A2 CIE Physics: Measurements and Errors

Here are the study notes for A2 CIE Physics, covering all topics:

Measurements and Errors

Types of errors:
- Random errors: unpredictable and average out to zero
- Systematic errors: consistent and occur in the same direction
Types of measurements:
- Direct measurements: measured directly using instruments
- Indirect measurements: calculated from direct measurements
Errors in measurements:
- Absolute error: difference between measured and true values
- Relative error: absolute error as a fraction of true value
- Percentage error: relative error multiplied by 100

Mechanics

Kinematics:
- Displacement: change in position
- Velocity: rate of change of displacement
- Acceleration: rate of change of velocity
Dynamics:
- Force: push or pull that causes acceleration
- Newton's First Law: inertia, object at rest stays at rest, object in motion stays in motion
- Newton's Second Law: F = ma, force is proportional to acceleration
- Newton's Third Law: every action has an equal and opposite reaction
Momentum:
- Linear momentum: product of mass and velocity
- Conservation of linear momentum: total momentum remains constant in closed systems
Energy:
- Kinetic energy: energy of motion
- Potential energy: energy of position or stored energy
- Conservation of energy: total energy remains constant in closed systems

Oscillations and Waves

Oscillations:
- Simple harmonic motion (SHM): oscillation about a fixed point
- Amplitude: maximum displacement from equilibrium
- Period: time taken for one oscillation
- Frequency: number of oscillations per second
Waves:
- Types: mechanical, electromagnetic
- Characteristics:
  - Wavelength: distance between two consecutive points in phase
  - Frequency: number of oscillations per second
  - Speed: distance traveled per second
- Superposition: combining waves to form a new wave
- Interference: superposition of waves with same frequency and amplitude

Thermal Physics

Temperature:
- Celsius scale: water freezes at 0°C, boils at 100°C
- Kelvin scale: absolute zero at 0 K, water freezes at 273 K, boils at 373 K
Heat transfer:
- Conduction: direct contact between particles
- Convection: circulation of fluids
- Radiation: electromagnetic waves
Internal energy:
- Total energy of a system
- Changes with temperature
Specific heat capacity:
- Energy required to change temperature by 1°C
- Different for different substances

Electricity

Electric charge:
- Positive and negative charges
- Like charges repel, opposite charges attract
Electric field:
- Force per unit charge
- Direction of force on a positive charge
Electric potential:
- Voltage: potential difference between two points
- Electric potential energy: energy associated with a charge in an electric field
Resistance:
- Opposition to flow of electric charge
- Dependent on material, length, and cross-sectional area
Ohm's Law: V = IR, voltage is proportional to current

Atomic Physics

Atomic structure:
- Protons: positive charge, in nucleus
- Neutrons: no charge, in nucleus
- Electrons: negative charge, orbit nucleus
Energy levels:
- Discrete energy levels in atoms
- Energy changes when electrons jump between levels
Ionization energy: energy required to remove an electron
Radiation:
- Types: alpha, beta, gamma
- Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation

Nuclear Physics

Radioactivity:
- Spontaneous emission of radiation from nuclei
- Types: alpha, beta, gamma
Half-life:
- Time for half of nuclei to decay
- Exponential decay
Nuclear reactions:
- Fission: splitting of heavy nuclei
- Fusion: combining of light nuclei
Binding energy: energy required to separate nucleus into individual nucleons

Measurements and Errors

Errors can be classified into two types:
- Random errors, which are unpredictable and average out to zero
- Systematic errors, which are consistent and occur in the same direction
Measurements can be classified into two types:
- Direct measurements, which are measured directly using instruments
- Indirect measurements, which are calculated from direct measurements
Errors in measurements have three types:
- Absolute error, which is the difference between the measured and true values
- Relative error, which is the absolute error as a fraction of the true value
- Percentage error, which is the relative error multiplied by 100

Mechanics

Kinematics:
- Displacement is the change in position
- Velocity is the rate of change of displacement
- Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity
Dynamics:
- A force is a push or pull that causes acceleration
- Newton's First Law states that an object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion, unless acted upon by an external force
- Newton's Second Law states that force is proportional to acceleration, and is expressed as F = ma
- Newton's Third Law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction
Momentum:
- Linear momentum is the product of mass and velocity
- The conservation of linear momentum states that the total momentum remains constant in closed systems
Energy:
- Kinetic energy is the energy of motion
- Potential energy is the energy of position or stored energy
- The conservation of energy states that the total energy remains constant in closed systems

Oscillations and Waves

Oscillations:
- Simple harmonic motion (SHM) is an oscillation about a fixed point
- Amplitude is the maximum displacement from equilibrium
- Period is the time taken for one oscillation
- Frequency is the number of oscillations per second
Waves:
- There are two types of waves: mechanical and electromagnetic
- Characteristics of waves include:
  - Wavelength, which is the distance between two consecutive points in phase
  - Frequency, which is the number of oscillations per second
  - Speed, which is the distance traveled per second
- Superposition is the combination of waves to form a new wave
- Interference is the superposition of waves with the same frequency and amplitude

Thermal Physics

Temperature:
- The Celsius scale has water freezing at 0°C and boiling at 100°C
- The Kelvin scale has absolute zero at 0 K, water freezing at 273 K, and boiling at 373 K
Heat transfer:
- Conduction occurs through direct contact between particles
- Convection occurs through the circulation of fluids
- Radiation occurs through electromagnetic waves
Internal energy:
- It is the total energy of a system
- It changes with temperature
Specific heat capacity:
- It is the energy required to change the temperature of a substance by 1°C
- It is different for different substances

Electricity

Electric charge:
- Positive and negative charges exist
- Like charges repel, and opposite charges attract
Electric field:
- It is the force per unit charge
- The direction of the force on a positive charge is the direction of the electric field
Electric potential:
- Voltage is the potential difference between two points
- Electric potential energy is the energy associated with a charge in an electric field
Resistance:
- It is the opposition to the flow of electric charge
- It is dependent on the material, length, and cross-sectional area
Ohm's Law states that voltage is proportional to current, and is expressed as V = IR

Atomic Physics

Atomic structure:
- Protons have a positive charge and are found in the nucleus
- Neutrons have no charge and are found in the nucleus
- Electrons have a negative charge and orbit the nucleus
Energy levels:
- Discrete energy levels exist in atoms
- Energy changes when electrons jump between levels
Ionization energy is the energy required to remove an electron
Radiation:
- There are three types of radiation: alpha, beta, and gamma
- Radiation can be ionizing and non-ionizing

Nuclear Physics

Radioactivity:
- It is the spontaneous emission of radiation from nuclei
- There are three types of radiation: alpha, beta, and gamma
Half-life:
- It is the time for half of the nuclei to decay
- It follows an exponential decay pattern
Nuclear reactions:
- Fission is the splitting of heavy nuclei
- Fusion is the combining of light nuclei
Binding energy is the energy required to separate a nucleus into individual nucleons