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Physics Terminologies, Laws, and Formulas: A Comprehensive Guide, Cheat Sheet of Physics

Physics

A compilation of key terminologies, laws, and formulas in physics, primarily focusing on mechanics, waves, and electricity. It includes definitions of terms such as acceleration, velocity, and terminal velocity, along with fundamental laws like newton's laws of motion, hooke's law, and ohm's law. The document also presents essential formulas for kinematic equations, forces, momentum, work done, energy, wave speed, and electrical power, offering a concise reference for students studying introductory physics. It serves as a quick guide to the basic principles and equations necessary for understanding these core physics concepts, making it a useful resource for exam preparation and quick review. Structured to aid in the recall and application of these fundamental concepts.

Typology: Cheat Sheet

2024/2025

Uploaded on 06/04/2025

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TERMINOLOGIES
1. acceleration - rate of change of velocity
2. Speed- rate of change of distance
3. Velocity- rate of change of displacement
4. Instantaneous velocity - velocity of an object at a specific point in time
5. Terminal velocity - maximum velocity of an object that occurs when the resistive
and driving forces acting on an object are equal to each other
6. Scalar quantity - quantity that has magnitude only
7. Vector quantity - quantity that has magnitude and direction
8. Center of gravity - single point through which all the weight of an object can be
said to act
9. Efficiency - the ratio of useful energy output and total energy input for a given
system
10. Equilibrium - an object is in equilibrium if the resultant force and resultant
moment acting on the object is equal to zero
11. Gravitational field strength - the force per unit mass exerted on a small test mass
placed within the field
12. Gravitational potential energy- the component of an object’s energy due to its
position in a gravitational field
13. Kinetic energy - a form of energy possessed by all moving objects
14. Moment - product of force and perpendicular distance from the line of action of
force to the pivot
15. Momentum- product of an object’s mass and velocity
16. Power - rate of energy transfer
17. Weight - product of mass of an object and the acceleration due to gravity
18. Work done - energy transferred by a force moving over a distance
19. Density - mass per unit volume of a material
20. Stiffness - a measure of how difficult it is to stretch an object
21. Strain - ratio of an object’s extension to its original length
22. Stress - amount of force acting per unit area
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TERMINOLOGIES

  1. acceleration - rate of change of velocity
  2. Speed - rate of change of distance
  3. Velocity - rate of change of displacement
  4. Instantaneous velocity - velocity of an object at a specific point in time
  5. Terminal velocity - maximum velocity of an object that occurs when the resistive and driving forces acting on an object are equal to each other
  6. Scalar quantity - quantity that has magnitude only
  7. Vector quantity - quantity that has magnitude and direction
  8. Center of gravity - single point through which all the weight of an object can be said to act
  9. Efficiency - the ratio of useful energy output and total energy input for a given system
  10. Equilibrium - an object is in equilibrium if the resultant force and resultant moment acting on the object is equal to zero
  11. Gravitational field strength - the force per unit mass exerted on a small test mass placed within the field
  12. Gravitational potential energy - the component of an object’s energy due to its position in a gravitational field
  13. Kinetic energy - a form of energy possessed by all moving objects
  14. Moment - product of force and perpendicular distance from the line of action of force to the pivot
  15. Momentum - product of an object’s mass and velocity
  16. Power - rate of energy transfer
  17. Weight - product of mass of an object and the acceleration due to gravity
  18. Work done - energy transferred by a force moving over a distance
  19. Density - mass per unit volume of a material
  20. Stiffness - a measure of how difficult it is to stretch an object
  21. Strain - ratio of an object’s extension to its original length
  22. Stress - amount of force acting per unit area
  1. Elastic deformation - it is when a material deforms as force is applied but returns to its original position as the force is removed
  2. Plastic deformation - it is when a material deforms as a force is applied but does not get back to its original shape when the force is removed
  3. Elastic limit - point after which if force is applied, material will deform plastically
  4. Limit of proportionality - point at which the stress on an object is so great that hooke’s law is no longer applied to the object
  5. Yield point - the point at which the material starts to stretch without an increase in stress
  6. Young modulus - ratio of stress and strain for a given material
  7. Laminar flow - a state of flow where the layers of fluid move together in parallel with little or no mixing between layers
  8. Turbulent flow - a state of flow where the layers of fluid mix together unpredictably causing a chaotic state
  9. Upthrust - upward force that a liquid applies on an object
  10. Viscosity - quantity measuring the internal friction of a fluid, acting to reduce the flow of a fluid
  11. Viscous drag - Viscous drag is the drag force felt by an object moving through a fluid due to the viscosity of the fluid
  12. amplitude - a wave’s maximum displacement from its equilibrium position
  13. Frequency -The number of waves passing a particular point per second. It is measured in Hertz (Hz).
  14. Time Period : The time it takes for one complete wave to pass a particular point.
  15. Wavelength : The distance between a particular point on one cycle of the wave and the same point on the next cycle.
  16. Wavefront : Created by overlapping lots of different waves. A wavefront is where all the vibrations are in phase and the same distance from the source.
  17. Phase - a measure of how far through the wave’s cycle a given point on the wave is
  18. Coherence - waves with same frequency and constant phase difference
  19. Interference - superposition of amplitudes of waves when they meet
  20. Nodes - a position of minimum displacement in a stationary wave
  21. Antinodes - a position of maximum displacement in a stationary wave
  22. Superposition - when waves meet, the overall displacement would be the vector sum of the individual displacement of the waves causing it
  1. Resistance - it is a measure of how difficult it is for charge carriers to pass through a component
  2. Power - it is the energy transferred over time
  3. Resistivity - it's a measure of how easily a material conducts electricity
  4. Drift velocity - average speed at which charged particles move along a conductor
  5. Potential divider - it is a circuit where several resistors in series are connected across a voltage source, used to split the potential difference
  6. electromotive force (emf) - energy transferred by a cell per coulomb of charge that passes through it
  7. Internal resistance - resistence which is caused by electrons colliding with atoms inside a battery
  8. Thermistor - a component in which resistance goes down with increasing temperature
  9. Light dependent resistor - a component in which resistance goes down with increasing light intensity
  10. Diode - a component that allows current to flow in one direction only

LAWS

  1. Newton’s 1st^ law An object will remain at rest or traveling at a constant velocity, until it experiences a resultant force
  2. Newton’s 2 nd law The acceleration of an object is proportional to the resultant force experienced by the object. [F = ma]
  3. Newton’s 3 rd law For each force experienced by an object, the object exerts an equal and opposite force.
  4. Principle of conservation of linear momentum In a closed system, the total momentum before an event is equal to the total momentum after the event. Momentum is always conserved in collisions where no external forces act
  5. Principle of moments For an object in equilibrium, the sum of clockwise moments about a pivot is equal to the sum of anticlockwise moments.
  6. Principle of conservation of energy Energy cannot be created or destroyed but can be transferred from one form to another. Total energy in a closed system stays constant. 7) Archimedes’ principle The upthrust experienced by an object is equal to the weight of the uid it displaces.
  7. Stokes law The viscous drag (F) experienced by a small, spherical object moving slowly with laminar ow is directly proportional to the velocity and the radius of the sphere, and the uid’s viscosity. It can be calculated using F = 6π ηrv
  8. Hooke’s law

Formulas

Unit :

Mechanics

Kinematic equations of motion

  1. Distance (m) = {𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑚/𝑠) + 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑚/𝑠)} 2 𝑋 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝑠) 𝑠 = t (𝑢 + 𝑣) 2
  2. Velocity (m/s) = initial velocity (m/s) + acceleration (m/s^2 ) X time (s) v = u + at
  3. Distance (m) = initial velocity (m/s) X time (s) + ½ X acceleration (m/s^2 ) X time^2 s = ut + ½ at^2
  4. final velocity 2 (m/s) = initial velocity^2 (m/s) + 2 X acceleration (m/s^2 ) X distance v^2 = u^2 + 2as Forces
  5. Force (N) = mass (kg) X acceleration (m/s^2 ) ΣF = ma
  6. gravitational field strength (m/s^2 ) = 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 (𝑁) 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 (𝑘𝑔) g = 𝐹 𝑚
  7. Weight (N) = mass (kg) X gravitational field strength (m/s^2 ) W = mg

Momentum

  1. Momentum (kg ms-1) = mass (kg) X velocity (m/s) p = mv Moment of force
  2. Moment of force (Nm) = Force (N) X distance (m) M = Fx Work done
  3. Work done (J) = force (N) X distance (m) ∆W = F∆s Kinetic energy
  4. Kinetic energy (J) = ½ X mass (kg) X velocity (m/s^2 ) Ek = ½ mv^2 Gravitational potential energy
  5. Gravitational potential energy (J) = mass (kg) X gravitational field strength (m/s^2 ) X height (m) ∆Egrav = mg∆h Power
  6. Power (Watt) = 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 (𝐽) 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝑠) P = 𝐸 𝑡
  7. Power (Watt) = 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 (𝐽) 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝑠) P = 𝑊 𝑡 Efficiency
  8. Efficiency = 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡
  9. Efficiency = 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡

Elastic strain energy

  1. Elastic strain energy (or work done) (J) = ½ X average force (N) X extension (m) ∆ Eel = ½ F∆x ∆ Eel = ½ k (∆x)^2 [where k = spring constant (Nm-1)]

Unit 2 : Waves and particle nature of light

WAVES

  1. Wave speed (m/s) = 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 (𝐻𝑧) 𝑋 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ (𝑚) v = fλ
  2. Frequency (Hz) = 1/ Time period (s) f = 1/T Speed of a transverse wave on a string
  3. Speed of wave (m/s) = 𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝑁) 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝑘𝑔𝑚−1) v = 𝑇 μ Intensity of radiation
  4. Intensity (W/m^2 ) = 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 (𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡) 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 (𝑚2) I = 𝑃 𝐴 Refractive index
  5. n1 sin θ1= n2 sin θ where : ○ n1 = the refractive index of material 1 ○ n2 = the refractive index of material 2

○ θ1 = the angle of incidence of the ray in material 1 (°) ○ θ2 = the angle of refraction of the ray in material 2 (°)

  1. Refractive index = 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑎𝑐𝑢𝑢𝑚 (𝑚𝑠−1) 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 (𝑚𝑠−1) n = 𝑐 𝑣
  2. n = [ v = speed (m/s)] 𝑣 𝑣
  3. n = [ f = frequency (Hz) ] 𝑓 𝑓
  4. n = [ = wavelength (m) ] λ λ2 λ
  5. n = [ sin i = angle of incidence , sin r = angle of refraction ] 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑖 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑟 Critical angle
  6. sin c (critical angle) = 1/ refractive index sin c = 1 𝑛 Diffraction grating
  7. refractive index X wavelength of source (m) = spacing between adjacent slits (m) X angular separation between the order of maxima ( o^ ) nλ = dsinθ de Broglie wavelength
  8. de Broglie wavelength (m) = 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑘’𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 (𝐽 𝑠) 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 (𝑘𝑔 𝑚 𝑠−1) λ = ℎ 𝑝
  9. de Broglie wavelength (m) = 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑘’𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 (𝐽 𝑠) 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 (𝑘𝑔) 𝑋 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑚/𝑠) λ = ℎ 𝑚𝑣
  1. Power (Watt) = current^2 (A) X Resistance (Ω) P = I^2 R
  2. Power (Watt) = 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 2 (𝑉) 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 (Ω) P = 𝑉 2 𝑅
  3. Energy transferred (J) = potential difference (V) X current (A) X time (s) W/E = VIt Resistivity
  4. Resistance (Ω) = 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 (Ω𝑚) 𝑋 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ (𝑚) 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 (𝑚2) R = ρ𝑙 𝐴
  5. Current (A) = charge carrier density (m-3) X charge of the charge carrier (C) X drift velocity (m s−1) X cross sectional area of the wire (m^2 ) [ calculated using A = πr 2 ] I = nqvA Electromotive force
  6. Emf (V) = 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 (𝐽) 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 (𝐶) Ε = 𝐸 𝑄
  7. Electromotive force (V) = Current (A) X resistance of the circuit (Ω) + current (A) X internal resistance (Ω) Emf = IR + Ir
  8. Electromotive force (V) = voltage (V) + current (A) X internal resistance (Ω) Emf = V + Ir

DATA SHEET

Acceleration of free fall g = 9.81 m s− Electron charge e = −1.60 × 10−19^ C Electron mass e = 9.11 × 10−31^ kg Electronvolt 1 eV = 1.60 × 10−19^ J Gravitational field strength g = 9.81 N kg− Planck constant h = 6.63 × 10−34^ J s Speed of light in a vacuum c = 3.00 × 10^8 m s−