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






2. A vector quantity - - that reflects the change of angular displacement with time - and is typically given in units of rad/s. To find the direction of the angular velocity vector - take your right hand and curl your fingers along the particle or body






3. A system with many parts in periodic - or repetitive - motion. The oscillations in one part cause vibrations in nearby parts.






4. 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.






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






6. Waves produced by a source that is moving with respect to the observer will seem to have a higher frequency and smaller wavelength if the motion is towards the observer - and a lower frequency and longer wavelength if the motion is away from the obse






7. The ray of light that is reflected from a mirror or other reflecting surface.






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






9. An equation - PV = nRT - that relates the pressure - volume - temperature - and quantity of an ideal gas. An ideal gas is one that obeys the approximations laid out in the kinetic theory of gases.






10. 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.






11. 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






12. A form of vector multiplication - where two vectors are multiplied to produce a third vector. The cross product of two vectors - A and B - separated by an angle - - is - where is a unit vector perpendicular to both A and B. To deine which direction






13. 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.






14. A model for the atom developed in 1913 by Niels Bohr. According to this model - the electrons orbiting a nucleus can only orbit at certain particular radii. Excited electrons may jump to a more distant radii and then return to their ground state - em






15. 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.






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






17. Also called a diverging lens - a lens that is thinner in the middle than at the edges. Concave lenses refract light away from a focal point.






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






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






20. 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.






21. 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.






22. 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.






23. A property common to both vectors and scalars. In the graphical representation of a vector - the vector's magnitude is equal to the length of the arrow.






24. 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






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






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






27. An object cannot be cooled to absolute zero.






28. 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.






29. 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.






30. 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






31. A machine that operates by taking heat from a hot place - doing some work with that heat - and then exhausting the rest of the heat into a cool place. The internal combustion engine of a car is an example of a heat engine.






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






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






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






35. The property by which a changing current in one coil of wire induces an emf in another.






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






37. 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.






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






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






40. The temperature at which a material will change phase from solid to liquid or liquid to solid.






41. 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






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






43. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






49. If the net torque acting on a rigid body is zero - then the angular momentum of the body is constant or conserved.






50. 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 - .






Can you answer 50 questions in 15 minutes?



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