Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

MCAT > concept 4a > Flashcards

concept 4a Flashcards

(66 cards)

Start Studying
1
Q

translation

A

motion through space without rotation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

vectors

A

are numbers that have magnitude and direction

displacement, velocity, acceleration, and force

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

scalars

A

numbers that have only magnitude and no direction

distance, speed, energy, pressure, and mass

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

resultant of vectors

A

the sum or difference of 2 or more vectors
always add tip-to-tail
place the tail of vector B at the tip of vector A without changing either the length to direction of arrow

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

tip-to-tail method

A

place the tail of vector B at the tip of vector A without changing either the length to direction of arrow
lengths of the arrow must be proportional to the magnitudes of the vectors
for vector addition

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

vector subtraction

A

subtraction is accomplished by adding a vector with equal magnitude but opposite direction to the first vector
simply flipping the direction of the vector being subtracted and then following the tip-to-tail method

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

right hand rule for vector direction

A

point thumb in direction of vector A
extend fingers in direction of vector B
palm/curl fingers to establish plane b/w the 2 vectors. this is the direction of the resultant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

displacement (x or d)

A

change in position of an object in motion
vector quantity
connects in a straight line from the starting position to final position
independent of path

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

distance (d)

A

the path traveled
dependent on the path taken
scalar quantity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

velocity (v)

A 
the speed of an object 
displacement divided by time 
vector quantity 
unit m/s 
direction of velocity is necessarily the same as direction of displacement
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

speed (v)

A

rate of actual distance traveled in a given unit of time

scalar

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

force (F)

A

vector quantity experienced as pushing or pulling on objects
can exist b/w objects that aren’t touching
unit newton (N=kg*m/s^2)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

gravity

A

an attractive force that is felt by all forms of matter

between 2 objects that depends on their masses and the distance between them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

acceleration due to gravity (g)

A

g=10m/s (9.8)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

gravitational force (Fg)

A

Fg=Gm1m2/r^2

G=6.67e-11

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

friction

A

type of force that opposes the movement of objects
causes objects to slow down or become stationary
2 types: static and kinetic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

static friction (fs)

A

exists b/w a stationary object and the surface upon which it rests
0<(mu sub s)N
(mu sub s) is the coefficient of static friction and N is the magnitude of the normal force

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

normal force

A

is the component of the force b/w 2 objects in contact that is perpendicular to the plane of contact b/w the object and the surface upon which it rests

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

kinetic friction (fk)

A

exists b/w a sliding object and the surface over which the object slides
fk=(mu sub k)N
is a constant value (bc of the =)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

static and kinetic friction

A

the value of (mu sub s) is always larger the (mu sub k)
the max value for static friction will be greater than the constant value for kinetic friction
objects will “stick” until they start moving, then will slide more easily over one another

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

mass (m)

A

a measure of a body’s inertia-the amount of matter in the object
scalar quantity
unit kg
independent of gravity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

weight (Fg)

A

is a measure of gravitational force on an objects mass
is a force, is a vector quantity with unit N
Fg=mg

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

center of mass

A

or center of gravity
the weight of object can be applied at a single point in the object
for a uniform object it is at the geometric center of the object

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

acceleration (a)

A

rate of change of velocity that an object experiences as a result of some applied force
vector quantity
unit m/s^2
a=v/t

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
deceleration
acceleration in the direction opposite the initial velocity
26
graph of velocity vs. time
the tangent to the graph at any time, t, which corresponds to the slope of the graph, indicates the instantaneous acceleration slope=acceleration positive slope, postive acceleration, same direction as velocity negative slope, decelertion, opposite direction of velocity
27
Newton's first law
a body either at rest or in motion with constant velocity will remain that way unless a net force acts upon it Fnet=ma=0 aka law of inertia thought of as a special case of second law
28
Newton's second law
an object of mass m will accelerate when the vector sum of the forces results in some nonzero resultant force vector Fnet=ma no acceleration occurs if the forces cancel out
29
Newton's third law
to every action, there is always an equal but opposite reaction law of action and reaction Fab=-Fba for every force exerted on object A by B there is an equal but opposite force exerted on B by A
30
linear motion
object's velocity and acceleration along the line of motion the pathway of a moving object continues along a straight line one-dimentional motion
31
linear motion equations
``` v=v0+at x=v0t+1/2at^2 v^2=v0^2+2ax x=(v avg)t kinematics equations ```
32
free fall
object falls with a constant acceleration-accel. due to gravity (9.8)-and will not reach terminal velocity solve using kinematics equations
33
air resistance
opposes the motion of an object, like friction increases as the speed of the object increases object in free fall will experience a growing drag as the velocity increases, will eventually equal the weight of object, and will fall at constant velocity
34
terminal velocity
velocity at which air resistance is equal to gravitational force and no acceleration occurs for an object in free fall
35
projectile motion
motion that follows a path along 2 dimensions velocities and accelerations have 2 directions (usually horizontal and vertical) and are independent of each other *for MCAT vy will change at rate of g but will be able to assume the vx is constant bc air resistance is negligible
36
inclined planes
motion in 2 dimensions | best to divide force vectors into components that are parallel and perpendicular to the plane
37
circular motion
occurs when forces cause an object to move in a circular path
38
uniform circular motion
the instantaneous velocity vector is always tangent to the circular path object is kept in the circular path by a centripetal force
39
centripetal force
force that points radically inward, toward the center of the circle keeps the object moving in a circular pathway generates a centripetal acceleration Fc=mv^2/r
40
dynamics
the study of forces and torques
41
translational equilibrium
exists only when the vector sum of all the forces acting on an object is zero called the first condition of equilibrium, and is a reiteration of Newton's first law
42
rotational motion
occurs when forces are applied against an object in such a way as to cause the object to rotate around a fixed pivot point, aka fulcrum
43
torque
moment of force application of force at some distance from the fulcrum generates this primary motivator for rotational motion that combines force, lever arm, and the angle b/w them units N*m T=r*F=r*F*sin(theta)
44
lever arm
the distance b/w the applied force and the fulcrum
45
rotational equilibrium
exists only when the vector sum of all the torques action on an object is zero called second condition of equilibrium
46
torque directions
torque that generates clockwise motion are considered negative torque that generates counterclockwise motion are considered positive
47
energy
refers to a systems ability to do work or to make something happen kinetic and potential
48
kinetic energy
the energy of motion KE=1/2mv^2 unit joule (J=kg*m^2/s^2) related to speed not velocity, object has KE regardless of direction of velocity any object with mass that is moving with some speed has KE
49
potential energy
energy that is associated with a given object's position in space or other intrinsic qualities of the system stored energy, the potential to do work gravitational and elastic
50
gravitational potential energy
depends on an object's position with respect to some level of datum ("ground" or zero potential energy position) PE=U=mgh if any of the variables increase so does the potential energy
51
elastic potential energy
energy stored in springs and other elastic systems when it is stretched or compressed from equilibrium length it has spring potential energy U=1/2kx^2 k is the spring constant, x is magnitude of displacement from equilibrium
52
spring constant
k | measure of the stiffness of the spring
53
total mechanical energy
sum of an object's potential and kinetic energies | E=U+K
54
first law of thermodynamics
accounts for the conservation of mechanical energy energy can never be created nor destroyed-it is merely transferred from one from to another does not mean that the total mechanical energy is held constant
55
conservative forces
force that does not cause energy to be dissipated from a system such as gravity, electrostatic forces, and springs pathway independent and associated with a potential energy function conserve mechanical energy
56
nonconservative forces
dissipate mechanical energy as thermal or chemical energy | frication and air resistance
57
determining if a force is conservative
1. if the change in energy around any round-trip path is zero 2. if the change in energy is equal despite taking any path b/w 2 points
58
work
function of the applied force and the distance through which it is applied or the pressure and volume changes in a gas system the use of energy to accomplish something unit joules measure of energy transfer W=F*d=F*d*cos(theta)=force*displacement
59
power
rate at which energy is transferred from one system to another rate at which work is accomplished, energy expenditure per unit time unit watts (W=J/s)
60
work-energy theorem
states that net work is equal to the change in energy (usually kinetic) of an object Wnet=delta K=Kf-Ki allows us to calculate work without knowing the magnitude of forces or displacement
61
mechanical advantage
the reduction in input force required to accomplish a desired around of output work using a simple machine =Fout/Fin ratio of magnitudes of the force exerted on an object by a simple machine (Fout) to the force actually applied on the simple machine (Fin)
62
simple machines
``` inclined plane wedge (2 merged inclined planes) wheel and axle lever pulley screw (rotating inclined plane) ```
63
pulleys
use same paradigm as incline planes: reduction of necessary force at the cost of increased distance to achieve3 a given value of work allow heavy objects to be lifted using a reduced force
64
efficiency
=Wout/Win=(load)(load distance)/(effort)(effort distance) load determines output force effort determines input force from output force and mechanical advantage we can determine necessary input force
65
load
the weight of an object balanced by tension of ropes load distance is the certain height in air that the object is lifted load is a force
66
effort
the force required to life the object | effort distance is equal to the total distance moved by all ropes/pulleys

MCAT (18 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions