Introduction, Measurement and Estimating

AP Physics B Chapter 1 Notes

Nature of Science

Scientific Method

Observation Hypothesis Testing Theory

The School of Athens by Raphael

What is Physics?

From the ancient Greek, phsyis nature General analysis of nature to understand how universe behaves

What Will I Need for This Trip?

Working knowledge of basic math Graphing Skills SI Units and sig figs Common Sense Persistence Patience

My Physics Tool Box

Measurement and Uncertainty

Precision

The repeatability of a number Also refers to the smallest unit of measurement an instrument can give How close a measurement is to the true value Act- Exp / Act

Accuracy

Percent Error

Significant Figures

Dry Rules

Atlantic-Pacific Method

Non-Zero Digits Zeros between sig figs Zeros right of decimal Zeros as placeholders Blah, blah blah

Decimal Point Absent Decimal Point Present

Lets Practice: http://lectureonline.cl.msu.edu/~mmp/applist/sigfig/sig.htm

SI units for Physics

The SI stands for "Systeme International. There are 3 fundamental SI units for LENGTH, MASS, and TIME. Other quantities are derived. Other base units are shown
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Most commonly used prefixes in Physics

Prefixes are added to units to define multiples of ten You should know giga down to nano

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Example
If a capacitor is labeled 2.5mF(microFarads), how would it be labeled in just Farads?
The FARAD is the fundamental unit used for capacitors.

2.5 x 10-6 F

Notice that we just add the factor on the end and use the root unit.

The radio station XL106.7 transmits at a frequency of 106.7 x 106 Hertz. How would it be written in MHz (MegaHertz)?
A HERTZ is the fundamental unit used for frequency.

106.7 MHz

Notice we simply drop the factor and add the prefix.

Basic Math Required--Trig

Use SOHCAHTOA in right triangle problems

sin = O/H cos = A/H tan = O/A Pythagorean Theorem

a a2 + b2 = c2

Basic Math Required--Other

Algebraic manipulation Quadratic Equation Logarithms See Appendix A

Converting Units/Dimensional Analysis

Dimensional Analysis is a technique you can use to convert from one unit to another and allows you to check if you used the correct formula.

Exercise E p. 11: Would a driver going 15 m/s in a 35 mph zone be speeding?

(15 m/s) x (60s/min) x (60min/h) x (1 in/2.54 cm) x (100 cm/m) x (1 ft/12 in) x (mi/5280 ft) = 33.6 mph

Graphing Rules

Independent variable is x-axis Dependent variable is y-axis Label everything! Units and scale! We will learn to use Excel