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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 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.






2. A form of radioactive decay where a heavy element ejects a beta particle and a neutrino - becoming a lighter element in the process.






3. The center of a mirror or lens.






4. A pendulum consists of a bob connected to a rod or rope. At small angles - a pendulum's motion approximates simple harmonic motion as it swings back and forth without friction.






5. The gravitational force exerted on a given mass.






6. 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.






7. The standing wave with the lowest frequency that is supported by a string with both ends tied down is called the fundamental - or resonance - of the string. The wavelength of the fundamental is twice the length of the string - .






8. A constant in the numerator of a formula.






9. 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






10. Waves in which the medium moves in the direction perpendicular to the propagation of the wave. Waves on a stretched string - water waves - and electromagnetic waves are all examples of transverse waves.






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






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






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






14. A unit vector is a vector with length 1.






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






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






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

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






19. 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






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






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






22. With spherical mirrors - the radius of the sphere of which the mirror is a part.






23. 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.






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






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






26. 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.






27. A coefficient that tells how much a material will expand or contract lengthwise when it is heated or cooled.






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






29. 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.






30. The amount heat necessary to cause a substance to undergo a phase transition.






31. The line perpendicular to a surface. There is only one normal for any given surface.






32. For two given media - the smallest angle of incidence at which total internal reflection occurs.






33. The motion of a body in a circular path with constant speed.






34. Waves that oscillate in the same direction as the propagation of the wave. Sound is carried by longitudinal waves - since the air molecules move back and forth in the same direction the sound travels.






35. A property of a metal - the minimum frequency of electromagnetic radiation that is necessary to release photoelectrons from that metal.






36. 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.






37. A class of elementary particle whose mass is between that of a proton and that of an electron. A common kind of meson is the pion.






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






39. A form of vector multiplication - where two vectors are multiplied to produce a scalar. The dot product of two vectors - A and B - is expressed by the equation A · B = AB cos .






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






41. 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






42. 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






43. 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.






44. The acceleration of a body experiencing uniform circular motion. This acceleration is always directed toward the center of the circle.






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






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






47. When objects collide - each object feels a force for a short amount of time. This force imparts an impulse - or changes the momentum of each of the colliding objects. The momentum of a system is conserved in all kinds of collisions. Kinetic energy is






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






49. The mass number - A - is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus. It is very close to the weight of that nucleus in atomic mass units.






50. 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