United Grade 12 AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based

Chapters: 7

1. Thermodynamics

Kinetic Theory of Temperature and Pressure · The Ideal Gas Law · Thermal Energy Transfer and Equilibrium · The First Law of Thermodynamics · Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity · Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Kinetic Theory of Gases: Pressure, Temperature and rms Speed – Kinetic theory explains gas behaviour by picturing a gas as tiny, fast, randomly moving molecules that bounce elastically and do not pull on each other. Each hit on a wall reverses the molecule's velocity and hands the wall momentum 2mvₓ. Adding the hits of all molecules gives the pressure P = ⅓ n m v̄² = ⅓ ρ v̄². Comparing with PV = N k T shows that the average kinetic energy of a molecule is (3/2) k T: temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules. The root mean square speed is v_rms = √(3RT/M) = √(3kT/m), so lighter gases move faster at the same temperature.
Perfect Gas Equation PV = nRT and Work in Compressing a Gas – A gas is made of countless tiny molecules flying about. Their hits on the walls make pressure. For a low-density gas, three simple laws hold: at fixed temperature, P × V stays constant (Boyle); at fixed pressure, V grows in step with kelvin temperature (Charles); at the same P and T, equal volumes hold equal numbers of molecules (Avogadro). Put together they give the perfect gas equation PV = nRT = N k T. One mole holds Avogadro's number, 6.022 × 10²³, of particles. Pushing a piston in does work on the gas; the work equals the area under the P–V graph, and at fixed temperature W = nRT ln(V₁/V₂).
Thermal Equilibrium and the Zeroth Law – Two bodies in contact swap heat until their temperatures are equal. Then they are in thermal equilibrium and nothing changes any more. Zeroth law: if A and B are each in equilibrium with C, then A and B are in equilibrium with each other. This is why a thermometer works. A gas in equilibrium is described by state variables P, V, T and n, which are linked by an equation of state. For an ideal gas it is PV = nRT.
First Law of Thermodynamics – Internal energy U is the total energy of the molecules inside a system. It changes in only two ways: by heat Q (energy that flows because of a temperature difference) and by work W (energy moved by a force, like a moving piston). First law: ΔQ = ΔU + ΔW. Heat given to a gas partly raises its internal energy and partly lets it do work. Work by a gas at constant pressure is PΔV. For an ideal gas Cp − Cv = R.
Thermal Expansion, Specific Heat, Calorimetry and Latent Heat – Temperature tells how hot a body is; heat is energy that flows because of a temperature difference. Most things expand when heated: ΔL = αLΔT, ΔA = βAΔT, ΔV = γVΔT, with β = 2α and γ = 3α. Water is an exception between 0 °C and 4 °C, where it shrinks on heating, so it is densest at 4 °C. The heat needed to warm a body is Q = mcΔT, where c is the specific heat; gases have two, Cp > Cv, with Cp − Cv = R per mole. In calorimetry, heat lost by hot bodies equals heat gained by cold ones. During melting or boiling the temperature stays constant and heat Q = mL goes into changing the state.
Second Law of Thermodynamics, Heat Engines and Refrigerators – The first law says energy is conserved; the second law says which way heat and energy can go. Heat flows by itself only from hot to cold (Clausius). No engine can turn all the heat it takes into work; some must be thrown into a colder body (Kelvin–Planck). A heat engine takes Q₁ from a hot source, does work W and rejects Q₂: efficiency η = W/Q₁ = 1 − Q₂/Q₁. A refrigerator uses work W to move Q₂ from cold to hot: COP α = Q₂/W. The best possible engine, the Carnot engine, has η = 1 − T₂/T₁.

2. Electric Force, Field, and Potential

Electric Charge and Electric Force · Conservation of Electric Charge and the Process of Charging · Electric Fields · Electric Potential Energy · Electric Potential · Capacitors · Conservation of Electric Energy

Electric Charges and Fields – Charge comes in two kinds, is conserved and comes in whole-number packets of e = 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ C. Two point charges push or pull with F = kq₁q₂/r² (k = 9 × 10⁹ N m² C⁻²). Forces and fields from many charges add as vectors (superposition). The field E = F/q₀ of a point charge is kq/r²; field lines show it. A dipole (±q a distance 2a apart) has moment p = q·2a; in a uniform field it feels zero net force but a torque τ = pE sinθ. Electric flux Φ = E·A, and Gauss's law says the flux out of any closed surface is q_enclosed/ε₀, which quickly gives E for a long wire (λ/2πε₀r), a plane sheet (σ/2ε₀) and a thin spherical shell (kq/r² outside, 0 inside).
Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance – Electrostatic potential V at a point is the work done per unit positive charge to bring it from infinity: V = kq/r for a point charge, and potentials of many charges add as plain numbers. Potential difference V_B − V_A = W_AB/q. Equipotential surfaces join equal-V points; E is perpendicular to them and E = −dV/dr. Potential energy of two charges is U = kq₁q₂/r, and of a dipole in a field U = −pE cosθ. Conductors have free charges (E inside = 0); dielectrics have bound charges that polarise and cut the field to E₀/K. A capacitor stores charge Q = CV. A parallel plate capacitor has C = ε₀A/d, and KC with a dielectric. In series 1/C = 1/C₁ + 1/C₂ + …; in parallel C = C₁ + C₂ + …. Energy stored U = ½CV² = Q²/2C = ½QV.

3. Electric Circuits

Electric Current · Simple Circuits · Resistance, Resistivity, and Ohm's Law · Electric Power · Compound Direct Current (DC) Circuits · Kirchhoff's Loop Rule · Kirchhoff's Junction Rule · Resistor-Capacitor (RC) Circuits

Current in a Metal: Drift Velocity and Mobility – In a metal, free electrons move very fast in random directions, so on average they go nowhere. An electric field adds a small, steady shift opposite to the field: the drift velocity vd = eEτ/m. The current is I = n e A vd, and the current density is j = n e vd. Mobility μ = vd/E tells how easily a charge drifts. Drift speed is only about a millimetre per second, yet a bulb lights at once because the field is set up in the whole wire almost instantly.
EMF, Internal Resistance, Power and Combination of Cells – A cell does work on charges; the work per coulomb is its emf ε. Inside the cell there is a small internal resistance r. With current I, the terminal voltage is V = ε − Ir and I = ε/(R + r). Electrical power P = VI = I²R = V²/R, and energy W = Pt. Power delivered to R is largest when R = r. Cells in series: εeq = ε1 + ε2, req = r1 + r2. Cells in parallel: εeq = (ε1r2 + ε2r1)/(r1 + r2), 1/req = 1/r1 + 1/r2.
Ohm's Law, Resistivity and Effect of Temperature – Using drift velocity, V = IR with R = ml/(ne²τA) = ρl/A. Resistivity ρ = m/(ne²τ) depends only on the material and temperature; conductivity σ = 1/ρ. Ohm's law in vector form is j = σE. Metals, wires and resistors give a straight V–I line (ohmic); bulbs, diodes and devices like GaAs give curved or one-way graphs (non-ohmic). For metals ρ rises with temperature: ρT = ρ0[1 + α(T − T0)]; alloys like nichrome change very little; semiconductors get lower ρ when hot.
Energy in Systems and Electric Power – A system is the set of objects you choose to study. Its total energy stays the same unless energy crosses the system boundary as work, heat or radiation: ΔE_system = W + Q. Inside, energy moves between stores such as kinetic, gravitational, elastic, thermal, chemical and electric. Power is the rate of energy transfer, P = ΔE/Δt, in watts. In a circuit the electric power is P = IV; for a resistor this also equals I²R and V²/R. Real devices waste part of the input as heat, so efficiency η = useful output ÷ input is always less than 100%. Designing a device means choosing the input store, the output store and cutting the waste.
Kirchhoff's Rules and the Wheatstone Bridge – Junction rule: at any junction, the sum of currents entering equals the sum leaving (ΣI = 0), because charge is conserved. Loop rule: around any closed loop, the algebraic sum of potential changes is zero (ΣΔV = 0), because energy is conserved. Sign rules: a resistor crossed along the current gives −IR; a cell crossed from − to + gives +ε. A Wheatstone bridge of four resistors P, Q, R, S is balanced (no galvanometer current) when P/Q = R/S; this lets us find an unknown resistance, as in the metre bridge.
Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance – Electrostatic potential V at a point is the work done per unit positive charge to bring it from infinity: V = kq/r for a point charge, and potentials of many charges add as plain numbers. Potential difference V_B − V_A = W_AB/q. Equipotential surfaces join equal-V points; E is perpendicular to them and E = −dV/dr. Potential energy of two charges is U = kq₁q₂/r, and of a dipole in a field U = −pE cosθ. Conductors have free charges (E inside = 0); dielectrics have bound charges that polarise and cut the field to E₀/K. A capacitor stores charge Q = CV. A parallel plate capacitor has C = ε₀A/d, and KC with a dielectric. In series 1/C = 1/C₁ + 1/C₂ + …; in parallel C = C₁ + C₂ + …. Energy stored U = ½CV² = Q²/2C = ½QV.

4. Magnetism and Electromagnetism

Magnetic Fields · Magnetism and Moving Charges · Magnetism and Current-Carrying Wires · Electromagnetic Induction and Faraday's Law

Magnetic Field due to a Current: Biot-Savart Law and Ampere's Law – A current makes a magnetic field around it (Oersted, 1820). The Biot-Savart law gives the field of a tiny piece of wire: dB = (μ₀/4π)·I dl sinθ / r². Adding all pieces of a circular loop gives B = μ₀NI / 2R at the centre and μ₀NIR² / 2(R² + x²)^{3/2} on the axis. Ampere's circuital law ∮B·dl = μ₀I gives B = μ₀I / 2πr for a long straight wire. A long solenoid has a strong, uniform field B = μ₀nI inside and almost none outside.
Lorentz Force, Torque on a Loop and the Moving Coil Galvanometer – A charge q moving with velocity v feels F = q(E + v × B), the Lorentz force. The magnetic part qvB sinθ is at right angles to v, so it bends the path into a circle (r = mv/qB) without changing speed. A wire feels F = IL × B. Parallel wires attract if the currents are in the same direction: F/L = μ₀I₁I₂/2πd. A loop in a field feels a torque τ = m × B with magnetic moment m = NIA, so a loop acts as a magnetic dipole. A moving coil galvanometer uses this torque: its deflection φ = (NAB/k)I. A small shunt turns it into an ammeter; a large series resistance turns it into a voltmeter.
Electromagnetic Induction – When the magnetic flux through a coil changes, an emf is produced in it: ε = −N dΦ/dt (Faraday). The minus sign is Lenz's law: the induced current always opposes the change that made it. Moving a rod in a field gives motional emf ε = Blv. A changing current makes an emf in its own coil (self-induction, L) and in a nearby coil (mutual induction, M).
Force on a Current-Carrying Conductor, Motor and Induction – A wire carrying current inside a magnetic field feels a push. The push is biggest when the wire is at 90° to the field and zero when it is parallel. Fleming's left-hand rule gives its direction. A motor uses this push to spin a coil; a generator does the reverse and makes current by moving a coil or magnet.

5. Geometric Optics

Reflection · Images Formed by Mirrors · Refraction · Images Formed by Lenses

Spherical Mirrors and the Mirror Formula – A spherical mirror is a piece cut from a shiny ball. Its focal length is half its radius of curvature (f = R/2). With the Cartesian sign convention, the object distance u, image distance v and focal length f are linked by 1/v + 1/u = 1/f, and the magnification is m = h′/h = −v/u. Concave mirrors have negative f; convex mirrors have positive f.
Refraction: Snell's Law, Critical Angle and Total Internal Reflection – Refraction is the bending of light when it crosses from one medium into another, because its speed changes. The refractive index of a medium is n = c/v, where c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s. Snell's law links the angles, measured from the normal: n₁ sin θ₁ = n₂ sin θ₂. Going into a higher n the ray bends toward the normal; into a lower n it bends away. Frequency never changes at a boundary, so the wavelength shrinks: λ = λ₀/n. Going from high n to low n there is a critical angle, sin θc = n₂/n₁. Beyond it, total internal reflection happens, which is how optical fibres and diamonds work. Objects under water look shallower: apparent depth = real depth ÷ n (for near-normal viewing). Since n changes a little with colour, white light spreads into a spectrum (dispersion).
Thin Lenses: Lens Maker's Formula, Lens Formula and Power – At one curved surface, n₂/v − n₁/u = (n₂ − n₁)/R. Two such surfaces make a thin lens with 1/f = (n − 1)(1/R₁ − 1/R₂) (lens maker's formula). Object and image distances follow 1/v − 1/u = 1/f, magnification m = v/u, power P = 1/f (in dioptres when f is in metres), and thin lenses in contact add their powers: P = P₁ + P₂.

6. Waves, Sound, and Physical Optics

Properties of Wave Pulses and Waves · Periodic Waves · Boundary Behavior of Waves and Polarization · Electromagnetic Waves · The Doppler Effect · Wave Interference and Standing Waves · Diffraction · Double-Slit Interference and Diffraction Gratings · Thin-Film Interference

Progressive Waves: Types, Speed and Equation – A wave carries energy from place to place without carrying the matter along. In a transverse wave the particles move at right angles to the wave; in a longitudinal wave they move along it. Speed v = fλ. On a string v = √(T/μ); for sound in a gas v = √(γP/ρ). A wave moving along +x is y = A sin(kx − ωt), with k = 2π/λ and ω = 2πf.
Waves at Boundaries, Polarisation and the Doppler Effect – When a wave reaches the end of its medium it reflects. At a fixed end the reflected pulse is upside down (a phase change of half a cycle); at a free end it stays upright. Where two media meet, part of the wave reflects and part is transmitted: the transmitted part is never inverted, and the reflected part is inverted only if the second medium is slower (denser). Frequency stays the same across a boundary, while speed and wavelength change. Polarisation means the vibrations of a transverse wave are in one direction only; a polariser passes half of unpolarised light, and a second polariser at angle θ passes I = I₀ cos²θ (Malus's law). Longitudinal waves such as sound cannot be polarised. The Doppler effect is the change in observed frequency when source or observer move: f' = f (v ± v_o)/(v ∓ v_s). These ideas power technologies like ultrasound scans, sonar, radar speed guns, optical fibres, LCD screens and digital communication.
Electromagnetic Waves – A changing electric field acts like a current, called the displacement current, and it makes a magnetic field. A changing magnetic field makes an electric field. Together they travel as an electromagnetic (EM) wave at c = 3 × 10⁸ m/s, even through empty space. E and B are at right angles to each other and to the direction of travel, so EM waves are transverse. Sorted by wavelength, they form the spectrum: radio, microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays.
Superposition, Reflection and Standing Waves – When waves overlap, their displacements add (superposition). A wave reflected from a fixed end comes back upside down; from a free end it comes back upright. A wave and its reflection make a standing wave with nodes (no motion) and antinodes (most motion). A string fixed at both ends allows fₙ = n·v/2L (all harmonics). An open pipe allows fₙ = n·v/2L; a pipe closed at one end allows only odd harmonics, fₙ = n·v/4L (n = 1, 3, 5…).
Interference (Young's Double Slit) and Single Slit Diffraction – Two coherent sources (same frequency, fixed phase difference) make a steady pattern of bright and dark fringes. At a point on the screen the path difference is Δ = yd/D: bright where Δ = nλ, dark where Δ = (n + ½)λ. All fringes have equal width β = λD/d. A single slit of width a gives diffraction: a bright central maximum of width 2λD/a, with first minima where a sin θ = λ, and weaker side maxima.
Wave Phenomena: Reflection, Refraction, Diffraction and Interference – All waves (water, sound, light) do four things. They bounce off walls (reflection). They bend when their speed changes (refraction). They spread out after a gap or an edge (diffraction). And when two waves meet, they add up (superposition): crest + crest makes a bigger wave (constructive interference), crest + trough cancels (destructive interference). The rule: path difference = nλ gives a big wave; path difference = (n + ½)λ gives calm. For two slits, fringe spacing Δx = λD/d.

7. Modern Physics

Quantum Theory and Wave-Particle Duality · The Bohr Model of Atomic Structure · Emission and Absorption Spectra · Blackbody Radiation · The Photoelectric Effect · Compton Scattering · Fission, Fusion, and Nuclear Decay · Types of Radioactive Decay

Matter Waves and the de Broglie Relation – Light behaves like a wave and a particle. In 1924 Louis de Broglie said matter does the same: every moving particle has a wave with wavelength λ = h/p = h/mv. For a body of kinetic energy K, λ = h/√(2mK); for an electron accelerated through V volts, λ = 1.227/√V nm. Everyday objects have far too tiny a λ to notice, but electrons have λ about the size of atoms.
Atoms: From Alpha Scattering to the Bohr Model – Rutherford shot alpha particles at thin gold foil and found that an atom is mostly empty, with a tiny, heavy, positive nucleus in the middle. Bohr then said the electron in hydrogen can move only on fixed orbits where its angular momentum is nh/2π. In orbit n the radius is 0.529 n² Å, the speed is (2.19 × 10⁶)/n m/s and the energy is −13.6/n² eV. When the electron jumps down, the energy difference comes out as light of one exact colour, which gives the line spectrum of hydrogen.
Modern Physics: Quantum Theory and Relativity – Modern physics began around 1900, when classical physics failed for the very small and the very fast. Quantum theory says energy comes in packets: a photon has E = hf. The photoelectric effect shows light acts as particles, while interference shows particles such as electrons act as waves (λ = h/p). Special relativity says the speed of light is the same for all observers, so moving clocks run slow (t = γt₀), moving lengths shrink, and mass is energy (E = mc²). These ideas power lasers, solar cells, electron microscopes, GPS and nuclear energy.
Photoelectric Effect and Einstein's Equation – When light of high enough frequency falls on a metal, electrons jump out at once. Light comes in packets called photons, each with energy E = hν. One photon gives all its energy to one electron: hν = φ + KEmax, where φ is the work function. Below the threshold frequency ν₀ = φ/h no electron comes out, however bright the light.
Nuclei: Size, Nuclear Force, Binding Energy, Fission and Fusion – A nucleus is made of Z protons and N neutrons (A = Z + N nucleons). Its radius is R = R₀A^(1/3) with R₀ ≈ 1.2 fm, so every nucleus has almost the same huge density. A very strong, short-range nuclear force holds the nucleons together. The nucleus weighs a little less than its loose parts; this mass defect Δm is the binding energy, E = Δm c² (1 u = 931.5 MeV). Binding energy per nucleon is highest near iron (A ≈ 56), so heavy nuclei give energy when they split (fission) and light nuclei give energy when they join (fusion).
Radioactivity: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Half-Life – Some atomic nuclei are unstable. They give out radiation at random to become more stable. This is radioactive decay. Alpha (2 protons + 2 neutrons), beta (a fast electron) and gamma (a wave of energy) are the three main kinds. Half-life is the time for half of the unstable nuclei to decay.