Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Measurements
Scalar quantities are quantities in which the magnitude is stated, but the direction is either not
applicable or not specified.
Vector quantities are quantities in which both the magnitude and the direction must be stated.
Kinematics
Distance travelled by an object is the length of path taken.
Displacement is the shortest distance from the initial to the final position of an object.
Speed is the distance moved per unit time.
Velocity (v) of an object is the rate of change of displacement with respect to time.
Acceleration of an object is the rate of change of velocity with respect to time.
Pressure
Pressure (p) is defined as the perpendicular force (F) acting on unit area of a surface or the force
per unit area (A).
Boyles Law states that the volume of a fixed mass of gas at constant temperature is inversely
proportional to the pressure applied to the gas.
Thermal Physics
Heat Capacity of a body is defined as the amount of heat (Q) required to raise its temperature
(T) by one degree, without going through a change of state.
Specific heat capacity, c, of a body is defined as the amount of heat (Q) required to raise the
temperature (T) of a unit mass of it by one degree, without going through a change in state.
Specific latent heat of fusion, lf, of a substance is defined as the amount of heat required to
change a unit mass of the substance from solid to liquid state, without any change in the
temperature.
Specific latent heat of vapourization, lv, of a substance is defined as the amount of heat required
to change unit mass of the substance from liquid state to gas state without a temperature change.
Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy from one place to another without any flow of the
material medium.
Convection is the transfer of thermal energy from one place to another by means of bulk fluid
movement in the material medium.
Radiation is the transfer of thermal energy from one place to another by means of electromagnetic
radiation, without the need of an intervening material medium.