Mathematics is vital to your study of physics. Algebra is needed to isolate and solve for whatever variable is desired. Physics often deals with very large, or very small values. Significant figures and scientific notation make these extreme numbers manageable. There are often many mathematical applications in physics. Your previous knowledge of geometry, trigonometry, and graphing will all come into play with physics. These tools will be used throughout many of the topics in this series.

Kinematics is a branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of points, bodies (objects), and systems of bodies (groups of objects) without considering the mass of each or the forces that caused the motion.

Newton's first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. This is normally taken as the definition of inertia. ... If an external force is applied, the velocity will change because of the force.

WORK, ENERGY AND POWER. Work can be defined as transfer of energy. In physics we say that work is done on an object when you transfer energy to that object. If one object transfers (gives) energy to a second object, then the first object does work on the second object.

a fluid is a substance that continually deforms (flows) under an applied shear stress. Fluids are a subset of the phases of matter and include liquids, gases, plasmas, and to some extent, plastic solids. ... It is best described as a viscoelastic fluid.

A rotation about an external point, e.g. the Earth about the Sun, is called a revolution or orbital revolution, typically when it is produced by gravity. The axis is called a pole. Rigid-body dynamics studies the movement of systems of interconnected bodies under the action of external forces. ... The dynamics of a rigid body system is described by the laws of kinematics and by the application of Newton's second law (kinetics) or their derivative form Lagrangian mechanics.

Gravity, also called gravitation, in mechanics, the universal force of attraction acting between all matter. ... On Earth all bodies have a weight, or downward force of gravity, proportional to their mass, which Earth's mass exerts on them. Gravity is measured by the acceleration that it gives to freely falling objects.

Heat and temperature are often used interchangeably, but are actually two different things. Heat is the energy that is transferred from two substances at different temperatures and flows from hot to cold. Temperature is a measure of how hot or cold a substance is.

Simple harmonic motion. In mechanics and physics, simple harmonic motion is a special type of periodic motion or oscillation motion where the restoring force is directly proportional to the displacement and acts in the direction opposite to that of displacement.

a wave is a disturbance that transfers energy through matter or space, with little or no associated mass transport. Waves consist of oscillations or vibrations of a physical medium or a field, around relatively fixed locations. There are two main types of waves: mechanical and electromagnetic.

the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero, or the point where if a force is applied it moves in the direction of the force without rotating. Collisions involve forces (there is a change in velocity). ... Specifically, collisions can either be elastic, meaning they conserve both momentum and kinetic energy, or inelastic, meaning they conserve momentum but not kinetic energy.

elasticity (from Greek ἐλαστός "ductible") is the ability of a body to resist a distorting influence and to return to its original size and shape when that influence or force is removed. Solid objects will deform when adequate forces are applied on them.

The transfer of energy between an object and its environment, due to fluid motion. The average temperature is a reference for evaluating properties related to convective heat transfer. ... The transfer of energy by the emission of electromagnetic radiation. The emission and propagation of energy in the form of rays or waves. The energy radiated or transmitted in the form of rays, waves, or particles. A stream of particles or electromagnetic waves that is emitted by the atoms and molecules of a radioactive substance as a result of nuclear decay.

Electrostatics is a branch of physics that studies electric charges at rest. ... The Greek word for amber, ήλεκτρον, or electron, was the source of the word 'electricity'. Electrostatic phenomena arise from the forces that electric charges exert on each other. Such forces are described by Coulomb's law.

A capacitor is a passive electronic component that stores energy in the form of an electrostatic field. In its simplest form, a capacitor consists of two conducting plates separated by an insulating material called the dielectric. ... Because of their tiny physical size, these components have low capacitance.

Electromagnetic induction is the production of voltage or electromotive force due to a change in the magnetic field. Electromagnetic induction was discovered by Michael Faraday in the 1830s. Many electrical components and types of equipment work based on the principle of electromagnetic induction.

An electric current is a flow of electric charge. In electric circuits this charge is often carried by moving electrons in a wire. It can also be carried by ions in an electrolyte, or by both ions and electrons such as in an ionised gas (plasma). ... Electric current is measured using a device called an ammeter.

Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction, in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. ... The abbreviations AC and DC are often used to mean simply alternating and direct, as when they modify current or voltage.

Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. ... Most optical phenomena can be accounted for using the classical electromagnetic description of light.

physical optics, or wave optics, is the branch of optics that studies interference, diffraction, polarization, and other phenomena for which the ray approximation of geometric optics is not valid.

Magnetism is one aspect of the combined electromagnetic force. It refers to physical phenomena arising from the force caused by magnets, objects that produce fields that attract or repel other objects. ... The motion of electrically charged particles gives rise to magnetism.

Modern physics is the post-Newtonian conception of physics. It implies that classical descriptions of phenomena are lacking, and that an accurate, "modern", description of nature requires theories to incorporate elements of quantum mechanics or Einsteinian relativity, or both.

elasticity (from Greek ἐλαστός "ductible") is the ability of a body to resist a distorting influence and to return to its original size and shape when that influence or force is removed. Solid objects will deform when adequate forces are applied on them.

Mathematics is vital to your study of physics. Algebra is needed to isolate and solve for whatever variable is desired. Physics often deals with very large, or very small values. Significant figures and scientific notation make these extreme numbers manageable. There are often many mathematical applications in physics. Your previous knowledge of geometry, trigonometry, and graphing will all come into play with physics. These tools will be used throughout many of the topics in this series.

Kinematics is a branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of points, bodies (objects), and systems of bodies (groups of objects) without considering the mass of each or the forces that caused the motion.

Newton's first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. This is normally taken as the definition of inertia. ... If an external force is applied, the velocity will change because of the force.

WORK, ENERGY AND POWER. Work can be defined as transfer of energy. In physics we say that work is done on an object when you transfer energy to that object. If one object transfers (gives) energy to a second object, then the first object does work on the second object.

a fluid is a substance that continually deforms (flows) under an applied shear stress. Fluids are a subset of the phases of matter and include liquids, gases, plasmas, and to some extent, plastic solids. ... It is best described as a viscoelastic fluid.

A rotation about an external point, e.g. the Earth about the Sun, is called a revolution or orbital revolution, typically when it is produced by gravity. The axis is called a pole. Rigid-body dynamics studies the movement of systems of interconnected bodies under the action of external forces. ... The dynamics of a rigid body system is described by the laws of kinematics and by the application of Newton's second law (kinetics) or their derivative form Lagrangian mechanics.

Gravity, also called gravitation, in mechanics, the universal force of attraction acting between all matter. ... On Earth all bodies have a weight, or downward force of gravity, proportional to their mass, which Earth's mass exerts on them. Gravity is measured by the acceleration that it gives to freely falling objects.

Heat and temperature are often used interchangeably, but are actually two different things. Heat is the energy that is transferred from two substances at different temperatures and flows from hot to cold. Temperature is a measure of how hot or cold a substance is.

Simple harmonic motion. In mechanics and physics, simple harmonic motion is a special type of periodic motion or oscillation motion where the restoring force is directly proportional to the displacement and acts in the direction opposite to that of displacement.

a wave is a disturbance that transfers energy through matter or space, with little or no associated mass transport. Waves consist of oscillations or vibrations of a physical medium or a field, around relatively fixed locations. There are two main types of waves: mechanical and electromagnetic.

the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero, or the point where if a force is applied it moves in the direction of the force without rotating. Collisions involve forces (there is a change in velocity). ... Specifically, collisions can either be elastic, meaning they conserve both momentum and kinetic energy, or inelastic, meaning they conserve momentum but not kinetic energy.

The transfer of energy between an object and its environment, due to fluid motion. The average temperature is a reference for evaluating properties related to convective heat transfer. ... The transfer of energy by the emission of electromagnetic radiation. The emission and propagation of energy in the form of rays or waves. The energy radiated or transmitted in the form of rays, waves, or particles. A stream of particles or electromagnetic waves that is emitted by the atoms and molecules of a radioactive substance as a result of nuclear decay.

Electrostatics is a branch of physics that studies electric charges at rest. ... The Greek word for amber, ήλεκτρον, or electron, was the source of the word 'electricity'. Electrostatic phenomena arise from the forces that electric charges exert on each other. Such forces are described by Coulomb's law.

A capacitor is a passive electronic component that stores energy in the form of an electrostatic field. In its simplest form, a capacitor consists of two conducting plates separated by an insulating material called the dielectric. ... Because of their tiny physical size, these components have low capacitance.

Electromagnetic induction is the production of voltage or electromotive force due to a change in the magnetic field. Electromagnetic induction was discovered by Michael Faraday in the 1830s. Many electrical components and types of equipment work based on the principle of electromagnetic induction.

An electric current is a flow of electric charge. In electric circuits this charge is often carried by moving electrons in a wire. It can also be carried by ions in an electrolyte, or by both ions and electrons such as in an ionised gas (plasma). ... Electric current is measured using a device called an ammeter.

Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction, in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. ... The abbreviations AC and DC are often used to mean simply alternating and direct, as when they modify current or voltage.

Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. ... Most optical phenomena can be accounted for using the classical electromagnetic description of light.

physical optics, or wave optics, is the branch of optics that studies interference, diffraction, polarization, and other phenomena for which the ray approximation of geometric optics is not valid.

Magnetism is one aspect of the combined electromagnetic force. It refers to physical phenomena arising from the force caused by magnets, objects that produce fields that attract or repel other objects. ... The motion of electrically charged particles gives rise to magnetism.

Modern physics is the post-Newtonian conception of physics. It implies that classical descriptions of phenomena are lacking, and that an accurate, "modern", description of nature requires theories to incorporate elements of quantum mechanics or Einsteinian relativity, or both.

elasticity (from Greek ἐλαστός "ductible") is the ability of a body to resist a distorting influence and to return to its original size and shape when that influence or force is removed. Solid objects will deform when adequate forces are applied on them.