PHYSICS SEMESTER 1 VOCABULARY CHAPTER 1 THE SCIENCE OF PHYSICS model a replica or description designed to show the structure or workings

ngs of an object, system or concept system - a set of items or interactions considered a distinct physical entity for the purpose of study controlled experiment experiment involving manipulation of a single variable or factor accuracy describes how close a measured value is to the true value of a quantity measured precision refers to the degree of exactness with which a measurement is made and stated significant figures those digits in a measurement that are known with certainty plus the first digit that is uncertain CHAPTER 2 MOTION IN ONE DIRECTION frame of reference a coordinate system for specifying the precise location of objects in space displacement- the change in position of an object average velocity the total displacement divided by the time interval during which the displacement occurred instantaneous velocity the velocity of an object at some instant (or specific point in its path) acceleration the rate of change of velocity free fall motion of an object falling with a constant acceleration CHAPTER 3 TWO DIMENSIONAL MOTION AND VECTORS scalar a physical quantity that has only a magnitude but no direction vector a physical quantity that has both a magnitude and a direction resultant a vector representing the sum of 2 or more vectors components of a vector the projections of a vector along the axes of a coordinate system projectile motion free-fall with an initial horizontal velocity CHAPTER 4 FORCES AND THE LAWS OF MOTION force the cause of an acceleration, of the change in an object's velocity contact force force that arises from the physical contact of two objects field force - force that can exist between objects, even in the absence of physical contact between the objects force diagram a diagram of the objects involved in a situation and the forces exerted on the objects inertia the tendency of an object to maintain its state of motion net external force- the total force resulting from a combination of external forces; sometimes called the resultant force equilibrium the state in which there is no change in a body's motion action reaction pair a pair of simultaneous equal but opposite forces resulting from the interaction of two objects weight the magnitude of the force of gravity action on an object normal force a force exerted by one object on another in a direction perpendicular to the surface of contact static friction the resistive force that opposes the relative motion of a two contacting surfaces that are at rest with respect to one another kinetic friction the resistive force that opposes the relative motion of two contacting surfaces that are moving past one another coefficient of friction the ratio of the force of friction to the normal force acting between two objects Newton's First Law an object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion continues in motion

with constant velocity (that is, constant speed in a straight line) unless the object experiences a net external force Newton's Second Law The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net external force acting on the object and inversely proportional to the object's mass Newton's Third Law If two objects interact, the magnitude of the force exerted on the object 1 by object 2 is equal to the magnitude of the force simultaneously exerted on object 2 by object 1, and these two forces are opposite in direction CHAPTER 5 WORK AND ENERGY work the product of the magnitudes of the component of a force along the direction of displacement and the displacement kinetic energy the energy of an object due to its motion work-kinetic energy theorem the net work done on an object is equal to the change in the kinetic energy of the object potential energy the energy associated with an object due to the position of the object gravitational potential energy the potential energy associated with an object due to the position of the object relative to the earth or some other gravitational source elastic potential energy the potential energy in a stretched or compressed elastic object spring constant a parameter that expresses how resistant a spring is to being compressed or stretched mechanical energy the sum of kinetic energy and all forms of potential energy power the rate at which energy is transferred CHAPTER 6 MOMENTUM AND COLLISIONS momentum a vector quantity defined as the product of an object's mass and velocity impulse for a constant external force, the product of the force and the time over which it acts on an object perfectly inelastic collision a collision in which two objects stick together and move with a common velocity after colliding elastic collision a collision in which the total momentum and the total kinetic energy remain constant