PHYS 101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Significant Figures, Physical Therapy, Luigi Galvani

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Physics
• Course: PHYS 101
• Professor: Andrew Debenedictis

Document Summary

Theories explain and order the observations: observations may help inspire a theory. Testing ideas or theories to see if predictions are correct. A theory never can be absolutely proved . A theory can quantitatively predict a phenomena. 1-2 physics and its relation to other fields. Luigi galvani" frogs" legs and electric spark. Physics is used in many fields: zoologist, physical therapist, life scientists, architects. Model: analogy or mental image of the phenomena in terms of something else we are already familiar with: purpose: to give us an approximate visual picture when we can"t see or understand what is actually happening. Theory: broader, more detailed; gives quantitatively testable predictions, often with great precision. Law: concise but general statements found experimentally valid about how nature behaves eg. f = ma. No measurement is absolutely precise: precision: repeatability of the measurement using a given instrument, accuracy: how close a measurement is to the true value.