Question 1

Rotational Motion

Accepted Answer

Movement in a circle or spinning 
units; degrees, revolutions, radians

Question 2

Radian

Accepted Answer

Angle formed when an arc length is equal to the radius of a circle.

Question 3

Angular Displacement

Accepted Answer

delta theta
rotational counterpart to delta x.

Question 4

Angular speed

Accepted Answer

Rate at which an object moves through an angle.
Rotational counterpart to linear velocity
abbreviation: omega
SI Unit: rad/sec

Question 5

Angular Acceleration

Accepted Answer

Rate of change in angular speed.
rotational counterpart to linear acceleration
Abbreviation:lower-case alpha
SI Unit: rad/sec^2

Question 6

Centripetal Acceleration

Accepted Answer

Acceleration Toward the center of a circle
Abbreviation: a sub c
SI Unit: m/sec^2

Question 7

Centripetal Force

Accepted Answer

Net force acting toward the center of a circle keeping an object moving in a circular direction.
Abbreviation: F sub c
SI Unit: N

Question 8

Centrifugal Force

Accepted Answer

Imaginary outward force felt by observers moving in a circular path.
Abbreviation: F sub g
SI Unit: N

Question 9

Kepler's 1st Law

Accepted Answer

Each Planet travels in an elliptical orbit around the sun with the sum at one of the focal points.

Question 10

Kepler's 2nd Law

Accepted Answer

An imaginary line drawn from the sun to any planet sweeps out equal areas in equal time intervals.

Question 11

Kepler's 3rd Law

Accepted Answer

The square of a planet's orbital period (T) is proportional to the cube of the average distance (r^3) between the planet and the sun.

Question 12

Center of Gravity

Accepted Answer

A point from which the weight of a body or system may be considered to act.
(In uniform gravity it is the same as the center of mass.)

Question 13

Torque

Accepted Answer

Quantity that measures the ability of a force to rotate an object about some axis.
Rotational counterpart to linear force
SI Unit: Nm   or Kg(m/s)^2
Max torque at 90 degrees, no torque at 0 or 180 degrees

Question 14

Rotational Equilibrium

Accepted Answer

When net torque and net force is zero.
(Means that something is spinning at a constant speed)

Question 15

Inertia

Accepted Answer

The tendency of an object to resist a change in momentum.

Question 16

Moment of Intertia

Accepted Answer

The tendency of an object to resist a change in rotational motion.
Abbreviation: I
SI Unit: Kg*m^2

Question 17

Moment of Inertia for a hoop

Accepted Answer

mr^2

Question 18

Moment of Inertia for a cylinder/solid disk

Accepted Answer

(mr^2)/2

Question 19

Mass Density

Accepted Answer

Concentration of matter in an object
Abbreviation: Latin letter rho
SI Unit: Kg/(m^3)

Question 20

Buoyant Force

Accepted Answer

Upward force exerted by a fluid on an object immersed in or floating on the fluid.
Abbreviation: F sub b
SI Unit: N

Question 21

Archimedes' Principle

Accepted Answer

An object completely or partially submerged in a fluid experiences an upward buoyant force equal in magnitude to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.

Question 22

Pressure

Accepted Answer

Magnitude of the force on a surface per unit area
Abbreviation: P
Equation: P=F/A
SI Unit: N/(m^2) or Pascal (Pa)

Question 23

Barometer

Accepted Answer

Devise used for measuring air pressure.

Question 24

Pascal's Principle

Accepted Answer

Pressure applied to a fluid in a closed container is transmitted equally to every point of the fluid and to the walls of the container.

Question 25

Ideal Liquid

Accepted Answer

A liquid with no internal friction, it is non=viscus.
Steady and non-turbulent flow.

Question 26

Principle of Fluid Flow

Accepted Answer

The mass of the fluid flowing into a pipe must equal the mass of fluid flowing out of the pipe.

Question 27

Venturi Effect

Accepted Answer

The speed of a fluid increases when the cross sectional area decreases.

Question 28

Flow Rate

Accepted Answer

The product of A*v for a pipe.
Flow rate is constant.
Units: (m^3)/sec or CFM

Question 29

Bernoulli's Principle

Accepted Answer

The pressure in a fluid decreases as the velocity of the fluid increases.

Question 30

Magnus Force

Accepted Answer

A force created by Bernoulli's principle. 
"lift."

Question 31

Temperature

Accepted Answer

Measure of the average kinetic energy of particles in a substance.
Abbreviation: T
SI Unit: Kelvin (K)

Question 32

Internal Energy

Accepted Answer

The energy of a substance due to both the random motion of its particles and to the potential energy that results from the distances and alignments between particles.

Question 33

Thermal Equilibrium

Accepted Answer

The state in which two bodies in physical contact with one another have identical temperatures.

Question 34

Thermal Expansion

Accepted Answer

Generally, as temperature rises, so does volume.

Question 35

Coefficient of Volume Expansion

Accepted Answer

Quantity that relates the change in volume of an object to change of temperature.

Question 36

Heat

Accepted Answer

Energy transferred between objects due to a difference in temperature.
Abbreviation: Q
SI Unit: J (Joules)

Question 37

Conduction

Accepted Answer

Heat transferred due to direct contact.

Question 38

Convection

Accepted Answer

Heat transferred by the mixing of matter. (Happens with magma)

Question 39

Radiation

Accepted Answer

Heat transferred through electromagnetic waves.

Question 40

Thermal Insulators

Accepted Answer

Slowly transfer energy as heat (Slow due to pockets of trapped air).

Question 41

James Prescott Joule

Accepted Answer

Designed a device to show that energy transferred due to work can be turned into internal energy.

Question 42

Specific Heat Capacity

Accepted Answer

Quantity of heat required to raise a unit mass of homogeneous material 1k or 1 degrees C in a specified way given constant pressure and volume.
Abbreviation: C sub p
SI Unit: J/Kg(k)  or  J/kg(C)

Question 43

Calorimetry:

Accepted Answer

An experimental procedure used to measure the energy transferred from one substance to another as heat.

Question 44

Phase Change

Accepted Answer

Physical change in a substance from one state of matter to another at constant temperature and pressure.

Question 45

Latent Heat

Accepted Answer

The energy per unit mass that is transferred during a phase change of a substance.
Abbreviation: L
SI Unit: J/kg

Question 46

Latent Heat Fusion

Accepted Answer

L sub f
Needed to melt 1 kg

Question 47

Latent Heat Vaporization

Accepted Answer

L sub v
Needed to boil 1 kg

Question 48

Simple Harmonic Motion

Accepted Answer

Vibration about an equilibrium position in which a restoring force is proportional to the displacement from equilibrium.

Question 49

Restoring Force

Accepted Answer

The force towards the equilibrium point.
Abbreviation: F

Question 50

Hooke's Law

Accepted Answer

The restoring force of a spring depends on the stiffness of the spring and the displacement from the spring's equilibrium point.

Question 51

Amplitude

Accepted Answer

The maximum displacement from the equilibrium point.
Abbreviation: A
SI Unit: m

Question 52

Period

Accepted Answer

The time it takes a complete cycle to occur.
Abbreviation: T
SI Unit: s (seconds)

Question 53

Frequency

Accepted Answer

The number of cycles or vibrations per unit of time.
Abbreviation: f
SI Unit: Hertz (Hz) or 1/sec

Question 54

Simple Pendulum

Accepted Answer

For small angles (less than 15 degrees), the motion of a pendulum is SHM. This is because for small angles Sin(x) is about x in radians. Gravity is the restoring force.

Question 55

Wave

Accepted Answer

Undulation or disturbance that transfers energy. (Energy, not matter, is transferred).

Question 56

Medium

Accepted Answer

Physical environment through which a disturbance can travel.

Question 57

Mechanical Wave

Accepted Answer

A wave that requires a medium through which to travel. (ie, water waves, rope waves, etc.)

Question 58

Pulse Wave

Accepted Answer

A wave consisting of a single traveling pulse.

Question 59

Periodic Wave

Accepted Answer

Wave formed by the period or motion of a wave source.

Question 60

Transverse wave

Accepted Answer

Wave whose particles vibrate perpendicularly to the direction the wave is traveling.

Question 61

Wavelength

Accepted Answer

Length from crest to crest, trough to trough, etc.
Abbreviation: upside-down y
SI Unit: m

Question 62

Longitudinal Wave

Accepted Answer

Wave whose particles vibrate parallel to the direction the wave is traveling. (ie, compression wave, density wave, pressure wave, etc).

Question 63

Compression

Accepted Answer

Area where a longitudinal wave is compressed.

Question 64

Rarefaction

Accepted Answer

Where the density and pressure are at a minimum in a longitudinal wave.

Physics 2nd quarter

Vocabulary for the second half of Physics

Term	Definition
Rotational Motion	Movement in a circle or spinning units; degrees, revolutions, radians
Radian	Angle formed when an arc length is equal to the radius of a circle.
Angular Displacement	delta theta rotational counterpart to delta x.
Angular speed	Rate at which an object moves through an angle. Rotational counterpart to linear velocity abbreviation: omega SI Unit: rad/sec
Angular Acceleration	Rate of change in angular speed. rotational counterpart to linear acceleration Abbreviation:lower-case alpha SI Unit: rad/sec^2
Centripetal Acceleration	Acceleration Toward the center of a circle Abbreviation: a sub c SI Unit: m/sec^2
Centripetal Force	Net force acting toward the center of a circle keeping an object moving in a circular direction. Abbreviation: F sub c SI Unit: N
Centrifugal Force	Imaginary outward force felt by observers moving in a circular path. Abbreviation: F sub g SI Unit: N
Kepler's 1st Law	Each Planet travels in an elliptical orbit around the sun with the sum at one of the focal points.
Kepler's 2nd Law	An imaginary line drawn from the sun to any planet sweeps out equal areas in equal time intervals.
Kepler's 3rd Law	The square of a planet's orbital period (T) is proportional to the cube of the average distance (r^3) between the planet and the sun.
Center of Gravity	A point from which the weight of a body or system may be considered to act. (In uniform gravity it is the same as the center of mass.)
Torque	Quantity that measures the ability of a force to rotate an object about some axis. Rotational counterpart to linear force SI Unit: Nm or Kg(m/s)^2 Max torque at 90 degrees, no torque at 0 or 180 degrees
Rotational Equilibrium	When net torque and net force is zero. (Means that something is spinning at a constant speed)
Inertia	The tendency of an object to resist a change in momentum.
Moment of Intertia	The tendency of an object to resist a change in rotational motion. Abbreviation: I SI Unit: Kg*m^2
Moment of Inertia for a hoop	mr^2
Moment of Inertia for a cylinder/solid disk	(mr^2)/2
Mass Density	Concentration of matter in an object Abbreviation: Latin letter rho SI Unit: Kg/(m^3)
Buoyant Force	Upward force exerted by a fluid on an object immersed in or floating on the fluid. Abbreviation: F sub b SI Unit: N
Archimedes' Principle	An object completely or partially submerged in a fluid experiences an upward buoyant force equal in magnitude to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.
Pressure	Magnitude of the force on a surface per unit area Abbreviation: P Equation: P=F/A SI Unit: N/(m^2) or Pascal (Pa)
Barometer	Devise used for measuring air pressure.
Pascal's Principle	Pressure applied to a fluid in a closed container is transmitted equally to every point of the fluid and to the walls of the container.
Ideal Liquid	A liquid with no internal friction, it is non=viscus. Steady and non-turbulent flow.
Principle of Fluid Flow	The mass of the fluid flowing into a pipe must equal the mass of fluid flowing out of the pipe.
Venturi Effect	The speed of a fluid increases when the cross sectional area decreases.
Flow Rate	The product of A*v for a pipe. Flow rate is constant. Units: (m^3)/sec or CFM
Bernoulli's Principle	The pressure in a fluid decreases as the velocity of the fluid increases.
Magnus Force	A force created by Bernoulli's principle. "lift."
Temperature	Measure of the average kinetic energy of particles in a substance. Abbreviation: T SI Unit: Kelvin (K)
Internal Energy	The energy of a substance due to both the random motion of its particles and to the potential energy that results from the distances and alignments between particles.
Thermal Equilibrium	The state in which two bodies in physical contact with one another have identical temperatures.
Thermal Expansion	Generally, as temperature rises, so does volume.
Coefficient of Volume Expansion	Quantity that relates the change in volume of an object to change of temperature.
Heat	Energy transferred between objects due to a difference in temperature. Abbreviation: Q SI Unit: J (Joules)
Conduction	Heat transferred due to direct contact.
Convection	Heat transferred by the mixing of matter. (Happens with magma)
Radiation	Heat transferred through electromagnetic waves.
Thermal Insulators	Slowly transfer energy as heat (Slow due to pockets of trapped air).
James Prescott Joule	Designed a device to show that energy transferred due to work can be turned into internal energy.
Specific Heat Capacity	Quantity of heat required to raise a unit mass of homogeneous material 1k or 1 degrees C in a specified way given constant pressure and volume. Abbreviation: C sub p SI Unit: J/Kg(k) or J/kg(C)
Calorimetry:	An experimental procedure used to measure the energy transferred from one substance to another as heat.
Phase Change	Physical change in a substance from one state of matter to another at constant temperature and pressure.
Latent Heat	The energy per unit mass that is transferred during a phase change of a substance. Abbreviation: L SI Unit: J/kg
Latent Heat Fusion	L sub f Needed to melt 1 kg
Latent Heat Vaporization	L sub v Needed to boil 1 kg
Simple Harmonic Motion	Vibration about an equilibrium position in which a restoring force is proportional to the displacement from equilibrium.
Restoring Force	The force towards the equilibrium point. Abbreviation: F
Hooke's Law	The restoring force of a spring depends on the stiffness of the spring and the displacement from the spring's equilibrium point.
Amplitude	The maximum displacement from the equilibrium point. Abbreviation: A SI Unit: m
Period	The time it takes a complete cycle to occur. Abbreviation: T SI Unit: s (seconds)
Frequency	The number of cycles or vibrations per unit of time. Abbreviation: f SI Unit: Hertz (Hz) or 1/sec
Simple Pendulum	For small angles (less than 15 degrees), the motion of a pendulum is SHM. This is because for small angles Sin(x) is about x in radians. Gravity is the restoring force.
Wave	Undulation or disturbance that transfers energy. (Energy, not matter, is transferred).
Medium	Physical environment through which a disturbance can travel.
Mechanical Wave	A wave that requires a medium through which to travel. (ie, water waves, rope waves, etc.)
Pulse Wave	A wave consisting of a single traveling pulse.
Periodic Wave	Wave formed by the period or motion of a wave source.
Transverse wave	Wave whose particles vibrate perpendicularly to the direction the wave is traveling.
Wavelength	Length from crest to crest, trough to trough, etc. Abbreviation: upside-down y SI Unit: m
Longitudinal Wave	Wave whose particles vibrate parallel to the direction the wave is traveling. (ie, compression wave, density wave, pressure wave, etc).
Compression	Area where a longitudinal wave is compressed.
Rarefaction	Where the density and pressure are at a minimum in a longitudinal wave.
Superposition	The combination of two overlapping waves (interference).
Constructive Interference	Two or more ways in which individual displacements of the same side of the equilibrium position are added together to form a resultant wave.
Destructive Interference	Trough and crest cancel each other out. (Utilized by noise-cancelling headphones).
Free Boundary Reflection	The medium moves perpendicular to the wave. (The medium is not fixed in place).
Fixed Boundary Reflection	The medium is fixed in place, so crests bounce back as troughs, and vice versa.
Standing Wave	A wave pattern that results when two waves of equal frequency, wavelength, and amplitude travel in opposite directions and interfere.
Node	Zero displacement in a standing wave.
Antinode	Largest displacement in a standing wave.
Sound Waves	Compression waves produced by vibrating objects.
Ultrasonic Waves	A frequency above 20,000 Hz.
Infrasonic Waves	A frequency below 20 Hz.
Pitch	A measure of how high or low a sound is perceived to be; depends on the frequency.
Subsonic	Slower than the speed of sound.
Supersonic	Faster than the speed of sound.
Sonic Boom	When an object passes the speed of sound, this occurs.
Mach Number	Multiple of the speed of sound for a moving object. (Mach 1 is the speed of sound, Mach 2 is 2x the speed of sound)
Doppler Effect	An observed change in frequency when there is relative motion between the source of waves and an observer.
Sound Intensity	The rate at which energy flows through a unit area perpendicular to the direction of the wave motion. Abbreviation: I SI Unit: W/(m^2) W=watts
Decibel (dB)	A dimensionless unit that describes the ratio of two intensities of sound; the threshold of hearing is commonly used as the reference intensity.
Forced Vibration	When objects are connected, vibrations in one object will be transferred to others, causing them to vibrate. Vibrations from one object that strikes another.
Sympathetic Vibrations	Vibrations that occur because of other vibrating objects.
Natural Frequency	The frequency at which an object will vibrate when set in motion.
Resonance	A phenomenon that occurs when the frequency of a force applied to a system matches the natural frequency of vibration of the system, resulting in a large amplitude of vibration.
Fundamental Frequency	The lowest frequency of vibration for a standing wave.
Harmonics	Integral multiples of the fundamental frequency (overtones).
Harmonic series	A series of frequencies that includes the fundamental frequency and successive harmonics
Timbre	The musical quality of a tone resulting from the combination of harmonics present at different intensities (sound quality).
Reverberation Time	The amount of time it takes for the intensity of a sound echo to decrease by 60 dB.
Anechoic Chamber	A room that provides virtually no echoes.
Beats	The periodic variation in the amplitude of a wave that is the superposition of two waves of slightly different frequencies.
White Light	Combination of electromagnetic frequencies.
Electromagnetic Wave	A wave that consists of oscillating electric and magnetic fields, which radiate outward from the source at the speed of light.
Luminous Flux	Rate at which light is emitted from a source (brightness). Measured in lumens.
Illuminance	luminous flux divided by surface area. SI Unit: lm/m^2 or lux
Reflection	The change in direction of an electromagnetic wave at a surface that causes it to move away from the surface.
Virtual Image	An image from which light rays appear to diverge, even though they are not actually focused there; a virtual image is not able to be projected onto a screen.
Concave Spherical Mirror	A mirror whose reflecting surface is a segment of the inside of a sphere.
Real Image	An image that is formed by the intersection of light rays (can be projected onto a screen).
Paraxial Rays	Light rays that are very near the principal axis of the mirror and are used in ray diagrams. Rays farther from the axis don't necessarily intersect after reflecting from a concave mirror (spherical aberrations).
Convex Spherical Mirror	A mirror whose reflecting surface is an outward-curved segment of a sphere.

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