Gravity and Weight Lecture Review

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the fundamental concepts of forces, gravity, mass, weight, and terminal velocity based on the lecture notes.

Force

A vector quantity that can change the motion of an object or its shape, represented by an arrow indicating size and direction.

Gravity

A non-contact force by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its centre.

Mass

A measure of the amount of material in an object or substance, which remains the same everywhere in the universe and uses the standard unit of the kilogram ($kg$).

Weight

A force representing the measure of the force of gravity pulling an object towards the centre of a large object like a star, planet, or moon.

Weight Formula

$$\text{Weight} = mass \times gravity$$

Air Resistance

An example of fluid friction where the air in the atmosphere pushes against all falling objects.

Terminal Velocity

The constant maximum velocity reached by a falling object when the air resistance pushing against it equals the force of gravity pulling it down.

Newton ($N$)

The unit of measure for weight and force; for example, a person with a mass of $50\,kg$ has a weight of $500\,N$ on Earth.

Non-contact Force

A force, such as gravity, where one object does not need to touch another object in order to exert a force on it.

Terminal Speed

The maximum constant speed reached by a falling body when the force of gravity pulling it down is balanced by the air resistance pushing against it.