General Physics: Mechanics, Waves, Gravitation, and Thermodynamics

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering classical mechanics, contact and non-contact forces, static equilibrium and torque, gravitation, Kepler's laws, waves, fluid mechanics, and thermodynamics.

Momentum

A vector quantity defined as the product of a system's mass multiplied by its velocity ($p = mv$), measured in SI units of $\text{kg}\cdot\text{m/s}$ or $\text{N}\cdot\text{s}$.

Impulse

The change in momentum ($\Delta p$) of an object, calculated as force multiplied by elapsed time ($\Delta p = F \cdot \Delta t$), measured in SI units of $\text{kg}\cdot\text{m/s}$ or $\text{N}\cdot\text{s}$.

Force

A push or pull upon an object resulting from the object's interaction with another object.

Contact Force

A force that acts on a point of direct physical contact between two objects.

Frictional Force

A contact force that acts between two surfaces touching each other, which usually opposes motion or attempted motion.

Muscular Force

A contact force produced by the muscles of humans or animals, such as when lifting a bag, carrying a box, or pushing a chair.

Tension Force

A pulling contact force transmitted through a rope, string, or cable when it is stretched tight by forces acting from opposite ends.

Non-Contact Force

A force that acts between objects without direct physical contact as it exists within space.

Gravitational Force

A universal non-contact force of attraction acting between any two objects with mass.

Electrostatic Force

A non-contact force exerted by an electrically charged body on another charged body or an uncharged body.

Magnetic Force

The attractive or repulsive non-contact force acting between the magnetic poles of a magnet and electrically charged objects.

Static Equilibrium

The physical condition in which an object remains completely at rest and balanced because all net forces and torques acting on it are zero.

Torque

A vector quantity measuring the force that can cause an object to rotate about an axis or center, calculated by $T = rF\sin(\Theta)$ with SI units of $\text{N}\cdot\text{m}$.

Gravitational Field

A force field extending in all directions around every mass or group of masses whose strength decreases as distance increases in accordance with the Inverse-Square Law.

Law of Universal Gravitation

Sir Isaac Newton's law stating that every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a gravitational force.

Kepler's First Law (Law of Ellipses/Orbits)

The astronomical law stating that planets orbit the Sun in elliptical paths with the Sun located at one focus.

Kepler's Second Law (Law of Equal Areas)

The law stating that a line connecting a planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal intervals of time ($t$), meaning a planet moves fastest at perihelion and slowest at aphelion.

Perihelion

The position along an orbiting celestial body's path where it is closest to the Sun.

Aphelion

The position along an orbiting celestial body's path where it is farthest from the Sun.

Kepler's Third Law (Law of Periods/Harmonies)

The law stating that the square of a planet's orbital period ($T^2$) is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit ($a^3$), represented as $T^2 = ka^3$.

Wave

A form of disturbance that moves through a medium or space from its source and carries energy.

Superposition

The physical phenomenon that occurs when multiple wave disturbances are superimposed, or come together in the same region.

Oscillation (Periodic Motion)

A pattern of motion that moves back and forth over a distance about an equilibrium position and repeats over regular intervals of time.

Cycle

One complete oscillation describing the full repetitive motion of a vibrating object.

Frequency ($f$)

The number of complete cycles per second, measured in Hertz ($\text{Hz}$) and mathematically expressed as the reciprocal of period ($f = \frac{1}{T}$).

Period ($T$)

The time required for an oscillating object to complete one full cycle, measured in seconds ($\text{s}$) and expressed as the reciprocal of frequency ($T = \frac{1}{f}$).

Fluids

Substances that continually deform and flow under an applied external shear force, encompassing liquids, gases, and plasma.

Pascal's Principle

The principle stating that pressure applied at any point in a fluid system is transmitted equally in all directions throughout the fluid.

Archimedes' Principle

The physical principle stating that the buoyant force acting on a submerged or floating body is equal to the weight of the fluid that the body displaces.

Buoyant Force

The net upward force exerted by a surrounding fluid on any object placed within it.

Bernoulli's Principle

The principle stating that fluid velocity and fluid pressure are inversely proportional in steady flow, meaning fluid velocity is high where pressure is low and low where pressure is high.

Nicolas Leonard Sadi Carnot

A French military engineer and physicist regarded as the Father of Thermodynamics who devised the idealized four-stroke heat engine cycle known as the Carnot Cycle.

Carnot Cycle

A reversible four-stage thermodynamic cycle composed of isothermal expansion at $T_h$, adiabatic expansion from $T_h$ to $T_l$, isothermal compression at $T_l$, and adiabatic compression from $T_l$ to $T_h$.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

The fundamental thermodynamic law stating that heat naturally transfers from higher to lower temperatures, but never spontaneously from lower to higher temperatures.