Conceptual Physics

Front 1

What did Eratosthenes study at the city of Syene, south of Alexandria during summer solstice on June 22?

Back 1

He found that if the sun is directly overhead, a vertical stick casts no shadow

Front 2

Where did Eratosthenes learn that the sun is directly overhead at the summer solstice in Syene?

Back 2

from library information

Front 3

What is the circumfrence of a circle

Back 3

C = 2 x pie x r

Front 4

What is earths radius and circumference is nodern units?

Back 4

radius 6370 km
circumference 40,000 km

Front 5

Aristarchus showed that the moon's diameter was _____ that of earth's

Back 5

1/3.5

Front 6

The sun is an average of ____ km away

Back 6

150,000,000

Front 7

List the five steps of the scientific method

Back 7

1. recognize a question
2. make an educated guess, hypothesis
3. predict consequences
4. perform experiments
5. conclusion

Front 8

What is a fact in science?

Back 8

A close agreement by competent observers who make a series of observations about the same phenomenon

Front 9

What is a scientific hypothesis?

Back 9

An educated guess that is only presumed to be factual until supported by experiment

Front 10

What is a law?

Back 10

when a hypothesis has been tested over and over again and has not been contradicted

Front 11

What is another name for a law?

Back 11

principle

Front 12

What did Aristotle claim about falling objects?

Back 12

that objects fall at a speed proportional to their weight

Front 13

What did Galileo do to prove Aristotles theory on falling objects wrong?

Back 13

he dropped objects of different weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. All objects fell at nearly equal speeds.

Front 14

What is a scientific theory

Back 14

a synthesis of a large body of information taht encompasses well-tested and verified hypothesis about certain aspects of the natural world

Front 15

What is pseudoscience?

Back 15

it lacks key ingredients of evidence and having a test for wrongness

Front 16

Give examples of life sciences

Back 16

biology, zoology, botany

Front 17

Give examples of physical sciences

Back 17

geology, astronomy, chemistry, physics

Front 18

What is newtons first law of motion

Back 18

an object at rest stays at rest unless acted upon

Front 19

What is inertia

Back 19

the property of things to resist change in motion

Front 20

What is force

Back 20

a push or a pull

Front 21

What is net force

Back 21

the vector sum of forces acting on an object

Front 22

What is mechanical equilibrium

Back 22

no change in motion. Ex. if a rest, stays at rest; if moving, continues moving without change

Front 23

What is the equilibrium rule

Back 23

for any object or system of objects in equilibrium the sum of forces acting equlas zero

Front 24

What two main classes did Aristotle divide motion into?

Back 24

natural motion and violent motion

Front 25

What did Nicolaus Copernicus believe that contradicted Aristotle and in what book did he publish his findings

Back 25

He proposed that the earth traveled around the sun. He published his ideas in De Revolutionibus.

Front 26

What did Galileo find with inclined planes

Back 26

he showed that objects rolling down hill gained speed and objects rolling upward decreased speed.

Front 27

What is inertia

Back 27

the property of an object to resist changes in motion

Front 28

What book did Newtons three laws of motion first appear in

Back 28

Principia

Front 29

Newton refined Galileos idea of inertia and called it what?

Back 29

his first law, the law of intertia; objects at rest continue at rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it

Front 30

In the absence of net forces a moving object tends to move along a __________ path indefinitely

Back 30

straight-line

Front 31

Newton saw an apple fall to the ground, what force did htis make him consider?

Back 31

force of gravity

Front 32

What is a vector quantity?

Back 32

a quantity such as force taht has both magnitude and direction

Front 33

What is tension

Back 33

a stretching force

Front 34

What is mechanical equilibrium

Back 34

when the net force equals zero

Front 35

A book lying a rest on a table has two forces acting on it, what are they

Back 35

gravity, due to the weight of the book & the support force or normal force, which is the upward force exerted by the table

Front 36

An object moving iat a constant speed in a straight line path is in__________

Back 36

equilibrium

Front 37

A rolling ball slows down due to what force

Back 37

friction

Front 38

What is speed

Back 38

distance covered per unit of time
speed = distance/time

Front 39

What is instantaneous speed

Back 39

speed at any instant

Front 40

What is average speed

Back 40

average speed = total distance covered/time interval

Front 41

How do you calculate the total distance traveled?

Back 41

total distance covered = average speed x time

Front 42

If you know both speed and direction of an object, we know it's ________

Back 42

velocity

Front 43

Speed means

Back 43

how fast

Front 44

Velocity means

Back 44

how fast and what direction

Front 45

What is a vector quantity

Back 45

it has magnitude and direction

Front 46

What is acceleration

Back 46

how quickly velocity (speed & direction) changes; a rate at which velocity changes
acceleration = change in velocity/time interval

Front 47

A decrease in velocity is called?

Back 47

deceleration

Front 48

Are we accelerating if we are moving in a curved path at a constant speed?

Back 48

Yes, because we are changing direction and thus our velocity is changing

Front 49

Galileo found that neglecting air resistance all objects fall with _________ acceleration

Back 49

the same

Front 50

What is free fall

Back 50

when an object falls under the influence of gravity alone

Front 51

Free fall acceleration is approximately equal to/

Back 51

10 meters per second

Front 52

What letter represents acceleration (due to gravity)

Back 52

g

Front 53

What is the value of "g" on earth?

Back 53

9.8 m/s^2

Front 54

Velocity aquired

Back 54

v = gt
velocity acquired = acceleration x time

Front 55

How far something falls can be expressed how?

Back 55

Distance traveled = 1/2 (acceleration x time x time)
d=1/2gt^2

Front 56

What sign do downward and upward velocities have?

Back 56

downward velocities are negative and upward velocities are positive

Front 57

What is the formula for how fast something falls?

Back 57

v = gt

Front 58

What is the formula for how far something falls?

Back 58

d=1/2gt^2

Front 59

An objects acceleration is proportional to its

Back 59

net force

Front 60

If you double net force, then you _____ acceleration

Back 60

double

Front 61

what is an atom

Back 61

tiny building block; smallest particle of an element that has all of the elements chemical properties

Front 62

What is brownian motion

Back 62

the haphazard movement of tiny particles suspended in a gas or liquid resulting from their bombardment by the fast moving atoms or molecules of the gas or liquid

Front 63

Define Atomic nucleus

Back 63

the ocre of an atom, has protons and neutrons

Front 64

Define element

Back 64

a pure substance consisting of only one kind of atom

Front 65

Define atomic number

Back 65

the number that designates the identity of an element, which is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom; in a neutral atom, the atomic number is also the number of electrons in the atom

Front 66

What is the periodic table

Back 66

a chart that lists the elements, the horizontal rows by the atomic number & vertical columns by their similar electron arrangement and chemical properties

Front 67

What is quantum mechanics

Back 67

theory of the small scale world that includes predicated wave properties of matter

Front 68

Define isotopes

Back 68

different forms of atoms that have the same # of protons but different # of neutrons

Front 69

Define atomic mass unit (amu)

Back 69

the standard unit of atomic mass; equal to 1/12 the mass of a carbon atom. One amu has a mass of 1.661 x 10^-24

Front 70

Define compound

Back 70

atoms of different elements are chemically bonded

Front 71

Define mixture

Back 71

a substance whos components are mixed together without chemically combining

Front 72

Define molecule

Back 72

a group of atoms held together by sharing electrons

Front 73

What is antimatter

Back 73

a complementary form of matter composed of antiparticles having the same mass as particles of ordinary matter but being opposite in charge

Front 74

Define dark matter

Back 74

unseen and unidentified matter that is evident by its gravitational pull on stars in the galaxies. consitutes 90% of the stuff in the universe

Front 75

Define atomic bonding

Back 75

the linking of atoms to form larger structures

Front 76

Define density

Back 76

the mass of a substance per unit volume
density = mass/volume

Front 77

Define elasticity

Back 77

the property of a material where it changes shape when a deforming force ats upon it and returns to its original shape when the force is removed

Front 78

Define Hookes law

Back 78

the amount of stretch or compression of an elastic material is directly proportional to the applied force; F ~change in x. When the spring constant k is introduced, F = k changein x

Front 79

Define scaling

Back 79

the study of how size affects the relationships among weight, strength and surface

Front 80

Define pressure

Back 80

the ratio of force to the area over which that force is distributed;
pressure = force/area

Front 81

define buoyant force

Back 81

the net upward force that a fluid exerts on an immersed object

Front 82

What is Archimedes principle

Back 82

an immersed body is buoyed up by a force equal to its own weight

Front 83

Principle of flotation

Back 83

a floating object dispalces a weight of fluid equal to its own weight

Front 84

Pascals principle

Back 84

the pressure applied to a motionless fluid confined in a container is transmitted undiminished throughout the fluid

Front 85

Surface tension

Back 85

the tendency of the surface of a liquid to contract in area adn this to behiave like a stretched elastic membrane

Front 86

Capillarity

Back 86

the rise of a liquid in a fine , hollow tube or in a narrow space

Front 87

Atmospheric pressure

Back 87

the pressure exerted against bodies immersed in the atmosphere. It results from the weight of air pressing down from above. At sea level, atmospheric pressure is about 101 kPa

Front 88

Barometer

Back 88

any device that measures atmospheric pressure

Front 89

Boyles law

Back 89

the product of pressure and volume is a constant for a given mass of confined gas, as long as temperature remains unchanged; P1V1=P2V2

Front 90

Archimedes principle (for air)

Back 90

an object in the air is buoyed up with a force equal to the weight of displaced air

Front 91

Bernoullis principle

Back 91

when the speed of a fluid increases the internal pressure in the fluid decreases

Front 92

Plasma

Back 92

an electrified gas containing ions and free electrons. Most of the matter in the universe is in the plasma phase.

Front 93

What four forms is matter seen in

Back 93

solids (earth), gases (air), liquids (water), state of flames (fire)

Front 94

What hypothesis did American physist Richard Feynman propose?

Back 94

Atomic hypothesis; "all thingsare made of atoms-little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeeed into one another"

Front 95

How many atoms are in a gram of water

Back 95

10^23 atoms

Front 96

Where is the mass of an atom concentrated

Back 96

in the atomic nucleus

Front 97

What is the lightest element

Back 97

hydrogen

Front 98

what is the most abundant element

Back 98

hydrogen, almost 90%

Front 99

What 5 elements are living things composed of ?

Back 99

oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium

Front 100

What are the noble gases

Back 100

helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, radon