Mass, in physics, is defined as the measure of the amount of matter present in an object or a system. Mass is an intrinsic characteristic of an object and is independent of its location or the forces acting upon it. The standard unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) is the kilogram (kg). The greater the mass of an object, the more matter it possesses. To illustrate the concept, let’s consider a bowling ball and a football. The bowling ball has more mass because it contains more matter.
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Mass and Weight
It is important to note that mass is distinct from weight. Weight is the force experienced by an object due to the gravitational pull of the Earth. Mass remains constant regardless of the gravitational field, whereas weight varies depending on the strength of gravity. Mass is a scalar quantity, meaning it only has magnitude and no direction.
Mass plays a fundamental role in various areas of physics as it is a key factor in understanding concepts like energy, inertia, and conservation laws in physics.
Mass and Inertia
Mass is the measure of the inertia of a body. Inertia is the object’s resistance to changes in its state of motion and is a fundamental property of matter. The greater the mass of an object, the greater its inertia.
In simpler terms, mass determines how difficult it is to change the motion of an object. An object with a higher mass requires more force to accelerate or decelerate than an object with a lower mass. This is because objects with more mass have more matter within them, resulting in stronger intermolecular forces and higher resistance to changes in motion.
For example, consider a heavy stone and a lightweight feather. When you try to push or stop the stone, it offers significant resistance due to its higher mass. On the other hand, the feather can be easily moved or stopped as it has a much lower mass. This difference in inertia is directly related to the mass of the objects.
Therefore, mass is crucial in determining how objects respond to external forces. It influences the acceleration, deceleration, and overall motion of an object.
Mass and Density
Density is a property of materials that measures the mass per unit volume. It describes how tightly matter is packed within a given material. The concept of density was first explained by the Greek scientist Archimedes through his principle, known as the Archimedes principle. This principle involves calculating the density by considering the buoyant force and the mass of the object or material.
What is Momentum?
Momentum is a fundamental concept in physics that quantifies the motion possessed by an object. It is defined as the product of an object’s mass and velocity. In other words, momentum is determined by multiplying the mass of an object by its velocity. The formula to calculate momentum is:
Momentum = Mass × Velocity
Symbolically, it can be expressed as:
p = mv
Where p is the momentum, m is the mass and v is the velocity.
Momentum is considered a vector quantity because velocity, which is one of its components, is a vector while mass is a scalar. As a vector quantity, momentum not only depends on the magnitude of velocity but also on the direction of the object’s motion.
The standard unit of momentum in the International System of Units (SI) is kilogram-metre per second (kg·m/s). This unit reflects the combination of mass (kg) and velocity (m/s) in the momentum calculation.
To understand the concept of momentum, let’s consider an example involving two buddies, Sam and Max, who are jogging on a playground. Sam weighs 30 kilograms, and Max weighs 40 kilograms. Both of them are moving at the same pace and in the same direction.
(a) Who has more momentum, and why?
(b) Who will experience more impact if they collide with a wall?
The answer to both questions is Max. Although Sam and Max have the same velocity, their momentum will depend on their mass. Since Max has a greater mass, he will possess more momentum compared to Sam. Max, with a greater mass, will experience more impact when colliding with the wall. This is because momentum is directly proportional to mass, and Max has more momentum due to his higher mass compared to Sam.
Conservation of Momentum
According to this principle, the total momentum of a closed system remains constant. This means that in a collision between two objects, the total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision.
When two objects collide, they exert forces on each other that cause changes in their velocities. However, the total momentum of the system, which includes both objects, remains the same throughout the collision. This means that the sum of the momenta of the objects before the collision is equal to the sum of their momenta after the collision.
In simpler terms, if two objects with certain momenta collide, the resulting momenta of the objects after the collision will add up to the same value as their initial momenta before the collision. The redistribution of momentum between the objects may cause changes in their individual velocities, but the total momentum of the system remains constant.
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
Q1
What is the difference between mass and weight?
Mass is the measure of the quantity of matter in an object, while weight is the force exerted on an object due to gravity. Mass remains constant, while weight varies depending on the strength of gravity.
Q2
How does mass relate to inertia?
Objects with greater mass have higher inertia, meaning they require more force to accelerate or decelerate compared to objects with lower mass.
Q3
What is the significance of density in relation to mass?
Density is calculated by dividing the mass of an object by its volume.
Q4
How is momentum defined?
Momentum is the quantity of motion possessed by an object. It is calculated by multiplying the object’s mass by its velocity.
Q5
What does the conservation of momentum mean?
The conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of a closed system remains constant before and after a collision or interaction. In other words, the total momentum of all objects involved in a system does not change, indicating that momentum is conserved in the absence of external forces.
Neeraj Anand, Param Anand
Er. Neeraj K.Anand is a freelance mentor and writer who specializes in Engineering & Science subjects. Neeraj Anand received a B.Tech degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from N.I.T Warangal & M.Tech Post Graduation from IETE, New Delhi. He has over 30 years of teaching experience and serves as the Head of Department of ANAND CLASSES. He concentrated all his energy and experiences in academics and subsequently grew up as one of the best mentors in the country for students aspiring for success in competitive examinations.
In parallel, he started a Technical Publication "ANAND TECHNICAL PUBLISHERS" in 2002 and Educational Newspaper "NATIONAL EDUCATION NEWS" in 2014 at Jalandhar. Now he is a Director of leading publication "ANAND TECHNICAL PUBLISHERS", "ANAND CLASSES" and "NATIONAL EDUCATION NEWS".
He has published more than hundred books in the field of Physics, Mathematics, Computers and Information Technology. Besides this he has written many books to help students prepare for IIT-JEE and AIPMT entrance exams. He is an executive member of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers. USA) and honorary member of many Indian scientific societies such as Institution of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineers, Aeronautical Society of India, Bioinformatics Institute of India, Institution of Engineers. He has got award from American Biographical Institute Board of International Research in the year 2005.
Below we have provided the details of the CBSE Physics topics under each unit as per the revised CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus for the 2023-24 academic year. Go through it to get the details of the chapters given below.
Unit-I: Physical World and Measurement
Chapter 2: Units and Measurements
Need for measurement: Units of measurement; systems of units; SI units, fundamental and derived units. Length, mass and time measurements; accuracy and precision of measuring instruments; errors in measurement; significant figures.
Dimensions of physical quantities, dimensional analysis and its applications.
Unit-II: Kinematics
Chapter 3: Motion in a Straight Line
Frame of reference, Motion in a straight line, Elementary concepts of differentiation and integration for describing motion, uniform and nonuniform motion, and instantaneous velocity, uniformly accelerated motion, velocity-time and position-time graphs. Relations for uniformly accelerated motion (graphical treatment).
Chapter 4: Motion in a Plane
Scalar and vector quantities; position and displacement vectors, general vectors and their notations; equality of vectors, multiplication of vectors by a real number; addition and subtraction of vectors, relative velocity, Unit vector; resolution of a vector in a plane, rectangular components, Scalar and Vector product of vectors.
Motion in a plane, cases of uniform velocity and uniform acceleration-projectile motion, uniform circular motion.
Unit-III: Laws of Motion
Chapter 5: Laws of Motion
Intuitive concept of force, Inertia, Newton’s first law of motion; momentum and Newton’s second law of motion; impulse; Newton’s third law of motion (recapitulation only). Law of conservation of linear momentum and its applications. Equilibrium of concurrent forces, Static and kinetic friction, laws of friction, rolling friction, lubrication.
Dynamics of uniform circular motion: Centripetal force, examples of circular motion (vehicle on a level circular road, vehicle on a banked road).
Unit-IV: Work, Energy and Power
Chapter 6: Work, Energy and Power
Work done by a constant force and a variable force; kinetic energy, work-energy theorem, power.
Notion of potential energy, potential energy of a spring, conservative forces: conservation of mechanical energy (kinetic and potential energies); non-conservative forces: motion in a vertical circle; elastic and inelastic collisions in one and two dimensions.
Unit-V: Motion of System of Particles and Rigid Body
Chapter 7: System of Particles and Rotational Motion
Centre of mass of a two-particle system, momentum conservation and centre of mass motion. Centre of mass of a rigid body; centre of mass of a uniform rod. Moment of a force, torque, angular momentum, law of conservation of angular momentum and its applications.
Equilibrium of rigid bodies, rigid body rotation and equations of rotational motion, comparison of linear and rotational motions.
Moment of inertia, radius of gyration, values of moments of inertia for simple geometrical objects (no derivation).
Unit-VI: Gravitation
Chapter 8: Gravitation
Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, universal law of gravitation. Acceleration due to gravity and its variation with altitude and depth. Gravitational potential energy and gravitational potential, escape speed, orbital velocity of a satellite.
Unit-VII: Properties of Bulk Matter
Chapter 9: Mechanical Properties of Solids
Elasticity, Stress-strain relationship, Hooke’s law, Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, shear modulus of rigidity (qualitative idea only), Poisson’s ratio; elastic energy.
Chapter 10: Mechanical Properties of Fluids
Pressure due to a fluid column; Pascal’s law and its applications (hydraulic lift and hydraulic brakes), effect of gravity on fluid pressure.
Viscosity, Stokes’ law, terminal velocity, streamline and turbulent flow, critical velocity, Bernoulli’s theorem and its applications.
Surface energy and surface tension, angle of contact, excess of pressure across a curved surface, application of surface tension ideas to drops, bubbles and capillary rise.
Chapter 11: Thermal Properties of Matter
Heat, temperature,( recapitulation only) thermal expansion; thermal expansion of solids, liquids and gases, anomalous expansion of water; specific heat capacity; Cp, Cv – calorimetry; change of state – latent heat capacity.
Heat transfer-conduction, convection and radiation (recapitulation only), thermal conductivity, qualitative ideas of Blackbody radiation, Wein’s displacement Law, Stefan’s law.
Unit-VIII: Thermodynamics
Chapter 12: Thermodynamics
Thermal equilibrium and definition of temperature (zeroth law of thermodynamics), heat, work and internal energy. First law of thermodynamics, Second law of thermodynamics: gaseous state of matter, change of condition of gaseous state -isothermal, adiabatic, reversible, irreversible, and cyclic processes.
Unit-IX: Behaviour of Perfect Gases and Kinetic Theory of Gases
Chapter 13: Kinetic Theory
Equation of state of a perfect gas, work done in compressing a gas.
Kinetic theory of gases – assumptions, concept of pressure. Kinetic interpretation of temperature; rms speed of gas molecules; degrees of freedom, law of equi-partition of energy (statement only) and application to specific heat capacities of gases; concept of mean free path, Avogadro’s number.
Unit-X: Oscillations and Waves
Chapter 14: Oscillations
Periodic motion – time period, frequency, displacement as a function of time, periodic functions and their application.
Simple harmonic motion (S.H.M) and its equations of motion; phase; oscillations of a loaded spring- restoring force and force constant; energy in S.H.M. Kinetic and potential energies; simple pendulum derivation of expression for its time period.
Chapter 15: Waves
Wave motion: Transverse and longitudinal waves, speed of travelling wave, displacement relation for a progressive wave, principle of superposition of waves, reflection of waves, standing waves in strings and organ pipes, fundamental mode and harmonics, Beats.
Students can also access the syllabus for other subjects by visiting Syllabus page of CBSE Class 11.
CBSE Syllabus for Class 11 Physics Practical
Below are the list of the experiments of Physics practicals.
Evaluation Scheme for Class 11 Physics Practical 2023-24
Topic
Marks
Two experiments, one from each section
7 + 7
Practical record (experiment and activities)
5
One activity from any section
3
Investigatory Project
3
Viva on experiments, activities and project
5
Total
30
CBSE Class 11 Physics Practical Syllabus
Section – A
CBSE 11 Physics Syllabus Experiments
1. To measure the diameter of a small spherical/cylindrical body and to measure internal diameter and depth of a given beaker/calorimeter using Vernier Callipers and hence find its volume. 2. To measure the diameter of a given wire and thickness of a given sheet using screw gauge. 3. To determine the volume of an irregular lamina using the screw gauge. 4. To determine the radius of curvature of a given spherical surface by a spherometer. 5. To determine the mass of two different objects using a beam balance. 6. To find the weight of a given body using parallelogram law of vectors. 7. Using a simple pendulum, plot its L-T2 graph and use it to find the effective length of second’s pendulum. 8. To study variation of time period of a simple pendulum of a given length by taking bobs of same size but different masses and interpret the result. 9. To study the relationship between force of limiting friction and normal reaction and to find the co- efficient of friction between a block and a horizontal surface. 10. To find the downward force, along an inclined plane, acting on a roller due to gravitational pull of the earth and study its relationship with the angle of inclination θ by plotting graph between force and sin θ.
CBSE 11 Physics Syllabus Activities
1. To make a paper scale of given least count, e.g., 0.2cm, 0.5 cm. 2. To determine mass of a given body using a metre scale by principle of moments. 3. To plot a graph for a given set of data, with proper choice of scales and error bars. 4. To measure the force of limiting friction for rolling of a roller on a horizontal plane. 5. To study the variation in range of a projectile with angle of projection. 6. To study the conservation of energy of a ball rolling down on an inclined plane (using a double inclined plane). 7. To study dissipation of energy of a simple pendulum by plotting a graph between square of amplitude and time.
Section – B
CBSE 11 Physics Syllabus Experiments
1. To determine Young’s modulus of elasticity of the material of a given wire. 2. To find the force constant of a helical spring by plotting a graph between load and extension. 3. To study the variation in volume with pressure for a sample of air at constant temperature by plotting graphs between P and V, and between P and 1/V. 4. To determine the surface tension of water by capillary rise method. 5. To determine the coefficient of viscosity of a given viscous liquid by measuring terminal velocity of a given spherical body. 6. To study the relationship between the temperature of a hot body and time by plotting a cooling curve. 7. To determine specific heat capacity of a given solid by method of mixtures. 8. To study the relation between frequency and length of a given wire under constant tension using sonometer. 9. To study the relation between the length of a given wire and tension for constant frequency using sonometer. 10. To find the speed of sound in air at room temperature using a resonance tube by two resonance positions.
CBSE 11 Physics Syllabus Activities
1. To observe change of state and plot a cooling curve for molten wax. 2. To observe and explain the effect of heating on a bi-metallic strip. 3. To note the change in level of liquid in a container on heating and interpret the observations. 4. To study the effect of detergent on surface tension of water by observing capillary rise. 5. To study the factors affecting the rate of loss of heat of a liquid. 6. To study the effect of load on depression of a suitably clamped metre scale loaded at (i) its end (ii) in the middle. 7. To observe the decrease in pressure with increase in velocity of a fluid.
Practical Examination for Visually Impaired Students of Class 11 Evaluation Scheme
Time: 2 Hours Max. Marks: 30
Topic
Marks
Identification/Familiarity with the apparatus
5
Written test (based on given/prescribed practicals)
10
Practical Record
5
Viva
10
Total
30
A. Items for Identification/Familiarity of the apparatus for assessment in practicals (All experiments).
Spherical ball, Cylindrical objects, vernier calipers, beaker, calorimeter, Screw gauge, wire, Beam balance, spring balance, weight box, gram and milligram weights, forcep, Parallelogram law of vectors apparatus, pulleys and pans used in the same ‘weights’ used, Bob and string used in a simple pendulum, meter scale, split cork, suspension arrangement, stop clock/stop watch, Helical spring, suspension arrangement used, weights, arrangement used for measuring extension, Sonometer, Wedges, pan and pulley used in it, ‘weights’ Tuning Fork, Meter scale, Beam balance, Weight box, gram and milligram weights, forceps, Resonance Tube, Tuning Fork, Meter scale, Flask/Beaker used for adding water.
B. List of Practicals
1. To measure diameter of a small spherical/cylindrical body using vernier calipers. 2. To measure the internal diameter and depth of a given beaker/calorimeter using vernier calipers and hence find its volume. 3. To measure diameter of given wire using screw gauge. 4. To measure thickness of a given sheet using screw gauge. 5. To determine the mass of a given object using a beam balance. 6. To find the weight of given body using the parallelogram law of vectors. 7. Using a simple pendulum plot L-T and L-T2 graphs. Hence find the effective length of second’s pendulum using appropriate length values. 8. To find the force constant of given helical spring by plotting a graph between load and extension. 9. (i) To study the relation between frequency and length of a given wire under constant tension using a sonometer. (ii) To study the relation between the length of a given wire and tension, for constant frequency, using a sonometer. 10. To find the speed of sound in air, at room temperature, using a resonance tube, by observing the two resonance positions.
Note: The above practicals of CBSE 11 Physics Syllabus may be carried out in an experiential manner rather than recording observations.
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Frequently Asked Questions on CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus
Q1
According to the CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus, which are the units of high marks weightage?
According to the CBSE Class 11 Physics Syllabus, physical world and measurement, kinematics and laws of motion are the units of high-mark weightage.
Q2
How is the practical syllabus of the CBSE Class 11 Physics divided into sections A and B?
The practical syllabus of the CBSE Class 11 Physics contains 10 experiments in section A and 10 experiments in section B with 7 physical activities mentioned for each.
Q3
Which are the basic concepts present in the CBSE Syllabus for Class 11 Physics?
The basic concepts present in the CBSE Syllabus for Class 11 Physics are Thermodynamics, Laws of Motion, Oscillations and Waves.
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