Physical Science Final Study guide
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Created by:
dmartin1027 on May 17, 2010
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106 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 problem | the purpose of the experiment |
| hypothesis | proposed solution; guessed answer - if, then statement or I think, because |
| independent variable | the factor you change in an experiment that causes a change |
| dependent variable | the measured variable that depends on the value of the independent variable |
| conclusion | the answer to the problem written as a statement |
| K H Da B D C M | use this chart to convert metric measurements |
| motion | a change in an object's position |
| distance | how far an object has moved |
| displacement | how far an object has moved from its original starting place |
| instantaneous speed | speed at any given point |
| average speed | total distance divided by total time |
| balanced forces | forces that are equal in size and opposite in direction; they do not move an object and the net force is equal to zero. |
| unbalanced forces | forces that are unequal in size and the direction is the same; they cause an object to move |
| velocity | the speed and direction of an object's motion; EX: 25 mph North |
| The Law of Conservation of Momentum | any time two or more objects interact they may exchange momentum but the total amount of momentum stays the same-momentum is conserved~p=m x v |
| Newton's 1st Law of Motion | an object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest stays at rest until a net force acts upon the object |
| Newton's 2nd Law of Motion | Force= mass x acceleration |
| Newton's 3rd Law of Motion | Forces always occur in pairs; the forces will always be equal and opposite |
| friction | a force that opposes motion between two surfaces that are touching each other; it slows down the motion of objects |
| static friction | friction between two surfaces that are not moving past each other |
| sliding friction | friction that opposes motion between two surfaces sliding past one another |
| rolling friction | friction between a rolling object and surface it rolls on |
| Law of Gravitation | Any two masses exert an attractive force on each other |
| gravity | one of the four basic forces that gives the universe its structure; the force of gravity depends on the mass and distance between the objects |
| air resistance | a type of friction that opposes the force of gravity |
| mass | the amount of matter in an object; stays the same no matter where you are |
| weight | the force of gravity pulling on a body; changes as gravitational force changes |
| speed of gravity on Earth | 9.8 m/s2 |
| energy | the ability to cause change |
| three forms of energy | kinetic, potential, mechanical |
| kinetic energy | energy in the form of motion; 1/2 mass x velocity(2) |
| potential energy | energy stored in a motionless object that gives it the potential to cause changes |
| three types of potential energy | elastic (rubber band), chemical (food), and gravitational (book on a shelf) |
| mechanical energy | the total amount of potential and kinetic energy in a system |
| Law of Conservation of Energy | Energy may change from one form to another, but the total amount of energy never changes |
| power | the amount of work done in a certain amount of time; the rate at which work is done; equals work divided by time and is measured in watts |
| work | the transfer of energy that occurs when a force makes an object move in the direction of the applied force; measured in joules (lifting weights, moving a desk) |
| mechanical advantage | the number of times a machine multiplies the effort force; not determined the same for all simple machines, depends on different things |
| Units for energy, work, and power | energy- joules, work- joules, power- watts |
| lever | bar that is free to pivot about a fixed point |
| pulley | grooved wheel with a rope, simple chain, or cable running along the groove |
| wheel and axle | machine with two wheels of different sizes rotating together |
| inclined plane | sloping surface that reduces the amount of force required to do work |
| wedge | inclined plane with one or two sloping sides that pushes things apart |
| screw | inclined plane wrapped around a cylindrical post |
| fulcrum | fixed point on a lever; the place where the lever rotates |
| 1st class lever | fulcrum in the middle; see-saw, hammer, scissors |
| 2nd class lever | fulcrum at the end, load in the middle; wheel barrow, car-jack |
| 3rd class lever | fulcrum at the end, effort in the middle; tweezers, baseball bat |
| temperature | the average kinetic energy of an object's atoms or molecules |
| heat | thermal energy that flows from something warm to something cooler |
| three methods of transferring thermal energy | conduction, convection, radiation |
| conduction | direct contact (frying an egg, grilling meat) |
| convection | currents in liquids or gases (boiling pasta) |
| radiation | no medium required (sunlight, microwave) |
| electrical insulator | something that resists the flow of electricity (ex: wood) |
| electrical conductor | something that allows electricity to flow through it easily (ex: copper) |
| static electricity | the accumulation of excess electric charges on an object |
| direct current | Electrical current that flows in only one direction through a wire; found in batteries |
| alternating current | current in which electrons change direction at a regular rate and is used to run appliances |
| resistance | an electrical device that resists the flow of electrical current; measured in Ohms |
| voltage | the difference in electrical charge between two points in a circuit; measured in volts |
| current | a flow of electricity through a conductor; measured in amperes |
| Ohm's Law | I=V/R |
| series circuit | a circuit in which the objects are connected in a single path (holiday lights) |
| parallel circuit | circuit in which electric current can follow more than one path (house sockets) |
| magnetic force | interaction between two magnets - like poles repel and unlike attract |
| magnetic pole | the regions of a magnet where the magnetic force exerted by the magnet is strongest |
| magnetic domain | groups of atoms with aligned magnetic poles |
| electromagnetism | the connection between electricity and magnetism; magnetism produced by an electric current |
| electromagnet | temporary magnet made by passing an electric current through a wire coiled around an iron bar |
| nuclear fission | the process of splitting a nucleus into two nuclei with smaller masses |
| nuclear fusion | the process of two nuclei with low masses combining to form one nucleus of larger mass |
| wave | repeating disturbance or movement that transfers energy through matter or space |
| mechanical wave | waves that must travel through a medium |
| electromagnetic waves | waves that do not require a medium to travel through |
| transverse waves | matter in the medium moves at right angles to the direction the wave travels; made of crests and troughs |
| compressional waves | matter in the medium moves back and forth in the same direction the wave travels; made of compressions and rarefactions |
| rarefaction | less-dense region of compressional waves |
| compression | dense region of compressional waves |
| reflection | when a wave strikes an object and bounces off |
| refraction | the bending of a wave caused by a change in its speed as it moves from one medium to another |
| interference | when two or more waves overlap and combine to form a new wave |
| diffraction | when an object causes a wave to change direction and bend around it |
| amplitude | measure of energy carried by a wave |
| wavelength | distance between one point on a wave to the nearest point like it (crest to crest; compression to compression) |
| crest | highest point of a transverse wave |
| trough | lowest point of a transverse wave |
| doppler effect | change in the apparent frequency of a wave as observer and source move toward or away from each other |
| opaque | absorbs and reflects light; does not allow light to pass through it |
| translucent | some light passes through it |
| transparent | all light passes through it (see through ex. glass) |
| law of reflection | the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection |
| neon lights | glass tubes filled with neon that produce light from electron collisions |
| fluorescent lights | When an electric current is passed through a tube, gas inside emits ultraviolet waves that cause a powder to glow |
| mirror | allows the reflection of an object to be seen; either a virual or real form |
| lens | transparent material with a curved surface that refracts light rays |
| convex lens | a curved lens in which the center is thicker than the edges so it converges light to the focal point |
| concave lens | a lens that is thicker at the edges than in the middle that bends light rays away from one another |
| convex mirror | a mirror that is curved outward like the back of a spoon; diverges to the focal point |
| concave mirror | a mirror that is curved inward like the inside of a spoon; converges to the focal point |
| constant | the parts of an experiment that stay the same |
| Speed formula | s=d/t |
| Acceleration formula | a=(final velocity - inital velocity)/time |
| power formula | power= work/time |
| work formula | work= force * distance |
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