General Physics 1 Practice Flashcards

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering General Physics 1 concepts including Units, Kinematics, Dynamics, Work/Energy, Momentum, Rotational Motion, Fluids, and Thermodynamics.

Physical Quantity

Any number that is used to describe a physical phenomenon quantitatively, defined by specifying how it is measured or calculated.

Metric System

A system of units commonly used by scientists and engineers, officially known since 1960 as the International System of Units or SI units.

Fundamental Physical Quantities

The seven basic quantities in physics: length, mass, time, electric current, temperature, amount of substance, and luminous intensity.

Derived Units

Units made by mathematically combining the fundamental units.

Accuracy

How close a measurement is to the true value of the quantity that was measured.

Precision

How close a set of measurements of the same quantity agree with one another or the smallest increment a tool can measure.

Random Error

Errors that vary unpredictably from one measurement to another, primarily affecting precision due to instrument limitations or environmental factors.

Systematic Error

Predictable errors that are constant or proportional to the measurement, primarily influencing accuracy (e.g., offset errors or scale factor errors).

Scalar

A quantity that can be described by a single number (positive, negative, or zero) with units, such as mass or temperature.

Vector

A quantity that requires the specification of both a magnitude and a direction, such as force or displacement.

Displacement

A vector quantity representing the difference between an object's final position and its starting position: $\triangle x = x_{final} - x_{initial}$.

Average Speed

The total distance divided by the total time of travel: $s = \frac{d}{t}$.

Velocity

A vector quantity defined as the ratio of the displacement to the total time elapsed: $v = \frac{\triangle x}{t}$.

Acceleration

The rate at which velocity changes: $a = \frac{v_f - v_i}{t_f - t_i}$.

Jerk

The rate of change of the acceleration, represented as the slope of an acceleration graph: $jerk = \frac{\triangle a}{\triangle t}$.

Uniform Acceleration

Motion in a straight line where the change in velocity over a period of time remains constant.

Free Fall

A state of uniformly accelerated motion where an object falls under the influence of gravity alone, with $g = -9.80 \times 10^{0} \text{ m/s}^2$ near Earth's surface.

Projectile Motion

Form of motion where an object moves in a bilaterally symmetrical, parabolic path called a trajectory, influenced only by gravity after the initial launch.

Range ($d_x$)

The horizontal distance a projectile travels during its flight from the launch point to the target point.

Inertia

The property of matter where an object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by a force.

Inertial Frame of Reference

A reference frame in which an object stays at rest or at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force.

Newton's First Law (Law of Inertia)

States that when no net force acts on a body, the body either remains at rest or moves with constant velocity in a straight line (\text{∑} F = 0).

Free-Body Diagram (FBD)

A graphical illustration used to show the relative magnitude and direction of all contact and non-contact forces acting upon an object.

Kinetic Friction ($f_k$)

The kind of friction force that acts when a body slides over a surface, calculated as $f_k = \text{μ}_k F_N$.

Tension

A pulling force on a rope, string, or cable that is directed along the connector and away from the object it supports.

Normal Force ($F_N$)

A force exerted by a surface that is directed perpendicular to the two surfaces in contact.

Work

The product of the component of force in the direction of displacement and the magnitude of the displacement: $W = F d \text{ cos}(\text{θ})$.

Joule (J)

The SI unit of work, equal to 1 Newton times 1 meter ($1\text{ N} \times 1\text{ m}$).

Gravitational Potential Energy ($U_{grav}$)

Energy stored in an object due to its distance above Earth's surface, calculated as $U_{grav} = mgh$.

Elastic Potential Energy ($U_{el}$)

Energy gained by stretching or compressing an elastic material, calculated as $U_{el} = \frac{1}{2} k x^2$.

Conservative Force

A force that offers two-way conversion between kinetic and potential energies, where work done is independent of the path (e.g., gravity, spring force).

Turning Point

The position in one-dimensional motion where the velocity of a particle changes sign and its kinetic energy goes to zero.

Stable Equilibrium

A minimum position in a potential-energy curve where a particle feels a restoring force toward the position as it moves away.

Power

The rate of doing work, mathematically defined as $P = \frac{\triangle W}{\triangle t}$ and measured in Watts (W).

Center of Mass

The average position of all parts of a system, weighted according to their masses.

Momentum ($\textbf{p}$)

The product of an object's mass and its velocity: $\textbf{p} = m \textbf{v}$.

Impulse ($\textbf{J}$)

The product of the force and the time interval over which the force acts: $\textbf{J} = \textbf{F} \triangle t$.

Elastic Collision

A collision where the total kinetic energy of the system is conserved and objects rebound without lasting deformation.

Coefficient of Restitution ($e$)

A value describing the relative elasticity of a collision: $e = -\frac{v'_A - v'_B}{v_A - v_B}$.

Torque ($\text{τ}$)

The result of a force that causes an object to rotate about an axis: $\text{τ} = r F \text{ sin}(\text{θ})$.

Moment of Inertia ($I$)

Quantity obtained by multiplying the mass of each particle by the square of its distance from the axis of rotation: I = \text{∑} m_i r_i^2.

Newton's Law of Gravitation

States that every particle attracts every other particle with a force: $F_g = G \frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2}$.

Kepler's Third Law (Law of Harmonies)

States that the ratio of the squares of the periods of any two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their average distances from the sun.

Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)

Oscillatory motion where the acceleration of the body is proportional to and opposite its displacement from an equilibrium position.

Damping

The decrease in amplitude of an oscillation over time due to energy-dissipating mechanisms like friction.

Longitudinal Wave

A mechanical wave in which the displacement of the medium is in the same direction as, or opposite to, the direction of propagation.

Density ($\text{ρ}$)

The quantity of mass per unit volume: $\text{ρ} = \frac{m}{V}$.

Pascal's Principle

States that pressure exerted on a fluid is transmitted undiminished in a vessel acting in all directions to the walls.

Archimedes' Principle

States that the buoyant force on an object immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid.

Bernoulli's Principle

States that for a fluid in motion, as the velocity of the fluid increases, the pressure decreases.

Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics

If two systems are in thermal equilibrium with a third system, then they are in thermal equilibrium with each other.

Specific Heat Capacity ($c$)

The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of $1.0\text{ kg}$ of a substance by $1.0\text{ °C}$.

Ideal Gas Equation

Combines gas laws into $PV = nRT$, where $R$ is the universal gas constant.

First Law of Thermodynamics

A statement of energy conservation for thermodynamic systems: $\triangle U = Q - W$.

Entropy ($S$)

A measure of the disorder of a system; for a reversible process, $\triangle S = \frac{\triangle Q}{T}$.