Physics Review: Waves, Electricity, Motion, and Magnetism

A complete set of vocabulary practice flashcards covering transverse and longitudinal waves, electrostatics, circuits, kinematics, mechanical energy, and magnetism concepts from the lecture notes.

Transverse Pulse

A single disturbance that travels through a medium where the particles vibrate perpendicular to the direction of motion of the pulse.

Amplitude

The maximum displacement of a particle from its equilibrium or rest position.

Pulse length

The distance from the start to the end of a single pulse.

Super position

The principle stating that when two pulses or waves meet at the same point, the resultant displacement is the algebraic sum of the displacements of the individual pulses.

Constructive interference

The phenomenon that occurs when two pulses meet in phase, resulting in a combined pulse with a larger displacement.

Deconstructive interference

The phenomenon that occurs when two pulses meet out of phase, resulting in a combined pulse with a smaller displacement or complete cancellation.

induction

A method of charging an object or producing an electromotive force without direct physical contact with the charged or magnetized object.

Principle of quantification of charge

The principle stating that the charge on any object is an integer multiple of the elementary charge, expressed as $Q = n \times e$.

potential difference

The work done per unit electric charge as it moves between two points in an electrical circuit.

EMF

Electromotive force; the total energy transferred per unit charge across the terminals of a power source when no current flows.

electric current

The rate of flow of electric charge through a conductor.

resistance

The opposition offered by a conductor to the flow of electric current.

Ohm's low

The principle stating that current through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across its ends, provided temperature remains constant ($V = I \times R$).

ore ohm

The unit of electrical resistance equal to one volt of potential difference per one ampere of current ($1\,\text{V}/\text{A}$).

transverse wave

A periodic wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the wave.

Crest

The highest point or maximum positive displacement on a transverse wave.

trough

The lowest point or maximum negative displacement on a transverse wave.

wave length

The distance between two consecutive points on a wave that are in phase.

2 points in phase

Two points on a wave that are at the identical stage in their cycle and moving in the exact same direction.

Points out of phase

Points along a wave that are at different stages of their oscillation cycle and do not move synchronously.

frequency

The number of complete waves or wave cycles passing a point per second, measured in hertz ($\text{Hz}$).

period

The time taken for one complete wave cycle or oscillation to pass a given point.

wave Speed

The distance covered by a wave per unit time, given by the wave equation $v = f \times \lambda$.

longitudinal wave

A wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate parallel to the direction of propagation of the wave.

Compression

A region in a longitudinal wave where the particles are closest together and the pressure is at a maximum.

rare faction

A region in a longitudinal wave where the particles are furthest apart and the pressure is at a minimum.

reflection

The rebounding or bouncing back of a wave or pulse when it hits a boundary or interface between different media.

Loudness

A sensory perception of sound intensity that depends primarily on the amplitude of the sound wave.

Pitch

The perceived highness or lowness of a sound, which is determined by the frequency of the sound wave.

Photon

A discrete packet or quantum of electromagnetic energy, with energy given by $E = h \times f$.

Scalar

A physical quantity that is fully described by magnitude and unit only, without a direction.

vector

A physical quantity that has both a magnitude and a direction.

Net or resultant vector

A single vector that produces the same overall physical effect as two or more individual vectors combined.

Position

The location of an object in space specified relative to an identified reference point.

reference Paint

A designated fixed point or location from which the position and motion of an object are measured.

Distance

The total length of the actual path an object travels during its motion, regardless of direction.

Displacement

A vector quantity representing the overall change in position of an object from its starting point to its final point.

Speed

The rate at which distance is covered, defined as total distance divided by time taken.

Constant or uniform Speed

Motion during which an object covers equal distances in equal intervals of time.

average Speed

The total distance travelled divided by the total time taken to travel that distance ($v_{\text{avg}} = \frac{\Delta d}{\Delta t}$).

velocity

The rate of change of position, or displacement divided by time taken, having both magnitude and direction.

average velocity

The total displacement divided by the total time taken ($v_{\text{avg}} = \frac{\Delta x}{\Delta t}$).

instant ant an ecus velocity

The rate of change of displacement of an object at a specific, infinitesimal point in time.

inst antonicuse speed

The magnitude of the instantaneous velocity of an object at a specific point in time.

acceleration

The rate of change of velocity with respect to time ($a = \frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t}$).

Can stant acceleration

Motion in which the velocity of an object changes by equal amounts in equal time intervals.

initial velocity

The velocity of an object at the beginning of an observed time interval ($v_i$).

final velocity

The velocity of an object at the end of an observed time interval ($v_f$).

Potential energy

The energy possessed by an object due to its position or state, such as gravitational potential energy ($E_p = m \times g \times h$).

kinetic energy

The energy possessed by an object due to its motion ($E_k = \frac{1}{2} \times m \times v^2$).

mechanical energy

The total sum of gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy in a physical system ($E_{\text{mech}} = E_p + E_k$).

isolated System

A thermodynamic or mechanical system that does not exchange matter or energy with its surrounding environment.

magnetic pales

The regions located at opposite ends of a magnet (north and south) where the magnetic field is most concentrated.

magnetic fields

A region in space around a magnet or electric current within which another magnet or moving charge experiences a magnetic force.

magnetic forces

Non-contact forces of attraction or repulsion that act between magnetic poles or moving electric charges.

Direction of magnetic field

The direction pointing from the north pole to the south pole outside a magnet, representing the direction a north pole would experience a force.

magnetic domains

Microscopic regions within a ferromagnetic material where the magnetic moments of grouped atoms are aligned in parallel.

ferromagnetic materials

Substances such as iron, cobalt, and nickel that are strongly attracted to magnets and can be magnetized.

hard soft

A classification of ferromagnetic materials, where hard materials retain magnetism permanently and soft materials are easily magnetized but lose it quickly.