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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 temperature at which a material will change phase from liquid to gas or gas to liquid.






2. Objects that experience oscillatory or simple harmonic motion when distorted. Their motion is described by Hooke's Law.






3. A unit vector is a vector with length 1.






4. 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.






5. A form of radioactive decay where a heavy element emits an alpha particle and some energy - thus transforming into a lighter - more stable - element.






6. A constant in the numerator of a formula.






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






8. 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.






9. When dealing with reflection or refraction - the incident ray is the ray of light before it strikes the reflecting or refracting surface.






10. The emf created by the motion of a charge through a magnetic field.






11. The force necessary to maintain a body in uniform circular motion. This force is always directed radially toward the center of the circle.






12. A machine that operates by taking heat from a hot place - doing some work with that heat - and then exhausting the rest of the heat into a cool place. The internal combustion engine of a car is an example of a heat engine.






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






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






15. The series of standing waves supported by a string with both ends tied down. The first member of the series - called the fundamental - has two nodes at the ends and one anti-node in the middle. The higher harmonics are generated by placing an integra






16. The force transmitted along a rope or cable.






17. An object cannot be cooled to absolute zero.






18. Waves carried by variations in air pressure. The speed of sound waves in air at room temperature and pressure is roughly 343 m/s.






19. 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






20. The center of an atom - where the protons and neutrons reside. Electrons then orbit this nucleus.






21. A particle - which consists of two protons and two neutrons. It is identical to the nucleus of a helium atom and is ejected by heavy particles undergoing alpha decay.






22. A coefficient that tells how much a material will expand or contract lengthwise when it is heated or cooled.






23. 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.






24. Represented by R = 8.31 J/mol · K - the universal gas constant fits into the ideal gas law so as to relate temperature to the average kinetic energy of gas molecules.






25. When a solid - liquid - or gas changes into another phase of matter.






26. 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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27. A wavelength - given by = h/mv - which is associated with matter. Louis de Broglie proposed the idea that matter could be treated as waves in 1923 and applied this theory successfully to small particles like electrons.






28. The acceleration of a body experiencing uniform circular motion. This acceleration is always directed toward the center of the circle.






29. The longest side of a right triangle - opposite to the right angle.






30. A wave with wave crests that propagate down the length of the medium - in contrast to stationary standing waves. The velocity at which a crest propagates is called the wave speed.






31. 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.






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






33. 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.






34. A negatively charged particle that orbits the nucleus of the atom.






35. A vector quantity - equal to the rate of change of the angular velocity vector with time. It is typically given in units of rad/s2.






36. A means of defining the direction of the cross product vector. To define the direction of the vector - position your right hand so that your fingers point in the direction of A - and then curl them around so that they point in the direction of B. Th






37. 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.






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






39. A system with many parts in periodic - or repetitive - motion. The oscillations in one part cause vibrations in nearby parts.






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






41. A vector quantity - - that reflects the change of angular displacement with time - and is typically given in units of rad/s. To find the direction of the angular velocity vector - take your right hand and curl your fingers along the particle or body






42. The amount of heat necessary to transform a liquid at a given temperature into a gas of the same temperature - or the amount of heat needed to be taken away from a gas of a given temperature to transform it into a liquid of the same temperature.






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






44. 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






45. A mirror that is curved such that its center is farther from the viewer than the edges - such as the front of a spoon. Concave mirrors reflect light through a focal point.






46. The spectrum containing all the different kinds of electromagnetic waves - ranging in wavelength and frequency.






47. The amount heat necessary to cause a substance to undergo a phase transition.






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






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






50. A form of radioactive decay where a heavy element ejects a beta particle and a neutrino - becoming a lighter element in the process.