CHAPTER 1.

INTRODUCTION Derived quantities

TECHNIQUES IN PROBLEM SOLVING • Expressed as mathematical combinations of

several fundamental quantities
1. Read carefully
• Quantities based from fundamental quantities
2. Make illustration
1. AREA → the total space within a two-dimensional
3. Write down the given facts or data
figure. A = L x W
4. Know what is to be found
2. VOLUME → the amount of space occupied by matter.
5. Write the equation that relates the given data to V=LxWxH
the unknown
3. DENSITY → the mass per unit volume. d = m/v
6. Note if similar quantities are in the same units
4. WEIGHT → the amount of pull of gravity on an
7. Solve the unknowns by applying the appropriate object. W = mg
equations.
5. SPEED → the ratio of distance travelled and time of
8. Review your work. travel. v = d/t

6. PRESSURE → a push or force against each unit area

of an object’s surface.
Physical quantities and Si units
P = F/A P = hdg
Physical quantities

• Are the numerical equivalent or quantitative

description of matter or object. Measurement

• Can be classified as fundamental quantities or • A process of comparing a known quantity like

derived quantities. measuring device to an unknown quantity,
things or objects to be measured.
• Can be also classified as scalars or vectors.
• The process of determining how many times a
certain quantity is contained in a standard
measuring device.
Fundamental quantities
• Can be classified as qualitative or quantitative
• Are often the basis of measurements.

• Measured directly using measuring devices and

tools. Systems of units
1. LENGTH (meter) → the distance between two • Units of measurement were standardized about
distinct points. 200 years ago.
2. MASS (kilogram) → the measure of the amount • Two systems that carry different standardized
of material in an object. units: the British or English system and the
metric system.
3. TIME (second) → the regular interval between
two successive points. • The English system was first adopted in
England and later became widely used in the
4. ELECTRIC CURRENT (ampere) → the
United States. It is also known as FPS system.
measure of the flow of electrons or charges.
• The metric system, which originated in France
5. LUMINOUS INTENSITY (candela) → the
in 1791, has the units of m, cm, kg and s.
amount of illumination received by an object.
• The modern metric system has been officially
6. AMOUNT OF SUBSTANCE/ NUMBER OF
named and is known worldwide as the
MOLES (mole) → the amount of substance
International System of Units (SI units).
expressed in moles.
• It was fully adopted in the Philippines in
7. TEMPERATURE (kelvin) → the measure of the
January 1, 1983.
hotness of an object.
• Batas Pambansa No. 8

• Scientific Notation
 • A number is expressed as a product of two Conversion of units
numbers.
Common metric units
• COEFFICIENT
• LENGTH
• EXPONENT
1m 100 cm
Rules
1m 1 000 mm
• ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION → all values
should have the same exponent. 1m 1 000 000 µm
• MULTIPLICATION → multiply the coefficient
and add the exponents. 1m 1 000 000 000 nm

• DIVISION → divide the coefficient and subtract 1m 10 000 000 000 Angstrom (A)
the exponent of the denominator from the
exponent of the numerator. 1 000 m 1 km

SIGNIFICANT DIGITS
• MASS
[Link] nonzero digits are significant.
1 kg 1 000 g
Ex. 123 cm 45678 L
1g 1 000 mg
2. Zeros between nonzero digits are significant.
1 000 kg 1 metric ton
Ex. 5007 g 1000237 mL

3. Leading zeros or zeros preceding nonzero digits are

not significant. They simply indicate the position of the • VOLUME
decimal point. 1L 1 000 mL
Ex. 0.019 mL 0.000015 g
1L 1 000 cc
4. Trailing zeros or zeros at the end of a number and to
the right of decimal points are significant. All zero
preceeding a decimal point are significant
• TEMPERATURE
Ex. 80.40 mL 97.500 g
°C = (°F – 32) / 1.8
Significant digits in calculations
° F = 1.8 (°C) + 32
• MULTIPLICATION & DIVISION → the
number of significant digits in the product or K = °C + 273.15
quotient should be the same as the given with
the least number of significant digits
𝟐 𝟐 Systematic error and random error
Ex. (1.234 cm) (1.5 cm) = 1.851 cm = 1.9 cm
• SYSTEMATIC ERRORS → are consistent
5.86 in / 1.98 in = 2.96 in inaccuracies in the result of an experiment that
may be incurred due to equipment itself or flaw
• ADDITION & SUBTRACTION → the number
in the experiment procedure. (Built in errors)
of significant digits to the right of decimal point
in the result should be the same as the • RANDOM ERRORS → are errors in the
measurement with the smallest number of measurement or reading due to the precision on
significant digits to the right of decimal point. the instrument. (Estimation)
• Example. 73.216 g + 12.34 g + 13.2 g = 98.756 g
= 98.8 g

74.626 g – 28.3 g = 46.326 g = 46.3 g

Accuracy & Precision

• ACCURACY → the closeness of the

experimental values to the expected or true
value.

• PRECISION → the closeness of the experiment

values with one another.

Vector addition

Vector addition by graphical method

• RESULTANT → the sum of two or more

vectors. This vector may be found by using the
graphical method and/or the component
method.

• GRAPHICAL METHOD → it involves drawing

vectors to scale. The directions are determined
by using a protractor.

Steps in the graphical method

• 1. choose an appropriate scale and coordinate

system for the given vectors.

• 2. draw the first vector starting from the origin

of the coordinate system. Then draw the second
vector starting from the head of the first vector.
Proceed to draw the remaining vectors from the
head of the last vector drawn. All vectors must
be connected head-to-tail.

• 3. draw an arrow connecting the tail of the first

vector to the head of the last arrow drawn. This
arrow represents the resultant of the given
vectors.

Vector addition using the Pythagorean Theorem

Vector addition by using component method.

GENERAL PHYSICS 1 b) What is the displacement of the car?

CALCULATED MOVES

MOTION? Speed

■ Position → the location of an object with respect ■ Speed → a measure of how fast a body moves. It
to a frame of reference. is a scalar quantity.

■ Frame of reference → a system that allows an ■ v = d/t

observer to specify quantitatively where and
■ Average speed ( 𝑽̅ ) → the total distance
when something is observed.
travelled by a body per unit time of travel.
Study of motion can be divided into two:
■ ̅ = 𝚫𝒅 = 𝒅𝒇 − 𝒅𝒊
𝑽 𝚫𝒕 𝒕𝒇 − 𝒕𝒊
■ Kinematics → describes motion in terms of
displacement, velocity, and acceleration. ■ Instantaneous speed (v) → the speed at a
■ Dynamics → relates forces and motion particular time, with ∆𝒕 being extremely small.
The speed indicated by a speedometer is
instantaneous speed.

Translation Quick Check

■ Term used in Physics for motion in a straight ■ The speedometer in every car has an odometer
line. that records the distance travelled. If the
odometer reads zero at the beginning of a trip
■ It is commonly described by three quantities: and 35 km a half hour later, what is the average
displacement, velocity and acceleration. speed?

■ If the cyclist moves 30 km in 2 hr, its speed is

Scalar vs. Vector __________________.

■ Scalar Quantities → described completely by

their magnitude and appropriate unit. Velocity
■ Vector Quantities → completely described by ■ Velocity → the displacement of a body per unit
their magnitude, appropriate unit and direction. time. It is a vector quantity.
Quick Check ■ v = d/t
1. 50 m. ■ Average velocity → the total displacement per
2. 25 m/s North unit time.

3. 10 m upward ■ ̅=𝒅
𝑽 𝒕

4. 0.98 km/hr ■ Instantaneous velocity → the velocity at an

instant time.
5. 9.88 m/s
Quick Check

■ Harold travelled 25 km from their house to a

Distance vs. Displacement
shopping mall to meet his friend. Upon reaching
■ Distance (d) → travelled by a body is the length the mall, his friend texted that he cannot come.
of the path taken by the body in moving from its Sadly, Harold went back home following the
initial to final position. same path. (a) What was the total distance
Harold travelled? (b) What was his
■ Displacement (d) → a vector with direction displacement? If the entire trip took Harold 0.75
pointing from initial to the final position and a hr. what were his (c) average speed and (d)
magnitude or length equal to the straight-line average velocity?
distance from the initial to the final position.

Quick Check

■ A car travels 10 km due to east and then makes

a U-turn back to travel a further distance of 7
km.

a) Calculate the distance travelled by the car

Acceleration Free Fall

■ The rate of change of velocity (a) ■ Aristotle and Galileo had conflicting theories on
falling bodies.
■ Three ways to change acceleration and velocity:
■ According to Aristotle, “heavier objects fall
1. Change in speed faster than lighter ones”
2. Change in direction ■ Galileo, “in the absence of air resistance, all
3. Change in both speed and direction bodies at the same location above Earth’s
surface fall vertically with the same
𝒗𝒇 −𝒗𝒊
■ a= acceleration, regardless of their size and
𝒕
weight”.

■ David Scott (1971), performed a similar

Quick Check experiment on the surface of the moon by
dropping a feather and a hammer from the
■ A car which starts from rest and achieves a same height.
velocity of 25 m/s in 10 s. experiences an
acceleration of _______________. ■ The acceleration of a freely falling body is called
acceleration due to gravity and is equal to – 9.8
■ Suppose a car moving in a straight line steadily 𝒎/𝒔𝟐 at the surface of Earth.
increases its speed each second, first from 35 to
40 km/h, then from 40 to 45 km/h, then from 45 ■ g = 9.8 𝒎/𝒔𝟐
to 50 km/h. What is its acceleration?
■ d is replaced with 𝒅𝒚 and a with g

RULES
(LABORATORY)
1. Distances above the origin are positive, while
Types of Motion those below the origin are negative.
Uniform motion 2. Upward velocities are positive, while downward
velocities are negative.
■ It is the simplest type of motion.
3. The acceleration due to gravity is always
■ For uniform motion, the velocity is constant, the
negative.
acceleration is zero, and the instantaneous
velocity is equal to the average velocity Quick Check
■ FIVE KINEMATIC EQUATIONS ■ A ball is thrown vertically upward with a speed
𝒅 of 4.9 m/s. Find (a) the maximum height reached
1. ̅=
𝒗 by the ball and (b) its time of flight. (c) At what
𝒕

𝒗𝒇 −𝒗𝒊
velocity would the ball return to its starting
2. a= point?
𝒕

3. ̅=
𝒗
𝒗𝒇+𝒗𝒊 ■ A ball is dropped from the window of a three-
𝟐
storey apartment. How far has it fallen after one
4. d = vit + 𝒂𝒕𝟐
𝟏 second? What is the ball’s velocity after one
𝟐 second? How fast does the ball fall during the
5. 2ad = 𝒗𝒇𝟐 - 𝒗𝒊𝟐 next second? Assume no air resistance.

Quick Check

■ A body moving in a straight line with a velocity Projectile Motion

of 5 m/s accelerated to 12 m/s after 14 s. (a) ■ The motion of a body is both vertically and
What is the acceleration of the body, assuming it horizontally.
is constant? (b) How far did the body move
during the time it was being observed? ■ Trajectory → the path that a projectile follows.

■ Parabola → results of trajectory

■ Range → from launching point to the point it

landed.
The Horizontal and Vertical Components of Projectile Newton’s Law of Motion
Motion
Sir Isaac Newton

■ He was born in England on December 25, 1642.

■ He lived for 85 years.

■ Isaac Newton was raised by his grandmother.

■ He went on to Trinity College of Cambridge

■ Newton received both a bachelors and masters

degree

■ Newton had new ideas about motion, which he

called his three laws of motion.
Quick Check ■ He also had ideas about gravity, the diffraction
■ A football is kicked with a velocity of 20 m/s and of light, and forces.
an angle of 𝟑𝟎𝒐 with the horizontal. Find (a) the Newton’s First Law of Motion
horizontal and vertical components of its initial (Law of Inertia)
velocity, (b) the time it took to reach its
maximum height, (c) The time of flight, (d) the “An object that is at rest will remain at rest and an
maximum height it reached, and (e) the range it object in motion will continue moving at a constant
travelled. speed in a straight line unless acted upon by an external
force.”
■ (LABORATORY)

Inertia
Motion Graphs
■ The property of a body that tends to resists a
Graph the following change in its state of rest or motion.
■ Object at rest Newton’s Second Law of Motion
(Law of Acceleration)
■ Object moving with uniform velocity
“The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to
■ Object moving with increasing velocity
the net applied on the object, is in the same direction as
■ Object moving with decreasing velocity the net force, and is inversely proportional to the mass of
the object.”
■ Object accelerating
F = ma
■ Object decelerating
Newton (N) → the SI unit of force
Graph it
1 N = 1 kg.m/𝒔𝟐
■ O → left home
1 dyne = 1 [Link]/𝒔𝟐 or 𝟏𝟎−𝟓 𝑵
■ O–A → moving with uniform
acceleration Quick Check
■ A–B → moving with uniform speed ■ A 5 kg crate initially at rest on a smooth surface
is acted upon by two opposing forces: 50 N to
■ B–C → moving with uniform deceleration
the right and 30 N to the left. Find (a) the
■ C – D → moving with uniform speed (speed acceleration of the block, (b) its velocity after 10
lower than A – B ) s starting from rest, and (c) the distance it moves
in 10 s.
■ D – E → moving with non-uniform
deceleration

■ E–F → not moving

■ F – G → moving with non-uniform

acceleration

■ G–H → moving with uniform deceleration

■ H → reached school
Newton’s Third Law of Motion Law of Conservation of Linear Momentum
(Law of Interaction)
■ Impulse → the product of force and time during
“For every action there is an equal and opposite which the force acts.
reaction.”
■ I = F∆t
Balanced Force
■ Momentum (p) → the product of mass of a
■ Same amount of force moving object and its velocity.

■ Body remains stationary ■ p = mv

■ Body moves with constant velocity ■ “the total momentum before interaction is equal
to the total momentum after interaction”

Unbalanced Force
Collision
■ There is different amounts of force
■ Elastic Collision
■ Body accelerates

■ Body decelerates
→ KE is conserved
■ (LABORATORY)
■ Inelastic Collision → Some KE is lost

Law of Universal Gravitation

Quick Check
■ According to this law, every object in the
universe exerts an attractive force on another ■ A marble of mass m1 = 0.04 kg is moving with a
object and this force is called gravitational force. speed v1 = 2 m/s strikes a second marble,
𝒎𝟏 𝒎𝟐 initially at rest, of mass m2 = 0.04 kg. as a result
■ F=G ; G = 6.67 x 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟏 𝑵. 𝒎𝟐 /𝒌𝒈𝟐 of the collision, the first marble comes to rest
𝒅𝟐
and the second one moves in the opposite
■ The value of G was accurately determined from direction. What is the velocity of the second
Henry Cavendish’s experiment using a torsion marble?
balance

Friction on Solids
Quick Check
■ f = µFN
■ What is the force of gravity between two
students of masses 75 kg and 60 kg separated by ■ µ = f/ FN
12 m?
■ f= frictional force
■ What is the gravitational force between the
moon (7.38 x 1022 kg) and the earth (5.98 x 1024 ■ µ = coefficient of friction
kg), if their distance from each other is 384,790 ■ FN = normal force
km?

Quick Check
Conservation Laws
■ Determine the horizontal force needed to
Law of Conservation of Energy accelerate a 25 kg grocery cart from rest to 0.45
■ “energy can neither be created nor destroyed; m/s in 1.3 s if the coefficient of friction between
but can be changed from one form to another” the cart and the floor is 0.15.

■ (LABORATORY)

Law of Conservation of Mass

■ Antoine Lavoisier

■ “the mass of the substance formed in a reaction

must equal to the mass of the substance that
reacted
GENERAL PHYSICS 1 Quick check

WORK, ENERGY AND POWER ➢ Determine the kinetic energy of a 1,000 kg roller
coaster car that is moving with a speed of 20
WORK m/s.
➢ Application of force.

➢ Done only when a force is applied to a body and POWER

moves it.
➢ The rate of doing work.
➢ It is a product of force and the displacement
resulting from application of force. ➢ The rate of expending energy.

➢ W = Fd ➢ P = W/t

➢ W = mgdy ➢ P = E/t

Quick check ➢ 1 hp = 746 W

➢ If you pull your schoolbag with a force of 30 N Quick check

parallel to the ground towards your classroom
20 m away. How much work will you do on your ➢ Harold races with his friends by running up the
bag? stairs to the top of the school building 13.2 m
high. He finishes in 2.50 minutes. What must his
➢ Suppose you lift a 1.5 kg book from the lowest average power be if his mass is 35 kg?
shelf in a cabinet to the forth shelf 2 m higher.
Calculate the work.
SIMPLE MACHINES

ENERGY ➢ Are mechanical devices that are used to change

the direction and the magnitude of its output
➢ the capacity to do work. force to do work on an external system.

➢ KE and PE ➢ Building blocks of all complicated machines.

➢ 1J = 0.239 cal

➢ 1kcal = 4186 J LEVER

➢ Any rigid bar, pole or stick that rotates at a

fixed point called a fulcrum.
POTENTIAL ENERGY

➢ The energy that is stored and held in readiness.

INCLINED PLANE
➢ The energy at rest.
➢ Is a slanting surface.
➢ Can either be gravitational or elastic.
➢ It makes moving a load to a new height easier
➢ PEg = mgh
𝟏𝒌𝒙𝟐
➢ PEe = 𝟐 WEDGE
Quick check ➢ Instead of using the smooth slope of the inclined
➢ The mass of the rock is 150 kg and the height to plane, the wedge uses the pointed edge.
which it was lifted is 5 m. How much energy ➢ While the inclined plane stays stationary in
does the rock have? aiding work, a wedge moves to separate
materials.

KINETIC ENERGY

➢ The energy possessed by a moving object.

➢ The energy in motion.

𝟏𝒎𝒗𝟐
➢ KE = 𝟐
WHEEL AND AXLE

➢ It works like a rotating lever.

➢ The larger wheel rotates around the smaller

wheel.

PULLEY

➢ A wheel mounted on its axle.

➢ The groove on the wheel is used to place ropes

or strings over and allows lifting of heavy loads
by applying little and opposite force.

SCREW

➢ It is an inclined plane wrapped around a

cylinder.

➢ Mainly used for putting things together.

EFFICIENCY

➢ Tell us how much of the input work/energy is

converted into useful output work/energy.

➢ Eff = Wout/Win x 100%

➢ = Eout/Ein x 100%

➢ =Pout/Pin x 100%

Quick check

➢ A machine has an energy input of 3150 J. if 1860

J of useful work is done by the machine, then
find the amount of energy wasted and the
efficiency of the machine.