Resistance of a rectangular block

The resistance of a block/wire depends on two factors: they are the cross sectional area and the length. The relationship is given by the following formula: R = ρ l/A The longer the wire/block, the greater the resistance. The thinner the wire/block, the greater the resistance. The constant, ρ, in this c…

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Terminal Velocity - A Level Physics

When an object comes down under gravity in the air, it is subjected at least two forces, the weight - W  -  and the drag / air resistance - R.  The resultant force, F = W - R F = ma  W - R = ma, where m and a are the mass of the object and the drag respectively. As the object comes down, the drag, goes …

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Stellar Parallax for A Level Physics - astrophysics

Parallax is an optical phenomenon when the apparent position of an an object changes with the position of the observer. In order to experience this, you can hold the your index finger some distance from your right eye - or left eye, depending on your convenience - and then moving your head slowly to…

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Basic Calculus - differentiation for beginners IGCSE, AS, A-Level

The process of finding the gradient or slope of a function is the differentiation. We used to find the gradient of a straight line, just by dividing the change in 'y' by change in 'x', in a certain range of values. When it comes to a curve, however, it is not easy to find the gradien…

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Galilean Telescope

The Galilean Telescope was invented by the legendary Italian physicist, Galileo Galilei in 1609. It is a simple telescope consisting of a convex lens and a concave lens; they act as the objective and eyepiece respectively. With the aid of his invention, Galileo managed to look at  J upiter’s four large…

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Galileo Galilei in a Jigsaw Puzzle - interactive play

The above jigsaw puzzle is of a famous physicist who was born in the month of February. He was instrumental in turning the astronomy upside down with his discoveries and theories despite being at odds with a powerful religious establishment at that time. You can find out who he is by playing with th…

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Transformation of Graphs - stretching

The tranformations of graphs are aimed at: GCSE IGCSE GCE -OL GCE - AL AS A Level High School T he above animation shows the strtching of a graph parallel to y-axis and x-axis. f(x) → af(x) is stretching parallel to y-axis by a factor a. E.g. f(x) = x² - 2x → 2f(x) = 2(x² - 2x) f(x) → f(ax) is stretching parall…

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