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