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Science Vocab
science vocab words and definitions
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Reference point | The starting point you choose to describe the location, or position, of an object. |
| Position | An object's distance and direction from a reference point. |
| Motion | The process of changing position. |
| Displacement | The difference between the initial, or starting, position and the final position. |
| Speed | A measure of the distance an object travels in a given amount of time |
| Velocity | The speed and the direction of a moving object. |
| Vector | A quantity that has both magnitude and direction. |
| Acceleration | A measure of the change in velocity during a period of time. |
| Force | A push or pull on an object. |
| Contact Force | A push or pull on one object by another that is touching it. |
| Newton’s 2nd Law | The acceleration of an object is equal to the net force acting on the object divided by the object’s mass. |
| Friction | A force that resists the sliding motion of two surfaces that are touching |
| Free-Body Diagram | A simple model that can help you understand the forces acting on an object. |
| Net Force | The sum of all the forces acting on an object. |
| Newton’s First Law | If the net force on an object is zero, the motion of the object does not change. |
| Inertia | The natural tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. |
| Newton's 3rd Law | When an object applies a force on another object, the second object applies a force of the same strength on the first object but in the opposite direction. |
| Force pairs | The forces two objects apply to each other. |
| Normal Force | The force that pushes perpendicular to the object's surface. |
| Elastic Collision | When colliding objects bounce off each other. |
| Inelastic Collision | A collision where total kinetic energy is not conserved, meaning some energy is lost. |
| Non-contact Force | A force that one object applies to another object without touching it. |
| Gravity | An attractive force that exists between all objects that have mass. |
| Field | A region of space that has a physical quantity (such as force) at every point. |
| Weight | The gravitational force exerted on an object. |