NY Regents Physics flashcards
NY Regents Physics · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Displacement
- A vector quantity giving the straight-line change in position from start to finish, including direction; it differs from distance, which is the total path length traveled.
- Newton's second law
- The net force on an object equals its mass times its acceleration, F_net = ma; acceleration is in the same direction as the net force.
- Weight
- The gravitational force on an object near Earth's surface, equal to mass times gravitational acceleration (mg), directed downward and measured in newtons.
- Static friction
- A variable force that opposes the start of sliding motion, increasing up to a maximum equal to the coefficient of static friction times the normal force.
- Projectile motion
- Motion under gravity alone after launch; horizontal velocity stays constant while vertical velocity changes by g each second, so the components are analyzed independently.
- Centripetal acceleration
- The acceleration of an object moving in a circle, equal to v squared divided by radius, directed toward the center and changing only the direction of velocity.
- Conservation of momentum
- In a system with zero net external force, total momentum before an interaction equals total momentum after, applying to all collisions and explosions.
- Work
- The product of force and displacement along the force direction, W = Fd cos θ; it is zero when force is perpendicular to the displacement.
- Kinetic energy
- The energy of motion, equal to one-half mass times velocity squared; it is a scalar and always nonnegative for ordinary motion.
- Gravitational potential energy
- Energy stored due to height above a reference level near Earth, equal to mgh, where h is measured from the chosen zero point.
- Work-energy theorem
- The net work done on an object equals its change in kinetic energy, linking force and displacement to changes in speed.
- Power
- The rate at which work is done or energy is transferred, equal to work divided by time or force times velocity, measured in watts.
- Conservation of energy
- Energy can change form but the total amount in a closed system stays constant; friction converts mechanical energy into thermal energy.
- Elastic potential energy
- Energy stored in a stretched or compressed spring, equal to one-half the spring constant times the square of the displacement from equilibrium.
- Coulomb's law
- The electric force between two point charges equals kq1q2 divided by the square of their separation, attractive for opposite charges and repulsive for like charges.
- Electric field
- The force per unit positive charge at a point, a vector pointing away from positive charge and toward negative charge, measured in newtons per coulomb.
- Ohm's law
- For a conductor at constant temperature, voltage equals current times resistance; resistance is voltage divided by current, measured in ohms.
- Series circuit
- A circuit with one path: current is the same through every element, resistances add, and the total voltage divides among the components.
- Parallel circuit
- A circuit with multiple branches: voltage is the same across each branch, currents add, and the equivalent resistance is less than any single branch resistance.
- Electric power
- The rate of electrical energy transfer, equal to current times voltage, or current squared times resistance, measured in watts.
- Electromagnetic induction
- A changing magnetic flux through a loop induces an emf; the induced current opposes the change in flux, as described by Faraday's and Lenz's laws.
- Wave speed
- The distance a wave crest travels per second, equal to frequency times wavelength; it depends on the medium, not on the wave's amplitude.
- Refraction
- The bending of a wave as it crosses a boundary where its speed changes; it bends toward the normal when slowing and away when speeding up.
- Doppler effect
- The shift in observed frequency caused by relative motion between a wave source and an observer; approach raises frequency and recession lowers it.
- Standing wave
- A pattern formed by two waves of equal frequency traveling in opposite directions, with fixed nodes and antinodes at stable positions.
- Diffraction
- The spreading of waves around obstacles and through openings; the effect is most pronounced when the opening is comparable to the wavelength.
- Photoelectric effect
- The ejection of electrons from a metal surface by light only when the light's frequency exceeds a threshold, because light energy arrives in discrete quanta.
- Photon energy
- The energy of a light quantum, equal to Planck's constant times frequency, or Planck's constant times light speed divided by wavelength.
- Work function
- The minimum energy needed to remove an electron from a metal surface; maximum ejected-electron kinetic energy equals photon energy minus this value.
- Quantized energy levels
- Discrete allowed energies for electrons in an atom; photons are emitted or absorbed only when an electron changes between these levels.
- Half-life
- The time required for half of the radioactive nuclei in a sample to decay; it is constant for a given isotope and unaffected by external conditions.
- Mass-energy equivalence
- Mass and energy are interchangeable according to E = mc², so small changes in mass correspond to large releases or absorptions of energy.