Physics 22/23 Midterm (vocab) (copy)

Force

a push or a pull

mass:

Amount of matter in an object, a measure if inertia

Gravitational force:

the force of attraction between 2 or more masses at some distance, weakest

Electromagnetic force:

force of attraction/repulsion between opposite/like charges/poles at some distance. mid strength

Strong nuclear force:

force that binds the nucleus, strongest

Weak nuclear force:

force that governs radioactive decay

radioactive decay:

when an unstable nucleus emits particles or light to gain stability

Grand unified theory:

the search for one force

Proof of Grand unified theory:

1. Maxwell unified electricity and magnetism
2. Gravitational lensing

Gravitational lensing

curved space which is believed to cause gravity appears to bend light

law of inertia:

first newtons law, an object at rest will stay at rest and an object in motion in a straight line will stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an outside force.

law of impulse:

second newtons law, the sum of the forces acting on an object equals its mass times its acceleration

conservation of momentum:

third newtons law, every action has an equal or opposite reaction

normal force:

a reaction force due to contact with a surface

friction

force that opposes motion

coefficient of friction:

an experimentally derived constant that explains the interaction between 2 surfaces

2 types of coefficient of friction

static & kinetic. Static is always greater than kinetic.

Tension:

pull of a rope

Spring force:

recoil of a spring

free body diagram:

an axis system with forces drawn (usually to scale) on it

Power

the work done in a given time

Kinetic energy:

energy of motion

Potential energy:

energy at rest, stored energy, or energy of position

Light:

a transverse, non mechanical electromagnetic
wave/ particle created by


1. Electron energy level transitions
2. Nuclear energy level transitions
3. Fission
4. Fusion
5. The breaking of chemical bonds

Conservation of energy:

energy is neither created nor destroyed, it just changes form

Mechanical energy:

useable energy (kinetic and potential)

Momentum:

a physical quantity that depends on an objects mass and velocity

Impulse:

a change in momentum

Conservation of momentum:

momentum is conserved in the absence of external forces (newtons third law)

Elastic collision:

when 2 or more objects collide and bounce off

Inelastic collision:

when 2 or more objects collide and stay together

Explosion:

when one object becomes many

Angle:

a coordinate of position in a circular motion

Revolution:

when one object circles the other

Rotation:

when an object spins about an axis

Angular velocity:

a change in angle in a given time

Angular acceleration:

a charge in angular velocity in a given time

Moment of inertia:

the angular equivalent of mass

Tangential acceleration:

a change in velocity (usually magnitude) along a straight line

Centripetal acceleration:

a change in a velocity's direction as an object moves around a circle

Centripetal force:

a general name given to any force or summation of forces that cause an object to move in a circle

Center of mass:

point where all the mass in a system is averaged to

Center of gravity:

point where the force of gravity acting on all points in a system is averaged to

Torque:

the angular equivalent of force

Equilibrium:

a condition where the sum of the forces and the sum of the torques acting on an object equals 0

Inertia

an object's resistance to changes in motion

Weight

an object's resistance to changes in motion

work

the application of a force along a displacement

Heat

Total random kinetic energy of all the particles in an object, Infrared radiation, A change in the internal energy of the system

universal law of gravitation

Equation for the force of gravity that works any place