Physics Midterm

Front 1

mass

Back 1

A property of matter equal to the measure of an object's resistance to changes in either the speed or direction of its motion. The mass of an object is not dependent on gravity and therefore is different from but proportional to its weight.

Front 2

weight

Back 2

a measure of the gravitational force exerted on an object; its value can change with the location of the object in the universe

Front 3

volume

Back 3

The amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object or region of space, expressed in cubic units.

Front 4

density

Back 4

The mass per unit volume of a substance at a specified pressure and temperature.

Front 5

inertia

Back 5

the tendency of an object to resist being moved or, if the object is moving, to resist a change in speed or direction

Front 6

force

Back 6

an action exerted on an object which may change the object's state of rest or motion; force has magnitude and direction (vector quantity)

Front 7

velocity

Back 7

A vector quantity whose magnitude is a body's speed and whose direction is the body's direction of motion.

Front 8

speed

Back 8

The rate or a measure of the rate of motion; The magnitude of a velocity.

Front 9

acceleration

Back 9

the rate at which velocity changes over time; an object accelerates if its speed, direction, or both change

Front 10

matter

Back 10

Something that has mass and exists as a solid, liquid, gas, or plasma.

Front 11

potential energy

Back 11

the energy associated with an object becayse of the position, shape, or condition of the object

Front 12

kinetic energy

Back 12

the energy of an object that is due to the object's motion

Front 13

accuracy

Back 13

a description of how close a measurment is to the correct or accepted value of the quantity measured

Front 14

precision

Back 14

the degree of exactness of a measurement

Front 15

deviation

Back 15

The difference, especially the absolute difference, between one number in a set and the mean of the set.

Front 16

scalar quantity

Back 16

has direction only

Front 17

vector quantity

Back 17

has magnitude and direction

Front 18

friction

Back 18

A force that resists the relative motion or tendency to such motion of two bodies in contact.

Front 19

resultant

Back 19

vector that represents the sum of two or more vectors

Front 20

equilibrium

Back 20

in physics, the state in which the net force on an object is zero

Front 21

net force

Back 21

a single force whose external effects on a rigid body are the same as the effects of several actual forces acting on the body

Front 22

simple harmonic motion

Back 22

vibration about an equilibrium position in which a restoring force is proportional to the displacement from equilibrium

Front 23

amplitude

Back 23

the maximum displacement from equilibrium

Front 24

period

Back 24

the time that it takes a complete cycle to occur

Front 25

frequency

Back 25

the number of cycles or vibrations per unit of time

Front 26

medium

Back 26

a physical environment through which a disturbance can travel

Front 27

mechanical wave

Back 27

a wave that requires a medium through which to pass through

Front 28

transverse wave

Back 28

a wave whose particles vibrate perpendicularly to the direction the wave is traveling

Front 29

crest

Back 29

the highest point about the equilibrium position

Front 30

trough

Back 30

the lowest point below the equilibrium position

Front 31

wavelength

Back 31

the distance between two adjacent similar points of a wave, such as froim crest to crest or from trough to trough

Front 32

longitudinal wave

Back 32

a wave whose particles vibrate parallel to the direction the wave is traveling

Front 33

constructive interference

Back 33

a superposition of two or more waves in which individual displacements on the same side of the equilibrium position are added together to form the resultant wave

Front 34

destructive interference

Back 34

a superposition of two or more waves in which individual displacements on opposite sides of the equilibrium position are added together to form the resultant wave

Front 35

standing wave

Back 35

a wave pattern that results when two waves of the same frequency, wavelength, and amplitude travel in opposite directions and interfere

Front 36

node

Back 36

a point in a stanging wave that maintains zero displacement

Front 37

antinode

Back 37

a point in a standing wave, halfway between two nodes, at which the largest displacement occurs

Front 38

compression

Back 38

the region of a longitudinal wave in which the density and pressure are at a maximum

Front 39

rarefraction

Back 39

the region of a longitudinal wave in which the desity and pressure are at a minimum

Front 40

pitch

Back 40

a measure of how high or low a sound is perceived to be, depending on the frequency of the sound wave

Front 41

Doppler effect

Back 41

an observed change in frequency when there is relative motion between the source of waves and an observer (named for the Austrian physicist Christian Doppler)

Front 42

intensity

Back 42

the rate at which energy flows through a unit area perpendicular to the direction of wave motion

Front 43

decibel

Back 43

a dimensionless unit tht describes the ratio of two intensities of sound; the threshold of hearing is commonly used as the reference intensity

Front 44

resonance

Back 44

a phenomenon that occurs when the frequency of a force applied to a system matches the natural frequency of vibration of the system, resulting in a large amplitude of vibration

Front 45

fundamental frequency

Back 45

the lowest frequency of vibration of a standing wave

Front 46

harmonic series

Back 46

a series of frequencies that includes the fundamental frequency and integral multiples of the fundamental frequency

Front 47

timbre

Back 47

the musical quality of a tone resulting form the combination of harmonics present at different intensities

Front 48

beat

Back 48

the periodic variation in the amplitude of a wave that is the superposition of two waves of slightly different frequencies