Ch.1 Physics & Measurement Flashcards
The main objectives of physics are to identify a limited number of fundamental lawas that govern natural phenomena and use them to develop theories that can predict the results of future experiments.
When there is a discrepency between the prediction of a theory and experimental results, new or modified ________ must be formulated to remove the discrepancy.
theories
For example (new/modified theories), the laws of motion discovered by Isaac Newton (1642-1727) accurately describe the motion of objects moving at ___________ but do not apply to objects moving at speeds comparable to the speed of light. In contrast, the special _____________ developed later by Albert Einstein (1879-1955) gives the same results as Newton’s laws at low speeds but also correctly describes the motion of objects as speeds approaching the ______________.
normal speeds
theory of relativity,
speed of light
Classical physics includes the principles of classical mechanics, thermodynamics, optics and electromagnetism developed before _____. Important contributions to classical physics were provided by Newton, who was also one of the originators of ________ as a mathematical tool.
1900,
Calculus
Major developments in mechanics continued in the 18th century, but the fields of thermodynamics and electromagnetism were not developed until the latter part of the 19thcentury, principally b/c before that time, the apparatus for controlled experiments in these dissciplines was either ___________ or ___________.
too crude,
unavailable
A major revolution in pyhysics, usually referred to as ___________, began near the end of the 19th century.
modern physics
Modern physics developed mainly because many physical phenomena could not be explained by classical physics. The two most important developments in this modern era, were the _________________ and ____________.
theories of relativity,
quantum mechanics
Einstein’s special theory of relativity not only correctly describes the motion of objects moving at speeds comparable to the speed of light, it also completely modifies the traditional concepts of _______, _______, and _________.
space,
time,
energy
The theory of relativity also shows that the _______________ is the upper limit of the speed of an object and that _______ and ________ are related.
speed of light,
mass,
energy
_____________ was formulated by a number of distinguised scientists to provide descriptions of physical phenomena at the atomic level.
Quantum mechanics
To describe natural phenomena, we must make ____________ of various aspects of nature. Each measurement is associated w/ a physical quantity, such as the length of an object.
measurements
The laws of physics are expressed as ______________ among physical quantities.
mathematical relationships
If we are to report the results of a measurement to someone who wishes to reproduce this measurement, a ________ must be defined. It would be meaningless if a visitor from another planet were to talk to us about a length of 8 “glitches” if we do not know the meaning of the unit glitch.
standard
In 1960, an international committe established a set of standards for the fundamental quantities of science. It is called the __________________.
SI (Systeme International)
Some standards for SI fundamental units established by the committee are those for length (_____), mass (_____), temperature (_____), time (_____), and amount of a substance (_____).
meter, kg, K (Kelvin), seconds, moles
We can identify _______ as the distance b/w two points in space.
length