Forces & Motion: Key Concepts

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts from the lecture on Forces and Motion in Physics, helping students understand fundamental definitions and relationships.

Scalar

A quantity that has magnitude only, such as speed, distance, mass, and energy.

Vector

A quantity that has both magnitude and direction, such as velocity, displacement, force, and acceleration.

Distance

A scalar quantity representing the total length of a journey.

Displacement

A vector quantity that represents the straight line from the starting point to the endpoint, including direction.

Acceleration

A measure of how quickly an object is speeding up or changing its velocity.

Instantaneous speed

The speed of an object at a specific point in time, not the overall average.

Centripetal force

A force that causes objects to follow a circular path, acting towards the center of the circle.

Newton's 1st Law

An object will remain stationary or moving at a constant velocity unless acted upon by a resultant force.

Momentum

The product of an object's mass and velocity, indicating the quantity of motion.

Stopping distance

The total distance a vehicle travels from when the driver sees a hazard until it comes to a complete stop.