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IB Physics Review
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Fundamental unit | one of seven units that form the basis of all other units used to measure quantities in physics, i.e. a fundamental unit is not "defined" in terms of any other units. |
| Standard form | expressing the magnitude of a quantity as a number between one and 10 along with a power of ten; for example, 1.5 x 10^4. |
| Random uncertainty | the statistical variation in a set of measurements of the same quantity. |
| Systematic uncertainty | a constant value of uncertainty, or offset, that is independent of the actual value measured. |
| Absolute uncertainty | the actual uncertainty associated with any measured value; this may be the smallest increment on the measuring instrument. |
| Fractional uncertainty | the proportion of the measured value that is its uncertainty; usually given as (Δx)/(x). |
| Percentage uncertainty | the fractional uncertainty expressed as a percentage; i.e. (Δx)/(x) * 100. |
| Components of a vector | two (or three in three dimensions) mutually perpendicular vectors that, when added together, form the vector itself - in practice, this usually involves the use of trigonometry. |
| Vx (x-xomponent of a vector) = | Vcosθ |
| Vy(y-component of a vector) = | Vsinθ |
| When it comes to vectors, θ represents | the angle between the vector and the x-axis. |
| Acceleration | a vector quantity defined as the rate of change of velocity; a = (Δv)/(Δt). |
| v (kinematics) = | u + at |
| s (kinematis) = | ut + (1/2)at^2 |
| v^2 (kinematics) = | u^2 + 2as |
| s (kinematics) also = | [(v + u)/(2)][t] |
| In kinematics, "u" represents | initial velocity. |
| In kinematics, "v" represents | final velocity. |
| In kinematics, "a" represents | acceleration. |
| In kinematics, "t" represents | time. |
| In kinematics, "s" represents | distance or displacement. |
| Newton's First Law of Motion | A body will continue to move with a constant velocity, or remain at rest, unless it is acted upon by an unbalanced force. |
| Newton's Second Law of Motion | Force equals rate of change of momentum; F = (Δp)/(Δt). |
| Newton's Third Law of Motion | If body A exerts a force, F, on body B, then body B exerts the same size force, F, on body A, but in the opposite direction. |
| Coefficient of static friction, μs | The maximum value of the ratio, F/R, where F is the frictional force between a surface and a body and R is the normal reaction force, such that a body will not begin to slide; μs =< F/R. |
| Coefficient of dynamic friction | μd, the ratio of the frictional force, F between a moving body and a surface and the normal reaction force, R; μd =< F/R. |
| Work done | The product of the force applied and the distance in the direction of the force through which a body moves - measured in Joules, work done = Fscosθ, where θ is the angle between the direction of motion and the force applied. |
| Power | Defined as the rate of doing work. P = work done/time taken. |
| Efficiency | The ratio of the useful work done to the total energy supplied. ε = useful work done/total energy supplied. |
| Principle of conservation of linear momentum | The total momentum in a system is always constant providing no external forces act on the system. |
| Impulse, I | The change of momentum, I = Ft. |
| Internal energy | The sum of the kinetic energies and the potential energies of all the particles in a sample of a substance. |
| Specific heat capacity | The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by one Kelvin. |
| Specific latent heat of fusion/vaporization | The amount of energy required to change the state of 1 kg of a substance from solid/liquid to liquid to liquid/gas without a change in temperature. |
| Boyle's law | For a fixed amount of gas at a constant temperature, the pressure of the gas is inversely proportional to its volume; P ∝ 1/V. |
| Charles's law | For a fixed amount of gas at a constant pressure, the volume of the gas is proportional to its absolute temperature; V ∝ T. |
| The pressure law | For a fixed amount of gas at a constant volume, the pressure of the gas is proportional to its absolute temperature; P ∝ T. |
| Ideal gas | A gas that can be considered to have no potential energy in its atoms. In practice this is not possible, but it can be approximated by a gas at a low pressure and temperature. |
| Mole | One of the base SI units, defined as the amount of a substance that has the same number of particles as there are atoms in 12 grams of 12|6C |
| Ideal gas equation | There are several ways of expressing this important equation: PV = (1/3)Nmc^2, PV = nRT, and P = (1/3)ρc^2. |
| Kinetic energy and temperature | (3/2)kBT = (1/2)mc^2, where the the Boltzman constant, kB = 1.38 x 10^(-23) J/K. |
| Simple harmonic motion | A periodic motion in which the restoring force is proportional to the displacement from the equilibrium position. |
| Malus's law | For a polarizer, I = I0 cos^2 θ, where I is the transmitted intensity, I0 the incident intensity, and θ the angle between the transmission axis of the polarizer and the electric vector of the incident wave. |
| Refractive index, n | A value that gives the ratio of the speed of an electromagnetic wave in a vacuum to the speed of the same wave in a different medium, n = (Vvacuum)/(Vmedium) = c/v. |
| Snell's law | 1n2 = (sinθ1)/(sinθ2) |
| Critical angle, θc | The angle at which the refracted ray (from a more dense medium to a less dense medium) travels along the boundary between the two media; θc = sin^(-1)[(1)/(1n2)] |
| Young double-slit equation | sd = λD |
| In the Young double-slit equation, "s" represents | fringe spacing |
| In the Young double-slit equation, "d" represents | slit separation |
| In the Young double-slit equation, "λ" represents | wavelength of the waves |
| In the Young double-slit equation "D" represents | distance from the two slits to the screen on which the interference pattern is observed |
| Intensity | energy per second per unit area or power per unit area |
| I (Intensity) = | Power/Area or Energy per second/Area |
| Polarized light | vibrates or oscillates in only one direction. |
| Unpolarized light | can vibrate or oscillate in any direction. |
| Transmission axis | the axis such that light with its electric field oriented parallel to this axis will be transmitted. |
| Total internal reflection | complete reflection of a ray of light within a medium such as water or glass from the surrounding surfaces back into the medium. |
| Diffraction | the process by which a beam of light or other system of waves is spread out as a result of passing through a narrow opening or across an edge, typically accompanied by interference between the wave forms produced. |
| A standing wave is formed by | the superposition of two waves. Where the superposition is constructive, an antinode is formed, and where destructive superposition occurs, a node is formed. |
| Equation of the wavelength of a standing wave with one open end and one closed end | λ = [(4)/(2n-1)][L] (no even harmonics exist for these) |
| Equation of the wavelength of a standing wave with two closed ends | λ = 2L/n |
| Equation of the wavelength of a standing wave with two open ends | λ = 2L/n |
| Linear magnification, m | m = height of image/height of object = v/u |
| Angular Magnification, M | M = angle subtended by image/angle subtended by object |
| Thin lens equation | 1/f = 1/u + 1/v, where "f" is the focal length of the lens, "u" is the distance from the object to the lens, and "v" is the distance from the image to the lens. |
| Resolution | sinθ = 1.22(λ/d) for a circular aperture of diameter, d. |
| Angular magnification of an astronomical telescope | M = focal length of objective lens/focal length of eyepiece lens = fo/fe |
| Attenuation | the reduction of energy in a pulse - made up of a combination of scattering and absorption. |
| Dispersion | when a pulse changes shape and spreads out as it travels along an optical fiber. |
| Attenuation in bels = | log10(I/I0) |
| Attenuation in decibels = | 10 log10(I/I0) |
| Linear absorption coefficient, μ | the constant in the equation, I = I0 e^(-μx) that describes how effective an absorber is. |
| Larmor frequency | The required frequency to make protons flip their energy state, given by fLarmor = 4.26 x 10^7 x B, where B is the magnetic flux density of the magnetic field in Teslas. |
| Normal adjustment of a telescope means | that the telescope is adjusted so that the final image is at infinity so that the eye is completely relaxed when viewing it. |
| Resolution of a telescope means | the smallest angle between close objects that can be seen clearly to be separate. |
| Rayleigh criterion | two images are just resolvable when the center of the diffraction pattern of one is directly over the first minimum of the diffraction pattern of the other. |
| Interferometer | an instrument in which the interference of two beams of light is employed to make precise measurements. |
| convex lens | surfaces are bent outwards, focuses light rays to one point. |
| concave lens | surfaces are bent inwards, causes light rays to diverge. |
| objective lens | a lens near an object that makes an object look bigger. |
| material dispersion | light of different wavelengths travel along an optical fiber with slightly different speeds, so they don't all arrive at the other end of the optical fiber at the same time. |
| waveguide dispersion | if light rays take slightly different paths through an optical fiber, then they will take slightly different times to reach the other end of the fiber because the number of times each ray has to reflect off the core-cladding boundary will be different. |
| specific attenuation | the amount of attenuation per unit length of the optical fiber. |
| The meaning of an X-ray having good contrast | To see the radiogram clearly, X-rays must be absorbed by the bones (because they are denser and so have a larger linear absorption coefficient) but not absorbed by the tissue around the bones. This will give good contrast. |
| monochromatic (regarding X-rays) | all X-rays have the same energy. |
| ultrasound | any sound waves with a frequency higher than the human audible range (higher than ~20kHz). |
| acoustic impedance, Z | Z = ρc, where "ρ" is the density of the material and "c" is the speed of the ultrasound waves through the material. |
| impendance matching | at a boundary between 2 materials, some of the ultrasound energy will be reflected. To minimize how much energy is reflected, the acoustic impendance of the 2 materials is made as similar as possible, making it appear as if there's no boundary there. |
| significance of the Larmor frequency | it is the forcing frequency of the radio frequency signal at which the flip of the protons from one spin state to the other occurs. It is a resonant frequency for the spin states of the protons. |
| Coulomb's law | F = k[(Qq)/(r^2), where for a vacuum, k = (1)/(4πε0). |
| Electric field strength, E | The amount of force acting on a unit positive test charge in the field, E = F/q |
| Electric field strength, E is also equal to | k(Q/r^2) |
| Flow equation, (Drude's theory) | I = nAvq |
| In the flow equation, "n" stands for | charge carrier number density. |
| In the flow equation, "A" stands for | the cross-sectional area of the conductor. |
| In the flow equation, "v" stands for | the drift speed of the charge carriers. |
| In the flow equation, "q" stands for | the charge on each carrier. |
| In the flow equation, "I" stands for | current. |
| Electronvolt, eV | The amount of energy gained by an electron that has been accelerated through a potential difference of 1V. |
| An electronvolt can be converted to | 1.6 x 10^(-19) Joules. |
| Resistance, R | Defined as the value of the voltage across a component divided by the value of the current flowing through the component, R = V/I. |
| Resistivity, ρ | The resistance of a sample of material with a cross-sectional area of 1 m^2 and a length of 1 m. This leads to the equation, R = ρ(l/A). |
| Total resistance for an in-series circuit can be found using the equation | Rtotal = R1 + R2 + R3 + ... |
| Total resistance for an in-parallel circuit can be found using the equation | 1/Rtotal = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + ... |
| Kirchhoff's First Law of Circuital Theory | The sum of all currents flowing into a junction equals the sum of all currents flowing out of the junction; sometimes this is written as ΣI = 0. |
| Kirchhoff's Second Law of Circuital Theory | The sum of all voltages in a simple circuit loop equals the emf supplied to that loop; sometimes written as ε = ΣIR. |
| Magnetic force equation | Fm = BILsinθ |
| In the magnetic force equation Fm = BILsinθ, "Fm" stands for | magnetic force. |
| In the magnetic force equation Fm = BILsinθ, "B" stands for | magnetic field. |
| In the magnetic force equation Fm = BILsinθ, "I" stands for | current. |
| In the magnetic force equation Fm = BILsinθ, "L" stands for | length of the conductor. |
| In the magnetic force equation Fm = BILsinθ, "θ" stands for | angle to the magnetic field. |
| Second magnetic force equation | Fm = Bqvsinθ |
| In the magnetic force equation Fm = Bqvsinθ, "q" stands for | charge. |
| In the magnetic force equation Fm = Bqvsinθ, "v" stands for | velocity of the charge. |
| Magnetic field strength, B | This is given as the magnetic force experienced by a conductor of length 1 m carrying a current of 1A; B = (Fm)/(IL). It can be thought of as the number of magnetic field lines passing perpendicularly through an area of 1 m^2. |
| Time period, T (circular motion) | The time it takes for an orbiting object to make one complete orbit. |
| Frequency, f (circular motion) | The number of complete orbits made in one second. |
| Angular displacement | The angle through which an object has moved during its circular motion/orbit. |
| Angular speed | The amount of angle through which an orbiting body has moved in a time of 1 second. |
| Centripetal force | The force, directed towards the center of a circular orbit, necessary for a body to move in orbit; given as F = (mv^2)/(r) = mrω^2 = mvω |
| Centripetal acceleration | The rate of change of velocity of a body in orbit; given as a =(Δv)/(Δt) = (v^2)/(r) = rω^2 = vω and is directed towards the center of the circular orbit. |
| Newton's law of gravitation | F = -G[(Mm)/(r^2)] |
| Gravitational field strength, g | The gravitational force that acts on a unit point mass in the gravitational field; given as g = F/m = -G(M/r^2). |
| Unified atomic mass unit, u | This is a unit of mass used in atomic and particle Physics. It is defined as 1/12 of the mass of a 12|6C atom; u = 1.661 x 10^(-27) kg. |
| Mass defect, Δm | The difference in mass between the sum of the masses of the protons and neutrons that make up a nucleus and the actual mass of the nucleus. Δm = ZMp + (A - Z)Mn - Mnucleus |
| Binding energy | The amount of energy required to completely separate all of the protons and neutrons in a nucleus. |
| Quark confinement | A feature of the theory of quantum chromodynamics that says that quarks cannot exist on their own; they can only exist as combinations in mesons and baryons. |
| Conservation rules | A simple set of rules that have to be obeyed if an interaction is viable: charge, lepton number, baryon number and, sometimes, strangeness. |
| Strangeness | a property of particles, expressed as a quantum number, for describing decay of particles in strong and electromagnetic interactions which occur in a short period of time. |
| Boson or exchange particle | The particle that is responsible for the action of a force: gluon and meson for the strong nuclear force, W-, W+, and Z^0 for the weak nuclear force, photon for the electromagnetic force and (it is proposed) graviton for the gravitational force. |
| Strong force | an attractive force between protons and neutrons that keep the nucleus together. |
| Weak force | a force that is responsible for the radioactive decay of certain nuclei. |
| Alpha decay | a nuclear decay process where an unstable nucleus changes to another element by shooting out a particle composed of two protons and two neutrons (identical to the nucleus of Helium 4). |
| Beta decay | a radioactive decay in which a nucleus emits beta particles (high-energy, high-speed electrons or positrons). |
| Gamma decay | the nucleus's way of dropping from a higher energy level to a lower energy level through the emission of high-energy photons. |
| Feynman diagram | A specialized diagram that represents an interaction between particles. |
| Higgs boson | The exchange particle responsible for the physical effect of mass. |
| Specific energy | The energy available from 1 kg of a substance. |
| Energy density | The amount of energy available from 1 m^3 of a substance. |
| Wien's displacement law | The wavelength of emitted radiation that occurs most is inversely proportional to the absolute temperature of the emitter: λmax = (2.9 x 10^(-3))/(T). |
| Stefan-Boltzmann law | The total power emitted by a black body is proportional to the body's surface area and to its absolute temperature to the fourth power: P = σAT^4, where σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant equal to 5.7 x 10^(-8) [W]/[(m^2)(K^(-4))]. |
| Solar constant | The amount of energy, across all wavelengths, per second and per unit area arriving at the top of Earth's atmosphere from the Sun - about 1,400 W/m^2. |
| Albedo | The fraction of energy incident on a surface that is reflected. |
| Work function, φ | The minimum amount of energy required by an electron to escape a metal surface. |
| Planck constant, h | A fundamental constant, equal to the energy of a quantum of electromagnetic radiation divided by its frequency, with a value of 6.63 x 10^(-34) Js. |
| De Brogile wavelength | The wavelength, λ, that describes the wave-like behavior of a particle; λ = h/p, where "p" is the momentum of the particle. |
| Schrödinger's wave function, Ψ | A wave function used to describe a particle, in which the square of its amplitude is proportional to the probability per unit volume of finding the particle. |
| The Copenhagen interpretation of Schrödinger's wave function | A way of considering that the complex wave function for a particle, with many solutions, becomes a simple single solution when the particle is observed. |
| The Copenhagen interpretation of Schrödinger's wave function is best thought of as | if you observe a particle to be behaving like a wave/particle, then it is a wave/particle. |
| Heisenberg's uncertainty principle | The idea that it is not possible to know with perfect precision all aspects of a particle's characteristics. This takes two forms: ΔxΔp >= (h)/(4π) and ΔEΔt >= (h)/(4π) |
| Pair production | The idea that in some circumstances, a photon of sufficient energy can be transformed into a particle-anti-particle pair. |
| Annihilation | The idea that when a particle and its anti-particle interact, they will be transformed into electromagnetic energy in the form of two photons. (Two photons are necessary to obey the law of conservation of momentum.) |
| Quantum tunneling | Phenomenon using idea of particle's wave function having non-0 amplitude everywhere to allow it to exist in situation where it has'nt enough energy to exist. It "borrows" energy from surroundings, transitions to diff. situation, and "returns" energy. |
| Decay constant, λ | The probability that a given nucleus will decay within a time of one second. It is related to half-life, "t1/2", by the equation λ = [ln(2)]/[t1/2]. |
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