Exams timetable Revision 7 Lecture in physics Exams timetable Revision

The exams start at approximately 7:45am

Accuracy and precision Accuracy and precision are defined in terms of systematic and random errors. The more common definition associates accuracy with systematic errors and precision with random errors. Another definition, advanced by ISO, associates trueness with systematic errors and precision with random errors, and defines accuracy as the combination of both trueness and precision.

Significant figure The significant figures of a number are those digits that carry meaning contributing to its precision.

Kinematics Kinematics is the branch of classical mechanics which describes the motion of points, bodies (objects) and systems of bodies (groups of objects) without consideration of the causes of motion. The term is the English version of A.M. Ampère's cinématique, which he constructed from the Greek κίνημα kinema "movement, motion", derived from κινεῖν kinein "to move".

Dynamics Dynamics is a branch of physics (specifically classical mechanics) concerned with the study of forces and torques and their effect on motion, as opposed to kinematics, which studies the motion of objects without reference to its causes. Isaac Newton defined the fundamental physical laws which govern dynamics in physics, especially his second law of motion.

Newton's laws of motion First law: When viewed in an inertial reference frame, an object either remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force. Second law: F = ma. The vector sum of the forces F on an object is equal to the mass of that object multiplied by the acceleration a vector of the object. Third law: When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body.

Frame of reference In physics, a frame of reference (or reference frame) may refer to a coordinate system used to represent and measure properties of objects, such as their position and orientation, at different moments of time. It may also refer to a set of axes used for such representation. In a weaker sense, a reference frame does not specify coordinates, but only defines the same 3-dimensional space for all moments of time such that the frame can distinguish objects at rest from those that are moving. In Einsteinian relativity, reference frames are used to specify the relationship between a moving observer and the phenomenon or phenomena under observation. In this context, the phrase often becomes "observational frame of reference" (or "observational reference frame"), which implies that the observer is at rest in the frame, although not necessarily located at its origin. A relativistic reference frame includes (or implies) the coordinate time, which does not correspond across different frames moving relatively each other. The situation thus differs from Galilean relativity, where all possible coordinate times are essentially equivalent.

Momentum In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum (pl. momenta; SI unit kg m/s, or equivalently, N s) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. For example, a heavy truck moving quickly has a large momentum—it takes a large or prolonged force to get the truck up to this speed, and it takes a large or prolonged force to bring it to a stop afterwards. If the truck were lighter, or moving more slowly, then it would have less momentum.

Angular momentum In physics, angular momentum, moment of momentum, or rotational momentum is a measure of the amount of rotation an object has, taking into account its mass, shape and speed. It is a vector quantity that represents the product of a body's rotational inertia and rotational velocity about a particular axis. The angular momentum of a system of particles (e.g. a rigid body) is the sum of angular momenta of the individual particles.

Circular motion In physics, circular motion is a movement of an object along the circumference of a circle or rotation along a circular path. It can be uniform, with constant angular rate of rotation and constant speed, or non-uniform with a changing rate of rotation. The rotation around a fixed axis of a three-dimensional body involves circular motion of its parts. The equations of motion describe the movement of the center of mass of a body.

Kinetic theory The kinetic theory of gases describes a gas as a large number of small particles (atoms or molecules), all of which are in constant, random motion. The rapidly moving particles constantly collide with each other and with the walls of the container. Kinetic theory explains macroscopic properties of gases, such as pressure, temperature, viscosity, thermal conductivity, and volume, by considering their molecular composition and motion. The theory posits that gas pressure is due to the impacts, on the walls of a container, of molecules or atoms moving at different velocities.

Calorimetry Calorimetry is the science or act of measuring changes state variables of a body for the purpose of deriving the heat transfer associated with changes of its state due for example to chemical reactions, physical changes, or phase transitions under specified constraints. Calorimetry is performed with a calorimeter. The word calorimetry is derived from the Latin word calor, meaning heat and the Greek word μέτρον (metron), meaning measure. Scottish physician and scientist Joseph Black, who was the first to recognize the distinction between heat and temperature, is said to be the founder of the science of calorimetry.

Laws of thermodynamics Zeroth law of thermodynamics: If two systems are in thermal equilibrium separately, with a third system, they must be in thermal equilibrium with each other. This law helps define the notion of temperature. First law of thermodynamics: When energy passes, as work, as heat, or with matter, into or out from a system, its internal energy changes in accord with the law of conservation of energy. Equivalently, perpetual motion machines of the first kind are impossible. Second law of thermodynamics: The entropy of any isolated system never decreases. Such systems spontaneously evolve towards thermodynamic equilibrium — the state of maximum entropy of the system. Equivalently, perpetual motion machines of the second kind are impossible. Third law of thermodynamics: The entropy of a system approaches a constant value as the temperature approaches absolute zero. With the exception of glasses the entropy of a system at absolute zero is typically close to zero, and is equal to the log of the multiplicity of the quantum ground state.

Entropy In thermodynamics, entropy (usual symbol S) is a measure of the number of specific ways in which a thermodynamic system may be arranged, commonly understood as a measure of disorder. According to the second law of thermodynamics the entropy of an isolated system never decreases; such systems spontaneously evolve towards thermodynamic equilibrium, the configuration with maximum entropy. Systems that are not isolated may decrease in entropy. Since entropy is a state function, the change in the entropy of a system is the same for any process going from a given initial state to a given final state, whether the process is reversible or irreversible. However irreversible processes increase the combined entropy of the system and its environment.