This was made while I was studying for my IGCSE Physics exam in 2021. It covers all the topics in the syllabus. The first unbolded section of every topic covers brief notes about the topic itself. However, most of the document is related to tackling past papers: the FAQs and how to answer them exac...
Measurements and Units
Instruments for measurement
- Ruler
- Micrometer screw gauge
- Measures to the nearest 1/100 mm
● Centre of mass
- Point on the object where mass is concentrated
- Point where weight of the object acts
To determine centre of mass
● Centre of mass affects stability
- Object is stable if weight is inside the base of the object
- Unstable If weights outside base of object
- Low centre of mass and large base increases stability of object
Describe how the student can find the period of oscillation more accurately
- Check the zero error of the stopwatch
- Count the number of oscillations in 20 seconds
- Divide number of oscillations by 20
- Repeat 3 times and find the mean (average)
,Describe a method used to determine the centre of mass of the card
- Pin the card to a stand and allow it to rotate freely
- Then, poke 2 holes in the card and insert a plumb line into the first hole
- Mark position where card stops rotating and draw line
- Repeat the same for the other hole
- Intersection of lines is the centre of mass
Explain why the card falls anticlockwise when the angle is large
- Centre of mass lies outside the base
- So anticlockwise moment is created
, Forces and Motion
● Velocity: rate of change of displacement
- Vector quantity with magnitude and vector
● Acceleration: rate of change of velocity
● Mass:
- Amount of matter contained within an object
- All masses have inertia
, - Inertia is the resistance to change in motion
- Larger mass = larger inertia
● Weight
- Force on a mass due to the earth’s gravity
- w=mg
● Density
- How closely packed the particles are
A force can:
- Change the shape
- Accelerate
- Larger force = larger acceleration
- Mass must be constant
- Larger mass = smaller acceleration
- Force constant
- Decelerate
- Change direction
Hooke’s Law: extension of a spring is directly proportional to the force applied if the limit
of proportionality is not reached
- F=kx
● Centripetal force
- Force that causes an object to move in a circle
- Force acts 90* to direction of motion
- Force does not do any work to object
- Because object does not move in the direction of the force
- Force changes direction without changing speed
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