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






2. 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.






3. A device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy by rotating a coil in a magnetic field; sometimes called a "dynamo."






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

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






6. An object cannot be cooled to absolute zero.






7. The study of the properties of visible light - i.e. - the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths between 360 and 780 nm (1 nm = m/s).






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






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






10. In the graphical representation of vectors - the tail of the arrow is the blunt end (the end without a point).






11. The angle between a reflected ray and the normal.






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






13. A constant in the numerator of a formula.






14. 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.






15. 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.






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






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






18. In the Bohr model of the atom - the state in which an electron has the least energy and orbits closest to the nucleus.






19. For a gas held at constant pressure - temperature and volume are directly proportional.

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20. 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.






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






22. The square of the amplitude of a sound wave is called the sound's loudness - or volume.






23. A device made of two coils - which converts current of one voltage into current of another voltage. In a step-up transformer - the primary coil has fewer turns than the secondary - thus increasing the voltage. In a step-down transformer - the seconda






24. 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.






25. Given the trajectory of an object or system - the center of mass is the point that has the same acceleration as the object or system as a whole would have if its mass were concentrated at that point. In terms of force - the center of mass is the poin






26. 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.






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






28. 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.






29. The unit for measuring pressure. One Pascal is equal to one Newton per meter squared - 1 Pa = 1 N/m2.






30. Any vector can be expressed as the sum of two mutually perpendicular component vectors. Usually - but not always - these components are multiples of the basis vectors - and ; that is - vectors along the x-axis and y-axis. We define these two vectors






31. A form of vector multiplication - where two vectors are multiplied to produce a scalar. The dot product of two vectors - A and B - is expressed by the equation A · B = AB cos .






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






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






34. 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.

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






36. In reference to oscillation - amplitude is the maximum displacement of the oscillator from its equilibrium position. Amplitude tells how far an oscillator is swinging back and forth. In periodic motion - amplitude is the maximum displacement in each






37. 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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38. The energy stored in a thermodynamic system.






39. A vector quantity - or vector - is an object possessing - and fully described by - a magnitude and a direction. Graphically a vector is depicted as an arrow with its magnitude given by the length of the arrow and its direction given by where the arro






40. 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.






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






42. 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 -






43. A force caused by the roughness of two materials in contact - deformations in the materials - and a molecular attraction between the materials. Frictional forces are always parallel to the plane of contact between two surfaces and opposite the direct






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






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






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






47. The points of maximum displacement along a wave. In traveling waves - the crests move in the direction of propagation of the wave. The crests of standing waves - also called anti-nodes - remain in one place.






48. The amount of heat necessary to transform a liquid at a given temperature into a gas of the same temperature - or the amount of heat needed to be taken away from a gas of a given temperature to transform it into a liquid of the same temperature.






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






50. A vector quantity - commonly denoted by the vector s - which reflects an object's change in spatial position. The displacement vector points from the object's starting position to the object's current position in space. If an object is moved from poi