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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 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 - .






2. 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






3. 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.






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






5. The points on a standing wave where total destructive interference causes the medium to remain fixed at its equilibrium position.






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






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






8. 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






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






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






11. Kinematics is the study and description of the motion of objects.






12. A nuclear reaction that takes place only at very high temperatures. Two light atoms - often hydrogen - fuse together to form a larger single atom - releasing a vast amount of energy in the process.






13. 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






14. Linear momentum - p - commonly called "momentum" for short - is a vector quantity defined as the product of an object's mass - m - and its velocity - v.






15. 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).






16. 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






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






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






19. 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.






20. The amount of heat necessary to transform a solid at a given temperature into a liquid of the same temperature - or the amount of heat needed to be removed from a liquid of a given temperature to transform it into a solid of the same temperature.






21. 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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22. The straight line that runs through the focal point and the vertex of a mirror or lens.






23. 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.






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






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






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






27. 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.






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

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29. 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.






30. Any vector can be expressed as the sum of two mutually perpendicular component vectors. Usually - but not always - these components are multiples of the basis vectors - and ; that is - vectors along the x-axis and y-axis. We define these two vectors






31. The ray of light that is refracted through a surface into a different medium.






32. Indicates how "bouncy" or "stiff" a spring is. More specifically - the spring constant - k - is the constant of proportionality between the restoring force exerted by the spring - and the spring's displacement from equilibrium. The greater the value






33. 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.






34. A sheet - film - or screen with a pattern of equally spaced slits. Typically the width of the slits and space between them is chosen to generate a particular diffraction pattern.






35. An object that retains its overall shape - meaning that the particles that make up the rigid body stay in the same position relative to one another.






36. The points of maximum negative displacement along a wave. They are the opposite of wave crests.






37. The name of an electron released from the surface of a metal due to the photoelectric effect.






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






39. The force between two surfaces moving relative to one another. The frictional force is parallel to the plane of contact between the two objects and in the opposite direction of the sliding object's motion.






40. A transverse traveling wave created by the oscillations of an electric field and a magnetic field. Electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light - m/s. Examples include microwaves - X rays - and visible light.






41. Heat transfer via the mass movement of molecules.






42. The lowest theoretical temperature a material can have - where the molecules that make up the material have no kinetic energy. Absolute zero is reached at 0 K or -273º C.






43. The state of a nonrotating object upon whom the net torque acting is zero.






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






45. Heat transfer via electromagnetic waves.






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






47. A collision in which both kinetic energy and momentum are conserved.






48. 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.






49. A transfer of thermal energy from one system to another.






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