Experimental Physics and Vector Fundamentals Lecture

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering the introductory lecture on physics methodology, exam logistics, measurement uncertainty, SI unit definitions, and vector algebra.

Written Exam Structure

The exam consists of four exercises, with each exercise worth $8$ points, for a total of $32$ points.

Cum Laude Requirements

To achieve honors, a student must obtain a score of $32$ on the written exam and then complete an oral exam.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

A biomedical imaging technology used for retinal scans that the professor specializes in developing.

Experimental Theory

A sequence of observations of reality and the use of laws to confirm those observations through measurements.

Precision

Refers to the repeatability or consistency of measurements; a measurement has high precision if the spread or variance of the distribution is small.

Accuracy

The closeness of the mean value of a distribution of measurement points to the ground truth or gold standard value.

Ground Truth

The true value of a quantity, often represented by measurements from a gold standard instrument trusted more than others.

Galileo Galilei's Theory of Gravity

The theory proposing that all objects left falling in free space on Earth feel the same acceleration of gravity ($g$) regardless of their mass.

Newton's Second Law

A law of motion stating that the force acting on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration ($F = m \times a$).

Air Resistance

A force that depends on the velocity and shape of an object, which can invalidate the simple theory of gravitational acceleration in non-vacuum conditions.

Second ($s$)

The time interval elapsed during $9,192,631,770$ cycles of radiation emitted between two electronic levels of Cesium-133 ($Cs\text{-}133$).

Meter ($m$)

The distance traveled by light in a vacuum in $1/299,792,458$ of a second.

Kilogram ($kg$)

A unit of mass defined through an operational definition involving Planck's constant ($h = 6.62 \times 10^{-34} kg \times m^2/s$).

Scalar

A physical quantity described by a single numerical value, such as mass, energy, time, or pressure.

Vector

A mathematical quantity defined by a magnitude (numerical value), a direction within a frame of reference, and a sign.

Frame of Reference

A coordinate system, such as a Cartesian system with orthogonal axes, used to describe the position and direction of vectors.

Vector Components

The orthogonal projections of a vector onto the axes of a frame of reference, denoted as $v_x$ and $v_y$.

Magnitude of a Vector

The length of a vector, represented by the absolute value symbol and calculated using the Pythagorean theorem: $\text{Magnitude} = \text{v} = \text{v}_x^2 + \text{v}_y^2$.

Vector Addition

The process of summing two vectors where the resultant vector's components are the sums of the individual vectors' components ($v_{3x} = v_{1x} + v_{2x}$).

Parallelogram Rule

A geometrical method for finding the sum of two vectors by constructing a parallelogram from the vectors and finding the diagonal from the origin.

Vector Subtraction

Treated as adding the opposite vector: $v_1 - v_2 = v_1 + (-v_2)$, where $-v_2$ is the original vector with the sign flipped.

Scalar-Vector Product

The multiplication of a scalar ($\text{lambda}$) and a vector, which changes the magnitude and potentially the direction (sign) but keeps the vector on the same straight line.

Scalar Product (Dot Product)

A multiplication operation between two vectors that result in a scalar value.

Vector Product (Cross Product)

A multiplication operation between two vectors that results in a third vector.