Every single one Flashcards
What is a scalar?
A quantity which has a magnitude, but no direction.
What is a vector?
A quantity which has both a magnitude and a direction.
Define mass (m).
The quantity of matter in a body regardless of its volume or of any forces acting on it.
What is weight (w)?
The measure of the force of gravity on a body.
What is displacement (s)?
Distance travelled in a given time.
Define velocity (v/u).
Rate of change of displacement with respect to time.
What is acceleration (a)?
Rate of change of velocity with respect to time.
Define force (f).
Anything which causes something to accelerate.
What is momentum (p)?
The product of a body’s velocity and mass.
Define density (ρ).
Mass per unit volume.
What is pressure (p)?
Force per unit area.
Define volume (V).
The amount of space that a substance or object occupies.
What is a lever?
A ridged body free to rotate about a fixed point known as a fulcrum.
Define moment.
The magnitude of the force multiplied by the perpendicular distance from the axis to the force.
What is a couple?
A pair of equal parallel forces that turn in opposite directions.
What is work (W)?
The energy given to a body by a force moving it through a displacement in the same direction as the applied force.
Define energy (E).
The ability to do work.
What is potential energy?
Energy due to position or conformation.
Define kinetic energy.
Energy due to movement.
What is power (P)?
The rate the work is done / The rate of energy conversion.
Define efficiency (Eff).
The comparison of energy put in to useful energy returned.
What is a radian (Θ)?
Unit of angle derived from an arc with an equal length to its radius.
Define linear speed (v).
The distance travelled along the arc with respect to time.
What is tangential speed?
Linear speed tangential to the circle.
Define angular velocity (ω).
The rate of change to angle with respect to time.
What is a period (T)?
The time taken to complete one revolution.
Define centripetal force (F).
The force directed towards the centre of a circle that is necessary to keep a body moving in a circular path.
What is centripetal acceleration (a)?
The acceleration towards the centre of a circle that holds a body in orbit.
Define geostationary orbit.
An orbit which takes place in the same plane of rotation as the planet and has an equal angular velocity.
What is Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)?
A form of periodic motion where acceleration is always directed towards the equilibrium and proportional to the displacement from it.
Define oscillating.
To move or swing back and forth with a steady rhythm.
What is a cycle?
The movement from one extreme to the other and back again.
Define frequency (f).
Cycles per second.
What is amplitude?
The maximum displacement either side of the equilibrium.
Define damping.
An effect that reduces the amplitude of oscillations over time.
What is an incident ray?
The light ray coming into the mirror/lens.
Define reflected/refracted ray.
The light ray leaving the mirror/lens.
What is a normal?
The perpendicular line drawn at the point of incidence of light.
Define real image.
Image caused by the intersection of real light rays.
What is a virtual image?
Image caused by the apparent intersection of light rays.
Define parallax.
The difference in the apparent position of an object viewed through two different lines of sight.
What is the centre of curvature (c)?
The theoretical centre of the sphere from which a curved mirror is taken.
Define principle axis.
The line joining the optical centre of the mirror to C.
What is the pole (p)?
The point where the principle axis intersects the mirror.
Define focal point (f).
Halfway between C and the pole.
What is refraction?
The bending of light at a boundary as it passes from one medium to another.
Define total internal reflection.
When a light ray travelling from a denser medium to a rarer medium at an angle greater than the critical angle is completely reflected.
What is the critical angle?
The angle in a denser medium that results in an angle of 90 degrees in the rarer medium.
Define mirages.
Optical phenomena caused by refraction of light in layers of air at different temperatures.
What is heat (Q)?
A form of energy that causes a rise in temperature.
Define temperature (Θ).
The measure of the effect of heat energy on a body.
What is heat capacity (C)?
The heat required to change something’s temperature by 1 kelvin.
Define specific heat capacity (c).
The amount of heat required to change 1 kg of a substance by 1 kelvin.
What is latent heat (L)?
The heat required to change a substance from one form to another without a change in temperature.
Define conduction.
The transfer of heat energy in a solid by passing on kinetic energy from molecule to molecule.
What is convection?
The transfer of heat energy by circulation of the heated parts of a liquid or gas.
Define radiation.
The transfer of heat energy as electromagnetic waves, without the need for a medium.
What is frequency (f) in waves?
Amount of wave fronts passing through a point every second.
Define amplitude in wave terms.
The maximum displacement of the mean position.
What is wavelength?
Distance between wave fronts.
Define mechanical waves.
Waves that require a medium to travel through and physically disrupt that medium.
What are electromagnetic waves?
Waves that do not require a physical medium but cause electric and magnetic disruption.
What is diffraction?
The spreading out of a wave as it moves through a gap or around an obstacle.
Define interference.
When waves, in the same medium, combine to form a resultant amplitude.
What is constructive interference?
When waves combine to form a greater amplitude.
Define destructive interference.
When waves combine to form a lesser amplitude.
What is polarisation?
When a wave is confined to a single plane.
Define standing waves.
Waves of the same frequency and amplitude that constructively and destructively interfere to form a wave pattern in a confined space.
What is a node?
Part of a standing wave which does not move.
Define antinode.
Part of a standing wave which moves the most.
What is the Doppler Effect?
The relative change in frequency due to the relative motion of the source and observer.
Define electric field lines.
Show the direction and strength of a force due to a positive charge in the field.
What is potential difference / voltage (V)?
The work required to move a charge of 1 coulomb from 1 point to another.
Define current (I).
A flow of charge through a conductor.
What is resistance (R)?
The ratio of potential difference across an object to the current flowing through it.
Define series circuit.
A circuit where there is no split.
What is a parallel circuit?
A circuit where there is a split.
What is a capacitor?
A device capable of storing an electrical charge.
Define resistivity.
The potential a material has for resistance.
What is a semiconductor?
Materials with a resistivity between that of a good conductor and a good insulator.
Define P-type semiconductor.
Silicon with doped boron to increase the amount of holes in the semiconductor.
What is N-type semiconductor?
Silicon with doped phosphorus to increase the amount of free electrons in the semiconductor.
Define P-N diode.
When a P and an N type semiconductor are joined together to allow current to only flow in one direction.
What is magnetic flux (Φ)?
Number of magnetic field lines passing through a surface.
Define electromagnetic induction.
When a change in magnetic field creates an EMF in a conductor which in turn produces a current.
What is a transformer?
A device which can change the voltage of alternating current.
What is a fuse?
A thin strip of metal with a known melting point that breaks the circuit when excessive current flows.
Define LED.
A semiconductor that emits light as holes and free electrons combine.
What is a transistor?
A semiconductor component with 3 connections that can be used as a rapid switch between high and low current.
What is a solenoid?
A device used to trigger a mechanical process
A solenoid converts electrical energy into linear motion.
What is rectification?
The conversion of AC into DC using a diode or full bridge rectifier
This process is essential in power supplies.
What does LED stand for and what does it do?
Light Emitting Diode; a semiconductor that emits light as holes and free electrons combine
LEDs are widely used for indicators and displays.
What is a transistor?
A semiconductor component with 3 connections used as a rapid switch for computing logic
Components include Base, Collector, and Emitter.
What are the three types of logic gates?
And gate, Or gate, Not gate
Each gate performs different logical functions in circuits.
What is Boolean logic?
Logic that uses combinations of 2 possibilities; High/Low, True/False, 1/0
Fundamental in digital circuit design.
True or False: An And gate will have a high output if any input is high.
False
An And gate requires all inputs to be high for a high output.
What is the Electron Volt (eV)?
The amount of energy lost or gained in moving an electron through a potential difference of 1V
A common unit of energy in atomic and particle physics.
What is thermionic emission?
The emission of electrons from the surface of a hot metal
This principle is used in vacuum tubes.
What is the Photoelectric Effect?
The emission of electrons from the surface of a metal when light of a suitable frequency falls on it
Key evidence for the particle theory of light.
What is the Threshold Frequency (F0)?
The minimum frequency for photo-emission to take place
Below this frequency, no electrons are emitted.
What is the Work Function?
The minimum energy of a photon required for photo-emission to take place
It varies for different materials.
What does Activity (A) refer to in nuclear physics?
The number of nuclei decaying per second
Measured in becquerels (Bq).
What is Half Life (T1/2)?
The time taken for half a radioactive sample to decay
Important for dating materials and understanding radioactive decay.
What is radioactive decay?
The spontaneous disintegration of a nucleus with the emission of 1 or more types of radiation
It can produce alpha, beta, or gamma radiation.
What is Nuclear Fission?
The splitting of a large nucleus into 2 similarly sized nuclei with the release of neutrons and energy
Used in nuclear reactors and atomic bombs.
What is Nuclear Fusion?
The joining of 2 smaller nuclei into a larger nucleus with the emission of energy
Powers stars, including the sun.
What is Critical mass?
The minimum mass of fissile material required to sustain a chain reaction
Essential for nuclear reactor design.
What is a mole in chemistry?
A mole of any substance has as many particles as there are atoms in 12g of C-12
Avogadro’s Number is approximately 6.022 x 10^23.
What does transmutation refer to?
The forced change in protons of a nucleus to produce a different element
Can occur naturally or through artificial means.
List the four fundamental forces.
Gravitation, Electromagnetic, Weak Nuclear, Strong Nuclear
Each force has unique properties and ranges.
What is antimatter?
Matter composed of antiparticles, which have opposite charge to their counterparts
Example: A positron is an antiparticle of an electron.
What are accelerators in particle physics?
Devices that accelerate charged particles
- Linear: Uses large potential differences
- Circular: Uses magnets for circular motion
Essential for high-energy physics experiments.
What is Pair Production?
The simultaneous creation of a particle and its antiparticle from electromagnetic energy
Occurs near a nucleus due to conservation laws.
What is Pair Annihilation?
The combining of a particle and its antiparticle resulting in their destruction and the emission of electromagnetic energy
This process can produce gamma rays.
What are Fermions?
All particles with mass
Includes leptons and hadrons.
What are Leptons?
Fundamental fermions that do not experience the strong nuclear force
Example: The electron.
What are Hadrons?
Fermions that experience all 4 fundamental forces
Includes baryons and mesons.
What are Baryons?
Hadrons formed from 3 quarks
Example: Proton (uud) and neutron (dud).
What are Mesons?
Hadrons formed from a quark and an anti-quark
Example: Pion (ud) and kaon (us).
What are Quarks?
Fundamental particles with non-integer charge that combine to form hadrons
Types include up, down, strange, charm, top, and bottom.
