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Physics Flashcards

1
Q

Physical quantity

A

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

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2
Q

scalar quantities

A

quantities that have magnitude only

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3
Q

vector quantities

A

quantities that have both magnitude and direction

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4
Q

distance

A

total length of travel irrespective of the direction of motion

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5
Q

displacement

A

distance moved in a specific direction

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6
Q

speed

A

rate of change of distance

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7
Q

velocity

A

distance travelled per unit time in a specified direction/ rate of change of displacement

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8
Q

acceleration

A

rate of change of velocity

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9
Q

Newton’s First Law of Motion

A

an object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will continue in motion at constant speed in a straight line in the absence of a resultant force acting on it

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10
Q

Newton’s Second Law of Motion

A

the resultant force acting upon an object is equal to the product of the mass and the acceleration of the object; the direction of the force is the same as that of the object’s acceleration

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11
Q

Newton’s Third Law of Motion

A

If an object A exerts a force on object B then B exerts an equal but opposite force on A

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12
Q

Friction

A

a force that resists the relative motion of objects that are in contact with each other

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13
Q

Inertia

A

the reluctance of an object to change either its state of rest, or if it’s moving, its motion in a straight line

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14
Q

mass

A

measure of the amount of substance in the object

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15
Q

weight

A

force of gravity acting upon an object

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16
Q

gravitational field

A

a region in which a mass experiences a force due to gravitational attraction

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17
Q

gravitational field strength

A

gravitational force per unit mass

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18
Q

moment

A

moment of a force about a pivot is the product of the force and the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the pivot

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19
Q

Principles of moments

A

when an object is in equilibrium, the sum of clockwise moments about any point is equal to the sum of anticlockwise moments about the same point

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20
Q

centre of gravity

A

point through which the entire weight of the object appears to act

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21
Q

stability

A

measure of a body’s ability to maintain its original position

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22
Q

pressure

A

force per unit area

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23
Q

energy

A

capacity to do work

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24
Q

work done

A

work done on an object is the product of the force acting on the object and the distance travelled in the direction of the force

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25
Q

thermal energy

A

total kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules in the body

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26
Q

potential energy

A

energy stored in an object due to its shape, position or state

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27
Q

kinetic energy

A

energy a body possesses due to its motion

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28
Q

principle of conservation of energy

A

energy cannot be created or destroyed but only changes from one form to another. the total energy in an isolated system remains constant

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29
Q

power

A

rate of doing work

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30
Q

efficiency

A

ratio of the useful energy output to the total energy input expressed as a percentage

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31
Q

Brownian motion

A

haphazard movement of microscopic particles suspended in a fluid due to the uneven bombardment of the suspended particles by the molecules of the fluid

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32
Q

kinetic model of matter

A

all matter is made up of a large number of tiny atoms or molecules which are in continuous motion

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33
Q

internal energy

A

the combination of the total kinetic energy and potential energy of the molecules in the body

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34
Q

ice point

A

temperature of pure melting ice at standard atmospheric pressure

35
Q

steam point

A

temperature at which pure boiling water changes into steam at standard atmospheric pressure

36
Q

conduction

A

process by which thermal energy is transmitted through a medium from one particle to another

37
Q

convection

A

process by which thermal energy is transmitted from one place to another by the movement of heated gas or liquid

38
Q

radiation

A

process by which thermal energy is transferred by electromagnetic waves

39
Q

heat capacity

A

the amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of the body by 1K or 1 degree Celsius

40
Q

specific heat capacity

A

the amount of thermal energy required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of the substance by 1K or 1 degree celsius

41
Q

melting

A

process whereby energy is supplied to change the state of a substance from solid to liquid, without a change in temperature

42
Q

freezing

A

process of changing the state of a substance from liquid to solid without a change in temperature

43
Q

boiling

A

process whereby energy is supplied to change the state of a substance from liquid to gas, without a change in temperature

44
Q

condensation

A

process of changing the state of a substance from gas to liquid without a change in temperature

45
Q

latent heat of fusion

A

energy needed to change the state of a substance from solid to liquid, without a change in temperature

46
Q

latent heat of vaporisation

A

energy needed to change the state of a substance from liquid to gas, without a change in temperature

47
Q

specific latent heat of fusion

A

the amount of thermal energy needed to change a unit mass of the substance from solid to liquid, without a change in temperature

48
Q

specific latent heat of vaporisation

A

the amount of thermal energy needed to change a unit mass of the substance from liquid to gas, without a change in temperature

49
Q

wave

A

a disturbance that transfers energy through vibrations from 1 place to another

50
Q

wavefront

A

line that joins all peaks of a wave or all identical points on a wave

51
Q

rarefaction

A

stretched region between successive compressions

52
Q

amplitude

A

maximum displacement from the rest position or equilibrium position. it is the height of the crest/depth of the trough measured from the normal undisturbed position

53
Q

wavelength

A

horizontal distance between 2 successive crest/troughs. it is also equal to the distance between 2 successive points which are vibrating in exactly the same way

54
Q

frequency

A

number of complete waves generated per second

55
Q

period

A

time taken to generate one complete wave.

56
Q

speed of a wave

A

distance moved by the wave in 1 second

57
Q

Laws of reflection

A
  1. the incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal at the point of incidence all lie on the same plane
  2. the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection
58
Q

Law of refraction

A
  1. the incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal at the point of incidence all lie on the same plane
  2. for 2 given media, the ratio sin i / sin r is a constant, where i is the angle of incidence and r is the angle of refraction (Snell’s Law)
59
Q

refractive index of a medium

A

constant ratio of sin i/ sin r for a light ray passing from a vacuum into a given medium
OR
ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to the speed of light in that medium

60
Q

critical angle

A

angle of incidence in the optically dense medium for which the angle of refraction in the optically less dense medium is 90 degrees

61
Q

focal length of a lens

A

distance between its optical centre and principal focus

62
Q

properties of electromagnetic waves

A

all electromagnetic waves are transverse waves that travel with the same speed in vacuum

63
Q

ultrasound

A

type of sound wave with frequencies greater than 20kHz

64
Q

laws of electrostatics

A

like charges repel and unlike charges attract

65
Q

laws of magnetics

A

like poles repel and unlike poles attract

66
Q

electric field

A

region in which an electric charge experiences a force

67
Q

electric field line

A

path a positive charge would take if it is free to move

68
Q

current

A

rate of flow of charges

69
Q

electromotive force (e.m.f.)

A

emf of an electrical source is the work done by the source in driving a unit charge around a complete circuit

70
Q

potential difference

A

p.d. across a component in a circuit is the work done to drive a unit charge through the component

71
Q

resistance

A

ratio of the potential difference across the component to the current flowing through it

72
Q

Ohm’s Law

A

the current through a metallic conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across the ends of the conductor, provided the temperature and other physical conditions remain constant

73
Q

transducer

A

a device that transforms energy from one form to another

74
Q

light-dependent resistor

A

resistor whose electrical resistance changes as the amount of light falling on itchanges

75
Q

thermistor

A

thermal resistor whose resistance varies with temperature

76
Q

Faraday’s Law

A

the magnitude of the induced e.m.f. in a conductor is proportional to the rate at which magnetic field lines are cut by the conductor

77
Q

Lenz’s Law of electromagnetic induction

A

the induced current is always in a direction to oppose the change producing it

78
Q

Transformers

A

used to change the voltage of an alternating current

79
Q

refraction

A

the change in direction of light when it passes from one medium to another

80
Q

normal

A

line perpendicular to the reflecting surface or boundary between 2 media

81
Q

Principal axis of a lens

A

line passing through the optical centre of the lens and perpendicular to the plane of the lens

82
Q

optical centre

A

midway point between the lens surfaces on its principal axis

83
Q

principal focus

A

point on the principal axis to which an incident beam parallel to the principal axis converges

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