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MCAT > physics > Flashcards

physics Flashcards

1
Q

SI units include …

A
  • meter
  • kilogram
  • second
  • ampere
  • mole
  • kelvin
  • candela
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2
Q

physical quantities with BOTH magnitude and direction

A

what are vectors?

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3
Q

vector qualities include …

A
  • displacement
  • velocity
  • acceleration
  • force
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4
Q

quantities with magnitude, but NO direction

A

what are scalars?

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5
Q

scalar quantities include …

A
  • speed
  • coefficient of friction
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6
Q

use pythagorean theorem to break vector into components

A

vector addition

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7
Q

change the direction of the subtracted vector, then use pythagorean theorem

A

vector subtraction

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8
Q

multiplying vector by scalar changes _

A

magnitude

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9
Q

result of multiplying two vectors using dot products

A

scalar quantity

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10
Q

result of multiplying two vectors using cross product

A

vector quality

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11
Q

product of vectors’ magnitudes and cosine of angle

A

what is dot product?

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12
Q

product og vectors’ magnitudes and sine of angle

A

what is cross product?

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13
Q

vector representation of a change in position

A

what is displacement?

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14
Q

displacement is _ of path

A

independent

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15
Q

_ equals straight line distance between start and end positions

A

displacement

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16
Q

scalar quantity reflecting oath traveled

A

what is distance?

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17
Q

(vector) change in displacement with respect to time

A

what is velocity?

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18
Q

total displacement divided by total time

A

what is average velocity?

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19
Q

total distance divided by total time

A

what is average speed?

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20
Q

limit of the change in displacement over time (as time approaches 0)

A

what is instantaneous velocity?

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21
Q

magnitude of instantaneous velocity vector

A

what is instantaneous speed?

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22
Q

any push or pull; has potential to result in acceleration

A

what is force?

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23
Q

attractive force that opposes motion as a function of electrostatic interactions at surface between two objects

A

what is friction?

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24
Q

force that exists between two objects that are not in motion relative to each other

A

what is static friction?

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25
Q

force that exists between two objects in motion relative to each other

A

what is kinetic friction?

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26
Q

kinetic friction is a _ value whereas static friction depends on magnitude of applied force

A

constant

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27
Q

_ depends on two materials in contact

A

coefficient of friction

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28
Q

coefficient of static friction is always _ than coefficient of kinetic friction

A

higher

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29
Q

measure of the inertia on an object; amount of material

A

what is mass?

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30
Q

force experienced by given mass du to gravitational attraction to Earth

A

what is weight?

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31
Q

(vector) change in velocity over time

A

what is acceleration?

32
Q

an object will remain at rest or move with constant velocity if there is no net force on object

A

what is newton’s first law of motion?

33
Q

any acceleration is the result of the sum of forces acting on an object and its mass

A

what is newton’s second law of motion?

34
Q

any two objects interacting with one another experience equal and opposite forces as a result

A

what is newton’s third law of motion?

35
Q

velocity and acceleration vectors are parallel or antiparallel

A

what is linear motion?

36
Q

free fall is a type of _ motion

A

linear

37
Q

contains x and y component; only acted upon by gravity (if air resistance is negligible)

A

what is projectile motion?

38
Q

(2D movement) dimensions are parallel and perpendicular to surface of the plane

A

what are inclined planes?

39
Q

motion with radial and tangential dimensions

A

what is circular motion?

40
Q

centripetal force points _

A

radially inwards

41
Q

the only force in uniform circular motion is _

A

centripetal force

41
Q

instantaneous velocity always points _

A

tangentially

42
Q

representations of forces acting on an object

A

what are free body diagrams?

43
Q

occurs in absence of net forces acting on object

A

what is translational equilibrium?

44
Q

an object in translational equilibrium has constant _

A

velocity

45
Q

occurs in absence of net torques acting on object

A

rotational equilibrium

46
Q

an object in rotational equilibrium has constant _

A

angular velocity

47
Q

property of a system that enables it to do or make something happen

A

what is energy?

48
Q

the SI unit for all forms of energy

A

whar are joules (J)?

49
Q

energy associated with movement of objects

A

what is kinetic energy?

50
Q

kinetic energy depends on …

A

mass, speed (squared)

51
Q

energy stored within a system

A

what is potential energy?

52
Q

_ energy has four forms:
1. gravitational
2. electric
3. elastic
4. chemical

A

potential

53
Q

relates to mass of an object and its height above datum

A

what is gravitational energy?

54
Q

zero-point

A

what is datum?

55
Q

related to spring constant and degree of stretch-compression of a spring squared

A

what is electronic potential energy?

56
Q

measure of the stiffness of a spring

A

what is the spring constant?

57
Q

the potential energy between charged particles

A

what is electrical energy?

58
Q

energy stored in bonds of compounds

A

what is chemical energy?

59
Q

sum of kinetic and potential energies of a system

A

what is total mechanical energy?

60
Q

(path independent) forces that do not dissipate mechanical energy of a system

A

what are conservative forces?

61
Q

if there are only conservative forces acting on an object, total mechanical energy is _

A

conserved

62
Q

(path dependent) forces that cause dissipation of mechanical energy from a system

A

what are nonconservative forces?

63
Q

while total energy is conserved, some mechanical energy is _ (thermal or chemical energy)

A

lost

64
Q

process by which energy is transferred from one system to another

A

what is work?

65
Q

work may be expressed as the area under _

A

pressure-volume curve

66
Q

rate at which work is done or energy is transferred

A

what is power?

67
Q

the SI unit for power

A

what are watts (W)?

68
Q

when net work is done on/by a system, its kinetic energy will change by the same amount

A

what is the work-energy theorem?

69
Q

the factor by which a simple machine multiplies the input force to accomplish work

A

what is mechanical advantage?

70
Q

simple machines provide the benefit of _

A

mechanical advantage

71
Q

mechanical advantage makes it easier to accomplish work becaise input force needed is _

A

reduced

72
Q

output force of a simple machine

A

what is load?

73
Q

input force of a simple machine

A

what is effort?

74
Q

ratio of machine’s work output to input when nonconservative forces are taken into account

A

what is efficiency?

MCAT (6 decks)

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