Physics Vocab 2nd Semester
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Created by:
frasergirl56 on February 15, 2011
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79 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Energy | A measure if an objects ability to do "work" (which means its ability to change or create change) |
| Joule | The unit of energy defined as the energy required to push with 1 newton force or a distance of 1 meter |
| Potential Energy | Energy due to an objects position above the ground |
| Kinetic Energy | Energy due to an objects motion |
| Elastic Potential Energy | Energy due to the deformation of an elastic object, such as the stretching or compressing of a spring |
| Internal Energy | Energy due to the motion (jiggling) of molecules. An increase in this energy results in the rise in temperature or a change in phase of an object |
| Inelastic Collision | A type of collision where kinetic energy is lost and the object often changes shape or stick together |
| Elastic Collision | A type of collision where objects bounce off each other with no permanent change in shape and no less of kinetic energy |
| Law of Conservation of Momentum | A law that states that for interacting objects, the total momentum before the interaction is equal to the total momentum after the interaction |
| Law of Conservation of Energy | A law that states that energy can never be created nor destroyed, simply hanged from one form into another |
| Total Energy | The sum of kinetic energy and potential energy |
| Rotational Kinetic Energy | Type of kinetic energy due to the rotation of an object |
| Work | The process of transferring energy from one object to another by applying a force over a distance |
| Input Force | The force that you supply to a simple machine |
| Watt | A unit of power meaning 1 Joule of work done in 1 second |
| Power | The rate at which (or how fast) work is done |
| Mechanical Advantage | The ratio of output force (provided by the machine) to input force (force provided by you) |
| Simple Machine | A mechanical device that transforms input forces to output forces with no additional power supplied |
| Efficiency | The ratio of output work to input work, often expressed as a percentage |
| Pseudoscience | A belief or practice that is claimed to be scientific, but which does not adhere to an appropriate scientific methodology, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, or otherwise lacks scientific status |
| Sliding Friction | A force exerted between two surfaces sliding against each other (must be moving) |
| Static Friction | A force exerted between two surfaces trying to slide against each other (but not yet moving) |
| Lubricant | A fluid used to reduce friction by creating a thin layer between the microscopic "hills an valleys" of a surface |
| Ball Bearings | Small rotating spheres that reduce friction by changing sliding motion into rolling motion |
| Occam's Razor Test | The idea that the simpler of two possible explanations is usually the right one |
| Torque | The measure of how much twisting force causes an object to rotate |
| Lever Arm | The perpendicular distance from the axis of rotation to the line of action of the force. It is a factor in calculating torque. |
| Line of Action | An imaginary line in the direction of a force and passing through the point where the force is applied |
| Rotational Equilibrium | A condition that occurs when all the torques applied to an object add to zero (balanced torques) |
| Rotational Inertia | A measure of how resistive an object is to rotation. it depends on the objects mass and how the mass is distributed. Its symbol is "I" |
| Range | The horizontal distance a projectile travels before hitting the ground |
| Projectile | Any object moving through space and affected only by gravity (usually ignore any small effect of air resistance) |
| Horizontal Component | A part of a vector that gives the magnitude only in the horizontal direction (or x-direction) |
| Vertical Component | The part of a vector that gives the magnitude only in the vertical direction( or y-direction) |
| Rotation | When an object turns around an internal axis (an axis within its own body) |
| Revolution | When an object turns around an external axis |
| Centripetal Force | An "inward directed" force that causes an object to move in a circle (or an arc). It acts perpendicular to an objects velocity |
| Centrifugal Force | An apparent "outward directed" force that an object seems to experience when moving in a circle (or an arc). This feeling is actually just inertia causing the body to continue in the direction it was moving |
| Trajectory | The parabolic path that a projectile follows |
| Black Hole | An area in space with such a strong gravitational pull that no matter or energy can escape from it. Black holes are believed to form when larger stars collapse in on themselves |
| Center of Mass | The average location of all the mass in an object. It is represented by a point. (In most situations, it is also known as the Center of Gravity) |
| Gravity | The weak, invisible, attractive force that exists between all objects that have mass |
| Weight | The measure of the force of the earth's gravity pulling on an object |
| Law of Universal Gravitation | Fg= G m^1m^2/r^2 |
| Satellite | An object that circles around another object with only gravity providing the necessary centripetal force. It follows an elliptical path called an orbit |
| Element | A pure substance that contains only atoms with the same atomic number |
| Compound | A substance made of 2 or more elements that cannot be separated by physical means |
| Proton | Particle with a positive charge |
| Electron | Particle with a negative charge |
| Neutron | Neutral particle with zero charge |
| Electromagnetic Force | Attraction between (+) charge on protons and (-) charge on electrons |
| Strong Nuclear Force | Holds nucleus together |
| Weak Force | Breaks down single neutrons by gravity |
| Atomic Number | Number of protons in nucleus of every atom of element |
| Atomic Mass | Number after name; Number of protons and number of neutrons |
| Isotope | Atoms of the same element that have numbers of neutrons; They are the same element but each has a different number of neutrons |
| Periodic Table | Chart with all the elements organized by the increase of protons in each element |
| Group | Vertical column (similar properties) |
| Period | Horizontal row (gradually change) |
| Metals | Good conductors of heat and electricity as a pure element; shiny, opaque, malleable |
| Nonmetals | Poor conductors of heat and electricity; brittle and dull |
| Metalloids | Weak conductors of electricity; used as semiconductors in computer circuits; both metals and nonmetals |
| Chemical | Any substance that is composed of atoms bonded together |
| Ionic Bond | Electrons transferred from one atoms to another |
| Ion | Atom of molecule that has a net positive or negative electric charge |
| Covalent Bonds | Valence electrons are shared between atoms/transferred |
| Chemical Equations | Simplified way to show the exact number of atoms and molecules involved in a chemical reaction |
| Physical Change | Substance changes its form but is still the same substance |
| Chemical Change | Changes one or more substances into a different substance with different properties |
| Chemical Reaction | System of chemical changes that involves the breaking and reforming or chemical bonds to create new substances |
| Activation Energy | Energy needed to break chemical bonds in the reactants |
| Exothermic Reactions | A chemical reaction in which there is a net release of energy |
| Endothermic Reactions | When forming new bonds the product releases less energy that the original reactant |
| Photosynthesis | Reaction of energy from sunlight stored in chemical bonds in molecules of glucose that supports energy on earth |
| Respiration | Animals who eat plants get energy by breaking up glucose molecules |
| Nuclear Reaction | A reaction that changes the nucleus of at least one atom; may change one element into another element; involves much more energy that chemical reaction |
| Chain Reaction | Fission if one nucleus triggers fission of many other nuclei |
| Radioactive | Describes atoms which are unstable and spontaneously change into other atoms by the emission of particles and/or energy from nucleus |
| Inference | A logical conclusion based on observable facts |
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