Kaplan Physics/Math Review Vocab, Master vocab list

Electromagnetic radiation

A form of energy composed of oscillating electric and magnetic fields perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the direction of propagation; includes visible light and other types of transverse waves, and can travel through a vacuum

alpha-particle

A helium nucleus

Force

A push or a pull, measured in newtons (N)

Box-and-whisker plot

A visual representation of the range of data, quartiles, and the interquartile range; may contain outliers as separate points

Exhaustive

Describes a set of outcomes that leave no room for other possible outcomes

Excited state

Describes an atom in which an electron occupies an energy state above the minimum energy (ground) state

Energy

The capacity to do work or transfer heat, measured in joules (J)

Electromotive force

The difference in electrical potential (voltage) that drives current in a circuit or battery

Adhesion

The intermolecular force between molecules of a liquid and molecules of another substance

Accuracy

The tendency for data to represent the true answer; also known as validity

Hawthorne effect

The tendency for research participants to change their behavior because they know they are being observed

Buoyancy

The upward force that results from immersion in a fluid; described by Archimedes' principle

Displacement

The vector representing the straight-line distance and direction from an initial point; not necessarily equal to total distance traveled, and measured in meters

Conservative force

A force that does not cause energy to be dissipated from a system, such as gravity, electrostatic forces, and springs (approximately conservative); pathway independent and associated with a potential energy function

Conductor

A material that allows the free movement of electrical charge; one with very low or zero resistance

Fluid

A material that conforms to the shape of its container and that can flow

Electrical potential

A measure of electrical potential per unit charge, given in volts (V); differences in electrical potential (voltage) also drive current as the electromotive force in a circuit

Density

A measure of mass per unit volume; useful for buoyancy calculations and usually measured in g/cm^3

Capacitance

A measure of the ability of a capacitor to store charge; the magnitude of the charge on one plate divided by the potential difference between the plates; measured in farads (F)

Algebraic system

A method for determining the values of variables that are the same in 2 or more equations by relating them to each other

Friction

A nonconservative force that arises from the interaction between 2 surfaces in contact

Antinode

A point of zero displacement in a standing wave

Center of gravity

A point such that the entire force of gravity acting on an object can be thought of as acting at that point

Fluorescence

A process in which the electrons of certain substances are excited to higher energy levels by high-frequency photons, and then emit visible light as the energy is released in 2 or more steps back to the ground state

Electric field

A region generated by an electric charge or multiple charges that can exert a force on another charge brought into the field; measured in N/C

Boundary layer

A region of laminar flow in an otherwise turbulent system that occurs at the very edges of the vessel

Electric dipole

A separation of equal and opposite charge by a small distance; can be seen in polar molecules

Control

A set of experimental conditions meant to ensure that the results of the experimental group are a result of the intervention

Hydraulic system

A simple machine that exerts mechanical advantage using an incompressible fluid; based on Pascal's principle and conservation of energy

Confidence

A statistical indicator of the likelihood that acquired results did not occur by random chance; equal to 1-(alpha)

Entropy

A statistical measure of the distribution of unusable energy or heat; randomness introduced to a system, measured in J/g*K

Hypothesis testing

A statistical method used to compare results between groups or to a theoretical value with a given level of confidence

Convex

A surface that has a similar curvature to the exterior of a sphere

Concave

A surface that has a similar curvature to the interior of a sphere

Free fall

A system in which the only force is gravity

Hill's criteria

A systematized way of evaluating evidence for causality; only temporality is absolutely necessary to demonstrate causality

Adiabatic

A thermodynamic process that occurs with no heat exchange

Histogram

A visual representation for numerical data; related to a bar chart

Field line

A visual representation of the electric field; points to the direction a force would be exerted on a positive test charge in the electric field

FINER method

A way to determine the usefulness of a research question on the basis of feasibility, interest, novelty, ethics, and relevance

Gravity

An attractive force between 2 objects that depends on their masses and the distance between them

beta-particle

An electron emitted during beta- decay, or a positron emitted during beta+ decay

Bernoulli's equation

An equation that relates static and dynamic pressure for a fluid to the pressure exerted on the walls of a tube and the speed of the fluid

Detection bias

An error in data collection that results from the tendency to look more carefully for certain outcomes because a known association with that outcome exists

Confounding

An error that results when a casual variable is associated with 2 other variables in a study but is not accounted for; may falsely indicate that the 2 variables are associated

Dielectric material

An insulating material used to increase capacitance

Electric meters

Devices used to measure circuit quantities like current, potential difference, or resistance

Charges

Entities that can influence the environment through electrostatic forces or be influenced by electrostatic forces, measured in coulombs (C)

Hyperopia

Farsightedness, or the ability to see distant objects while nearby objects are unfocused or blurry

Convection

Heat transfer as a result of bulk flow of a fluid over an object

Gamma-rays

High energy photons released during radioactive decay; part of the electromagnetic spectrum

Gauge pressure

Pressure above and beyond atmospheric pressure

Doppler effect

Quantifies the perceived change in frequency of sound due to relative movement between the source and detector (observer)

Equipotential lines

Regions within an electric field with equal electrical potential; movement from one point on these lines to another causes no change in the energy of the system

Coulomb's law

Relates the electrostatic force between 2 charged particles to their charges and the distance between them

Archimedes' principle

States that a body immersed in a volume of fluid experiences a buoyant force equal to the weight of the displaced fluid

External validity

The ability to apply findings of a research study to other populations; also called generalizability

Centripetal acceleration

The acceleration of an object that travels in a circle; it is always directed toward the center of the circle if the object is in uniform circular motion

Absolute pressure

The actual pressure at a given depth in a fluid, including both ambient pressure at the surface and the pressure associated with increased depth in the fluid, also called hydrostatic pressure

Heat of transformation

The amount of heat necessary to cause a phase transition of a unit mass of a substance at the characteristic temperature and pressure of that phase transition

Half-life

The amount of time it takes for one-half of a sample of radioactive nuclei to decay

Critical angle

The angle above which any incident light will undergo total internal reflection; occurs when light is moving from a material with a higher refractive index to one with a lower refractive index

Focal length

The distance from a mirror or lens to the focal point

Autonomy

The ethical principle that states that individuals have the right to make decisions about their own care

Beneficence

The ethical principle that states that practitioners should always act in their patient's best interests; in research ethics, also states that a research project should create a net positive change for both the study population and the general population

Fundamental frequency

The first harmonic of a pipe, string, or other standing wave

Centripetal force

The force responsible for centripetal acceleration; usually a result of gravity, tension, or normal force

Cohesion

The intermolecular forces experienced between the molecules of a liquid

Attenuation

The loss of energy of a propagating wave as a result of nonconservative forces; aka damping

Ground state

The lowest energy state of an atom

Independent variable

The manipulated variable in an experiment that affects measurements or observations of the dependent variable

Amplitude

The maximum displacement from the equilibrium point during wave or oscillatory motion

Dependent variable

The measured or observed variable in an experiment that is affected by manipulations of the independent variable

Fusion

The merging of small nuclei into a larger nucleus with the release of energy

Atomic number

The number of protons in the nucleus of a given element

Current

The orderly movement of charge, often in a circuit; measured by convention as the direction that positive charge would flow within the circuit, and measured in amperes (A)

Condensation

The phase transition from a gas to a liquid

Freezing

The phase transition from liquid to solid; also called solidification

Focal point

The point at which rays of light parallel to the axis of a mirror or lens converge, or from which they appear to diverge when reflected by a mirror or refracted by a lens

Center of mass

The point that acts as if the entire mass of an object was concentrated at that point

Decay constant

The proportionality constant between the rate at which radioactive nuclei decay and the number of radioactive nuclei remaining

Frequency

The rate at which a recurring event occurs; usually measured in hertz (Hz)

Acceleration

The rate of change in the velocity of an object; related to force through mass and measured in m/s^2

Image

The region where light rays converge or appear to converge after being reflected from a mirror or passing through a lens

Dispersion

The separation of light into its component wavelengths when passing through a medium, such as a prism

Harmonic series

The set of frequencies that can create standing waves in a given pipe or string

Critical speed

The speed above which flow of a fluid will be turbulent

Fission

The splitting of a large nucleus into smaller nuclei with the release of energy

Diffraction

The spreading or bending of light rays

Equilibrium

The state at which the net torque or net force is equal to zero, such that there is no acceleration

Equipoise

The state of not knowing whether there is a difference between 2 interventions; ethically necessary for comparative study of the interventions

Hydrostatics

The study of fluid systems at rest

Boiling point

The temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the ambient (incident) pressure, usually atmospheric pressure; the temperature at which the liquid boils

Diverging

The tendency to move parallel light rays away from one another; convex mirrors and concave lenses diverge parallel light rays from a focal point

Converging

The tendency to move parallel light rays toward one another; concave mirrors and convex lenses converge parallel light to a focal point

Absolute zero

The theoretically coldest temperature at which all atomic movements would halt (0 K)

Heat

The transfer of thermal energy; measured in joules (J), calories (cal), or kilocalories (kcal or Cal)

Capacitor

Two conducting surfaces that store charges of equal magnitude but opposite sign when connected to a voltage source

Aberration

Visual alterations as the result of an imperfect optical device; may be chromatic or spherical

Blinding

Withholding information about a research subject's group assignment from the subject or evaluator to remove some potential bias from the results