Ch.1 Physics & Measurement Flashcards

The main objectives of physics are to identify a limited number of fundamental lawas that govern natural phenomena and use them to develop theories that can predict the results of future experiments.

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1
Q

When there is a discrepency between the prediction of a theory and experimental results, new or modified ________ must be formulated to remove the discrepancy.

A

theories

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2
Q

For example (new/modified theories), the laws of motion discovered by Isaac Newton (1642-1727) accurately describe the motion of objects moving at ___________ but do not apply to objects moving at speeds comparable to the speed of light. In contrast, the special _____________ developed later by Albert Einstein (1879-1955) gives the same results as Newton’s laws at low speeds but also correctly describes the motion of objects as speeds approaching the ______________.

A

normal speeds

theory of relativity,
speed of light

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3
Q

Classical physics includes the principles of classical mechanics, thermodynamics, optics and electromagnetism developed before _____. Important contributions to classical physics were provided by Newton, who was also one of the originators of ________ as a mathematical tool.

A

1900,

Calculus

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4
Q

Major developments in mechanics continued in the 18th century, but the fields of thermodynamics and electromagnetism were not developed until the latter part of the 19thcentury, principally b/c before that time, the apparatus for controlled experiments in these dissciplines was either ___________ or ___________.

A

too crude,

unavailable

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5
Q

A major revolution in pyhysics, usually referred to as ___________, began near the end of the 19th century.

A

modern physics

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6
Q

Modern physics developed mainly because many physical phenomena could not be explained by classical physics. The two most important developments in this modern era, were the _________________ and ____________.

A

theories of relativity,

quantum mechanics

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7
Q

Einstein’s special theory of relativity not only correctly describes the motion of objects moving at speeds comparable to the speed of light, it also completely modifies the traditional concepts of _______, _______, and _________.

A

space,
time,
energy

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8
Q

The theory of relativity also shows that the _______________ is the upper limit of the speed of an object and that _______ and ________ are related.

A

speed of light,
mass,
energy

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9
Q

_____________ was formulated by a number of distinguised scientists to provide descriptions of physical phenomena at the atomic level.

A

Quantum mechanics

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10
Q

To describe natural phenomena, we must make ____________ of various aspects of nature. Each measurement is associated w/ a physical quantity, such as the length of an object.

A

measurements

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11
Q

The laws of physics are expressed as ______________ among physical quantities.

A

mathematical relationships

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12
Q

If we are to report the results of a measurement to someone who wishes to reproduce this measurement, a ________ must be defined. It would be meaningless if a visitor from another planet were to talk to us about a length of 8 “glitches” if we do not know the meaning of the unit glitch.

A

standard

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13
Q

In 1960, an international committe established a set of standards for the fundamental quantities of science. It is called the __________________.

A

SI (Systeme International)

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14
Q

Some standards for SI fundamental units established by the committee are those for length (_____), mass (_____), temperature (_____), time (_____), and amount of a substance (_____).

A
meter,
kg,
K (Kelvin),
seconds,
moles
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15
Q

We can identify _______ as the distance b/w two points in space.

A

length

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16
Q

In 1799, the standard unit of length in France became the _______.

This was defined as one ten-millionth of the length of the distance from the ________ to the _________ along one particular longitudinal line that passes through Paris. Notice that this value is Earth-based and connot be used throughout the Universe.

A

meter.

equator, North Pole

17
Q

As recently as 1960, the meter was defined as the distance between two lines on a specific _____________ stored under controlled conditions in France.

Current requirements of science and technology, however, necessitate more accuracy than that with which the separation b/w the lines on the bar can be determined.

A

platinum-iridium bar

18
Q

In 1960s and 1970s, the meter was defined as 1650763.73 __________ of orange-red light emitted from a krypton-86 lamp.

In Oct. 1983, the meter was redfined as the dist. traveleled by __________ during a time of 1/299 792 458 seconds. This establishes that the speed of light in vacuum is precisely ____________.

A

wavelengths

light in vacuum,
299 792 458 m/s

19
Q

In 1887, the SI unit of mass (_____) is defined as the mass of a specific _______________ kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Sevres, France. This standard has not been changed b/c ______________ is an unusually stable alloy. A duplicate of this alloy is kept at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in _______________.

A

kg,
platinum-iridium alloy cylinder,
platinum-iridium alloy cylinder,
Gaithersburg, Maryland

20
Q

Before 1967, the standard of time was defined in terms of the mean ________ (A _______ is the time interval b/w successive appearances of the Sun at the highest pt. it reaches in the sky each day).

A

solar day,

solar day

21
Q

The SI unit of time (_____) was defined as (1/60)(1/60)(1/24) of a mean solar day. This defn is based on the rotation of one planet, the Earth. Therefore, this motion doesn’t provide a time standard that is __________.

A

seconds,

universal.

22
Q

In 1967, the second was redefined to take advantage of the high precision attainable in a device known as an __________. This device measures vibrations of ___________. One second is now defined as 9 192 631 770 times the period of vibration of radiation from the cesium-133 atom. (Period is defined as ______________________________).

A

atomic clock,
cesium atoms,
the time interval necessary to complete vibration.

23
Q

The variables length, time and mass are examples of __________________. Most other variables are __________________, those that can be expressed as a mathematical combination of fundamental quantities. Common examples are area and speed.

A

fundamental quantities,

derived quantities

24
Q

Another example of derived quantity is density. The desity p (Greek letter rho) of any substance is defined as its mass per unit volume. Eq: __________.

A

p = M/V or D = M/V

25
Q

In terms of fundamental quantities, density is a ratio of mass to a product of three _______. Aluminum, for example, has a density of 2.70*10^3 kg/m^3. An extreme difference in density can be imagined by thinking about holding a 10-cm^3 of Styrofoam in one hand and a 10-cm^3 of lead in the other.

A

lengths

26
Q

If scientists cannot interact with a phenomenon directly, the would imagine a ______ for a physical system that is related to that phenomenon. For example, an atom is too small to interact with directly, so we make a model of an atom to make predictions about it.

A

model,

27
Q

In Greek, atomos means “___________”. From this Greek terms, comes our English word ______.

A

not slicable,

atom

28
Q

Protons, neutrons, and a host of other exotic particles are now known to be composed of six different varieties of particles called ________, which have been given the names of up, down, _______, _______, bottom, and top.

A

quarks,

strange, charmed

29
Q

The up, charmed and top quarks have electric charges of ____ that of the proton, whereas the down, strange, and bottom quarks have the charges of ____ that of the proton.

A

+2/3,

-1/3

30
Q

The proton consists of two “______” quarks and one “______” quark, labeled u and d. This structure predicts the correct charge for the proton (Fig. 1.2 in book, pg.6).

A

up,

down.

31
Q

The neuron consists of two “______” quarks and one “______” quarks. Together, the proton and neutron net a charge of ___.

A

down,
up,
0

32
Q

Table 1.5 (pg.7) Dimensions and Units of Four Derived Quantities

A

Qty. Area Vol.(V) Speed(v) Accel. (a)
Power L^2 L^3 L/T L/T^2
SI Unit m^2 m^3 m/s m/s^2
US Unit ft^2 ft^3 ft/s ft/s^2