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MCAT > Physics Review > Flashcards

Physics Review Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

What is a dot product?

A

When you multiple a vector by a vector to produce a scalar

A.B = |A||B| cos(angle)

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2
Q

What is a cross product?

A

When you multiply a vector by a vector to produce a vector
(Right Hand Rule)
A x B = |A||B| sin(angle)

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3
Q

How do you apply the right hand rule?

A
  1. point your thumb in the direction of A
  2. extend fingers in the direction of B
  3. direction of palm is direction of third vector
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4
Q

Sin(90)

A

1

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5
Q

Sin(0)

A

0

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6
Q

Cos(60)

A

0.5

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7
Q

Cos(90)

A

0

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8
Q

Sin(30)

A

0.5

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9
Q

Cos(360)

A

1

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10
Q

What is the SI Unit for force?

A

newton (N) or kg m / s^2

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11
Q

Gravitational force

A

F(g) = Gm1m2 / r^2

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12
Q

What is G (universal gravitational constant)?

A

6.67 x 10^-11 N m^2 /kg^2

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13
Q

Equations for one dimensional motion

A

1) v = v(0) + at
2) x = v(0)t + at^2/2
3) v^2 = v(0)^2 + 2ax
4) x = vt

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14
Q

Centripetal Force

A

Fc = mv^2/r

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15
Q

What does torque (rotational motion) depend on?

A
  1. magnitude of the force
  2. length of the lever arm
  3. angle at which the force is applied
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16
Q

What is the formula for calculating torque?

A

torque = r x F = |r||F|sin(angle)

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17
Q

When is rotation negative and when is it positive?

A

clockwise rotation is (-)

counterclockwise rotation is (+)

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18
Q

What is the SI unit for energy?

A

joule (J)

kg m^2 / s^2

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19
Q

Gravitational potential energy

A

U = mgh

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20
Q

Elastic potential energy

A

U = 1/2 kx^2

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21
Q

Work

A

W = F.d = Fdcos(angle)

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22
Q

Power

A

P = W/t = ΔE/t

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23
Q

What is the SI unit for power?

A

watt (W)

J/s

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24
Q

Electrical power

A

P = IV

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25
Q

What is mechanical advantage?

A

F(out) / F(in)

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26
Q

Efficiency

A

W(out) / W(in) = [(load)(load distance)] / [(effort)(effort distance)]

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27
Q

How to calculate the temperature in Fahrenheit?

A

F = 9/5C + 32

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28
Q

Thermal Expansion

A 
ΔL = αLΔT
length change (solids)
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29
Q

Volumetric thermal expansion

A

ΔV = βVΔT

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30
Q

Change in internal energy

A 
ΔU = Q - W, where
Q = energy transferred into the system as heat 
W = work done by the system
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31
Q

What is 1 calorie (c) equal to?

A

the amount of heat required to raise 1g of water 1degree celsius

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32
Q

What is 1 Calorie (C) equal to?

A

the amount of heat required to raise 1 kg of water 1degree celsius (equals 1000 c)

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33
Q

What is conduction?

A

the direct transfer of energy from molecule to molecule through molecular collisions

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34
Q

What is convection?

A

the transfer of heat by the physical motion of a fluid over a material (only liquids and gases can transfer heat by this means)

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35
Q

Radiation

A

the transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves

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36
Q

What is the specific heat of water?

A

1 cal/g K

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37
Q

Specific heat formula

A

q = mcΔT

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38
Q

Isothermal processes

A

constant temperature, and therefore no change in internal energy

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39
Q

Adiabatic processes

A

no heat exchange

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40
Q

Isovolumetric processes

A

no change in volume, therefore, no work accomplished

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41
Q

Isobaric processes

A

occur at a constant pressure

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42
Q

Pressure formula

A

P = F/A

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43
Q

What is the SI unit of pressure?

A

1 Pa = 1 N/m^2

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44
Q

What is the conversion between Pa, mmHg, torr and atm?

A

1.1013 x 10^5 Pa = 760 mmHg = 760 torr = 1 atm

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45
Q

What is absolute (hydrostatic) pressure?

A

the total pressure that is exerted on an object that is submerged in a fluid

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46
Q

What is the equation for absolute pressure?

A

P = P0 +(density)gz, where z=depth of the object and P0=pressure at the surface

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47
Q

Important Note!

A

W = PΔV = F1/A1(A1d1) = F2/A2(A2d2) = F1d1 = F2d2

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48
Q

Buoyant force

A

F(buoy) = density(fluid)V(fluid displaced)g = density(fluid)V(submerged)g

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49
Q

What is the difference between cohesion and adhesion?

A

cohesion is the attractive force that a molecule of liquid feels toward other molecules of the same liquid vs. adhesion is the attractive force that a molecule of liquid feels toward molecules of other substances

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50
Q

What is the SI unit of viscosity?

A

pascal-second (N s / m^2)

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51
Q

Does a dilute aqueous solution have a low or high viscosity?

A

low

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52
Q

What is the fundamental unit of charge?

A

e = 1.60 x 10^19 C

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53
Q

What elements are insulators?

A

nonmetals

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54
Q

What elements are conductors?

A

metals

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55
Q

How are charges distributed in both insulators and conductors?

A

In insulators, charge doesn’t distribute well over their surface. In conductors, charges evenly distribute

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56
Q

What is coulomb’s law?

A

quantifies the magnitude of the electrostatic force between 2 charges

Fe = kq1q2/r^2

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57
Q

What is the value of k?

A

8.99 x 10^9 N m^2/C^2

58
Q

How do you calculate the magnitude of an electric field?

A

E = Fe/q = kQ/r^2

59
Q

Electrical potential energy

A

U = kQq/r

60
Q

Electrical potential energy

A

V = U/q = kQ/r = Wab/q

61
Q

Dipole moment

A

p = qd (C m)

62
Q

Difference between diamagnetic and paramagnetic materials

A

diamagnetic materials are made of atoms with no unpaired electrons (no magnetic field) vs. paramagnetic (and ferromagnetic) materials have unpaired electrons

63
Q

Magnitude of the magnetic field of a straight wire

A

B = μ(0)I / 2πr

64
Q

Magnitude of the magnetic field of a circular loop

A

B = μ(0)I / 2r

65
Q

Magnetic Force

A

F(B) = qvB sin(degree)

66
Q

What is the SI unit for magnetic field strength

A

tesla (T)

1 T = 1 N s/m C

67
Q

What is the magnitude of the force created by the magnetic field of a straight wire?

A

F(B) = ILB sin(degree)
where,
L = length of the wire in the field
B = magnitude of the magnetic field

68
Q

Current (I)

A

Q/Δt

Ampere (A) (1A = 1C/s)

69
Q

How does direct current flow?

A

direction of current (flow of positive charges from high to low potential) is opposite to the direction of actual electron flow

70
Q

What is electromotive force (emf)?

A

the voltage when no charge is moving between the two terminals of a cell that are at different potential values (1V = 1 J/C)

71
Q

How do you determine resistance?

A

R = (resistivity)L / A,

where A is its cross-sectional area

72
Q

What is the SI unit for resistivity?

A

ohm-meter (Ω m)

73
Q

How do you calculate the actual voltage supplied by a cell to a circuit?

A

V = E(cell) - ir(internal),

where
E(cell) = the emf
i = current through the cell
r (internal) = internal resistance

74
Q

How do you calculate power within a circuit?

A

P = IV = I^2R = V^2/R

75
Q

What is the voltage within a circuit of parallel resistors?

A

Vp = V1 = V2 = Vn

76
Q

Capacitance

A

C = Q/V

77
Q

What is the SI unit for capacitance?

A

farad (1F = 1 C/V)

78
Q

Electric field

A

E = V/d

79
Q

The potential energy stored in a capacitor

A

U = 1/2CV^2

80
Q

How do you calculate the capacitance of capacitors connected in series?

A

1/Cs = 1/C1 + 1/C2 + 1/C3…

81
Q

How do you calculate the capacitance of capacitors connected in parallel?

A

Cp = C1 + C2 + C3…

82
Q

Propagation speed (v) of a wave

A

v = fλ

83
Q

How do you determine the period (number of seconds per cycle)?

A

T = 1/f

84
Q

Constructive interference

A

when waves are perfectly in phase, the displacements always add together and the amplitude of the resultant is equal to the sum of the amplitudes of the two waves

85
Q

Destructive interference

A

when waves are perfectly out of phase, the displacement always counteract each other and the amplitude of the resultant wave is the difference in amplitude of the interacting waves

86
Q

When is there zero amplitude during destructive interference?

A

two equal waves are exactly 180 degrees out of phase

87
Q

Speed of sound

A

v = sqrt[B/(density of the medium)],

where B = measure of the medium’s resistance to compression

88
Q

What is the doppler effect?

A

phenomenon that 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 another

89
Q

How does the sign convention in the Doppler equation work?

A

the top sign is “toward”

the bottom sign is “away”

90
Q

Doppler effect equation

A

f’ = f[(v+/-vD) / (v-/+vS)]

91
Q

What is the SI unit for intensity?

A

watts/m^2

92
Q

How do you calculate intensity?

A

I = P/A

93
Q

How to determine the sound level

A

β = 10 log(I/Io),

where I is the intensity of the sound wave and Io is the threshold of hearing (1 x10^-12 W/m^2)

94
Q

the wavelength of a standing wave (string)

A

λ = 2L / n, where L = λ/2, 2λ/2, 3λ/2…

95
Q

the frequency of a standing wave (string)

A

f = nv / 2L

96
Q

the frequency and wavelength of a standing wave (open pipe)

A 
λ = 2L / n, where L = λ/2, 2λ/2, 3λ/2...
f = nv / 2L
97
Q

the frequency and wavelength of a standing wave (closed pipe)

A 
λ = 4L / n, where L = λ/2, 2λ/2, 3λ/2...
f = nv / 4L (n = 1, 3, 5...)
98
Q

Speed of light equation

A

c = fλ

99
Q

What is the wavelength of violet?

A

400nm

100
Q

What is the wavelength of red?

A

700nm

101
Q

Center of curvature of a spherical mirror

A

a point on the optical axis that marks where the center of curvature would be if the spherically-shaped mirror were a complete sphere

102
Q

Radius of curvature

A

distance between the center of curvature and the mirror

103
Q

the equation to determine image distance for all types of mirrors and lenses

A

1/f = 1/o + 1/i = 2/r

104
Q

When is an image considered “real”?

A

if the image has a positive distance (i > 0)

105
Q

When is an image considered “virtual”?

A

if the image has a negative distance (i < 0)

106
Q

How do you determine the magnification?

A

m = - i/o

107
Q

When is an image considered “inverted”?

A

negative magnification

108
Q

When is an image considered “upright”?

A

positive magnification

109
Q

When is r positive for mirrors?

A

mirror is concave (converging)

110
Q

When is r negative for mirrors?

A

mirror is convex (diverging)

111
Q

When is f positive for mirrors?

A

mirror is concave (converging)

112
Q

When is f negative for mirrors?

A

mirror is convex (diverging)

113
Q

determining the index of refraction

A

n = c/v

114
Q

Snell’s law

A

n1sin(degree)1 = n2sin(degree)2

115
Q

When is i positive for a single lens?

A

image is on the opposite side of the lens from the light source (real)

116
Q

When is i negative for a single lens?

A

image is on the same side of the lens as the light source (virtual)

117
Q

When is r positive for a single lens?

A

the lens is convex (converging)

118
Q

When is r negative for a single lens?

A

the lens is concave (diverging)

119
Q

When is f positive for a single lens?

A

the lens is convex (converging)

120
Q

When is f negative for a single lens?

A

the lens is concave (diverging)

121
Q

How do you determine the power of your lens?

A

P = 1/f

122
Q

What type of lens do people who are near-sighted require?

A

diverging lenses (concave)

123
Q

What type of lens do people who are far-sighted require?

A

converging lenses (convex)

124
Q

How do you calculate the magnification of a multiple lens system?

A

m = m1 x m2 x m3…

125
Q

During a single slit experiment, how do you determine the location of the dark fringes (minima)?

A 
a sin (degree) = nλ 
where a = width of the slit
n = number of fringe
λ = wavelength of the incident wave
126
Q

What would make the central bright fringe (maximum) wider for a single slit experiment?

A

make the slit narrower

127
Q

During a double-slit experiment, how do you determine the location of the dark fringes (minima)?

A 
d sin(degree) = (n+1/2)λ 
where, d = distance between the two slits 
n = number of fringes
λ = wavelength of the incident wave
128
Q

What is the threshold frequency? f(T)

A

the minimum frequency of light that causes ejection of electrons

129
Q

How do you determine the energy of each photon?

A

E = hf

130
Q

What is Planck’s constant (h)

A

6.626 x 10^-34 J s

131
Q

How do you calculate the maximum kinetic energy of the ejected electron?

A

K(max) = hf - W,

where W = work function of the metal

132
Q

How do you determine the work function of the metal?

A

W = hf(T)

133
Q

What is mass detect?

A

one would assume that the mass of the nucleus is simply the sum of the masses of all of the protons and neutrons within it, the actual mass of every nucleus is slightly smaller than that

134
Q

What is fusion?

A

occurs when small nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus

135
Q

What is fission?

A

process by which a large nucleus splits into smaller nuclei

136
Q

What is alpha decay?

A

the emission of an alpha particle, which is a 4,2He nucleus that consists of 2 protons, 2 neutrons, and 0 electrons

137
Q

What is beta decay?

A

the emission of a beta particle, which is a neutron converted into a proton

138
Q

What is beta - decay?

A

(A,Z)X –> (A, Z+1)Y + B- [increase of 1 proton, decrease of 1 neutron]

139
Q

What is beta + decay?

A

(A, Z)X –> (A, Z-1)Y + B+ [decrease of 1 proton, increase of 1 neutron]

140
Q

What is gamma decay?

A

the emission of y-rays, which are high energy; they carry no charge and simply lower the energy of the parent nucleus without changing the mass number

MCAT (6 decks)

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