Physics Ch 1 Flashcards
Law of Conservation of Energy
energy can change form but it never lost
Physics
Greek for “nature”; concerned with describing the interactions of energy, matters, space, and time; essentially interested in what fundamental mechanisms underlie each phenomenon; used to be bundled with astronomy, biology, chemistry, math, and medicine and called natural philosophy
Realm of Physics
concern for describing the basic phenomena in nature
Cornerstone of discovering natural laws
observation
Model
representation of something that is often too difficult (or impossible) to display directly; justified with experimental proof
Theory
explanation for patterns in nature that is supported by scientific evidence and verified multiple times by various groups of researchers; may or may not use models; complex, dynamic, does not try to be concise; end result of the process of the scientific method; large-scale, broadly applicable generalization
Law
uses concise language to describe a generalized pattern in nature that is supported by scientific evidence and repeated experiments; can often be expressed as a mathematical equation; postulate that forms the foundation of the scientific method
Force
mass times acceleration
Principle
less broadly applicable statements than laws or theories; distinction between laws and these often not carefully made
Scientific Method
as scientists inquire and gather information about the world they follow this process; starts with observation/question –> research –> hypothesis –> experiment –> analyze results –> conclude
Classical Physics
physics as it developed from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th century; not an exact description of the universe, but excellent approximation under following conditions: matter moving at less than 1% speed of light, objects large enough to be seen with microscope, only weak gravitational fields involved (like field generated by Earth)
Modern Physics
Physics from the beginning of the 20th century; consists of 2 revolutionary theories, relativity and quantum mechanics (deal with the very fast and the very small)
Aristotle
384-322BC; Greek philosopher; wrote on a broad range of topics including physics, animals, the soul, politics, and poetry
Galileo Galilei
1564-1642; laid the foundation of modern experimentation and made contributions in math, physics, and astronomy
Niels Bohr
1885-1962; made fundamental contributions to the development of quantum mechanics, one part of modern physics
Relativity
must be used whenever an object is traveling at greater than about 1% the speed of light or experiences a strong gravitational field (such as that near the sun)
Quantum Mechanics
must be used for objects smaller than that can be seen with a microscope
Relativistic Quantum Mechanics
relativity + quantum mechanics; describes the behavior of small objects traveling at high speeds or experiencing a strong gravitational field; best universally applicable theory we have; mathematically complex (used only when necessary)