Foundation of Physics

Question 1

What is a physical quantity?

Answer 1

a property of an object or of a phenomenon that can be measured

Question 2

What are the S.I. units of mass, length, and time?

Answer 2

kilogram (kg), metre (m), second (s)

Question 3

What base quantities do the S.I. units A, K, and

mol represent?

Answer 3

current, temperature, amount of substance

Question 4

List the prefixes, their symbols and their
multiplication factors from pico to tera (in order of
increasing magnitude)

Answer 4

pico (p) 10–12, nano (n) 10–9, micro (μ) 10–6, milli (m) 10–3, centi
(c) 10–2, deci (d) 10–1, kilo (k) 103, mega (M) 106, giga (G) 109,tera (T) 1012

Question 5

What is a scalar quantity?

Answer 5

a quantity that has magnitude (size) but no direction

Question 6

What is a vector quantity?

Answer 6

a quantity that has magnitude (size) and direction

Question 7

What are the equations to resolve a force, F, into

two perpendicular components, Fx and Fy?

Answer 7

Fx= Fcosθ
Fy = Fsinθ

Question 8

What is the difference between distance and

displacement?

Answer 8

distance is a scalar quantity displacement is a vector quantity

Question 9

What does the Greek capital letter Δ (delta)

mean?

Answer 9

‘change in’

Question 10

What is the equation for average speed in

algebraic form?

Answer 10

v = ∆x / ∆t

Question 11

What is instantaneous speed?

Answer 11

the speed of an object over a very short period of time

Question 12

What does the gradient of a displacement–time

graph tell you?

Answer 12

velocity

Question 13

How can you calculate acceleration and

displacement from a velocity–time graph?

Answer 13

acceleration is the gradient displacement is the area under the graph

Question 14

Write the equation for acceleration in algebraic

form

Answer 14

a = ∆v / ∆t

Question 15

What do the letters suvat stand for in the

equations of motion?

Answer 15

s = displacement, u = initial velocity, v = final velocity, a =acceleration, t = time taken

Question 16

Write the four suvat equations

Answer 16

v = u +at
s = ut+ 1/2at2
s= 1/2(u+v)t
v2 = u2+2as

Question 17

Define stopping distance

Answer 17

the total distance travelled from when the driver first sees a reason to stop, to when the vehicle stops

Question 18

Define thinking distance

Answer 18

the distance travelled between the moment when you first see

a reason to stop to the moment when you use the brake

Question 19

Define braking distance

Answer 19

the distance travelled from the time the brake is applied until the vehicle stops

Question 20

What does free fall mean?

Answer 20

when an object is accelerating under gravity with no other force acting on it