— Core - Physics and physical measuremé Mathematical and graphical techniques This chapter is an introduction to the basic techniques of graphical analysis in physics, in particular how to graph variables in order to obtain straight-line graphs. Objectives By the end of this chapter you should be able to: + find the change in a variable given the changes in other variables related to it; + transform the variables of an equation so that a linear relationship and graph are obtained: + extract relevant information from a graph; + understand the need for assumptions in simplifying various situations. Multiplicative changes Given an equation that relates one variable, say ‘y, to one or more other variables, it is essential that we learn how the value of y changes when one (or more) of the other variables change multiplicatively. Consider as a simple first example the equation Y=en where ¢ is a constant. How does the value of y change if x is tripled? Obviously, the value of y is also tripled since y and x are directly proportional to each other. More formally, let us call y’ the new value of y; then y’ = c(3x) 3(cx) = 3y. That is, the value of y is tripled as expected. The answer in this case is simple since the direct proportionality of the variables is clear. When the variables are not so simply related, the answer can still be easily found. Suppose that we are given the variation with tension T of frequency f 1 fi arya {the other variables in this equation are constants). How does the frequency change if the tension is tripled? Again we call the new value of the frequency f’ and then that is, the value of the frequency is increased by a factor of root 3. Equivalently we could haveRl BE v3 since all the common variables cancel out. Similarly, the average kinetic energy of the molecules of a gas depends on absolute temperature through Ime? = 3kT If the temperature is doubled what happens to the speed c? Taking ratios The speed increases by V2. ‘The pressure, volume, temperature and number of molecules of an ideal gas are related by pV =NkT where k is a constant. If the pressure of a gas is doubled while the temperature is halved and the number of molecules is left unchanged. what will be the new volume of the gas? In this case the ratio method gives ep: XK “pV NRT = 2 | 2V’ yo. Vv Straight-line graphs The easiest graph to deal with is that of the straight line: y = mx +c. In this form, the constant m represents the slope (also known as | the gradient) of the straight line and c the 4.3 Mathematical and grephical techniques 15 FIN aim g 3 10 15 20 Figure 3.1 The straightline graph of tension versus extension. intercept on the y (vertical) axis. Figures 3.1-3.3 show three examples of straightline graphs. Figure 3.1 represents a force F (plotted on the vertical axis and measured in newtons, N) as a function of distance x (measured in metres, m). We can read off the intercept on the F axis as 1.2.N. The gradient can be measured to be 0.4N m '. Note that the units for the gradient must be given. Thus, the equation of this line is F =04(N mx +1.2N. [tis usually convenient not to mention units in the equation of the line so that we can write the simpler F = 0.4x + 1.2, but it is then crucial to note that x must be expressed in metres so that F ends up being expressed in newtons. Figure 3.2 shows distance x on the vertical axis (measured in metres) plotted as a function of time { (measured in seconds). The intercept on the vertical axis is —1.6 m and the gradient is 0.6 ms~'. Thus, the equation of this line is .6(m st — 1.6 m, or simply x = 0.61 — 1.6. Figure 3.2 Graph of distance versus time.16 Core - Physics and physical measurement ‘The third example (Figure 3.3) is a graph of velocity v (measured in metres per second) versus time t (measured in seconds). The intercept on the vertical axis is 2m s~! and the gradient is —0.2 ms~. Thus v = —0.2(m s~*)t + 2m s“), or just y = —0.21 +2. vim st Figure 3.3 Graph of velocity versus time As we will see in our study of motion in mechanics, the area under a velocity-time graph represents the displacement change of the moving object. Suppose that initially the object is ata displacement of 20 m from the origin. To find the displacement of the object 5 s after the start we need to find the area that is bounded by the graph and the time axis from 1 = 0s tol =5s This shape is a trapezoid and its area is (54) x 5 =7.5 m. Note that the units of the area in this graph are units of distance, since we multiply a velocity (m s~") by time (3. (If the vertical axis represented a force measured in newtons and the horizontal axis distance measured in metres, the area in that case would have units of N x m, ie. joules.) This means that the displacement at t = 5s is 20m +7.5 m= 27.5 m. The displacement at { = 10 s is found by calculating the area bounded by the graph and the time axis from ¢ = 0 tof = 10 s. This area has the shape of a triangle and so the area is (28) = 10 m. The displacement at | = 10 s is, thus 20 m + 10m = 30 m, After = 10, the graph goes below the time axis. This means that areas will now be counted as negative. Thus, to find the displacement at = 15 s we proceed as follows: first find the area from | = 0 to! = 10 s, which is 10 m. Then find the area from Wstot=15s. It is —7.5 m. The area from t tol = 15 sis thus 10 m—7.5 m = 2.5 m. The displacement at { = 15 sis thus 20m+25m=225m. Getting a linear graph Iman experiment it is more than likely that when a measured quantity y is plotted against another measured quantity x on which it depends, a straight-line graph will not result. Thus, suppose that the expected theoretical relationship between the variables is y = ax? + b, as in Figure 3.4. 100 80| 60! 40) 20 o 2 + 6 8 10 Figure 3.4 Graph of the parabola y = ax’ +b. Then if we call the variable x? = w, the expected relationship becomes y = aw +b, which is the equation of a standard straight line with gradient a and intercept b. Hence, we must plot y versus w” (ie. x2) to get a straight line (see Figure 3.5). o a Figure 3.5 By graphing against the variable x? we get a straight line.4.3 Mathematical and graphical techni el Figure 3.6 Graph of the hyperbola xy Similarly if the expected relationship is xy (Figure 3.6), we call } = w in which case the expected relationship is y = £ = cw, which again is a straight line going through the origin with gradient c. Thus we must plot y versus } to get a straight line (Figure 3.7). 40) 30) 20 10 0 2 + 6 8 i0 Figure 3.7 We get a straight line by plotting against the variable !. Ify and x are related by y = ae‘ +b, a straight line is obtained by plotting y versus e*. The gradient is then a and the intercept b. If the relationship is y = <4, we rewrite it as — so that a graph of } versus x? is a straight line. Finally, a relationship such as y? =cx? yields a straight line when y* is plotted ‘against x3. Interpreting graphs Given a graph, we should be able to extract information from it and use that information to give a description of what is going on. In Figure 3.8 the velocity is decreasing uniformly from an initial value of 20 m s~'. The velocity becomes zero at 2s and then becomes negative. ‘The graph could represent the motion of an object thrown vertically up with an initial velocity of 20 ms“, The time of 2s then represents the time when the object reaches its highest point. wim st Figure 3.8 The velocity is decreasing uniformly and becomes zero at 2 s. The object then changes its direction of motion. In Figure 3.9, displacement is graphed against time for a given motion. The object is at displacement zero at time zero and becomes a maximum at 2s, The object returns to its initial position after 4s. yin 10 0 1 2 3 ae Figure 3.9 The displacement reaches a maximum at 2 s and becomes zero at 4 s.18 Core - Physics and physical measurement vim st 20 Is us 0 2 4 6 g 10" Figure 3.10 The velocity is becoming constant and so the acceleration becomes zero. In Figure 3.10, the velocity appears to be approaching a constant value of about 20 m s~ The acceleration of the object thus approaches zero. 1 Sine curves When describing waves, as well as in many other parts of physics, we deal with quantities that depend on other variables through a sine function, y = C sin(ax +b), with C,a and b being constants. For example, the disturbance of a harmonic wave at a distance x at a specific instant of time can be shown to be y =Asin [25] where the constants A and 4 are known as the amplitude and wavelength of the wave. The amplitude is thus the largest possible disturbance (i.e. y value) and for the graph in Figure 3.11 this can be read as 1.5 m. The wavelength of the wave is extracted from the graph by measuring the distance between two consecutive peaks. In Figure 3.11 we thus find a wavelength of 2m. Similarly, the disturbance of a harmonic wave looked at as a function of time is given by sa (oxt =A = y=asnfort] where A is again the amplitude (in Figure 3.12 it has a value of 0.4 m) and T is the period of -15) Figure 3.11 Graph of a harmonic wave as a function of position. The wavelength of the wave can be determined from this graph. im ot 4 us a 05 is | 2 04 Figure 3.12 Graph of'a harmonic wave as a function of time. The period of the wave can be determined from this graph. the wave. The period is found by taking the time separation of two consecutive peaks; in Figure 3.12, T = 0.55. Making assumptions When we solve a physics problem, we always make assumptions that simplify the problem. Sometimes we are careful to list our assumptions and sometimes not. For example, in most of the chapters on mechanics we will be solving problems involving ‘bodies’ in motion acted upon by forces. The ‘bodies’ can be anything from human beings to leaves, bricks, cars or planets. However, we will always be treating them as1.3 Mathematical and graphical techniques 19 TT EEE EEE point particles, because this simplifies the problem. We will mostly ignore frictional forces unless told otherwise, because again this simplifies the problem. But we must always be aware that our solution has been derived under various assumptions and so the real solution might differ if the effects of the factors we neglected are taken into account. We also, usually, assume that strings (and springs) have no mass ~ the famous physics strings. This makes life easier and the assumption is good provided the other bodies in the problem really have masses much larger than that of the string. When studying thermal physics we usually don’t take into account the fact that thermal energy is always lost to the surroundings no matter how careful we have been to prevent that. If you were asked to calculate the number of atoms in your body, you would have to make a simplifying assumption otherwise the problem is hopelessly difficult ~ pretending that all your mass is made of out of water is such a simplifying assumption. You must then justify why it is a good simplifying assumption. In dealing with gases we assume that the gas is ideal. This is a good assumption for the air in a football but not a very good one for the material of a star that is about to become a white dwarf! In the chapters on electricity you will learn about Coulomb's law, which allows us to find the force between two spherical charges. We cannot use this law to find the force between two plane sheets of charge though. Using -Coulomb’s law will only be an estimate of the force, not a precise calculation of it. Under certain conditions (which we must identify) this estimate may be a very good approximation to the real answer. In other cases it might not be. In electric circuits we usually assume that connecting wires and ammeters have no. resistance. If a device used in the circuit has a resistance of a few tens of ohms, this assumption is good. But if the device has a very low resistance, comparable to that of the connecting wires and the ammeter, the assumption is not good. Similarly, voltmeters are assumed to have an infinite resistance, This means, in practice, a resistance much larger than the rest of the resistors in the circuit. If the largest resistor in the circuit is 100 ohms and the voltmeter has a resistance of 100 000 ohms the assumption is good. But if you are dealing with 100 000 ohm resistors the assumption of an infinite voltmeter resistance breaks down. So, part of learning physics involves identifying assumptions in a problem and being able to explain whether the assumptions are justified or not. ee 1 The pressure of an ideal gas is 4 atm. If the only change is to increase the temperature by a factor of 4, what will the new pressure of the gas be? (Use pv = NAT.) 2 The kinetic energy of a mass mis given by 4mv?. Ii the speed v is doubled, by what factor does the energy change? 3 The kinetic energy (£, = }mv2) of a body doubles. By what factor did the speed increase? 4 Aconstant force F brings a body of mass m and initial speed v to rest over a distance o. If the initial speed doubles, over what distance will the same force stop the same body? (Use 4) 5 The electric force between two charges Q and Q, a distance r apart is given by F = k222, where k is a constant. (a) If both charges double, by what factor does the force between them increase? (b) If both charges double but the force between them stays the same, by what factor did their separation change? 6 The frequency of a standing wave on a string of fixed length « kept under tension T is given by f where cis a constant, By what factor should the tension be changed so that the frequency triples? 7 The period of a pendulum of length L is given where g is a constant, If the10 " period doubles, by what factor did the length change? The frequency of oscillation of a mass m attached to a spring is given by f where k is a constant. If the frequency increases by a factor of 4, by what factor did the mass change? The power radiated by a body kept at a temperature T is given by P = kT*, where k is a constant. If the temperature is doubled, by what factor does the power increase? The period of a planet around the sun is given by T? = kR?, where k is a constant and R is the mean distance of the planet from the sun Aplanet orbits the sun at a distance from the sun that is twice the distance of earth from the sun. What is the period of this planet. (The earth's period is one year.) ‘When a strong wind creates waves on a pond, a piece of cork floating in the water oscillates so that its distance from the bottom of the pond is given by the graph in Figure 3.13. deptivim 13 12 09 os 07 Figure 3.13 For question 11. 12 (a) What is the depth of the pond? (b) What is the frequency of the wave travelling on the pond? (c) What is the amplitude of the wave? The image of an object a distance a from a lens is formed at a distance b from the lens, where a and bare related through the equation | +} = + and £ is the (constant focal length of the lens. | as 15 (a) Ia set of data for a and b is collected, how should it be plotted in order to give a siraight line? (b) How can the focal length of the lens be measured from the graph? The pressure of a fixed quantity of gas at constant volume is related to temperature in kelvin by f = constant fe (a) What form does a graph of pressure versus temperature take? (b) Ii the temperature is expressed in degrees Celsius (T¢k) = TC) + 273) what does a graph of pressure versus temperature give? The period of a planet around the sun is related to the mean distance of the planet from the sun through Kepler's third law T? = constant x R? Ii a student plots the period T on the vertical axis, what must be plotted on the horizontal axis in order that the resulting graph is a straight line? The kinetic energy of a mass m moving in a straight line with speed v is given by E, = $v’, where the speed is related to acceleration a (assumed constant) and distance travelled d through v? = 2ad. What would a graph of &, versus d give? In the photoelectric effect, light of frequency / falling on a metallic surface causes the emission of electrons of kinetic energy Ei. Einstein’s formula relates these through E.=hi-¢ where @ and h are constants. @ depends on the suriace used whereas h is a universal constant. A graph of E, versus f gives a straight line. (a) How can ¢ be measured from the graph? (b) How can h be measured? (c) Ina second experiment with a different surface, a second straight line is obtained, What do the two lines have in common?