Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Foundations
Péter Makra
2 Functions
3 Elementary algebra
Quadratic equations
Exponentiation
Logarithms
Exponential function
4 Trigonometry
5 Geometry
6 Vector algebra
7 Introduction to differentiation
8 Introduction to integration
9 Physical units
Contact information
Requirements
Grading
• attending lectures is mandatory
• three 25-point multiple-choice tests during the semester (75 points total)
• mid-term activity (eg, surprise tests): 25 points total
• final mark — results will be summed up and you will get a mark based on your
ranking compared to all students in the foundation year (‘grading on a curve’):
• lowest 7% of students: fail (1)
• lower middle 25% of students: sufficient (2)
• middle 36% of students: satisfactory (3)
• upper middle 25% of students: good (4)
• top 7% of students: excellent (5)
Additional reading
Definition
• function: a relation between a given set of elements (the domain) and another
set of elements (the co-domain), which associates each element in the
domain with exactly one element in the co-domain
• example: x 7→ x2 (read:‘x maps to x2 ’) — we associate numbers with their
squares
• notation:
• f (x): f as a function of x (read: ‘f of x’) — f (x) is the number which the function
associates with x; f : the function itself
• f : x 7→ y — the sign 7→ (‘maps to’) indicates the association or relation that
defines the function
• x in the formulae above: independent variable — the element of the domain
• f (x) and y in the formulae above: dependent variable or the value of the
function — the element of the co-domain
• significance: physical quantities often depend on other physical quantities
(eg, air pressure on temperature) ⇒ physical quantities are functions of other
physical quantities
Illustration
Inverse of a function
• inverse of a function: ‘the opposite of a function’; the function which finds the
independent variable that would yield the given function value
• eg, the inverse of the square function: square root (finds the number whose
square is a given value)
• not all functions have an inverse function, only the functions for which
1 every value in the co-domain corresponds to no more than one value in the
domain
2 every value in the co-domain corresponds to at least one value in the domain
Function x2 ex sin(x)
p
Inverse x ln(x) arcsin(x)
Visualising a function
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
• using a graph
0.2
• independent
f(x)
0.0
variable: on the
horizontal axis -0.2
• dependent -0.4
-1.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Factoring
• common factor:
• perfect square:
x2 ± 2xy + y 2 = (x ± y)2
• difference of squares
x2 − y 2 = (x + y)(x − y)
Quadratic equations
• a variable is to the 2nd power
• standard form:
ax2 + bx + c = 0,
2x2 − 8x − 4 = 0
x2 − 4x − 2 = 0
p p
−(−4) + (−4)2 − 4 · 1 · (−2) 4 + 24
x1 = = ≈ 4.45
2·1 2
p p
−(−4) − (−4)2 − 4 · 1 · (−2) 4 − 24
x2 = = ≈ −0.45
2·1 2
Péter Makra (University of Szeged) Physics preparatory course 1 12 / 65
Elementary algebra Quadratic equations
Illustration
60.0
50.0
40.0
f(x) = x2 - 4x - 2
30.0
20.0
10.0
x1 x2
0.0
-10.0
-6.0 -4.0 -2.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
x
Péter Makra (University of Szeged) Physics preparatory course 1 13 / 65
Elementary algebra Exponentiation
Exponentiation (1)
• x to the nth power:
xn = x
| · x · x{z· . . . · x}
n times
xn · xm = x
| · x · x{z· . . . · x} • x
| · x · x{z· . . . · x} = x
| · x · x{z· . . . · x} = x
n+m
• 0th power:
x0 = 1 ∀x
• negative power:
xn x−n = xn−n = x0 = 1 // ÷ xn
1
x−n =
xn
Péter Makra (University of Szeged) Physics preparatory course 1 14 / 65
Elementary algebra Exponentiation
Exponentiation (2)
• division:
xn
= xn · x−m = xn−m
xm
• fractional exponent:
example:
1 1 1 1
³ 1 ´2 1 p
x = x1 = x 2 + 2 = x 2 · x 2 = x 2 , ⇒ x 2 = x
in general:
1 p
n
xn = x
m p
n
xn = xm
• exponentiation of an exponential expression:
m times
¡ n ¢m z n }| {
x x ·xn · xn · . . . · xn = x
= |{z} | · x · x{z· . . . · x} = x
nm
Logarithms
• the logarithm of a number y to the base a is the number for which y = ax :
loga y = x if y = ax
• loga a = 1 (⇐ a1 = a)
• loga 1 = 0 (⇐ a0 = 1 ∀a)
Special-base logarithms
log10 x =: lg x
loge x =: ln x
if x = ey , then y = ln x
Exponential function
x2 x3 ∞ xk
ex := 1 + x +
X
+ +... =
2! 3! k=0 k!
∞
•
P
(. . .): ‘the sum of (. . .) for all values of k between 0 and ∞’
k=0
k! = 1 · 2 · 3 · . . . · k
Angle units
• angle in degrees: full circle = 360◦
• angle in radians: the ratio of the length of the arc belonging to an angle and
the radius of the circle — full circle = 2π
s
α=
r
360◦
1 rad =
2π
Péter Makra (University of Szeged) Physics preparatory course 1 19 / 65
Trigonometry
Trigonometric functions
• sin α = a
c
• cos α = b
c
a a sin α
• tan α =
b = c · bc = sin α · cos1 α = cos α
b b cos α
• cot α =
a = c · ac = cos α · sin1 α = sin α
a2 + b2 = c2 // ÷ c2
µ ¶2
a2 b2 ³ a ´2 b
+ = + =1
c2 c2 c c
sin2 α + cos2 α = 1
• notation: sin2 α := (sin α)2
Sphere
A = 4πr 2
Cylinder
• the radius of the circles at the top and
bottom: r
• the height of the cylinder: h
• the volume of the cylinder = area of base
times the height:
V = r 2 πh
A = 2r 2 π + 2rπh = 2rπ · (r + h)
Péter Makra (University of Szeged) Physics preparatory course 1 23 / 65
Geometry
h A h
2rπ
Symbol of vectors
Equality of vectors
• two vectors are equal if they have the same magnitude and they point in the
same direction
• ⇒ we can shift a vector parallel to itself and it will remain the same vector
Addition
B
A+
R=
B
A +B
B R=
D
C+
B+
C
A+
R=
B
A
Péter Makra (University of Szeged) Physics preparatory course 1 30 / 65
Vector algebra
Unit vectors
• represents a direction
• sometimes denoted by a special symbol, eg û
• any non-zero vector can be made a unit vector if we divide the vector by its
own magnitude:
r 1
r̂ = = r
|r| |r|
Subtraction of vectors
1 move B parallel to itself so that its tail touches the tail of A
2 the resultant vector C = A − B points from the tip of B to the tip of A
C=A-B
A B
C=A-B -B
A
Ay A
θ
x
O Ax
Péter Makra (University of Szeged) Physics preparatory course 1 36 / 65
Vector algebra
Cartesian coordinates
• unit vector: a vector whose magnitude is 1
• the x, y and z directions can be represented by unit vectors i, j and k
• the Cartesian component vectors Ax and Ay can be given as scalar multiples of
the unit vectors:
• Ax = Ax · i
• Ay = Ay · j
• since the Cartesian unit vectors are fixed, the scalars Ax and Ay are enough to
represent a vector A fully — these are called the components of vector A
• algebraic representation of a vector: A = (Ax , Ay )
• obtaining the coordinates:
• Ax = |A| · cos θ
• Ay = |A| · sin θ
• magnitude of a vector with coordinates:
q
|A| = A2x + A2y
• a = ax + ay = (ax , ay )
• b = bx + by = (bx , by )
by
b
¡ ¢ ¡ ¢
• c = a + b = ax + ay + bx + by =
+
¡ ¢
(ax + bx ) + ay + by = cx + cy = (cx , cy )
b
a
• a + b = (ax + bx , ay + by )
=
• multiplication by a scalar α:
a
c
αa = α(ax , ay ) = (αax , αay )
ay
x
ax bx
Péter Makra (University of Szeged) Physics preparatory course 1 38 / 65
Vector algebra
A · B := AB cos θ,
|A × B| = AB sin θ,
{
f (x)
where the function
∆x
intersects the y axis
• linear functions: the slope is
i
x
the same everywhere along
x x+∆x
the x axis:
f (x + ∆x) − f (x)
s=
∆x
15
y
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
x
Péter Makra (University of Szeged) Physics preparatory course 1 45 / 65
Introduction to differentiation
df f (x + ∆x) − f (x)
≡ f 0 (x) := lim
dx ∆x→0 ∆x
Example: derivation
• lim means that ∆x is infinitesimal, that is, so small that it can be neglected:
∆x→0
df
= lim (2x + ∆x) = 2x
dx ∆x→0
• the derivative itself is a function of x
• it changes from point to point
Properties of derivation
dc d df dg
= 0 for all constants c (f · g) = ·g +f ·
dx dx dx dx
d f
µ ¶
d df dg 1 df dg
(f ± g) = ± = 2 ·g −f ·
dx dx dx dx g g dx dx
d df d ¡ ¢ df dg
(c · f ) = c · f g(x) = ·
dx dx dx dg dx
• this is a composite function: consists of two functions, executed one after the
other
• inner function (executed first): g(x) := x2
• outer function (executed second): f (g) = sin(g)
• first, we derive the outer function in terms of the inner one:
df d
= sin(g) = cos(g)
dg dg
dg d 2
= x = 2x
dx dx
• thus the derivative
d
sin x2 = cos x2 · 2x
¡ ¢ ¡ ¢
dx
df
f (x) dx ≡ f 0 (x) note
r r−1
x r ·x r : any real number
sin(x) cos(x)
cos(x) − sin(x)
1
ln(x) x
1
loga (x) ln(a)·x
ex e x
ax ln(a) · ax
Higher derivatives
d df f 0 (x + ∆x) − f 0 (x) d2 f
= lim =: 2 ≡ f 00 (x)
dx dx ∆x→0 ∆x dx
dn f
≡ f (n)
dxn
∂f (x, y, z, · · · )
∂x
∂n f (x, y, z, · · · )
∂xn
∂2 f (x, y, z, · · · )
∂x∂y
• in the example above, we first derive with respect to y, then with respect to x
• for most functions, the order of partial derivations is arbitrary:
∂2 f (x, y, z, · · · ) ∂2 f (x, y, z, · · · )
=
∂x∂y ∂y∂x
∂f (x, y) ∂ ¡ 2¢ ∂ ¡ 2¢
= yx = y · x = y · 2x (y was regarded as a constant)
∂x ∂x ∂x
∂f (x, y) ∂ ¡ 2¢ ∂y
= yx = x2 · = x2 (x, thus x2 was regarded as a constant)
∂y ∂y ∂y
∂2 f (x, y) ∂ ∂f (x, y) ∂ 2
= = x = 2x
∂x∂y ∂x ∂y ∂x
∂2 f (x, y) ∂ ∂f (x, y) ∂ ¡ ¢ ∂y ∂2 f (x, y)
= = y · 2x = 2x = 2x =
∂y∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y ∂y ∂x∂y
Indefinite integral
• integration: the inverse of derivation
• indefinite integral or primitive function of a function f (x): the function F(x)
whose derivative is equal to f (x)
dF(x)
Z
F(x) = f (x)dx if = f (x)
dx
Zb
f (x) dx = F(b) − F(a) =: [F(x)]ba
a
Example: integration
• the function: f (x) = x2
R4
• calculate f (x) dx
2
• primitive function F(x): the function whose derivative is f (x)
d n d 3
x = nxn−1 → x = 3x2
dx dx
µ ¶ µ ¶
d 1 3 d 1 3 dC 1
x +C = x + = · 3x2 = x2
dx 3 dx 3 dx 3
1
Z
F(x) = x2 dx = x3 + C
3
• to get the definite integral, we have to take this function at x = 2 and at x = 4:
Z4 ¸4
43 23
·
1 3 56
f (x) dx = x +C = +C − −C =
3 2 3 3 3
2
∆x xk
x
a b
X Zb
lim f (xk )∆x = f (x) dx
∆x→0 k
a
Péter Makra (University of Szeged) Physics preparatory course 1 58 / 65
Introduction to integration
Properties of integration
Z Z
cf (x)dx = c f (x)dx if c is a constant (1)
Z Z Z
¡ ¢
f (x) ± g(x) dx = f (x)dx ± g(x)dx (2)
Z µ ¶
dg(x) df (x)
Z
f (x) dx = f (x)g(x) − g(x)dx (3)
dx dx
Physical quantities
m
[F] = 1 N = 1 kg ·
s2
• operations applicable to units: multiplication, exponentiation, division
• only quantities having the same unit can be added to or subtracted from each
other
SI prefixes
• prefix: a word added to the beginning of a unit to produce a multiple of that
unit
• eg 1 km (kilometre) = 1000 m (metre)
Multiples Submultiples
Name symbol factor Name symbol factor
deca- da 101 deci- d 10−1
hecto- h 102 centi- c 10−2
kilo- k 103 milli- m 10−3
mega- M 106 micro- µ 10−6
giga- G 109 nano- n 10−9
tera- T 1012 pico- p 10−12
peta- P 1015 femto- f 10−15
exa- E 1018 atto- a 10−18
zetta- Z 1021 zetto- z 10−21
yotta- Y 1024 yocto- y 10−24