SHA Honors Physics Math Concept Review Summer 2018 Assignment This assignment is to help you review prerequisite knowledge expected of you. This packet is used to review valuable mathematical skills that you will be using in Honors Physics this year. The study of physics, Honors Physics in particular, requires a proficiency in geometry, algebra, and trigonometry. In addition to the science concepts, physics often seems like a course in applied mathematics (WORD PROBLEMS - LOTS OF THEM!). To help you brush up on your math skills, I ve created the following document that reviews many of the skills necessary for a successful year in Honors Physics. All of the math included here should be familiar to you from your previous math and science courses. Within our first few classes, we will review this assignment and it will be assessed. This assignment requires the use of mathematical techniques that are considered routine in Honors Physics. This includes a thorough knowledge of the metric system along with the use of scientific notation and dimensional analysis. The ability to algebraically manipulate physics formulae is another key area of math application. It is VERY important that you complete this assignment. Copying someone s answers is not acceptable; asking for help is. There is a difference. It is my hope that combined with your previous math and science knowledge this assignment is merely a review and a means to brush up on your skills before we begin our actual course work. If you struggle or are unsure with any of these concepts, please take the time to review them on your own. Colleges want students who can find their own information and so do employers. A quiz will be given of these concepts the first week of school in Honors Physics. In the fall, I will expect that you ll know how to tackle these problems and we can focus our energy on physics as quickly as possible. Enjoy your summer! You can contact me via email at meg.tredinnick@shabrynmawr.org if you have any questions. Mrs. Tredinnick
Name Summer Math Principles Review Honors Physics **What if you don t know the conversion factors or formula? Colleges want students who can find their own information and so do employers. Part I: Significant Figures The scales on instruments used for scientific study limit all measurements. We need a way to understand the extent that measured or derived value are valid. Using significant digits (or significant figures) allows the communication of the validity of measured values. Sig figs tell us how accurate the data is. Rules: 1. Nonzero digits are always significant. 2. All final zeros after the decimal point are significant. 3. Zeros between two other significant digits are always significant. 4. Zeros used solely as placeholders are not significant. My favorite way to remember is the Atlantic Pacific Rule. Practice: state the number of significant digits in each measurement. 1. 2804 m 2. 2.84 km 3. 0.0029 kg 4. 0.003068 g 5. 4.6 x 10 5 sec 6. 4.60 x 10-5 sec Part II: Metrics, Scientific Notation & Dimensional Analysis Metric System Science uses the KMS system (SI: System International). KMS stands for kilogram, meter, and second. These are the units of choice for physics. The equations in physics depend on unit agreement. So you must convert to KMS in most problems to arrive at the correct answer.
Practice: Convert each of the following. 1. 3072 g = 2. 925 nm = Kg m 4. 2.16 mm = m 5. 25.0 mg = g 3. 8.8 x10-8 m = mm 6. 6.23 x 10 7 m = Km Scientific Notation In science, very large and very small decimal numbers are conveniently expresses in terms of powers of ten. Numbers expressed with the aid of powers of ten are said to be in scientific notation. Examples: Earth s radius = 6,380,000 m = 6.38 x 10 6 m Bohr radius of H atom = 0.0000000000529 m = 5.29 x 10-11 m All scientific notations are composed of a coefficient (1 < m < 10) and powers of ten. Practice: Express the following in scientific notation: 1. 5,200 sec = 2. 0.00000365 m = Practice: Express the following in their expanded form: 1. 6.2 x 10-4 g = 2. 3.178 x 10 6 kg = Unit Conversion/Dimensional Analysis Problems Units are essential to communicating information in science without them we would not know what a number by itself is supposed to represent (imagine the number and unit are married). The majority of the world, and the scientific community use SI units. Since English units are predominantly used here in the United States, it is important to know how to convert to avoid problems. For example, the Mars Climate Orbiter was launched in 1988. It disintegrated into Mars atmosphere because the output of the orbiter was entered in non-si units (lbs- sec), instead of SI (metric) units (N-sec). This was a $125 million mistake because some NASA engineer forgot to convert the units. Yikes!
Practice: Show all of your work and make sure in include units. 1. The largest diamond ever found had a size of 3106 carats. One carat is equivalent to a mass of 0.200 g. Use the fact that 1.0 kg has a weight of 2.205 lbs. under certain conditions, and determine the weight of this diamond in pounds. 2. Vesna Vulovic survived the longest fall on record without a parachute when her plane exploded and she fell 6 miles, 551 yards. What is this distance in Km (Kilometers)? 3. Bicyclists in the Tour de France reach speeds 34.0 miles per hour (mi/h) on flat sections of the road. What is the speed in (a) kilometers per hour (Km/h) and (b) meters per second (m/s)? 4. A warehouse is 1980 cm long, 1050 cm wide and 495 cm high. What is the volume of the warehouse in cubic meters (m 3 )?
5. The mass of the parasitic wasp Caraphractus cintus can be as small as 5.0 x 10-6 kg. What is this mass in (a) grams (g), (b) milligrams (mg), and (c) micrograms (µg)? 6. Your car gets 34.7 mi/gal on a vacation trip in the U.S. If you were figuring your mileage in Europe, how many km/l did it get? Part III: Algebra The following are ordinary physics problems. Place the answer in scientific notation when appropriate. (Scientific notation is used when it takes less time to write than the ordinary number does. As an example 200 is easier to write than 2.00 x 10 2, but 2.00 x 10 8 is easier to write than 200,000,000). Do your best to cancel units. 1. Kinetic Energy (KE) KE = ½mv 2 (the unit for Energy = J for Joule, J = kg.m 2 /s 2 ) Solve for KE if m (mass) = 6.6 x 10 2 kg and v (velocity) = 2.11 x 10 4 m/s (Answer in Scientific Notation)
2. Height (H) H = v i t + 1 2 gt2 (the unit for height = m for meters) Solve for H if vi ( initial velocity) = 106.1 m/s, t (time) = 10.8 s and g (acceleration due to gravity) = -9.8 m/s 2 3. Pendulum T = 2π L g Solve for T (Period in seconds), if g = 9.8 m/s 2 and L (Length) = 1.25 m Part IV: Geometry and Trigonometry 1. The radius of a circle is 5.5 cm. a. What is the circumference in meters? b. What is its area in square meters? 2. What is the area of the space enclosed between the plotted line on the graph and the x and y-axis at the right? (Hint: break the area under the curve into geometric shapes)
3. How large is θ? Calculate the following unknowns and remember to write all answers with correct units. All triangles are right triangles. USE SOHCAHTOA 4. x = y = θ= 30.0 o 5. dx = dy = θ = 60.0 o
6. c = b = 4.9 m 7. a = c = Part V Graphing Review By graphing data that has been collected, you can determine the following: Does a relationship exist between the variables? What type of relationship exists between the variables? o linear, parabolic, inverse Can an equation be derived to predict future results? Practice: Use the situation and the data provided to create a graph and answer the questions. Complete the graph in Excel, if possible. A car was designed so that each time one liter of gasoline was used, a light would flash on and the driver would then read the number of kilometers traveled. The data is given below. Make a graph and answer the questions about the graph.
A complete graph should include the following: a labeled x and y-axis with appropriate units, a title, an appropriate scale, plotted points, and a line of best fit. Time (min) Position (meters) 0 2 1 8 2 14 3 20 4 26 5 32 1. What is the independent variable? 2. What is the dependent variable? 3. Calculate the slope of the line and include units. What does the slope represent? 4. What position would be expected at 1.5 minutes? 5. Write an equation for the line. What position would you expect at 6 minutes?