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






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






3. An electromagnetic wave of very high frequency.






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






5. The experience of being in free fall. If you are in a satellite - elevator - or other free-falling object - then you have a weight of zero Newtons relative to that object.






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






7. 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






8. 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.






9. 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.






10. The particles and energy released by the fission or fusion of one atom may trigger the fission or fusion of further atoms. In a chain reaction - fission or fusion is rapidly transferred to a large number of atoms - releasing tremendous amounts of ene






11. 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






12. The points on a standing wave where total destructive interference causes the medium to remain fixed at its equilibrium position.






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






14. A form of vector multiplication - where two vectors are multiplied to produce a third vector. The cross product of two vectors - A and B - separated by an angle - - is - where is a unit vector perpendicular to both A and B. To deine which direction






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






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






17. 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






18. 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.






19. Energy associated with an object's position in space - or configuration in relation to other objects. This is a latent form of energy - where the amount of potential energy reflects the amount of energy that potentially could be released as kinetic e






20. The name of an electron released from the surface of a metal due to the photoelectric effect.






21. The coefficient of static friction - for two materials is the constant of proportionality between the normal force and the maximum force of static friction. It is always a number between zero and one.






22. 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.






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






24. A system that no external net force acts upon. Objects within the system may exert forces upon one another - but they cannot receive any impulse from outside forces. Momentum is conserved in isolated systems.






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






26. F = ma. The net force - F - acting on an object causes the object to accelerate - a. The magnitude of the acceleration is directly proportional to the net force on the object and inversely proportional to the mass - m - of the object.

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27. The dot product of the area and the magnetic field passing through it. Graphically - it is a measure of the number and length of magnetic field lines passing through that area. It is measured in Webers (Wb).






28. With spherical mirrors - the center of the sphere of which the mirror is a part. All of the normals pass through it.






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






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

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






32. 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






33. The reaction force of the ground - a table - etc. - when an object is placed upon it. The normal force is a direct consequence of Newton's Third Law: when an object is placed on the ground - the ground pushes back with the same force that it is pushe






34. The building blocks of all matter - atoms are made up of a nucleus consisting of protons and neutrons - and a number of electrons that orbit the nucleus. An electrically neutral atom has as many protons as it has electrons.






35. A vector quantity defined as the rate of change of the displacement vector with time. It is to be contrasted with speed - which is a scalar quantity for which no direction is specified.






36. When electromagnetic radiation shines upon a metal - the surface of the metal releases energized electrons. The way in which these electrons are released contradicts classical theories of electromagnetic radiation and supports the quantum view accord






37. An object that retains its overall shape - meaning that the particles that make up the rigid body stay in the same position relative to one another.






38. The ratio of the size of the image produced by a mirror or lens to the size of the original object. This number is negative if the image is upside-down.






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






40. A measure of force per unit area. Pressure is measured in N/m2 or Pa.






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






42. Waves carried by variations in air pressure. The speed of sound waves in air at room temperature and pressure is roughly 343 m/s.






43. 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






44. A transfer of thermal energy from one system to another.






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






46. A nuclear reaction in which a high-energy neutron bombards a heavy - unstable atomic nucleus - causing it to split into two smaller nuclei - and releasing some neutrons and a vast amount of energy at the same time






47. A push or a pull that causes an object to accelerate.






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






49. 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






50. 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.