Corrections March 2007

UPGRADE
YOUR PHYSICS

NOTES FOR BRITISH SIXTH FORM STUDENTS WHO

 ARE PREPARING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL PHYSICS

OLYMPIAD, OR

 WISH TO TAKE THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF PHYSICS

BEYOND THE A-LEVEL SYLLABI.

A. C. MACHACEK

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Introduction
The International Physics Olympiad is an annual international physics
competition for pre-university students. Teams of five from each
participating nation attend, and recently over 60 countries have taken
part. Each nation has its own methods for selecting its team members.
In Britain, this is by means of a series of written and practical exams.
The question paper for the first round is circulated to all secondary
schools.

Once the team has been chosen, it is necessary for its members to
broaden their horizons. The syllabus for the International Physics
Olympiad is larger than that of the British A2-level, and indeed forms a
convenient stepping-stone to first year undergraduate work. For this
reason, training is provided to help the British team bridge the gap.

The British Olympiad Committee recognizes the need for teaching

material to help candidates prepare for the international competition.
Furthermore, this material ought to have greater potential in the hands of
students who wish to develop their physics, even if they have no desire
to take part in the examinations.

It is my hope that these notes make a start in providing for this need.

A.C. Machacek, 2001

About the author: Anton Machacek has served on the British Physics
Olympiad Committee since 1997, and has been involved regularly in
training the British team and in writing Physics Challenge examinations.
He served on the academic committee for the International Physics
Olympiad in Leicester in 2000. Anton is Head of Physics at the Royal
Grammar School, High Wycombe, and is an Academic Visitor in the sub-
department of Atomic and Laser Physics, University of Oxford.

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Contents

1 LINEAR MECHANICS ......................................................................................5

1.1 MOTION IN A LINE ..........................................................................................5

1.2 GOING ORBITAL ............................................................................................14
1.3 FLUIDS – WHEN THINGS GET STICKY .............................................................17
1.4 QUESTIONS ...................................................................................................21
2 FAST PHYSICS .................................................................................................24

2.1 THE PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY.....................................................................25

2.2 HIGH SPEED OBSERVATIONS.........................................................................25
2.3 RELATIVISTIC QUANTITIES ...........................................................................29
2.4 THE LORENTZ TRANSFORMS .........................................................................31
2.5 QUESTIONS ...................................................................................................35
3 ROTATION........................................................................................................37

3.1 ANGLE ..........................................................................................................37

3.2 ANGULAR VELOCITY ....................................................................................38
3.3 ANGULAR ACCELERATION ............................................................................38
3.4 TORQUE – ANGULAR FORCE .........................................................................38
3.5 MOMENT OF INERTIA – ANGULAR MASS ......................................................39
3.6 ANGULAR MOMENTUM .................................................................................40
3.7 ANGULAR MOMENTUM OF A SINGLE MASS MOVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE.......41
3.8 ROTATIONAL KINETIC ENERGY ....................................................................42
3.9 SUMMARY OF QUANTITIES............................................................................42
3.10 ROTATIONAL MECHANICS WITH VECTORS .................................................43
3.11 MOTION IN POLAR CO-ORDINATES ...........................................................46
3.12 MOTION OF A RIGID BODY .........................................................................49
3.13 QUESTIONS ...............................................................................................51
4 VIBES, WIGGLES & LIGHT..........................................................................53

4.1 OSCILLATION ................................................................................................53

4.2 WAVES & INTERFERENCE .............................................................................55
4.3 RAYS.............................................................................................................68
4.4 FERMAT’S PRINCIPLE ....................................................................................69
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