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






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






3. A form of radioactive decay where a heavy element emits an alpha particle and some energy - thus transforming into a lighter - more stable - element.






4. The number - N - of neutrons in an atomic nucleus.






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






6. 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.






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






8. In a right triangle - the sine of a given angle is the length of the side opposite the angle divided by the length of the hypotenuse.






9. 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






10. Given the period - T - and semimajor axis - a - of a planet's orbit - the ratio is the same for every planet.


11. 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).






12. 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.






13. The force between two surfaces moving relative to one another. The frictional force is parallel to the plane of contact between the two objects and in the opposite direction of the sliding object's motion.






14. An object cannot be cooled to absolute zero.






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






17. 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






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






19. 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.






20. 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






21. A constant - - not to be confused with wavelength - that defines the speed at which a radioactive element undergoes decay. The greater is - the faster the element decays.






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






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






24. 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






25. 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






26. The amplification of one wave by another - identical wave of the same sign. Two constructively interfering waves are said to be "in phase."






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






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






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


30. 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.






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






32. 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.






33. 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.






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






35. A system with many parts in periodic - or repetitive - motion. The oscillations in one part cause vibrations in nearby parts.






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






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






38. 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.






39. 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






40. The separation of different color light via refraction.






41. The number of digits that have been accurately measured. When combining several measurements in a formula - the resulting calculation can only have as many significant digits as the measurement that has the smallest number of significant digits.






42. 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.






43. 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.






44. Heat transfer by molecular collisions.






45. Heat transfer via electromagnetic waves.






46. States that the net work done on an object is equal to the object's change in kinetic energy.






47. When dealing with reflection or refraction - the incident ray is the ray of light before it strikes the reflecting or refracting surface.






48. The speed at which a wave crest or trough propagates. Note that this is not the speed at which the actual medium (like the stretched string or the air particles) moves.






49. 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






50. 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.