AP Physics 2 Vocab

capacitance

the amount of charge that can be stored at a given voltage by a capacitor

capaticance is measured in

• farads (F)

• coulombs per volt (C/V)

electric field

• indicates the force that would act on a unit positive test charge if placed at that location

• exists at every point in space

• force per unit charge

electric field is measured in

• volts per meter (V/m)

• newtons per coulomb (N/C)

current

the flow of charged particles

current is measured in

• ampere (A)

• coulombs per second (C/s)

power

• the amount of energy transferred or converted per unit time

• a measure of the rate at which work is done

power is measured in

• watts (W)

• joules per second (J/s)

resistance

a measure of the opposition to the flow of current

resistance is measured in

• ohms (Ω)

• volts per ampere (V/A)

electric potential energy

the energy stored in a configuration of charged objects

potential energy

the energy of an object or system due to the body’s position relative to other objects, or the configuration of its particles

potential energy is measured in

joules (J)

electric potential/voltage

• the amount of work/energy needed per unit of electric charge to move the charge from a reference point to a specific point in an electric field

• the difference in potential energy per unit charge between two locations in an electric field

• field x distance

electric potential/voltage is measured in

• volts (V)

• joules per coulomb (J/C)

resistivity

describes the extent to which a material opposes the flow of electric current through it

time constant

the time taken by a capacitor to be charged to 63.2% of its maximum value theough a resistor connected to it in series

magnetic field

a region around a magnetic material, amoving electric charge, or a changing electric field within which the force of magnetism acts

magnetic field is measured in

• tesla (T)

• weber per square meter (Wb/m²)

emf (electromotive force)

• not a force

• the energy transfer per unit of electric charge

• voltage that drives electric current

emf (electromotive force) is measured in

• volts (V)

• joules per coulomb (J/C)

magnetic flux

a measure of the total magnetic field which passes through a given surface

magnetic flux is measured in

• webers (Wb)

• tesla square meters (Tm²)

• volt seconds (Vs)

• joules per ampere (J/A)

specific heat

the heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by one Kelvin or degree Celsius

specific heat is measured in

joules per gram kelvin (J/gK)

index of refraction

• a measure of how much the path of light is bent, or refracted, when entering a material

• a measure of how much light slows down when passing through a medium compared to a vacuum

decay constant

the probability per unit time that a radioactive nucleus will decay

work function

the minimum wuantity of energy required to remove an electron to infinity from the surface of a given solid