Year 10 Term 1 – Energy, Motion, and Environmental Science

These flashcards cover key concepts related to energy, motion, environmental science, and the carbon cycle based on the Year 10 Term 1 curriculum.

Energy

A measure of how much work an object can do.

Conservation of Energy

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed.

Gravitational Potential Energy (GPE)

The potential energy an object has due to its height, measured in Joules (J). Formula: GPE = mgh.

Kinetic Energy (KE)

The energy an object possesses due to its motion. Formula: KE = 1/2 mv².

Distance

The total length travelled between two points.

Displacement

A vector quantity representing the distance from a starting point, including direction.

Speed

The rate at which an object covers distance, calculated using the formula v = s/t.

Velocity

Speed with a directional component, a vector quantity.

Acceleration

The rate of change of velocity, calculated as a = Δv/t.

Newton's Second Law

States that acceleration is directly proportional to force and inversely proportional to mass, expressed as F = ma.

Weight

The force exerted by gravity on an object at Earth's surface, calculated as weight = mass × gravity.

Carbon Cycle

The process where carbon is recycled through the environment via respiration, photosynthesis, decomposition, and combustion.

Greenhouse Effect

A natural process where greenhouse gases trap some of the sun’s rays within Earth's atmosphere, keeping it warm.

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

The intensified greenhouse effect caused by excess greenhouse gases from human activities.

Climate Change

Long-term alterations in temperature and typical weather patterns in a place, attributed to human activities affecting the greenhouse effect.

Albedo

The measure of how much light that hits a surface is reflected without being absorbed.

Evaporation

The process of water turning into vapor from bodies of water.

Transpiration

Evaporation of water from plants.

Precipitation

The process where water falls from clouds to the Earth's surface as rain.

Surface runoff

Water that moves across the ground surface towards water bodies, carrying soil and minerals.