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The document provides definitions and explanations of key physics concepts including motion, mass, weight, energy, waves, light, electricity, nuclear physics, and space physics. It covers terms such as speed, velocity, momentum, work done, pressure, and various properties of waves and light. Additionally, it includes principles like conservation of energy and momentum, as well as phenomena like radioactive decay and fusion.

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Muhammad Nehan Yasjudan
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9 views15 pages

Untitled document-1

The document provides definitions and explanations of key physics concepts including motion, mass, weight, energy, waves, light, electricity, nuclear physics, and space physics. It covers terms such as speed, velocity, momentum, work done, pressure, and various properties of waves and light. Additionally, it includes principles like conservation of energy and momentum, as well as phenomena like radioactive decay and fusion.

Uploaded by

Muhammad Nehan Yasjudan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Physics Definitions

Motion
Speed: distance travelled per unit time

Velocity: change in displacement per unit time

Acceleration: change in velocity per unit time

Thinking distance: distance travelled during


reaction time of driver before brakes are applied

Braking distance: distance traveled while the


brakes are applied before the vehicle is brought to
rest
Stopping distance: total distance travelled in the
time it takes to stop a vehicle, thinking distance +
braking distance

Mass and Weight


Mass: measure of the quantity of matter in an object
at rest relative to the observer

Weight: the gravitational force on an object that has


mass

Gravitational field strength: force per unit mass

Centre of mass/gravity: the point on an object


where all the mass/weight seems to be concentrated
and where,
the point at which all the weight acts on an object
Density
Density: mass per unit volume

Force
Resultant force: change in momentum per unit time

Friction: a force that resists motion and produces


heating

Centripetal force: force acting towards the centre of


motion, perpendicular to the direction of motion,
which keeps a body moving in a circular path

Hooke’s law: the extension of a spring is


proportional to the force applied until the limit of
proportionality
Spring constant: force per unit extension

Limit of proportionality: the point at which


load-extension graph becomes non-linear,
the point at which a spring no longer follows Hooke’s
law,
the point at which the extension of a spring is no
longer proportional to force

Moment: force x perpendicular distance from pivot,


it is the measure of the turning effect of the force

Principle of moments: for an object in equilibrium,


the sum of clockwise moments about any point is
equal to the sum of anticlockwise moments about
the same point
Momentum
Momentum: mass x velocity

Impulse: force x time for which force acts

Conservation of momentum: the sum of the initial


momentum is equal to the sum of the final
momentum of objects in a collision given that no
external forces act on the system

Energy
Work done: force x distance moved in the direction
of the force

Conservation of energy: energy cannot be created


or destroyed, it can only be transferred from one
form to another
Renewable: a resource that is replaced at the same
rate as it is used up so it does not run out

Efficiency:
●​ratio of useful energy output to total energy input
●​ratio of useful power output to total power input

Power: work done per unit time,


energy transferred per unit time

Pressure
Pressure: force per unit area

Thermal Physics
Absolute zero: lowest possible temperature where
particles have least kinetic energy (0 kelvin, -273 °C)
Specific heat capacity: energy required to increase
the temperature of a unit mass by a unit temperature
(by 1°C)

Specific latent heat: energy required to change the


state of a unit mass without a change in temperature

Melting point: temperature at which a substance


change from solid to liquid

Boiling point: temperature at which a substance


changes from liquid to gas

Freezing point: temperature at which a substance


changes from a liquid to a solid

Condensing point: temperature at which a


substance changes from a gas to a liquid
Waves (general)
Wave motion: propagation of a disturbance with
transfer of energy without the transfer of matter
Transverse wave: wave in which particles oscillate
perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer, it
consists of peaks and troughs

Wavefront: an imaginary line that connects all the


points in a wave that are vibrating in phase

Longitudinal wave: wave in which particles


oscillate parallel to direction of energy transfer, it
consists of compressions and rarefactions​

Compression: region in a longitudinal wave where


particles are closer together than normal and the
pressure is higher than normal
Rarefaction: region in a longitudinal wave where
particles are further apart than normal and the
pressure is lower than normal

Time period: the time taken for one wavelength to


pass a point

Frequency: number of wavelengths that pass a


point per unit time

Wavelength: distance between two consecutive,


identical points on a wave

Amplitude: maximum distance from the mean


position

Light
Normal: line which is perpendicular to a surface
Angle of incidence: angle between incident ray and
the normal to a surface

Angle of reflection: angle between reflected ray


and the normal to a surface

Angle of refraction: angle between refracted ray


and the normal to a surface

Refractive index: sin(i)/sin(r), where i is the angle of


incidence and r is the angle of refraction

Critical angle: the angle of incidence which


produces an angle of refraction of 90° given that the
light ray is travelling from a denser medium to a less
dense medium
Total internal reflection: when a light ray strikes
the inner boundary of an object and all of the ray is
reflected back inside it, without any rays being
refracted, given that the light ray is travelling rom a
denser medium to a less dense medium

Lens
Focal length: distance between the optical centre of
a lens and its focal point/principal focus.

Principal axis: line through the optical center of a


lens at right angles to the lens

Focal point / Principal focus: the point on the


principal axis of a lens to which light rays parallel to
the principal axis converge, or appear to diverge
from
Linear magnification: ratio of image length to
object length

Sound
Ultrasound: sound wave with a frequency higher
than 20,000 Hz

Electricity​
Current: number of charges passing a point per unit
time

E.M.F. (electromotive force): the electrical work


done by a source in moving a unit charge around a
complete circuit

P.D. (potential difference): the work done by a unit


charge passing through a component
Ohm’s law: the current in a resistor is proportional
to the voltage across it given that temperature
remains constant

Kilowatt-hour: energy used by a 1 kilowatt electrical


appliance in 1 hour

Live wire: the wire that supplies current and e.m.f


from power stations to houses

Neutral wire: wire that provides a complete circuit


with the live wire

Nuclear Physics
Proton/Atomic number: the number of protons in
the nucleus of an atom
Nucleon/Mass number: the total number of protons
and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom

Radioactive decay: change in an unstable nucleus


that can result in the emission of α-particles
or β-particles and/or γ-radiation, these changes are
spontaneous and random

α-particle: helium nucleus, consists of 2 protons


and 2 neutrons

β-particles: high speed electron from the nucleus

γ-radiation: high frequency electromagnetic waves

Fusion: joining of smaller nuclei to form a larger


nuclei with the release of energy
Fission: splitting of a larger nucleus when it absorbs
neutrons to smaller daughter nuclei with the release
of energy and two or more neutrons

Half-life: the time taken for half the nuclei of that


isotope in any sample to decay

Space Physics
Average orbital speed: 2

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