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1
Q

random errors and systematic errors

A

different magnitudes and signs (RANDOM)

same magnitude and sign when measurements are repeated (SYSTEMATIC)

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2
Q

accuracy and precision

A

how close a measured value is to the true value

how close the repeated measured values are to each other, without regard to the true value

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3
Q

newton’s first law of motion

A

that when a body will continue in it state of rest or move with uniform velocity unless a resultant force acts on it

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4
Q

newton’s second law of motion

A

the resultant force acting on the body is proportional to the rate of change of it momentum, and the change takes place in the direction of the resultant force

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5
Q

newton’s third law of motion

A

is body A exerts a force on body B, then body B will exert a force of the same type, of equal magnitude but in the opposite direction on body A

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6
Q

linear momentum

A

product of its mass and its velocity

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7
Q

impulse

A

product of the force and time during which the force acts

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8
Q

principle of conservation of momentum

A

total momentum of a system remains constant provided no resultant external force acts on the system

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9
Q

moments

A

product of the force and the perpendicular distance of the line of action of the force from the pivot

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10
Q

couple

A

pair of forces which tends to produce rotation only

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11
Q

torque of a couple

A

product of one of the forces and the perpendicular distance between the lines of action of the forces

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12
Q

conditions for static equilibrium

A
  1. resultant force in any direction must be zero

2. resultant torque about any axis must be zero

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13
Q

principle of moments

A

for any object to be in rotational equilibrium, the sum of clockwise moments about any axis must be equal to the sum of anticlockwise moments about the same axis

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14
Q

work done

A

product of the force and the displacement of the body in the direction of the force

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15
Q

principle of conservation of energy

A

energy can only be transformed from one form to another, but i cannot be created or destroyed

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16
Q

power

A

work done per unit time

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17
Q

origin of upthrust

A
  1. pressure increases with depth in the fluid
  2. pressure on the bottom surface is larger than the pressure on the top surface, resulting in a pressure difference
  3. the difference in pressure causes an upward force called upthrust
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18
Q

one radian

A

it is the angle subtended at the centre of the circle by an arc equal in length to the radius of the circle

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19
Q

angular velocity

A

rate of change of angular displacement

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20
Q

simple harmonic motion

A

it is the periodic motion of a particle whose acceleration is proportional to its displacement from a fixed point, and is directed towards the point

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21
Q

resonance

A

it is the phenomenon in which a system responds at maximum amplitude to an external driving force of the same frequency as the natural frequency of the system. at resonance, there is maximum transfer of energy from the driving system into the oscillating system

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22
Q

amplitude

A

maximum displacement of the particle from its equilibrium position

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23
Q

wavelength

A

distance between two successive points in a wave which are in phase

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24
Q

period

A

time taken for one complete oscillation

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25
frequency
number of oscillations per unit time
26
progressive wave
it transfers energy from the source in the direction of its propagation
27
transverse wave
where the direction of oscillations of particles is perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer of the wave
28
longitudinal wave
where the direction of oscillation of particles is parallel to the direction of energy transfer of the wave
29
intensity
rate of power per unit area perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation
30
polarisation
when particles in the wave oscillate only in a single direction perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer of the wave
31
principle of superposition
when two or more waves of the same kind overlap, the resultant displacement at any point at any instant is the vector sum of the displacements that individual waves would have separately produced at that point and at that instant
32
interference
the phenomenon which occurs when two or more waves overlap according to the principle of superposition
33
conditions for observable interference
overlapping waves must be coherent (same phase difference and same frequency) for transverse waves, they must be either unpolarised or polarised in the same plane
34
coherent
constant phase difference between them and have same frequency
35
diffraction
spreading of waves after they pass through a small opening or round an obstacle
36
rayleigh's criterion
when the central maximum falls on the first minimum of another image and the images are distinguishable and said to be just resolved
37
how a stationary wave is formed
it is the result of interference between two identical waves travelling along the same line with the same speeds but in opposite directions
38
how are stationary waves formed (IGNORE)
1. have a wave source that produce waves in the system 2. waves are formed when reflection of the waves occurs at the ends of the system 3. when a progressive wave encounters a boundary, reflection occurs. reflected wave is identical as the incident wave
39
gravitational field
a region of space in which a mass experiences a gravitational force
40
newton's law of gravitation
states that two point masses attract each other with a force that is proportional to the product of the masses and inversely proportional to the square of their seperation
41
geostationary orbit
allows the satellite to remain stationary relative to an observer on earth
42
gravitational field strength
it is the gravitational force per unit mass acting on a small mass placed at that point
43
gravitational potential
it is the work done per unit mass by an external force in bringing a small test mass from infinity to that point without a change in kinetic energy
44
thermal equilibrium
when there is no heat flow between two objects in thermal contact and they have the same temperature
45
specific heat capacity
heat energy required per unit mass per unit increase in the temperature of the substance without any change in phase
46
specific latent heat of fusion
heat energy required per unit mass of a substance to change it from solid to liquid without any change in temperature
47
specific latent heat of vaporisation
heat energy required per unit mass of a substance to change it from liquid to vapour without any change in temperature
48
internal energy of a system
sum of random distribution of kinetic and potential energies of molecules in random motion
49
first law of thermodynamics
increase in internal energy of a system is equal to the sum of heat supplied to the system and the work done on the system
50
electric field
region in space where a charge experiences an electric force
51
electric field strength
electric force per unit charge acting on a small stationary charge placed at that point
52
electric potential
it is the work done per unit positive charge by an external force in bringing a small test charge from infinity to that point without a change in kinetic energy of the charge
53
electric field strength
is numerically equal to the potential gradient at that point
54
electric current
rate of flow of charge
55
emf
energy converted from other forms to electrical energy per unit charge
56
potential difference
electrical energy converted to other forms of energy per unit charge passing through that device
57
resistance
ratio of potential difference across the component to the current flowing through it
58
magnetic field
region in space where a permanent magnet or a moving charge or a current carrying conductor will experience a magnetic force
59
magnetic flux density
magnetic flux density is the force per unit length per unit current acting on a straight current carrying conductor placed at right angles to the magnetic field
60
magnetic flux
magnetic flux through a plane surface is the product of the magnetic density normal to the surface and the area of the surface
61
magnetic flux linkage
product of the number of turns and the magnetic flux linking each turn
62
faraday's law of electromagnetic induction
induced emf is directly proportional to the rate of change of magnetic flux linkage
63
lenz' law
the direction of the induced emf is such as to cause effects to oppose the change producing it
64
rms current
it is the value of an equivalent steady direct current that would provide the same average power as the alternating current
65
photon
discrete bundle of electromagnetic energy
66
photoelectric effect
phenomenon where electrons are emitted from a metal surface when electromagnetic radiation of sufficiently high frequency is incident on the metal surface
67
work function energy
minimum amount of energy necessary to remove an electron from the surface of the material
68
threshold frequency
minimum frequency of the electromagnetic radiation incident on a metal surface for the electron to escape
69
stopping potential
minimum retarding potential to stop all electrons from reaching the collector plate
70
emission line spectrum and how they are produced
consists of discrete bright coloured lines in a dark background gases can be placed in a discharge tube at low pressure. voltage in kV applied between electrodes in the tube which is large enough to produce an electric current in the gas. the gas becomes excited by the collisions with the electrons passing through the tube, from cathode to anode of the discharge tube. excited gas atoms are unstable. when the gas atoms transits to a lower energy level, the excess energy is emitted as a photon with a specific frequency. the frequency of the emission line is dependent on the energy difference between the high and low energy levels, only certain high to low energy level transitions are possible within the atom, therefore only certain frequency lines are present in the spectrum.
71
absorption line spectrum and
dark lines against a continuous spectrum of the white light it is produced when white light containing all frequencies passes through a cold gas those incident photons whose energies are exactly equal to the difference between the atom's energy levels are being absorbed. since energy levels are discrete, only photons of certain frequencies are absorbed when the atoms transit back to ground state, the photons of the same frequencies are then reradiated but in ALL DIRECTIONS hence part corresponding to these wavelengths appear dark

physics definitions (1 decks)

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