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igcse physics notesprinted 7 · PDF 7
124 pagesrevision 46936
printed 7 · PDF 7
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7
The period of a pendulum is the time taken for one full swing of the
pendulum bob.
To find the period more accurately, it is better to time at least 10 full swings
of the pendulum and then divide by 10 (or the number of swings you have
timed) to find the time taken for one full swing to occur. This minimises
human reaction error, since it is a smaller part of the time recorded as a
whole.
Scalars and Vectors
A scalar quantity is a physical quantity that has only magnitude and no
direction. Examples include time, mass, energy, distance, speed and
temperature.
A vector quantity is a physical quantity that has both magnitude and
direction. This means that vector quantities can also be represented by an
arrow pointing in the direction of the quantity.