Physical Science Second Semester Test Study Guide Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Modules 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 25 for Physical Science.

Conductors

Materials that allow electric charges to flow through them easily.

Insulators

Materials that do not allow electric charges to flow through them easily.

Alternating Current

An electric current that reverses its direction in a regular pattern.

Direct Current

An electric current that flows in only one direction.

Series Circuit

An electric circuit with only one branch for the current to flow through.

Parallel Circuit

An electric circuit that contains two or more branches for current to flow through.

Electromagnet

A temporary magnet created by wrapping a wire coil, carrying a current, around an iron core.

Electric Motor

A device that changes electrical energy into mechanical energy.

Generator

A device that uses electromagnetic induction to transform mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Kinetic Theory

An explanation of how particles in matter behave, stating that all matter is composed of small particles in constant, random motion.

Thermal Energy

The total energy of the particles in a material, including both kinetic and potential energy.

Temperature

A measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in an object.

Buoyancy

The ability of a fluid, a liquid or a gas, to exert an upward force on an object immersed in it.

Pascal's Principle

The principle stating that pressure applied to a fluid is transmitted throughout the fluid.

Bernoulli's Principle

The principle stating that as the velocity of a fluid increases, the pressure exerted by the fluid decreases.

Viscosity

A fluid's resistance to flow.

Charles's Law

The gas law stating that the volume of a gas increases with increasing temperature, provided the pressure does not change: $\frac{V_1}{T_1} = \frac{V_2}{T_2}$.

Boyle's Law

The gas law stating that if you decrease the volume of a container of gas and hold the temperature constant, the pressure from the gas will increase: $P_1V_1 = P_2V_2$.

Element

A substance made up of atoms that are all alike.

Pure Substance

A type of matter with a fixed composition, such as an element or a compound.

Mixture

Matter composed of two or more substances that can be separated by physical means.

Physical Change

A change in size, shape, or state of matter in which the identity of the substance remains the same.

Chemical Change

A change of one substance to another.

Law of Conservation of Mass

The law stating that the mass of all substances that are present before a chemical change equals the mass of all the substances that remain after the change.

Isotopes

Atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons.

Periodic Table Group

A vertical column in the periodic table; elements in the same group often share similar chemical properties.

Periodic Table Period

A horizontal row of elements in the periodic table.

Metals

Elements that are shiny, malleable, ductile, and good conductors of heat and electricity.

Nonmetals

Elements that are usually gases or brittle solids at room temperature and are poor conductors of heat and electricity.

Metalloids

Elements that have some properties of metals and some properties of nonmetals.

Valence Electrons

Electrons in the outer energy level of an atom that determine how the atom will bond.

Chemical Formula

A combination of chemical symbols and numbers to represent a substance and the ratio of atoms it contains.

Electron Dot Diagram

A representation of an atom that uses the symbol of the element and dots to represent the electrons in the outer energy level.

Chemical Bond

The force that holds atoms together in a compound.

Ionic Bond

The force of attraction between the opposite charges of the ions in an ionic compound, involving the transfer of electrons.

Covalent Bond

The attraction that forms between atoms when they share electrons.

Oxidation Number

A positive or negative number that indicates how many electrons an atom has gained, lost, or shared to become stable.

Polar Molecule

A molecule that has a slightly positive end and a slightly negative end although the overall molecule is neutral.

Nonpolar Molecule

A molecule in which electrons are shared equally in bonds and does not have oppositely charged ends.

Chemical Reaction

A process in which one or more substances are changed into new substances.

Continental Drift

The hypothesis that all continents were once connected in a single landmass that broke apart and drifted to their current positions.

Seafloor Spreading

The process by which new seafloor is formed when magma is forced upward toward the surface at a mid-ocean ridge.

Plate Tectonics

The theory that Earth's crust and upper mantle are broken into plates that float and move around on a plastic-like layer of the mantle.

Seismic Waves

Waves generated by an earthquake that travel through Earth.

Epicenter

The point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's focus.