Physics Workbook For Dummies

From Physics Workbook For Dummies by Steve Holzner, Ph.D.

Avoid difficulties when working on physics by knowing the common issues that can cause trouble in physics problems, understanding physical constants, and grasping principal physics equations.

Avoiding Issues When Solving Physics Problems

If you get stumped working on physics formulas, take a deep breath, and recheck your work. Go through these common physics problem issues to make sure you have avoided them:

Mixing units
Getting the answer in the wrong units
Swapping radians and degrees
Getting sines and cosines mixed up
Failing to treat vectors as vectors
Neglecting latent heat
Getting refraction angles wrong
Getting the signs wrong in Kirchoff’s loops
Adding resistors incorrectly
Getting ray diagrams wrong

Physics Constants

Physics constants, like the mass of a proton or speed of light, are physical quantities with fixed numerical values. This list contains the most common physics constants:

Important Physics Equations

Physics is packed with formulas and equations. This comprehensive list, arranged by topic, represents essential physics equations you need to keep handy when you're dealing with physics formulas.