Grade 10 Physical Science Practice Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the core Grade 10 Physical Science curriculum, including waves, electricity, motion, and chemical bonding.

Pulse

A single disturbance in a medium.

Transverse pulse

A pulse in which the particles of the medium move at right angles to the direction of motion of the pulse.

Interference

The overlapping of two pulses when they coincide at the same point at the same time.

Superposition

The algebraic sum of the amplitudes of two pulses that occupy the same space at the same time.

Constructive interference

The phenomenon where the crest of one pulse overlaps with the crest of another to produce a pulse of increased amplitude.

Destructive interference

The phenomenon where the crest of one pulse overlaps with the trough of another, resulting in a pulse of reduced amplitude.

Amplitude

The maximum displacement of particles from the rest position.

Wavelength ($\lambda$)

The distance between two consecutive points in phase.

Frequency ($f$)

The number of waves per second, measured in hertz ($Hz$).

Period ($T$)

The time taken for one complete wave, measured in seconds ($s$).

Wave Speed ($v$)

The distance travelled by a point on a wave per unit time, calculated as $v = f\lambda$.

Longitudinal wave

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

Compression

A region of high pressure in a longitudinal wave.

Rarefaction

A region of low pressure (or maximum displacement from rest) in a longitudinal wave.

Pitch

The human ear's perception of sound frequency, where high pitch corresponds to high frequency.

Loudness

The human ear's perception of sound amplitude, measured in decibels ($dB$).

Echo

The reflection of a sound wave by large hard flat surfaces.

Ultrasound

Sound waves of a higher frequency than humans can hear, ranging from $20\,kHz$ to $100\,kHz$.

Photon

A quantum or "packet" of electromagnetic radiation which carries a set amount of energy.

Magnetic field

A region in space where another magnet or ferromagnetic material will experience a non-contact force.

Ferromagnetic materials

Materials which are strongly attracted by magnets and are easily magnetised, such as iron, cobalt, and nickel.

Angle of declination

The angle between the true geographical North Pole and the magnetic North Pole.

Principle of charge quantisation

The principle that all charges in the universe consist of an integer multiple of the charge of an electron ($Q = nq_e$).

Principle of conservation of charge

The net charge of an isolated system remains constant during any physical process.

Ohm's Law

States that the current in a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across it provided its temperature remains constant.

Electrical Resistance ($R$)

The ratio of the potential difference ($V$) across a resistor and the current ($I$) in it, measured in ohms ($\Omega$).

Emf

The voltage measured across the terminals of a battery when no current is flowing through the battery (switch is open).

Scalar

A physical quantity with magnitude only, such as mass, distance, or time.

Vector

A physical quantity with both magnitude and direction, such as force, velocity, or displacement.

Resultant vector

The single vector that has the same effect as two or more vectors together.

Distance ($D$)

The total path length travelled by an object; it is a scalar quantity.

Displacement ($\Delta x$)

The difference in position in space between the start and final position; it is a vector quantity.

Acceleration ($a$)

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

Gravitational Potential Energy ($E_P$)

The energy an object possesses due to its position in the gravitational field relative to a reference point ($E_P = mgh$).

Kinetic Energy ($E_K$)

The energy an object possesses as a result of its motion ($E_K = \frac{1}{2}mv^2$).

Mechanical Energy ($E_M$)

The sum of gravitational potential and kinetic energy at a point ($E_M = E_P + E_K$).

Pure Substance

A substance that cannot be separated into simpler components by physical methods.

Element

A pure substance consisting of only one type of atom.

Compound

A pure substance consisting of two or more elements chemically bonded in a fixed ratio.

Homogeneous mixture

A mixture of uniform composition in which all components are in the same phase.

Brownian motion

The random movement of microscopic particles suspended in a gas or liquid.

Diffusion

The movement of atoms or molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of lower concentration.

Atomic Number ($Z$)

The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom, which uniquely identifies the element.

Atomic Mass Number ($A$)

The total number of nucleons (protons and neutrons) in the nucleus of an atom.

Isotopes

Atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Relative Atomic Mass (RAM)

The average mass of an atom of a certain element compared to $\frac{1}{12}$ the mass of a carbon-12 atom.

Valence electrons

The electrons in the outermost energy level of an atom that take part in chemical bonding.

Ionisation Energy

The energy needed per mole to remove an electron from an atom in the gaseous phase.

Electronegativity

The tendency of an atom in a molecule to attract bonding electrons.

Covalent bond

The sharing of at least one pair of electrons by two non-metal atoms.

Ionic bond

The complete transfer of electrons from a metal atom to a non-metal atom, resulting in electrostatic attraction between ions.

Metallic bond

The bond between positive metal kernels and a sea of delocalised electrons.

Allotropes

Different forms of the same element (e.g., diamond and graphite) that have different physical properties due to different particle arrangements.

Law of conservation of matter

In a chemical reaction, the sum of the mass of the reactants equals the sum of the mass of the products.

Electrolyte

An aqueous solution that contains free-moving ions and therefore conducts electricity.

The Mole

The amount of substance having the same number of particles as there are atoms in $12,0\,g$ of Carbon-12 ($6,02 \times 10^{23}$ particles).

Molar Mass ($M$)

The mass of one mole of particles (atoms, molecules, or formula units), measured in $g \cdot mol^{-1}$.

Empirical formula

The chemical formula of a compound that shows the smallest whole number ratio of the atoms.

Hydrosphere

The system describing the continuous movement of water through the ground, living organisms, and the atmosphere.