Year 10 Physics - Revision.

MOTION — Essential Flashcards

Distance
Total path travelled.

Displacement
Straight‑line change from start to finish.

Speed
How fast something moves.
Speed = distance ÷ time.

Velocity
Speed with direction.

Acceleration
Change in velocity over time.
a = (v − u) ÷ t.

Displacement–time graph
Slope = velocity.

Ticker tape — fast
Dots far apart.

Ticker tape — slow
Dots close together.

Ticker tape — slowing
Dots get closer.

🟡 FORCES & NEWTON’S LAWS — Essential Flashcards

Newton’s First Law
Objects stay still or move at constant speed unless a force acts.

Newton’s Second Law
F = m × a.

Newton’s Third Law
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Balanced forces
No acceleration.

Unbalanced forces
Causes acceleration.

Weight
W = m × g.

Reaction force
Upward force balancing weight when stationary.

🟣 SPECTRAL CLASSES — Essential Flashcards

Spectral order
O B A F G K M (hottest → coolest).

O‑type
Blue, hottest.

B‑type
Blue‑white, very hot.

A‑type
White, hot.

F‑type
Yellow‑white.

G‑type
Yellow (Sun).

K‑type
Orange.

M‑type
Red, coolest.

Apparent magnitude
Brightness from Earth.

Absolute magnitude
Actual brightness.

🔴 H–R DIAGRAM — Essential Flashcards

Left side
Hot stars.

Right side
Cool stars.

Top
Bright stars.

Bottom
Dim stars.

Main sequence
Diagonal band; most stars.

Giants / Supergiants
Top‑right; cool but bright.

White dwarfs
Bottom‑left; hot but dim.

🟢 UNIVERSE & COSMOLOGY — Essential Flashcards

Big Bang Theory
Universe began from a single point; expanding.

Evidence for Big Bang
Red‑shift.

Steady State Theory
Universe always existed; matter created continuously.

Hubble’s Law
Further galaxies = more red‑shift.

Red‑shift
Light stretched → moving away.

Age of universe
~14 billion years.

Parsecs
Unit of distance.

🟠 EXPERIMENTAL SKILLS — Essential Flashcards

Gradient
rise ÷ run.

Distance–time graph gradient
Speed.

Fastest section
Steepest slope.

Slowest section
Flattest slope.

Line of best fit
Smooth line showing trend.

Good graph features
Labels, scale, accurate points, best‑fit line.