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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 of a particle rotating around an axis.






2. A system that no external net force acts upon. Objects within the system may exert forces upon one another - but they cannot receive any impulse from outside forces. Momentum is conserved in isolated systems.






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






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






5. Heat transfer via the mass movement of molecules.






6. In radioactive substances - the number of nuclei that decay per second. Activity - A - will be larger in large samples of radioactive material - since there will be more nuclei.






7. 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






8. The experience of being in free fall. If you are in a satellite - elevator - or other free-falling object - then you have a weight of zero Newtons relative to that object.






9. 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






10. The bending of light as it passes from one medium to another. Light refracts toward the normal when going from a less dense medium into a denser medium and away from the normal when going from a denser medium into a less dense medium.






11. The mass difference between a nucleus and the sum of the masses of the constituent protons and neutrons.






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






13. The dot product of the area and the magnetic field passing through it. Graphically - it is a measure of the number and length of magnetic field lines passing through that area. It is measured in Webers (Wb).






14. The amplification of one wave by another - identical wave of the same sign. Two constructively interfering waves are said to be "in phase."






15. 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.






16. 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.






17. A rigid body's resistance to being rotated. The moment of inertia for a single particle is MR2 - where M is the mass of the rigid body and R is the distance to the rotation axis. For rigid bodies - calculating the moment of inertia is more complicate






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






19. The unit of magnetic flux - equal to one T · m2.






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






21. The effect of force on rotational motion.






22. 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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23. Two quantities are directly proportional if an increase in one results in a proportional increase in the other - and a decrease in one results in a proportional decrease in the other. In a formula defining a certain quantity - those quantities to whi






24. The unit for measuring pressure. One Pascal is equal to one Newton per meter squared - 1 Pa = 1 N/m2.






25. The current induced in a circuit by a change in magnetic flux.






26. In reference to oscillation - amplitude is the maximum displacement of the oscillator from its equilibrium position. Amplitude tells how far an oscillator is swinging back and forth. In periodic motion - amplitude is the maximum displacement in each






27. The separation of different color light via refraction.






28. 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






29. A principle derived by Werner Heisenberg in 1927 that tells us that we can never know both the position and the momentum of a particle at any given time.






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






31. A positively charged particle that - along with the neutron - occupies the nucleus of the atom.






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






33. The phenomenon by which light traveling from a high n to a low n material will reflect from the optical interface if the incident angle is greater than the critical angle.






34. 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.






35. 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






36. 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.






37. Energy associated with the state of motion. The translational kinetic energy of an object is given by the equation .






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






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






40. A push or a pull that causes an object to accelerate.






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






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






43. The standing wave with the lowest frequency that is supported by a string with both ends tied down is called the fundamental - or resonance - of the string. The wavelength of the fundamental is twice the length of the string - .






44. 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.






45. Heat transfer via electromagnetic waves.






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






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






48. The movement of a rigid body's center of mass in space.






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






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