PHYSICS 135 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Spherical Cow, Electric Charge, Cross Product
Document Summary
Physics 135 coursepack chapter 1 vectors and scalars. Scientists seek patterns in how things work to tell us what can/cannot happen. All sciences rely on the concept that all phenomena occurs because of laws that govern them: laws of nature are universal and inescapable, no matter where you are. Life is only the outcome of physical laws: there is no spark of life to separate dead or alive things. Evolution occurs through selections of variations to work within the limits of laws of nature. Biology and chemistry tend to use unique terminology, while physics tends to focus on describing things the simplest way possible: certain everyday words take on specific meanings when taken in a context relevant to physics. Ex: doubling the size of a sphere: volume = 4/3 (2*r)3. Necessary to know trig: a2+b2=c2, sin( )=b/c=opposite/hypotenuse, cos( )=a/c=adjacent/hypotenuse, tan( )=b/a=opposite/adjacent. Quantities that vary in space and depending on amount: extensive. Properties that do not change depending on location.
