Chapter 1: Kinematics and Dynamics Flashcards
Biology is chemistry. Chemistry is physics. Physics is life.
That’s it. That’s the card.
What are SI units? What are the SI units (7 base units and 8 derived units).
A person helping could ask me different units or quantities or symbols rather than have me rattle them all off.
The International System of Units (SI) is the modern metric system and the world’s most widely used measurement system, especially in scientific fields. It’s a standardized system based on the number 10, with seven base units and derived units.
What are the SI prefixes for size factors?
What is an angstrom? A nanometer? An electron-volt? Where would you use these units?
We would use these units for the molecular, atomic, or subatomic level.
Concept check 1.1 kinematics and dynamics page 9 question 1
Concept check 1.1 kinematics and dynamics page 9 question 2
Do you need to memorize the SI system?
Yes, you need to memorize the SI system. Start with these two table tables.
What is a vector? Was it a scalar? Give three examples of both.
Vectors or numbers that have magnitude and direction. Quantities include displacement, velocity, acceleration, and force.
Scaler or numbers that have magnitude only and no direction. Scaler quantities include distance, speed, energy, pressure, and mass.
How are vectors and scalar quantities indicated in text?
Vectors may be represented by arrows, the direction of the arrow indicates the direction of the vector. The length of the arrow is usually proportional to the magnitude of the vector quantity. Common notations for a vector quantity are either an arrow or bold face.
Scalar quantities are generally represented with italic type.
What is the sum or difference of two or more vectors called? How do you add vectors using the tip to tail method?
The summer difference of two or more vectors is called the resultant of the vectors.
If you take the difference (and need to subtract a vector) take the opposite direction and same magnitude, tip to tail.
How do you find the resultant of a vector by breaking it down into its components?
Use horizontal and vertical components (x and y components respectively) or parallel or perpendicular to some other surface.
Example component vector calculation page 12
What is sin, cos, and tan of 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°
How to calculate magnitude of vector (V) given A and B.
Example magnitude vector calculation page 12
How do you find resultant vector (R) of V1+V2+V3.
There are four steps. What are they?
The X component of a result in vector is simply the sum of the X components of the vectors being added. Similarly, the Y component of a resultant vector is simply the sum of the Y components of the vectors being added.
How can the angle of a resultant vector be calculated?
Given X and Y.
Note: the inverse tangent calculation is beyond the scope of the MCAT.
How do you subtract a vector?
When you subtract vectors, you are simply flipping the direction of the vector being subtracted, and then following the same rules as normal: adding tip to tail.
How do you multiply vectors by scalars?
When a vector is multiplied by a scalar, its magnitude will change. It will be either parallel or anti-parallel to its original direction.
What is the product of two vector values? What are the two types of methods? How do you multiply vectors by other vectors? Whats the rule for direction of vector using one of the products?
Dot products produce a scalar magnitude value of the two vectors.
Cross products produce a vector value that produces a perpendicular direction solved by using the right hand method.
In vector calculus, what is a dot product?
To generate a scalar product like work, multiply the magnitudes of the two vectors of interest (force and displacement) and the cosine of the angle between the two vectors.
When generating a third vector, like torque, we need to determine magnitude AND direction. How would we do this?
Multiply the magnitudes of the two vectors of interest (for torque it would force and lever arm) and the sine of the angle between the two vectors. Use the right hand rule to determine the direction. In vector calculus, this is called the cross product. Which is:
Important: the first vector always being pointed to by the thumb and the second vector by the middle finger (fingies).
Example page 15 magnitude and direction of resultant vectors cross product (obv because there is a resultant vector)
Couple things.
Recognize that the cross product will make a vector quantity, in the case Newton for vector A, meter for vector B. The resultant vector of the cross product is Nm, a unit of torque.
Right hand rule. Thumb toward first vector in the calculation, fingers toward second.
If confused, draw the vectors.
Notice the notation for into and out of the page.
Does the order of cross product and dot product matter?
Concept check 1.2 vectors and scalars page 16 question 1-4
What is a commutative function? How does this relate to vector calculations?
A “commutative function” refers to a function where the order of its inputs does not affect the output, meaning if you swap the order of the arguments when applying the function, the result remains the same; essentially, it exhibits the “commutative property” often seen in basic arithmetic operations like addition and multiplication where “a + b” equals “b + a” and “a * b” equals “b * a” respectively.
In vector sum, difference, and product:
Vector sums are commutative in that the order doesn’t matter.
Vector difference is not commutative in that A-B and B-A will have same magnitude but opposite directions.
Vector product is not commutative meaning that switching the order of the vectors in the cross product results in a negative sign change, while the magnitude itself remains the same. Direction is order specific (recall right hand rule).
What are the three basic quantities that relate to kinematics? Briefly define them.
Displacement (x or d): change in position of space, a vector quantity measured in meters and direction.
Velocity (v): rate of change of displacement, is a vector quantity measured in meters per second.
Acceleration (a): rate of change of velocity, is a vector quantity and measure in meters per second squared.
What is displacement? What is the difference between displacement and distance traveled?
Example page 17 displacement and distance traveled
What is velocity? Units? Does the velocity vector equal the displacement vector? Are speed and velocity the same?
Velocity is a vector quantity, speed is a scalar quantity.
Compare and contrast instantaneous speed and instantaneous velocity, average speed and average velocity.
Instantaneous speed of an object will always be equal to the magnitude of the objects instantaneous velocity, which is a measure of the average velocity as the change in time (deltat) approaches zero. As a measure of speed, instantaneous speed is a scalar number.
Average speed will not necessarily always be equal to the magnitude of the average velocity. This is because average velocity is the ratio of the displacement vector over the change in time (and is a vector), whereas average speed (which is scalar) is the ratio of the total distance traveled over the change in time.
Average speed accounts for actual distance traveled, whereas average velocity does not.
Use earths orbit to exemplify average speed and average velocity.
Concept check page 18 questions 1,2,3.
How many seconds are in an hour? A day? A month? A year?
What is force? Units?
What is gravity? Units? How do you calculate gravitational force between two objects? What is the gravitational force near the earths surface?
Gravity is an attractive force that is felt by all forms of matter. All object exert gravitational forces on each other.
What would happen to the force of gravity between two objects if the mass of one was tripled? If the distance between them was halved? Distance between them doubled?
Example page 20 gravitational force calculation
The trick with this equation was in the algebra.
Recognizing that 6.66 is 20/3 and 1.66 is 5/3.
Also being comfortable that multiplying exponents is addition of exponents, and dividing by a negative exponent is adding the exponents together (minus a negative).