Review for

1st Quarterly Assessment

in General Physics
 Scientific Method
1. Purpose / Question (Identify the problem)
2. Research (Background of the study)
3. Hypothesis (Scientific guess)
4. Experiment (Performing an experiment to verify
the hypothesis)
5. Data / Analysis (Data gathering and analysis)
6. Conclusion (Draw conclusion if results are aligned
with the hypothesis. Results must be
communicated.)
 Significant Figures - Rules
• All non-zero digits are significant
– Both 23.4 and 234 have 3 SF
• Zeros are significant if between two non-zero digits
(‘captive’) – 20.05 has 4 SF, 407 has 3 SF
• Zeros are not significant to the left of non-zero digits
– used to locate a decimal point (leading zeros) –
0.0000035 has 2 SF
• To the right of all non-zero digits (trailing zeros), must
be determined from context – 45.0 has 3 SF but 4500
probably only has 2 SF

Section 1.7
 Rounding Off Numbers
• If the first digit to be dropped is less than 5,
leave the preceding digit unchanged.
– Round off to 3 SF: 26.142  26.1
• If the first digit to be dropped is 5 or greater,
increase the preceding digit by one.
– Round off to 3 SF: 10.063  10.1

Section 1.7
 Rules for Scientific Notation
• The exponent, or power-of-10, is increased by
one for every place the decimal point is
shifted to the left.
– 360,000 = 3.6 x 105
• The exponent, or power-of-10, is decreased
by one for every place the decimal point is
shifted to the right.
– 0.0694 = 6.94 x 10-2

Section 1.7
 Scalars and Vectors
• Scalars
– Scalars are quantities that are fully described by a
magnitude (or numerical value) alone.
– Ex. Mass, distance, speed, etc

• Vectors
– Vectors are quantities that are fully described by
both a magnitude and a direction.
– Ex. Displacement, velocity, acceleration, etc
 Determining the Resultant of Multiple
Vectors
1. Draw the vectors in the Cartesian plane.
2. Compute the x and y components of each vector, note that
the angle must be measured from the positive x-axis
counterclockwise rotation. Use cosine and sine for x and y
components, respectively.
3. Add all the x-components and y-components
4. Calculate the resultant and direction using the formula
below:
R = √((∑x)2 +(∑y)2) Ө = inv tan|∑y/∑x |
5. Determine the quadrant where the resultant lies based on
the signs of ∑x and ∑y.
Example:
A = 50N 30ᵒ N of E B = 25N 65ᵒ S of W
C= 45N 20ᵒ S of E
Vectors X-component Y-component
A 50N cos30ᵒ = 43.3N 50N sin30ᵒ = 25N
B 25N cos245ᵒ = -10.6N 25N sin245ᵒ = 22.7N
C 45N cos340ᵒ = 42.3N 45N sin340ᵒ = -15.4N
∑x = 75N ∑y = 32.3N
Resultant, R
R = √((∑x)2 +(∑y)2)
= √ ((75N)2 +(32.3N)2)
= 81.66N

Ө = inv tan|∑y/∑x |
= inv tan|32.3N/75N |
= 23.3ᵒN of E or 23.3ᵒ Quadrant I
 Distance and Displacement
• Distance is the total path length traversed by
an object moving from one point to another
while displacement is the separation of that
object and a reference point.

• Distance is a scalar quantity while

displacement is a vector quantity
 Speed and Velocity

• Speed – the measure of how fast something is moving. It is

the rate at which distance is covered at a given time.
– Instantaneous speed – the speed at any instant. In vehicles, it
measured by the speedometer.
– Average speed – the distance traveled divided by the total time
elapsed in traveling that distance

• Velocity - speed at a given direction

• Speed is a scalar quantity while velocity is a vector

quantity
 Acceleration
• The rate of change of velocity (either in
magnitude or direction or both) at a given
time
 Graphical Presentation
• Displacement vs Time Graph
• Velocity vs Time Graph
• Acceleration vs Time Graph
 Equations

Vave= dtotal / telapsed

a = (vf - vi ) / t
d = vit + ½ at2
d = (vf2 – vi2) / 2a
 Free fall
• Free falling object
– An object that is acted upon by gravity only.
– The object moves in a straight line.
– There is no air resistance.
• a = g = -9.8m/s2
 Projectile Motion
• Projectile motion
– Motion of an object with an initial horizontal velocity
and is acted upon by gravity only.
• Projectile
– An object that is under projectile motion
• Trajectory
– Path traversed by an object under projectile motion
• Range
– Horizontal displacement covered by the projectile
– Maximum range can be obtained if projected at 45ᵒ
from the horizontal
 Freefall and Projectile Motion
• In free fall, the motion is vertical only. In projectile motion,
the object follows a curved path. Horizontal and vertical
velocities are independent of each other.

• If an object will be dropped and another object will

simultaneously be released with an initial horizontal velocity
at the same height, the will reach the ground at the same
time.

• In both cases, the total flight time is equal to twice the time
to reach the maximum height
 Newton’s Laws of Motion
• Law of Inertia
– An object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion
will remain in motion at a constant velocity unless acted
upon by a net unbalanced external force.
• Law of Acceleration
– The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the
net force acting on it and is inversely proportional to its mass
• Law of Interaction
– For every action force, there is an equal and opposite
reaction force.