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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. A wedge or a slide. The dynamics of objects sliding down inclined planes is a popular topic on SAT II Physics.






2. 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






3. The application of kinematics to understand why objects move the way they do. More precisely - dynamics is the study of how forces cause motion.






4. A nuclear reaction in which a high-energy neutron bombards a heavy - unstable atomic nucleus - causing it to split into two smaller nuclei - and releasing some neutrons and a vast amount of energy at the same time






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






6. When two waves of slightly different frequencies interfere with one another - they produce a "beating" interference pattern that alternates between constructive (in-phase) and destructive (out-of-phase). In the case of sound waves - this sort of inte






7. 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.






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






9. Life- The amount of time it takes for one-half of a radioactive sample to decay.






10. 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






11. Also called a diverging lens - a lens that is thinner in the middle than at the edges. Concave lenses refract light away from a focal point.






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






13. A back-and-forth movement about an equilibrium position. Springs - pendulums - and other oscillators experience harmonic motion.






14. An electromagnetic wave of very high frequency.






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






16. 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






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






18. 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.






19. 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.






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






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






22. A scale for measuring temperature - defined such that water freezes at 0ºC and boils at 100ºC. 0ºC = 273 K.






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






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






25. For two given media - the smallest angle of incidence at which total internal reflection occurs.






26. A wave on a string that is tied to a pole at one end will reflect back toward its source - producing a wave that is the mirror-image of the original and which travels in the opposite direction.






27. 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.






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






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






30. 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.






31. A small particle-like bundle of electromagnetic radiation.






32. A scalar quantity. If an object is moved from point A to point B in space along path AB - the distance that the object has traveled is the length of the path AB. Distance is to be contrasted with displacement - which is simply a measure of the distan






33. 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.






34. 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






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






36. 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.






37. A frequency - f - defined as the number of revolutions a rigid body makes in a given time interval. It is a scalar quantity commonly denoted in units of Hertz (Hz) or s-1.






38. Energy associated with an object's position in space - or configuration in relation to other objects. This is a latent form of energy - where the amount of potential energy reflects the amount of energy that potentially could be released as kinetic e






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






40. A vector quantity defined as the product of the force acting on a body multiplied by the time interval over which the force is exerted.






41. A measure of force per unit area. Pressure is measured in N/m2 or Pa.






42. 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.






43. Given the period - T - and semimajor axis - a - of a planet's orbit - the ratio is the same for every planet.

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44. The two shorter sides of a right triangle that meet at the right angle.






45. The force transmitted along a rope or cable.






46. A logorithmic unit for measuring the volume of sound - which is the square of the amplitude of sound waves.






47. 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.






48. The line perpendicular to a surface. There is only one normal for any given surface.






49. 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.






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

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