Analysis of the Earth and Environment Lecture 5: The Fundamental forces of nature Flashcards
List the four forces of nature
Gravity
Electromagnet
Nuclear (Strong)
Nuclear (Weak)
Define Gravity
What is the number of gravitational acceleration on earth?
The force one mass exerts upon another.
9.8m/s²
How is the gravitional force of something affected by mass and distance
The gravitational force between two objects goes up as masses increase
Additionally the gravitational force decreases as distance increases, this is the inverse square law
What was the experiment that proved that masses exert a force on one another?
Maskelyne’s experiment at Schiehallion (1774)
Define mass and weight and explain the difference
Mass refers to the total amount of matter in an object. E.g. Kilograms or grams).
Whilst Weight is a measure of the gravitational force exerted on a body or object. In physics this is measured in newtons of force.
What is the equation for force (newtons)
Force = Mass x Acceleration
What is electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is the force that holds electrons in place around the nucleus as well as the force that makes electrons repel each other.
Define amplitude (in a wave)
The height of the wave (in metres)
Define frequency ( in a wave)
The number of waves per second
in Hertz (Hz or s-1)
Define wavelength ( in a wave)
The distance between two wave peaks (in metres)
Define Velocity ( in a wave )
The speed at which they move in a particular direction (m s-1)
What is the equation of Velocity
velocity = frequency × wavelength
v = f × w
What is the equation of Wavelength
Wavelength = Velocity / Frequency
What is the equation of Frequency
Wavelength / Velocity
Describe atom decay and alpha particles
When an isotopic atom of an element has an unstable nucleus ( from too many neutrons in the nucleus ) it begins to decay.
It decays through releasing alpha particles
Plutonium-238 decays by giving off an alpha-particle which consists of two protons and
two neutrons:
The Plutonium-238 decays into Uranium-234
