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

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2. Essentially a restatement of energy conservation - it states that the change in the internal energy of a system is equal to the heat added plus the work done on the system.






3. The gravitational force exerted on a given mass.






4. 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.






5. The amount of heat of a material required to raise the temperature of either one kilogram or one gram of that material by one degree Celsius. Different units may be used depending on whether specific heat is measured in s of grams or kilograms - and






6. A coefficient that tells how much the volume of a solid will change when it is heated or cooled.






7. 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.






8. 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.






9. A vector quantity - L - that is the rotational analogue of linear momentum. For a single particle - the angular momentum is the cross product of the particle's displacement from the axis of rotation and the particle's linear momentum - . For a rigid






10. 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.






11. The principle stating that for any isolated system - linear momentum is constant with time.






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






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






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






15. 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






16. 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.






17. Indicates how "bouncy" or "stiff" a spring is. More specifically - the spring constant - k - is the constant of proportionality between the restoring force exerted by the spring - and the spring's displacement from equilibrium. The greater the value






18. If a line is drawn from the sun to the planet - then the area swept out by this line in a given time interval is constant.

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






20. The sum of a system's potential and kinetic energy. In many systems - including projectiles - pulleys - pendulums - and motion on frictionless surfaces - mechanical energy is conserved. One important type of problem in which mechanical energy is not






21. 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.






22. Linear momentum - p - commonly called "momentum" for short - is a vector quantity defined as the product of an object's mass - m - and its velocity - v.






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

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24. A scalar quantity that tells us how fast an object is moving. It measures the rate of change in distance over time. Speed is to be contrasted with velocity in that there is no direction associated with speed.






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






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

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27. The lowest theoretical temperature a material can have - where the molecules that make up the material have no kinetic energy. Absolute zero is reached at 0 K or -273º C.






28. The phenomenon by which light traveling from a high n to a low n material will reflect from the optical interface if the incident angle is greater than the critical angle.






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






30. 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






31. Defined as the rate at which work is done - or the rate at which energy is transformed. P is measured in joules per second (J/s) - or watts (W).






32. The line that every particle in the rotating rigid body circles about.






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






34. In a right triangle - the tangent of a given angle is the length of the side opposite the angle divided by the length of the side adjacent to the triangle.






35. 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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36. The separation of different color light via refraction.






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






38. Heat transfer via the mass movement of molecules.






39. 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.






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






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






42. 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.






43. An image created by a mirror or lens in such a way that light does actually come from where the image appears to be. If you place a screen in front of a real image - the image will be projected onto the screen.






44. A particle - which consists of two protons and two neutrons. It is identical to the nucleus of a helium atom and is ejected by heavy particles undergoing alpha decay.






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






46. Life- The amount of time it takes for one-half of a radioactive sample to decay.






47. Kinematics is the study and description of the motion of objects.






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






49. A particle - identical to an electron. Beta particles are ejected from an atom in the process of beta decay.






50. 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