General Science Week 2: Translational and Rotational Motion

A set of practice flashcards covering vocabulary for translational and rotational motion, including linear and angular quantities based on General Science Week 2 lecture notes.

Motion

The change in position of an object over time relative to a reference point.

Distance

How much ground an object has covered, regardless of direction.

Displacement

A vector quantity representing the shortest straight-line change in position from an object's starting point to its final point, including direction.

Speed

A measurement of how fast an object moves, calculated as $\text{Distance} \div \text{Time}$.

Velocity

The measurement of how fast and in what direction an object moves.

Acceleration

The rate at which velocity changes over time, which can include speeding up, slowing down, or changing direction.

Newton's Second Law

A physical law stating that force equals mass times acceleration, written as the formula $F = ma$.

Uniform Circular Motion

A type of motion where speed is constant, but velocity changes because the direction of the object is constantly changing.

Translational Motion

A movement where every point of an object moves the same distance, in the same direction, and at the same time, without any rotation.

Rotational Motion

A movement where an object turns or spins around a fixed internal line called an axis.

Linear Quantities

Physical properties that describe motion along a straight-line path (one dimension), such as linear displacement, linear velocity, and linear acceleration.

Linear Displacement

The shortest straight-line distance from an initial position to a final position, such as a car traveling $100\,m$ east.

Linear Velocity ($v$)

A vector quantity that measures the rate at which an object changes its linear displacement over time, calculated as $v = \frac{\Delta x}{\Delta t}$, such as a car moving $20\,m/s$ east.

Linear Acceleration ($a$)

A vector quantity that measures the rate of change of linear velocity over time, calculated as $a = \frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t}$, such as an increase from $10\,m/s$ to $20\,m/s$ resulting in $2\,m/s^2$.

Angular Displacement ($\theta$)

The angle through which an object rotates, typically measured in radians ($rad$) or degrees ($^{\circ}$).

Radian ($rad$)

A unit of angular measurement where the arc length is equal to the radius ($\text{arc length} = \text{radius}$).

Angular Velocity ($\omega$)

The rate of change of angular displacement over time, measuring how fast an object completes a turn.

Angular Acceleration ($\alpha$)

The rate at which the spin speed (rotational speed) of an object increases or decreases.