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8: Solving Problems in Physics

 Learning Objectives
Describe the process for developing a problem-solving strategy.
Explain how to find the numerical solution to a problem.
Summarize the process for assessing the significance of the numerical solution to a problem.

Problem-solving skills are clearly essential to success in a quantitative course in physics. More important, the
ability to apply broad physical principles—usually represented by equations—to specific situations is a very
powerful form of knowledge. It is much more powerful than memorizing a list of facts. Analytical skills and
problem-solving abilities can be applied to new situations whereas a list of facts cannot be made long enough
to contain every possible circumstance. Such analytical skills are useful both for solving problems in this text
and for applying physics in everyday life.

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Figure 1.8.1: Problem-solving skills are essential to your success in physics. (credit: “scui3asteveo”/Flickr)
As you are probably well aware, a certain amount of creativity and insight is required to solve problems. No
rigid procedure works every time. Creativity and insight grow with experience. With practice, the basics of
problem solving become almost automatic. One way to get practice is to work out the text’s examples for
yourself as you read. Another is to work as many end-of-section problems as possible, starting with the easiest
to build confidence and then progressing to the more difficult. After you become involved in physics, you will
see it all around you, and you can begin to apply it to situations you encounter outside the classroom, just as is
done in many of the applications in this text.
Although there is no simple step-by-step method that works for every problem, the following three-stage
process facilitates problem solving and makes it more meaningful. The three stages are strategy, solution, and
significance. This process is used in examples throughout the book. Here, we look at each stage of the process
in turn.

Strategy
Strategy is the beginning stage of solving a problem. The idea is to figure out exactly what the problem is and
then develop a strategy for solving it. Some general advice for this stage is as follows:
Examine the situation to determine which physical principles are involved. It often helps to draw a
simple sketch at the outset. You often need to decide which direction is positive and note that on your
sketch. When you have identified the physical principles, it is much easier to find and apply the equations
representing those principles. Although finding the correct equation is essential, keep in mind that
equations represent physical principles, laws of nature, and relationships among physical quantities.
Without a conceptual understanding of a problem, a numerical solution is meaningless.
Make a list of what is given or can be inferred from the problem as stated (identify the “knowns”).
Many problems are stated very succinctly and require some inspection to determine what is known.
Drawing a sketch be very useful at this point as well. Formally identifying the knowns is of particular
importance in applying physics to real-world situations. For example, the word stopped means the velocity
is zero at that instant. Also, we can often take initial time and position as zero by the appropriate choice of
coordinate system.
Identify exactly what needs to be determined in the problem (identify the unknowns). In complex
problems, especially, it is not always obvious what needs to be found or in what sequence. Making a list can
 help identify the unknowns.
Determine which physical principles can help you solve the problem. Since physical principles tend to
be expressed in the form of mathematical equations, a list of knowns and unknowns can help here. It is
easiest if you can find equations that contain only one unknown—that is, all the other variables are known
—so you can solve for the unknown easily. If the equation contains more than one unknown, then
additional equations are needed to solve the problem. In some problems, several unknowns must be
determined to get at the one needed most. In such problems it is especially important to keep physical
principles in mind to avoid going astray in a sea of equations. You may have to use two (or more) different
equations to get the final answer.

Solution
The solution stage is when you do the math. Substitute the knowns (along with their units) into the
appropriate equation and obtain numerical solutions complete with units. That is, do the algebra,
calculus, geometry, or arithmetic necessary to find the unknown from the knowns, being sure to carry the
units through the calculations. This step is clearly important because it produces the numerical answer, along
with its units. Notice, however, that this stage is only one-third of the overall problem-solving process.

Significance
After having done the math in the solution stage of problem solving, it is tempting to think you are done. But,
always remember that physics is not math. Rather, in doing physics, we use mathematics as a tool to help us
understand nature. So, after you obtain a numerical answer, you should always assess its significance:
Check your units. If the units of the answer are incorrect, then an error has been made and you should go
back over your previous steps to find it. One way to find the mistake is to check all the equations you
derived for dimensional consistency. However, be warned that correct units do not guarantee the numerical
part of the answer is also correct.
Check the answer to see whether it is reasonable. Does it make sense? This step is extremely important:
–the goal of physics is to describe nature accurately. To determine whether the answer is reasonable, check
both its magnitude and its sign, in addition to its units. The magnitude should be consistent with a rough
estimate of what it should be. It should also compare reasonably with magnitudes of other quantities of the
same type. The sign usually tells you about direction and should be consistent with your prior expectations.
Your judgment will improve as you solve more physics problems, and it will become possible for you to
make finer judgments regarding whether nature is described adequately by the answer to a problem. This
step brings the problem back to its conceptual meaning. If you can judge whether the answer is reasonable,
you have a deeper understanding of physics than just being able to solve a problem mechanically.
Check to see whether the answer tells you something interesting. What does it mean? This is the flip
side of the question: Does it make sense? Ultimately, physics is about understanding nature, and we solve
physics problems to learn a little something about how nature operates. Therefore, assuming the answer
does make sense, you should always take a moment to see if it tells you something about the world that you
find interesting. Even if the answer to this particular problem is not very interesting to you, what about the
method you used to solve it? Could the method be adapted to answer a question that you do find
interesting? In many ways, it is in answering questions such as these science that progresses.

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