Year 10 Physics Motion and Energy Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering Year 10 Physics topics including kinematics, Newton's laws of motion, energy conservation, efficiency, and scientific inquiry skills.

Scalar Quantity

A physical quantity that is fully described by its magnitude alone, without direction.

Vector Quantity

A physical quantity that possesses both magnitude and direction, represented using vector diagrams.

Distance

A scalar quantity measuring the total path length traveled by an object during its motion.

Displacement

A vector quantity representing the overall change in position of an object from its initial position.

Speed

A scalar quantity representing the rate of distance covered over time, calculated as $\text{speed} = \frac{d}{t}$.

Velocity

A vector quantity measuring the rate of change of displacement over time, calculated as $v = \frac{s}{t}$.

Initial Velocity

The velocity of an object at the start of a measured time interval, represented by $v_i$ or $u$.

Final Velocity

The velocity of an object at the end of a measured time interval, represented by $v_f$ or $v$.

Acceleration

The rate of change of velocity over time, measured in units of $\text{m\,s}^{-2}$ and calculated as $a = \frac{v - u}{t}$.

Gradient

The slope of a line on a motion graph; represents speed on a distance-time graph, velocity on a displacement-time graph, and acceleration on a velocity-time graph.

Force

A push or a pull acting on an object, measured in units of Newtons ($\text{N}$).

Inertia

The tendency of an object to resist any change in its state of motion, which directly depends on its mass.

Newton's First Law of Motion

The law stating that an object will remain at rest or continue moving at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an unbalanced net force.

Newton's Second Law of Motion

The law stating that an object accelerates when subjected to an unbalanced force, described by the formula $F = ma$.

Newton's Third Law of Motion

The law stating that for every action force, there is an equal and opposite reaction force acting as an action-reaction pair.

Net Force

The overall resultant force acting on an object when all parallel or perpendicular forces are combined.

Free Body Diagram

A diagram that uses labelled arrows to show the direction and relative magnitude of all forces acting on an object.

Mass

The quantitative measure of the amount of matter in an object, which determines its resistance to acceleration.

Weight Force

The gravitational force exerted on an object's mass, calculated using the formula $F_{\text{weight}} = mg$.

Work

The energy transferred when a force causes an object to displace, calculated as $W = Fs$.

Gravitational Potential Energy

The stored energy an object possesses due to its position in a gravitational field, calculated as $P.E = mgh$.

Kinetic Energy

The energy an object possesses due to its motion, calculated as $K.E = \frac{1}{2}mv^2$.

Law of Conservation of Energy

The fundamental principle stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed, maintaining total energy in a system.

Efficiency

The percentage of energy input that is successfully converted into useful energy output, calculated as $\text{Efficiency} = \left(\frac{\text{output}}{\text{input}}\right) \times 100$.

Sankey Diagram

A visual tool used to represent energy inputs, useful energy outputs, and energy losses/waste within a system.

Independent Variable

The specific variable in an experiment that is deliberately changed or manipulated by the investigator.

Dependent Variable

The variable being measured or tested in an investigation to observe the effect of changing the independent variable.

Controlled Variables

Variables that are kept constant during an investigation to ensure the experimental results are valid and fair.

Hypothesis

A proposed testable prediction or explanation for the relationship between variables in an investigation.

Validity

The extent to which an investigation accurately measures what it intends to measure by controlling extraneous variables.

Reliability

The degree to which an experimental method produces reproducible and consistent results across multiple repeated trials.