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SAT Subject Test: hysics

Subjects : sat, science, physics
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. The energy stored in a thermodynamic system.






2. A vector of magnitude 1 along one of the coordinate axes. Generally - we take the basis vectors to be and - the vectors of length 1 along the x- and y-axes - respectively.






3. A nuclear reaction that takes place only at very high temperatures. Two light atoms - often hydrogen - fuse together to form a larger single atom - releasing a vast amount of energy in the process.






4. The mass number - A - is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus. It is very close to the weight of that nucleus in atomic mass units.






5. The lowest theoretical temperature a material can have - where the molecules that make up the material have no kinetic energy. Absolute zero is reached at 0 K or -273º C.






6. A reference frame in which Newton's First Law is true. Two inertial reference frames move at a constant velocity relative to one another. According to the first postulate of Einstein's theory of special relativity - the laws of physics are the same i






7. The net change - - in a point's angular position - . It is a scalar quantity.






8. The particles and energy released by the fission or fusion of one atom may trigger the fission or fusion of further atoms. In a chain reaction - fission or fusion is rapidly transferred to a large number of atoms - releasing tremendous amounts of ene






9. The phenomenon of light bouncing off a surface - such as a mirror.






10. The energy of the molecules that make up an object. It is related to heat - which is the amount of energy transferred from one object to another object that is a different temperature.






11. A particle - identical to an electron. Beta particles are ejected from an atom in the process of beta decay.






12. A pulley is a simple machine that consists of a rope that slides around a disk or block.






13. In oscillation - a cycle occurs when an object undergoing oscillatory motion completes a "round-trip." For instance - a pendulum bob released at angle has completed one cycle when it swings to and then back to again. In period motion - a cycle is the






14. A vector quantity - or vector - is an object possessing - and fully described by - a magnitude and a direction. Graphically a vector is depicted as an arrow with its magnitude given by the length of the arrow and its direction given by where the arro






15. A coefficient that tells how much the volume of a solid will change when it is heated or cooled.






16. The amount of energy that metal must absorb before it can release a photoelectron from the metal.






17. A neutrally charged particle that - along with protons - constitutes the nucleus of an atom.






18. A quantity that possesses a magnitude but not a direction. Mass and length are common examples.






19. If a line is drawn from the sun to the planet - then the area swept out by this line in a given time interval is constant.

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20. Given the trajectory of an object or system - the center of mass is the point that has the same acceleration as the object or system as a whole would have if its mass were concentrated at that point. In terms of force - the center of mass is the poin






21. A model for the atom developed in 1913 by Niels Bohr. According to this model - the electrons orbiting a nucleus can only orbit at certain particular radii. Excited electrons may jump to a more distant radii and then return to their ground state - em






22. An almost massless particle of neutral charge that is released along with a beta particle in beta decay.






23. Also called a converging lens - a lens that is thicker in the middle than at the edges. Convex lenses refract light through a focal point.






24. The position - of an object according to a co-ordinate system measured in s of the angle of the object from a certain origin axis. Conventionally - this origin axis is the positive x-axis.






25. The points of maximum negative displacement along a wave. They are the opposite of wave crests.






26. The number - N - of neutrons in an atomic nucleus.






27. In an interference or diffraction pattern - the places where there is the least light.






28. Waves that oscillate in the same direction as the propagation of the wave. Sound is carried by longitudinal waves - since the air molecules move back and forth in the same direction the sound travels.






29. Another word for the frequency of a sound wave.






30. A property common to both vectors and scalars. In the graphical representation of a vector - the vector's magnitude is equal to the length of the arrow.






31. A pendulum consists of a bob connected to a rod or rope. At small angles - a pendulum's motion approximates simple harmonic motion as it swings back and forth without friction.






32. Kinematics is the study and description of the motion of objects.






33. The ray of light that is reflected from a mirror or other reflecting surface.






34. Heat transfer via the mass movement of molecules.






35. A mirror that is curved such that its center is closer to the viewer than the edges - such as a doorknob. Convex mirrors reflect light away from a focal point.






36. For an oscillating spring - the restoring force exerted by the spring is directly proportional to the displacement. That is - the more the spring is displaced - the stronger the force that will pull toward the equilibrium position. This law is expres

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37. The building blocks of all matter - atoms are made up of a nucleus consisting of protons and neutrons - and a number of electrons that orbit the nucleus. An electrically neutral atom has as many protons as it has electrons.






38. The process by which a gas turns directly into a solid because it cannot exist as a liquid at certain pressures.






39. A scale for measuring temperature - defined such that 0K is the lowest theoretical temperature a material can have. 273K = 0ºC.






40. The stable position of a system where the net force acting on the object is zero.






41. The building blocks of all matter - quarks are the constituent parts of protons - neutrons - and mesons.






42. The constant of proportionality in Newton's Law of Gravitation. It reflects the proportion of the gravitational force and - the product of two particles' masses divided by the square of the bodies' separation. N · m2/kg2.






43. The angle between a refracted ray and the line normal to the surface.






44. A collision in which momentum is conserved but kinetic energy is not.






45. Two quantities are inversely proportional if an increase in one results in a proportional decrease in the other - and a decrease in one results in a proportional increase in the other. In a formula defining a certain quantity - those quantities to wh






46. If the net torque acting on a rigid body is zero - then the angular momentum of the body is constant or conserved.






47. The straight line that runs through the focal point and the vertex of a mirror or lens.






48. A vector quantity - L - that is the rotational analogue of linear momentum. For a single particle - the angular momentum is the cross product of the particle's displacement from the axis of rotation and the particle's linear momentum - . For a rigid






49. An object is called radioactive if it undergoes radioactive decay.






50. The coefficient of kinetic friction - - for two materials is the constant of proportionality between the normal force and the force of kinetic friction. It is always a number between zero and one.