physical science
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33 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 temperature | a measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules of a substance |
| thermometer | an instrument that utilizes the physical properties of materials for the purpose of accurately determining temperature |
| Thermal expansion | the physical property most commonly used to measure temperature |
| Kinetic heat | motion of molecules |
| Potential heat | bonds that result in the molecules oscillating back and forth |
| Heat | the energy that is transferred from one object to another as a result of a temperature difference. |
| Calorie | the amount of heat necessary to raise one gram of pure water by one Celsius degree at normal atmospheric pressure |
| British thermal unit (Btu) | the amount of heat to raise one pound of water 1oF |
| Specific Heat | the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one kilogram of the substance 1oC |
| latent ("hidden") heat. | The heat associated with a phase change (either solid to liquid or liquid to gas) |
| Latent Heat of Fusion (Lf) | the amount of heat required to change one kilogram of a substance from the solid to liquid phase at the melting point temperature |
| Latent Heat of Vaporization (Lv) | the amount of heat required to change one kilogram of a substance from the liquid to the gas phase at the boiling point temperature |
| Sublimation | when a substance changes directly from solid to gas (dry ice -> CO2 gas, mothballs, solid air fresheners) |
| Deposition | when a substance changes directly from gas to solid (ice crystals that form on house windows in the winter) |
| Conduction | the transfer of heat by molecular collisions. |
| Thermal Conductivity | the measure of a substance's ability to conduct heat |
| Liquids/gases | generally poor thermal conductors (thermal insulators) - because their molecules are farther apart, particularly gases |
| Metals | generally good thermal conductors - because their molecules are close together |
| Convection | the transfer of heat by the movement of a substance, or mass, from one position to another. |
| Radiation | the process of transferring energy by means of electromagnetic waves. |
| Crystalline Solid | (minerals) the molecules are arranged in a particular repeating pattern |
| Amorphous Solid | (glass) - lack an ordered molecular structure |
| Plasma | an extremely hot gas of electrically charged particles |
| First Law of Thermodynamics | heat added to a closed system goes into the internal energy of the system and/or doing work |
| wave | when matter is disturbed, energy emanates from the disturbance. This propagation of energy from the disturbance is know as a |
| Longitudinal wave | particle motion and the wave velocity are parallel to each other |
| Transverse wave | particle motion is perpendicular to the direction of the wave velocity |
| Wavelength | the distance of one complete wave |
| Amplitude | the maximum displacement of any part of the wave from its equilibrium position. The energy transmitted by the wave is directly proportional to the amplitude squared. |
| Frequency (f) | the number of oscillations or cycles that occur during a given time (1 s) |
| Period (T) | the time it takes for a wave to travel a distance of one wavelength |
| electromagnetic waves | Consist of vibrating electric and magnetic fields that oscillate perpendicular to each other and the direction of wave propagation |
| spectrometer | a device that will separate out the characteristic spectra that are emitted by the heated substance. |
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