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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
Q

Pressure

A

Force acting per unit area

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26
Q

Kinetic Model of Matter

A

state that the tiny particles that make up matter are always in continuous random motion

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27
Q

Conduction

A

the transfer of thermal energy through a medium without any flow of the medium

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28
Q

Convection

A

the transfer of thermal energy by means of convection currents in a fluid (liquid or gas), due to a difference in density

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29
Q

Radiation

A

the transfer of thermal energy in the form of electromagnetic waves such as infrared radiation without the aid of a medium

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30
Q

Heat capacity

A

The amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of a substance by 1K (or 1°C)

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31
Q

Specific Heat Capacity

A

The amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by 1K (or 1°C)

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32
Q

Latent heat

A

Energy released or absorbed by a substance during a change of state, without a change in its temperature

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33
Q

Specific latent heat

A

Energy released or absorbed by a unit mass of a substance during a change of state, without a change in its temperature

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34
Q

Latent heat of vaporisation

A

the amount of thermal energy required to change a substance from liquid state to gaseous state, without a change in temperature

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35
Q

Specific latent heat of vaporisation

A

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

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36
Q

Temperature

A

refers to how hot or how cold an object is

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37
Q

Heat

A

the amount of thermal energy that is being transferred from a hotter to a colder region

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38
Q

First law of reflection

A

states that the incident ray, reflected ray and the normal at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane

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39
Q

Second law of reflection

A

states that the angle of incidence (i) is equal to the angle of reflection (r) (i.e., i=r)

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40
Q

Refraction

A

the bending of light as light passes from one optical medium to another

41
Q

First law of refraction

A

states that the incident ray, the normal and refracted ray all lie in the same plane

42
Q

Second law of refraction (Snell’s Law)

A

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
Q

refractive index (n) of a medium

A

the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to the speed of light in the medium

44
Q

critical angle

A

the angle of incidence in an optically denser medium for which the angle of refraction in the optically less dense medium is 90°

45
Q

total internal reflection

A

the complete reflection of a light ray inside an optically denser medium at its boundary with an optically less dense medium

46
Q

focal length ƒ

A

the distance between the optical centre C and the focal point F

47
Q

transverse waves

A

a wave in which the direction of vibration of the particles of the wave is perpendicular to the direction of the wave

48
Q

longitudinal waves

A

waves that travel parallel to the direction of the vibration

49
Q

Wavelength

A

The wavelength of a wave is the shortest distance between any two points in phase

50
Q

Amplitude (A) of a wave

A

the maximum displacement of a point from its rest position

51
Q

Period

A

Time taken to produce one complete wave

52
Q

Frequency

A

Number of complete waves produced per second

53
Q

Wave speed (v)

A

the distance travelled by a wave per second

54
Q

Wavefront

A

is an imaginary line on a wave that joins all adjacent points that are in phase

55
Q

Sound

A

a form of energy that is transferred from one point to another as a longitudinal wave

56
Q

Echo

A

the repetition of a sound due to the reflection of sound

57
Q

Ultrasound

A

a sound with frequencies above the upper limits of the human range of audibility (20000Hz)

58
Q

Pitch

A

related to the frequency of a sound wave - the higher the frequency, the higher the pitch

59
Q

Loudness

A

related to the amplitude of a sound wave - the larger the amplitude, the louder the sound

60
Q

Electric force

A

the attractive or repulsive force that electric charges exert on one another

61
Q

Electric field

A

a region in which an electric charge experiences an electric force

62
Q

Direction of an electric field

A

direction of force that would act on a small positive charge

63
Q

Period (of a simple pendulum)

A

time taken for one complete oscillation

64
Q

Conventional current

A

in the direction opposite to electron flow

65
Q

Electric current (I)

A

the rate of flow of electric charge Q

66
Q

Electromotive Force (e.m.f.) of an electrical energy source

A

the work done by the source in driving a unit charge around a complete circuit

67
Q

Resistance (R) of a component

A

the ratio of the potential difference (V) across a component to the current (I) flowing through the component

68
Q

Ohm’s Law

A

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
Q

Potential divider

A

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
Q

Input transducers

A

electronic devices that convert non-electrical energy to electrical energy

71
Q

potential difference (p.d.) across a component in an electric circuit

A

the work done to drive a unit charge through the component

72
Q

Thermistor

A

a resistor whose resistance varies with temperature

73
Q

oscillation

A

each complete to-and-fro motion is one oscillation

74
Q

Uniform Acceleration

A

a constant rate of change of velocity

75
Q

Magnetic Materials

A

materials that can be attracted to a magnet

76
Q

Non-magnetic materials

A

materials that cannot be attracted to a magnet

77
Q

The Motor Effect

A

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
Q

Magnetic induction

A

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
Q

Magnetic field

A

the region surrounding a magnet, in which a body of magnetic material experiences a magnetic force

80
Q

Light-dependent resistor (LDR)

A

has a resistance that decreases as the amount of light shining on it increases, and vice versa

81
Q

Physical Quantity

A

a quantity that can be measured. It consists of a numerical magnitude and a unit

82
Q

Efficiency

A

the ratio of useful output energy to total input energy

83
Q

Kinetic Energy

A

the energy possessed by a body due to its motion, given by K.E. = 1/2 m v2(square)

84
Q

Gravitational Potential Energy

A

the energy stored in a body due to its height above the ground, given by G.P.E. = mgh

85
Q

Potential Energy

A

the stored energy in a system

86
Q

Chemical Potential Energy

A

is the energy stored in a substance due to the position of the atoms or electrons in the substance

87
Q

Elastic Potential Energy

A

is the energy stored in a body due to its elastic deformation

88
Q

Electrical Energy

A

is the energy of an electric charge due to its motion and position

89
Q

Light

A

an electromagnetic wave that is visible to the eye

90
Q

Thermal Energy

A

the energy stored in a body due to its temperature

91
Q

Nuclear Energy

A

the energy released during a nuclear reaction

92
Q

Faraday’s Law of electromagnetic induction

A

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
Q

Lenz’s Law

A

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
Q

Transformer

A

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
Q

Boiling

A

Boiling is the process in which a substance absorbs thermal energy to change from liquid state to gaseous state, at a fixed temperature.

96
Q

Condensation

A

refers to the change of state of a substance from a gas to a liquid, at a fixed temperature.

97
Q

Melting

A

the process in which a substance in solid state changes to liquid state upon heating

98
Q

Solidification

A

the process in which a substance changes from liquid state to solid state

99
Q

Internal Energy (of a substance)

A

is the total energy of all the particles in the substance

Physics (5 decks)

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