General Physics 1: Measurements and Translational Kinematics

Practice flashcards covering the definitions of fundamental physics concepts, measurement systems, SI base and derived units, and notation techniques from General Physics 1.

Physics

The study that describes the interaction of energy, matter, space, and time, focusing on the fundamental mechanisms that underlie every phenomenon.

Accuracy

A measure of how close a measured value is to the true or accepted value.

Precision

The consistency or repeatability of measurements.

Physical Quantity

A property defined by specifying how it is measured or calculated from other measurements, described by a number.

Units

Standardized values used for expressing the measurement of a Physical Quantity, such as meters, kilograms, or ampere.

SI units

The metric system, abbreviated from the French "Systeme International," which is the agreed standard system among scientists and mathematicians.

English units

A system of units widely used in the United States and some nations previously ruled by the British Empire.

Fundamental Units

Also known as Base Units, these are units used to measure fundamental physical quantities like length, mass, and time.

Derived Units

Units created from algebraic combinations of base units, such as force and electric charge.

Scientific Notation

Also called Power-of-ten notation, it is a shorthand way of writing very large or small values using powers of 10.

Metric Prefixes

Affixes at the beginning of a unit that determine its true value based on factors of 10, allowing the same unit to be used across large ranges.

Order of Magnitude

Refers to the scale of a value expressed in the metric system where each power of 10 is considered a different order.

Conversion Factor

A ratio expressing how many of one unit are equal to another unit, used to translate between different measurements of the same quantity.

Newton ($N$)

A derived unit of force equal to $kg \cdot m/s^2$.

Joule ($J$)

A derived unit of energy equal to $kg \cdot m^2/s^2$.

Watt ($W$)

A derived unit of power equal to $J/s$.

Pascal ($Pa$)

A derived unit of pressure equal to $N/m^2$.

Hertz ($Hz$)

A derived unit of frequency equal to $1/s$.

Volt ($V$)

A derived unit of electronic potential equal to $J/C$.

Farad ($F$)

A derived unit of capacitance equal to $C/V$.

Coulomb ($C$)

A derived unit of charge equal to $s \cdot A$.

Radian ($rad$)

The supplementary unit used for measuring angles.

Candela ($cd$)

The SI base unit for luminous intensity.

Kelvin ($K$)

The SI base unit for thermodynamic temperature.

Mole ($mol$)

The SI base unit for the amount of a substance.