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Motion Vocabulary

Terms in this set (25)

motion
the act of changing position
reference point
the location at which motion is measured or determined; sometimes referred to as a frame of reference
speed
the distance an object travels (due to a force) over time
force
a push or pull acting on an object; transfers energy to an object
unbalanced force
two or more forces that are not equal and opposite of one another; can cause change in motion
balanced force
two or more forces that are equal and opposite of one another; do not cause change in motion
friction
a force caused by two objects rubbing against each other; it often works against an applied force
net force
the total amount of force acting on an object
displacement
the shortest, straight line between where an object begins its motion and the place where it comes to rest
distance
the total path an object takes as it moves from one location to another
velocity
how quickly an object changes its displacement (position or location); the rate of change of position and direction with respect to time
acceleration
rate of change of velocity
gravity
force of attraction between objects; depends on the mass and the distance between them; responsible for accelerating objects towards Earth
kinetic energy
the energy of motion
potential energy
the energy of position; an object is not moving, but has the capacity to move
mass
the amount of matter in an object
tension force
force that is transmitted through a string, rope, cable, or wire when it is pulled by forces acting on it from both ends; force that is applied in such a way as to stretch a material.
applied force
force that pushed or pulled an object, coming from a person or another object
normal force
force that supports an object against the force of gravity when in contact with that object (ex: your chair exerts a normal force on you, holding you up so gravity doesn't pull you down)
air resistance
a form of friction that slows down the motion of an object that travels through the air
spring force
force exerted by a compressed or stretched spring; resists stretching and squeezing.
law of conservation of energy
energy can't be created or destroyed; it can change form
dissipated energy
energy that appears to have disappeared from the system, but can't just disappear; energy that has changed form into an unrecoverable kind of energy (e.g. sound, thermal due to friction)
frame of reference
something that is not moving with respect to an observer and used to detect motion; sometimes referred to as a reference point
inertia
the tendency of an object to maintain its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force
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