| \(m\) |
The mass of an object. Larger mass means that the object is harder to translate. |
| \(a\) |
The acceleration of an object. Indicates the rate at which the velocity of an object changes. |
| \(v\) |
The velocity of an object. Indicates the rate at which the object's position changes. |
| \(F\) |
The force acting on an object. |
| \(p\) |
The momentum of an object. Can be thought of as the impact potential of the object. |
| \(I\) |
The moment of inertia of an object. Larger moment of inertia means that the object is harder to rotate. It also describes the rotational behavior of an object. |
| \(\alpha\) |
The angular acceleration of an object. Indicates the rate at which the angular velocity of an object changes. |
| \(\omega\) |
The angular velocity of an object. Indicates the rate at which the object's rotation changes. |
| \(\tau\) |
The torque acting on an object. |
| \(L\) |
The angular momentum of an object. Can be thought of as the rotational impact potential of the object. |
| \(\textit{e}\) |
The coefficient of restitution of two objects. It describes the bounciness that an object experiences when colliding with another object, where the value differs depending on the characteristics of the two objects. |
| \(\mu\) |
The coefficient of friction of two objects. It describes how hard it is for two objects to slide when in contact, where the value differs depending on the characteristics of the two objects. It also differs depending on whether the two objects are initially at relative rest or are already sliding across each other. |
| \(\rho\) |
The density of a fluid or object. Determines how much mass there is per unit of volume. For a fluid it also determines how hard it is for an object to go through the fluid. |
| \(C_d\) |
The drag coefficient of an object. It is determined by the shape of an object and is specific to a given orientation of the object. It describes how much an object's shape opposes the object's motion through a fluid or gas. |
| \(C_L\) |
The lift coefficient of an object. The value depends on the object's shape, material, and the angle at which the fluid or gas hits the object. |