Life of Fred
®
Pre-Algebra 0 with Physics
Stanley F. Schmidt, Ph.D.
Polka Dot Publishing
A Note Before We Begin
In the last chapter of this book, Fred is telling the story of how
physicists discovered things about the atom. He tells about how
Heisenberg announced his uncertainty principle in 1927: We will never be
able to locate an electron exactly.
We have lost the electron.
When my father was delivering
pianos back in 1927, he never lost
a single piano.
1927
The first quarter century of our lives is the best time to learn new
things. Four-year-olds can learn a new language a lot easier than fortyyear-olds.
We have lost the electron.
We might lose pianos.
But we don’t want to lose this chance to learn.
In the government schools, physics is often taught in the twelfth
grade. Too much time is lost waiting that long. This book fills a big gap.
The title of this book might have been Physics after Arithmetic or Physics
before Algebra.
It fits nicely right here
Life of Fred: Fractions
Life of Fred: Decimals and Percents
Life of Fred: Pre-Algebra 0 with Physics
Life of Fred: Pre-Algebra 1 with Biology
Life of Fred: Pre-Algebra 2 with Economics
THREE THINGS FOR MAXIMUM SUCCESS
1. There is aYour Turn to Play at the end of each chapter/lesson. Please
write out the answers on paper before you look at the Complete Solutions
offered on the next page. It will help you to learn. Students who do this
often do much better on the Bridges that come at the end of every six
chapters.
7
2. Get a sheet of paper and head it with Formulas. If your handwriting is
really good, Formulas. If your handwriting isn’t so good, Formulas. You will
not be graded on your handwriting skills.✶
Write down each formula that you encounter in the book and draw
a little picture.
3. I can’t think of a third thing.
HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED
Each chapter is a lesson—40 chapters and six Bridges to cross.
Enjoy your journey with Fred.
This is the last book in the Life of Fred series in which I ask you
not to use your calculator. This is your last chance to practice your
addition and multiplication tables. In Life of Fred: Pre-Algebra 1 with
Biology, you can haul out your calculator and use it to your heart’s content.
Reading is the fastest way to learn. It is much faster than watching
videos or listening to a lecture.
Just ask my daughter, Jill.
✶
That may come later in life. If you become a teacher and your handwriting at
the blackboard looks like this, your students might giggle.
8
Contents
Chapter 1
Friction.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
math vs. physics
how to move a safe
nature can surprise us
Chapter 2
Proportional. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
friction is independent of speed
constants of proportionality
exact speed of light
Chapter 3
One Meter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
history of the meter
period of a pendulum
square roots
Chapter 4
c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
continuing the history of the meter
hard c and soft c, hard g and soft g
constant of proportionality for friction, μ
Chapter 5
Finding Mu.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
solving 1.7 = 4μ
distance equals rate times time, d = rt
ducks pronounce μ differently than cows
Chapter 6
Super Fred. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
when in life to start weightlifting
mathematicians use erasers; physicists shove them
why Super Fred can’t push a safe down the hallway
The Bridge (with five tries). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 7
Measuring Force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
two types of scales
plotting points
experiments with a spring
Chapter 8
Absolute Truth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
how many experiments to prove something is true
hunch, conjecture, theory, law
two suns in our solar system
Chapter 9
Four Ways to Stretch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Hooke’s law
breaking rubber bands
9
Chapter 10
Two Kinds of Friction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
kinetic friction vs. static friction
how to compute μk and μs
why we write from left to right
Chapter 11
Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
nine forms of energy
the Energy Cards game
storing energy
Chapter 12
A Time for Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
why dolls should not drive bulldozers
how to make it easier for students
to see their teacher
The Bridge (with five tries). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Chapter 13
Flabbergasted Fred.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
slope of a line
Kingie shows Fred a new way to find μs
a mathematician—one of the safest occupations
Chapter 14
Normal Force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
how you know that you have a liver
adding vectors
resolving a vector into two perpendicular vectors
Chapter 15
Math Makes Things Easier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
similar triangles
Kingie proves his new way of finding μs is right
Chapter 16
Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
what is work for us is not work for physicists
work equals force times distance
the coldest possible temperture
Chapter 17
Transfer of Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
squishing Fred into the plastic region
Law of Conservation of Energy
the universe is pure energy
perpetual motion machines
Chapter 18
Storing Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
photosynthesis
Calories, ergs, joules, and electron volts
one tablespoon of butter
The Bridge (with five tries). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Chapter 19
Metric System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
1 kilogram doesn’t equal 2.20466262 pounds
physicists say that no one in Germany weighs 55 kg
10
Chapter 20
Measuring Mass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
one way to measure mass without having
to count the atoms
1 kg is a chunk of metal in France
Chapter 21
A Second Way to Measure Mass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
inertia
Ping-Pong balls hurt less than golf balls
why cramming doesn’t work
Chapter 22
Pressure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
how to check if you have lost some math ability
official definition of pressure
why getting hit with the point of a corkscrew hurts
Chapter 23
Swim Masks.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
area of an ellipse
1 square foot equals 144 square inches
exponents
Chapter 24
Density. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
swimming in cotton candy
neutron stars
weight of one atom of iron
Cavalieri’s Principle
fluid pressure, p = dh
The Bridge (with five tries). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Chapter 25
Why Bubbles Float Upward.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
special glass in car windshields
buoyancy, b = dv
Chapter 26 temporarily canceled
Chapter 26
Why Things Sink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
finding the volume of a desk lamp
1 cubic foot = 123 cubic inches
80-pound rubber ducky
Chapter 27
Nose and Brain.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
an advantage of a huge nose
your brain floats
Chapter 28
The Long Straw. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
air has weight
can’t use a straw on the moon
why it is nice that ice floats
Chapter 29
Nature Loves Vacuums. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
knowing by looking
50-foot glass tubes
11
Chapter 30
Weighing the Atmosphere. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
2,123 pounds of pressure on every square foot
of Kitty’s back
popping Fred’s head
The Bridge (with five tries). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Chapter 31
Water Fountains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
learning etiquette
electric circuits
an elevator definition of an electron
Chapter 32
A Small History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
bologna, baloney, and Bologna
dead frogs and electric circuits
why we don’t put frogs in our flashlights
Chapter 33
Kitty Café.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
café or cafe
making schematic drawings of electrical circuits
Chapter 34
Volts and Amperes.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
batteries don’t make electrons
how many electrons in an ampere
resistors
Chapter 35
Ohms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
why “I” stands for current
why we wear clothes on days ending in y.
Chapter 36
Ohm’s Law.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
series circuits
V = IR reminds Fred of virtue
Chapter 37
Parallel Circuits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
computing the ohms of resistors in parallel
proof of the formula for resistors in parallel
The Final Bridge (with six tries!). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Chapter 38
Lunch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
the number of atoms in a piece of bacon
History of the Atom
Chapter 39
From Strange to Stranger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
how to speak metaphorically
more atomic history
Chapter 40
Stranger to Unbelievable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
up to 1932, when we knew about four particles
the hundreds of particles since 1932
Answers to The Bridges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
12
Chapter One
Friction
red always thought that early morning was one of the five best times
of the day to go jogging. Other best times were the forenoon✶, noon,
afternoon, and evening.
It was morning. Fred got on his jogging clothes and headed out his
office door. The routine was almost always the same. He would head
down the hallway past the nine vending machines, down two flights of
stairs, and out into the fresh morning air.
Today was different. He couldn’t get down the hallway. A giant
safe near the vending machines blocked his way.
There was a note attached to the safe that
read, “This is as far as I’m going to deliver this
safe. This is too heavy to carry. I quit.”
This is silly Fred thought. He shouldn’t
have tried to carry it. He could have slid it down
the hallway.
Fred tried pushing the safe. No dice.✶✶
What kept the safe from moving was
friction—where the safe rubbed against the floor.
If the safe were floating one inch off the floor,
Fred could have pushed it down the hall with one
hand.
Fred headed back to his office to think
things over and do experiments.
F
✶
The later part of the morning is called the forenoon.
✶✶
No dice is an idiom. No dice means that it doesn’t work or it is useless.
An idiom is a phrase in which the individual words do not “add up” to what
the phrase means.
When you say, “How do you do?” a person looking at the individual words
might respond, “How do I do what?”
When you say, “Let’s make a date to go fishing,” this is silly. All the dates on
the calendar have already been established: January 1, January 2, January 3. . . . If you
really made a date, it might be something like January 42.
13
Chapter One
Friction
small essay
Math vs. Physics
If this were just a math problem, Fred would have headed back to
his office to think things over. He wouldn’t have to do any experiments
since math doesn’t involve “stuff.”
Physics deals with stuff—everything from atoms to stars. If you like
to play with the dirt under your fingernails or with 500-pound safes sitting
in the hallway, then you will need physics.
There is no stuff in mathematics. You will never be walking in a
forest and trip over the number three.
3
This is the numeral 3. Numerals are what we
write down to help us think about the number.
You have never seen a line. Lines are infinitely thin. They are not
composed of atoms of ink.
That is way too fat to be a line!
Mathematicians like to say that math is pure.
Physicists might say that math is fairy dust.
Mathematicians will point out that without this fairy dust physicists
would be helpless. All of physics needs math.
end of small essay
When Fred got back to his office, Kingie
was at work doing another oil painting.
“Your safe has arrived,” Fred announced.
“It’s out in the hallway.”
“Wonderful. If you would just bring it in,
I would be grateful.”
Everyone knows that Kingie wouldn’t be
much help in moving safes since he is a beanbag doll with no legs.
14
Chapter One
Friction
Fred said, “I’ll try and get it moved, but first I need to learn more
about friction. This is more than a math problem. The only way to find
out about how friction operates is to do experiments in order to find out
what is true.”
He put three telephone books on his chair
so that he would be tall enough to sit at his desk.
The desk and chair that KITTENS University had
supplied were not designed for teachers who are
only three-feet tall.
Fred built a tiny safe that looked just like the real one in the
hallway except that it was only two inches (5 cm) tall. He tied a string on
it and pulled it across his desktop.
1.9 cm
Then he turned it on its side and pulled it across his desktop.
1.9 cm
5 cm
Please write your answers down before you turn the page and see the answers. You will learn a
lot more if you do it that way rather than just reading the questions and reading the answers.
Your Turn to Play
1. The dimensions of the tiny safe were 1.9 cm wide, 1.8 cm deep, and 5
cm tall. When the safe was standing upright what is the area of the base
that was touching the desktop?
2. When the tiny safe was placed on its side, what was the area touching
the desktop?
3. Now I’m going to ask you to guess.
When the safe was lying on its side, the area in contact with the
desktop was larger. Did that make it harder to pull the safe?
15
Chapter One
Friction
. . . . . . . COMPLETE SOLUTIONS . . . . . . .
1. The base of the safe is a rectangle. The area of
a rectangle is length times width. A = lw.
(1.9)(1.8) = 1.9
× 1.8
152
19
342
3.42 sq cm
2. The area of the side of the safe is (5)(1.8).
1.8
× 5
90
9.0 sq cm
3. A lot of times we won’t know what the physical law is until we
experiment. Sometimes nature surprises us.
✔ Ask most three-year-olds, “Is the earth flat?”
and they will say yes. If you tell them it is a sphere (a
ball), they won’t believe you and will tell you that
people on the bottom would fall off.
✔ Ask most seven-year-olds, “If you throw a
billiard ball and a cannon ball off a cliff, which will
hit the ground first?” Most will say that the heavier
thing falls faster. The surprising truth is that, except for
the friction caused by air (wind resistance), everything
falls at the same speed.
When Fred did his experiment, he found that it didn’t matter whether
the safe was upright or on its side. The force he had to apply to the string
was the same. Many people would never guess that.
Friction is independent of the area of contact between the two rubbing
surfaces.
16
Index
>
greater than.. . . . . . . . . . . . 36, 154
a priori. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Central Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Christina Rossetti
absolute truth in physics. . . . . . . . 48, 49
“A Royal Princess”. . . . . . . . . . . 40
absolute zero (temperature). . . . . . . . 92
“Advent”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
acceleration of an object.. . . . . . . . . . 58
“Goblin Market”. . . . . . . . . . . . 175
adding decimal numbers.. . . . . . . . . 186
“In the W illow Shade”. . . . . . . . 220
adding vectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82, 84
“Later Life #16”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Alessandro Volta. . . . . . . . . . . 188, 190
“Later Life #21”. . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
alpha particles.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
“Memento Mori”. . . . . . . . . . . . 104
ammeter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197, 199, 203
closed systems. . . . . . . . . . 95, 108, 120
amount of fiction in the Life of Fred
coefficient of friction. . . . . . . 38-42, 72
books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
coefficient of kinetic friction. . . 65, 95,
amperes. . . . . . . . . . 197, 198, 201, 211
101, 104, 106, 108, 136, 174,
angles in any triangle always add up
177, 219, 221
to 180º. . . . . . . . . 87, 89, 101,
coefficient of static friction. . . . . . . . . .
106, 140, 176
. . . . . . . . . . . 65, 69, 74, 101, 102, 108,
animal electricity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
140, 171, 174, 215, 217
Arabic numerals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
coefficient of static friction found using
area of a rectangle. . 16, 38, 39, 41, 42,
slope. . . . 75-88, 103, 106, 133,
68, 69, 72, 74, 104,
175, 216, 223
136, 171, 179, 223
Arnold Sommerfeld. . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
atomic weight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
connection between fossils and
astronomy.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
constant of proportionality for friction
billion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128, 229
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
brain juice (cerebrospinal fluid). . . . 156
continuous variables. . . . 19, 23, 39, 41,
breaking point--stretching springs. . . . .
42, 68, 69, 73, 74, 102, 107,
53, 67, 74, 220
108, 136, 141, 218, 222, 223
buoyancy. . . . . 147, 148, 152-154, 157,
conversion factors. . . 92, 100-102, 107,
172, 175, 215, 217
108, 110, 111, 116, 133, 135,
c = the speed of light in a vacuum. . . . .
138, 140, 141, 152, 168, 173,
19, 101
175, 176, 179, 189, 195, 199,
Calories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98, 100, 101
218, 219, 222, 223, 228
car windshields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
converting a mixed number into an
Carl David Anderson. . . . . . . . . . . . 244
improper fraction. . . . . . . . . 52
Cavalieri’s Principle. . . . 131, 132, 137,
cubic inches and cubic feet.. . . . . . . 152
141, 147, 219, 222
cylinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Celsius temperature scale. . . . . . . . . . 92
d = rt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31, 41, 141, 172
285
Index
degrees in an angle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
helium.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Democritus. . . . . . . . 229, 231, 241, 244
Henri Becquerel. . . . . . . . . . . . 230, 231
density of liquid water vs. density
History of the Atom. . . . . . . . . 229-244
of ice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
density of water. . . . . . . . . . . . 152, 167
Hooke’s law. . . . . . 51, 67, 69, 216, 220
How do you know that China exists?
digits in a number. . . . . . . . . . . . 36, 105
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Dirac’s equation. . . . . . . . . . . . 243, 244
hunch--conjecture--theory--law. . 48, 49
discrete variables. . . 19, 38, 40, 69, 73,
hung vs. hanged. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
102, 107, 108, 136, 141, 218,
idiom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
222
imperial system.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
elastic limit--stretching springs.. . . . . . .
52, 53, 67, 74, 93, 220
inductive and deductive reasoning. . . . .
50, 73, 74, 101, 102, 106,
electrical engineering major. . . . . . . 225
136, 177, 179, 218, 220
electromagnetic radiation. . . . . 238, 240
inertia. . . . . . . . . . . . 117, 118, 139, 219
elliptical constructions. . 184, 185, 193,
International Bureau of W eights and
208, 228
Measures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Energy Cards game. . . . . . . . . . . 59-62
Isaac Newton. . . . . . . . . . 119, 230, 231
Ernest Rutherford. . . . . . . 230, 231, 233
J. J. Thomson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230, 231
etiquette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
James Chadwick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
exponents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128, 133
Jeanette MacDonald. . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
F = kx stretching a spring. . . . . . . . . 48
joules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109, 111
F = μN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 29, 30, 35
Kelvin temperature scale. . . . . . . . . . 92
first coordinate and second coordinate
kilograms. . . . . . . . . 109-111, 113-115
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
kilowatt-hours.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
foot-pounds. . . . 90-92, 94, 95, 97, 100,
kinetic friction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
101, 109, 111
kryptonite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
forenoon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Law of Conservation of Energy. . . . . . .
friction into heat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
94-97, 120, 216
friction is independent of speed. . . . . 17
Law of the Conservation of Matter.. . 49
friction is independent of the area of
leap seconds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
contact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
leap years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Georg Ohm. . . . . . . . . . . . 205, 206, 215
liter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Giant Chart of Energy. . . . 59, 68, 139,
Louis de Broglie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
178
Luigi Galvani. . . . . 187, 188, 190, 191,
gibbous moon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
193
Gregorian calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
m, cm, and nm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
hard c and soft c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
mass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
hard g and soft g. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
286
Index
mass— how to measure it. . . . 113, 114,
pi is approximately 3.14159265358979
117, 136
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111, 153
matter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
plastic region--stretching springs. . . 53,
meter (defined). . . . 21-23, 25, 101, 111
67, 74, 93, 220
metric system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52, 109
plotting points.. . . . . . . . 24, 45, 51, 69,
Metropolitan Museum of Art. . . . . . 221
74, 101, 105, 108, 134,
million. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128, 229
141, 178, 180, 215
Mirror Poem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
positron.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
nature hates a vacuum. . . . . . . . . . . 163
pressure (definition). . . . 123, 126, 136,
Nemesis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
neutron. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
137, 142, 144, 145
Pressure in a fluid is equal to density
neutron star.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
times height. . . 132, 133, 135,
newtons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
140, 141, 144, 146, 167, 169,
Newton’s First Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
172, 177, 179, 222
Newton’s Second Law. . . . . . . . . . . 118
principal quantum number. . . . 234, 240
Niels Bohr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233-235
proportional . . . . . . . . 18, 118, 119, 201
normal force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79, 80, 82
proportional limit--stretching springs
North Pole and W est Pole. . . . . . . . . 79
. . . . . . . . . . 52, 67, 74, 93, 220
numerals. . . . . . . . . 14, 35, 38, 105, 218
psi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
ohmmeter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
quadrillion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198, 229
ohms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
question mark at the end of a quotation
Ohm’s Law. . . . 206, 207, 211, 214, 219
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
omega. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
quintillion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
orbital magnetic quantum number. . 240
quotient.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
orbital quantum number. . . . . . . . . . 240
QW ERTYUIOP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
parallel circuits. . . . . . . . . . . . . 210-212
radio waves.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
parallelepiped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
resistance in parallel circuits. . 210-215,
Paul Dirac.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
217, 219, 222, 223
Pauli exclusion principle. . . . . . . . . 241
resistors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
percent problems. . . . . . 162, 165, 166,
right angle.. . . . . . . . . . . . 79, 80, 87, 89
169-171, 173, 176, 177, 185, 195,
Roman numerals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
216, 217, 222
Rules of Golf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
period of a pendulum. . . . . . . 22, 24, 72
safe occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
perpendicular. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79, 81
schematic drawing. . . . . . 195, 209, 210
perpetual motion machines. . . . . . 96, 99
Schrödinger’s equation.. . . . . . . . . . 242
photon.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
second of atomic time (defined). . . . 115
photosynthesis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
second-order partial differential
physics experiment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
equations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
287
Index
sentence fragments. . . . . . . . . . 236, 241
two kinds of friction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
series circuit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207, 212
uncertainty principle.. . . . . . . . . . . . 242
similar triangles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86, 89
V = IR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
simultaneous events and Einstein. . . . 49
vectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
slope of a line. . . . . . . . . 76, 77, 79, 172
voltmeter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
small essays
volts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197, 201
A Secret about Being a Good
volume of a box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Leader/Boss/Parent. . . . . . 209
volume of a desk lamp. . . . . . . . . . . 151
Areas of Swim Masks. . . . . . . . 127
volume of a sphere. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
How Many Atoms Is in That Piece
wave-particle duality. . . . . . . . 183, 240
of Bacon?. . . . . . . . . . 228, 229
Least Dense and Really Dense
wavelength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
wavelength of an electron.. . . . . . . . 240
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
wavelengths of various colors. . . . . 237
Making Tons of Money. . . . . . . 196
weight density (definition). . . . . . . . 130
Math vs. Physics. . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
weight of one oxygen atom.. . . . . . . 228
The Story of the Meter. . . 21-23, 25
W erner Heisenberg.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
speaking metaphorically. . . . . . . . . . 235
W olfgang Pauli.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
spectrometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
work (as defined in physics). . . . 90, 91,
speed of light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
94, 101, 108, 111, 137, 139,
spin magnetic quantum number. . . . 240
141, 173, 177-180, 221
spring scale.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
X-rays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
square inches and square feet. . . . . 127,
128, 215, 223
square roots. . . 24, 138, 142, 172, 176,
178, 222
static friction.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56, 57
storing energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
stretching springs--the four cases. . . . . .
52, 53, 67, 74, 220
subshells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
sucking on a straw. . 160, 161, 163, 167
Super Fred. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 43
theorems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Thomas Edison. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Thomas Merton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
thought experiment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Three-Body Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
trillion.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
288
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