Test your basic knowledge |

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. An experiment by Ernest Rutherford that proved for the first time that atoms have nuclei.






2. 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.






3. 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.






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


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






6. A frequency - f - defined as the number of revolutions a rigid body makes in a given time interval. It is a scalar quantity commonly denoted in units of Hertz (Hz) or s-1.






7. A transfer of thermal energy. We don't speak about systems "having" heat - but about their "transferring" heat - much in the way that dynamical systems don't "have" work - but rather "do" work.






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






9. The temperature at which a material will change phase from liquid to gas or gas to liquid.






10. Objects that experience oscillatory or simple harmonic motion when distorted. Their motion is described by Hooke's Law.






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






12. Two quantities are directly proportional if an increase in one results in a proportional increase in the other - and a decrease in one results in a proportional decrease in the other. In a formula defining a certain quantity - those quantities to whi






13. 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.






14. The spectrum containing all the different kinds of electromagnetic waves - ranging in wavelength and frequency.






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






16. An experiment in 1879 that showed that the speed of light is constant to all observers. Einstein used the results of this experiment as support for his theory of special relativity.






17. The energy of a particle rotating around an axis.






18. 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.






19. When a light ray strikes a surface - the angle of incidence is the angle between the incident ray and the normal.






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






21. If two systems - A and B - are in thermal equilibrium and if B and C are also in thermal equilibrium - then systems A and C are necessarily in thermal equilibrium.






22. 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.






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. With spherical mirrors - the center of the sphere of which the mirror is a part. All of the normals pass through it.






25. In radioactive substances - the number of nuclei that decay per second. Activity - A - will be larger in large samples of radioactive material - since there will be more nuclei.






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






27. The angle between a refracted ray and the line normal to the surface.






28. Atoms of the same element may have different numbers of neutrons and therefore different masses. Atoms of the same element but with different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes of the same element.






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






30. A neutrally charged particle that - along with protons - constitutes the nucleus of an atom.






31. A positively charged particle that - along with the neutron - occupies the nucleus of the atom.






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






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






34. 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.






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






36. The force necessary to maintain a body in uniform circular motion. This force is always directed radially toward the center of the circle.






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






38. 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.






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






40. 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.






41. To every action - there is an equal and opposite reaction. If an object A exerts a force on another object B - B will exert on A a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the force exerted by A.


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






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






44. When an object is held in circular motion about a massive body - like a planet or a sun - due to the force of gravity - that object is said to be in orbit. Objects in orbit are in perpetual free fall - and so are therefore weightless.






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






46. A nuclear reaction in which a high-energy neutron bombards a heavy - unstable atomic nucleus - causing it to split into two smaller nuclei - and releasing some neutrons and a vast amount of energy at the same time






47. 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.






48. 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.






49. 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.


50. An electromagnetic wave of very high frequency.