physics definitions

Question 1

reference point

Answer 1

a starting point used to describe the location or the position of an object

Question 2

distance

Answer 2

the total length between two points or the total length traveled

Question 3

position

Answer 3

an objects distance and direction from a reference point

Question 4

motion

Answer 4

the process of changing position

Question 5

displacement

Answer 5

the straight line distance, or the difference between the initial position and the final position of an object

Question 6

scalar

Answer 6

A quantity that has only magnitude (or size), such as distance, time, and temperature.

Question 7

vector

Answer 7

A quantity that has both magnitude (size) and direction, such as displacement and position.

Question 8

uniform motion

Answer 8

Motion in which the object’s displacement is equal to each time interval.

Question 9

speed

Answer 9

A scalar quantity that describes the distance an object moves in a certain length of time.

Question 10

constant speed

Answer 10

When an object travels at the same speed and the same direction for each time interval.

Question 11

changing speed

Answer 11

When an object travels a different distance for each time interval.

Question 12

average speed

Answer 12

The distance travelled by an object divided by the time it takes to travel that distance.

Question 13

instantaneous speed

Answer 13

Is the speed of an object at a particular moment in time.

Question 14

velocity

Answer 14

A vector quantity that describes an object’s displacement during a specific time interval or an object’s rate of change of position.

Question 15

constant velocity

Answer 15

When an object travels at the same speed and the same direction for each time interval.

Question 16

changing velocity

Answer 16

When an object’s speed or direction, or both speed and direction, change for each time interval.

Question 17

average velocity

Answer 17

The displacement of an object divided by the time interval it takes to travel the displacement

Question 18

instantaneous velocity

Answer 18

The velocity (both magnitude and direction) at a specific instant of time

Question 19

acceleration

Answer 19

A change in the velocity of an object during a time interval; rate of change of velocity per unit of time.

Question 20

density

Answer 20

Density is the measurement of how tightly a material is packed together. It is defined as the mass per unit volume.

Question 21

mass

Answer 21

is a dimensionless quantity representing the amount of matter in a particle or object. The standard unit of mass in the International System (SI) is the kilogram (kg).

Question 22

volume

Answer 22

the amount of space occupied by any three-dimensional solid. These solids can be a cube, a cuboid, a cone, a cylinder or a sphere.

Question 23

heat

Answer 23

Thermal energy that is transferred from one object to another.

Question 24

specific heat capacity

Answer 24

The property of a substance that involves how it absorbs and releases energy.