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Physics and Math Flashcards

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1
Q

vectors

A

physical qualities with a magnitude and direction.

examples: displacement, velocity, acceleration and force.

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2
Q

scalars

A

quantities without direction.

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3
Q

vector addition

A

tip-to-tail-method or can be broken into component parts and use pythagorean theorem.

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4
Q

vector subtraction

A

change the direction of the subtracted vector, and do tip-to-tail-addition

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5
Q

vector multiplication

A

by scalar: changes the magnitude and may reverse the direction

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6
Q

dot product

A

results in a Scalar quantity.

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7
Q

cross product

A

results in a new vector. direction of the new vector can be found using the right hand rule.

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8
Q

free body diagrams

A

representation of the forces acting on an object.

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9
Q

translational equilibrium

A

occurs in the absence of any net forces acting on an object

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10
Q

rotational equilibrium

A

occurs in absence of any net torques acting on an object. center mass is the most commonly used pivot point.

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11
Q

displacement

A

vector representation of a change in position. path independent

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12
Q

Velocity

A

vector representation of a change in DISPLACEMENT with respect to time

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13
Q

instantaneous velocity

A

change displacement over time as time approaches 0.

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14
Q

instantaneous speed

A

magnitude of instantaneous velocity vector

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15
Q

force

A

any push or pull that has the result in an acceleration

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16
Q

gravity

A

attractive force between two objects as a result of their masses

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17
Q

Friction

A

force that opposes motion as a function of electrostatic interactions at the surfaces between two objects.

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18
Q

static friction

A

stationary objects

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19
Q

kinetic friction

A

sliding objects

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20
Q

mass

A

measure of inertia of an object – its amount of material

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21
Q

weight

A

force experienced by a given mass due to the gravitational attraction to the Earth.

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22
Q

acceleration

A

vector representation of the change in velocity over time.

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23
Q

torque

A

twisting force that causes rotation

POS = counterclockwise
NEG = clockwise
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24
Q

Newton’s First law

A

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

F=ma=0 if the at rest or constant velocity

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25
Q

Newton’s second law

A

any acceleration is the result of the net force > 0

F=ma

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26
Q

Newton’s third law

A

two objects interacting with one another experience equal and opposite forces as a result of their interaction

Fab= -Fba

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27
Q

linear motion

A

includes free fall and motion where velocity and acceleration vectors are parallel and antiparallel

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28
Q

projectile

A

contains both and x and y component. assuming negligible air resistance, only force acting the object is gravity. X velocity is constant throughout

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29
Q

inclined planes

A

force components:
parallel to ramp use sin theta. “sin is sliding down the slide”

perpendicular to the ramp use costheta.

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30
Q

circular motion

A

best thought of as having radial and tangential dimensions.

centripetal force vector points radially inward, the instantaneous velocity vector points tangentially.

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31
Q

structural proteins

A

property of a system that enables it to do something or make something happen, including the capacity to do work.

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32
Q

kinetic energy

A

energy associated with the movement of objects. it depends on the mass and speed squared.

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33
Q

potential energy

A

energy stored within a system.

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34
Q

gravitational potential energy

A

related to the mass of an object and its height above

a zero point.

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35
Q

elastic potential energy

A

related to the spring constant and the degree of stretch or compression of a spring squared.

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36
Q

chemical potential energy

A

energy stored in the bonds of compounds

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37
Q

conservative forces

A

path independent and do not dissipate the mechanical energy system.

examples: gravity and electrostatic forces

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38
Q

nonconservative forces

A

path dependent and cause dissipation of mechanical energy from a system

examples: friction, air resistance, and vicious drag

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39
Q

work

A

process where energy is transferred from one system to another vis dot product of force and displacement

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40
Q

power

A

rate at which work is done or energy is transferred.

si unit is watts

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41
Q

Work energy theorem

A

when net work is done on or by a system, the system’s kinetic energy will change by the same amount.

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42
Q

mechanical advantage

A

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

input force is reduced and the distance through which the reduced input force must be applied is increased by the same factor.

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43
Q

MA of an inlined plane

A

MA = length of incline/height of incline

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44
Q

simple machines

A

inclined plane, wedge, wheel and axle, lever, pulley and screw

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45
Q

efficiency

A

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

mechanical advantage = Fout/Fin

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46
Q

Thermal Equilibrium

A

systems have the same KE and same temperature. no heat transfer.

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47
Q

Temperature

A

average kinetic energy of particle that make up a substance.

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48
Q

thermal expansion

A

describes how a substance changes in length or volume as a function of change in temperature,

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49
Q

isolated system

A

do not exchange matter or energy with surroundings.

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50
Q

closed system

A

exchange energy but not matter with surroundings.

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51
Q

open system

A

exchange both energy and matter with surroundings.

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52
Q

state functions

A

pathway independent and are not themselves defined by the process.

include: pressure, density, temp, volume, enthalpy, internal energy, Gibbs free energy, and entropy.

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53
Q

process function

A

describe the pathway from one equilibrium state to another. Include: work and heat

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54
Q

0th Law of Thermodynamics

A

thermal equilibrium, temperature, and thermal expansion.

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55
Q

1st Law of Thermodynamics

A

statement of conservation of energy. total energy of the universe can never decrease or increase.

(delta)U = Q -W

(delta)U = change in system's internal energy.
Q = energy transferred into system as heat.
W = work done by the system.
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56
Q

Heat

A

process by which energy transfer between two objects at different temperatures that occurs until the two objects come into thermal equilibrium (reach the same temperature).

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57
Q

specific heat

A

amount of energy necessary to raise one gram of substance by 1 degree Celsius or 1 kelvin.

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58
Q

heat of transformation

A

energy required for a phase change of a substance. (temperature does not change during the transformation)

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59
Q

Processes with constant variable

A

isobaric
isothermal
adiabatic
isovolumetric

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60
Q

isobaric

A

pressure is constant

(delta)P=0

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61
Q

Isothermal

A

temperature is constant, (delta) U = 0

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62
Q

adiabatic

A

No heat is changed, Q=0

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63
Q

isovolumetric (isochoric)

A

volume is constant, (delta)V = 0. so work = 0

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64
Q

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

A

in a closed system, up to and including the universe, energy will spontaneously and irreversibly go from being localized to spread out.

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65
Q

entropy

A

measure of how much energy has spread out or how spread out energy has become.

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66
Q

Logarithm rules

A

1) Log of 1 is always 0.
2) The log of the base number is always 1.
3) So long as the base numbers are the same, the log of two factors equals the sum of the log of the individual factors.
4) Likewise, the log of a fraction equals the difference between the log of the dividend and the log of the divisor.

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67
Q

Heat

A

the transfer of energy based on a temperature difference between two objects.

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68
Q

Temperature

A

a measure of the average energy due to motion of particles in an object (i.e., a cold object has slow-moving particles while a hot object has fast-moving particles)

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69
Q

Heat capacity

A

heat required to raise the temperature of an object by a certain unit of temperature

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70
Q

joules

A

unit of energy

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71
Q

kelvins

A

unit of tempertature

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72
Q

specific heat

A

the amount of heat required to raise one gram of an object by one degree Kelvin (or Celsius).

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73
Q

phase changes

A

Ice is the solid form of water, and the process of converting ice to water requires heat. Similarly, the process of converting water to water vapor (the gaseous form of water) requires heat.

often represented by phase change diagrams

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74
Q

thin lens equation

A

relates to different lengths associated with geometric optics: 1) focal length 2) object distance 3) image distance

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75
Q

focal length (f)

A

distance between the focal point and center of lens or mirror

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76
Q

object length

A

distance between the object and center of lens or mirror

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77
Q

image distance

A

distance between image and center of mirror

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78
Q

Positive focal lengths

A

characteristic of concave mirrors and converging lenses

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79
Q

negative focal lengths

A

characteristic of convex mirrors and diverging lenses.

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80
Q

Positive object distances

A

occur when the object is in front of the mirror or lens, and negative object distances occur when the object is behind.

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81
Q

positive image distance

A

mage is in front of the mirror or behind a lens.Such an image is referred to as a real image and is always inverted.

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82
Q

negative image distance

A

the image is behind the mirror or in front of a lens.Such an image is a virtual image and is always upright.

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83
Q

phase change equation

A

q=mL

q=heat gained or lost from the substance
m=mass of the substance
L=latent heat or heat of transformation of substance

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84
Q

heat of transformation

A

intrinsic property of a substance.

defines the energy needed to generate a phase change.

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85
Q

heat of fusion

A

heat of transformation constant for a solid to liquid transformation

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86
Q

heat of vaporization

A

heat of transformation constant for a liquid to gas transformation.

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87
Q

heat of transfer

A

can occur in three ways:

1) conduction
2) convection
3) radiation

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88
Q

conduction

A

direct transfer of heat through contact and without movement of the objects

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89
Q

convection

A

transfer of heat through the motion of a liquid or gas over another object

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90
Q

radiation

A

indirect transfer of heat through electromagnetic waves that does not require the two objects to be in contact

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91
Q

thermal expansion

A

temperature changes in solid objects can change their length.

Solid objects tend to increase in length when they are heated up

railroad example and wiggle room.

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92
Q

coefficient of linear expansion

A

constant intrinsic to a specific material.

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93
Q

four laws of thermodynamics

A

1) zeroth law of thermodynamics
2) first law of thermodynamics
3) second law of thermodynamics
4) third law of thermodynamics states

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94
Q

State functions

A

properties that do not depend on the path taken to reach a value and depend only on the current state of the system.

Examples of state functions are mass, pressure, temperature, volume, Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, entropy, among others.

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95
Q

Path functions

A

depend on the path taken to reach a certain value.

Examples of path functions include heat and work.

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96
Q

Types of systems

A

1) open systems
2) closed systems
3) isolated systems

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97
Q

open systems

A

can exchange both matter and energy with the environment.

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98
Q

closed systems

A

can exchange energy, but not matter, with the environment.

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99
Q

isolated systems

A

can exchange neither energy nor matter with the environment.

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100
Q

four thermodynamic processes

A

isothermal, adiabatic, isovolumetric, and isobaric.

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101
Q

Isothermal processes

A

constant temperature, and as we discussed earlier, and therefore ∆U = 0.

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102
Q

adiabatic processes

A

heat is not exchanged and Q = 0.

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103
Q

isovolumetric processes

A

volume cannot change, work cannot be done, and therefore W = 0.

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104
Q

isobaric processes

A

pressure is constant, but this does not affect our ∆U = Q – W equation.

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105
Q

kinematics

A

science of how objects move.

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106
Q

Displacement

A

a change in position, written as Δx.

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107
Q

Velocity

A

a change in position over a change in time, written v=Δx/Δt.

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108
Q

Acceleration

A

a change in velocity over a change in time, written a = Δv/Δt.

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109
Q

Vector

A

a quantity that has both magnitude and direction

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110
Q

Projectile motion

A

the two-dimensional motion of something under the influence of gravity.

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111
Q

Acceleration due to gravity

A

the vertical acceleration felt by objects on earth. Equals -9.8 m/s2.

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112
Q

Circular motion

A

the motion of an object that is moving in a circle.

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113
Q

Angular displacement

A

the change in angle of an object’s location, written Δθ.

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114
Q

Angular velocity

A

rate of change of angular displacement, written ω=Δθ/Δt

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115
Q

Angular acceleration

A

change of angular velocity over a change in time, written α=Δω/Δt.

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116
Q

Period

A

the amount of time it takes for an object in circular motion to complete one orbit

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117
Q

Frequency

A

the number of orbits completed in one second by an object in circular motion

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118
Q

Centripetal acceleration

A

linear acceleration that points towards the center of the circle

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119
Q

Tangential velocity

A

linear velocity of the object moving in a circle

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120
Q

Inclined planes

A

slope that changes the direction of the acceleration due to gravity

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121
Q

Torque

A

force applied to an object that pivots around a point; causes angular acceleration.

122
Q

Force

A

push or pull that makes something accelerate if unopposed and is measured in Newtons

123
Q

Vector

A

quantity that has both magnitude and direction.

124
Q

Gravitational force

A

the force between any two masses

125
Q

Weight

A

word that describes how hard gravity pulls down on something and equals the gravitational force on the object

126
Q

Mass

A

amount of matter in something and is measured in kilograms.

127
Q

Friction

A

force that opposes sliding motion.

128
Q

Normal force

A

force that a surface applies to an object on top of it and is always perpendicular to the surface

129
Q

Coefficient of static friction

A

when multiplied by the normal force, gives the maximum resistance friction will give before an object begins to move.

130
Q

Coefficient of kinetic friction

A

when multiplied by the normal force, gives the constant friction force that opposes the movement

131
Q

Newton’s first law

A

objects in motion will stay in motion, and objects at rest will stay at rest, unless forces act on them

132
Q

Newton’s second law

A

acceleration of an object is proportional to the net force on it and inversely proportional to its mass

133
Q

Newton’s third law

A

for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction

134
Q

Net force

A

final sum of all the initial forces

135
Q

Displacement

A

change in an object’s position

136
Q

velocity

A

change in an object’s position over a change in time

137
Q

acceleration

A

change in an object’s velocity over a change in time

138
Q

Conservative force

A

force that doesn’t dissipate energy, and work done by it is path-independent

139
Q

Non-conservative force

A

force that does dissipate energy, and work done by it is path-dependent

140
Q

Energy

A

amount of activity in something now or is predisposed to have in the future

141
Q

Translational kinetic energy

A

energy in an object that is moving, or has a velocity

142
Q

Rotational kinetic energy

A

energy in an object that is rotating

143
Q

Potential energy

A

energy of an object that has the potential to be in motion.

144
Q

Gravitational potential energy

A

potential energy of an object due to gravity

145
Q

Elastic potential energy

A

potential energy of a stretched or compressed spring

146
Q

Electric potential energy

A

potential energy of a charge in an electric field

147
Q

Thermal energy

A

energy from an object’s temperature, such as microscopic kinetic energy

148
Q

Conservation of energy

A

energy isn’t created or destroyed, and in a closed system, you only gain or lose energy from the work put into the system

149
Q

work

A

transfer of energy caused by a force

150
Q

Work-kinetic energy theorem

A

work put into an object equals its change in kinetic energy

151
Q

Power

A

amount of energy transferred per unit time, or work divided by time

152
Q

Mechanical advantage

A

how beneficial it is to use a certain simple machine

153
Q

Fluid

A

substance that will flow under any shear stress; includes liquids, gases, and plasmas

154
Q

Shear stress

A

external force that acts coplanar to the material’s cross-section

155
Q

Density

A

object’s mass per unit volume

156
Q

Specific gravity

A

ratio of a fluid’s density to that of water

157
Q

Buoyancy

A

force on a floating object that opposes gravity

158
Q

Archimedes’ principle

A

buoyant force on a suspended object is equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces

159
Q

Hydrostatic pressure

A

pressure resulting from all stresses on an object at rest in a fluid

160
Q

Gauge pressure

A

pressure difference between the surface of a fluid and a submerged point

161
Q

Absolute pressure

A

gauge pressure plus the atmospheric pressure

162
Q

Atmospheric pressure

A

pressure due to Earth’s atmosphere; 1 atm = 101,000 Pa = 760 mmHg

163
Q

Pascal’s law

A

pressure applied to a liquid is distributed evenly across the liquid

164
Q

Work

A

energy transferred by a force applied over a distance

165
Q

Viscosity

A

measure of the resistance a fluid has against stresses; a measure of the “internal friction” or “thickness” of a fluid

166
Q

Poiseuille flow

A

flow of a viscous fluid in a pipe whose front takes on a parabolic shape

167
Q

Incompressibility

A

approximation often used for fluids; implies a constant volume flow rate

168
Q

Laminar flow

A

smooth flow caused by low-velocity moving fluids

169
Q

Turbulent flow

A

chaotic flow characterized by eddies caused by high-velocity moving fluids

170
Q

Surface tension

A

result of strong surface bonds that may allow liquids to form droplets or hold light objects

171
Q

Dynamic pressure

A

pressure from moving fluids, or the kinetic energy per unit volume

172
Q

Bernoulli’s equation

A

form of energy conservation that conserves the sum of pressure energy, kinetic energy per unit volume, and potential energy per unit volume

173
Q

Venturi effect

A

describes a fluid’s increase in velocity and decrease in pressure when it enters a constriction

174
Q

Pitot tube

A

device that measures flow velocity by monitoring pressure on a fluid in a tube

175
Q

Electrostatics

A

study of electromagnetic phenomena of stationary charges

176
Q

Charge

A

physical property of matter that causes it to feel a force in an electric field

177
Q

Elementary charge

A

proton or electron; the smallest possible units of charge; 1.6 x 10^(-19) C

178
Q

Charge conservation

A

charge is neither created nor destroyed; it only moves around

179
Q

Coulomb’s law

A

the force between two charges

180
Q

Electric field

A

region in which a charge will feel a force

181
Q

Field lines

A

collection of straight arrows used to represent electric fields

182
Q

Induced charge

A

charge distribution resulting from placing a conductor in an electric field

183
Q

Conductor

A

a material that allows charge to move freely

184
Q

Electric potential

A

amount of work needed to move a charge a certain distance inside of an electric field

185
Q

Electric potential energy

A

potential energy of a charge inside of an electric potential

186
Q

Equipotential lines

A

contour lines of the electric potential

187
Q

Circuit

A

closed path that allows current to flow from one place to another

188
Q

Voltage

A

a difference in potential between two points in a circuit

189
Q

Electromotive force

A

action of converting non-electric energy into electric energy

190
Q

Internal resistance

A

material constraints of the battery that make it hard to produce voltage

191
Q

Induced voltage

A

voltage caused by a change in magnetic flux through a loop of wire over a change in time

192
Q

Electrical current

A

rate of flow of charge past a given point

193
Q

Resistance

A

how hard it is for current to flow through a material

194
Q

Resistivity

A

property of a material that determines the resistance of a piece of that material

195
Q

In series

A

when circuit components are directly connected by a wire and share a current

196
Q

In parallel

A

when circuit components are on alternate branches of wire and share a voltage

197
Q

Equivalent resistance

A

single resistance equivalent to the combination of all resistances in the circuit

198
Q

Equivalent capacitance

A

a single capacitance equivalent to the combination of all capacitances in the circuit

199
Q

Ohm’s law

A

law that says current is directly proportional to voltage and inversely proportional to resistance

200
Q

Capacitors

A

devices used to store charge

201
Q

RC circuit

A

a circuit with a capacitor

202
Q

Capacitance

A

the ability of a capacitor to store charge

203
Q

Dielectrics

A

materials that are placed in between the plates of a capacitor

204
Q

Ammeter

A

device that measures the current of a wire

205
Q

Voltmeter

A

device that measures the voltage across a certain section of wire

206
Q

Conductivity

A

a measure of how easy it is for current to flow through a material

207
Q

Metallic conductivity

A

conductivity resulting from the presence of unbound valence electrons in metals

208
Q

Electrolyte solution

A

conducting solutions made of polarized molecules that have been dissolved in water

209
Q

Magnetism

A

concerns moving charges

210
Q

Magnetic field

A

a region of space where a moving charge feels a force

211
Q

Lorentz force

A

force on a charge moving in a magnetic field

212
Q

Right-hand rule

A

shortcut used to find the direction of vector cross products

213
Q

Biot-Savart law

A

gives the magnetic field created by a current

214
Q

Solenoid

A

current-carrying coil of wire

215
Q

light

A

electromagnetic wave of any wavelength

216
Q

visible light

A

light you can see, at wavelengths of about 400-700 nm

217
Q

electromagnetic wave

A

wave that is made of perpendicularly oscillating electric and magnetic fields

218
Q

speed of light

A

speed at which light travels in a vacuum; equal to 3 x 10^8 m/s

219
Q

photon

A

massless particle that represents a discrete unit (or a “quantum”) of light

220
Q

wave-particle duality

A

light exhibits properties of both particles and waves

221
Q

opacity

A

measure of light’s ability to penetrate a given object, or the ability of an object to transmit light

222
Q

transparent

A

describes an object that allows all light to pass through it

223
Q

translucent

A

describes an object that allows some light to pass through it

224
Q

Opaque

A

describes an object that allows no light to pass through it

225
Q

Reflection

A

when light bounces off of a surface

226
Q

Specular reflection

A

when light reflects off a smooth surface at a definite angle (equal to the angle of incidence)

227
Q

Angle of incidence

A

the angle at which a ray of light hits a surface

228
Q

Angle of reflection

A

the angle at which a ray of light is reflected off a surface

229
Q

Diffuse reflection

A

occurs when light bounces off a rough surface at a random angle

230
Q

Index of refraction

A

the extent to which a material bends light that it transmits

231
Q

Snell’s law

A

determines the angle of refraction at a boundary between two materials

232
Q

Total internal reflection

A

when the angle of incidence is small enough for all light to be reflected

233
Q

critical angle

A

smallest possible angle (from vertical) at which total internal reflection occurs

234
Q

Dispersion

A

organized separation of different frequency light due to frequency-dependent indices of refraction

235
Q

Mirror

A

an object that perfectly reflects light

236
Q

Plane mirror

A

a flat mirror that produces specular reflection and preserves the position of reflected images

237
Q

concave mirror

A

a mirror that focuses, or makes converge, incident light

238
Q

focal point

A

the point at which a uniform field of light is focused by a concave mirror

239
Q

convex mirror

A

a mirror that scatters, or makes diverge, incident light

240
Q

Spherical Mirror

A

a mirror that has circular curvature

241
Q

Center of Curvature

A

point equidistant from all points on the spherical mirror

242
Q

real image

A

image formed by the focus points of converging light. Always inverted

243
Q

virtual image

A

image formed by inferred focus points of diverging light rays. Not inverted

244
Q

Magnification

A

how much an optical device changes the apparent size of an object

245
Q

Focal length

A

distance between the center of a curved mirror and its focus point

246
Q

Lens aberration

A

the imprecision of focal lengths of realistic lenses

247
Q

Photon energy

A

discretized unit of light energy absorbed by objects

248
Q

Constructive interference

A

when waves are in phase and combine to make a larger wave

249
Q

Destructive interference

A

when waves are out of phase and cancel out

250
Q

Coherent

A

describes light sources that maintain the same phase relationship

251
Q

Monochromatic

A

Describes light that is only one color or frequency

252
Q

X-ray diffraction

A

a technique for determining the atomic or molecular structure of a material

253
Q

Polarized light

A

light whose electric fields all oscillate in the same plane

254
Q

Selective absorption

A

a technique that uses a polarizer to filter out light that isn’t polarized in a certain direction

255
Q

Polarizing angles

A

angles at which all reflected light is polarized

256
Q

Double refraction

A

when a polarization-dependent index of refraction splits incident up into differently polarized beams of light

257
Q

Optically active molecules

A

molecules that rotate incident light

258
Q

Doppler effect

A

describes a change in frequency of a wave that is the result of a relative motion between a wave source and its observer

259
Q

Blue shift

A

when a source traveling towards you makes the frequency seem to be higher than it really is

260
Q

Red shift

A

when a source traveling away from you makes the frequency seem to be lower than it really is

261
Q

periodic motion

A

any motion that repeats itself

262
Q

amplitude

A

maximum displacement from rest (or displacement=0); always given in units of a displacement

263
Q

equilibrium position

A

point in space at which an object’s displacement is equal to zero

264
Q

frequency

A

simple harmonic motion quantifies how many cycles occur in one second

265
Q

Period of oscillation

A

the time it takes to complete one full cycle of harmonic motion

266
Q

angular frequency

A

how many radians are passed through in one second

267
Q

Transverse waves

A

waves with displacement perpendicular to the axis of motion; examples include waves in water and electromagnetic waves

268
Q

Longitudinal waves

A

waves with displacement parallel to the direction of motion; examples include sound waves

269
Q

intensity

A

power per unit area (W/m2) expended by the sound, measured in decibels

270
Q

attenuation

A

gradual dampening of sound intensity as it propagates through a material

271
Q

resonance

A

phenomenon that occurs when waves oscillate in a space that is equal in length to some multiple of the wave’s wavelength

272
Q

atom

A

smallest unit of matter that can comprise a chemical element

273
Q

proton

A

positively charged particle in the nucleus

274
Q

neutron

A

neutrally charged particle in the nucleus

275
Q

electron

A

negatively charged particle that orbits the nucleus

276
Q

nucleon

A

particle in the nucleus (a proton or a neutron)

277
Q

Plum pudding model

A

early model of the atom in which all constituent particles were distributed throughout the atom

278
Q

gold foil experiment

A

proved the existence of a positively charged nucleus, disproving the plum pudding model

279
Q

bohr model

A

model of the atom in which electrons orbit the nucleus in elliptical orbits; outdated but still provides reasonable approximation for the hydrogen atom

280
Q

energy quantization

A

when there are discrete, not continuous, possible energy levels

281
Q

dissociation

A

when an electron gains too much energy and escapes the atom

282
Q

ionization energy

A

energy required to make the highest energy electron dissociate

283
Q

atomic number

A

number of protons in an atom; defines the element

284
Q

atomic mass

A

number of nucleons in an atom

285
Q

isotope

A

variations of the same element that have different atomic masses

286
Q

atomic weight

A

average atomic mass of all the natural isotopes of an element

287
Q

strong nuclear force

A

force that binds protons and neutrons in the nucleus

288
Q

binding energy

A

energy required to separate the nucleons of an atom

289
Q

mass defect

A

difference in predicted and experimental mass due to e=mc^2

290
Q

experimental mass

A

measured mass of an atom

291
Q

predicted mass

A

mass calculated from adding the individual weights of nucleons

292
Q

fission

A

process that splits a nucleus into two smaller nuclei

293
Q

fusion

A

process that fuses multiple nuclei into a single nucleus

294
Q

alpha decay

A

radioactive decay in which a nucleus emits an alpha particle at a low speed

295
Q

alpha particle

A

particle made of two protons and two neutrons, basically a helium nucleus

296
Q

beta decay

A

radioactive decay in which a nucleus emits a beta particle at a high speed

297
Q

beta particle

A

a fast-moving electron

298
Q

gamma decay

A

radioactive decay in which a nucleus emits a gamma photon

299
Q

exponential decay

A

a decay that starts off fast but slows with time

300
Q

half-life

A

time it takes for half the original sample to decay

301
Q

decay constant

A

constant that allows you to write the half-life equation as a power of e

MCAT (6 decks)

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