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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 distance between the focal point and the vertex of a mirror or lens. For concave mirrors and convex lenses - this number is positive. For convex mirrors and concave lenses - this number is negative.






2. The center of a mirror or lens.






3. 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.






4. When electromagnetic radiation shines upon a metal - the surface of the metal releases energized electrons. The way in which these electrons are released contradicts classical theories of electromagnetic radiation and supports the quantum view accord






5. In the Bohr model of the atom - the state in which an electron has the least energy and orbits closest to the nucleus.






6. Done when energy is transferred by a force. The work done by a force F in displacing an object by s is W = F · s.






7. An electromagnetic wave of very high frequency.






8. For a heat engine - the ratio of work done by the engine to heat intake. Efficiency is never 100%.






9. A constant - J · s - which is useful in quantum physics. A second constant associated with Planck's constant is .

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10. Heat transfer via electromagnetic waves.






11. The angle between a reflected ray and the normal.






12. 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.






13. Defined as the rate at which work is done - or the rate at which energy is transformed. P is measured in joules per second (J/s) - or watts (W).






14. The velocity at any given instant in time. To be contrasted with average velocity - which is a measure of the change in displacement over a given time interval.






15. Two oscillators that have the same frequency and amplitude - but reach their maximum displacements at different times - are said to have different phases. Similarly - two waves are in phase if their crests and troughs line up exactly - and they are o






16. A conserved scalar quantity associated with the state or condition of an object or system of objects. We can roughly define energy as the capacity for an object or system to do work. There are many different types of energy - such as kinetic energy -






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






18. An object at rest remains at rest - unless acted upon by a net force. An object in motion remains in motion - unless acted upon by a net force.

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19. When an object is held in circular motion about a massive body - like a planet or a sun - due to the force of gravity - that object is said to be in orbit. Objects in orbit are in perpetual free fall - and so are therefore weightless.






20. The path of each planet around the sun is an ellipse with the sun at one focus.

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21. The line that every particle in the rotating rigid body circles about.






22. 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.






23. The property of a vector that distinguishes it from a scalar: while scalars have only a magnitude - vectors have both a magnitude and a direction. When graphing vectors in the xy-coordinate space - direction is usually given by the angle measured cou






24. An equation - PV = nRT - that relates the pressure - volume - temperature - and quantity of an ideal gas. An ideal gas is one that obeys the approximations laid out in the kinetic theory of gases.






25. With spherical mirrors - the radius of the sphere of which the mirror is a part.






26. The temperature at which a material will change phase from solid to liquid or liquid to solid.






27. A unit of measurement for energy on atomic levels. 1 eV = J.






28. If two systems - A and B - are in thermal equilibrium and if B and C are also in thermal equilibrium - then systems A and C are necessarily in thermal equilibrium.






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






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






31. Two materials are in thermal equilibrium if they are at the same temperature.






32. Essentially a restatement of energy conservation - it states that the change in the internal energy of a system is equal to the heat added plus the work done on the system.






33. A process that aligns a wave of light to oscillate in one dimension rather than two.






34. A number - Z - associated with the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. Every element can be defined in s of its atomic number - since every atom of a given element has the same number of protons.






35. A measurement of a body's inertia - or resistance to being accelerated.






36. In a right triangle - the tangent of a given angle is the length of the side opposite the angle divided by the length of the side adjacent to the triangle.






37. A collision in which the colliding particles stick together.






38. The tendency of an object to remain at a constant velocity - or its resistance to being accelerated. Newton's First Law is alternatively called the Law of Inertia because it describes this tendency.






39. An object that moves about a stable equilibrium point and experiences a restoring force that is directly proportional to the oscillator's displacement.






40. The points midway between nodes on a standing wave - where the oscillations are largest.






41. The points of maximum displacement along a wave. In traveling waves - the crests move in the direction of propagation of the wave. The crests of standing waves - also called anti-nodes - remain in one place.






42. An image created by a mirror or lens in such a way that light does not actually come from where the image appears to be.






43. Waves in which the medium moves in the direction perpendicular to the propagation of the wave. Waves on a stretched string - water waves - and electromagnetic waves are all examples of transverse waves.






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






45. The principle stating that for any isolated system - linear momentum is constant with time.






46. When a light ray strikes a surface - the angle of incidence is the angle between the incident ray and the normal.






47. 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.






48. A unit of force: 1 N is equivalent to a 1 kg · m/s2.






49. 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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50. 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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