General Physics Reading Questions All Chapters

Reading Assignment #1: Vector Analysis

Textbook Sections that I read: 2.1-3

Important Concepts:

• An interaction between two objects can be described and measured in terms of two forces. The force is a push or either a pull.

• There are two types of forces. #1 is a long range force and this force does not require the objects involved to be touching each other. An example of this is when you are holding a magnet away from a refrigerator and you are able to feel the magnetic pull. #2 is a contact force and this occurs only when the objects are touching one another.

• A vector in physics is another name for a force. All vectors have a direction in space and magnitude as well. Both direction and magnitude are of equal importance.

• Any vector can be expressed as the sum of vectors that are parallel to the x-, y- axes (if needed the z-axes as well). These components indicate the magnitude and direction of the three vectors along the axes.

Reading Assignment questions:

8. (a) Is it possible for the sum of two vectors to be smaller in magnitude than the magnitude of either vector? Yes it is possible if the scalar product of the two vectors is negative. (b) Is it possible for the magnitude of the sum of two vectors to be larger than the sum of the magnitudes of the vectors? It isn’t possible because the sums would only be able to be equal at best.

18. (a) If two vectors have the same magnitude, are they necessarily equal? If not, why not? It depends on the direction they are in. They could be unequal if they are in different directions. Can two vectors with different magnitudes be equal? It would not be possible for them to be equal.

Reading Assignment #2: Newton’s First Law

Textbook sections that I read: 2.4

Important concepts:

• When there is more than one force that acts on an object, the subsequent motion of the object is then determined by the net force acting on the object. The net force is the vector sum of all the forces that are acting on the...