Physics (I) Charts, School Education

Quick Answer: Physics (I) Charts are the first set in a numbered series of physics charts for the classroom wall, usually centred on mechanics: measurement, motion, force, work and energy, simple machines and pressure. They are used in middle and secondary school physics.

Mechanics Drawn as Diagrams and Graphs

Mechanics is where most school physics begins, and it is strongly visual. Typical sheets in the first set of physics charts show distance-time and velocity-time graphs, with the slope of each read as speed or acceleration; free-body diagrams with arrows for weight, normal reaction, friction and applied force; and Newton’s three laws illustrated with everyday cases, such as passengers lurching forward when a bus brakes or a rocket pushing exhaust gas backwards to move forwards.

Other panels usually cover the three classes of lever with fulcrum, load and effort marked, pulleys and the inclined plane as simple machines, energy changes in a swinging pendulum, and pressure in a liquid increasing with depth. Measurement sheets may show the vernier callipers and screw gauge that students use in practicals.

Printers divide numbered series differently, so check the titles in set (I) against your syllabus before ordering.

Applications

• Teaching motion graphs before students plot their own from a trolley experiment
• Explaining Newton’s laws with free-body diagrams
• Lever and pulley lessons alongside a simple machines practical
• Revising vernier callipers and screw gauge readings before practical examinations

Specifications

Care & Handling

• Hang the Physics (I) motion-graph sheets beside the board, since teachers point to slopes and areas while working numericals.
• Mount the charts above bench height in the physics lab so trolleys, slotted weights and pendulum bobs cannot strike them.
• Write the set number on the back of every sheet so set (I) is never mixed with the later sets.

Why Choose LabEquip

Physics departments usually build a wall across the whole series, continuing with the Physics (II) Charts, and use the charts beside apparatus from the Physics Lab Products range. Orders go through the LabEquip contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the slope of a distance-time graph show?

The speed. A steeper line means a faster object, a horizontal line means the object is at rest, and a curve means the speed is changing. On a velocity-time graph the slope gives acceleration and the area under the line gives the distance travelled.

What are Newton’s three laws of motion?

An object stays at rest or keeps moving at constant velocity unless a net force acts on it; force equals mass times acceleration; and every action has an equal and opposite reaction acting on a different body.

What are the three classes of lever?

In a first-class lever the fulcrum lies between effort and load, as in a see-saw. In a second-class lever the load is in the middle, as in a wheelbarrow. In a third-class lever the effort is in the middle, as in tongs or the human forearm.

Why does pressure in a liquid increase with depth?

At greater depth there is a taller column of liquid above, pressing down with more weight on each unit of area. That is why a dam is built thicker at the base and why water spurts farthest from the lowest hole in a can.

How is the least count of a vernier calliper found?

Divide the value of one main-scale division by the number of vernier divisions. A common school vernier with 1 mm main-scale divisions and 10 vernier divisions has a least count of 0.1 mm.

How does a pendulum show energy conversion?

At the top of its swing the bob has maximum potential energy and is momentarily at rest. As it falls, potential energy turns into kinetic energy, which peaks at the lowest point, and then changes back as the bob rises.

Last Updated: September 2026