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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 number of digits that have been accurately measured. When combining several measurements in a formula - the resulting calculation can only have as many significant digits as the measurement that has the smallest number of significant digits.






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






3. 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






4. 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.






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






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






7. Body diagram- Illustrates the forces acting on an object - drawn as vectors originating from the center of the object.






8. The principle by which the displacements from different waves traveling in the same medium add up. Superposition is the basis for interference.






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






10. 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.






11. A body or set of bodies that we choose to analyze as a group.






12. The time it takes a system to pass through one cycle of its repetitive motion. The period - T - is the inverse of the motion's frequency - f = 1/T.






13. 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.






14. 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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15. The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. 1 cal = 4.19 J.






16. A force caused by the roughness of two materials in contact - deformations in the materials - and a molecular attraction between the materials. Frictional forces are always parallel to the plane of contact between two surfaces and opposite the direct






17. 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.






18. 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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19. Energy cannot be made or destroyed; energy can only be changed from one place to another or from one form to another.






20. 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.






21. 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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22. 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






23. Heat transfer via the mass movement of molecules.






24. An electromagnetic wave of very high frequency.






25. The separation of different color light via refraction.






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






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

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28. The five equations used to solve problems in kinematics in one dimension with uniform acceleration.






29. The joule (J) is the unit of work and energy. A joule is 1 N · m or 1 kg · m2/s2.






30. 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






31. In the graphical representation of vectors - the tail of the arrow is the blunt end (the end without a point).






32. An object cannot be cooled to absolute zero.






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






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






35. A constant - - not to be confused with wavelength - that defines the speed at which a radioactive element undergoes decay. The greater is - the faster the element decays.






36. The bending of light at the corners of objects or as it passes through narrow slits or apertures.






37. When objects collide - each object feels a force for a short amount of time. This force imparts an impulse - or changes the momentum of each of the colliding objects. The momentum of a system is conserved in all kinds of collisions. Kinetic energy is






38. 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






39. The energy stored in a thermodynamic system.






40. The energy of a particle moving in space. It is defined in s of a particle's mass - m - and velocity - v - as (1/2)mv2.






41. The force of gravity - F - between two particles of mass and - separated by a distance r - has a magnitude of - where G is the gravitational constant. The force is directed along the line joining the two particles.

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42. The force that causes simple harmonic motion. The restoring force is always directed toward an object's equilibrium position.






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






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






45. 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.






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






47. The number of hydrogen atoms in one gram of hydrogen - equal to . When counting the number of molecules in a gas - it is often convenient to count them in moles.






48. For a gas held at constant pressure - temperature and volume are directly proportional.

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






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