PHYSICAL WORLD , PART - 1 ( BASED ON NEW REVISED SYLLABUS )

PHYSICAL WORLD -1, CLASS 11  (BASED ON NEW REVISED SYLLABUS)

Physical World:

The world outside our body which we can sense, by using our senses, is the physical world.

Science:

We define Science as  organised knowledge. It means Study of anything in this physical world in a systematic manner, is the Science.

( The word 'science' has come from latin word - scientia, which means- to know.)

Physics:

Physics is the branch of science in which we study the basic laws or rules of nature and their manifestation in different natural phenomena.

( The word 'Physics' has come from a Greek word- fusis, which means- nature.)

Scientific method:

Scientific method is a systematic attempt to understand natural phenomenon in as much detail as possible and use this knowledge to predict, modify and control phenomena.

Main steps of scientific method are

• Systematic observation

• Controlled experiment

• Qualitative and quantitative reasoning

• Mathematical modelling

• Predictions

• Verification or falsification

If verified in last step, then a law is established.

Principal thrust in Physics:

We study Physics with  two basic methods, known as Principal thrust -

• Unification

• Reductionism

Unification: 

In unification method, we try to explain a large number of phenomena in the nature with minimum number of laws.

Ex.- Apple falling to ground, water flowing down, Earth moving around the Sun are the phenomena explained on the basis of single law - the Law of Gravitation.

Reductionism:

When we try to understand or to derive the properties of a bigger or more Complex system by the properties of its simpler constituents, that  are already understood, then this approach is called reductionism.

Ex.- converting chemical energy of coal into electrical energy in power house is a complex process but can be understood if divided into small - small parts each based on different principle of Physics.

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