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






2. The disorder of a system.






3. For a reflected light ray - . In other words - a ray of light reflects of a surface in the same plane as the incident ray and the normal - and at an angle to the normal that is equal to the angle between the incident ray and the normal.






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






5. 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.






6. 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






7. A pulley is a simple machine that consists of a rope that slides around a disk or block.






8. An object cannot be cooled to absolute zero.






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






10. The joule (J) is the unit of work and energy. A joule is 1 N · m or 1 kg · m2/s2.






11. 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.






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






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






14. A property of a metal - the minimum frequency of electromagnetic radiation that is necessary to release photoelectrons from that metal.






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






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






17. The center of a mirror or lens.






18. 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.






19. 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






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






21. A form of radioactivity where an excited atom releases a photon of gamma radiation - thereby returning to a lower energy state. The atomic structure itself does not change in the course of gamma radiation.






22. 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.






23. Also called a converging lens - a lens that is thicker in the middle than at the edges. Convex lenses refract light through a focal point.






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






25. 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.






26. A wave on a string that is tied to a pole at one end will reflect back toward its source - producing a wave that is the mirror-image of the original and which travels in the opposite direction.






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






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






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






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






31. The force between two surfaces that are not moving relative to one another. The force of static friction is parallel to the plane of contact between the two objects and resists the force pushing or pulling on the object.






32. 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.






33. An area of high air pressure that acts as the wave trough for sound waves. The spacing between successive rarefactions is the wavelength of sound - and the number of successive areas of rarefaction that arrive at the ear per second is the frequency -






34. 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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35. 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.






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






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






38. A principle derived by Werner Heisenberg in 1927 that tells us that we can never know both the position and the momentum of a particle at any given time.






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






40. 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.






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






42. The energy of the molecules that make up an object. It is related to heat - which is the amount of energy transferred from one object to another object that is a different temperature.






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






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






45. A unit for measuring angles; also called a "rad." 2p rad = 360º.






46. The path of each planet around the sun is an ellipse with the sun at one focus.

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






48. 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.






49. 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.






50. The movement of a rigid body's center of mass in space.