Dr. Z. Birech ENGINEERING PHYSICS 1A (2014) · PDF fileDr. Z. Birech ENGINEERING PHYSICS 1A (2014) Z. Birech ([email protected]) Department of Physics, University of Nairobi

Dr. Z. Birech ENGINEERING PHYSICS 1A (2014)

Z. Birech ([email protected]) Department of Physics, University of Nairobi

1

ENGINEERING PHYSICS 1A

By Dr. Z. Birech

Department of Physics, University of Nairobi

Introduction

These lecture notes are for 1rst

year Engineering students (Electrical, Civil, Mechanical, Geospacial, and

Environmental & Biosystems) for their first semester Physics course. The notes cover mechanics and properties of

matter. The course is intended to introduce the student to the science behind physical entities that will be covered in

various areas of engineering. Please note that these notes cover only the first half of first semester engineering

physics course. The second half of the course is not covered here. The section of vectors is not also covered here but

the student can get the background on vectors elsewhere.

Course outline

SECTION I: MECHANICS AND PROPERTIES OF MATTER

1. Motion in one and two dimensions Kinematics: Vector & scalar quantities. Resolution and composition of vectors. The inclined plane.

Displacement. Velocity. Acceleration. Equations of linear motion. Motion under gravity. Projectiles.

Newton’s laws of motion. Linear momentum. Principle of conservation of linear momentum. Elastic and

inelastic collision. Impulse. Circular motion: Angular displacement. Angular momentum, The radian

measure. Angular velocity. Period. Frequency. Acceleration. Centripetal force. Vertical and horizontal

circular paths. Static equilibrium. Moments. Couples. Torque. Work. Energy power

2. Rotational dynamics

Rotation of rigid bodies. Equations of motion. Moment of inertia

3. Simple harmonic motion

Definition. Relation to circular motion. Velocity. Acceleration. Period. Frequency. K.e. p.e.

4. Gravitation

Newton’s laws of Gravitation. Kepler’s laws

5. Properties of Matter Hooke’s law .stress. strain. Young Modulus. Coefficient of friction. Pressure, Pascal principle. Archimedes

principle. Coefficient of viscosity. Stoke’s law. Bernoullis’s principle.

SECTION II: SOUND AND VIBRATIONS

6. Introduction to sound

Wave phenomenon, general wave equation, sound waves, velocity of sound wave, interference, beats and

beat frequency, Doppler Effect

SECTION III: THERMAL PHYSICS

7. Heat

Internal energy and temperature, phase changes of pure substance, isothermal and isobaric compressibility

of gases, liquids and solids

8. Heat transfer Conduction, convection and radiation. Kinetic theory of gases, perfect gas equation, intermolecular forces,

specific heats and equipartition of energy

Books of Reference

1. Ohanian Physics II Edition, Norton & Co., NY (1989)

2. Vector Analysis, Schaum Series by Murray, R., McGraw Hill, NY (1980)

3. Theoretical Mechanics, Schaum Series by Murray, R., McGraw Hill, NY (1986)

4. College Physics, 3rd

Ed, by Miller, Harcourt B. Inc. NY (1972)

5. A-Level Physics 5th

Ed. by Nelkon & Parker, Heinemann (K) Ltd (1991)

6. Any book that covers mechanics, heat and sound

I



2

MECHANICS AND PROPERTIES OF MATTER

Chapter 1: Motion in One and Two Dimensions

1.1 Linear Motion (motion in a straight line)

The mathematical concept of vectors is very useful for the description of displacement, velocity and

acceleration in one, two or three dimensions. A body can undergo either one of the following types of

motion or a combination of two or more of these motions namely:

i Translational or rectilinear motion i.e. motion in a straight line

ii Rotational or circular motion e.g. a rotating wheel or planets around the sun

iii Vibrational or oscillatory motion e.g. a pendulum clock, atoms or electrons in a metal or solid.

Displacement )(S is a physical quantity that specifies the position of an object relative to the initial point

(origin) or it is the distance moved in a given direction.

Velocity )( is vector that specifies the rate of change of displacement with time. It is defined by

t

S (1)

The average velocity of an object is given by

TakenTime

ntDisplacemeinChange

For example, consider the displacement-time graph of, say, an automobile given below:

If 12 SS is the change occurring in position in time interval 12 tt , then the average velocity is

t

S

tt

SS

12

12 slope of the straight line 21PP . On the other hand, the speed )( between

1t and 2t is defined by

t

S

t

PPceDisCurved

tt

ceDisActual

21

12

tantan

P1

P2

S

t t2

S1

S2

t1



3

i.e. speed is the rate of change of distance with time ( and in some cases is equal to the magnitude of the

velocity). The instantaneous velocity i.e. velocity of the object at a given time or point is the time rate of

change of displacement i.e.

Instantaneous Velocitydt

Sd

Acceleration )(a is a vector specifying how fast the velocity of a body changes with time i.e.

ttTimetaken

locityChangeinVea

(3)

The instantaneous acceleration is defined by

dt

da inst

Their Units are: Displacement (m), Speed (ms-1

), Velocity (ms-1

) and Acceleration (ms-2

).

Types of linear motion

(i) Motion with uniform velocity

Velocity-time graphs and displacement-time graphs are valuable ways of depicting motion in a straight

line. The figures below shows the displacement- and velocity-time graphs for a body moving with

uniform velocity ie constant speed in a fixed direction. The slope of fig (a) gives the velocity.

(a) Displacement-time graph (b) Velocity-time graph

For the displacement-time graph, the slope gives the velocity of the object while the area has no physical

significance. In the velocity-time graph, the slope is the acceleration of the object while the area is the

displacement of the object.

(ii) Motion with uniform acceleration (equations of motion)

If the velocity of a uniformly accelerating object increases from a value u to in time t , then from the

definition of acceleration that

t

ua

(4)

we have

tau (5)

For uniform motion, the displacement covered in time t is defined by

S Average velocityTime tu )(2

1 (6)

Using equation 5, equation 6 gives

2

2

1tatuS (7)

Eliminating t in equation 7 by substituting for t in 6 gives

t

v

t

S



4

aSu 222 (8)

Equations 5, 7 and 8 are equations of motion for an object moving in a straight line with uniform

acceleration.

Example A body covers a distance of 10m in 4s it rests for 10s and finally covers a distance of 90m in 6s.

Calculate its average speed.

Solution Total distance m10009010

Total time s206104

Average speed 15

20

100 mss

m

Example A student runs 800m due north in 110s followed by 400m due south in 90s. Calculate his

average speed and his average velocity for the whole journey.

Solution (i) Average speed 16

200

1200

90110

400800tan

ms

s

m

Totaltime

ceTotaldis

(ii) Average velocity 12

90110

400800

ms

Totaltime

acementTotalDispl

For velocity, since it is a vector, you have to choose the direction

Example A car moving with a velocity of 54kmhr-1

accelerates uniformly at the rate of 2ms-2

. Calculate

the distance traveled from the place where the acceleration began to that where the velocity reaches

72kmhr-1

and the time taken to cover this distance.

Solution Given )(1554 11 umskmhr )(2072 11 mskmhr 22 msa ,

then

(i) aSu 222 implying S)2(21520 22 mS 75.43

(ii) tau implying t21520 st 5.2

(iii) Motion under gravity (free falling bodies)

A freely falling body is an object moving freely under the influence of gravity only, regardless of its

initial motion. Objects thrown upward or downward and those released from rest are all falling freely

once they are released.

A body released near the earth’s surface will accelerate towards the earth under the influence of gravity. If

air resistance is neglected, then the body will be in free fall and the motion will proceed with uniform

acceleration of 281.9 msga . The value of this downward acceleration )(g is the same for all

bodies released at the same location and is independent of the bodies’ speed, mass, size and shape. The

equations of motion for freely falling bodies are similar to those for linear motion with constant

acceleration a being replaced by g . For upward motion (rising body), g is negative since the body is

decelerating. Thus



5

Sgu

tgtuS

tgu

2

2

1

22

2

(9)

Example A ball is thrown vertically upwards with a velocity of 20 ms-1. Neglecting air resistance,

calculate

(i) The maximum height reached

(ii) The time taken to return to the ground

Solution Taking upward direction as positive, 120 msu and

210 msga then

(i) At maximum height, 10 ms thus

mS

SaSu

20

)10(220200222

(ii) On return to ground, S becomes zero, thus from

sec4

5202

10

2

1

22

2

t

ttgtut

atutS

1.2 Motion in Two Dimensions (Projectile Motion) A projectile is any body that is given an initial velocity and then follows a path determined entirely by the

effects of gravitational acceleration and air resistance. The object moves both vertically and horizontally

hence the motion is in two space dimensions. In analyzing this motion, g is assumed constant and effect of

air resistance considered negligible. The path traced by a projectile is known as its trajectory.

The two motions (horizontal and vertical) are independent of each other i.e. the object moves

horizontally with constant speed, and at the same time, it moves vertically in a way a similar object not

undergoing horizontal motion would move. If air resistance is neglected, then a projectile can be

considered as a freely falling object and its equations of motion can be determined from the linear

equations of motion together with the initial conditions i.e. the initial velocity has components cosu

along the horizontal- and sinu along the vertical direction. The horizontal and vertical motions are

analyzed as follows

Components of initial velocity u

y

uy

ux

θ

u

R

cos

sin

x

y

u u

u u



6

(i)Vertical motion the vertical component of u is sinu and the acceleration is –g. When the projectile

reaches the ground at B, the vertical distance h traveled is zero. So from

2

2

1gttuh y ….. (1)

we have

g

utgttuo

sin2

2

1sin 2 ….. (2)

which is the total time of flight. Also the maximum height reached can be evaluated as follows; from

equation 1 we have

g

ugttuY

2

sin

2

1sin

222

….. (3)

after substituting half of the value of t from 2.

(ii) Horizontal motion since g acts vertically, it has no component in the horizontal direction. So the

projectile moves in a horizontal direction with a constant velocity cosu which is the horizontal

component of u. so from the relation tus

we have

g

ug

ug

uuR

2sincossin2

sin2cos 22 … ..(4).

The maximum range is obtained when 12sin oro902 .

In this case

g

uR

2

… ..(5).

Also at the maximum height Y of the path, the vertical velocity of the projectile is zero. So applying the

relation atuv yy in a vertical direction, the time t to reach A is given by

g

utgtu

sinsin0 .(6).

This is just half the time to reach B.

Example An object is thrown horizontally with a velocity of 10m/s from the top of a 20m-high building

as shown. Where does the object strike the ground?

Solution: We consider the horizontal and vertical problems separately.

(i) In the vertical case if the downward direction is taken to be positive, then 10 msoy ,

281.9 msg and my 20 . Thus we can find the time taken to reach the ground from

22 81.92

1020

2

1ttavy yoy from which t=2.02s.

10ms-1

20m



7

(ii) In the horizontal case, we have found that the object will be in the air for 2.02s. Therefore given that 110 msxox and st 02.2 , then msmstX x 2.2002.210 1 .

1.3 Newton’s Laws of Motion First Law: A body tends to remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line (with constant velocity)

unless acted upon by a resultant force. The tendency of a body to continue in its initial state of motion (a

state of rest or a state of uniform velocity) is called inertia. Accordingly, the first law is often called the

law of inertia.

Second Law: If a net force acts on a body, it will cause an acceleration of that body. That acceleration is

in the direction of the net force and it magnitude is proportional to the magnitude of the net force and

inversely proportional to the mass of the body ie m

Fa

so that amF

. From the definition of a

Newton, the law can be written in the form

amakmF

This (vector) equation is a relation between vector quantities F

and a

, and is equivalent to the three

algebraic equations

zz

yy

xx

amF

amF

amF

Third Law: Action and reaction are always equal and opposite ie when one body exerts a force on

another, the second exerts an equal, oppositely directed force on the first. Examples include when pushing

on a car, the car pushes back against your hand, when a weight is supported by a rope, the rope pulls

down on the hand; a book resting on a table pushes down on the table, and the table in turn pushes up

against the book; the earth pulls on the moon holding it in a nearly circular orbit and the moon pulls on

the earth causing tides. The law differs from the first and second in that, whereas the first and second laws

are concerned with the behavior of a single body, the third law involves two separate bodies. The inherent

symmetry of the action-reaction couple precludes identifying one as action and the other as reaction.

1.4 Collisions and Linear Momentum

Linear Momentum is defined as the product of the object’s mass (m) and its velocity v

and is a vector.

Linear momentum P mass velocity mv

The SI unit of linear momentum is kgms-1

(Newton second-Ns) and its dimension is T

LM. From

Newton’s second law )( amF

, if no external force acts on an object, then

0v u P

F ma m Pt t

is a constant. Thus its momentum is

conserved. This is the principle of conservation of linear momentum. It is useful in solving problems

involving collisions between bodies.

The product of the force and the time is called the impulse of the force I ie

Impulse I F t mv mu P change in momentum

The change of linear momentum P of a particle during a time interval t equals the impulse of

the net force that acts on the particle during the interval. The SI unit of impulse is the same as that of momentum ie Newton-second or kilogram-meter-per-second.



8

Collision is any strong interaction between bodies that lasts a relatively short time. Examples include

automobile accidents, neutrons hitting atomic nuclei in a nuclear reactor, balls colliding, the impact of a

meteor on the surface of earth, a close encounter of a spacecraft with the planet Saturn etc. In all

collisions, momentum is conserved. The total energy is also conserved. However, kinetic energy might

not be conserved since it might be converted into other forms of energy like sound, heat or work during

plastic deformation. There are two main types of collisions: elastic and inelastic collisions.

If the forces between the colliding bodies are much larger than any external forces, then the external

forces are neglected and the bodies are treated as an isolated system i.e. all external forces are zero.

Elastic collision: both kinetic energy and momentum are conserved.

(a) before collision (b) after collision

From the figure, we have

bbaabbaa vmvmumum

conservation of linear momentum

2222

2

1

2

1

2

1

2

1bbaabbaa vmvmumum conservation of kinetic energy.

Inelastic collision: momentum is conserved but kinetic energy is not conserved. Thus

bbaabbaa vmvmumum

If the colliding bodies stick together, the collision is totally inelastic and hence we have

Vmmumum babbaa

)(

where V

is the common velocity.

Special cases

(i). Elastic collision in a straight line

If the two objects A and B have equal masses m and mass B is stationary ( uB=0) then for elastic collision

we have

BAA mvmvmu conservation of linear momentum

(a) before collision (b) after collision

and 222

2

1

2

1

2

1BAA mvmvmu conservation of kinetic energy, from which we have

ma ua mb

ub ma va mb

vb

A ua B

ub = 0

mA mB A

ua B vb

mA mB



9

222

BAA

BAA

vvu

vvu

Solving gives BA vu and 0Av . Thus the two objects simply exchange velocities ie mass A comes to

rest while mass B moves off with the original velocity of A. this is a situation of maximum energy

transfer between two colliding bodies and is mostly applicable in nuclear reactions where neutrons are

stopped by protons.

(ii). Oblique collisions of equal masses If mass A collides obliquely with mass B which is at rest and both objects are of equal masses m, then the

total momentum of any object will be the sum of the respective momentum components in the vertical

and horizontal directions respectively

Thus conservation of linear momentum gives coscos BAA mvmvmu along the x -

direction

sinsin0 BA mvmv along the y

direction

Conservation of kinetic energy gives 222

2

1

2

1

2

1BAA mvmvmu

(iii). Recoil

In a case where part of a composite body suddenly flies apart eg a bullet fired from a gun, the remaining

part (the gun) must undergo momentum in the opposite direction (recoil) in order to conserve the

momentum. If bm and b are the mass and velocity of the bullet while mg is the mass of the gun, then the

gun will recoil with velocity vg given by

ggbb vmvm

or g

g

bbg v

m

vmv is far much less than bv since bm is far much

less than gm .

Example A car traveling at 90kmhr-1

slams into a tree and is stopped in 40ms. If the car has a mass of

800kg, calculate the average force acting on the car during the collision.

Solution 11 2590 mskmhrv 1

From umvmtF , we have

A ua B

mA mB θ

φ

θ A

B

vB = 0



10

NFmskgF 51 10525800sec04.0

Example A person of mass 50kg who is jumping from a height of 5m will land on the ground with a

velocity 11051022 msghv for

210 msg . If he does not flex his knees on landing, he

will be brought to rest very quickly, say th10

1 second. The force F acting is then given by

Nt

momentumF 5000

1.0

1050

. This is a force of about 10 times the person’s weight and the large

force has a severe effect on the body. Suppose, however, that the person flexes his knees and is brought to

rest much more slowly on landing, say 1 second. Then the force F now acting is 10 times less than before,

or 500N. Consequently, much less damage is done to the person on landing.

1.5 Circular Motion

Angular velocity

We consider the kind of motion where an object moves around a circular path about some fixed point.

Examples are moon and earth revolving around the sun, the rim of a bicycle wheel, a stone being whirled

on a string etc. In this chapter the system is assumed to move in a circle with a uniform speed around a

fixed point O as the centre.

If the object moves from A to B so that the radius OA moves through an angle θ, its angular velocity, ω,

about O may be defined as the change of the angle per second. Considering time t taken by the object to

move from A to B we have

t

[units: radians per second].

1 radian (1 rad) is the angle subtended the centre of a circle by an arc whose length is equal to the radius

of the circle.

The period for this kind of motion is given by

2T since 2π radians is the angle in one revolution.

If s is the length of arc AB, then s/r = θ, (from

when , s/r = θ) or

s = rθ

taking

tr

t

s gives

s

B

A

O v

v

θ

θ



11

rv (Relationship between angular and linear velocity).

Angular acceleration (α)

An object moving in a circle at constant speed experiences a force that pulls it towards the centre of the

circular path. This force is known as centripetal force. If v is the uniform speed in the circle of radius r,

then the acceleration is given by

r

v2

But rv

Therefore

222 )(

rr

r

r

v

Centripetal Forces

Consider the situation below

The figure shows an object of mass m whirled with constant speed v in a vertical circle of centre O by a

string of length r. Let T1 be the tension in the string at point A (the highest point). Then since the weight

mg acts downwards towards O, then the force towards the centre is given by

mgr

mvT

r

mvmgTF

2

1

2

1

Suppose T2 is the tension when the object is at point B, then at this point mg acts vertically downwards

and has no effect on T2. So

r

mvTF

2

2

Finally considering at point C where it is at the lowest point, mg acts in the opposite direction to T3 giving

C

O

T3

T2

T1

mg

A

B

mg

mg



12

mgr

mvT

toleading

r

mvmgTF

2

3

2

3

Comparing T1, T2 and T3 from the above equations, it is seen that maximum tension in the string is at

point

C (i.e, T3 is the highest). This implies that T3 must be greater than mg by mv2/r to make the object keep

moving in a circular path.

Banking

Suppose a car is moving round a banked road in a circular path of horizontal radius r.

If the only forces at the wheels A, B are the normal reactions R1 and R2 respectively, then the resultant

force towards the centre of the track (i.e. providing the centripetal acceleration) is (R1 + R2) sin θ where θ

is the angle of inclination of the plane to the horizontal. This force is equal to the centripetal force;

r

mvRR

2

21 sin)(

For vertical equilibrium

mgRR cos)( 21

Dividing the two equations leads to

rg

v 2

tan

Implying that for a given velocity v and radius r, the angle of inclination of the track for no sided slip

must be tan-1

(v2/rg).

This has also been applied on rail tracks.

Angular Momentum

θ

r

mv2

F1

mg

R1

R2

F2



13

Consider a single particle of mass m which at one instant of time has a momentum p and is at a distance r

from the origin of coordinates. The angular momentum L of the particle is defined as the vector

of magnitude

sinrpL

Where θ is the angle between the momentum vector p and the position vector r. The direction of the

vector L is along the perpendicular to the plane defined by the vectors p and r. The direction of the vector

L along this perpendicular is specified by the right-hand rule,

i.e

But p = mv, therefore

L = mr x v (units: Kgms-1

)

The angular momentum of a particle moving with constant velocity in the absence of force is constant, i.e.

the magnitude of L = rpsin θ is constant and the direction of L is also constant. This situation describes a

free particle and represents conservation of angular momentum.

Consider a case of conservation of angular momentum, i.e. a case of a particle in a uniform circular

motion, such as a stone whirled along a circle at the end of a string (Fig below)

The vector L is perpendicular to the plane of the circle. In this case, since the position vector is always

perpendicular to the velocity vector, the magnitude of the angular momentum vector is

mrvrpL sin

So the direction of the angular momentum vector is perpendicular to the plane of the circle. As the

particle moves around the circle, L remains constant in magnitude and direction.

1.6 Equilibrium

1st condition for Equilibrium

Much of Physics has to do with objects and systems which are at rest and remain at rest. This portion of

physics is called statics. It is of prime importance since the concepts which it involves permeate most

fields of physical sciences and engineering.

An object is in equilibrium if it is not accelerating ie no net force must act on it. That does not mean that

no forces may be applied to the body. If several forces act simultaneously, equilibrium demands only

that the net force ie the vector sum of the various forces vanish (be equal zero). This is the first

condition of static equilibrium which can quantitatively be written as

i

iF 0 (1)

L

r

x

y

z



14

which is equivalent to three component equations

i

iz

i

iy

i

ix

F

F

F

0

0

0

(2)

For example when an object rests on a table, there are two forces acting on it, namely its weight and the

upward reaction force of the table on the object. Without the table, the object can not remain at rest but

would drop under the pull of gravity.

If the body remains at rest, it is said to be in static equilibrium while when it is in steady motion in

straight line, it is said to be in dynamic equilibrium.

Torque and the 2nd

condition of Equilibrium

Torque is a deciding factor in a state of equilibrium. Torque is defined as the product of force and lever

arm or simply the turning effects of a force. If all the lines a long which several forces lie intersect at the

same point, then the forces are said to be concurrent. The second condition for equilibrium involves or the

torque applied to the object. This condition can be stated as: the resultant of all the torques acting on the

object must be to cause no turning effect ie the clockwise torques must balance the counterclockwise

torques

n

n 0

which can quantitatively be written as

dFForceLeverarmtorque

where the lever arm is the length of a perpendicular distance dropped from the pivot to the line of the

force.

Also

sinrFFr

Where r is the magnitude of the lever arm, F is the applied force and θ is the angle of rotation. In the

equation above, τ is given by the right hand rule for the advance of a screw rotated from the direction of r

towards that of F. (Remember the vector cross product!).

Torques can be classified as either clockwise or counterclockwise. By convention, we take

counterclockwise torques as positive and clockwise torques as negative. Moreover, a force whose line

passes through the pivot causes zero torque. This is a reflection of the fact the lever arm for such a force is

zero. We therefore conclude that an object will be in equilibrium if the following conditions are satisfied:

0niF and 0n

Example A long rope is stretched between points A and B. At each end the rope is tied to a spring scale

that measures the force the rope exerts on the supports. Suppose the rope is pulled sideways at its

midpoint with a force of 400N producing a deflection such that the two segments make angles of 5o with

the line AB. What is the reading of the spring scales?

Solution

Since the body is in equilibrium, we have

X-components



15

05cos5cos 12 TT (1)

Y-components

0005sin5sin 21 TT (2)

From equation 1, 21 TT

Therefore

12

222

22955sin2

400

04005sin24005sin5sin

TNT

TTT

The tension in the rope and therefore the force registered on the spring scales is 2295N.

A force of 400N applied perpendicular to the line AB caused a tension of nearly 2300N, more than five

times the applied force in magnitude! There is a practical lesson to be learned here.

Frictional Forces Frictional forces play an important role in the application of Newton’s Laws. There are three major

categories of frictional forces:

(i) Viscous frictional forces occur when objects move through gases and liquids. An example is the

frictional force the air exerts on a fast moving car or plane. The air exerts a retarding force on the car as

the car slides through the air.

(ii) Rolling frictional forces arise as, for example tire rolls on pavement. This type of friction occurs

primarily because the tire deforms as the wheel rolls. Sliding of molecules against each other within the

rubber causes energy to be lost.

(iii) Sliding frictional forces are forces that two surfaces in contact exert on each other to oppose the

sliding of one surface over the other. We will be concerned with sliding frictional forces.

Laws of solid friction

Experimental results on solid friction are summarized in the laws of friction, which state:

1 The frictional force between two surfaces opposes their relative motion.

2 The frictional force is independent of the area of contact of the given surfaces when the normal reaction

is constant.

3 The limiting frictional force is proportional to the normal reaction for the case of static friction. The

frictional force is proportional to the normal reaction for the case of kinetic (dynamic) friction, and is

independent of the relative velocity of the surfaces.

Consider the following simple experiment

If a book resting on the table is pushed lightly with a horizontal force F

the book does not move.

Apparently, the table-top also pushes horizontally on the book with an equal and opposite force. The

frictional force f opposes the sliding motion of the book and it is always directed parallel to the sliding

surfaces. If the pushing is increased slowly, then when the pushing force reaches a certain critical value fs,

the book suddenly begins to move. Afterwards to keep the book moving a smaller frictional force fk is

enough. This simple experiment shows that two frictional forces are important: the maximum static

frictional force fs that must be overcome before the object can start moving and the smaller kinetic

frictional force fk that opposes the motion of the sliding object. The major reason for this behavior (cause

of friction) is that the surfaces in contact are far from smooth. Their jagged points penetrate one another

and cause the surfaces to resist sliding. Once sliding has begun, however, the surfaces do not have time to

“settle down” onto each other completely. As a result, less force is required to keep them moving than to

start their motion. The frictional force depends on how forcefully the two surfaces are pushed together.

This situation is described by what is called the normal force FN (where normal means perpendicular).

The normal force is the perpendicular force that the supporting surface exerts on the surface that rests on

it. The situation is shown below.



16

1WFN

21 WWFN

sinFWFN

(a) (b) (c)

Experiments show that the frictional forces sf and kf are often directly proportional to the normal force.

In equation form, we have

Nkk

Nss

Ff

Ff

The factors s and k are called the static and kinetic (or dynamic) coefficients of friction, respectively.

They vary widely depending on the nature of the surfaces involved as well as the cleanliness and dryness

of the surfaces.

The coefficient of static friction s can also be found by placing the block A on the surface S and then

gently tilting S until A is on the point of slipping down the plane. The static frictional force F is then

equal to sinmg where is the angle of inclination of the plane to the horizontal; the normal reaction

R is equal to cosmg so that

tan

cos

sin

mg

mg

R

F

and hence s can be found by measuring .

Figure Coefficient of friction by inclined plane

Example: Consider the situation shown

The applied force due to the rope is 40N, and the block has a mass of 5kg. If the block accelerates at

3.0ms-2

, how large a frictional force must be retarding its motion?

Solution A free-body diagram for this situation is as shown below:

W1

FN

θ

FN FN

W2

W1

Fsinθ

F

R F

MgSinθ MgCosθ

Mg

θ

S

40N

37o

f 5kg

P W

P

W

f

40N

24N 37

o



17

No motion occurs in the y direction and so we are not concerned with the y forces. We have for the x

direction

Nf

mskgfNamF xnx

17

0.30.532 2

Can you show that the coefficient of friction is 0.68 in this case?

1.7 Work, Energy and Power

WORK: is defined as the product of the magnitude the displacement S of point of application of force

and the component of the force F parallel to the displacement. Mathematically:

cos. SFSFW

where W is the amount of work done by the force of magnitude F during a small displacement of

magnitude S . We can regard the product cosS as the component of the displacement in the

direction of the force F

, or alternatively, regard the product cosF as the component of the force in the

direction of the displacement.

Features of the definition First work requires the action of a force. Without a force, no work is done. Second, the application of a

force is a necessary but not sufficient condition for work. Work is done only if there is displacement of

the point of application of the force, and then only if this displacement has a component along the line of

action of the force. Although work is the product of two vector quantities, it is a scalar. Its SI unit is the

Newton-meter or kgm2s

-2 and is given the name Joule. One joule is the amount of work done by a force of

one Newton acting over a distance of one meter in the direction of the displacement.

Example Calculate the work done by a man of mass 65kg in climbing a ladder 4m high.

Solution work done= force x distance=weight x distance = mgh = 65kg x 10ms-2

x4m=2600J =2.6kJ

Example How much work is done in lifting a 3kg mass a height of 2m and in lowering it to its initial

position?

Solution (i) Since the force is directed up and the displacement is in the same direction, 0 . Hence

JmmskgmgsW 8.5828.93 2

(ii) Suppose we now slowly lower this mass to its original position. Again we must apply an upward force

of mg to prevent it from dropping. How much work is done by this force? Now the angle between that

force and the displacement is o180 and since cos180

o=-1, we have

W=-58.8J

The negative sign tells us that some other agent, gravity, has done work on the body. In this example,

there are two forces that act on the 3-kg mass: the force of gravity, which points downwards and the

tension in the string which pulls upward. If we had asked for the work done by the force of gravity, it

would have been negative during the lifting of weight and positive as the weight was lowered.

ENERGY: Energy is defined as the capacity to do work. A system may have mechanical energy by

virtue of its position, its internal structure or its motion. There are also other forms of energy besides



18

mechanical, namely chemical energy(found in foods, oils, charcoal, biogas etc and is due to the kinetic

energy and potential energy of the electrons within atoms), electrical energy(associated with the electric

charge and can be produced by generators from hydroelectric power stations-waterfalls, geothermal

stations, nuclear fission etc-), nuclear energy from a nuclear reactor, thermal energy (due to heat produced

from burning fuels, the sun, heaters etc).

It is a remarkable fact about our physical universe that whenever one form of energy is lost by a

body/system, this energy never disappears but it is merely translated into other forms of energy. eg

Vehicles burn fuels to produce both thermal(heat) and mechanical energy.

Mechanical Energy

It is the energy of motion-whether that energy is in action or stored. It exists in two forms:

Kinetic energy- energy possessed by a body by virtue of its motion and it represents the capacity of the

body to do work by virtue of its speed. A moving object can do work on another object it strikes. It exerts

a force on the other object causing it to undergo a displacement.

If a force F

acts on an object of mass m such that the mass accelerates uniformly from initial velocity vi

to a final velocity 1ms over a distance S (as shown),

Then the work done over the distance S is

SFW .

. But amF

and 2

2

1tatuS

. From the relation tauv

then a

uvt

so that the work done is

ekuvmSamW .2

1 22

which is the WORK-ENERGY RELATION (THEOREM). If the body starts from rest, then the work

done on the object equals kinetic energy gained by the object. The net work on an object is equal to the

change in the objects’ kinetic energy

Potential energy-energy possessed by a body by virtue of its configuration (position) in a force field eg

gravitational field, electrostatic field, magnetic field etc. If an object of mass m is lifted to a height h

from the ground, then:

Work done on the mass mghhFW

ie work done on the object gain in the potential energy by the object. Whether a body falls vertically or

slides down an inclined plane, the work done on it by gravity depends only on its mass and on the

difference in height between the initial and final positions. Potential energy of an object depends only on

its location and not on the route by which it arrived at that point. It follows that if a body is transported

around a closed path, the change in potential energy vanishes ie potential energy is independent of the

previous history because the gravitational force is conservative. A force is said to be conservative if the

work WAB done by the force in moving a body from A to B depends only on the position vectors rA and

rB. In particular, a conservative force must not depend on time, or on the velocity or acceleration of the

body.

F

S B A



19

Example A 100kg crate of milk is pushed up a frictionless 30o inclined plane to a 1.5m-high platform.

How much work is done in the process?

Solution The x component of mg is –mgsin30o. This force must be balanced by the applied force F to

prevent the crate from slipping down the plane. The work done by the force F is

cosFdW

Since F acts in the direction of motion, θ=0o and cosθ =1. The distance d over which the force acts is the

length of the incline namely

30sin

5.1 md Hence J

mmgW o 1470

30sin

5.1)30sin(

Example Suppose in the previous example the inclined plane is not frictionless and that the coefficient of

friction is 0.2. How much work is done in pushing the crate to the 1.5m-high platform?

Solution The work done against the force of gravity is the same as before 1470J. However, the applied

force must be greater than mgsin30 so as to overcome the force of friction which also acts in the –x

direction (opposite to the direction of motion). The force of friction is

NNmgRf o

kkk 170)866.0)(980(2.030cos

The work done against this frictional force is then

Jm

NdfW kn 51030sin

5.1)866.0)(980(2.0

where n indicates nonconservative forces. The total work done in bringing the crate to the platform is

JJJWpeW n 19805101470

POWER is the rate of doing work ie it is the rate at which energy is converted from one form to another.

Mathematically,

)( eraveragepowt

WP

Also since SFW

. , then velocityForcevFt

SF

t

WP

.

The unit of power is the Watt (W) which is the rate of work (transfer of energy) of one joule per second.

Power is also measured in horsepower (hp) where 1hp=746W. The efficiency of a machine or system is

the ratio of the power output to power input ie

Efficiency powerinput

tpoweroutpu

Example A manually operated winch is used to lift a 200kg mass to the roof of a 10m tall building.

Assuming that you can work at a steady rate of 200W, how long will it take you to lift the object to the

roof? Neglect frictional forces.

Solution The work done equals the increase in potential energy of the 200kg mass, namely

JmmskgmghW 19600108.9200 2

Since this work is done at a constant rate of 200W, then

sec98200

1960019600200

W

Jt

t

JW

Let us see how large an error may have been made by neglecting the kinetic energy of the mass during the

ascent. The average speed of the mass is

1102.0

sec98

10 msm

v



20

Kinetic energy during ascent is therefore

Jmskgmvek 04.1)102.0)(200(2

1

2

1. 12

an amount negligibly small compared with the change of 19600J in potential energy. We can therefore

safely neglect this small amount of k.e in the problem’s solution.



21

Chapter 2: Rotational Dynamics

2.1 Rigid Body

A rigid body is an object with a definite shape that does not change so that the particles comprising it stay

in fixed positions relative to one another (i.e. a body having a perfectly definite and unchanging shape

and size). Recall that the angular momentum for a single particle is expressed as;

L = r x p = mr x v

where r is the position vector of the particle (relative to origin) and p is the momentum. Total angular

momentum for a rigid body is the sum of the angular momentum of all particles in the body. If these

particles have masses m, velocities vi and the position vector ri (relative to a given origin of coordinates),

then the total angular momentum is

n

i

iii vrmL1

Where n is the total no. of particles. Note that the angular momentum obtained from the above formula

depends on the choice of origin coordinates.

Moment of Inertia (I)

Moment of inertia, (or angular mass, SI units kg·m2) is a measure of an object's resistance to changes in

its rotation rate. This is the rotational analogue of mass in linear motion. Consider a rigid body rotating

about a fixed axis O, and a particle A of the object makes an angle θ with a fixed line OY in space at

some instant.

The angular velocity ω of every particle is same everywhere. For a particle at A, the velocity is v1 = r1ω

(r1 = OA).

The total kinetic energy for the whole body is the sum of individual ke given by

)(2

1 22 mrke

Comparing this with ke for linear motion (ke = 1/2mv2) shows that the magnitude of Σmr

2 can be denoted

by the symbol I and is known as the moment of inertia of the object about its axis.

Torque on a rotating body

Consider a rigid body rotating about a fixed axis O.

Y

r1ω

r1

A

O



22

The force acting on a particle A = m1 x acceleration given by

11

2

2

1111 )(´

rm

dt

drmr

dt

dm

The moment of this force about the axis O = force x perpendicular distance from O which is

2

11111 rmrrm

The total moment of all forces (or total torque) is

I

mr

)( 2

Conservation of Angular Momentum

The angular momentum of one particle is

L = r x P

The rate of change of this momentum is

dt

dPrP

dt

drPr

dt

d

dt

dL

Taking the first term on RHS of the above equation we have

0)()( vvmmvvPdt

dr

While the second term is equal to force F (force is equal to rate of change of momentum).

This implies that

Frdt

dPr and

Frdt

dL

For a rigid body, the total angular momentum is the sum of angular momentum of individual particles and

the rate of change of the total angular momentum is the sum of the rates of change of individual angular

momentum.

m1

θ

Y

r1ω

A

r1

O



23

i.e.

n

i

ii Frdt

dL

1

Where Fi is the force acting on the particle i. But ri x Fi is the torque of the sum Fi on particle i. If the

forces acting on the particle are external and if the total external forces are such that the total external

torque is zero, then the angular momentum is conserved, i.e.

L = [constant].

This is the law of conservation of angular momentum. (i.e. The total angular momentum of a rotating

object remains constant if the net torque acting on it is zero)

Summary

Quantity Linear Rotational

Position x θ

Velocity v ω

Acceleration a α

Equations of

Motion

v= u + at

s = ut + 1/2at2

v2 = u

2 + 2as

ω = ωo + αt

θ = ωot +1/2αt2

ω2 = ωo

2 +2α θ

Mass m I

Newton’s 2nd

law F = ma τ = Iα

Momentum p= mv L = I ω

Work Fd τθ

KE 1/2mv2 1/2Iω



24

Chapter 3: Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)

2.1 Introduction

A pendulum swinging back and forth, the vibration of a guitar string, a mass vibrating at the end of the

spring- these and all objects that vibrate have one thing in common: each system is subject to a restoring

force that increases with increasing distortion. A restoring force is one that tries to pull or push a

displaced object back to its equilibrium position. Whenever the system is displaced from equilibrium, rF

urges the system to return.

The record of its vibratory motion, a displacement versus time graph is at least sinusoidal or cosinusoidal

in form.

There are certain terms used to describe vibratory systems and we shall illustrate them by reference to the

figure above.

One complete vibration or cycle of the mass occurs when the mass vibrates from the position indicated by

point A to the point indicated by C or by any two other similar points that are in phase. It is called the

wavelength and the type of motion is periodic or vibratory motion.

The time taken for the system to undergo one complete vibration is the period T of the system. Since the

system will undergo T

1 complete vibrations in unit time, this quantity is the frequency of the vibration

and we have

T

f1

1

The dimensions of frequency are (time)-1

. Sometimes frequency is expressed in cycles or vibrations per

second. One cycle per second is denoted as one hertz (Hz) which is the SI unit of frequency.

The distance AD is the amplitude of the vibration. It is the distance from the equilibrium position (dashed

line) to the position of maximum displacement. It is only half as large as the total vertical distance

traveled by the mass.

2.2 Simple Harmonic Motion

Condition(s) a system must satisfy if its vibration is to be sinusoidal

Fr

Fr

(a)

Fr x

(b) (c)

0

O

y

O

a

O

c

O

b

O

d

O

Amplitude

λ

t



25

Consider the system shown below

If the spring obeys Hooke’s law then Fr = -kXo. At equilibrium, the mass is at point O. Suppose it is

displaced a distance oX as shown and released. The restoring force rF will pull the mass back toward

point O and the mass will vibrate around O as centre. If this motion is to be sinusoidal or cosinusoidal in

this case, then the displacement X of the mass will be given by

tT

XX o

2cos 2

The function tT

2cos is the oscillatory function traced in the figure below. Notice that cos goes

through one complete cycle as θ goes from 0 to 2 . In the above equation, the angle goes from 0 to 2

as t goes from 0 to T. hence T is the time taken for one complete cycle and is the period. Another feature

about equation 2 is the factor oX . Because cos oscillates between +1 and -1 as θ keeps increasing, the

displacement X oscillates between + oX and - oX as time goes on. Therefore oX is the amplitude of the

vibration.

What sort of force acts on the mass to produce this sinusoidal motion? It is simply the force rF exerted

on the mass by the spring. We can find rF from our equation for X by using equation 2 to compute the

acceleration of the mass and then by using amF to find rF . To carry out this, we differentiate

equation 2 with respect to time in order to find the velocity of the mass. We have

tT

XT

tT

Xdt

d

dt

xdv oo

2sin

22cos

3

The velocity we have found is the velocity of the mass in figure 3. If we now differentiate v with respect

to t, we obtain the acceleration of the mass. It is

XT

tT

XT

tTdt

dX

Tdt

vda oo 2

2

2

2 42cos

42sin

2

4

Fr m

Xo

0

O

A

+x0 y

O

2π

0

O

T

t

-x0



26

The acceleration of the mass is proportional to the negative displacement. This acceleration is caused by

the unbalanced restoring force rF . Therefore amF becomes

XT

mFr 2

24 5

The restoring force is opposite in direction to the displacement X, a condition that is inherent in the nature

of restoring forces. In addition, the restoring force is proportional to the displacement and this is

equivalent to saying that the system obeys Hooke’s law. Thus we have arrived at the following result: a

system that vibrates sinusoidally obeys Hooke’s law in which the restoring force is proportional to the

distortion. Such a system obeys equation 2 and is called simple harmonic motion. Hence to test whether

or not a vibratory system obeys a sinusoidal equation, we simply check to see that the system obeys

Hooke’s law.

From Hooke’s law, the sprig constant k is the proportionality constant so that

kXFr (Hooke’s law)

This relation simply states that the restoring force is proportional to the distortion and is directed opposite

to the direction. If we compare this form of Hooke’s law and equation 5, we see that

mT

k2

24 or

k

mT 2 6

This is a very important relation because it gives the period of vibration of the mass m in terms of the

spring constant k. the period of vibration is long for large mass(for large inertia) and for small k (because

the force exerted by the spring is small). The frequency of vibration can also be found from T

f1

and

from equations 3 and 6 we have, for velocity,

TT

Xm

kv o

2sin 7

Squaring this equation and adding it to the square of equation 2 gives

)( 22222 XXm

kvXXv

k

moo 8

Notice that v is maximum when OX , that is, when the system passes through equilibrium.

Example When a 30g mass is hung from the end of a spring, the spring stretches 8.0cm. this same spring

is used in the experiment with a 200g mass at its end. The spring is stretched 5.0cm and released. If we

assume that the spring slides without friction, find the following for the mass: (a) period of vibration (b)

frequency (c) acceleration as a function of X (d) speed of the mass as it goes through the equilibrium

position.

Solution First we must find the spring constant. In a stretching experiment,

1

2

7.3080.0

8.930.0

Nmm

mskg

stretch

forcestretchingk

(a) sNm

kg

k

mT 466.1

7.3

200.022

1

(b) HzT

f 682.01

(c) XsXkg

Nm

m

kX

m

Fa r 2

1

5.18200.0

7.3

Why is the acceleration greatest at the extreme of the vibration? Why is it zero when X=0?



27

(d) When X=0, 1215.0 ms

m

kXv oo

Energy Considerations

When a spring is stretched a distance oX and the mass is at rest, the energy (all the energy is potential

energy) stored in the stretched spring is

2

2

1os kXU

Because the mass is at rest at (a), kinetic energy K is zero. The restoring force of the spring accelerates

the mass toward the left in (a) by the time the system reaches the configuration in (b), the spring is no

longer distorted so 0sU . The energy originally stored in the spring has been changed to kinetic

energy. Thus in (b) we have2

2

1okXK .

Since K has now achieved its maximum value, the velocity of the mass is largest. But because 0rF in

(b), the acceleration of the mass is zero. In general

1. The energy changes back and forth from sU to K. At the ends of the path, 0K and sU is

maximum. At the centre, 0sU and K is maximum.

2. The velocity of the mass is largest as the mass passes through the centre. It is zero when the mass

is at either end of the path.

3. The acceleration is zero at the midpoint and is maximum at the two ends.

At any point X the total energy of the system is

Total energy 22

2

1

2

1mvkXKU s

Since the total energy stored in the spring is2

2

1okX , we arrive at a very important relation stating how

the energy of the system is apportioned:

222

2

1

2

1

2

1mvkXkXo 9

If we solve this equation for v we obtain equation 8.

X Us K v a

X0

1/2kXo2

0

0

-am

0

0

1/2kXo2

vm

0

-Xo

1/2kXo2

0

0

am

0

0

1/2kXo2

vm

0

Xo

1/2kXo2 0 0 -am

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Fr = 0

Fr = 0

Fr

Fr

Fr



28

Another vibratory system of interest is the pendulum. The pendulum mass oscillates back and forth

between the positions shown. At positions A and C, the energy is all potential og mgyU . At any other

position where the bob’s height is y, we have

Total energy 2

2

1mvmgymgyKU og

This is the basic energy equation for a pendulum. Other vibratory systems can be analyzed in a similar

way. In all of them, interchange between U and K occurs. The mass is moving fastest when the system is

moving through its equilibrium configuration because then all the energy is kinetic.

Example Suppose the pendulum below is released from a position where .20cmyo Find the speed of

the mass at (a) point B and (b) when the value of cmy 30.1 .

Solution Using the energy method, we can write

2

2

1mvmgymgyo

from which we have )(2 yygv o

(a) Using 0y gives 12 626.0)020.0(8.92 msmmsv

(b) In the same way with my 0130.0 we find 137.0 msv

Equation of motion for SHM

Simple harmonic motion occurs if the system obeys Hooke’s law where the restoring force is proportional

to the distortion. For a distortion X, this requires that

kXFr

where k is the spring constant and the negative sign is arising since it is a restoring force. When X is

positive, Fr will be directed toward –X. the equation of motion for a mass-spring system is obtained by

writing amF for the system. Since rFF in this case, we have

makX

However the acceleration itself depends on X because

2

2

dt

Xd

dt

Xd

dt

d

dt

vda

Thence the equation of motion becomes

Xm

k

dt

Xd

2

2

.

This is the typical equation of motion for SHM. Mathematicians call it a differential equation. When you

study differential equations, you will learn that in term of periodic motion the solution of this equation is

)2sin( oo ftXX

A

A C

yo



29

where m

kf

2

1

The constant Xo is the amplitude of the vibration and o is an arbitrary phase constant. The result

confirms that a system obeying Hooke’s law gives rise to sinusoidal vibration with the frequency given

above.

Example The spring-mass system shown below is vertical and is therefore influenced by the force of

gravity. Does it still undergo SHM?

Solution

The force acting on the mass is

mgkyF

Where down is taken as positive. Using the maF gives

2

2

dt

ydmmgky

Let us change variables from y to 1y where

k

mgyy 1

Notice from the figure that k

mg is simply the amount the spring stretches due to the weight of the mass.

By changing variables, we subtract this change in spring length. The quantity 1y is simply the

displacement from the equilibrium position of the loaded spring. With this new variable, the equation of

motion becomes

12

1

2

kydt

ydm

And so the coordinate 1y undergoes simple harmonic motion with the frequency as though gravity were

not present. We therefore conclude that gravity shifts the equilibrium point but does not otherwise affect

the vibration.

Fr y



30

Chapter 4: Gravitation

4.1 Introduction

The force that binds together progressively larger structures from star to galaxy to supercluster and may

be drawing them all toward the great attractor is the gravitational force. This force not only holds you on

Earth but also reaches out across intergalactic space.

Physicists like to study seemingly unrelated phenomena to show that a relationship can be found if they

are examined closely enough. This search for unification has been going on for centuries. For example, in

1665 Isaac Newton made a basic contribution to physics when he showed that the force that holds the

Moon in its orbit is the same force that makes an apple fall. We take this so much for granted now that it

is not easy for us to comprehend the ancient belief that the motions of earthbound bodies and heavenly

bodies were different in kind and were governed by different laws.

Newton concluded that not only does Earth attract an apple and the Moon but every body in the universe

attracts every other body: this tendency of bodies to move toward each other is called gravitation.

Newton’s conclusion takes a little getting used to, because the familiar attraction of Earth for earthbound

bodies is so great that it overwhelms the attraction that earthbound bodies have for each other. For

example, Earth attracts an apple with a force magnitude of about 0.8N. You also attract a nearby apple

(and it attracts you), but the force of attraction has less magnitude than the weight of a speck of dust.

Quantitatively, Newton proposed a force law that we call Newton’s law of gravitation: Every particle

attracts any other particle with a gravitational force whose magnitude is given by

2

21

r

mmGF

Here 1m and 2m are the masses of the particles, r is the distance between them and G is the gravitational

constant, with a value that is given by

213112211 1067.61067.6 skgmkgNmG

As the figure below shows, a particle 2m attracts a particle 1m with a gravitational force F that is

directed toward particle 2m and particle 1m attracts particle 2m with a gravitational force F that is

directed toward 1m .

The forces F and F form a third law force pair; they are opposite in direction but equal in magnitude.

They depend on the separation of the two particles, but not their location: the particles could be a deep

cave or in deep space. Also the forces F and F are not altered by the presence of other bodies, even if

those bodies lie between the two particles we are considering.

The strength of the gravitational force ie how strongly two particles with given masses at a given

separation attract each other, depends on the value of the gravitational constant G. If G, by some miracle,

were suddenly multiplied by a factor of 10, you would be crushed to the floor by earth’s attraction. If G

were divided by this factor, earth’s attraction would be weak enough that you could jump over a building.

F

-F

m2

m1 r



31

Although Newton’s law of gravitation applies strictly to particles, we can also apply it to real objects as

long as the sizes of the objects are small compared to the distance between them. The moon and earth are

far enough apart so that to a good approximation, we can treat them both as particles. But what about an

apple and earth? From the point of view of the apple, the broad and level earth stretching out to the

horizon beneath the apple certainly does not look like a particle. Newton solved the apple-earth problem

by proving an important theorem called the shell theorem: A uniform spherical shell of matter attracts a

particle that is outside the shell as if all the shell’s mass were concentrated at its centre. Earth can be

thought of as a nest of such shells, one within another and each attracting a particle outside earth’s surface

as if the mass of that shell were at the center of the shell. Thus from the apple’s point of view, earth does

behave like a particle one that is located at the centre of earth and has a mass equal to that of earth.

Example Assuming the orbit of the earth about the sun to be circular with radius m11105.1 , find the

mass of the sun.

Solution

The centripetal force needed to hold the earth in an orbit of radius R is furnished by the gravitational

attraction of the sun. We therefore have

Centripetal force gravitational force

G

Rvm

R

mGm

R

vmS

SEE

2

2

2

where v is the speed of the earth in its orbit around the sun. Since the earth travels around its orbit once

each year or in a time of s71015.3 then we have

14

7

11

100.31015.3

)105.1(2

ms

s

mv

from which

kgmS

30100.2

4.2 Gravitation near Earth’s Surface

Escape velocity

Is the maximum initial velocity that will cause a projectile to move upward forever, theoretically coming

to rest only at infinity.

If you fire a projectile upward, usually it will slow, stop and return to Earth. There is, however, a certain

minimum initial velocity that will cause it to move upward forever, theoretically coming to rest only at

infinity. This initial velocity is called the (Earth’s) escape velocity.

Consider a projectile of mass m leaving the surface of a planet or some other astronomical body or system

with escape velocity v . It has a kinetic energy K given by 2

2

1mv and potential energy U given by

R

GMmU

In which M is the mass of the planet and R is its radius. When the projectile reaches infinity, it stops and

thus has no kinetic energy. It also has no potential energy because this is our zero-potential-energy

configuration. Its total energy at infinity is therefore zero. From the principle of conservation of energy,

its total energy at the planet’s surface must also have been zero so that

R

GMv

R

GMmmvUK

20

2

1 2

The escape velocity’s does not depend on the direction in which a projectile is fired from a planet.

However, attaining that speed is easier if the projectile is fired in the direction the launch site is moving as



32

the planet rotates about its axis. For example, rockets are launched eastward at Cape Canaveral to take

advantage of the Cape’s eastward speed of 1500km/h due to Earth’s rotation.

The equation above can be applied to find the escape velocity of a projectile from any astronomical body

provided we substitute the mass of the body for M and the radius of the body for R. the table below shows

some escape velocities from some astronomical bodies.

Body Mass (kg) Radius (m) Escape speed (km/s)

Ceresa

211017.1 5108.3 0.64

Earth’s moon 221036.7

61074.1 2.38

Earth 241098.5

61037.6 11.20

Jupiter 271090.1

71015.7 59.50

Sun 301099.1

81096.6 618

Sirius Bb

30102 7101 5200

Neutron starc

30102 4101

5102

a- the most massive of the asteroids

b- a white dwarf(a star in a final stage of evolution) that is a companion of the bright star Sirius

c- the collapsed core of a star that remains after that star has exploded in a supernova event.

4.3 Planets And Satellites: Kepler’ Laws

The motions of the planets, as they seemingly wander against the background of the stars, have been a

puzzle since the dawn of history. The loop-the-loop motion of Mars was particularly baffling. Johannes

Kepler (1571-1630), after a lifetime of study, worked out the empirical laws that govern these motions.

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), the last of the great astronomers to make observations without the help of a

telescope, compiled the extensive data from which Kepler was able to derive the three laws of planetary

motion that now bear his name. Later Newton 91642-1727) showed that his law of gravitation leads to

Kepler’s laws.

In this section we discuss each of Kepler’s law in turn. Although here we apply the laws to planets

orbiting the sun, they hold equally well for satellites, either natural or artificial, orbiting Earth or any other

massive central body.

1 THE LAW OF ORBITS: All planets move in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus.

The figure below shows a planet of mass m moving in such an orbit around the sun, whose mass is M. We

assume that mM so that the centre of mass of the Planet-Sun system is approximately at the centre of

the Sun. the orbit in the is described by giving its semimajor axis a and its eccentricity e, the latter defined

so that ea is the distance from the centre of the ellipse to either focus F or F`. An eccentricity of zero

corresponds to a circle, in which the two foci merge to a single central point. The eccentricities of the

planetary orbits are not large so that the orbits look circular.eg the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit is only

0.0167.

m

r

F

M θ

Ra

F’

ea ea

a



33

2 THE LAW OF AREAS: A line that connects a planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in the

plane of the planet’s orbit in equal times; that is the rate dt

dA at which it sweeps out area A is

constant. Qualitatively, this law tells us that the planet will move most slowly when it is farthest from the sun and

most rapidly when it is nearest to the sun. As it turns out Kepler’s second law is totally equivalent to the

law of conservation of momentum as proved below.

The area of the shaded wedge in the figure below closely approximates the area swept out in time t by

a line connecting the sun and the planet, which are separated by a distance r. the area A of the wedge is

approximately the area of a triangle with base r and height r. since the area of a triangle is one-half of

the base times the height, then

2

2

1rA

In the limit 0t , 22

2

1

2

1r

dt

dr

dt

dA (1)

in which is the angular speed of the rotating line connecting Sun and Planet. Figure (b) shows the

linear momentum p of the planet, along with its radial and perpendicular components. The magnitude of

the angular momentum L of the planet about the Sun is given by the product of r and p , the

component of p perpendicular to r. here, for a planet of mass m,

2))(())(( mrmrrmvrrpL (2)

where we have replaced v with its equivalent 2r . From equation 1 we have

m

L

dt

dA

2 (3)

If dtdA is constant, as Kepler said it, then equation 3 means that L must also be constant-angular

momentum is conserved. Kepler’s second law is indeed equivalent to the law of conservation of angular

momentum.

3 THE LAW OF PERIODS: The square of the period of any planet is proportional to the cube of the

semimajor axis of its orbit

Consider the circular orbit with radius r (the radius of a circle is equivalent to the semimajor axis of an

ellipse) in the figure below.

r

dθ

m

Pr

P┴

r

m

θ θ

rΔθ



34

Applying Newton’s second law )( maF to the orbiting planet yields

))(( 2

2rm

r

GMm (4)

If we useT

2 , where T is the period of the motion, then we obtain Kepler’s third law

3

22 4

rGM

T

(5)

The quantity in parentheses is a constant that depends only on the mass M of the central body about

which the planet orbits. Equation 5 holds also for elliptical orbits, provided we replace r with a, the

semimajor axis of the ellipse. This law predicts that the ratio 3

2

a

T has essentially the same value for every

planetary orbit around a given massive body. The table below shows how well it holds for the orbits of

the planets of the solar system.

Table: Kepler’s Law of Periods for the Solar System

Planet semimajor axis a (1010

m) period T (yrs) )10( 3234

3

2 my

a

T

Mercury 5.79 0.241 2.99

Venus 10.8 0.615 3.00

Earth 15.0 1.00 2.96

Mars 22.8 1.88 2.98

Jupiter 77.8 11.9 3.01

Saturn 143 29.5 2.98

Uranus 287 84.0 2.98

Neptune 450 165 2.99

Pluto 590 248 2.99

4.4 Satellites: Orbits And Energy

As a satellite orbits Earth on its elliptical path, both its speed, which fixes its kinetic energy K, and its

distance from the center of Earth, which fixes its gravitational potential energy U, fluctuates with the

fixed periods. However, the mechanical energy E of the satellite remains constant. (Since the satellite’s

mass is so much smaller than Earth’s mass, we assign U and E for the Earth-satellite system to the

satellite a lone. The potential energy of the system is give by

m

M

r θ



35

r

GMmU (0)

(with 0U for infinite separation). r is the radius of the orbit, assumed for the time being to be circular,

and M and m are the masses of Earth and the satellite, respectively. To find the kinetic energy of a

satellite in a circular orbit, we write Newton’s second law as

r

vm

r

GMm 2

2 (1)

where r

v 2

is the centripetal acceleration of the satellite. Then from 1, the kinetic energy is

r

GMmmvK

22

1 2 (2)

which shows that for a satellite in a circular orbit,

2

UK (3)

The total mechanical energy of the orbiting satellite is

r

GMm

r

GMm

r

GMmUKE

22 (4)

This tells us that for a satellite in a circular orbit, the total energy E is the negative of the kinetic energy

K:

KE (5)

For a satellite in an elliptical orbit of semimajor axis a, we can substitute a for r in equation 4 to find the

mechanical energy as

a

GMmE

2 (6)

Equation 6 tells us that the total energy of an orbiting satellite depends only on the semimajor axis of its

orbit and not on its eccentricity e. eg four orbits with the same semimajor axis are shown in figure a

below. The same satellite would have the same total mechanical energy E in all four orbits. Figure b

shows the variation of K, U and E with r for a satellite moving in a circular orbit about a massive central

body.

Example A playful astronaut releases a bowling ball, of mass m = 7.20kg, into circular orbit about Earth

at an altitude h of 350km.

(a) What is the mechanical energy E of the ball in its orbit? (b) What is the mechanical energy oE of the

ball on the launch pad at say Cape Canaveral? From there to the orbit, what is the change E in the

ball’s mechanical energy?

Solution (a) the key idea here is that we can get E from the orbital energy, given by equation 4, if we first

find the orbital radius r. that radius is

e = 0

e = 0 e = 0.5

e = 0.8

e = 0.9

m

r

U(r)

E(r)

Energy

K(r)



36

mkmkmhRr 61072.63506370

in which R is the radius of Earth. Then from equation 4, the mechanical energy is

MJJm

kgkgkgNm

r

GMmE 2141014.2

1072.62

)20.7)(1098.5)(1067.6(

2

8

6

242211

Solution (b) the key idea is that, on the launch-pad, the ball is not in orbit and thus equation 4 does not

apply. Instead we must find oo UKE 0 , where oK is the ball’s kinetic energy and oU is the

gravitational potential energy of the ball-Earth. To find oU , we use equation 0 to write

MJJm

kgkgkgNm

R

GMmU o 4511051.4

1037.6

)20.7)(1098.5)(1067.6( 8

6

242211

The kinetic energy oK of the ball is due to the ball’s motion with Earth’s rotation. You can show that

oK is less than 1MJ, which is negligible relative to oU . Thus the mechanical energy of the ball on the

launch pad is

MJMJUKE ooo 4514510

The increase in the mechanical energy of the ball from launch pad to orbit is

MJMJMJEEE o 237)451()214(

Chapter 5: Properties of Matter

5.1 Pressure

Pressure is defined as the average force per unit area at the particular region of fluid (liquid or gas) ie

A

FP

where F is the normal force due to the liquid on the side of area A . At a given point in a liquid, the

pressure can act in any direction ie pressure is a scalar quantity. If the pressure were not the same, there

would be an unbalanced force on the fluid at that point and the fluid would move. The logical basis for

the statement that pressure is exerted equally in all directions, then, is simply that otherwise the parts of

the fluid would not be in equilibrium. Also pressure increases with depth, h , below the liquid surface and

with its density so that

hgP

When g is in ms-2

, h is in m and ρ is in kgm-3

, then the pressure is in Newton per meter squared (Nm-2

).

The bar is a unit of pressure used in meteorology and by definition,

1 bar 105 Nm

-2

The Pascal (Pa) is the name given to a pressure of 1 Nm-2

. Thus

1 bar 105Pa

Pressure is often expressed in terms of that due to a height of mercury (Hg). One unit is the torr (after

Torricelli);

1torr 1mmHg 133.3Nm-2

From hgP it follows that the pressure in a liquid is the same at all points on the same horizontal

level in it. Thus a liquid filling the vessel shown below rises to the same height in each section if ABCD

is horizontal.



37

Fig Pressure in a vessel is independent of the cross-section

Atmospheric Pressure

A barometer is an instrument for measuring the pressure of the atmosphere which is required in weather

forecasting. It consists of a vertical tube about a meter long containing mercury with a vacuum at the

closed top. The other end of the tube is below the surface of mercury contained in a vessel B.

The pressure on the surface of the mercury in B is atmospheric pressure A and since the pressure is

transmitted through the liquid, the atmospheric pressure supports the column of mercury in the tube.

Suppose the column is a vertical height H above the level of the mercury in B. then if H760mm0.76m

and ρ = 13600kgm-3

, we have

gHP 0.76136009.8 1.013105Nm

-2

The pressure at the bottom of a column of mercury 760mm high for a particular density and value of g is

known as standard pressure or one atmosphere. By definition,

1 atmosphere 1.01325105 Nm

-2

Standard temperature and pressure is 0oC and 760mmHg. It should be noted that the pressure P at a place

X below the surface of a liquid is given by HgP where H is the vertical distance of X below the

surface. In fig ii above, a very long barometer tube is inclined at an angle of 60o to the vertical. The

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -

A B C D

H = 760mm

A 760mm = h

B

vacuum

x A

B



38

length of mercury along the slanted side of the tube is x mm say. If the atmospheric pressure is the same

as in i, then the vertical height to the mercury surface is still 760mm.

So

mmxx o 15205.0

760

60cos

76076060cos

5.2 Archimedes’ Principle

An object immersed in a fluid experiences a buoyant (upthrust) force equal to the weight of the fluid that

it displaces

Application of the principle

The buoyant force of a fluid on an object depends on the weight of fluid displaced and thus on the density

of the fluid and the volume of the fluid displaced (since VDM ). In the case of a totally immersed

object, the volume of fluid displaced is just equal to the volume of the object, and therefore if the buoyant

force is measured and the fluid density known, the density of the object can be readily calculated. From

this known volume and its mass, the density of the object may be found. It is not easy to measure directly

the volume of irregularly shaped objects with great accuracy, but Archimedes’ principle provides a way to

find volume accurately, since only balance measurements are needed.

If two substances have densities D1 and D2, then the density of the second substance relative to the first is

D2/D1. Sincevolume

massdensity , then

2

22

V

mD and

1

11

V

mD

If one compares equal volumes of the two substances so that V2 = V1, then the relative density1

2

1

2

m

m

D

D ,

showing that the relative density will equal the ratio of their masses or their weights. The density of a

substance relative to that of water is called the specific gravity of the substance ie the specific gravity of a

substance is equal to the density of the substance divided by the density of water or the specific gravity of

a substance is equal to the weight of a certain volume of the substance divided by the weight of an equal

volume of water. In accurate work it is necessary to specify the temperature at which the measurements

are made.

Example A chunk of copper suspended from a balance weighs 156.8g in air. When it is completely

surrounded by pure water at 20oC, the reading on the balance is 139.2g. Calculate the specific gravity of

copper.

Solution

The weight of copper in air = 156.8g

The apparent weight of copper in water = 139.2g

Therefore the buoyant force of the water = 156.8-139.2 = 17.6g

By Archimedes’ principle, the weight of the displaced water = 17.6g

The specific gravity of the copper = waterofvolumeequalofweight

Copperofweight

But the volume of the displaced water is equal to the volume of the copper which displaces it. Therefore

The specific gravity of copper = 91.86.17

8.156

g

g.



39

Therefore the density of the copper in this sample is 8.91 times the density of pure water at 20oC. When

the specific gravity of a substance is known, its density in any units can be calculated from the known

density of water.

Wherever the force of gravity acts on a fluid, the fluid exerts a buoyant force as a result of difference in

pressure at different levels. Every fish and submarine in the sea is buoyed up by a force equal to the

weight of water displaced. To remain submerged these objects must have a weight equal to or greater than

the buoyant force. If they wish to move from one level to another, the balance between the force of

gravity and the buoyant force must be disturbed. Some fish can rise by expanding their bodies, thereby

displacing more water. Submarines are made to rise by decreasing their weight by forcing water out of

their ballast tanks. The air of the earth’s atmosphere also exerts a buoyant force on all objects immersed

in it eg Balloons utilize the buoyancy of air. If a gas such as hydrogen or helium is used to inflate a light-

weight plastic envelope, the buoyancy force of the air can be considerably greater than the weight of the

balloon. Such balloons are used in making high altitude measurements of various properties of the

atmosphere.

Example A weather balloon has a volume of 0.5m3 when inflated. The weight of the envelope is 350g. If

the balloon is filled with helium, what weight of instrument can it carry a loft? The density of air is

1.29kgm-3

and the density of helium is 0.138 times the density of air.

Solution

By Archimedes’ principle, the buoyant force of the air is =the weight of air displaced=the weight of 0.5m3

of air

=0.5m31.29kgm

-3=0.65kg=650g

Since the relative density of helium is 0.138(air1), the weight of helium in the balloon is

=0.138650g=90g

Therefore the weight of the balloon and helium =350g+90g=440g

The excess of the buoyant force over the force of gravity=650g - 440g=210g

Therefore if an unbalanced force of 10g is left available to produce upward acceleration, the weight of the

instrument load can be 200g.

Floating at the surface of liquids

According to Archimedes’ principle, if a liquid is displaced by a solid, the liquid exerts a buoyant force

on the solid. This is true for any fraction of the solid that displaces liquid eg when a boy is lifting a stone

out of water, he does not have to support the full weight of the stone until it is completely clear of the

water. When half of the stone’s volume is submerged, the buoyant force is half of the buoyant force when

it is completely submerged. Suppose that an object is placed in a liquid of density greater than that of the

object. The buoyant force of the liquid will equal the force of gravity before the solid is completely

submerged. To go beyond this point of equilibrium, requires then an extra downward force to be applied.

If it is not, the object remains in equilibrium under the action of balanced forces: it floats. When an object

that will float is placed into a liquid, it will sink into the liquid until the weight that it displaces is equal to

its own weight. This relation, a direct consequence of Archimedes’ principle, is sometimes called the law

of flotation.

Example A block of wood weighing 120g has a volume of 180cm3. What fraction of its volume would be

submerged when floating in alcohol of density 0.80gcm-3

?

Solution For the block to float, it must displace 120g of alcohol. The volume of 120g of alcohol=

3

3150

80.0

120cm

gcm

g

To displace 150cm3 of alcohol, the block will have to have 150cm3 of its volume submerged.



40

The fraction submerged 6

5

180

150

Archimedes’ principle provides the basis for the design of ships made of steel. For a steel vessel to float it

is only necessary to spread the steel around so that it can displace an amount of water having a weight that

exceeds the weight of the steel.

Example A steel box is constructed to make a cube 10cm on a side, from material 0.20cm thick. What

weight of contents is possible before the box sinks in a liquid of specific gravity 1.2? The density of steel

is 7.0gcm-3

Solution The volume of the box is (10cm)3=1000cm

3

The maximum buoyant force that the liquid can provide is ggcmcm 12000.12.11000 33

The weight of the box which has 6 sides, each 10cm square and 0.2cm thick, and which is made of steel

of density 7gcm-3

is

ggcmcmcmcm 84072.010106 3

The excess of buoyant force over weight is

ggg 3608401200

If material is added to the box, it will continue to float until the weight of the contents exceeds 3.6102g.

Hydrometers

The relation between fluid density and floating provides basis for the construction and use of

hydrometers. Hydrometers usually consist of a hollow tube weighted at one end and having a graduated

scale at the other end. In a liquid, the weighted end ensures that the instrument floats upright. The depth to

which it sinks will depend on the density of the fluid. The higher the density of the liquid, the greater will

be its buoyant force per unit volume of the hydrometer immersed. When the scale is graduated using

liquids of known density, the hydrometer may be used to measure the density of unknown liquids. A

number of specialized hydrometers are used for the determination of specific gravity: in dairies for milk,

in automobile service stations for antifreeze and battery acids, in chemical laboratories for determining

the composition of aqueous solutions (in a 12.5% sugar solution at 13oC, a hydrometer would indicate a

specific gravity of 1.05).

5.3 Fluids in motion

A stream / river flows slowly when it runs through open country and faster through narrow openings or

constrictions This is due to the fact that water is practically an incompressible fluid ie changes of pressure

cause practically no change in fluid density at various parts. Figure below shows a tube of water flowing

steadily between X and Y where X has a bigger cross-sectional area A1 than the party of cross-sectional

area A2. The streamlines of the flow represent the directions of the velocities of the particles of the fluid

and the flow is uniform or laminar.

A2

Q

R

P

A1

l1

l2

S



41

Assuming the liquid is incompressible, then if it moves from PQ to RS, the volume of liquid between P

and R is equal to the volume between Q and S. Thus

2

1

1

22211

A

A

l

llAlA

where 1l is PR and 2l is QS. Hence 2l is greater than 1l . Consequently the velocity of the liquid at the

narrow part of the tube, where the streamlines are closer together, is greater than at the wider part Y

where the streamlines are further apart. For the same reason, slow-running water from a tap can be made

into a fast jet by placing a finger over the tap to narrow the exit.

Bernoulli’s principle

Bernoulli obtained a relation between the pressure and velocity at different parts of a moving

incompressible fluid. If viscosity is negligibly small, there are no frictional forces to overcome. Hence the

work done by the pressure difference per unit volume of a fluid flowing a long a pipe steadily is equal to

the gain in kinetic energy per unit volume plus the gain in potential energy per unit volume. The work

done by a pressure in moving a fluid through a distance=force distance moved=pressure area distance moved=pressure volume.

At the beginning of the pipe where the pressure is P1, the work done per unit volume on the fluid is P1; at

the other end the work done per unit volume is P2 . Hence the net work done on the fluid per unit volume

=P1-P2. The kinetic energy per unit volume=2

1mass per unit velocity

2 =

2

1ρvelocity

2 where ρ is the

density of the fluid. Thus if v2 and v1 are the final and initial velocities respectively at the end and the

beginning of the pipe, the the kinetic energy gained per unit volume= )(2

1 2

1

2

2 vv .

Further, if h2 and h1 are the respective heights measured from a fixed level at the end and beginning of the

pipe, the potential energy gained per unit volume =mass per unit volume g 12 hh = 12 hhg .

Thus from the conservation of energy

)()(2

112

2

1

2

221 hhgvvPP

2

2

221

2

112

1

2

1ghvpghvP

Therefore

ghvP 2

2

1Constant

where P is the pressure at any part and v is the velocity there. Hence, for streamline motion of an

incompressible non-viscous fluid,

The sum of the pressure at any part plus the kinetic energy per unit volume plus the

potential energy per unit volume there is always a constant.

This is known as Bernoulli’s principle. The principle shows that at points in a moving fluid where the

potential energy change gh is very small, or zero as in flows through a horizontal pipe, the pressure is

low where the velocity is high; conversely, the pressure is high where the velocity is low.

Example As a numerical illustration, suppose the area of cross-section A1 of X in the figure above is

4cm2, the area A2 of Y is 1cm

2 and water flows past each section in laminar flow at the rate of 400cm

3s

-1,

then

at X speed v1 of water=11

2

13

11004

400sec

mscmscm

scm

area

ondvolumeper



42

at Y speed v2 of water=11

2

13

44001

400

mscmscm

scm

The density of water31000 kgm . So if P is the pressure difference, then

23222

1

2

2 105.71410002

1

2

1 NmvvP

Therefore mg

PhhgP 77.0

8.91000

105.7 3

The pressure head is thus equivalent to 0.77m of water.

Applications of Bernoulli’s principle

1. A suction effect is experienced by a person standing close to the platform at a station when a fast train

passes. The fast-moving air between the person and the train produces a decrease in pressure and excess

air pressure on the other side pushes the person towards the train.

2. Filter pump. A filter pump has a narrow section in the middle, so that a jet of water from the tap flows

faster here. This causes a drop in pressure near it and air therefore flows in from the side tube to which a

vessel is connected. The air and water together are expelled through the bottom of the filter pump.

3. Aerofoil lift. The curved shape of an aerofoil creates a faster flow of air over its top surface than the

lower one. This is shown by the closeness of the streamlines above the aerofoil compared with those

below. From Bernoulli’s principle, the pressure of the air below is greater than that above, and this

produces the lift on the aerofoil.

4. Flow of a liquid from wide tank. Consider the figure below. At the top X of the liquid in the tank, the

pressure is atmospheric say B, the height measured from a fixed level such as the hole H is h, and the

kinetic energy is negligible if the tank is wide so that the level falls very slowly. At the bottom, Y near H,

the pressure is again B, the height is zero and the kinetic energy is2

2

1v where is the density and v is

the velocity of emergence of the liquid. Thus from Bernoulli’s principle,

ghvvBghB 22

1 2

Thus the velocity of the emerging liquid is the same as that which would be obtained if it fell through a

height h and this is Torricelli’s theorem. In practice the velocity is less than that given by gh2 owing

to viscous forces and the lack of streamline flow.

Example Water flows steadily a long a horizontal pipe at a volume rate of132108 sm . If the area of

cross-section of the pipe is 40cm2, calculate the flow velocity of the water. Find the total pressure in the

pipe if the static pressure in the horizontal pipe is Pa4100.3 , assuming the water is incompressible,

non-viscous and its density is 1000kgm-3. What is the new flow velocity if the total pressure is

Pa4106.3 .

i Velocity of water=1

4

3

21040

108sec

ms

area

ondvolumeper

ii Total pressure=static pressure Pav 42

42 102.32

21000100.3

2

1

iii 2

2

1v total pressure- static pressure

Therefore 4442 106.0100.3106.31000

2

1 v

.5.3500

106.0 14

msv



43

5.4 Elastic Properties of Matter

A perfect rigid body has constant distance between two particles (not true in practice), i.e most

bodies get deformed under an applied force and the body has a tendency to regain its original size

and shape when the force is removed. This property of the body that tends to regain its shape or

size when deforming forces are removed is called elasticity. A perfectly elastic body retains its

original shape/size very quickly, while if it regains slowly then it is called a perfectly plastic

body. Solids tend to resist change of both shape and volume and hence they posses rigidity or

shear elasticity as well as volume elasticity. Liquids on the other hand tend to resist change in

volume and not shape (they posses only volume elasticity).

Stress

When a body experiences a deforming external force, different particles in it are displaced, and

they try to occupy their original positions. This restoring force per unit area taking place inside

the body is called the stress. As long as there is no permanent change in shape or volume of the

body, the restoring force is always equal to the applied force.

mathematically aFStress / where a is the cross sectional area of the body.

Strain

When an external force acts on a body, it displaces various particles and the body is said to be

under strain. Usually defined as the ration of change in length, volume or shape to the original

length, volume or shape.

Hooke’s Law

The relationship between stress and strain.

)(constEstrain

stress

E is the coefficient of elasticity or modulus of elasticity (value depends on the nature of the

material.

Graphical representation fo this relationship is shown below.

From the graph, hooke’s is only valid in the region below the elastic limit, beyond which the

body has un-proportional variation in strain and stress (the change in stress leads to a rapid

change in strain).

Young’s Modulus

This is the ratio of stress to longitudinal strain within the elastic limits.

Consider a wire of length L and let it change by l under an applied force F acting on a cross

sectional area a. From this, longitudinal strain is l/L and stress is F/a.

Therefore Young’s modulus of Elasticity will be

stress

strain

Plastic

range

Elastic

limit



44

al

FL

Ll

aF

strain

stressY

/

/[N/m

2]

Bulk Modulus

This is the ratio between stress and volumetric strain. If a force is applied normally over a surface

of a body and it changes only in volume takes place, then the strain caused here is volumetric

strain. It is measured by change in volume per unit volume (v/V).

i.e av

FV

Vv

aF

/

/

5.5 Viscosity

Viscosity is a property by which a liquid opposes relative motion between its different layers.

Liquids like kerosene, alcohol, water, etc flow easily while others like tar, glycerin, etc, flow with

difficulty and are called viscous.

Coefficient of viscosity

Consider a layer AB of a liquid moving with velocity v w.r.t. a parallel layer CD which is at a

distance r from it. Consider also that the force required to produce the motion be F acting on an

area A and this force is acting along the direction AB (i.e in the direction of motion). An equal

force will act in the opposite direction due to viscosity and it will depend on the following:

i. F α –v

ii. F α A

iii. F α 1/r

Combining the three we have

r

vAF

Where η is the coefficient of viscosity and it depends on the nature of the liquid.

If the two layers are very close to each other, then

dr

dvAF

Where dv/dr is the velocity gradient. If A = 1cm2 and dv/dr = 1 then

F = η which gives the definition of coefficient of viscosity as the tangential force per unit area

required to maintain a unit velocity gradient.

If F = 1 then η = 1 and the unit is Poise.

Stokes Law

If a body falls through a fluid (liquid or gas) then it carries along with it a layer of the fluid in

contact and hence it will tend to produce some relative motion between the layers of the fluid.

This relative motion is opposed by forces of viscosity and the opposing force increases as the

velocity of the body increases. If the body if small enough, then the opposing force becomes

equal to the driving force that produces the motion. At that instance then the body moves with

constant velocity known as terminal velocity.

Consider a small sphere falling through a viscous medium, then the opposing force is directly

proportional to the velocity of the sphere and depends on

i. coefficient of viscosity of the medium

ii. radius of the sphere

iii. density of the medium



45

combining the three we have

rvkF ..

Where k is a constant (calculated and found to be 6π).

II



46

SOUND AND VIBRATIONS

Chapter 5: Wave Motion

Introduction

Wave motion is a form of disturbance that travels through the medium due to the repeated

periodic motion of particles of the medium about their mean positions. This disturbance is

transferred from one particle to the next, e.g water waves, sound. This also involves the transfer

of energy from one point to the other.

Characteristics of a wave

1. It’s a disturbance produced in the medium by repeated periodic motion of the particles of

the medium.

2. The wave travels forward while particles of the medium vibrate about their mean

positions

3. there is a regular phase change between various particles of the medium

4. Velocity of the wave is different from the velocity with which the particles of the

medium are vibrating about their mean positions.

Types of wave motion

1. Transverse wave: particles of the medium vibrate about their mean positions in the

direction perpendicular to the direction of propagation, e.g. light waves, water waves

etc

2. Longitudinal: particles of the medium vibrate about their mean position in the

direction of the wave, e.g sound wave

General wave equation

Since wave motion involves vibration of particles about the mean position, they are also a SHM

type of wave motion. The displacement of a particle P in SHM is given by

tay sin

Suppose another particle Q is at a distance x from P and the wave is traveling with velocity v in

positive x direction (Fig below).

Then the displacement of the particle Q will be given by

)sin( tay (*)

Where φ is the phase difference between the particles P and Q. The phase difference

corresponding to the path difference (wavelength, λ) is 2π, which leads to the relation

x

2

Where x is the path difference between P & Q. Hence the phase difference φ between P and Q is

x2 and

Angular frequency ω is

P

Q

x

a



47

v

Tf

222

Hence equation (*) becomes

)22

sin(

xt

vay (**)

Or

(***)

This is the general wave equation for a traveling wave in positive x direction with velocity v.

Differential form of general wave equation The general wave equation can also be represented in differential form. Differentiating the

equation (***) w.r.t. t gives

)(2

cos2

xvtav

dt

dy

(a)

Further differentiation of equation (a) w.r.t. t gives

)(2

sin2

2

2

2

xvtav

dt

yd

(b)

To get the compression of the wave (in x space), we differentiate equation (**) w.r.t. x, i.e.

)(2

cos2

xvta

dx

dy

(c)

Further differentiation of equation (c) w.r.t. x will give the compression in terms of distance (in x-

direction), i.e

)(2

sin2

2

2

2

xvta

dx

yd

(d)

Comparing equations (a) and (c) we see that

dt

dy

vdx

dy 1

And from (b) and (d) we have

)(2

sin xvtay

2

2

22

2 1

dt

yd

vdx

yd



48

Which represents the differential form of a wave equation.

Particle velocity of a wave If the velocity of a particle is denoted by u then

)(2

cos2

xvtav

dt

dyu

And va

u

2max , which implies that

Maximum particle velocity is 2πa/λ times the wave velocity (v).

Likewise maximum particle acceleration is given by

av

f

2

max

2

(Show this)

Distribution of velocity & Pressure in a wave

If a wave is progressive (i.e, new waves are continuously formed) then there is a continuous

transfer of energy in the direction of propagation of the wave.

Remember particle velocity is given by

)(2

cos2

xvtav

dt

dyu

The strain in the medium is given by dy/dx, i.e, if it is positive, it represents a region of

rarefaction and when negative, represents region of compression. For such a medium, the

modulus of elasticity is given by

)/( dxdy

dP

strainvolume

pressureinchangeK

And

dx

dyKdP .

Implying that dP is positive in regions of compression and –ve in rarefaction region

y

T

T

T

u

dP

t

Po

C R C

2πav/λ



49

Interference

When two sound waves are moving along a straight line in a medium, then every particle of the

medium is simultaneously acted upon by both of the waves. If the two waves arrive at a point in

phase (two crests or two troughs) superimpose and the resultant amplitude is equal to the sum of

the respective waves (this is the principle of superposition). If the waves arrive at a point when

they are completely out of phase (a crest of one falls over the trough of another, then the resultant

amplitude is equal to the difference of the individual amplitudes. This implies that at points where

the two waves meet in phase will give maximum amplitude (hence maximum sound intensity)

while where they meet out of phase gives minimum amplitude (minimum sound intensity). The

phenomenon described above is called interference.

Fig. (a) constructive and (b) destructive interference

Let two waves having amplitudes a1 and a2 be represented by equations

)(2

sin

)(2

sin

22

11

xvtay

and

xvtay

Where φ is the phase difference between the two waves after some time. The resultant

displacement will be

sin)(2

coscos)(2

sin

sin)(2

coscos)(2

sin)(2

sin

)(2

sin)(2

sin

221

221

2121

axvtaaxvt

xvtaxvtaxvta

xvtaxvtayyY

(using the trig identity Sin (A + B) = Sin A cos B + sin B cos A)

Letting a1 + a2cos φ = A cos θ, a2sin φ = A sin θ and using trigonometric identities leads to

combined

Wave 1

Wave 1

(a) (b)



50

)(2

sin

)(2

cossin)(2

sincos

xvtAY

xvtAxvtAY

This shows that the resultant wave has the same frequency but a different amplitude and phase

from the component wave trains.

Special cases:

1. when φ = 0, A = a1 + a2 and hence tan θ = 0 showing that the resultant is in phase

with the component

2. when φ = 180o, A = a1 – a2

From 1 and 2 above, it implies that when the phase difference between two waves is zero the

two waves reinforce each other. This also implies that the resultant has the same period and

its amplitude is the sum of the amplitudes of the component waves. However, if the two

waves have a phase difference of 180o, they destroy each other and the resultant amplitude is

the difference between the amplitudes of the component waves.

Conditions for interference of sound waves

1. the two wave trains must move in the same direction.

2. The two sources must give waves of same frequency and amplitude so that the positions

of maxima and minima are distinct

3. the two sources must be in phase, i.e must be coherent source

Beats

When two waves of nearly same frequency travel along a straight line in the same direction, the

resultant displacement at a point varies in amplitude alternately. At any position, the amplitude of

the wave pulsates. This will be perceived as alternately soft and loud sound.

The frequency at which the amplitude pulsates is called the beat frequency and it is

mathematically given by

12 fffbeat

The phenomena of beats is used in tuning of musical instruments, e.g to bring two flutes in tune,

musicians listen to beats and through trial and error, adjust one of the flutes to reduce the beat

frequency.

Standing waves

If two waves of the same amplitude traveling in the opposite directions superpose each other, they

generate a standing wave. (Fig below)

These two waves are alternately in and out of phase and at regions of the waves being in phase,

the resultant is the sum of the waves with twice their amplitudes (anti-node points). The two

waves cancel out at points where they are out of phase forming nodes.



51

The frequency of the standing wave is the same as the frequency of the underlying traveling

waves. Examples are waves in a string that has fixed points at the ends. For the case as for the

string with fixed ends, the condition for standing wave is that the wave must be zero at the end

points all the times. Suppose the string has a length L, then the lowest possible standing wave to

form is half wavelength (fundamental mode), the nest possible one is one complete wavelength

(known as the first overtone) and so on. This implies that for the modes (where waves form nodes

at the ends) some number of half wavelength exactly fits the length of the string. This can be

expressed mathematically as

n

Ln

2

Where λ is the wavelength, n is the number multiple and L is the length.

The frequency of the standing wave is also found generally as

L

nvfn

2

With f1 known as the fundamental frequency and the following ones as overtones.

Doppler Effect

This is the apparent change in frequency due to relative motion between the source and the

observer. Give examples. This originates from the reasoning that the standard speed of sound in

air found to be 331m/s is measured in a reference from at rest in air. However if the frame of

reference is moving in air, the speed will be larger or smaller, depending on the direction of

motion of the reference frame. That is, an observer will detect a higher frequency when

approaching the source and a lower one when receding. There are several cases where this occurs

and we will explore each at a time.

Case 1: observer moving towards stationary source

Let the frequency of a source be f and the observer moving at velocity vo and the velocity of

sound be v. The observer encounters more wave fronts per second than when stationary.

In general the relationship between frequency, speed and wavelength of a wave is given by

vf

In the frame of reference of the observer, the apparent frequency will be

'' vf

Where v’ is the velocity of the sound received by the observer. The wavelengths in the two equations

above are same since the distance between crests does not depend on the frame of reference. Hence

v

v

f

f ''

The speed of sound will then be v’ = v + vo and therefore the apparent frequency heard by the observer

will be

v

vvff o'

In general

v

vff o1'

Where + is for approaching observer and negative for receding observer.



52

Case 2: Source moving and observer stationary

Apparent frequency is given by

vvff

s1

1'

Where + is for approaching source and – for receding source.

Other cases are governed in the following general equation

s

o

vv

vvff '

vo is velocity of observer

vs is velocity of source

v is velocity of sound

with the following conditions applying on the above general equation.

1. if observer moving towards stationary source, add vo to v

2. if observer is moving away from source, subtract vo from v

3. if source is moving towards the observer, subtract vs from v

4. if source is moving away from observer, add vs to v

Suppose both are moving in either direction, what would be the relationship?



53

III

THERMAL PHYSICS

Chapter 7: Heat

Internal Energy and Temperature

Temperature

Temperature is commonly associated with how hot or cold an object feels when we touch it.

Understanding the concept of temperature requires the understanding of thermal contact and

thermal equilibrium. Two objects are in thermal contact if energy can be exchanged between

them. Two objects are in thermal equilibrium if they are in thermal contact and there is no net

exchange of energy. The exchange of energy between two objects because of differences in their

temperatures is called heat Using these ideas, a formal definition of temperature can be

developed. Temperature can therefore be defined as the property that determines whether or not

an object is in thermal equilibrium with another, i.e., Two objects in thermal equilibrium with

each other are at the same temperature.

Internal energy (U) is the energy associated with the microscopic components of a system (the

atoms and molecules of the system). The internal energy includes kinetic and potential energy

associated with the random translational, rotational, and vibrational motion of the particles that

make up the system, and any potential energy bonding the particles together. The higher the

temperature of the gas, the greater the kinetic energy of the atoms and the greater the internal

energy of the gas.

Heat

This is the transfer of energy between a system and its environment due to a temperature

difference between them. The symbol Q is used to represent the amount of energy transferred by

heat between a system and its environment. Heat is the transfer of thermal energy, just as work is

the transfer of mechanical energy. The unit of heat is the calorie, defined as the energy

necessary to raise the temperature of 1 g of water from 14.5° to 15.5°C.

SPECIFIC HEAT

The historical definition of the calorie is the amount of energy necessary to raise the temperature

of one gram of a specific substance—water—by one degree.

That amount is 4.186 J. Raising the temperature of one kilogram of water by 1° requires 4 186 J

of energy. The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of an arbitrary

substance by 1° varies with the substance. For example, the energy required to raise the

temperature of one kilogram of copper by 1.0°C is 387 J. Every substance requires a unique

amount of energy per unit mass to change the temperature of that substance by 1.0°C.

If a quantity of energy Q is transferred to a substance of mass m, changing its temperature by _T _

Tf _ Ti , the specific heat c of the substance is defined by

SI unit: Joule per kilogram-degree Celsius ( J/kg _°C)

Table 11.1 lists specific heats for several substances. From the definition of the calorie, the

specific heat of water is 4 186 J/kg _ °C. From the definition of specific heat, we can express the

energy Q needed to raise the temperature of a system of mass m by _T as

The energy required to raise the temperature of 0.500 kg of water by 3.00°C, for example, is Q _

(0.500 kg)(4 186 J/kg _ °C)(3.00°C) _ 6.28 _ 103 J. Note that when the temperature increases, _T

and Q are positive, corresponding to energy flowing into the system. When the temperature

decreases, _T and Q are negative, and energy flows out of the system.



54

Table 11.1 shows that water has the highest specific heat relative to most other common

substances. This high specific heat is responsible for the moderate temperatures found in regions

near large bodies of water. As the temperature of a body of water decreases during winter, the

water transfers energy to the air, which carries the energy landward when prevailing winds are

toward the land. Off the western coast of the United States, the energy liberated by the Pacific

Ocean is carried to the east, keeping coastal areas much warmer than they would otherwise be.

Winters are generally colder in the eastern coastal states, because the prevailing winds tend to

carry the energy away from land.

The fact that the specific heat of water is higher than the specific heat of sand is responsible for

the pattern of airflow at a beach. During the day, the Sun adds roughly equal amounts of energy

to the beach and the water, but the lower specific heat of sand causes the beach to reach a higher

temperature than the water. As a result, the air above the land reaches a higher temperature than

the air above the water. The denser cold air pushes the less dense hot air upward (due to

Archimedes’s principle), resulting in a breeze from ocean to land during the day. Because the hot

air gradually cools as it rises, it subsequently sinks, setting up the circulation pattern shown in

Figure 11.2.

A similar effect produces rising layers of air called thermals that can help eagles soar higher and

hang gliders stay in flight longer. A thermal is created when a portion of the Earth reaches a

higher temperature than neighboring regions. This often happens to plowed fields, which are

warmed by the Sun to higher temperatures

LATENT HEAT AND PHASE CHANGE

A substance usually undergoes a change in temperature when energy is transferred between the

substance and its environment. In some cases, however, the transfer of energy doesn’t result in a

change in temperature. This can occur when the physical characteristics of the substance change

from one form to another, commonly referred to as a phase change. Some common phase

changes are solid to liquid (melting), liquid to gas (boiling), and a change in the crystalline

structure of a solid. Any such phase change involves a change in the internal energy, but no

change in the temperature.

The energy Q needed to change the phase of a given pure substance is

Q _ _mL [11.6]

where L, called the latent heat of the substance, depends on the nature of the phase change as

well as on the substance. The unit of latent heat is the joule per kilogram ( J/kg). The word latent

means “lying hidden within a person or thing.” The positive sign in Equation 11.6 is chosen when

energy is absorbed by a substance, as when ice is melting. The negative sign is chosen when

energy is removed from a substance, as when steam condenses to water.

The latent heat of fusion Lf is used when a phase change occurs during melting or freezing,

while the latent heat of vaporization Lv is used when a phase change occurs during boiling or

condensing.1 For example, at atmospheric pressure the

Documents

Dr. Z. Birech ENGINEERING PHYSICS 1A (2014) · PDF fileDr. Z. Birech ENGINEERING PHYSICS 1A (2014) Z. Birech ([email protected]) Department of Physics, University of Nairobi