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88 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
acceleration (a)
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"The rate of change of velocity
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acceleration of free fall (g)
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The acceleration of a body falling under gravity. On Earth it has the value of 9.81 m s–2.
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amount of substance
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"SI quantity
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area (A)
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"A physical quantity representing the size of part of a surface
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average speed
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A measure of the total distance travelled in a certain time.
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braking distance
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The distance a vehicle travels while decelerating to a stop.
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brittle
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"A material that distorts very little even when subject to a large stress and does not exhibit any plastic deformation; for example
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Celsius
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see degree Celsius.
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centre of gravity
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The point at which the entire weight of an object can be considered to act.
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centre of mass
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see centre of gravity (N.B although there is a technical difference it is not required at this level).
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components of a vector
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The results from resolving a single vector into horizontal and vertical parts.
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compressive force
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Two or more forces that have the effect of reducing the volume of the object on which they are acting.
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conservation of energy
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"Physical law stating energy cannot be created or destroyed
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couple
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Two forces that are equal and opposite to each other but not in the same straight line.
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crumple zone
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An area of a vehicle designed to increase the distance over which the vehicle decelerates and so reduce the average force acting.
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degree Celsius
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"Unit for temperature
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density (r)
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"The mass per unit volume
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displacement (s or x)
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"The distance travelled in a particular direction
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displacement–time graph
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A motion graph showing displacement against time for a given body.
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distance (d)
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"How far one position is from another
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drag
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The resistive force that acts on a body when it moves through a fluid.
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drag coefficient
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A characteristic that determines the amount of drag that acts on an object.
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ductile
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"Materials that have a large plastic region (therefore they can be drawn into a wire); for example
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dynamo
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A device that converts kinetic energy into electrical energy.
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efficiency
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The ratio of useful output energy to total input energy.
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elastic deformation
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The object will return to its original shape when the deforming force is removed.
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elastic limit
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The point at which elastic deformation becomes plastic deformation.
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elastic potential energy
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"The energy stored in a stretched or compressed object (for example a spring)
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energy (E)
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"The stored ability to do work
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equations of motion
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"The equations used to describe displacement
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equilibrium
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When there is zero resultant force and zero torque acting on an object.
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extension (x)
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"The change in length of an object when a force is applied to it
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fluid
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A material that can flow from one place to another (i.e. liquids and gases).
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force (F)
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"A push or a pull on an object
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force constant (k)
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"The constant of proportionality in Hooke’s law
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free fall
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When an object is accelerating under gravity (i.e. at 9.81 m s–2).
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"g
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acceleration of free fall "
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global positioning system
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A network of satellites used to determine an object’s position on the Earth’s surface. Used in satellite navigation.
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gradient of a graph
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The change in y-axis over the change in the x-axis (rise over step).
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gravitational force
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The force due a gravitational field acting on an object’s mass.
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gravitational potential energy
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The energy stored in an object by virtue of the object being in a gravitational field.
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Hooke’s law
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The extension of an elastic body is proportional to the force that causes it.
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instantaneous speed
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The speed of an object at a given moment in time.
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joule
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"Unit of energy (J)
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kelvin
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"SI unit of temperature (K)
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kilowatt
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"Unit of power (kW)
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kilowatt-hour
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"Unit of energy (kWh)
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kinetic energy
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"The work an object can do by virtue of its speed
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mass (m)
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"SI quantity
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moment of a force
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"The turning effect due to a single force
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newton
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"Unit of force (N)
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perpendicular
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At right angles (90° or p/2 rad) to.
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plastic deformation
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"The object will not return to its original shape when the deforming force is removed
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polymeric material
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"A material made of many smaller molecules bonded together
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potential energy
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A form of stored energy (see gravitational potential energy and elastic potential energy).
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power (P)
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"The rate of doing work
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pressure (p)
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"Force per unit area
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principle of moments
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For a body in rotational equilibrium the sum of the clockwise moments equals the sum of the anticlockwise moments.
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resolution of vectors
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Splitting a vector into horizontal and vertical components (use to aid vector arithmetic).
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resultant force
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The overall force when combining two or more forces.
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resultant velocity
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The overall velocity when combing two or more velocities.
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scalar
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"A physical property with magnitude (size) but not direction; for example
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speed (s)
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"The distance travelled per unit time
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spring constant
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see force constant.
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stopping distance
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The sum of the thinking distance and the braking distance (i.e. the total distance required to stop a vehicle from seeing the need to stop to vehicle becoming stationary).
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strain
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The extension per unit length.
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stress
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"The force per unit cross-sectional area
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temperature (T)
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"SI quantity
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tensile force
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"Usually two equal and opposite forces acting on a wire in order to stretch it. When both forces have the value T
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tensile stress
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The tensile force per unit cross-sectional area.
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terminal velocity
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The velocity at which an object’s drag equals its accelerating force. Therefore there is no resultant force and zero acceleration.
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thinking distance
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The distance travelled from seeing the need to stop to applying the brakes.
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thrust
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A type of force due to an engine.
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time interval (t)
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"SI quantity
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torque
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"The turning effect due to a couple
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triangle of forces
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"If three forces acting at a point can be represented by the sides of a triangle
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turning forces
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One or more forces that if unbalanced will cause a rotation.
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ultimate tensile strength
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The maximum tensile force that can be applied to an object before it breaks.
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ultimate tensile stress
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The maximum stress that can be applied to an object before it breaks.
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upthrust
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A force on an object due to a difference in pressure when immersed in a fluid.
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vector
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"A physical quantity that has both magnitude (size) and direction. For example
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velocity (v)
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"The displacement per unit time
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velocity–time graph
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A motion graph showing velocity against time for a given body.
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volume (V)
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"A physical quantity representing how much 3D space an object occupies
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watt
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"Unit of power (W)
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weight (w)
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"The gravitational force on a body
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work (W)
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"The product of force and the distance moved in the direction of the force
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Young modulus (Y)
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"The ratio of tensile stress to tensile strain
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