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College Physics
®
for AP Courses

SENIOR CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS

IRINA LYUBLINSKAYA, CUNY COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND
GREGG WOLFE, AVONWORTH HIGH SCHOOL
DOUGLAS INGRAM, TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
LIZA PUJJI, MANUKAU INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SUDHI OBEROI, RAMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE
NATHAN CZUBA, SABIO ACADEMY

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 College Physics for AP® Courses

College Physics for AP® Courses

College Physics for AP® Courses

College Physics for AP® Courses
College Physics for AP® Courses College Physics
College Physics for AP® Courses Connection for AP® Courses

Connection for AP® Courses

Real World Connections Applying the Science Practices

College Physics for AP® Courses

College Physics for AP® Courses

College Physics for AP® Courses

 College
Physics for AP® Courses

College Physics for AP® Courses

underlying order and simplicity

realm of physics
Britain's Heritage of Science
law

imply the existence of objects or phenomena as yet unobserved.

experiment

physics
relativistic quantum mechanics,
 specifying how it is measured stating how it is calculated

average speed

Système International
only
same
meters kilometers
defined
 the percent uncertainty in a quantity calculated by multiplication or division is the sum of the percent
uncertainties in the items used to make the calculation
 the last digit written down in a measurement is the first digit with some uncertainty

Zeros are significant except when they serve only as placekeepers

the number of significant digits in the final

answer can be no greater than the number of significant digits in the least precise measured value
 The result should have the same number of significant figures as the quantity having the
least significant figures entering into the calculation

The answer can contain no more decimal places than the least precise measurement.

exact
 measuring tool

necessary

diopters
pound-mass
Salmonella typhimurium
 How long will it
take for a space probe to get to Mars? Where will a football land if it is thrown at a certain angle?

study of motion without considering its causes

motion
change in position
change in position
 the magnitude or size of
displacement between two positions
the total length of the path traveled between two positions

distance traveled
magnitude and direction
you
your assistant
change
 displacement (change in position) divided by the time of travel

average

velocity is a vector because displacement is a vector

instantaneous velocity velocity at a specific instant

speed is a scalar
not
the rate at which velocity changes

average
direction

change

change motion
acceleration at a specific instant in time
 change

change
change

increase
 t x v a

is the
initial position is the initial velocity is the final time is the final
position is the final velocity

the subscript 0 denotes an initial value and the absence of a subscript denotes a final value

acceleration is constant

is
Endeavor
 .

.
Examine the situation to determine which physical principles are involved draw a simple sketch

Make a list of what is given or can be inferred from the problem as stated (identify the knowns)

Identify exactly what needs to be determined in the problem (identify the unknowns)

Find an equation or set of equations that can help you solve the problem

Substitute the knowns along with their units into the appropriate equation, and obtain numerical solutions complete with units
Check the answer to see if it is reasonable: Does it make sense?

Solve the problem using strategies as outlined and in the format followed in the worked examples in the text

Check to see if the answer is reasonable

If the answer is unreasonable, look for what specifically could cause the identified difficulty
 same constant acceleration independent of their mass

falling without air resistance or friction

constant

downward (towards the center of Earth) defines

.
moving
t y v a

Misconception Alert!

time
 this is exactly the same velocity the rock had at this position when it was thrown straight upward with the same
initial speed
speed
 speed

g
What measurements will you need to take in order to find the acceleration due to gravity?
What relationships and equations found in this chapter may be useful in calculating the acceleration?
What variables will you need to hold constant?
What materials will you use to record your measurements?
 y

y
 a v

x t
 v t
.

discover
 not

The six basic problem solving steps for physics are:

Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5

Step 6

a
 .
.

A bird that is diving for prey has a speed of

Hint
 A B

A B

most sensible
 v t

aCD aAB aBC aDE

aBC aAB aCD aDE
aAB aBC aDE aCD
aCD aAB aDE aBC
projectile motion resolve
graphical representation of a vector
Step 1. Draw an arrow to represent the first vector (9 blocks to the east) using a ruler and protractor

Step 2. Place the tail of the second vector at the head

of the first vector

Step 3. If there are more than two vectors, continue this process for each vector to be added. Note that in our example, we have
only two vectors, so we have finished placing arrows tip to tail
Step 4. Draw an arrow from the tail of the first vector to the head of the last vector
Step 5. measure its length with a ruler. (Note that in most calculations, we will use the
Pythagorean theorem to determine this length.)
Step 6. measure the angle it makes with the reference frame using a protractor. (Note that
in most calculations, we will use trigonometric relationships to determine this angle.)
 negative
the negative of any vector has the same magnitude but the opposite direction

subtraction

opposite
opposite
 opposite

x and y

finding the components (or

parts)
x y x y

x y

not
 x
y
x y x y

Step 1. Identify the x- and y-axes that will be used in the problem. Then, find the components of each vector to be added along
the chosen perpendicular axes.
x

Step 2. Find the components of the resultant along each axis by adding the components of the individual vectors along that axis.

x
y

Step 3. To get the magnitude of the resultant, use the Pythagorean theorem:

Step 4. To get the direction of the resultant:

 x y x
y

x
x

x y

x y
x

x y
 the method
for the subtraction of vectors using perpendicular components is identical to that for addition
x y
is negligible
motions along perpendicular axes are independent

x y

s x y

x y
Step 1. Resolve or break the motion into horizontal and vertical components along the x- and y-axes.

Step 2. Treat the motion as two independent one-dimensional motions, one horizontal and the other vertical.

Step 3. Solve for the unknowns in the two separate motions—one horizontal and one vertical.

Step 4. Recombine the two motions to find the total displacement and velocity x y
x y
y
x

maximum height of a projectile

level ground
diagonally
 relative to the observer

x y
 x y

x y x y
velocity is relative to some reference frame

modern
same
 x y

not

very
order
x y
 relative to the
quarterback
describes
 Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica

observation

observing

m
 g m
mg
on
 restoring force

cause
for there to be any change in velocity (either a change in magnitude or direction)
net external force
 cause

generally applicable or universal laws

net external force causes acceleration

You must define the boundaries of the system before

you can determine which forces are external
acceleration is directly proportional to the net external force
 only

cause and effect relationship

 down
.

weight

the weight of an object is the gravitational force on it from the nearest large
body
 mass weight

can change
between
T
 Man of la Mancha

symmetry in nature

opposite
because they act on different systems
 m
g
normal
two one
regardless of mass
”
tendons
create
Real forces fictitious forces
 Once it is determined that Newton’s laws of
motion are involved (if the problem involves forces), it is particularly important to draw a careful sketch of the situation

Then carefully determine the system of interest

 Newton’s second law can be applied to solve the problem

check the solution to see whether it is reasonable

x y
x y

it
 y x

x
y
 less

appear

Identify which physical principles are involved

Solve the problem using strategies outlined in the text

 integrated concept problem
acceleration
kinematics force dynamics
apparently

four basic forces

entire

net

unification of forces
electroweak

test object

force field
and
“I’m sure LIGO will tell us something about the universe that we didn’t know before. The history of science tells us that any time
you go where you haven’t been before, you usually find something that really shakes the scientific paradigms of the day. Whether
gravitational wave astrophysics will do that, only time will tell.”
four basic forces
is

is
 T

attractive
 d
d
X
v
v

v Y
v

v
p
magnitude on the first object in the opposite direction.
 less than or equal to

friction behaves
simply
x
 C

terminal velocity
To the mouse and any smaller animal, [gravity] presents practically no dangers. You can drop a mouse down a thousand-yard
mine shaft; and, on arriving at the bottom, it gets a slight shock and walks away, provided that the ground is fairly soft. A rat is
killed, a man is broken, and a horse splashes. For the resistance presented to movement by the air is proportional to the surface
of the moving object. Divide an animal's length, breadth, and height each by ten; its weight is reduced to a thousandth, but its
surface only to a hundredth. So the resistance to falling in the case of the small animal is relatively ten times greater than the
driving force.
Y S B
uncrimping
shearing force
S
Young's modulus

stress

strain
rotation

rotational motion
translational motion
tangential speed

velocities
 seem

you seat

forced
you car
do
 M,

M.
g
 entire Earth

mg mg
 and is independent of the body's mass

m m
F
F ma m a m a
m m

a a m
m
A small mass orbits a much larger mass

The system is isolated from other masses

what
r T(y) r T
G
G
 gSM
gSE
 E mc

ferent rates. Power is defined as the rate of energy transfer into, out of, or within a system.
 the product of the component of the force in the
direction of motion and the distance through which the force acts

the product of the component of the force in the direction of motion times
the distance through which the force acts
 is

but they are doing no work on the system of interest

 is

calorie food
calorie
 in general

Translational rotational
m h PE mgh
difference
 change

without directly considering the force of gravity that does the work
down
 loss downward
gain
any
conservative
on
PE
 adds or removes mechanical energy from a
system

Mechanical may
Total energy is constant in any process. It may change in form or be transferred from one system to another, but the total
remains the same.

many many
eliminate terms wherever possible

Check the answer to see if it is reasonable

not
useful energy
Power
Endeavor
aerobic
rate
at rest

work done on the outside world

rate
not
and
Daedalus 88
 x
x
when the mass of the system is constant
 -

Forces are usually not

constant
(m) v

m v

v
x y
 x
y

x y
angular momentum
,
momentum
 A car moving at 10 m/s
crashes into a tree and stops in 0.26 s. Calculate the force
the seatbelt exerts on a passenger in the car to bring him to a
halt. The mass of the passenger is 70 kg.
 x

x
x
 A B

A mA

B
A B
 B

mA
B

x x
x
x x x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x
x
x

x
x
 x

x x
x
x

x x
x
x
x x
x
x x
x
x
x

x
x x

x
x

x
 F ma

equilibrium
 any
x y
not
 d

τ=FA*d
ϴ

F⊥ F⊥=FCsinθ.
F∥
τ=F⊥*d
 d

the second condition necessary to achieve equilibrium the net external torque on a system must be zero
:

y
 This will not always be
the case

Torque plays the same role in rotational

motion that force plays in linear motion.

three types of equilibrium stable unstable neutral

 restoring

same
above
acceleration of the system is zero and accelerated rotation does not occur
draw a free body diagram for the system of interest
choose the pivot point to simplify the solution

Check the solution to see if it is reasonable

 A E
P

A
B
C
D
E

w
tangent
 kinematic relationship

Examine the situation to determine that rotational kinematics (rotational motion) is involved

Identify exactly what needs to be determined in the problem (identify the unknowns)
Make a list of what is given or can be inferred from the problem as stated (identify the knowns)
Solve the appropriate equation or equations for the quantity to be determined (the unknown)

Substitute the known values along with their units into the appropriate equation, and obtain numerical solutions
complete with units
Check your answer to see if it is reasonable: Does your answer make sense
t

t
any any any

distribution
Examine the situation to determine that torque and mass are involved in the rotation

Determine the system of interest

Draw a free body diagram

Apply , the rotational equivalent of Newton's second law, to solve the problem

As always, check the solution to see if it is reasonable

Determine that energy or work is involved in the rotation
Determine the system of interest
Analyze the situation to determine the types of work and energy involved
For closed systems, mechanical energy is conserved

For open systems

Eliminate terms wherever possible to simplify the algebra

Check the answer to see if it is reasonable
 zero
conserved
percussion point

no
has direction as well as magnitude

perpendicular to the forces exerted on it

 precesses
not
 M
R R

M M
 A
uA RA B
uB

R
R