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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 rough approximation of how gases work - that is quite accurate in everyday conditions. According to the kinetic theory - gases are made up of tiny - round molecules that move about in accordance with Newton's Laws - and collide with one another and






2. The units of frequency - defined as inverse-seconds (1 Hz = 1 s-1). "Hertz" can be used interchangeably with "cycles per second."






3. A law - || = - which states that the induced emf is the change in magnetic flux in a certain time.

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






5. In an interference or diffraction pattern - the places where there is the most light.






6. 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.






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






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






9. The mass number - A - is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus. It is very close to the weight of that nucleus in atomic mass units.






10. A constant in the numerator of a formula.






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






12. A wavelength - given by = h/mv - which is associated with matter. Louis de Broglie proposed the idea that matter could be treated as waves in 1923 and applied this theory successfully to small particles like electrons.






13. A scale for measuring temperature - defined such that 0K is the lowest theoretical temperature a material can have. 273K = 0ºC.






14. 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






15. 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.






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






17. 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.






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






19. 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.






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






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






22. The property by which a charge moving in a magnetic field creates an electric field.






23. 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.






24. 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






25. The coefficient of static friction - for two materials is the constant of proportionality between the normal force and the maximum force of static friction. It is always a number between zero and one.






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






27. The phenomenon of light bouncing off a surface - such as a mirror.






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






29. 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.






30. 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.






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

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






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






34. Heat transfer via electromagnetic waves.






35. 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






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






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






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






39. States that the current induced in a circuit by a change in magnetic flux is in the direction that will oppose that change in flux. Using the right-hand rule - point your thumb in the opposite direction of the change in magnetic flux. The direction y

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40. 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.






41. Another word for the frequency of a sound wave.






42. The distance between successive wave crests - or troughs. Wavelength is measured in meters and is related to frequency and wave speed by = v/f.






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






44. The building blocks of all matter - quarks are the constituent parts of protons - neutrons - and mesons.






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






46. A number - Z - associated with the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. Every element can be defined in s of its atomic number - since every atom of a given element has the same number of protons.






47. The index of refraction n = c/v of a substance characterizes the speed of light in that substance - v. It also characterizes - by way of Snell's Law - the angle at which light refracts in that substance.






48. 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.






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






50. The particles and energy released by the fission or fusion of one atom may trigger the fission or fusion of further atoms. In a chain reaction - fission or fusion is rapidly transferred to a large number of atoms - releasing tremendous amounts of ene