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Unit Vocabulary
Study Guide
| 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 direction of a moving object |
| Vector | A quantity that has both magnitude and direction |
| Inertia | An object's ability to resist any change in motion |
| Newton's 3rd law of motion | When an object applies a force on another object the second object applies a force of the same strength on the first object but the force is in the opposite direction |
| Force Pairs | The force two objects apply to each other |
| Normal Force | The force that pushes perpendicular to the object's surface |
| Elastic Collision | When colliding object bounce off each other |
| Inelastic Collision | When colliding object stick together or collision |
| Acceleration | A measure of the change in velocity during a period of time |
| Contact Force | A push or pull on one object by another object that is touching it |
| Newton's 2nd Law of Acceleration | Law that states that the acceleration of an object is equal to the net force exerted on the object divided by the object's mass |
| Newton's 1st Law of Inertia | An object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion unless a force acts on the object |
| Non-Contact Force | A force that one object applies to another object without touching it |
| Gravitiy | 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 |
| Net Force | The combination of all the forces acting on an object |
| Free-Body Diagram | A simple model to understand what will happen to an object due to a force |
| Friction | A contact force that resists the sliding motion of two surfaces that are touching |