Electricity

Current- the rate of flow of charge

Potential difference- the work done per unit positive charge.
Resistance- the material’s opposition to the flow of electrical charge
Ohm’s law- the current through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across
the conductor at a constant temperature.
emf- the total energy supplied per coulomb of charge by the cell.
Power- the rate at which work is done.

Gravitational Fields
Force field- a region in which an object will experience a force when placed in that field.
Gravitational field- the force acting per unit mass.
(Description-a region in space where a mass will experience a force)
Weight- the gravitational force the Earth exerts on any object on or near its surface.
Mass- the amount of matter a body is made up of
(Measured in kg in this section)
Newton’s law of Universal Gravitation- Every particle in the universe attracts every other particle
with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to
the square of the distance between their centres.

Electrostatics
Coulomb’s Law- Two-point charges is free space or air exert forces on each other. The force is
directly proportional to the product the charges and inversely proportional to the square of distance
between the charges.
Electric field- a region in space where an electric charge experienced a force.
Electric fields strength- the force per unit positive charge placed at that point.
Conservation of charge- Electrical charge cannot be created or destroyed but merely transferred
from one object to another.

Photons & Electrons

Transverse wave- a wave in which the medium vibrates at right angles to the direction of its
propagation.
Wavelength- the length of one complete wave. ie: distance between two consecutive crests/troughs
Period- time taken for one complete wave to pass a specific point.
Frequency- the number of complete waves passing a specific point each second.
Speed- product of the frequency and wavelength
Photoelectric effect- the process whereby electrons are ejected from a metal surface when light of a
suitable frequency is incident on that surface.
Photons- quanta of energy
Work function- the minimum energy that is needed to emit an electron from the surface of the metal.
Threshold frequency- the minimum frequency of the incident radiation at which electrons will be
emitted from a particular metal.
Electron transition- the movement of an electron between energy levels

Kinematics
Vector- a physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction.
Scalar- a physical quantity that has magnitude only.
Resultant vector- the single vector which has the same effect as the original vectors acting together.
Distance- length of the path travelled.
Displacement- a change in position
Speed- rate of change of distance
Velocity- rate of change of position
Acceleration- rate of change of velocity
Free fall- when the only force acting on the object is gravitational force.

Mechanics
Static frictional force- the force that opposes the tendency of motion of a stationary object relative to
a surface.
Kinetic frictional force- the force that opposes the motion of a moving object relative to a surface.
Tension- the force exerted by a rope, string or wire when it is pulled by a force.
Normal force- the perpendicular force exerted by a surface on an object in contact with it.
Friction- the force that opposes the motion of an object and acts parallel to the surface with which the
object is in contact with.
Equilibrium of forces- when 3 forces acting on the object provides a resultant force of zero.
(If it is, it is stationary or at a constant velocity)

Newton’s
Newton’s I- an object continues in a state of rest or uniform velocity unless it is acted upon by a net
force.
Inertia- the property of an object that causes it to resist a change in its state of rest or uniform motion.
Newton’s II- When a net force is applied to an object of mass, m, it accelerates in the direction of the
net force. The acceleration, a, is directly proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to the
mass of the object.
Newton’s III- when object A exerts a force on object B, object B simultaneously exerts an oppositely
directed force of equal magnitude on object A.

Momentum, Impulse, Work, Energy and Power

Impulse- the product of the net force and the contact time
Momentum- the product of the mass and the velocity of the object(vector)
Law of conservation of linear momentum- the total linear momentum of an isolated system remains
constant.
Elastic collision- A collision in which both momentum and kinetic energy is conserved.
Inelastic collision- a collision in which only momentum is conserved.
Work done- the product of the displacement and the component of the force parallel to the
displacement.
Gravitational potential energy- the energy an object possesses due to its position relative to a
reference point.
Kinetic energy- the energy an object has as a result of the object’s motion.
Mechanical energy- the sum of gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy at a point
Principle of conservation of mechanical energy- in the absence of air resistance or any external
forces, the mechanical energy of an object is constant.
Work-Energy theorem- the work done by a net force on an object is equal to the change in the
kinetic energy of the object.
Conservative vs. Non-conservative
Cons=independent of path taken
Non=dependent on path taken
Power- the rate at which work is done.
Non-newtonic- does not apply to forces.