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Physics > Definitions (Chapter 1-22) > Flashcards

Definitions (Chapter 1-22) Flashcards

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1
Q

Scalar quantities

A

Quantities with only magnitude

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2
Q

Vector quantities

A

quantities with both magnitude and direction

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3
Q

Speed

A

Rate of change of distance

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4
Q

Velocity

A

Rate of change of displacement

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5
Q

Acceleration

A

Rate of change of velocity

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6
Q

Balanced Force

A

if the resultant force acting on an object is zero (we say the forces acting on the object are balanced)

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7
Q

Newton’s First Law

A

Every object will continue in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless a resultant force acts on it

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8
Q

Unbalanced Force

A

If the resultant force acting on an object is not zero, (then we say the forces acting on the object are unbalanced)

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9
Q

Newton’s Second Law

A

When a resultant force acts on an object of a constant mass, the object will accelerate in the direction of the resultant force. The product of the mass and acceleration of the object gives the resultant force.

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10
Q

Newton’s Third Law

A

If Body A exerts a Force Fᴀʙ on body B, then body B will exert an equal and opposite force Fʙᴀ on body A.

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11
Q

Friction

A

the contact force that opposes motion or tends to oppose motion between surfaces in contact

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12
Q

Mass

A

The amount of substance in a body

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13
Q

Weight (of an object)

A

The gravitational force, or gravity, acting on the object

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14
Q

Gravitational Field

A

The region in which a mass experiences a force due to gravitational attraction

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15
Q

Gravitational Field Strength

A

Gravitational force per unit mass

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16
Q

Inertia (of an object)

A

refers to the reluctance of the object to change its state of rest or motion, due to its mass

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17
Q

Moment of a force (or torque)

A

the product of the force F and the perpendicular distance d from the pivot to the line of action of the force

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18
Q

Principle of Moments

A

When a body is in equilibrium, the sum of clockwise moments about any pivot is equal to the sum of anticlockwise moments about the same pivot

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19
Q

Centre of Gravity (of any object)

A

the imaginary point through which its whole weight appears to act

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20
Q

Stability (of an object)

A

a measure of its ability to return to its original position after it is slightly displaced

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21
Q

Energy

A

the capacity to do work

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22
Q

Principle of Conservation of Energy

A

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but can be converted from one form to another. The total energy in an isolated system is constant.

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23
Q

Work done (by a constant force on an object)

A

is the product of the force and the displacement moved by the object in the direction of the force

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24
Q

Power

A

rate of work done or rate of energy conversion

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25
Pressure
Force acting per unit area
26
Kinetic Model of Matter
state that the tiny particles that make up matter are always in continuous random motion
27
Conduction
the transfer of thermal energy through a medium without any flow of the medium
28
Convection
the transfer of thermal energy by means of convection currents in a fluid (liquid or gas), due to a difference in density
29
Radiation
the transfer of thermal energy in the form of electromagnetic waves such as infrared radiation without the aid of a medium
30
Heat capacity
The amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of a substance by 1K (or 1°C)
31
Specific Heat Capacity
The amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by 1K (or 1°C)
32
Latent heat
Energy released or absorbed by a substance during a change of state, without a change in its temperature
33
Specific latent heat
Energy released or absorbed by a unit mass of a substance during a change of state, without a change in its temperature
34
Latent heat of vaporisation
the amount of thermal energy required to change a substance from liquid state to gaseous state, without a change in temperature
35
Specific latent heat of vaporisation
the amount of thermal energy required to change unit mass (e.g. 1kg) of the substance from liquid state to gaseous state, without a change in temperature
36
Temperature
refers to how hot or how cold an object is
37
Heat
the amount of thermal energy that is being transferred from a hotter to a colder region
38
First law of reflection
states that the incident ray, reflected ray and the normal at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane
39
Second law of reflection
states that the angle of incidence (i) is equal to the angle of reflection (r) (i.e., i=r)
40
Refraction
the bending of light as light passes from one optical medium to another
41
First law of refraction
states that the incident ray, the normal and refracted ray all lie in the same plane
42
Second law of refraction (Snell's Law)
states that for two given media, the ratio of the sine of the angle of incident (i) to the sine of the angle of refraction (r) is a constant (i.e. sin i/sin r = constant)
43
refractive index (n) of a medium
the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to the speed of light in the medium
44
critical angle
the angle of incidence in an optically denser medium for which the angle of refraction in the optically less dense medium is 90°
45
total internal reflection
the complete reflection of a light ray inside an optically denser medium at its boundary with an optically less dense medium
46
focal length ƒ
the distance between the optical centre C and the focal point F
47
transverse waves
a wave in which the direction of vibration of the particles of the wave is perpendicular to the direction of the wave
48
longitudinal waves
waves that travel parallel to the direction of the vibration
49
Wavelength
The wavelength of a wave is the shortest distance between any two points in phase
50
Amplitude (A) of a wave
the maximum displacement of a point from its rest position
51
Period
Time taken to produce one complete wave
52
Frequency
Number of complete waves produced per second
53
Wave speed (v)
the distance travelled by a wave per second
54
Wavefront
is an imaginary line on a wave that joins all adjacent points that are in phase
55
Sound
a form of energy that is transferred from one point to another as a longitudinal wave
56
Echo
the repetition of a sound due to the reflection of sound
57
Ultrasound
a sound with frequencies above the upper limits of the human range of audibility (20000Hz)
58
Pitch
related to the frequency of a sound wave - the higher the frequency, the higher the pitch
59
Loudness
related to the amplitude of a sound wave - the larger the amplitude, the louder the sound
60
Electric force
the attractive or repulsive force that electric charges exert on one another
61
Electric field
a region in which an electric charge experiences an electric force
62
Direction of an electric field
direction of force that would act on a small positive charge
63
Period (of a simple pendulum)
time taken for one complete oscillation
64
Conventional current
in the direction opposite to electron flow
65
Electric current (I)
the rate of flow of electric charge Q
66
Electromotive Force (e.m.f.) of an electrical energy source
the work done by the source in driving a unit charge around a complete circuit
67
Resistance (R) of a component
the ratio of the potential difference (V) across a component to the current (I) flowing through the component
68
Ohm's Law
states that the current passing through a metallic conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across it, provided that the physical conditions (such as temperature) remain constant
69
Potential divider
a line of resistors connected in series. It is used to provide a fraction of the voltage of a source to another part of the circuit.
70
Input transducers
electronic devices that convert non-electrical energy to electrical energy
71
potential difference (p.d.) across a component in an electric circuit
the work done to drive a unit charge through the component
72
Thermistor
a resistor whose resistance varies with temperature
73
oscillation
each complete to-and-fro motion is one oscillation
74
Uniform Acceleration
a constant rate of change of velocity
75
Magnetic Materials
materials that can be attracted to a magnet
76
Non-magnetic materials
materials that cannot be attracted to a magnet
77
The Motor Effect
when a current-carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, the conductor experiences a force. This effect on the conductor is called the motor effect.
78
Magnetic induction
the process whereby an object made of a magnetic material becomes a magnet when it is near to or in contact with a magnet
79
Magnetic field
the region surrounding a magnet, in which a body of magnetic material experiences a magnetic force
80
Light-dependent resistor (LDR)
has a resistance that decreases as the amount of light shining on it increases, and vice versa
81
Physical Quantity
a quantity that can be measured. It consists of a numerical magnitude and a unit
82
Efficiency
the ratio of useful output energy to total input energy
83
Kinetic Energy
the energy possessed by a body due to its motion, given by K.E. = 1/2 m v2(square)
84
Gravitational Potential Energy
the energy stored in a body due to its height above the ground, given by G.P.E. = mgh
85
Potential Energy
the stored energy in a system
86
Chemical Potential Energy
is the energy stored in a substance due to the position of the atoms or electrons in the substance
87
Elastic Potential Energy
is the energy stored in a body due to its elastic deformation
88
Electrical Energy
is the energy of an electric charge due to its motion and position
89
Light
an electromagnetic wave that is visible to the eye
90
Thermal Energy
the energy stored in a body due to its temperature
91
Nuclear Energy
the energy released during a nuclear reaction
92
Faraday's Law of electromagnetic induction
states that the magnitude of the induced e.m.f. in a circuit is directly proportional to the rate of change of magnetic flux in the circuit
93
Lenz's Law
states that the direction of the induced e.m.f. , and hence the induced current in a closed circuit, is always such that its magnetic effect opposes the motion or change producing it
94
Transformer
is a device that can change a high alternating voltage (at low current) to a low alternating voltage (at high current), or vice versa.
95
Boiling
Boiling is the process in which a substance absorbs thermal energy to change from liquid state to gaseous state, at a fixed temperature.
96
Condensation
refers to the change of state of a substance from a gas to a liquid, at a fixed temperature.
97
Melting
the process in which a substance in solid state changes to liquid state upon heating
98
Solidification
the process in which a substance changes from liquid state to solid state
99
Internal Energy (of a substance)
is the total energy of all the particles in the substance

Physics (5 decks)

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