Newton's first law: An object stays at rest or in steady motion unless acted on by a net force Newton's second law: F = m x a Newton's third law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction Speed: speed = distance / time Acceleration: a = (final velocity - initial velocity) / time Weight: W = m x g Momentum: p = m x v Work: W = F x d Power: P = W / t Kinetic energy: KE = 1/2 m v squared Gravitational potential energy: PE = m x g x h Density: density = mass / volume Pressure: P = F / A Ohm's law: V = I x R Electric power: P = I x V Wave speed: v = f x wavelength Frequency and period: f = 1 / T Universal gravitation: F = G m1 m2 / r squared Einstein's mass-energy equivalence: E = m c squared Law of conservation of energy: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed in form Law of conservation of momentum: Total momentum stays the same in a closed system Hooke's law: The force of a spring is proportional to how far it is stretched: F = kx Archimedes' principle: The buoyant force equals the weight of the fluid displaced Pascal's principle: Pressure applied to a confined fluid is passed on equally Bernoulli's principle: Faster-moving fluid has lower pressure Boyle's law: At constant temperature, gas pressure goes down as volume goes up Charles's law: At constant pressure, gas volume goes up as temperature goes up Snell's law: Describes how light bends when it passes between materials Law of reflection: The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection Coulomb's law: Electric force depends on charges and on distance squared First law of thermodynamics: Energy is conserved; heat and work change internal energy Second law of thermodynamics: Heat flows from hot to cold, and entropy tends to increase Third law of thermodynamics: A system cannot be cooled to absolute zero in a finite number of steps Kepler's first law: Planets orbit in ellipses with the Sun at one focus Kepler's second law: A planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times Kepler's third law: A planet's orbital period squared is proportional to its distance cubed Centripetal acceleration: a = v squared / r Average velocity: (final position - starting position) / time Distance at constant acceleration from rest: d = 1/2 a t squared Final speed from rest: v = a x t Series circuit resistance: Total R = R1 + R2 + R3 Parallel circuit resistance: 1/R total = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + ... Kinetic energy depends on speed how?: On the square of speed, so doubling speed quadruples KE Mechanical advantage: Output force divided by input force Efficiency: (useful output / total input) x 100 percent Heat energy: Q = m c (change in temperature) Specific heat capacity: Heat needed to raise 1 kg of a substance by 1 degree Ideal gas law: PV = nRT Doppler effect: The pitch or color of a wave changes when the source or observer moves Heisenberg uncertainty principle: You cannot know a particle's exact position and momentum at once Photon energy: E = h x f (Planck's constant times frequency) Torque: Torque = force x distance from the pivot Impulse-momentum: Force x time = change in momentum Escape velocity: The speed needed to break free of a planet's gravity Universal gravitational constant: G, about 6.67 x 10^-11 N m2/kg2 Free flashcards from Peabody at peabody.kids/flashcards/phys-laws-formulas