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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 vector quantity - L - that is the rotational analogue of linear momentum. For a single particle - the angular momentum is the cross product of the particle's displacement from the axis of rotation and the particle's linear momentum - . For a rigid






2. The separation of different color light via refraction.






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






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






5. 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.






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






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






8. 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.






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






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






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






12. The cancellation of one wave by another wave that is exactly out of phase with the first. Despite the dramatic name of this phenomenon - nothing is "destroyed" by this interference—the two waves emerge intact once they have passed each other.






13. 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






14. Heat transfer via the mass movement of molecules.






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






16. A device that breaks incoming light down into spectral rays - so that one can see the exact wavelength constituents of the light.






17. 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.






18. A measurement of a body's inertia - or resistance to being accelerated.






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






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






21. 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.






22. 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.






23. Relates the angle of incidence to the angle of refraction: .

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24. The energy associated with the configuration of bodies attracted to each other by the gravitational force. It is a measure of the amount of work necessary to get the two bodies from a chosen point of reference to their present position. This point of






25. An image created by a mirror or lens in such a way that light does not actually come from where the image appears to be.






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






27. There are a few versions of this law. One is that heat flows spontaneously from hot to cold - but not in the reverse direction. Another is that there is no such thing as a 100% efficient heat engine. A third states that the entropy - or disorder - of






28. 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.






29. A wave that interferes with its own reflection so as to produce oscillations which stand still - rather than traveling down the length of the medium. Standing waves on a string with both ends tied down make up the harmonic series.






30. 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






31. The amount of error that's possible in a given measurement.






32. A vector quantity defined as the rate of change of the displacement vector with time. It is to be contrasted with speed - which is a scalar quantity for which no direction is specified.






33. 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.






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






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






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






38. The time - T - required for a rigid body to complete one revolution.






39. 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.






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






41. States that the net work done on an object is equal to the object's change in kinetic energy.






42. In the graphical representation of vectors - the tip of the arrow is the pointy end.






43. Occurs when every point in the rigid body moves in a circular path around a line called the axis of rotation.






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






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






46. For an oscillating spring - the restoring force exerted by the spring is directly proportional to the displacement. That is - the more the spring is displaced - the stronger the force that will pull toward the equilibrium position. This law is expres

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






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






49. Light such that all of the associated waves have the same wavelength and are in phase.






50. A vector quantity defined as the rate of change of the velocity vector with time.