AS Level Physics: Terms & Definitions:Displacement: Distance moved in a particular direction.

Speed: The distance travelled per unit time. Velocity: The distance travelled in a particular direction/ the displacement per unit time. Acceleration: The rate of change of velocity. Acceleration Of Free Fall: The acceleration on an object when the only force acting on it is the gravitational pull of the Earth. Free Fall: The downward motion of an object under the influence of force of gravity with a constant acceleration (g = 9.81 ms-2). Newtons First Law Of Motion: An object will maintain uniform velocity or remain stationary unless an external force acts upon it. Newtons Second Law Of Motion: The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the resultant force acting on it in the same direction. (F = m x a) Newtons Third Law Of Motion: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. (If one body exerts a force on another, it will experience a force by the other body, which is equal in magnitude & opposite in direction.) Mass: It is a measure of inertia of a body or It is a bodys reluctance to undergo linear acceleration. Weight: It is the gravitational force exerted on an objects mass. Momentum: It is the product of a bodys mass & velocity, with its direction always being the same as the bodys direction of velocity. Force: It is defined as the rate of change of momentum of a body, or the product of a bodys mass & its acceleration. Principle Of Conservation Of Momentum: The total momentum of a system remains constant before & after a collision, provided that no external force acts upon the system. Elastic Collisions: A collision in which both the total momentum & the total Kinetic Energy of a system is conserved. Inelastic Collisions: A collision in which the total momentum of a system is conserved, but the total Kinetic Energy is not conserved. Centre Of Gravity: The point on an object at which the entire weight of the body seemingly acts. It is the point at which the Earth actually applies the pull of gravity. Moment: It is the turning effect of a force. It is the product of the force & the perpendicular distance between the axis of rotation/pivot & the line of action of the force.

Torque Of A Couple: The turning effect caused by two equal & opposite forces when their line of actions are different. Torque of a Couple = Magnitude of any one force x Linear Distance between the forces The Principle Of Moments: The sum of clockwise moments taken about any point is equal to the sum of anti-clockwise moments taken about the same point when a system is in equilibrium. Energy: It is the stored ability to do work. Kinetic Energy: The energy possessed by an object by virtue of its motion. Potential Energy: It is the energy possessed by an object by virtue of its position. Gravitational Potential Energy: The energy possessed by an object due to the height raised above the ground/against the force of gravity. Elastic Potential Energy: The energy possessed by an elastic object by virtue of its compression or expansion, due to elastic restoring force. (k x X) Internal Energy: It is the total of the microscopic Kinetic & Potential energies of particles of a material. Work: It is the product of a force & the distance moved in the direction of the force. Power: It is the rate at which work is done. It is work done per unit time. Power: It is the product of force & velocity. Efficiency: It is the fraction of the useful power output obtained from the total power input. Stress: It is the force per unit area of cross-section required to stretch a material. It is sometimes called Tensile Stress, as forces can be applied in different ways to objects. E.g. Under compression, a compressive stress is applied. All stresses have the same formula & unit as pressure. Strain: As a result of applying a tensile stress to an object, a tensile strain is set up within the object. Stress is the cause & strain is the effect. It is defined as the extension per unit length. It is a ratio of two lengths, & therefore does not have a unit. Temperature also effects strain. Youngs Modulus: It is the ratio of stress to linear strain. It is also known as the modulus of elasticity. Elastic Deformation: When a material is elastic, it returns to its original shape on removal of the distorting force. Elastic Deformation is temporary distortion. Most materials are elastic for low stresses. Plastic Deformation: It is when a small increase in stress causes a large increase in the strain on an object. A material that receives deformation in this way is said to be ductile, meaning it has a large plastic region. Within

the plastic region, it is more difficult to measure the strain at a particular value of stress.

Area under a Force-Extension Graph: The area under such a graph is the work done in stretching a material. For the straight-line portion of the graph, it is a measure of the elastic potential energy stored by the material, provided that the graph for decreasing loads is the same as that for increasing loads. It is also known as strain energy. Ductile Materials: Materials which undergo plastic deformation after a considerable elastic deformation. Ductile materials are used for wiring etc. E.g. copper Brittle Materials: Materials which do not undergo plastic deformation. They undergo elastic deformation to a certain point & then break along cleavages within the materials structure at the Breaking Point/Breaking Stress. E.g. china, marble Polymeric Materials: Materials which can undergo great strain, & deform to a very great degree. E.g. rubber, glass, cement Ultimate Tensile Stress: It is the maximum value of stress that an object can sustain before it breaks or cleaves.

Electricity:Electric Current: It is the amount of charge flowing through a circuit per unit time or It is the rate of flow of charged particles. Ampere: If a charge of 1 Coulomb passes through an electrical component per second, then the current maintained is 1 Ampere. Potential Difference: The P.D across an electrical component is the energy converted from electrical to other forms of energy when unit charge passes through it. Volt: One volt is the P.D between two points in a circuit in which one joule

of energy is converted when one coulomb of charge passes from one point to the other. Resistance: The ratio of P.D to the current for an electrical component at a particular time is known as its resistance. Ohm: A resistor has a resistance of one ohm if a P.D of one volt is to be maintained, to allow a passage of one ampere of current. Resistivity: The resistivity of a wire of a particular material is its resistance for unit length. Coulomb: If a current of one ampere (6.25x1018 electrons) passes through a conductor, then the charge flowed is one Coulomb or It is the amount of charge required to maintain a current of one ampere in a conductor. Ohms Law: The current through a metallic conductor is proportional to the P.D across it provided that its temperature remains constant. Thermistor (NTC): A specific type of resistor, in which, as temperature increases, the magnitude of the resistors resistance decreases, & vice versa. Electromotive Force: The e.m.f of any source of electrical energy is the energy converted into electrical energy per unit charge supplied. It has the same unit as P.D; the volt. E.m.f & P.D: While e.m.f refers to the amount of energy converted into electrical energy per unit charge supplied, P.D refers to the amount of electrical energy converted into other forms of energy per unit charge supplied. The e.m.f of a source is equal to the potential difference across its terminals as the current approaches zero. Effect of Internal Resistance on P.D & Output Power: The higher the internal resistance of the battery/cell, the lower the terminal P.D, & hence, the lower the output power as well. This is due to the equation V = E Ir Potentiometer: When a potential divider arrangement is used to compare e.m.fs of two sources, it is known a potentiometer.

Kirchhoffs First Law: The algebraic sum of the currents at a junction is zero. In other words, charge cannot be created or destroyed.