Conceptual Physics

Front 1

Scientific Method

Back 1

Principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation, and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.

Front 2

Hypothesis

Back 2

An educated guess; a reasonable explanation of an observation or experimental result that is not fully accepted as factual until tested over and over again by experiment.

Front 3

Scientific Attitude

Back 3

The scientific method inclined toward inquiry, integrity, AND humility.

Front 4

Fact

Back 4

A statement about the world that competent observers who have made a series of observations agree on.

Front 5

Law

Back 5

A general hypothesis or statement about the relationship of natural quantities that has been tested over and over again and has not been contradicted. Also known as a Principle.

Front 6

Theory

Back 6

A synthesis of a large body of information that encompasses well-tested and verified hypotheses about certain aspects of the natural world.

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Pseudoscience

Back 7

Fake science that pretends to be real science.

Front 8

Inertia

Back 8

The property of things to resist changes in motion.

Front 9

Newtons 1st Law

Back 9

Every object continues in a state of rest or of uniform speed in a straight line unless acted by a non zero net force.

Front 10

Force

Back 10

Any push or pull exerted on an object, measured in newtons (N)

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Net Force

Back 11

The vector sum of forces that act on an object.

Front 12

Vector

Back 12

An arrow drawn to scale used to represent a vector quantity.

Front 13

Vector Quantity

Back 13

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

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Scalar Quantity

Back 14

A quantity that has magnitude but not direction, such as mass and volume.

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Resultant

Back 15

The net result of a combination of two or more vectors

Front 16

Mechanical Equilibrium

Back 16

The state of an object or system of objects for which there are no changes in motion.

Front 17

Equilibrium Rule

Back 17

For any object or system of objects in equilibrium, the sum of the forces acting equals zero.

Equation Form: Σf = 0

Front 18

Speed

Back 18

How fast an object moves; the distance traveled per unit of time.

Eq.Form: Speed = Distance/time

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Instantaneous Speed

Back 19

The speed at any instant.

Front 20

Average speed

Back 20

The total distance traveled divided by the time of travel.

Front 21

Velocity

Back 21

An object's speed and direction of motion.

Front 22

Acceleration

Back 22

The rate at which velocity changes with time; the change in velocity may be in magnitudes or direction, or both.

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Freefall

Back 23

A motion under the influence of gravity only

Equation form: G = 9.8m/s*s

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Friction

Back 24

The resistive force that opposes the motion or attempted motion of an object either past another object with which it is in contact or through a fluid.

Front 25

Mass

Back 25

The quantity of matter in an object. More specifically,it is the measure of the inertia or sluggishness that anobject exhibits in response to any effort made to startit, stop it, deflect it, or change in any way its state of motion.

Front 26

Weight

Back 26

The force upon an object due to gravity, mg. (More generally, the force that an object exerts on a means of support.)

Front 27

Kilogram

Back 27

The fundamental SI unit of mass. One kilogram(symbol kg) is the mass of 1 liter (1 L) of water at 4°C.

Front 28

Newton

Back 28

The SI unit of force. One newton (symbol N) is the force that will give an object of mass 1 kg an accelerationof 1 m/s^2

Front 29

Volume

Back 29

The quantity of space an object occupies.

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Newton's second law

Back 30

The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on the object, is in the direction of the net force, and is inversely proportional to the mass of the object.

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Terminal Speed

Back 31

The speed at which the acceleration of a falling object terminates because air resistance balances gravitational force.

Front 32

Terminal Velocity

Back 32

Terminal speed with direction specified.

Front 33

Newton's third law

Back 33

Whenever one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force on the first.

Front 34

Components

Back 34

Mutually perpendicular vectors, usually horizontal and vertical, whose vector sum is a given vector.