Physics Flashcards
What are the properties of Solids?
Fixed volume
Fixed shape
What are the properties of Liquids?
Fixed volume
Takes shape of the container
What are the properties of Gases?
Expand to fill container
Take shape of container
What does a Particle diagram look like for a Solid?
What does a particle diagram for a Liquid look like?
What does a particle diagram for a Gas look like?
Describe the particles of a Solid
Close together
Held in fixed positions by strong forces
Describe the particles of a liquid
Close together
Held by fairly strong forces
Can move around
Describe the particles of a Gas
Far apart
Held by very weak forces
Can move around
How do you calculate density?
Density can be calculated using this formula:
density = mass
volume
What are the units for density?
g/cm3 or kg/m3
Substances can change state when they are heated or cooled. What are the three states of matter?
Solid, Liquid and Gas
Describe/draw/label a changes of state diagram
What can be said about the melting point and the freezing point of a substance?
They are the same temperature.
The temperature of a substance does not change while it is melting, even if it is still being heated.
What happens to a substance when it is heated? Describe how this affects the particles in Solids, Liquids and Gases.
It expands.
The particles in a Solid vibrate more and take up more space.
The particles both Liquids and Gases move around faster and take up more space.
When a material expands, does the density increase or decrease?
It decreases.
What happens to a substance when it cools down? Describe how this affects the particles.
Substances contract when the coold down.
As particles have less energy they do not move as much. This reduces the volume and increased the density.
When a liquid freezes and becomes a solid, what happens to it’s density?
It increases a lot.
Why is ice unusual with regards to density?
Because it is LESS dense than liquid water. This is why ice floats on water.
Which 2 properties are fluids?
Both gases and liquids are fluids.
Describe the pressure in fluids.
Fluids can flow.
Pressure in fluids acts in all directions.
The particles in fluids are moving all the time and hitting the walls of containers and other things they come into contact with.
The force of the collisions causes pressure, which acts in all directions.
The pressure of gas in a container can be increased by: ?
Putting more particles into the container
Heating the gas
Reducing the volume of the container.
As you go deeper in the sea, what happens with the pressure?
Pressure increases because there is more water above you pressing down.
If you climb a high mountain, what happens with the pressure?
The air pressure on you will get less, because there is less air above you pressing down.
How can you decid if something will float or sink?
By working out its density, and the density of the fluid. If the density of the object is less than the density of the fluid, it will float.
What is the density of water and which objects will float in water?
The density of water is 1g/cm3, so objects with densities less than 1g/cm3 will float in water.
What is another name for air or water resistance?
Drag.
How can the amount of drag on something be reduced?
By giving it a smooth surface and a streamlined shape.
When does the drag increase?
As the speed increases
What happens to fuel consumption of cars when they are travelling fast
They use up more fuel per km
Describe how drag is caused and what happens
Drag is caused by particles in the fluid hitting the moving object and by the force needed for the object to push the fluid out of the way. The particles transfer energy to the object which is why objects moving through air can get hot.
Describe how light travels
Light travels in straight lines from a source. Light travels as transverse waves. It travels much faster than sound, and does not need a substance to travel through.
Describe what light travels through
Light travels through transparent objects but not through opaque objects.
How are shadows made?
Shadows are made when light is blocked by an object.
What objects affect light travelling through?
Opaque objects block all light.
Translucent objects allow some light to pass through but it is scattered so you do not see a clear image.
Describe Transmission and Absorption of light
Transparent materials let light pass straight through. We say they transmit light.
Opaque surfaces can absorb or reflect light.
What colour surfaces reflect, and what colour absorb most of the light?
White surfaces reflect most of the light that hits them.
Black surfaces absorb light very well and reflect very little. This is why they look so dark.
Describe diffuse reflection
This is where light rays are scattered by rough surfaces which means that you cannot see an image in an object with a rough surface.
Describe specular reflection
Mirrors and shiny materials such as polished metals reflect light evenly. This is called specular reflection.
With regards to reflection, what is the angle of incidence? And what is this known as?
The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
This is known as the law of reflection.
In reflection how are angles measured?
Angles are measured between the light rays and the normal (a line drawn at right angles to the reflecting surface)
Why can you see an image in a mirror? And describe the image in a plain mirror.
Becasue the reflected rays of light appear to come from a point behind the mirror.
The image in a plain mirror is the same size as the object, and the same distance away from the mirror. In the image, left becomes right and right becomes left.
What is refraction?
This is when light hits something transparent and changes speed and direction.
Where does refraction take place?
At the interface between two substances.
With regards to the subject of light, what is the normal?
A line drawn at right angles to the reflecting surface.
Dwscribe what happens to light transmitted through glass.
When it is transmitted it slows down and changes direction towards the normal. When it travels back out it speeds up again and changes direction away from the normal.
What are lenses and what are they designed to do?
Lenses are curved pieces of glass or transparent plastic that are designed to refract light in particular ways.
Describe what is meant by Converging Lenses
Converging lenses make rays of light come together.
What is the focal point of a lens
The point where parallel rays of light are brought together by the lens.
What is the focal length?
The distance of the focal point from the centre of the lens.
Name three places where lenses are used
In cameras, microscopes and telescopes.