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






2. 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






3. The study of the properties of visible light - i.e. - the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths between 360 and 780 nm (1 nm = m/s).






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






6. The amount of energy that metal must absorb before it can release a photoelectron from the metal.






7. A transverse traveling wave created by the oscillations of an electric field and a magnetic field. Electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light - m/s. Examples include microwaves - X rays - and visible light.






8. A frequency - f - defined as the number of revolutions a rigid body makes in a given time interval. It is a scalar quantity commonly denoted in units of Hertz (Hz) or s-1.






9. An equation - PV = nRT - that relates the pressure - volume - temperature - and quantity of an ideal gas. An ideal gas is one that obeys the approximations laid out in the kinetic theory of gases.






10. 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






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






12. A constant in the numerator of a formula.






13. A means of defining the direction of the cross product vector. To define the direction of the vector - position your right hand so that your fingers point in the direction of A - and then curl them around so that they point in the direction of B. Th






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






15. In radioactive substances - the number of nuclei that decay per second. Activity - A - will be larger in large samples of radioactive material - since there will be more nuclei.






16. A wedge or a slide. The dynamics of objects sliding down inclined planes is a popular topic on SAT II Physics.






17. 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.






18. 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.






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

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20. The line that every particle in the rotating rigid body circles about.






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






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






23. An object that moves about a stable equilibrium point and experiences a restoring force that is directly proportional to the oscillator's displacement.






24. 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






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






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






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






28. 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






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






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. 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






32. An object cannot be cooled to absolute zero.






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






34. The points of maximum negative displacement along a wave. They are the opposite of wave crests.






35. The process by which unstable nuclei spontaneously release particles and/or energy so as to come to a more stable arrangement. The most common forms of radioactive decay are alpha decay - beta decay - and gamma decay.






36. 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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37. The energy stored in a thermodynamic system.






38. The distance between successive wave crests - or troughs. Wavelength is measured in meters and is related to frequency and wave speed by = v/f.






39. The principle by which the displacements from different waves traveling in the same medium add up. Superposition is the basis for interference.






40. If a line is drawn from the sun to the planet - then the area swept out by this line in a given time interval is constant.

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41. A measurement of a body's inertia - or resistance to being accelerated.






42. 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.






43. 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.






44. The unit for measuring pressure. One Pascal is equal to one Newton per meter squared - 1 Pa = 1 N/m2.






45. Given the trajectory of an object or system - the center of mass is the point that has the same acceleration as the object or system as a whole would have if its mass were concentrated at that point. In terms of force - the center of mass is the poin






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






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






48. The two shorter sides of a right triangle that meet at the right angle.






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






50. A measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules in a system. Temperature is related to heat by the specific heat of a given substance.