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Physics Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

Newton’s first law

A

-the law of inertia
-Fnet = ma = 0
-a body either at rest or in motion with constant velocity will remain that way unless a net force acts upon it

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2
Q

Newton’s second law

A

-Fnet = ma
-an object of mass m will accelerate when the vector sum of the forces results in some nonzero resultant force vector

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3
Q

Newton’s third law

A

-the law of action and reaction
FAB = -FBA
-to every action, there is always an opposed but equal reaction (for every force exerted by object A on object B, there is an equal but opposite force exerted by object B on object A)
-physical contact is not necessary for Newton’s third law

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4
Q

One-dimensional motion equations

A

v = v_0 + at
x = v0t + (a t^2)/2
v^2 = v0^2 + 2ax
x = vt (avg vel)
–when the motion is vertical, we often use y instead of x for displacement

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5
Q

acceleration due to gravity (g)

A

9.8 m/x^2

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6
Q

Inclined plane equations

A

Fg∥ = mgsinθ (gravity parallel to plane)
Fg| = mgcosθ (gravity perpendicular to plane)

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7
Q

Circular motion equation

A

Fc = mv^2/r

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8
Q

Torque equation

A

T = r x F = rFsinθ

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9
Q

Kinetic energy

A

the energy of motion, K = 1/2 mv^2 (m = mass in kg, v = speed in meters per second), the SI unit is the joule

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10
Q

Potential energy

A

energy that is associated w/ a given object’s position in space

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11
Q

Gravitational potential energy

A

depends on an object’s position with respect to some level identified as the datum (“ground” or the zero potential energy position), U = meh

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12
Q

Elastic potenial energy

A

when a spring is stretched or compressed from it equilibrium length, U = 1/2 kx^2

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13
Q

Work

A

W = F x d = Fd cosθ, SI unit is the joule

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14
Q

Work in an isobaric process

A

W = P∆V (isobaric = constant pressure)

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15
Q

Power

A

the rate at which energy is transferred from one system to another, P = W/t = ∆E/t, SI unit is the watt (J/s)

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16
Q

Mechanical advantage

A

F out/ F in

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17
Q

Efficiency

A

W out/ W in = (load)(load distance) / (effort)(effort distance), expressed as a percentage

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18
Q

Zeroth law of thermodynamics

A

when one object is in thermal equilibrium w/ another object, and the second object is in thermal equilibrium with another object, the the first and the third object are also in thermal equilibrium, when brought into thermal contact, no net heat will flow between these objects

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19
Q

Equations for converting between temp scales

A

F = 9/5C + 32
K = C + 273
where F, C, and K are the temps in Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin

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20
Q

Isolated systems

A

are not capable of exchanging energy or matter with their surroundings

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21
Q

Closed systems

A

are capable of exchanging energy, but not matter, with their surroundings
*most of systems encountered on test day will be closed

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22
Q

Open systems

A

can exchange both energy and matter with their surroundings, more energy may be transferred in the form of heat or work, examples: a boiling pot of water, human beings, and uncontained combustion reactions

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23
Q

First law of thermodynamics

A

states that the change in the total internal energy of a system is equal to the amount of energy transferred in the form of heat to system, minus the amount of energy transferred from the system in the form of work
ΔU= Q - W

24
Q

Second law of thermodynamics

A

objects in thermal contact and not in thermal equilibrium will exchange heat energy such that the object with a higher temperature will give off heat energy to the object w/ a lower temp until both objects have the same temp at thermal equilibrium

25
Q

Conversion factors between the units of heat

A

1 Cal = 10^3 = 4184 J = 3.97 BTU

26
Q

Specific heat (c)

A

of a substance is defined as the amount of heat energy required to raise one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius or one unit kelvin.

27
Q

Equation that relates the heat gained or lost by an object and the change in temperature of that object is

A

q = mcΔT

28
Q

isothermal

A

constant temp, and therefore no change in internal energy

29
Q

adiabatic

A

no heat exchange

30
Q

isovolumetric

A

no change in volume, therefore no work accomplished, also called isochoric

31
Q

isobaric

A

processes that occur at a constant pressure

32
Q

Density

A

the ratio of mass to volume, is a scalar quantity (no direction), equation— ρ = m/V, the SI units are kg/m^3, g/mL, or g/cm^3
-*density of water is 1 g/cm^3 = 1000 kg/m^3

33
Q

Equation to calculate weight of a given substance w/ a known density

A

Fg = ρVg

34
Q

Pressure

A

a ratio of force per unit area, a scalar quantity, P = F/A (F= magnitude of the normal force vector, A = area), SI unit is the pascal (Pa), other common units include mmHg, torr, and atm

35
Q

Conversions between Pa, mmHg, torr, and atm

A

1.013 x 10^5 Pa = 760 mmHg = 760 torr = 1 atm

36
Q

Pascal’s Principle

A

for fluids that are incompressible– that is, fluids with volumes that cannot be reduced by any significant degree through application of pressure— a change in pressure will be transmitted undiminished to every portion of the fluid and onto the walls of the containing vessel

37
Q

Archimedes’ Principle

A

deals w/ buoyancy of objects when placed in a fluid, states that a body wholly or partially immersed in a fluid will be buoyed upwards by a force equal to the weight of the fluid the it displaces
-* an object will float if its average density is less than the average density of the fluid it is immersed in, it will sink if its avg density is greater than that of the fluid

38
Q

The magnitude of the current equation

A

I = Q/Δt

39
Q

Ohm’s Law

A

the voltage drop between any two points in a circuit can be calculated according to this law
V = IR, measured in ohms

40
Q

Resistors in a series

A

as electrons flow through each resistor, energy is dissipated and there is voltage drop associated w/ each resistor: Vs = V1 + V2 + V3..
the resistances of resistors in series are also additive: Rs = R1 + R2 + R3…

41
Q

Resistors in parallel

A

electrons have a “choice” regarding which path they will take, the voltage drop experience by each division of current is the same bc all the pathways originate from a common point and end at a common point within the circuit: Vp = V1 = V2 = V3…
the equivalent resistance of resistors in parallel is calculated by: 1/Rp = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3… (Rp decreases as more resistors are added)

42
Q

Capacitors

A

characterized by their ability to hold charge at a particular voltage

43
Q

Capacitance

A

the ration of the magnitude of the charge stored on one plate to the potential difference (voltage) across the capacitor

44
Q

Propagation speed of a wave (v)

A

v = fλ

45
Q

Period (of a wave) (T)

A

T = 1/f

46
Q

Angular frequency (ω)

A

related to frequency, measured in radians per second, used in consideration of simple harmonic motion in springs and pendula
ω = 2πf = 2π/T

47
Q

Principle of superposition

A

states that when waves interact w/ each other, the displacement of the resultant wave at any point is the sum of the displacements of the two interacting waves

48
Q

The speed of sound

A

v = square root of B/ρ where B is the bulk modulus (a measure of the medium’s resistance to compression)
–the speed of sound in air at 20 degrees celsius is approximately 343 m/s

49
Q

Normal range of human hearing

A

20 Hz to 20,000 Hz

50
Q

Doppler effect

A

which describes the difference between the actual frequency of a sound and its perceived frequency when the source of the sound and the sound’s detector are moving relative to one other
f’ = f (v +- vD)/(v +- vS)

51
Q

Intensity

A

I = P/A, SI unit W/m^2
the average rate of energy transfer per area across a surface that is perpendicular to the wave

52
Q

Sound level (β)

A

β = 10 log I/I0
I0 = 1 x 10^-12 W/m^2

53
Q

Wavelength

A

λ =2L/n

54
Q

Speed of light

A

3.00 x 10^8 m/s
c = fλ

55
Q

Converting between natural logs and common logs

A

log x = ln x/2.303

56
Q

Estimating logarithms

A

log ( n x 10^m) = m + 0.n

57
Q

Formulas that relate the Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin systems

A

F = 9/5 C + 32
K = C + 273

MCAT (6 decks)

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