Poland Liceum ogólnokształcące, klasa I Physics

Chapters: 3

1. Cross-cutting skills

Units, data and calculations · Experiments and scientific texts

Units and Measurement (Class 11) – To measure means to compare a quantity with a fixed, agreed amount called a unit. Result = number × unit. The world now uses the SI system with 7 base units: metre, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole and candela. Every other unit (like newton or joule) is a derived unit made by multiplying or dividing base units. Prefixes like kilo (10³) and milli (10⁻³) make very big or very small numbers easy.
Significant Figures and Errors in Measurement – No measurement is perfect. Significant figures are the digits we trust plus the first doubtful digit. Errors tell how far a reading may be from the true value: absolute error Δa, relative error Δa/a and percentage error (Δa/a) × 100. When we add or subtract, absolute errors add. When we multiply or divide, percentage errors add. For a power aⁿ, the percentage error becomes n times.

Kinematics · Dynamics and energy · Experiments: mechanics

Motion in a Straight Line (Class 11) – To describe motion we first choose a frame of reference: an origin, a direction and a clock. Position x changes with time t. Velocity v = dx/dt is the slope of the x–t graph; acceleration a = dv/dt is the slope of the v–t graph, and the area under the v–t graph is the displacement. For constant a: v = u + at, x = ut + ½at², v² = u² + 2as.
Inertia, First Law, Momentum, Second Law and Impulse – A body keeps its state of rest or uniform motion unless a net external force acts on it (first law). Inertia is this laziness to change, and mass measures it. Momentum p = mv. The rate of change of momentum equals the net force: F = dp/dt, which gives F = ma when mass is constant (second law). Impulse J = F × Δt = Δp; a longer stopping time means a smaller force.
Elastic and Inelastic Collisions in 1D and 2D – In every collision, total momentum is conserved (no outside force during the short hit). In an elastic collision kinetic energy is also conserved. In an inelastic collision some kinetic energy becomes heat, sound or dent energy; if the bodies stick together it is perfectly inelastic. In 1D, elastic collision gives v₁ = (m₁ − m₂)u₁/(m₁ + m₂) and v₂ = 2m₁u₁/(m₁ + m₂) when body 2 starts at rest. In 2D, momentum is conserved separately along x and y.

Gravitation and orbits · Structure of the Universe

Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation – Every mass in the universe pulls every other mass. The pull between two point masses m₁ and m₂ a distance r apart is F = G m₁ m₂ / r². It acts along the line joining them. The two bodies pull each other with equal and opposite forces. G = 6.67 × 10⁻¹¹ N m² kg⁻² is the same everywhere, so it is called the universal gravitational constant. When many masses pull one body, the forces add as vectors (superposition).