Physics

Eleventh Edition

Cutnell & Johnson

Chapter 1
Introduction and Mathematical Concepts
1.1 The Nature of Physics (1 of 2)
Physics has developed out of the efforts of men and women to
explain our physical environment.

Physics encompasses a remarkable variety of phenomena:

planetary orbits
radio and TV waves
magnetism
lasers
many more!

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1.1 The Nature of Physics (2 of 2)
Physics predicts how nature will behave in one situation
based on the results of experimental data obtained in
another situation.

Newton’s Laws  Rocketry

Maxwell’s Equations  Telecommunications

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1.2 Units (1 of 6)
Physics experiments involve the measurement of a variety
of quantities.
These measurements should be accurate and reproducible.
The first step in ensuring accuracy and reproducibility is
defining the units in which the measurements are made.

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1.2 Units (2 of 6)
SI units

meter m  : unit of length

kilogram kg : unit of mass
second s  : unit of time

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1.2 Units (5 of 6)
Table 1.1 Units of Measurement

System System System

SI CGS BE
Length Meter (m) Centimeter (cm) Foot (ft)
Mass Kilogram (kg) Gram (g) Slug (sl)
Time Second (s) Second (s) Second (s)

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1.2 Units (6 of 6)
The units for length, mass, and time (as well as a few
others), are regarded as base SI units.
These units are used in combination to define additional
units for other important physical quantities such as force
and energy.

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1.3 The Role of Units in Problem
Solving (1 of 7)
The Conversion of Units
1ft = 0.3048 m
1mi = 1.609 km
1hp = 746 w
1liter = 10 3 m3

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1.3 The Role of Units in Problem
Solving (2 of 7)
Example 1 The World’s Highest Waterfall
The highest waterfall in the world is Angel Falls in Venezuela,
with a total drop of 979.0 m. Express this drop in feet.
Since 3.281 feet = 1 meter, it follows that

3.281 feet  =1
1 meter 
 3.281 feet 
Length = 979.0 meters   =3212 feet
 1 meter 

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1.3 The Role of Units in Problem
Solving (3 of 7)
Table 1.2 Standard Prefixes Used to Denote Multiples of Ten
Prefix Symbol Factora
tera T the12power of 12
10 to10

giga G the9power of 9
10 to10

mega M the6power of 6
10 to10

kilo K the3power of 3
10 to10

hecto H the2power of 2
10 to10

deka Da the1power of 1
10 to10
10 to the power of
deci D 10 11
negative
10 to the power of
centi C 10 22
negative
10 to the power of
milli M 10
negative 3
3

10 to the power of
micro Μ 10
negative 6
6

10 to thepower of
nano N 10
negative 9
9

10 to the power of
Pico P 10 1212
negative
10 to the power of
femto F 10
negative 15
15

a
Appendix A contains a discussion of powers of ten and scientific notation.
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1.3 The Role of Units in Problem
Solving (4 of 7)
Reasoning Strategy: Converting Between Units
1. In all calculations, write down the units explicitly.
2. Treat all units as algebraic quantities. When identical
units are divided, they are eliminated algebraically.
3. Use the conversion factors located on the page facing
the inside cover. Be guided by the fact that multiplying
or dividing an equation by a factor of 1 does not alter
the equation.

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1.3 The Role of Units in Problem
Solving (5 of 7)
Example 2 Interstate Speed Limit
Express the speed limit of 65 miles/hour in terms of
meters/second.
Use 5280 feet = 1 mile and 3600 seconds = 1 hour and 3.281
feet = 1 meter.
 miles   miles  5280 feet  1 hour  feet
Speed =  65 11=  65   =95
 hour   hour  mile  3600 s  second

 feet   feet   1 meter  meters

Speed =  95  1=  95   =29
 second   second   3.281 feet  second

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1.3 The Role of Units in Problem
Solving (6 of 7)
Dimensional Analysis
 L = length  M  = mass  T  = time
Is the following equation dimensionally correct?

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1.3 The Role of Units in Problem
Solving (7 of 7)
Is the following equation dimensionally correct?

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1.4 Trigonometry (1 of 6)

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1.4 Trigonometry (2 of 6)

ho
sin  
h

ha
cos 
h

ho
tan  
ha

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1.4 Trigonometry (3 of 6)
ho
tan  
ha

o ho
tan 50.0 
67.2m

ho tan 50.0o 67.2m  80.1m

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1.4 Trigonometry (4 of 6)
 ho 
1
 sin  
 h

 ha 
1
 cos  
 h

 ho 
1
 tan  
 ha 
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1.4 Trigonometry (6 of 6)

Pythagorean theorem: h 2 ho2  ha2

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1.5 Scalars and Vectors (1 of 3)
A scalar quantity is one that can be described by a single
number:
temperature, speed, mass
A vector quantity deals inherently with both magnitude
and direction:
velocity, force, displacement

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1.5 Scalars and Vectors (2 of 3)
Arrows are used to represent vectors. The direction of the
arrow gives the direction of the vector.
By convention, the length of a vector arrow is
proportional to the magnitude of the vector.

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1.5 Scalars and Vectors (3 of 3)

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1.6 Vector Addition and Subtraction (1 of 8)
Often it is necessary to add one vector to another.

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1.6 Vector Addition and Subtraction (2 of 8)

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1.6 Vector Addition and Subtraction (3 of 8)

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1.6 Vector Addition and Subtraction (4 of 8)

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1.6 Vector Addition and Subtraction (5 of 8)

R 2.00 m   6.00 m 
2 2 2

2.00 m   6.00 m 
2 2
R 6.32m

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1.6 Vector Addition and Subtraction (6 of 8)
2.00
tan  
6.00
 2.00 
1
 tan   18.4
o

 6.00 

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1.6 Vector Addition and Subtraction (7 of 8)
When a vector is
multiplied by −1, the
magnitude of the vector
remains the same, but the
direction of the vector is
reversed.

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1.6 Vector Addition and Subtraction (8 of 8)

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1.7 The Components of a Vector (1 of 4)


x and y are called the x vector component

and the y vector component of r.
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1.7 The Components of a Vector (2 of 4)


The vector
 components of A are two perpendicular
vectors A x and A y that are parallel to the x and y axes,

and add together vectorially so that A A x  A y .

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1.7 The Components of a Vector (3 of 4)
It is often easier to work with the scalar components
rather than the vector components.

Ax and Ay are the scalar components of A.
xˆ and yˆ are unit vectors with magnitude 1.

A  Ax xˆ  Ay yˆ

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1.7 The Components of a Vector (4 of 4)
Example 8
A displacement vector has a magnitude of 175 m and points at
an angle of 50.0 degrees relative to the x axis. Find the x and y
components of this vector.
y
sin  
r
y r sin  175 m sin50.0o  134 m
x
cos 
r
 
x r cos 175 m  cos 50.0o 112 m

r 112 m xˆ  134 m yˆ

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1.8 Addition of Vectors by Means of
Components (1 of 2)

 
C A  B
 
A  Ax xˆ  Ay yˆ B  Bx xˆ  By yˆ

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1.8 Addition of Vectors by Means of
Components (2 of 2)


C  Ax xˆ  Ay yˆ  Bx xˆ  By yˆ  Ax  Bx xˆ   Ay  By yˆ
C x  Ax  Bx C y  Ay  By
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