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






2. The property of a vector that distinguishes it from a scalar: while scalars have only a magnitude - vectors have both a magnitude and a direction. When graphing vectors in the xy-coordinate space - direction is usually given by the angle measured cou






3. The constant of proportionality in Newton's Law of Gravitation. It reflects the proportion of the gravitational force and - the product of two particles' masses divided by the square of the bodies' separation. N · m2/kg2.






4. 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.






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






6. An electromagnetic wave of very high frequency.






7. The process by which a solid turns directly into gas - because it cannot exist as a liquid at a certain pressure.






8. 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






9. 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.






10. 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.






11. 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






12. 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.






13. The effect of force on rotational motion.






14. 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






15. 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.






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






17. The mass difference between a nucleus and the sum of the masses of the constituent protons and neutrons.






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






19. 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






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






21. A reference frame in which Newton's First Law is true. Two inertial reference frames move at a constant velocity relative to one another. According to the first postulate of Einstein's theory of special relativity - the laws of physics are the same i






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






23. 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.






24. 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).






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






26. 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.






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






28. The distance between the focal point and the vertex of a mirror or lens. For concave mirrors and convex lenses - this number is positive. For convex mirrors and concave lenses - this number is negative.






29. 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






30. Body diagram- Illustrates the forces acting on an object - drawn as vectors originating from the center of the object.






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






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






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






34. For a gas held at a constant temperature - pressure and volume are inversely proportional.

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






36. 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






37. 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






38. 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.






39. An almost massless particle of neutral charge that is released along with a beta particle in beta decay.






40. There are a few versions of this law. One is that heat flows spontaneously from hot to cold - but not in the reverse direction. Another is that there is no such thing as a 100% efficient heat engine. A third states that the entropy - or disorder - of






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






42. Two materials are in thermal equilibrium if they are at the same temperature.






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






44. An object is called radioactive if it undergoes radioactive decay.






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






46. 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






47. The unit of magnetic flux - equal to one T · m2.






48. The position - of an object according to a co-ordinate system measured in s of the angle of the object from a certain origin axis. Conventionally - this origin axis is the positive x-axis.






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

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50. An image created by a mirror or lens in such a way that light does not actually come from where the image appears to be.