NY Regents Physics key terms

A vector quantity describing the straight-line change in position from a starting point to an ending point, including both distance and direction traveled.

The rate at which displacement changes with time, expressed as a vector with both speed and direction; average velocity divides total displacement by total time.

The rate at which velocity changes with time, including speeding up, slowing down, or changing direction; measured in meters per second squared.

The single vector sum of all individual forces acting on an object, which determines the object's acceleration according to Newton's second law.

The tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion, measured by its mass; an object at rest stays at rest unless a net force acts.

A measure of the amount of matter in an object and its resistance to acceleration, remaining constant regardless of location in the universe.

The gravitational force exerted on an object by a nearby large body, calculated as mass times the local gravitational field strength and measured in newtons.

A contact force that opposes relative motion or the tendency toward motion between two surfaces touching each other, converting kinetic energy into thermal energy.

The perpendicular contact force a surface exerts on an object resting against it, balancing other forces pressing the object into the surface.

The product of an object's mass and velocity, a vector quantity conserved in isolated systems and changed only by impulse from external forces.

The product of a force and the time interval over which it acts, equal to the change in an object's momentum and measured in newton-seconds.

The principle that the total momentum of a closed system stays constant when no net external force acts on it, as in collisions and explosions.

The curved two-dimensional path of an object moving under gravity alone, where horizontal velocity stays constant and vertical motion accelerates downward.

The net force directed toward the center of a circular path that keeps an object moving in that circle, producing centripetal acceleration.

The transfer of energy that occurs when a force moves an object through a displacement, calculated as force times displacement times the cosine of the angle between them.

The rate at which work is done or energy is transferred, calculated as work divided by time and measured in watts.

The energy an object possesses because of its motion, calculated as one-half its mass times the square of its speed.

Stored energy an object has because of its position or configuration, such as height in a gravitational field or stretch in a spring.

The principle that energy cannot be created or destroyed but only transformed or transferred between forms and objects within a system.

The sum of an object's kinetic and potential energies, which stays constant in a system where only gravity or springs do work.

A fundamental property of matter that causes objects to attract or repel each other electrically; it comes in positive and negative types and is conserved.

The rule stating that the electric force between two point charges is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of their separation.

A region around a charged object where another charge experiences an electric force; its strength is force per unit charge and its direction points from positive to negative.

The difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points in a circuit, commonly called voltage and measured in volts.

The rate at which electric charge flows through a conductor, measured in amperes, with conventional direction opposite to electron flow.

The opposition a material offers to the flow of electric current, measured in ohms and depending on material, length, cross-sectional area, and temperature.

The relationship stating that current through a conductor equals the potential difference across it divided by its resistance, written as V equals IR.

A region around a magnet or moving charge where magnetic forces act on other magnets or moving charges, described by direction and strength.

The process by which a changing magnetic field through a conductor produces an induced voltage, the principle behind electric generators and transformers.

A disturbance that transfers energy through space or matter without transporting the medium itself, characterized by amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and speed.

The distance between two consecutive corresponding points on a wave, such as crest to crest, measured in meters.

The number of complete wave cycles passing a point each second, measured in hertz and inversely related to period.

The time required for one complete cycle of a repeating motion or wave, measured in seconds and equal to the reciprocal of frequency.

The bending of a wave as it passes from one medium into another where its speed changes, caused by a change in wavelength.

The spreading of waves around obstacles or through openings, most noticeable when the obstacle or opening is comparable in size to the wavelength.

The combining of two or more waves overlapping in space, producing greater amplitude where crests meet and reduced amplitude where crests meet troughs.

The emission of electrons from a metal surface when light of sufficiently high frequency strikes it, evidence that light behaves as discrete particles called photons.

A discrete packet of electromagnetic energy whose energy equals Planck's constant times the light's frequency; light behaves as a stream of these.

The minimum energy needed to remove an electron from the surface of a particular metal, determining the threshold frequency for the photoelectric effect.