Grade 10 Physical Science List of Laws and Definitions, per Exam Guidelines 2015

Paper 1: Physics
Mechanics
• Scalar: Physical quantity with magnitude only.
• Vector: Physical quantity with magnitude and direction.
• Resultant or net vector: Single vector having the same effect as two or more vectors together.
• Frame of reference: Coordinate system used to represent and measure properties of objects, such as
position.
• One-dimensional motion: Motion along a straight line.
• Distance: Total path length travelled. (scalar)
• Displacement: Difference in position in space. (vector)
• Average speed: Total distance travelled per total time. (scalar)
• Average velocity: Rate of change of position. (vector)
• Instantaneous velocity: Rate of change in position, i.e. the displacement divided by a very small time
interval or the velocity at a particular time. (vector)
• Instantaneous speed: Magnitude of the instantaneous velocity. (scalar)
• Uniform or constant velocity: Motion at constant velocity, i.e. no acceleration. (vector)
• Acceleration: Rate of change of velocity. (vector)
• Uniform or constant acceleration: The velocity of an object changes with the same amount during each
time interval. (vector)
• Gravitational potential energy: Energy an object has because of its position in the gravitational field relative
to some reference point. (scalar)
• Kinetic energy: Energy an object possesses as a result of its motion. (scalar)
• Mechanical energy: Sum of the gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy. (scalar)
• Law of the conservation of energy: The total energy of an isolated system remains constant.
• Isolated system: System that does not interact with its surroundings, i.e. there is no transfer of energy or
mass between the system and the surroundings.
• Principle of conservation of mechanical energy: The total mechanical energy in an isolated system
remains constant.

Waves, Light & Sound

• Pulse: Single disturbance in a medium.
• Transverse pulse: Pulse in which the particles of the medium move at right angles to the direction of motion
of the pulse.
• Amplitude: Maximum disturbance of a particle from its rest (equilibrium) position.
• Principle of superposition: Algebraic sum of the amplitudes of two pulses that occupy the same space at
the same time.
• Constructive interference: Phenomenon where the crest of one pulse overlaps with the crest of another to
produce a pulse of increased amplitude.
• Destructive interference: Phenomenon where the crest of one pulse overlaps with the trough of another,
resulting in a pulse of reduced amplitude.
• Transverse wave: Wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate at right angles to the direction of
motion of the wave. A transverse wave is a succession of transverse pulses.
• Wavelength: Distance between two successive points in phase.
• Frequency: Number of wave pulses per second.
• Period: Time taken for one complete wave pulse.
• Crest: Highest point (peak) on a wave.
• Trough: Lowest point on a wave.
• In phase: Two points in phase are separated by a whole number multiple of complete wavelengths.
• Out of phase: Points that are not separated by a whole number multiple of complete wavelengths.
• Wave speed: Distance travelled by a point on a wave per unit time.
• Longitudinal wave: Wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate parallel to the direction of motion of
the wave.
• Compression: Region of high pressure in a longitudinal wave.
• Rarefaction: Region of low pressure in a longitudinal wave.
• Photon: Packet of energy found in light.
Electricity & Magnetism
• Magnetic field: Region in space where a magnet or ferromagnetic material will experience a force (non-
contact).
• Ferromagnetic materials: Materials that are strongly attracted by magnets and are easily magnetised.
Examples are iron, cobalt, nickel and their alloys.
• Non-contact force: A force exerted on an object without touching the object.
• Geographic north/south pole: Point in the northern/southern hemisphere where the rotation axis of the
Earth meets the surface.
• Magnetic North Pole: The point where the magnetic field lines of the Earth enter the Earth. It is the direction
in which the north pole of a compass points.
• Magnetic South Pole: The point where the magnetic field lines of the Earth leave the Earth.
• Aurora Borealis/Australis (Northern/Southern Lights): An atmospheric phenomenon consisting of bands
of light at the north/south pole caused by charged solar particles following the Earth's magnetic lines of force.
• Magnetic storm: A disturbance in the Earth's outer magnetosphere, usually caused by streams of charged
particles given off by solar flares.
• Magnetosphere: A region surrounding the Earth (extending from about one hundred to several thousand
kilometres above the surface) in which charged particles are trapped and their behaviour is dominated by the
Earth's magnetic field.
• Principle of conservation of charge: The net charge of an isolated system remains constant during any
physical process e.g. two charges making contact and then separating.
• Principle of charge quantization: All charges in the universe consist of an integer multiple of the charge on
one electron, i.e. 1,6 x 10-19C.
• Polarisation: The partial or complete polar separation of positive and negative electric charge in a system.
• Potential difference across the ends of a conductor: Energy transferred per unit electric charge flowing
through it.
• Electromotive force (emf): Work done per unit charge by the source (battery). It is equal to the potential
difference measured across the terminals of a battery when no charges are flowing in the circuit.
• Terminal potential difference: Voltage measured across the terminals of a battery when charges are
flowing in the circuit.
• Current intensity/strength: Rate of flow of charge.
• Conventional current: From positive to negative.
• Real current: From negative to positive.
• Resistance: Ratio of the potential difference across a resistor to the current through the resistor.
 Paper 2: Chemistry
Matter & Materials
• Brittle: Hard but likely to break easily.
• Malleable: Ability to be hammered or pressed into shape without breaking or cracking.
• Ductile: Ability to be stretched into a wire.
• Density: The mass per unit volume of a substance.
• Homogeneous mixture: Mixture of uniform composition and in which all components are in the same phase.
• Heterogeneous mixture: Mixture of non-uniform composition and of which the components can be easily
identified.
• Pure substance: Substance that cannot be separated into simpler components by physical methods.
• Element: Pure substance consisting of one type of atom.
• Compound: Pure substance consisting of two or more different elements bonded together.
• Electrical conductor: Material that allows the flow of charge.
• Semiconductor: Substance that can conduct electricity under some conditions, but not others, making it a
good medium for the control of electrical current.
• Electrical insulator: Material that prevents the flow of charge.
• Thermal conductor: Material that allows heat to pass through easily.
• Thermal insulator: Material that does not allow heat to pass through it.
• Diffusion: The movement of atoms or molecules from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower
concentration.
• Brownian motion: The random movement of microscopic particles suspended in a liquid or gas, caused by
collisions between these particles and the molecules of the liquid or gas.
• Condensation: The process during which a gas or vapour changes to a liquid, either by cooling or by being
subjected to increased pressure.
• Boiling point: The temperature of a liquid at which its vapour pressure equals the external (atmospheric)
pressure.
• Evaporation: The change of a liquid into a vapour at any temperature below the boiling point. (Note:
Evaporation takes place at the surface of a liquid, where molecules with the highest kinetic energy are able to
escape. When this happens, the average kinetic energy of the liquid is lowered, and its temperature
decreases.
• Sublimation: The process during which a solid changes directly into a gas without passing through an
intermediate liquid phase.
• Freezing: The process during which a liquid changes to a solid by the removal of heat.
• Freezing point: The temperature at which a liquid changes to a solid by the removal of heat.
• Melting: The process during which a solid changes to a liquid by the application of heat.
• Melting point: The temperature at which a solid, given sufficient heat, becomes a liquid.
• Kinetic Molecular Theory:
o Matter consists of small particles.
o The particles are in constant motion.
o There are forces of attraction between the particles.
o Particles collide (with the sides of the container and each other) and exert pressure.
o The temperature of a substance is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles.
o A phase change may occur when the energy of particles changes.
• Atomic number: Number of protons in an atom of an element.
• Isotopes: Atoms of the same element having the same number of protons, but different numbers of
neutrons.
• Relative atomic mass: Mass of a particle on a scale where an atom of carbon-12 has a mass of 12.
• Orbitals: Most probable regions in space where electrons that have the specific energy corresponding to the
orbital are found.
• Hund's rule: No electron pairing in p-orbitals until there is at least one electron in each of them.
• Pauli's Exclusion Principle: Maximum of two electrons per orbital provided that they spin in opposite
directions.
• Groups: Vertical columns in the periodic table. Some groups have names, e.g. alkali metals (group I), earth-
alkaline metals (group II), halogens (group 17 or VII) and noble gases (group18 or VIII).
• Periods: Horizontal rows in the periodic table.
• Atomic radius: Radius of an atom, i.e. the mean distance from the nucleus to the border of the outer orbital.
• Ionisation energy: Energy needed per mole to remove an electron(s) from an atom in the gaseous phase.
• First ionisation energy: Energy needed per mole to remove the first electron from an atom in the gaseous
phase.
• Electron affinity: The energy released when an electron is attached to an atom or molecule to form a
negative ion.
• Electronegativity: A measure of the tendency of an atom in a molecule to attract bonding electrons.
• Chemical bond: Mutual attraction between two atoms resulting from the simultaneous attraction between
their nuclei and the outer electrons. (The energy of the combined atoms is lower than that of the individual
atoms resulting in higher stability.)
• Covalent bond: Sharing of electrons between atoms to form molecules.
• Molecule: A group of two or more atoms that are covalently bonded and that functions as a unit.
• Ionic bonding: Transfer of electrons to form cations (positive ions) and anions (negative ions) that attract
each other to form a formula-unit.
• Formula-unit: Most simple empirical formula that represents the compound.
• Ion: Charged particle made from an atom by the loss or gain of electrons.
• Anion (negative ion): Charged particle made from an atom by the gain of electrons.
• Cation (positive ion): Charged particle made from an atom by the loss of electrons.
• Crystal lattice: An orderly three-dimensional arrangement of particles (ions, molecules, or atoms) in a solid
structure.
• Metallic bonding: Bond between positive ions and delocalised valence electrons in a metal.
• Valence electrons or outer electrons: Electrons in the highest energy level of an atom in which there are
electrons.
• Atoms: Smallest particles of which all elements are made.

Chemical Change
• Physical change: Change in which:
o No new substances are formed.
o Energy changes are small in relation to chemical changes.
o Mass, numbers of atoms and molecules as being conserved.
• Chemical change: Change in which:
o New chemical substances are formed.
o Energy changes are much larger than those of the physical change.
▪ Endothermic reaction: Energy is absorbed during the reaction.
▪ Exothermic reaction: Energy is released during the reaction.
o Mass and atoms are conserved, but the number of molecules is not.
• Polar molecule (dipole): Molecule having two oppositely charged poles.
• Hydration: The process in which ions are surrounded with water molecules.
• Solubility: The maximum amount of a substance (the solute) that may be dissolved in another (the solvent).
• Solute: The dissolved substance in a solution – usually the substance present in lesser amount.
• Solution: A homogenous mixture of two or more substances.
• Solvent: The substance in a solution in which the solute is dissolved - usually the substance present in
greater amount.
• Aqueous solution: Solution in which the solvent is water.
• Dissociation: Process in which solid ionic crystals are broken up into ions when dissolved in water.
• Conductivity: Ability of a material to conduct electricity.
• Electrolyte: Solution that conducts electricity through the movement of ions.
• Precipitation reactions: Reactions in which an insoluble product forms when solutions are mixed.
• Gas-forming reactions: Reactions in which the driving force is the formation of a gas as one of the
products.
• Acid-base or neutralisation reactions: Reactions in which a hydrogen ion (H + ion) is transferred from one
of the reactants to another.
• RedOx reactions: Reactions in which an electron transfer takes place. One reactant gains electrons and
another loses electrons.
• one Mole: Amount of substance having the same number of particles as there are carbon atoms in 12g of
carbon-12.
• Molar mass: Mass of one mole of a substance.
• Empirical formula: Simplest whole-number ratio of atoms in a compound.
• Water of crystallisation: Water that is stoichiometrically bound into a crystal, e.g. the H 2O in CuSO4·5H2O.
• Percentage composition: Mass of each atom present in a compound expressed as a percentage of the
total mass of the compound.
• Concentration: Number of moles of solute per cubic decimetre of solution.
• Avogadro's law: One mole of any gas occupies the same volume at the same temperature and pressure.