not yet been achieved (and possibly never will be), a remarkably small
set of fundamental physical laws appears able to account for all known phenomena. The body of
physics developed up to about the turn of the 20th century, known as classical physics, can
largely account for the motions of macroscopic objects that move slowly with respect to
the speed of light and for such phenomena as heat, sound, electricity, magnetism, and light. The
modern developments of relativity and quantum mechanics modify these laws insofar as they
apply to higher speeds, very massive objects, and to the tiny elementary constituents of matter,
such as electrons, protons, and neutrons.

Areas of Physics
Scopes of Physics
The traditionally organized branches or fields of classical and modern physics are delineated
below.

Mechanics
Mechanics is generally taken to mean the study of the
motion of objects (or their lack of motion) under the action of
given forces. Classical mechanics is sometimes considered a
branch of applied mathematics. It consists of kinematics, the
description of motion, and dynamics, the study of the action of
forces in producing either motion or static equilibrium (the latter
constituting the science of statics). The 20th-century subjects of
quantum, crucial to treating the structure of matter, subatomic
particles, super fluidity, superconductivity, neutron stars, and
other major phenomena, and relativistic mechanics, important
when speeds approach that of light, are forms of mechanics that
will be discussed later in this section.
In classical mechanics the laws are initially formulated
for point particles in which the dimensions, shapes, and other intrinsic properties of bodies are
ignored. Thus in the first approximation even objects as large as the Earth and the Sun are treated
as point like e.g., in calculating planetary orbital motion. In rigid-body dynamics, the
extension of bodies and their mass distributions are considered as well, but they are imagined to
be incapable of deformation. The mechanics of deformable solids is elasticity;
hydrostatics and hydrodynamics treat, respectively, fluids at rest and in motion.

Study of Gravitation
This field of inquiry has in the past been placed within classical mechanics for historical
reasons, because both fields were brought to a high state of perfection by Newton and also
because of its universal character. Newtons gravitational law states that every material particle
in the universe attracts every other one with a force that acts along the line joining them and
whose strength is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional
to the square of their separation. Newtons detailed accounting for the orbits of the planets and
the Moon, as well as for such subtle gravitational effects as the tides and the precession of the
equinoxes (a slow cyclical change in direction of the Earths axis of rotation) through this
fundamental force was the first triumph of classical mechanics. No further principles are required
to understand the principal aspects of rocketry and space flight (although, of course, a formidable
technology is needed to carry them out).

The modern theory of gravitation was formulated by Albert Einstein and

is called the general theory of relativity. From the long-known equality
of the quantity mass in Newtons second law of motion and that in his
gravitational law, Einstein was struck by the fact that acceleration can
locally annul a gravitational force (as occurs in the so-called
weightlessness of astronauts in an Earth-orbiting spacecraft) and was led
thereby to the concept of curved space-time. Completed in 1915, the
theory was valued for many years mainly for its mathematical beauty
and for correctly predicting a small number of phenomena, such as the
gravitational bending of light around a massive object. Only in recent years, however, has it
become a vital subject for both theoretical and experimental research. (Relativistic mechanics
refers to Einsteins special theory of relativity, which is not a theory of gravitation.)

Study of Heat, Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics

Heat is a form of internal energy associated with the random motion of the molecular
constituents of matter or with radiation. Temperature is an average of a part of the internal
energy present in a body (it does not include the energy of molecular binding or of molecular
rotation). The lowest possible energy state of a substance is defined as the absolute zero(273.15
C, or 459.67 F) of temperature. An isolated body eventually reaches uniform temperature, a
state known as thermal equilibrium, as do two or more bodies placed in contact. The formal
study of states of matter at (or near) thermal equilibrium is called thermodynamics; it is capable
of analyzing a large variety of thermal systems without considering their detailed
microstructures.
First law
The first law of thermodynamics is the energy conservation principle of mechanics (i.e.,
for all changes in an isolated system, the energy remains constant) generalized to include heat.
Second law
The second law of thermodynamics asserts that heat will not flow from a place of lower
temperature to one where it is higher without the intervention of an external device (e.g., a
refrigerator). The concept of entropy involves the measurement of the state of disorder of the
particles making up a system. For example, if tossing a coin many times results in a randomappearing sequence of heads and tails, the result has a higher entropy than if heads and tails tend
to appear in clusters. Another formulation of the second law is that the entropy of an isolated
system never decreases with time.
Third law
The third law of thermodynamics states that the entropy at the absolute zero of
temperature is zero, corresponding to the most ordered possible state.
Statistical mechanics
The science of statistical mechanics derives bulk properties of systems from the
mechanical properties of their molecular constituents, assuming molecular chaos and applying
the laws of probability. Regarding each possible configuration of the particles as equally likely,
the chaotic state (the state of maximum entropy) is so enormously more likely than ordered states

that an isolated system will evolve to it, as stated in the second law of thermodynamics. Such
reasoning, placed in mathematically precise form, is typical of statistical mechanics, which is
capable of deriving the laws but goes beyond them in describing fluctuations (i.e., temporary
departures) from the thermodynamic laws that describe only average behavior. An example of a
fluctuation phenomenon is the random motion of small particles suspended in a fluid, known as
Brownian. Quantum statistical mechanics plays a major role in many other modern fields of
science, as, for example, in plasma physics (the study of fully ionized gases), in solid-state
physics, and in the study of stellar structure. From a microscopic point of view the laws of
thermodynamics imply that, whereas the total quantity of energy of any isolated system is
constant, what might be called the quality of this energy is degraded as the system moves
inexorably, through the operation of the laws of chance, to states of increasing disorder until it
finally reaches the state of maximum disorder (maximum entropy), in which all parts of the
system are at the same temperature, and none of the states energy may be usefully employed.
When applied to the universe as a whole, considered as an isolated system, this ultimate chaotic
condition has been called the heat death.

The Study of Electricity & Magnetism

Although conceived of as distinct phenomena until the 19th century,
electricity and magnetism are now known to be components of the unified field
of electromagnetism. Particles with electric charge interact by an electric force, while charged
particles in motion produce and respond to magnetic forces as well. Many subatomic particles,
including the electrically charged electron and proton and the electrically neutral neutron, behave
like elementary magnets. On the other hand, in spite of systematic searches undertaken, no
magnetic monopoles, which would be the magnetic analogues of electric charges, have ever been
found.
The field concept plays a central role in the classical formulation of electromagnetism, as
well as in many other areas of classical and contemporary physics. Einsteins gravitational field,
for example, replaces Newtons concept of gravitational action at a distance. The field describing
the electric force between a pair of charged particles works in the following manner: each
particle creates an electric field in the space surrounding it, and so also at the position occupied
by the other particle; each particle responds to the force exerted upon it by the electric field at its
own position. Classical electromagnetism is summarized by the laws of action of electric and
magnetic fields upon electric charges and upon magnets and by four remarkable
equations formulated in the latter part of the 19th century by the Scottish physicist James Clerk
Maxwell. The latter equations describe the manner in which electric charges and currents
produce electric and magnetic fields, as well as the manner in which changing magnetic fields
produce electric fields, and vice versa. From these relations Maxwell inferred the existence
of electromagnetic wavesassociated electric and magnetic fields in space, detached from the
charges that created them, traveling at the speed of light, and endowed with such mechanical
properties as energy, momentum, and angular momentum. The light to which the human eye is
sensitive is but one small segment of an electromagnetic that extends from long-wavelength radio
waves to short-wavelength gamma rays and includes X-rays, microwaves, and infrared (or heat)
radiation.

Optics
Because light consists of electromagnetic waves, the propagation of light can be regarded
as merely a branch of electromagnetism. However, it is usually dealt with as a separate subject
called optics: the part that deals with the tracing of light rays is known as geometrical optics,
while the part that treats the distinctive wave phenomena of light is called physical optics. More
recently, there has developed a new and vital branch, quantum, which is concerned with the
theory and application of the laser, a device that produces an intense coherent beam of
unidirectional radiation useful for many applications. The formation of images
by lenses, microscopes, telescopes, and other optical devices is described by ray optics, which
assumes that the passage of light can be represented by straight lines, that is, rays. The subtler
effects attributable to the wave property of visible light, however, require the explanations of
physical optics. One basic wave effect is interference, whereby two waves present in a region of
space combine at certain points to yield an enhanced resultant effect (e.g., the crests of the
component waves adding together); at the other extreme, the two waves can annul each other, the
crests of one wave filling in the troughs of the other. Another wave effect is diffraction, which
causes light to spread into regions of the geometric shadow and causes the image produced by
any optical device to be fuzzy to a degree dependent on the wavelength of the light. Optical
instruments such as the interferometer and the grating can be used for measuring the wavelength
of light precisely (about 500 micrometers) and for measuring distances to a small fraction of that
length.

Atomic & Chemical Physics

One of the great achievements of the 20th century was the establishment of the validity of
the atomic hypothesis, first proposed in ancient times, that matter is made up of relatively few
kinds
of
small,
identical
partsnamely, atoms.
However,
unlike
the
indivisible atom of Democritus and other ancients, the atom, as it is conceived today, can be
separated into constituent electrons and nucleus. Atoms combine to form molecules, whose
structure is studied by chemistry and physical chemistry; they also form other types of
compounds, such as crystals, studied in the field of condensed. Such disciplines study the most
important attributes of matter (not excluding biologic matter) that are encountered in normal
experiencenamely, those that depend almost entirely on the outer parts of the electronic
structure of atoms. Only the mass of the atomic and its charge, which is equal to the total charge
of the electrons in the neutral atom, affect the chemical and physical properties of matter.
Although there are some analogies between the solar system and the atom due to the fact that the
strengths of gravitational and electrostatic forces both fall off as the inverse square of the
distance, the classical forms of electromagnetism and mechanics fail when applied to tiny,
rapidly moving atomic constituents. Atomic structure is comprehensible only on the basis of
quantum mechanics, and its finer details require as well the use of quantum
electrodynamics (QED).
Atomic properties are inferred mostly by the use of indirect experiments. Of greatest
importance has been spectroscopy, which is concerned with the measurement and interpretation

of the electromagnetic radiations either emitted or absorbed by materials. These radiations have a
distinctive character, which quantum mechanics relates quantitatively to the structures that
produce and absorb them. It is truly remarkable that these structures are in principle, and often in
practice, amenable to precise calculation in terms of a few basic physical constants: the mass and
charge of the electron, the speed of light, and Plancks constant (approximately 6.62606957
1034 joule second), the fundamental constant of the quantum theory named for the German
physicist Max Planck.

Condensed-Matter Physics
This field, which treats the thermal, elastic, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties
of solid and liquid substances, grew at an explosive rate in the second half of the 20th century
and scored numerous important scientific and technical achievements, including the transistor.
Among solid materials, the greatest theoretical advances have been in the study of crystalline
materials whose simple repetitive geometric arrays of atoms are multiple-particle systems that
allow treatment by quantum mechanics. Because the atoms in a solid are coordinated with each
other over large distances, the theory must go beyond that appropriate for atoms and molecules.
Thus conductors, such as metals, contain some so-called free electrons, or valence electrons,
which are responsible for the electrical and most of the thermal conductivity of the material and
which belong collectively to the whole solid rather than to individual atoms.
Semiconductors and insulators, either crystalline or amorphous, are other materials
studied in this field of physics. Other aspects of condensed matter involve the properties of the
ordinary liquid state, of liquid crystals, and, at temperatures near absolute zero, of the so-called
quantum liquids. The latter exhibit a property known as super fluidity (completely frictionless
flow), which is an example of macroscopic quantum phenomena. Such phenomena are also
exemplified by superconductivity (completely resistance-less flow of electricity), a lowtemperature property of certain metallic and ceramic materials. Besides their significance to
technology, macroscopic liquid and solid quantum states are important in astrophysical theories
of stellar structure in, for example, neutron stars.

Nuclear Physics
This branch of physics deals with the structure of the atomic nucleus and the radiation
from unstable nuclei. About 10,000 times smaller than the atom, the constituent particles of the
nucleus, protons and neutrons, attract one another so strongly by the nuclear forces that nuclear
energies are approximately 1,000,000 times larger than typical atomic energies. Quantum theory
is needed for understanding nuclear structure. Like excited atoms, unstable radioactive nuclei
(either naturally occurring or artificially produced) can emit electromagnetic radiation. The
energetic nuclear photons are called gamma rays. Radioactive nuclei also emit other particles:
negative and positive electrons (beta rays), accompanied by neutrinos, and helium nuclei (alpha
rays).
A principal research tool of nuclear physics involves the use of beams of particles (e.g.,
protons or electrons) directed as projectiles against nuclear targets. Recoiling particles and any
resultant nuclear fragments are detected, and their directions and energies are analyzed to reveal

details of nuclear structure and to learn more about the strong force. A much weaker nuclear
force, the so-called weak interaction, is responsible for the emission of beta rays.
Nuclear collision experiments use beams of higher-energy particles, including those of
unstable particles called mesons produced by primary nuclear collisions in accelerators dubbed
meson factories. Exchange of mesons between protons and neutrons is directly responsible for
the strong force.
In radioactivity and in collisions leading to nuclear breakup, the chemical identity of the
nuclear target is altered whenever there is a change in the nuclear charge.
In fission and fusion nuclear reactions in which unstable nuclei are, respectively, split into
smaller nuclei or amalgamated into larger ones, the energy release far exceeds that of
any chemical reaction.

Particle Physics
One of the most significant branches of contemporary physics is the study of the
fundamental subatomic constituents of matter, the elementary particles. This field, also called
high-energy physics, emerged in the 1930s out of the developing experimental areas of nuclear
and cosmic-ray physics. Initially investigators studied cosmic rays, the very-high-energy
extraterrestrial radiations that fall upon the Earth and interact in the atmosphere. However,
after World War II, scientists gradually began using high-energy particle accelerators to provide
subatomic particles for study. Quantum field theory, a generalization of QED to other types of
force fields, is essential for the analysis of high-energy physics. Subatomic particles cannot be
visualized as tiny analogues of ordinary material objects such as billiard balls, for they have
properties that appear contradictory from the classical viewpoint. That is to say, while they
possess charge, spin, mass, magnetism, and other complex characteristics, they are nonetheless
regarded as point like.

Quantum Mechanics
Although the various branches of physics differ in their experimental methods and
theoretical approaches, certain general principles apply to all of them. The forefront of
contemporary advances in physics lies in the submicroscopic regime, whether it be in atomic,
nuclear, condensed-matter, plasma, or particle physics, or in quantum optics, or even in the study
of stellar structure. All are based upon quantum theory (i.e., quantum and quantum field theory)
and relativity, which together form the theoretical foundations of modern physics. Many physical
quantities whose classical counterparts vary continuously over a range of possible values are in
quantum theory constrained to have discontinuous, or discrete, values. Furthermore, the
intrinsically deterministic character of values in classical physics is replaced in quantum theory
by intrinsic uncertainty.

According to quantum theory, electromagnetic radiation does not always consist of

continuous waves; instead it must be viewed under some circumstances as a collection of
particle-like photons, the energy and momentum of each being directly proportional to
its frequency (or inversely proportional to its wavelength, the photons still possessing some
wavelike characteristics). Conversely, electrons and other objects that appear as particles in
classical physics are endowed by quantum theory with wavelike properties as well, such a
particles quantum wavelength being inversely proportional to its momentum. In both instances,
the proportionality constant is the characteristic quantum of action (action being defined as
energy time)that is to say, Plancks constant divided by 2, or .
In principle, all of atomic and molecular physics, including the structure of atoms and
their dynamics, the periodic table of elements and their chemical behavior, as well as the
spectroscopic, electrical, and other physical properties of atoms, molecules, and condensed
matter, can be accounted for by quantum mechanics. Roughly speaking, the electrons in the atom
must fit around the nucleus as some sort of standing wave (as given by the Schrdinger equation)
analogous to the waves on a plucked violin or guitar string. As the fit determines the wavelength
of the quantum wave, it necessarily determines its energy state. Consequently, atomic systems
are restricted to certain discrete, or quantized, energies. When an atom undergoes a
discontinuous transition, or quantum jump, its energy changes abruptly by a sharply defined
amount, and a photon of that energy is emitted when the energy of the atom decreases, or is
absorbed in the opposite case.

Relativistic Mechanics
In classical physics, space is conceived as having the absolute character of an empty
stage in which events in nature unfold as time flows onward independently; events occurring
simultaneously for one observer are presumed to be simultaneous for any other; mass is taken as
impossible to create or destroy; and a particle given sufficient energy acquires a velocity that can
increase without limit. The special theory of relativity, developed principally by Albert
Einstein in 1905 and now so adequately confirmed by experiment as to have the status of
physical law, shows that all these, as well as other apparently obvious assumptions, are false.
Specific and unusual relativistic effects flow directly from Einsteins two basic postulates, which
are formulated in terms of so-called inertial reference frames. These are reference systems that
move in such a way that in them Isaac Newtons first law, the law of inertia, is valid. The set of
inertial frames consists of all those that move with constant velocity with respect to each other
(accelerating frames therefore being excluded).
Einsteins postulates are:
(1) All observers, whatever their state of motion relative to a light source, measure the
same speed for light; and
(2) The laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames.
The first postulate, the constancy of the speed of light, is an experimental fact from which
follow the distinctive relativistic phenomena of space contraction (or Lorentz-FitzGerald
contraction), time dilation, and the relativity of simultaneity: as measured by an observer
assumed to be at rest, an object in motion is contracted along the direction of its motion, and

moving clocks run slow; two spatially separated events that are simultaneous for a stationary
observer occur sequentially for a moving observer. As a consequence, space intervals in threedimensional space are related to time intervals, thus forming so-called four-dimensional spacetime.
The second postulate is called the principle of relativity. It is equally valid in classical mechanics
(but not in classical electrodynamics until Einstein reinterpreted it). This postulate implies, for
example, that table tennis played on a train moving with constant velocity is just like table tennis
played with the train at rest, the states of rest and motion being physically indistinguishable. In
relativity theory, mechanical quantities such as momentum and energy have forms that are
different from their classical counterparts but give the same values for speeds that are small
compared to the speed of light, the maximum permissible speed in nature (about 300,000
kilometers per second, or 186,000 miles per second). According to relativity, mass and energy
are equivalent and interchangeable quantities, the equivalence being expressed by Einsteins
famous mass-energy equation E = mc2, where m is an objects mass and c is the speed of light.
The general theory of relativity is Einsteins theory of gravitation, which uses the principle of the
equivalence of gravitation and locally accelerating frames of reference. Einsteins theory has
special mathematical beauty; it generalizes the flat space-time concept of special relativity to
one of curvature. It forms the background of all modern cosmological theories. In contrast to
some vulgarized popular notions of it, which confuse it with moral and other forms of relativism,
Einsteins theory does not argue that all is relative. On the contrary, it is largely a theory based
upon those physical attributes that do not change, or, in the language of the theory, that are
invariant.

Speed and Velocity

Difference between Speed and Velocity
Speed
is a scalar quantity -- it is the magnitude of the velocity. Speed is measured in units of
distance divided by time, e.g. miles per hour, feet per second, meters per second, etc....
Velocity
is a vector quantity -- when giving the velocity we must specify the magnitude (the
speed) and the direction of travel. For example you might drive 100km/hr (the speed) in a
northerly direction.
This is analogous to the difference between distance (a scalar quantity) But what is the
difference? If you ask any person on the street, they might say there is no difference. In nonphysics use, they would be correct. However, in physics we have very specific definitions for
these terms. Surprisingly, not all textbooks agree on the definition of speed.
VELOCITY AND AVERAGE VELOCITY
I guess I should start from the beginning. There are two other important terms: position
and displacement. Suppose that I have a moving object. It moves from location 1 to location 2
along the path shown below.
The position of location 1 is the vector from the origin to that point. Same for location 2
and the position vector 2. Position is a vector from the origin of your coordinate system to some
particular point. If you change the location of the origin, your position vectors will change.
The displacement is the vector from location 1 to 2. This vector does NOT depend on the
location of the origin. If you know the two position vectors, then the displacement vector would
be:

Finally, we are ready for the definition of average velocity. When the object goes from
position 1 to 2, it will take some time. I will call this time t. The average velocity would then
be:

Thats the average velocity. But what about just velocity? Technically, this would be
called instantaneous velocity. This is just the limit as the time interval approaches zero. Of
course that makes this a derivative with respect to time:

Thats velocity. Pretty much everyone agrees on this definition.

SPEED AND AVERAGE SPEED

There are two common definitions of speed that are used in textbooks. I looked through a
sample of books in my office and all of them fell into one of two definitions.
Speed Definition 1: The average speed is the distance traveled divided by the time it took to
travel this distance. If I use the symbol s for speed (which isnt a very good choice), then I would
write:

You can see the problem here. How do you calculate distance? In the picture example
above, this would be the length of that dotted line path. The average velocity only depends on the
starting and ending point, not the path but the speed depends on the path (in this definition). Also
with this definition, the average speed is a scalar quantity and not a vector quantity.
Oh, most of the textbooks used this definition of average speed.
Speed Definition 2: Speed is the magnitude of the velocity. Thats it. As an equation, that would
be:

This would also make speed a scalar value.

For the average velocity, I need the vector position of the start and end of the motion. But
wait! These are in the same spot! That means that the displacement is the zero vector (which is
different than just zero). The average velocity is zero vector m/s. How can this be? Remember,
that velocity is a vector. With an average velocity of zero (vector), that means the car is going
just as much North as it is South so that these all average to zero (vector).
What about the average speed according to definition 1? In this case, the distance
traveled is 1000 meter so that the average speed would be (1000 m)/(50 s) = 20 m/s. This is what
the speedometer would read.
According to definition number 2, the average speed is the magnitude of the average
velocity. Since the average velocity is zero (vector) m/s, the magnitude of this is also zero meters
per second. If you want the instantaneous speed according to the definition 2, that would also be
20 m/s.

Problem #4
A bowling bowl is suspended from a ceiling is displaced from the vertical position to one side

are released from rest just in front o a students nose. If the student doesnt move, why wont the
bowling ball hit his nose? Explain your answer.
Answer
A swinging bowling ball illustrates a very important principle of physics: The
Conservation of Energy, The total amount of energy an object has stays the same, unless you do
something to change it. To change the energy of something, you have to move it (e.g. give it a
push). The bowling ball starts with a certain amount of potential (stored) energy.
It gets this energy because someone had to lift it up to hang it. Bowling balls are heavy
and you have to do it with are giving energy. When you let go of the ball, it swings downward
like a pendulum. As it starts swinging, the energy changes from potential energy to kinetic, or
moving energy. The total amount of energy , moving plus stored, stays the same; it only changes
form. When the ball swings back to where it started, the energy changes back to potential energy.
Since the total energy has to stay constant, the kinetic energy of the ball must be zero and the ball
must stop moving. It cant hit you!

Mass & Energy

Mass-Energy Equivalence
is a concept formulated by Albert Einstein that explains the relationship between mass
and energy. It expresses the law of equivalence of energy and mass using the formula
where E is the energy of a physical system, m is the mass of the system, and c is the speed of
light in a vacuum (about 3108m/s). In words, energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of
light squared. Because the speed of light is a very large number in everyday units, the formula
implies that any small amount of matter contains a very large amount of energy. Some of this
energy may be released as heat and light by chemical or nuclear transformations. This also serves
to convert units of mass to units, no matter what system of measurement units is used.
Massenergy equivalence arose originally from special relativity as a paradox described
by Henri Poincar.[1] Einstein proposed it in 1905, in the paper Does the inertia of a body depend
upon its energy-content?, one of his Annus Mirabilis (Miraculous Year) papers.[2] Einstein was
the first to propose that the equivalence of mass and energy is a general principle and a
consequence of the symmetries of space and time.
A consequence of the massenergy equivalence is that if a body is stationary, it still has some
internal or intrinsic energy, called its rest energy. Rest mass and rest energy are equivalent and
remain proportional to each other. When the body is in motion (relative to an observer), its total
energy is greater than its rest energy. The rest mass (or rest energy) remains an important
quantity in this case because it remains the same regardless of this motion, even for the extreme
speeds or gravity considered in special and general relativity; thus it is also called the invariant
mass.

The

Theory of Relativity

This theory allows observers to agree on what they see from different perspectives. For
example, an object appears larger close up than it does from a distance, yet we agree on the size
of the object. Additionally, two points can appear close together or farther apart depending on
the observer's angle of perspective. Yet, we can agree that they are separated by the same space,
regardless of our perspective. Furthermore, an object can appear to be stationary or moving
depending on the observer's state of motion. We accept velocities are relative to the velocities of
other objects.
While Albert Einstein was not the first to suggest relativity, he certainly expanded its
application. Before Einstein, scientists struggled with how the speed of light could be constant
regardless of the source of the light or the perspective of the observer. To resolve this problem,
Albert Einstein proposed the components of speed - space and time - to be relative to the state of
motion of the observer. As it turns out, he was correct.
As objects increase speed, both time and length decrease. The relativity of space and time
allows different observers to agree on the same speed of light. Einstein took relativity even
further. He suggested we reevaluate how we look at other properties as well - for example, mass
and energy. This questioning led to perhaps the most popular scientific equation of all
time, E = mc^2, where E = energy, m = mass, and c = the speed of light.

Energy and Mass Are Relative

The equation E = mc^2 states that the amount of energy possessed by an object is equal
to its mass multiplied by the square of the speed of light. Since the speed of light is an incredibly
high number, almost 300,000 km/sec, a small amount of mass contains a lot of energy.
Additionally, the equation suggests that energy and mass are interchangeable with each other. In
other words, energy can be converted to mass and mass to energy.

Evidence for the Relativity of Mass and Energy

Scientists have proven that mass and energy are interchangeable properties. Mass can be
converted into energy, and energy can be converted into mass. This phenomenon can be
demonstrated with particle accelerators. Particle accelerators are used to, well, accelerate
particles. For example, scientists can use particle accelerators to make protons approach the
speed of light. Energy must be applied to accelerate the proton, just like a car needs gas to move
and we need food to run. As the energy is added, the proton accelerates - it moves faster.
However, not all of the applied energy is used to make the proton accelerate.

Work Done by Constant Force

The work done by a constant force is proportional to the force applied times the displacement of the
object. A force does not have to, and rarely does, act on an object parallel to the direction of motion.

An eraser being pushed along a chalkboard tray.

Almost all the terms we have used thus farvelocity, acceleration, force, and so on
convey nearly the same meaning in physics as they do in everyday life. Now, however, we
encounter a term whose meaning in physics is distinctly different from its everyday meaning.
That new term is work.
A force is applied to a chalkboard eraser, and the eraser slides along the tray. If we are
interested in how effective the force is in moving the eraser, we need to consider not only the
magnitude of the force but also its direction. If we assume that the magnitude of the applied force
is the same in all three photographs, it is clear that the push applied in Figure 7.1b does more to
move the eraser than the push in Figure 7.1a. On the other hand, Figure 7.1c shows a situation in
which the applied force does not move the eraser at all, regardless of how hard it is pushed.
(Unless, of course, we apply a force so great that we break something.) So, in analyzing forces to
determine the work they do, we must consider the vector nature of forces. We also need to know
how far the eraser moves along the tray if we want to determine the work required to cause that
motion. Moving the eraser 3 m requires more work than moving it 2 cm. An eraser being
pushed along a chalkboard tray.
Work is a scalar quantity, and its units are force multiplied by length. Therefore, the SI
unit of work is the newton_meter (N_m). This combination of units is used so frequently that it
has been given a name of its own: the joule (J).
In general, a particle may be moving with either a constant or a varying velocity under
the influence of several forces. In these cases, because work is a scalar quantity, the total work
done as the particle undergoes some displacement is the algebraic sum of the amounts of work
done by all the forces.

Work Done by Variable Force

The work done by a constant force of magnitude F on a point that moves a displacement d in the direction
of the force is the product: W = Fd. Integration approach can be used both to calculate work done by
a variable force and work done by a constant force.

When a force varies as it pushes or pulls an object, one cannot simply calculate work as
the product
work = (force) * (distance)
Instead, one must integrate the force through the distance over which it acts
/
work = | (force) * (dx)
/
As before, if the force and displacement are not in exactly the same direction, one must
take the dot product within the integral.
Springs are very important because they serve as simple models for lots of complicated physical
systems. Objects which behave like springs behave in a manner which is described as simple
harmonic motion; you will see SHM over and over as you continue in physics.
The defining character of a spring is that it resists displacement from its rest position with
a force which increases linearly:
restoring force = - k * (displacement)
where k is called the spring constant. It has units of Newtons per meter.
When a spring pulls something, or pushes something, over a distance x, it does work
work = 1/2 * k * x
If a spring is compressed (or stretched) it stores energy equal to the work performed to
compress (or stretch) it. We might call this spring potential energy.

Example work done by variable force

A force F = 2x + 5 acts on a particle. Find the work done by the force during the displacement of
the particle from x =0m to x = 2m. Given that the force is in Newtons.
Work done W = F(x)dx
Thus W = = F(x)dx Cos 0o
= F(x)dx
= (2x + 5)dx
= 2x2/2 + 5x |
= 22 + 5 x 2
= 14 J

The Conservation of Energy

It is a consequence of Newtons laws of motion that the total momentumremains constant
in a system completely isolated from external influences. The only forces acting on any part of
the system are those exerted by other parts; if these are taken in pairs, according to the third
law, A exerts on B a force equal and opposite to that of B on A. Since, according to the second
law, the momentum of each changes at a rate equal to the force acting on it, the momentum
change of A is exactly equal and opposite to that of Bwhen only mutual forces between these
two are considered. Because the effects of separate forces are additive, it follows that for the
system as a whole no momentum change occurs. The centre of mass of the whole system obeys
the first law in remaining at rest or moving at a constant velocity, so long as no external
influences are brought to bear. This is the oldest of the conservation laws and is invoked
frequently in solving dynamic problems.

Conservation of angular momentum

The total angular momentum (also called moment of momentum) of an isolated system
about a fixed point is conserved as well. The angular momentum of a particle of mass m moving
with velocity v at the instant when it is at a distance r from the fixed point is mr v. The quantity
written as r v is a vector (the vector product of r and v) having components with respect to
Cartesian axes
The meaning is more easily appreciated if all the particles lie and move in a plane. The
angular momentum of any one particle is the product of its momentum mv and the distance of
nearest approach of the particle to the fixed point if it were to continue in a straight line. The
vector is drawn normal to the plane. Conservation of total angular momentum does not follow
immediately from Newtons laws but demands the additional assumption that any pair of forces,
action and reaction, are not only equal and opposite but act along the same line. This is always
true for central forces, but it holds also for the frictional force developed along sliding surfaces.
If angular momentum were not conserved, one might find an isolated body developing a
spontaneous rotation with respect to the distant stars or, if rotating like the Earth, changing its
rotational speed without any external cause. Such small changes as the Earth experiences are
explicable in terms of disturbances from withoute.g., tidal forces exerted by the Moon. The
law of conservation of angular momentum is not called into question.
Nevertheless, there are no central forces in nature, as, for example, when a charged
particle moves past a bar magnet. If the line of motion and the axis of the magnet lie in a plane,
the magnet exerts a force on the particle perpendicular to the plane while the magnetic field of
the moving particle exerts an equal and opposite force on the magnet. At the same time, it exerts
a couple tending to twist the magnet out of the plane. Angular momentum is not conserved
unless one imagines that the balance of angular momentum is distributed in the space around the
magnet and charge and changes as the particle moves past. The required result is neatly
expressed by postulating the possible existence of magnetic poles that would generate a magnetic
field analogous to the electric field of a charge (a bar magnet behaves roughly like two such
poles of opposite sign, one near each end). Then there is associated with each pair, consisting of

a charge q and a pole P, angular momentum 0Pq/4, as if the electric and magnetic fields
together acted like a gyroscope spinning about the line joining P and q. With this contribution
included in the sum, angular momentum is always conserved.
An equally fundamental law, for which no exception is known, is that the total electrical
charge in an isolated system is conserved. In the production of a negatively charged electron by
an energetic gamma ray, for example, a positively charged positron is produced simultaneously.
An isolated electron cannot disappear, though an electron and a positron, whose total charge is
zero and whose mass is 2me (twice the mass of an electron), may simultaneously be annihilated.
The energy equivalent of the destroyed mass appears as gamma ray energy 2mec2.
For macroscopic systemsi.e., those composed of objects massive enough for their atomic
structure to be discounted in the analysis of their behaviorthe conservation law for energy
assumes a different aspect. In the collision of two perfectly elastic objects, to which billiard balls
are a good approximation, momentum and energy are both conserved. Given the paths and
velocities before collision, those after collision can be calculated from the conservation laws
alone. In reality, however, although momentum is always conserved, the kinetic energy of the
separating balls is less than what they had on approach. Soft objects, indeed, may adhere on
collision, losing most of their kinetic energy. The lost energy takes the form of heat, raising the
temperature (if only imperceptibly) of the colliding objects. From the atomic viewpoint the total
energy of a body may be divided into two portions: on the one hand, the external energy
consisting of the potential energy associated with its position and the kinetic energy of motion of
its centre of mass and its spin; and, on the other, the internal energy due to the arrangement and
motion of its constituent atoms. In an inelastic collision the sum of internal and external energies
is conserved, but some of the external energy of bodily motion is irretrievably transformed into
internal random motions. The conservation of energy is expressed in the macroscopic language
of the first law of thermodynamicsnamely, energy is conserved provided that heat is taken into
account. The irreversible nature of the transfer from external energy of organized motion to
random internal energy is a manifestation of the second.
The irreversible degradation of external energy into random internal energy also explains
the tendency of all systems to come to rest if left to themselves. If there is a configuration in
which the potential energy is less than for any slightly different configuration, the system may
find stable equilibrium here because there is no way in which it can lose more external energy,
either potential or kinetic. This is an example of an external principlethat a state of stable
equilibrium is one in which the potential energy is a minimum with respect to any small changes
in configuration. It may be regarded as a special case of one of the most fundamental of physical
laws, the principle of increase of entropy, which is a statement of the second law of
thermodynamics in the form of an external principlethe equilibrium state of an isolated
physical system is that in which the entropy takes the maximum possible value. This matter is
discussed further below and, in particular, in the article thermodynamics.