Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: We have now seen how to calculate the average velocity between two positions. However, since objects in the real world move continuously through space and time, we…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: When you’re in motion, the basic questions to ask are: Where are you? Where are you going? How fast are you getting there? The answers to these…
Figure 3.1 A JR Central L0 series five-car maglev (magnetic levitation) train undergoing a test run on the Yamanashi Test Track. The maglev train’s motion can be described using kinematics, the subject of this chapter. (credit: modification of work by “Maryland GovPics”/Flickr)…
2.1 Scalars and Vectors 2.2 Coordinate Systems and Components of a Vector 2.3 Algebra of Vectors 2.4 Products of Vectors
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: A vector can be multiplied by another vector but may not be divided by another vector. There are two kinds of products of vectors used broadly in…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Vectors can be added together and multiplied by scalars. Vector addition is associative (Equation 2.8) and commutative (Equation 2.7), and vector multiplication by a sum of scalars…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Vectors are usually described in terms of their components in a coordinate system. Even in everyday life we naturally invoke the concept of vector components in a rectangular…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Many familiar physical quantities can be specified completely by giving a single number and the appropriate unit. For example, “a class period lasts 50 min” or “the…
Figure 2.1 A signpost gives information about distances and directions to towns or to other locations relative to the location of the signpost. Distance is a scalar quantity. Knowing the distance alone is not enough to get to the town; we must…
1.1 The Scope and Scale of Physics 1.2 Units and Standards 1.3 Unit Conversion 1.4 Dimensional Analysis 1.5 Estimates and Fermi Calculations 1.6 Significant Figures 1.7 Solving Problems in Physics The three stages of the process for solving physics problems used in this book are as follows: