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






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






3. A body or set of bodies that we choose to analyze as a group.






4. The temperature at which a material will change phase from liquid to gas or gas to liquid.






5. 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.






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






7. 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






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






9. 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.






10. 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.






11. The longest side of a right triangle - opposite to the right angle.






12. Relates the angle of incidence to the angle of refraction: .

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13. 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.






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






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






16. 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.






17. The force involved in beta decay that changes a proton to a neutron and releases an electron and a neutrino.






18. 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.






19. 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.






20. A mirror that is curved such that its center is farther from the viewer than the edges - such as the front of a spoon. Concave mirrors reflect light through a focal point.






21. The force of gravity - F - between two particles of mass and - separated by a distance r - has a magnitude of - where G is the gravitational constant. The force is directed along the line joining the two particles.

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

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






24. 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.






25. The cancellation of one wave by another wave that is exactly out of phase with the first. Despite the dramatic name of this phenomenon - nothing is "destroyed" by this interference—the two waves emerge intact once they have passed each other.






26. Atoms of the same element may have different numbers of neutrons and therefore different masses. Atoms of the same element but with different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes of the same element.






27. The cosine of an angle in a right triangle is equal to the length of the side adjacent to the angle divided by the length of the hypotenuse.






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






29. 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.






30. A property common to both vectors and scalars. In the graphical representation of a vector - the vector's magnitude is equal to the length of the arrow.






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






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






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






34. The property by which a changing current in one coil of wire induces an emf in another.






35. A negatively charged particle that orbits the nucleus of the atom.






36. The angle between a refracted ray and the line normal to the surface.






37. A pulley is a simple machine that consists of a rope that slides around a disk or block.






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






39. To every action - there is an equal and opposite reaction. If an object A exerts a force on another object B - B will exert on A a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the force exerted by A.

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






41. For an oscillating spring - the restoring force exerted by the spring is directly proportional to the displacement. That is - the more the spring is displaced - the stronger the force that will pull toward the equilibrium position. This law is expres

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42. The amount of heat necessary for a material undergoing sublimation to make a phase change from gas to solid or solid to gas - without a change in temperature.






43. 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.






44. The building blocks of all matter - quarks are the constituent parts of protons - neutrons - and mesons.






45. 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






46. The force transmitted along a rope or cable.






47. A rigid body's resistance to being rotated. The moment of inertia for a single particle is MR2 - where M is the mass of the rigid body and R is the distance to the rotation axis. For rigid bodies - calculating the moment of inertia is more complicate






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






49. 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.






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