Physics Midterm Vocab

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Physics

42 Terms

1

Precision

the degree of exactness of a measurement

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2

Physics

a branch of science that involves the study of the physical world: energy, matter, and how they are related

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3

Accuracy

a description of how well the results of a measurement agree with the accepted value

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4

Motion diagram

a series of images showing the positions of a moving object at regular time intervals

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5

Particle model

a simplified version of a motion diagram in which the moving object is replaced by a series of single points

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6

Position-time graph

a graph that can be used to determine an object's velocity and position, as well as where and when two objects meet, by plotting the time data on a horizontal axis and the position data on a vertical axis

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7

Velocity-time graph

a graph that has velocity plotted on the vertical axis and time plotted on the horizontal axis; its slope is the acceleration of the object whose motion is described by the graph

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8

Average velocity

the ratio of an object's change in position to the time interval during which the change occurred; for uniform motion, it is the slope of the object's position-time graph

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9

Average speed

the distance traveled divided by the time taken to travel that distance; for uniform motion, it is the absolute value of the slope of the object's position-time graph

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10

Distance

the entire length of an object’s path, even if the object moves in many directions

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11

Displacement

a change in position having both magnitude and direction; is equal to the final position minus the initial position

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12

Acceleration

the rate at which the velocity of an object changes

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13

Time interval

the difference between two times

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14

Vector

a quantity that has magnitude and direction

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15

Scalar

a quantity, such as temperature or distance, that is just a number without direction

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16

Magnitude

a measure of size

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17

Force

a push or pull exerted on an object; has both direction and magnitude and may be a contact or a field force

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18

Contact force

a force between two objects in contact

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19

Field force

a force that works without touching anything

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20

Gravity

the force of attraction acting between all objects of matter

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21

Acceleration due to gravity

acceleration caused by gravitational attraction between objects; acceleration on Earth is -9.8 m/s2

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22

Normal force

the perpendicular contact force exerted by a surface on another object

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23

Net force

the vector sum of all the forces on an object

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24

Equilibrium

the condition in which the net force on an object is zero

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25

Tension

the specific name for the force exerted by a rope or a string

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26

Newton’s 1st Law

states that an object at rest will remain at rest and a moving object will continue moving in a straight line with constant speed, if and only if the net force acting on that object is zero

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27

Newton’s 2nd Law

states that the acceleration of an object is proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to the mass of the object being accelerated; f=ma

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28

Newton’s 3rd Law

states that all forces come in pairs and that the two forces in a pair act on different objects and are equal in strength and opposite in direction

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29

Friction

resistive force caused by two surfaces sliding across each other

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30

Free body diagram

a physical model that represents the forces acting on a system

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31

Weight

the gravitational force experienced by an object

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32

Resultant

a vector that represents the sum of two other vectors; it always points from the first vector's tail to the last vector's tip

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33

Measurement

a comparison between an unknown quantity and a standard

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34

Scientific law

a statement about what happens in nature and that seems to be true all the time

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35

Significant digits

the valid digits in a measurement

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36

Mass

the amount of matter in an object

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37

Uniform motion

travel equal distance in equal interval of time - no feeling of motion

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38

Non-uniform motion

travel unequal distance in equal interval of time - feeling of being push or pulled

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39

Kinetic friction

the force exerted on one surface by a second surface when the two surfaces rub against one another because one or both of the surfaces are moving

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40

Static friction

the force exerted on one surface by a second surface when there is no motion between the two surfaces

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41

Coefficient of Kinetic Friction

the slope of a line on a kinetic friction force v. normal force graph. Relates frictional force to normal force and depends on the two surfaces in contact

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42

Coefficient of Static Friction

a dimensionless constant depending on the two surfaces in contact. It is used to calculate the maximum static frictional force that needs to be overcome before motion begins

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