GRADE ELEVEN PHYSICS
SPH 3U(G)
MR. MOORS
Rodney.Moors@ocdsb.ca
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Physics is the original science that studies the physical
world. It used to be known as natural philosophy. Today
it is mostly concerned with the behaviour and structure
of matter.
The study of physics often leads to mathematical
relationships. These relationships are useful because
they describe the nature of matter and they allow the
accurate prediction of future events.
PHYSICS IS MATHEMATICAL.
PHYSICS CAN BE ABSTRACT, YOU MUST THINK.
PHYSICS DEMANDS HARD WORK.
SAY THE F-WORD OR ABOVE??????
(I decide what is above or below, e.g. the sword is below)
THREE CHOICES
1. DO TEN PUSH-UPS
2. DO TWENTY CRUNCHES
3. SING I’M A LITTLE TEAPOT (with proper
actions) IN FRONT OF CLASS
(this could also be foisted upon you in the halls!!)
KEEP THIS ROOM CLEAN AND NEAT!!!!
-put away equipment
-throw out garbage and recyclables properly
-all are expected to pitch in
-if we cannot do this restrictions will follow
All due dates, notes, assignments, labs, etc.
can be found at
moorsscience.wikispaces.com
Using a Calculator
Do the following calculations by pressing your calculator
as few times as possible.
4528
25616
1.105
3.16 10
8.714 10 
6
9.54 10
2
5
1.203 10
4
The physics in this course is challenging but 90% of the
difficulties arising in solving physics problems come from
small math mistakes (what I call little math). When
difficulties arise the first thing to do is look over every
step of your calculation or have someone else look it
SIGNIFICANT DIGITS
Two types of quantities are used in science: exact values
and measurements. Exact values include defined quantities
(1 kg is 1000 g) and counted values ( 12 donuts).
Measurements are not exact because they always include
some degree of uncertainty. A measurement is made up of
numbers that are certain and one digit, the last one that is
estimated or uncertain.
Digits that are part of the measurement are significant while
digits that are not part of the measurement are insignificant.
A few rules will help distinguish this statement.
-all non-zero digits and in-between zeroes are significant
-zeroes in front of all of the non-zero digits are insignificant
-zeroes behind all of the non-zero digits and behind the
decimal point are significant
-zeroes behind all of the non-zero digits but before the
decimal may be significant or insignificant (assume
significant unless you know where the estimated value of the
measurement actually is)
-use scientific notation to show how many significant digits
are present
40025
4.0025 x 104
5
360.20
3.6020 x 102
5
0.00450
4.50 x 10-3
3
2600
2.6 x 103
2
2600.0
2.6000 x 103
5
850000
8.5 x 105
2
12401
1.2401 x 104
5
0.00007
7 x 10-5
1
Calculations and Significant Figures
Performing the actual calculation and tracking significant figures is
the only real way to ascertain the number of significant figures that
make up the correct answer.
Whenever an estimated value is part of a calculation the number it
produces is estimated.
Simplified rules have been developed to make these calculations
easier.
32.7
 4 .3
32.7
 4 .3
97 1
13 0 8 0
1 40 .51
141
Adding and Subtracting
When adding and subtracting, the answer should be
precise to the same number column as the most
imprecise number in the calculation.
Multiplying and Dividing
When multiplying and dividing, the answer should have
the same number of significant digits as the number in
the calculation which has the fewest significant digits.
105.7
 86.84
18.86
18.9
23.45
1147
 571.5
1741.95
1742
56.3
 2.9
163.27
160
The rules and procedures you have seen apply to
measured values. They will be utilized in lab write-ups or
in other lab based evaluations where indicated.
On tests, quizzes or assignments you have a choice.
You can perform calculations following the rules above
or you can simply always use four significant figures and
only 4 significant figures. You must let me know at the
beginning of assignment if you are using the four
significant figure method.
homework: complete significant figures worksheet
UNIT CONVERSION
The metric system will be used in this unit so
conversions with prefixes will be performed.
The units of time also often need to be
converted.
km 20km 20 1000m
20


?
hr
1hr
3600s
9
nm 50nm 50 110 m
50 2 


?
2
3
2
ms
1ms
(110 s)
Convert the following measurements to the units
stated.
-express answer in scientific notation
-express answer to 4 significant digits (round
properly)
a) 6.42 km to m
c) 52.3 km/hr to m/s
e) 45.9 nm to km
g) 45.6 km/hr2 to m/s2
b) 1478 s to hr
d) 34.5 Mm to mm
f) 79 m/s to km/hr
h) 0.239 m/s2 to km/hr2
homework: p.349 6, 8, 9 and worksheets
Answers
a) 6.420 x 103 m
b) 4.106 x 10-1 hr
c) 1.453 x 101 m/s
d) 3.450 x 1013 mm
e) 4.59 x 10-11 km
f) 2.844 x 102 km/hr
g) 3.519 x 10-3 m/s2
h) 3.097 x 103 km/hr2
REARRANGING EQUATIONS
Rearrange the following equations so that
the letter indicated is isolated on the left
hand side of the equals symbol.
v2  v1  at
v2  v1  at
v2  v1
 t
a
t
v2  v1
 t 
a
7 homework p.349 7
n
a) A  LW W
g) V  V 
n
1
2
t
b) P  2L  2W W
n
h) V  V 
t
1
2
2 r
t
c) A  r
Gm
m
1
2 d
d) y  mx  b x
i) F 
2

d
e) E  I 2 RT R
v

v
1
2
j) d  (
)t
f) C  A(r  2r ) r2
2
1
2
v2