Semester 1 A-K

Question 1

acceleration

Answer 1

Changing velocity; the rate at which an objects velocity is changing.

Question 2

accuracy

Answer 2

The degree to which a measurement is free of error.

Question 3

acoustic energy

Answer 3

Energy transported by sound waves

Question 4

base unit

Answer 4

One of the seven fundamental units of measure in the SI System of units. the base units are meter (length), kilogram (mass), second (time), ampere (electric current), candela (luminous intensity), kelvin (temperature), and mole (amount of substance).

Question 5

Big Bang

Answer 5

The theoretical origin of the universe as an immense explosion of energy from a single point; occurred 13.8 billion years ago according to widely accepted theory.

Question 6

chemical potential energy

Answer 6

the energy stored in the bonds between atoms in compounds.

Question 7

conservation of energy

Answer 7

The principle that energy is never created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another.

Question 8

conservation of momentum

Answer 8

The principle that momentum is conserved in any interaction.

Question 9

Cycle of Scientific Enterprise

Answer 9

The process of forming a theory to account for a body of facts, then formulating testable hypotheses from the theory, then testing the hypothesis experimentally and analyzing the results. if a hypothesis is confirmed, the theory it came from is strengthened; otherwise the theory is weakened.

Question 10

derived unit

Answer 10

A unit of measure in the SI system of units based on a combination of various of the seven base units.

Question 11

distance

Answer 11

The length traveled by an object

Question 12

efficiency

Answer 12

In any system or process, the ratio of usable energy out to energy in.

Question 13

elastic potential energy

Answer 13

Energy stored in a stretched or compressed object or substance.

Question 14

electrical energy

Answer 14

Energy flowing in electrical conductors.

Question 15

elastic collision

Answer 15

a collision in which kinetic energy is conserved

Question 16

Empyrean

Answer 16

In the Ptolemaic model of the heavens, the region beyond the spheres where God or the gods dwell.

Question 17

energy

Answer 17

One of the basic constituents of the universe, the others being matter and intelligence.

Question 18

epicycle

Answer 18

A mathematical idea in obsolete planetary models in which a planet moves in an orbit (the epicycle) around a point which in turn circles another heavenly body.

Question 19

experiment

Answer 19

A scientific test of a hypothesis.

Question 20

explanatory variable

Answer 20

A variable manipulated by researchers in an experiment that produces variation in the response variable.

Question 21

faith-science debate

Answer 21

A conflict in contemporary Western culture fueled on one hand by those who incorrectly claim that science shows there is no God and on the other hand by Christians whose interpretations of the Bible lead them to reject widely accepted scientific theories

Question 22

Firmament

Answer 22

The sphere containing the fixed stars in the Ptolemaic of the heavens.

Question 23

force

Answer 23

A push or a pull.

Question 24

friction

Answer 24

A force that converts kinetic energy of motion into heat.

Question 25

general theory of relativity

Answer 25

Albert Einstein’s theory (1915) of gravity; an explanation of gravity in terms of acceleration, and of the curvature of the space time around a massive object.

Question 26

geocentric system

Answer 26

A solar system model in which the sun, moon, and planets all orbit the earth.

Question 27

gravitational potential energy

Answer 27

Stored energy due to an objects location in a gravitational field.

Question 28

heliocentric system

Answer 28

A solar system model in which the earth and other planets all orbits the sun and the moon orbits the earth.

Question 29

hypothesis

Answer 29

A testable, informed prediction based on a theory, or what will happen in certain circumstances.

Question 30

inelastic collision

Answer 30

A collision in which some of the initial kinetic energy is converted into other forms of energy, and thus kinetic energy is not conserved.

Question 31

inertia

Answer 31

A property of all matter that causes matter to prefer its present state of motion, quantified by the variable mass.

Question 32

internal energy

Answer 32

the sum of all the kinetic energies possessed by all the particles in a substance

Question 33

International System of Units

Answer 33

The system of units of measure administered in France and accepted by most of the countries in the world; the SI or metric system.

Question 34

kilogram

Answer 34

The unit for mass in the SI system; one of the seven base units.

Question 35

kinetic energy

Answer 35

Energy an object possesses by virtue of its motion.