Units, Quantities & Measurements

Base Units: mass, distance, time, current, amount,

temperature and light intensity.
Derived Units: base units derived by multiplication or
division.
Prefixes: tera, giga, mega, kilo, deci, centi, milli, micro,
nano, and pico.
Homogenous: units on one side must be the same as on the
other.

Vectors, Scalars & Linear Motion

Vectors and Scalars: types of measurement you can make.
Scalar Measurement: records the magnitude (or amount) of
whatever you are measuring.
Vector Measurement: records the magnitude of the thing
you are measuring and the direction.
Resultant Vector: single vector that has the same effect as
all the others put together.
Speed: rate of change of distance or the distance moved in
unit time.
Velocity: rate of change of displacement.
Acceleration: how rapdily something is changing speed.
Displacement: distance moved in a specified direction.
Displacement-time Graph: shwos the motion of an object
and allows you to find position and velocity at any time.
Velocity-time Graphs: follow the same idea as
displacement-time grpahs, velocity is on the y-axis.

Equations of Motion
v: final velocity.
u: initial velocity.
a: constant acceleration.
Projectiles: vectors at right angle to each other are
independent; have no effect on each other.

Circular Motion
Newton's First Law: if an object continues in straight line at
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 consatnt velocity, all forces acting on the object are
balanced.
Circular Motion: resultant force. Called the centripetal force.
Centripetal Force: always directed towards the centre of the
circle (along the radius of the circle).
Centripetal Acceleration: caused by the centripetal force.
Always at 90oM to the direction of the movement of the
object.
Angles: measured in degrees. 360o = 1 rotation.
Radians: radius of a circle and its circumference are related
by the equation: circumference = 2pr
Angular Speed: measures the angle of a complete circle
(measured in radians) covered per second.

Forces
Force: rate of change of the linear momentum of a body.
Balanced Forces: cause no acceleration.
Unblanaced Forces: cause acceleration in the direction of
the resultant force.
Calculating Force: F = ma.
F: force (N)
m: mass (kg)
a: acceleration (m/s2).
Newton's First Law of Motion: bodies will continue to move
with a uniform velocity unless acted on by a resultant force.
Newton's Second Law of Motion:resultant force is equal to
the rate of change or momentum.
Newton's Third Law of Motion: every force has an equal and
opposite force.
Friction: caused by rubbing, Can be the surfaces between
two solids rubbing, a solid surface and a liquid or a gas.
"Friction Dissipates Energy": means that energy moves,
usually changing from kinetic energy to heat energy, where
it is lost ot the surroundings.
Terminal Velocity: when air resistance force up has grown so
big that it matches the weight down, there is no resultant
force and therefore no acceleration.
Pressure: caused by forces acting on a surface.
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 Momentum and Impulse
Linear Momentum: p, defined as the mass, m, of an object
multiplied by its velocity, v. p = mv.
Conservation of a Momentum Principle: states that the total
momentum of a system remains constant provided that no
external force acts on the system.
Conservation of an Energy Principle: states that energy
cannot be created or destroyed only transformed from one
form to another.
Collision Tyes: perfectly elastic, perfectly inelastic and
inelastic.
Impulse: the product of the force and the perpendicular
distance

Moments, Couples and Equilibrium

Moment: a force multiplied by the perpendicular distance
from th eline of action of the force to the pivot.
Couples: two forces acting on a subject and the forces are
parallel, in opposite directions, of equal size and not along
the same line of action.
Triangle of Forces: finds out if the forces acting on an object
are in equlibrium.
Centre of Gravity: point where all the mass seems to be
concentrated.

Work, Energy and Efficiency

Energy: 'the capacity of a body to do work'
Work: what something does whenever it transfers energy
from one form to another.
Work Equation: work = force x distance moved in the
firection of the force, or W = Fs.
Kinetic Energy: 1/2 mv2. Stored energy. Kinetic energy stored
in an object that is moving = amount of work done
accelerating it to that speed.
Potential Energy: Ep = P.E = mgh. Energy stored in objects,
which have been lifted against a gravitational field.

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 Power: the rate at which you do work. Power - Work Done/
Time Taken.

Current, Charge and Voltage

Charge: a particle with charge will experience a force in an
electric field. Measured in coulombs, C.
Electrical Charge: quantity of electricty flowing in a circuit
when unit current flows for unit time.
Conservation of Time: it is not possible to to destroy or
create charge.
Static Electricity: caused by the transfer of electrons from
one object to another.
Van de Graff Generator: uses friction to charge up a metal
dome.
Current: rate of flow of eletric charge.
Current Electricty: moving charged particles. It is the rate of
flow of charges.
Voltage: amount of attracting or repelling you do is
measured in volts, also called the potential difference (p.d.
for short).
Series Circuits: current the same all around the circuit and
voltage is divided between the components in the circuit.
Parallel Circuits: current divides to travel along each loop
and voltage is the same across each loop.
Conventional Current: flow of positive particles.
Ammeter: measures current.
Voltmeter: measures voltage.
Drift Velocity: average speed the particle travels at along
the conductor.
Current Equation: I = vAnq.
I: current (amps, A).
v: drift velocity (m/s).
A: cross-sectional area of the conductor (m2).
n: charge density (m-3). This is the number if charge carriers
that can move per m3.
q: charge on each charge carrier (coulombs, C).
Conductors: metals. Electrons in the outer layers of metal
atoms are free to move from atom to atom.
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 Insulators: where static charge builds up.
Coulomb: amount of charge flowing past a point in the
circuit every second when a current of one ampere is
flowing.

Resistance
Resistance: more resistance, more energy needed to push
the same number of electrons though part of the circuit.
Measured in ohms, W.
The Ohm: is that resistance which when a potential
difference of one volt exists across the ends of the
conductor results in a current of one ampere flowing in the
conductor.
Ohmmeter: finds the resistance of a component.
Ohm's Law: current through a component is always
proportional to the voltage across it.
Ohmic Resistor: any resistor that obeys Ohm's Law.
Non-Ohmic Resistor: any resistor that doesn't obey Ohm's
Law.
Conductance: G, tells how easy it is for a current to flow
through something. Measured in siemens, S.
Thermistors: reduce their resistance as temperature
increases.
Light-dependent Resistors: decrease their resistance when
energy is given, but this time the energy needs to be given
as light energy.
Resistivity: ability of a material to conduct. Measured in
ohm-meters (Wm).
Resistance Factors: length, area, material and temperature.
Conductivity: reverse of resistivity.
Electro-motive Force: emf. Any device putting energy into a
circuit.
Potential Difference: between two points is the work done
when unit charge flows between two points.
Emf and pd: measure of voltage and measured in volts, V.
Emf: amount of energy of any form that is changed into
electrical energy per coulomb of charge.
pd: amount of electrical energy that is changed into other

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 forms of energy per coulomb of charge.
Emf Sources: cell, battery (a combination of cells), solar
cell, generator, dynamo, and thermo couple.
Power Supplies: deliver low voltages and higher currents,
like a car battery; need to have a low internal battery.
High-voltage Power Supplies: produce thousands of volts,
have extremely high internal resistance to limit the current
that would flow if there were an accidental short-circuit.

Kirchoff's Law and Potential Dividers

Kirchoff's First Law: at any junction in a circuit, the sum of
the currents arriving at the junction = the sum of the
currents leaving the junction.
Kirchoff's Second Law: in any loop (path) around a circuit,
the sum of the emfs = the sum of the pds.
Electrical Potential Energy: energy used up as charge flows
around a circuit and turns it into other forms, such as heat
and light.
Potential: amount of energy that each coulomb of charge
has still got stored, ready to use.
Potential Dividers: used to find the emf of a cell.

Power and Energy

Electrical Energy: measured in units of the kWhr.
Energy: power x time.
KWhr: kW x hr.
Transformers: used to step-up the voltages from the power
station to the power lines and to step-down the voltage
from the power lines to people's homes.

Alternating Currents
Direct Currents: cells produce currents that travel in the
same direction all of the time.
Alternating Currents: current that is constantly changing
direction. It is normally sinusoidal.
Frequency: number of cycles completed per second.
Measured in Hertz (Hz).
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 Period: T, time taken to complete one cycle.
Peak Values: maximum values at the crest or trough.
Equivalent to the amplitude of a wave.
RMS Values: are the d.c. equivalent of an a.c value.

Capacitors
Capacitors: big plates of metal close to each other but not
touching.
The Farad: is that capacitance which when one coulomb of
charge is stored in a capacitor results in an increase in
potential of one volt.
Charge Stored: directly proportional to the potential
difference across the plates.
Capacitance: charge stored per unit pd across the plates.
Measured in farad, F.
Rate of Removal: of charge is proportional to the amount of
charge remaining.
Time Constant, T: of a circuit has the value R.C and is the
time taken for the charge on a capacitor to decrease to
1
/e of its initial value.
R: resistance on the circuit (W).
C: capacitance of the circuit (F).

Magnetic Fields
Magnetic Field: region in which a particle with magnetic
properties experiences a force, and in which a moving
charge experiences a force.
Permanent Magnets: are common and are made of iron,
cobalt or nickel alloys.
Lines of Flux: represent magnetic fields on a diagram.
Gravitational Field Strength: force per unit mass at a point
in a field.
Gravitational Potential: at a point, the work done bringing a
unit ,ass from it to the point.
Uniform Field: region between the poles shows equally
spaced parallel lines.
Ä: means that conventional current is flowing though a wire
into the page.
Electric Field Strength: force per unit charge at a point in

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 the field.
Electric Potential: work done bringing a unit positive charge
from infinity to the point in the field.
Potential Difference: between two points in an electric field
is the work done per unit charge moved from point to point
in the field.
Neutral Points: when two fields coincide they may cancel
each other out and produce points where the magnetic field
strength is zero.
Magnetic Flux Density: name of magnetic field strength,
given the symbol 'B'.
Magnetic Field Strength: force acting per unit current in a
wire of unit length, which is perpendicular to the field.
Measured in tesla, T.
Tesla: magnetic flux density that produces a force of one
newton when a current of one ampere flows in a wire of
length one metre.
Iron: good core for solenoids as it is easily magnetised and
demagnetised.
B µ I: strength of a magnetic field is directly proportional to
the current flowing.
Hall Probe: device, which finds the strength of a magnetic
field.

Forces in Magnetic Fields

Motor Effect: if a wire carrying a current is placed in a
magnetic field a force is produced.
Flemmings Left Hand Rule: used to get the direction of the
force on a single chanrge travelling in a field.
Second Finger: Conventional current.
First Finger: Field direction.
Thumb: Thrust or force direction.

Electromagnetic Induction
Magnetic Flux, f: magnetic field strength, B, multiplied by
area swept out by a conductor. f = BA.
Flux: amount of magnetic field that you've swept through.
Units: weber, Wb.
Magnetic Flux Linkage, F: magnetic flux for a coil of n turns.
Measured in weber and has the symbol F.

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 Faradays Law: emf induced is equal to the rate of change of
magnetic flux linkage or the rate of flux cutting.

Lenz's Law
Lenz's Law: emf that is induced will be set up so that it
opposes whatever set it up.
Left Hand Rule: generating a current not a force.
Right Hand Rule: tells you in what direction a current is
induced in a conductor moved through a magnetic field.
Ek: source of the emf, transferred from one other energy
into electrical energy.

Transformers and Rectification

Transformers: can step a.a. electricity voltage up or down.
Turns Role: if you change the number of turns in the coils,
you change the induced emf.
Diodes: only allow current to flow in one direction.

Simple Harmonic Motion and Damping

Simple Harmonic Motion, SHM: oscillation in which the
acceleration of the
Time Period, T: time taken for an oscillation/revolution
object to complete one full oscillation.
Frequency, F: number of oscillation/revolutions in one
second, and is measured in Hertz (Hz).
Displacement: distance the particle has been moved from
its equilibrium position.
Amplitude: maximum displacement of the vibrating object
from the equilibrium position.
Angular Velocity: angle swept out per unit time by a radius
of a circle.
Critical Damping: damping required to make the oscillations
stop in the quickest possible time without going past the
equilibrium position.
Natural Frequency, F0: frequency of un-damped oscillations
in a system, which has been allowed to oscillate on its pwn.
Wavelength: distance from any point on a wave to the sam
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 epoint on the next wave.
Intensity: of a wave is power per unit area at right angles to
the wave.
Resonance: occur when natural frequency of a body is equal
to the frequency of a periodic force applied to the body,
resulting in large amplitude oscillations.
Forced Frequency: frequency with which the periodic force is
applied.

Reflection, Refraction and Polarisation

Law of Reflection: angle of incidence = angle of reflection.
Speed: frequency x wavelength
Critical Angle: angle of incidence at which the angle of
refraction is 90o
Optical Fibres: uses TIR to send light pulse down glass
fibres.
Polarisation: transverse waves oscillations are made to
occur in one plane only.

Diffraction
Diffraction:a wave will diffract (spread out) as it goes
through a gap or past an obstacle.
Coherent Waves: are waves with a constant phase
difference.
Interference and Superposiition: when two waves meet they
will interfere and superpose.
Superposition: will occur whether waves are coherent or
not.

Progressive Waves
Mechanical Waves: any waves that move through a
medium.
Progressive Waves: distribute energy from a point source to
a surrounding area.
Tranverse Waves: vibrations are perpendicular to the wave
motion.
Longitudinal Waves: vibrations are parallel to the wave
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 motion.
Diplacement: distance a particle moves from its central
equilibrium position.
Amplitude: maximum displacement from the central
equilibrium position.
Phase Angle: position along the wave, measured in degrees
or radians.
Speed of Wave: v = fl.
f: frequency (Hz)
I: wavelength (m).
v: speed (m/s)
Nodes: parts of the wave where the amplitude is always
zero.
Antinodes: halfway between the nodes, where the
amplitude is at a maximum.

Electro-magnetic Waves
Electromagnetic Spectrum Waves: all travel the same speed
in a vacuum, can be reflected, refracted, diffracted and
polarised and are tranverse waves.
Gamma Rays: emitted during radioactive decay, causes
cancer by damaging cells.
X-rays: produced by firing electrons at a metal target,
causes cancer by damaging cells.
Ultraviolet: emitted by the sun, can cause skin cancer.
Visible Light: emitted by the sun, intense light can damage
your sight.
Infra Red: emitted by hot objects and can burn.
Micro-waves: produced by changing currents in a conductor.
Radio-waves: produced by changing currents in a
conductor.

Matter and Antimatter

Matter Particless: neutron, proton and electron etc.
Antimatter Particles: routinely created in a particle
accelerators.
Pressure: force acting perpendicular on unit cross-sectional
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 area of the surface.
Brittle: material that can't deform plastically without
breaking.
Ductile: material that can undergo extensive plastic
deformation without breaing.
Stiff: material that strongly resists elastic deformation.
Malleable: material that can be worked into different
shapes.
Annihilate: when a particle and its corresponding
antiparticle meet they annihilate one another.
Particle Accelerators: physicts use to explore matter on the
smallest scale.
Electron Gun: useful for producing electrons of relatively
low energy for laboratory work.
Linear Acellerators: (LINAC), the charged particles are
accelerated in a straight line.
Mass Spectrometer: determine the comparative masses of
ionised atoms and, later, the relative abundance of
isotopes.

Particle Classification and Interactions

Particle Families: leptons and hadrons.
Quarks: small particles in which neutrons and protons are
composed of.
Quark Types: up, down and strange.
Charge (Q): conserved in all interactions.
Baryons: assigned a Baryon number (B). Conserved in all
instructions.
Strangeness (S): property possessed by strange quarks.
Conserved in all but weak interactions.
Interactions: forces between fundamental particles on the
smallest scale.
Fundamental Interactions: gravitational, weak,
electromagnetic and strong.
Feynman Diagram: represents the exchange of a virtual
photon between two electrons.
Electron Capture: interaction between a proton and an
electron.
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 Conservation Laws: in any interaction charge (Q), lepton
number (L) and baryon number (B) are conserved.

Atomic Structure
Plum Pudding Model: the atom was believed to consist of a
positive material "pudding" with negative "plums"
distributed throughout.
Nucleon Number: number of protons + neutrons (also called
mass number).
Proton Number: also called atomc number as no two
elements have the same number of protons.
Atomic Notation: describes the number of particles in a
given atom.
Isotopes: atoms with the same proton number but different
numbers of neitrons.
Nuclear Equations: explain what happens in radioactive
decay processes.
Unstable Nuclei: emit alpha, beta or gamma radiation in
order to become more stable.

Radioactivity
Radioisotopes: isotopes of atoms that radioactive decay.
Background Radiation: radiation around; produced by
natural and unnatural sources such as rocks and soil.
Cosmic Rays: high-speed particles freom outer space and
the sun, which continusly bombard the Earth.
Ionising RadiationVarieties: a, alpha particles, b beta
particles and g particles.
Electric Fields: seperate alpha, beta and gamma.
Cloud and Bubble Chambers: early detecting devices of
subattomic particles.
Spark and Drift Chambers: modern detecting devices of
subatomic particles.

Radioactive Decay Equations

Activity: rate of decay (or number of disintegrated per
second) of a substance.
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 Half-Life: time taken for half of the radoactive nuceli persent
to decay or the time taken for the activity of a sample to
halve.
Decay Constant: fraction of the total number of nuceli
present that will deacy in a unit time.
Inverse Square Law: gives a measure of how the intensity of
radiation falls off with distance from a source.

Nuclear Energy
Mass: a solid form of energy.
E = mc2: finds out how much energy will be released when
you chnage mass into energy.
E: energy released (J)
m: mass defect (kg)
c: speed of light (ms-1)
Binding Energy: energy released when the nuceli is
assembled from its constitutional parts.
Nuclear Fusion: smaller nuclei combine (give out energy in
doing so) to produce larger nuclei.
Nuclear Fission: larger nuclei split up to produce smaller
nuclei and give out energy in doing so.
Moderator: used to slow the collision of neutrons.
Thermal Neutrons: lower energy neutrons.

Deformation of Solids
Breaking Stress: stress at which material breaks.
Deformation: change of size (dimension) under the action of
a force.
Density (p): weight per unit volume (units: kgm-3).
Elastic Behaviour: material exhibiting return to its original
size and shape when forces deforming it are removed.
Elastic Limit: a limit within which a material will regain its
original shape after the deforming force is removed.
Hooke's Law: law describing behaviour of elastic solids,
force is proportional to extension.
Hysteresis: phenomenon of lagging behind of any effect
when forces acting on a body are changed.

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 Molecular Volume: Vmolecule, average volume occupied by
each molecule in a substance.
Molar Mass: mass of one mole of the material.
Mole: amount of material containing 6.023 x 1023
molecules.
Plastic Behaviour: behaviour of a material where
deformation remains after the forces are removed
Resilience: ability of a material to be repeatedly stressed
without plastic deformation and without losing strength.
Spring Constant: force per unit extension.
Strain: extension per unit length.
Strain Every Density (Pe): energy stored per unit volume in a
material when elastically deformed. (Units: Jm-3).
Stress: force per unit area of a material (Units: Nm-2 or Pa).
Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS): maximum tensile stress a
material can stand.
Yield: suddenly increased deformation.
Young's Modulus (E): a constant indicating stiffness of a
material. Given by the ratio: stress/strain (Units: Nm-2 or P).

Stress and Strain

Stress: force per unit area of a material. Stress =
force/cross sectional area.
Strain: extension per unit length. Strain = extension/original
length.
Breaking Points: a material physically breaks at its breaking
point.
Density: weight per unit volume.

Temperature and Thermal Properties

Centigrade Scale: measures the changes to a thermometric
property of a substance in thermal equilibrium with the
object.
Fixed Points: value of the thermometric property when it is
at two known temperatures.
Thermodynamic Scale: straight-line relationship between
temperature and the thermometric property.

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 Ek: (kinetic energy) component relates to the temperatures
of the substance.
Ep: (potential energy) component relates to the state of the
substance.
Specific Latent Heat: amount of energy per kg (unit mass)
required to change ice to water.
Specific Heat Capacity: thermal energy (heat) required to
raise the temperature of unit mass by one kelvin or degree.
Molar Heat Capacity: (of a gas) is the thermal energy (heat)
required to raise the temp of one mole of an ideal gas by
one kelvin or degree.

Thermodynamics and Ideal Gases

Heat: if you heat up gas, you pass energy to the atoms (it
appears as Ek).
Work: we define work done by the gas pushing back its
surrounding, as positive.
p-V or Indicator Diagrams: graphs showing how pressure
and volume vary when we do certain things to a gas.

Kinetic Energy
Ek: vibration, rotation or translation of the atoms.
Ep: is due to the interaction of one atom and its neighbours.
Ideal Gases: one, which all its internal energy is in Ek.
Brownian Motion: large numbers of particles moving in
continuous random motion.
Speed Term: average of the square speed, which has a
different value from the square of the average speed.
Root Mean Square: square root of the mean square speed.
Boltzmann Constant: k, is the universal molar gas constant
for 1 atom or molecule.

Quantum Physics
Quantum Theory: light comes in packets of energy
(photons). E = hf, each photon interacts with only one
electrons (and vice versa).
Work Function f: energy needed for an electron to leave the
surface of the material.
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 Einstein's Photoelectric Equation: energy supplied = energy
used for hf = F + ½ mv2max.
Emitter: plate in which the photons first arrive.
Collector: metal plate in which the electrons that cross the
gap are collected.
Cathode: name of the emitter as it gives out electrons.

Wave Particle Duality

Wave Particle Duality: electrons, protons, a - particles can
be diffracted.
De Broglie Wavelength for Particles: l = hp
p: momentum of the particle.
E-M Radiation: propagates as a wave, interacts with
surfaces as a particle.
Electron Energy Levels: electrons can only exist in discrete
energy levels.
Electrons: jumping from low to high levels; absorb energy in
lumps. Jumping from high to low levels; emit energy in
lumps.
Lumps Energy Calculation: hf = E1 - E2.
Spectrum Lines: frequencies of light that exactly match the
energy required to make the jumps between energy levels.
Absorption Spectrum: dark lines on coloured background.
Emission Spectrum: lines of colour on a dark background.

Electric Fields and Forces

Electric Field: region which particles with charge experience
a force.
Electric Field Strength, E: force per unit charge acting at a
point in the field.
Radial Fields: formed around a point charge. Non-uniform
field.
Projectile Experience: constant horizontal velocity and
constant vertical acceleration.

Electrical Potential
Electric Potential: electrical potential energy per unit charge
(i.e. per coulomb) at a point in a field.
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 Potential Definition: "the potential at a point in a field is
equal to the work done per coulomb in moving a positively
charged particle from infinity, to that point in the field."
Equipotentials: points in the field of equal potential, and are
at right angles to the field lines.
Potential Gradient: rate of change of spacing between
equipotentials.

Gravitational Fields and Forces

Gravity: force that acts between any two masses.
Gravitational Field: a region which masses will experience a
force.
Force in a Gravitational Field: F = M.g.

Gravitational Potential Energy

Gravitational Potential F: potential energy per kilogram at a
point in a field.
Potential F: at a point in a field is the potential energy per
kg.
Equipotential: points of equal potential in a field.
Potential Gradient: rate of change of potential.

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