PHYSICS NOTES

PAPER-I
FOR CSS-2020

By

MUHAMMAD SHAHID HUSSAIN

Civil Engineer
Communication and Works Department
Government of Punjab
 1. MECHANICS
VECTORS:

Physical Quantity:
Quantity which can be measured by available apparatus and in terms of which laws of Physics
are expressed is called a Physical Quantity. Physical Quantities are of three types, i.e. Scalars, Vectors and Tensors.
Scalars:
A scalar is a quantity which does not change due to change in direction and is measured by its magnitude
only. It takes on a numerical value, i.e., a number. Examples of scalars are time, temperature, length, distance, speed,
density, energy, voltage, potential and pressure.
Some Important Points:
 It obeys simple laws of algebra.
 The scalar quantity, which is found by modulus of a vector quantity is always positive, e.g., distance, speed
etc.
 The scalar quantity which is found by dot product of two vectors may be negative, e.g., work, power etc.
Vectors:
A vector is a quantity that has both magnitude and direction. We can say
that a vector is an arrow or a directed line segment. For example, a velocity vector has
length or magnitude, which is speed, and direction, which indicates the direction of motion.
Typical examples of vectors are weight, displacement, velocity, acceleration, force, electric current density.
A vector has a tail, called its initial point, and a tip (arrow head), called its terminal point. The length or magnitude
of a vector also called its norm (or Euclidean norm). A vector of length 1 and zero is called a unit vector and null
vector, respectively. Null vector has no direction. Zero can not be added to null vector.
Polar vectors:
The vectors related to translator motion of a body are known as polar vectors, e.g., linear velocity, linear momentum
etc.
Axial or pseudo vectors:
The vectors which are rotatory to rotatory motion of a body are known as axial vectors, e.g., torque, angular velocity,
etc.
Collinearity of Vectors:
r r r r
i. Two vectors randr arer collinear
a b � a = l b for some scalar l .
ii. Three
r
vectors a , b and c are collinear, if there exists scalars x , y , z such that
r r
x a + y b + z c = 0. Where, x + y + z = 0
Also the points A, B, C are collinear if AB = l BC for some scalar l .
Coplanarity of Vectors:r r r
i. a b c
Three vectors , and are coplanar if one of them is a linear combination of the other two if there exist
r r r
scalars x and yr such that c = x a + yb .
r r u
r r
ii. Four vectors a , b , c and d are coplanar if $ scalars x , y , z, w not all zero simultaneously such that x a + y
r r u
r
b + z c + w d = 0, where , x + y + z + z = 0.

Angle between the two vectors:

Angle between the two vectors is always less than or equal to 1800.
Note:

Magnitude of Resultant R of two vectors, of magnitude A and B with angle f between them, is given as:

R= A2 + B 2 + 2 AB cos f

Inner Product (Dot Product) Of Two Vectors:

The inner product is a kind of multiplication of two
vectors, defined in such a way that the outcome is a scalar. It is also called dot product or scalar product.
Definition:
The inner product or dot product (read “a dot b”) of two vectors a and b is
the product of their lengths times the cosine of their angle;

a . b = |a| |b| cos q

PHYSICS NOTES FOR CSS-2020 by MUHAMMAD SHAHID HUSSAIN 1

 The angle q , 0 �q �p , between a and b is measured when the initial points of the vectors
coincide.

In components, a = [ a1 a 2 a 3 ] , b = [ b1 b 2 b3 ] then;

a.b=
a1b1 + a2b2 + a3b3

Note:

The inner product of two nonzero vectors is 0 if and only if these vectors are perpendicular.
Important Inequalities and Equations:
Let there be two vectors a and b,
a.b=b.a Symmetry
(a + b) . c = ac + bccc Distributivity
|a.b|≤ |a||b| Cauchy–Schwarz inequality
|a+b|≤ |a|+|b| Triangle inequality
| a + b |2 + | a ─ b |2 ≤ 2( | a |2 + | b |2 ) Parallelogram equality

Vector Product (Cross Product) Of Two Vectors:

The vector product is a kind of multiplication of two vectors,
defined in such a way that the outcome is also a vector. It is also called cross product.
Definition:
The vector product or cross product (read “a dot b”) of two vectors a and b is
the product of their lengths times the sin of their angle;

a . b = |a| |b| sin q

The angle q , 0 �q �p , between a and b is measured when the initial points of the vectors
coincide.

In components, a = [ a1 a 2 a 3 ] , b = [ b1 b 2 b3 ] then;

a.b=
a1b1 + a2b2 + a3b3

PHYSICS NOTES FOR CSS-2020 by MUHAMMAD SHAHID HUSSAIN 2

PHYSICS NOTES FOR CSS-2020 by MUHAMMAD SHAHID HUSSAIN 3