Chapter 1 Flashcards
(44 cards)
How is physics an experimental science?
It involves measurements and experiments
What would a pattern be?
a physical theory
What is a physical law?
A theory that held true
How should you solve a physics problem?
Find givens and what you need to find, set up the equations, execute by plugging numbers and solving, and evaluate the results
What are the 3 fundamental quantities of physics?
Length, time, and mass (meter, second, and kilogram)
What is the purpose of significant figures?
Finding uncertainty in a measument
What can scientific notation be useful for?
Indicating the number of significant figures
What is the rule for an even number followed by a 5?
It stays the same
What is the rule for an odd number followed by a 5?
it rounds up
When doing math, what kind of sig figs get priority?
The least number of sig figs. In addition/subtraction you use the least number of decimals
What is an order of magnitude?
A quick calculation for a general idea
How does an oder of magnitude work?
You compare 2 numbers in scientific notation to the square root of 10 and round
What is the square root of 10?
3.167
What is accuracy?
The closeness to a true value
What is precision?
The number of sig figs used
What is a scalar?
A quantity specified without direction
What is a vector?
A quantity specified that does have direction. It’s specified as force and velocity
What are equal vectors?
Vectors with equal magnitude and direction
What is a negative vector?
A vector with opposite direction but the same magnitude
How do you add vectors graphically?
put them head to tail. They’re commutative
How do you subtract vectors graphically?
Put them head to head
What is an accurate way to add vectors?
Trigonometyry
What is a unit vector?
A vector with a magnitude of 1 with no units. You use them with x/y/z to do cartesian coordinates
How does a scalar dot product work?
Foiling their unit vectors
