Heat, Light & Sound, Electrical Energy, Materials, and Plate Tectonics

conduction

the process by which heat energy is transmitted through collisions between neighboring atoms or molecules.

conductor

a substance or material that allows electricity to flow through it.

convection

the transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid (liquid or gas) between areas of different temperature.

insulator

Materials that do not allow electricity to pass through them

radiation

Radiation is energy that comes from a source and travels through space at the speed of light.

temperature

the measure of hotness or coldness expressed in terms of any of several scales, including Fahrenheit and Celsius

thermometer

A thermometer is an instrument that measures temperature.

sound

Sound is a pressure wave which is created by a vibrating object. This vibrations set particles in the sur- rounding medium (typical air) in vibrational motion, thus transporting energy through the medium.

transverse

transverse wave, motion in which all points on a wave oscillate along paths at right angles (perpendiculat) to the direction of the wave's advance.

longitudinal wave

Longitudinal waves are waves where the displacement of the medium is in the same direction as the direction of the travelling wave.

compression

Compression is a region in a longitudinal wave where the particles are closest together.

rarefaction

A rarefaction is a region in a longitudinal wave where the particles are furthest apart.

wavelength

It is simply the size of a wave, measured from one crest to the next.

frequency

Frequency, sometimes referred to as pitch, is the number of times per second that a sound pressure wave repeats itself

hertz (Hz)

In practice, this means that a hertz is equivalent 1 waveform cycle per second,

decibel (dB)

The decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit used to measure sound level. It is also widely used in electronics, signals and communication. The dB is a logarithmic way of describing a ratio. The ratio may be power, sound pressure, voltage or intensity or several other things.

echo

echo. [ ĕk′ō ] A repeated sound that is caused by the reflection of sound waves from a surface.

luminous

Luminous objects are which emit light by their own. Examples: - Sun, flame of a burning candle.

refraction

Refraction is the bending of light (it also happens with sound, water and other waves) as it passes from one transparent substance into another. This bending by refraction makes it possible for us to have lenses, magnifying glasses, prisms and rainbows. Even our eyes depend upon this bending of light.

reflection

Reflection of light (and other forms of electromagnetic radiation) occurs when the waves encounter a surface or other boundary that does not absorb the energy of the radiation and bounces the waves away from the surface.

concave

A concave lens causes light rays to diverge before they strike the lens of the eye so that the image is formed on the retina. A concave lens is a lens that diverges a straight light beam from the source to a diminished, upright, virtual image.

convex

Convex lenses refract light inward toward a focal point. Light rays passing through the edges of a convex lens are bent most, whereas light passing through the lens's center remain straight. Convex lenses are used to correct farsighted vision. Convex lenses are the only lenses that can form real images.

normal

An imaginary line forming a right angle with the tangent to a curved surface at a particular point. It is used as a basis for determining angles of incidence, reflection, and refraction.

Transluscent

When an object is translucent it allows a lot of light to pass through. This amount of light makes the shadow very light and similar in color to the original light source.

Transparent

having the property of transmitting rays of light through its substance so that bodies situated beyond or behind can be distinctly seen. admitting the passage of light through interstices.

Opaque

Some objects are opaque. This means that no light is able to pass through them. For example, you are opaque. Like you did with the paper, hold your hand up to a light source.

AC (alternating current)

a type of electrical current, in which the direction of the flow of electrons switches back and forth at regular intervals or cycles.

ammeter

instrument for measuring either direct (DC) or alternating (AC) electric current, in amperes.
Placed in series

ampere

a measure of the amount of electric charge in motion per unit time ― that is, electric current.

battery

a device that stores chemical energy and converts it to electrical energy.

electric circuit

a complete circular path that electricity flows through.

circuit breaker

switching device which interrupts the faulty current and performs the function of a switch thus protecting the electrical system from damage.

conductor

a substance or material that allows electricity to flow through it. I

current

the rate at which electrons flow past a point in a complete electrical circuit.

DC (direct current)

electrical current which flows consistently in one direction.

earth

defines the electrical potential of the conductors relative to that of the Earth's conductive surface.

fuse

a small, thin conductor designed to melt and separate into two pieces for the purpose of breaking a circuit in the event of excessive current.

insulator

a material in which electric current does not flow freely

Law of Conservation of Energy

Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed. Although, it may be transformed from one form to another.

load

any component of a circuit that consumes power or energy.

parallel circuit

one that has two or more paths for the electricity to flow, the loads are parallel to each other.

resistance

a force that counteracts the flow of current.

resistor

an electrical component that limits or regulates the flow of electrical current in an electronic circuit.

ohm

The SI derived unit used to measure the electrical resistance of a material or an electrical device.

series circuit

one in which every component is arranged in a series connection.

voltmeter

an instrument that measures the voltage or potential difference between two points of an electronic or electrical circuit.
Placed in Parallel

volts

the pressure from an electrical circuit's power source that pushes charged electrons (current) through a conducting loop, enabling them to do work such as illuminating a light.

proton

a subatomic particle with a positive electric charge.

neutron

one of the three subatomic particles that make up an atom. neutral charge

electron

a negatively charged subatomic particle that can be either bound to an atom or free (not bound).

nucleus

a positively charged region at the center of the atom.

molecule

two or more atoms connected by chemical bonds, which form the smallest unit of a substance that retains the composition and properties of that substance.

lattice

the symmetrical three-dimensional structural arrangements of atoms, ions or molecules (constituent particle) inside a crystalline solid as points.

compound

a substance made up of two or more different chemical elements combined in a fixed ratio.

periodic

trends or recurring variations in element properties with increasing atomic number.

Mendeleev

Russian chemist who developed the periodic classification of the elements.

properties

the ability of a substance to undergo a specific chemical change.

metalloid

chemical elements whose physical and chemical properties fall in between the metal and non-metal categories.

transition

elements that have partially filled d orbitals

alkali

any base substance that dissolves in water to produce OH (hydroxide) ions and neutralise acids.

alkaline

a chemical that is basic

configuration

the spatial arrangement of atoms in a molecule.

acid

any hydrogen-containing substance that is capable of donating a proton (hydrogen ion) to another substance.

ion

a chemical species which holds a positive or negative charge of some magnitude.

anion

an ion with negative charge, meaning it has more electrons than protons.

cation

an ion with positive charge, which means it has more protons (positively-charged particles) than electrons (negatively-charged particles).

malleable

he ability for a metal or metal alloy to be formed into a variety of shapes.

ductile

the physical property of the metal which means if we pull the metal it's going to stretch rather than break.

conductor

the materials or substances which allow electricity to flow through them.

brittle

a material's tendency to easily break, crack, or snap.

lustre

a shiny property of metals.

halogen

the chemical elements that are present in the 17th group of periodic table

synthetic fibres

man made only from polymers found in natural gas and the by-products of petroleum.

natural fibres

term used to refer to the fibres that are obtained from (or are produced by) animals and plants.

carbon fibres

material consisting of, thin crystalline filaments of carbon, used as a strengthening material, especially in resins and ceramics.

continental drift

the hypothesis that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed.

Pangaea

a supercontinent that incorporated almost all the landmasses on Earth.

Laurasia

one of the two ancient supercontinents produced by the first split of the even larger supercontinent Pangaea about 200 million years ago, comprising what are now North America, Greenland, Europe, and Asia (excluding India): See also Gondwanaland, Pangaea.

Gondwanaland

one of the two ancient supercontinents produced by the first split of the even larger supercontinent Pangaea about 200 million years ago,

rift

The splitting apart of a single tectonic plate into two or more tectonic plates separated by divergent plate boundaries.

trench

Long, narrow depressions on the seafloor that form at the boundary of tectonic plates where one plate is pushed, or subducts, beneath another.

subduction

The process that occurs when two tectonic plates meet at convergent boundaries, and one of the plates moves under the other one due to gravity and differences in density.

tectonic

a branch of geology concerned with the structure of the crust of a planet (as earth) or moon and especially with the formation of folds and faults in it.

asthenosphere

a zone of a celestial body (such as the earth) which lies beneath the lithosphere and within which the material is believed to yield readily to persistent stresses.

convection

he property of unevenly-heated (heated from one direction) fluids (like water, air, ductile solids) in which warmer, less dense parts within the fluid rise while cooler, denser parts sink.

lithosphere

the solid, outer part of Earth.

plates

massive slab of solid rock made up of Earth's lithosphere (crust and upper mantle)

ridge

a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides.

crust

the outermost shell of a terrestrial planet.

diverging boundary

Where two plates move away from each other.

converging boundary

places where two or more plates move toward each other.

transform boundary

causes a fault between two plates of the lithosphere, which will slide past one another.

volcano

openings, or vents where lava, tephra (small rocks), and steam erupt onto the Earth's surface.

lava

magma (molten rock) emerging as a liquid onto Earth's surface.

magma

(molten rock before emerging as a liquid onto Earth's surface.

earthquake

the sudden release of strain energy in the Earth's crust, resulting in waves of shaking that radiate outwards from the earthquake source.

seismic

pertaining to, of the nature of, or caused by an earthquake or vibration of the earth, whether due to natural or artificial causes.

focus

The place inside Earth's crust where an earthquake originates.

epicentre

The location on the surface of the Earth directly above where the earthquake starts.

seismogram

The recording of the ground shaking at the specific location of the instrument.