AS Level Physics Terms & Definitions

1. Base unit - stand alone units from which other units are derived
2. Derived unit - products or quotients of the base units
3. Scalar quantity - quantity that has magnitude only
4. Vector quantity - quantity that has magnitude and direction
5. Systematic error - error that causes the readings to have a constant deviation from either side of
the actual reading.
6. Random error - error that causes the readings to scatter around the mean value
7. Accuracy - the degree of agreement between result of a measurement and true value of quantity.
OR How close a reading is to its true value.
8. Precision - the degree of agreement of repeated measurements of the same quantity. OR How
wide or narrow the range of the measurement values.
9. Distance is the total path travelled.
10. Displacement is the shortest distance between a start point and an end point.
11. Speed is total distance travelled divided by time taken
12. Velocity - rate of change of displacement
13. Acceleration - rate of change of velocity
14. Mass - property of a body resisting changes in motion
15. Newton's 1st Law - A body continues at rest or constant velocity unless acted upon by a resultant
force
16. Newton's 2nd Law - The rate of change of momentum is proportional to the resultant force and it
occurs in the same direction as the force.
17. Newton's 3rd Law - If body A exerts a force on body B, body B exerts a force of equal magnitude on
body A but opposite in direction.
18. Linear momentum - product of mass and velocity
19. Elastic collision – A type of collision where both total momentum and total kinetic energy are
conserved. The relative speed of approach is equal to the relative speed of separation
20. Principle of conservation of momentum - total momentum of an isolated system of bodies remains
constant, provided there is no resultant external force
21. Force - rate of change of momentum
22. Conditions for equilibrium - zero resultant force in any direction, zero resultant moment about any
point
23. Centre of gravity - The point on a body where weight of the object is considered to act on
24. Moment/torque - force x perpendicular distance from the pivot (to the line of action of the force)
25. Couple - a pair of parallel forces that are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction, and they are
not in line.
26. Torque of a couple - product of one of the forces and the perpendicular distance between the pair
of forces
27. Work done - force x distance moved in the direction of the force
28. Energy - the ability to do work
29. Power - the rate of work done
30. Kinetic energy - energy an object has due to its motion
31. Gravitational potential energy - energy a mass stored due to its position in a gravitational field
32. Elastic potential energy - energy store in a body due to its deformation
33. Efficiency - useful output power divided by input power
34. Density - mass divided by volume
35. Pressure - force x area normal to the force
36. Upthrust – the resultant force on a submerged object due to pressure difference between the top
and bottom of the object
37. Viscous force - the resistance encountered by an object moving through a fluid (liquid or gas)
38. Hooke's Law - extension is directly proportional to the force, provided that the limit of
proportionality is not exceeded
39. Stress - force per unit cross-sectional area
40. Strain - change in length per unit original length
41. Young modulus - stress divided by strain
42. Progressive wave – the transfer of energy as a result of oscillations (a type of wave that propagates
through a medium or space, transferring energy from one location to another without displacing
the medium itself)
43. stationary wave - a wave pattern that appears to remain in a fixed position, resulting from the
interference of two waves traveling in opposite directions with the same frequency and amplitude.
44. Amplitude - maximum displacement from equilibrium position
45. Wavelength - minimum distance between two points having the same phase
46. Frequency - number of oscillations per unit time
47. Period - time taken by a particle to complete one oscillation
48. Intensity - rate of energy transfer per unit area
49. Transverse wave - a wave on which oscillations of particles are perpendicular to the direction of
propagation of the wave
50. Longitudinal wave - a wave on which oscillations of particles are parallel to the direction of
propagation of the wave
51. Diffraction - spreading of a wave into its geometrical shadow when it passes through a slit
52. Principle of superposition - when two or more waves meet at a point, the resultant displacement is
equal to the sum of the individual displacement of each wave
53. Coherent sources - sources of wave with constant phase difference
54. Polarisation – Oscillations are in a single direction, perpendicular to the direction of propagation
55. Charge - product of current and time
56. coulomb - ampere second
57. volt - joule / coulomb
58. ohm - volt / ampere
59. Potential difference - energy per unit charge converted from electrical energy to other forms of
energy
60. e.m.f - energy per unit charge converted from other forms of energy to electrical energy
61. Resistance - ratio of p.d. to current
62. Kirchhoff's 1st Law - Algebraic sum of the currents at a junction is zero
63. Kirchhoff's 1st Law - sum of currents into a junction = sum of currents out of the junction
64. Kirchhoff's 2nd Law - In a closed loop of circuit, the algebraic sum of the potential difference is
equal to the algebraic sum of the e.m.f
65. Isotopes - nuclei of a particular element with the same number of protons, but different number of
neutrons
66. Fundamental particle – particle that cannot be split into smaller parts. All quarks and leptons are
fundamental particles. Quarks are up, down, top, bottom, charm, strange and their antiparticles.
Example of leptons are electron, positron, neutrino and antineutrino.
67. a-particle à Helium nucleus, b- à electron, b+ àpositron
68. Hadron – Class of heavy particles made up of quarks held together by strong nuclear force. Hadron
consists of baryon and meson
69. Baryon – A type of hadron particle that is made up of three quarks (e.g. proton and neutron)
70. Meson – A type of hadron particle that is made up of one quark and one antiquark