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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 wavelength - given by = h/mv - which is associated with matter. Louis de Broglie proposed the idea that matter could be treated as waves in 1923 and applied this theory successfully to small particles like electrons.






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






3. 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.






4. The point of a mirror or lens where all light that runs parallel to the principal axis will be focused. Concave mirrors and convex lenses are designed to focus light into the focal point. Convex mirrors and concave lenses focus light away from the fo






5. Another word for the frequency of a sound wave.






6. 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.






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






8. A number - Z - associated with the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. Every element can be defined in s of its atomic number - since every atom of a given element has the same number of protons.






9. 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.






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






12. An object cannot be cooled to absolute zero.






13. 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






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






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






16. 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






17. The temperature at which a material will change phase from solid to liquid or liquid to solid.






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






19. The current induced in a circuit by a change in magnetic flux.






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






21. 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






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






23. 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






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






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






26. 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






27. 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.






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






30. A device made of two coils - which converts current of one voltage into current of another voltage. In a step-up transformer - the primary coil has fewer turns than the secondary - thus increasing the voltage. In a step-down transformer - the seconda






31. A unit of measurement for energy on atomic levels. 1 eV = J.






32. A vector quantity - commonly denoted by the vector s - which reflects an object's change in spatial position. The displacement vector points from the object's starting position to the object's current position in space. If an object is moved from poi






33. 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






34. Represented by R = 8.31 J/mol · K - the universal gas constant fits into the ideal gas law so as to relate temperature to the average kinetic energy of gas molecules.






35. In an interference or diffraction pattern - the places where there is the most light.






36. The velocity at any given instant in time. To be contrasted with average velocity - which is a measure of the change in displacement over a given time interval.






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






38. 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.






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






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






41. 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






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






43. Objects that experience oscillatory or simple harmonic motion when distorted. Their motion is described by Hooke's Law.






44. The effect of force on rotational motion.






45. 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.






46. The number of hydrogen atoms in one gram of hydrogen - equal to . When counting the number of molecules in a gas - it is often convenient to count them in moles.






47. 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






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






49. 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.






50. The force that causes simple harmonic motion. The restoring force is always directed toward an object's equilibrium position.