Elastic - a material
able to regain its
shape after it has
been squished or
stretched
Useful
Energy -
Energy
transferred
to
where
it
is
wanted
in
the
way
it
is
wanted
Wasted Energy -
Energy that is not
useful transferred
Dissipation of Energy -
The energy that is not
usefully transferred
and stored in less
useful ways
Power - The
energy
transformed in
transferred
per seconds.
Measured in
Watts
Chapter 2
Thermal Conductivity -
Property of a material that
determines the energy
transfer through it by
conduction
Infrared
Radiation -
Electromagnetic
waves between
microwaves and
visible light on
the
electromagnetic
scale
Black Body
Radiation -
The
radiation
emitted
from a
perfect
black body
Perfect
Black
Body -
a body
that
absorbs
all the
radiation
that
hits
it
Specific Heat
Capacity -
Energy needed to
raise the
temperature of
1kg of a
substance by 1'C
Chapter 3
Biofuel -
Any fuel
taking
from
living or
recently
living
materials
(e.g.
animal
waste)
Renewable Energy -
Energy from natural
sources that is
always being
replenished so never
runs out
Carbon-neutral - A biofuel from a living
organism that takes in as much carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere as is
released when the fuel is burned
Nuclear
Fuel -
Substance
used in
nuclear
reactors
that
releases
energy
due to
nuclear
fission
Nucleus -
tiny
positively
charged
object
composed
of
protons
and
neutrons
at
the
centre
of
every
atom
Reactor
Core - The
thick steel
vessel
used to
contain
fuel rods,
control
rods and
the
moderator
in a
nuclear
fission
reactor
Geothermal
Energy -
Energy that
comes from
energy
released by
radioactive
substances
deep within
the Earth
Chapter 4
Protons -
positively
charged
particles
Neutrons
-
Uncharged
particles
Ion -
A
charged
atom
Electric Field - A field around
a charged object which
causes a non-contact force
on any other charged objects
in its field
Electrons
- Tiny
negatively
charged
particles
Series -
Components
connected in a
circuit such that
the same
current passes
through them
all
Potential
Difference -
The
difference
of electrical
potential
between
two points.
It is
measured in
Volts
Parallel -
Components
connected in
a circuit such
that the
potential
difference is
the same
for all
Resistance
-
The
potential
difference
divided
by
the
current
passing
through
the
component.
It
is
measured
in
Ohms
Diode - A non-ohmic conductor
that has a much higher
resistance in its reverse
direction than its forward
direction
Light Emitting
Diode - A diode
that emits light
when it
conducts
Thermistor - A
resistor whose
resistance depends
on its temperature
Light Depending Resistor - A
resistor whose resistance
depends on the intensity of the
light incident on it
Chapter 5
Direct Current -
Electric current in
a circuit that is in
one direction only
Alternating Current -
Electric current in a
circuit that repeatedly
reverses its direction
Live Wire - The
mains wire
that has a
voltage
Neutral Wire - The wire
of a mains circuit that is
earthed at the local
substation so its
potential is close to zero
Oscilloscope -
A device used
to display the
shape of an
electrical wave
Earth Wire - The wire in
a mains cable used to
connect the metal case
of an appliance to earth
Fuse - contains a
thin wire that melts
and cuts the
current off if too
much current
passes through it
Chapter 6
Density - Mass per
unit volume of a
substance
Physical Changes - A change
in which no new substances
are produced
Melting point -
Temperature at which a
pure substance melt or
freezes
Boiling Point
-
Temperature
at which a
pure
substance
boils or
condenses
Freezing Point - The temperature at which a pure substance freezes
Latent Heat - The energy transferred to or from a
substance when it changes its state
Internal Energy - The energy of the particles of a
substance due to their individual motion and positions
Specific Latent Heat of Fusion - Energy needed to melt
1kg of a substance with no change of temperature
Specific Latent Heat of Vaporisation - Energy
needed to boil away 1kg of a substance with no
change of temperature
Chapter 7
Alpha Radiation - Alpha
particles, each composed
of two protons and two
neutrons, emitted by
unstable nuclei
Beta Radiation - Beta
particles that are
high-energy electrons
created in, and emitted,
from unstable nuclei
Gamma Radiation -
Electromagnetic radiation
emitted from unstable
nuclei in radioactive
substances
Atomic
Number -
the
number
of protons
in an
atom
Mass Number - The
number of protons and
neutrons in an atom
Isotopes - Atoms with the same
number of protons but different
numbers of neutrons
Ionisation - Any
process in
which atoms
become charged
Irradiated - An object
that has been exposed
to ionising radiation
Activity
- The
number
of
unstable
atoms
that
decay
per
second
in
a
radioactive
source
Count Rate
- The
number of
counts per
second
detected by
a Geiger
counter
Half-life -
Average
time
taken for
the
number
of nuclei
of the
isotope (or
mass of
the
isotope) in
a sample
to halve
Nuclear Fission -
The process in
which certain
nuclei
(uranium-235
and
Plutonium-239)
split into two
fragments,
releasing energy
and two or three
neutrons as a
result
Chain
Reaction -
Reactions
in which
one
reaction
causes
further
reactions,
which in
turn
cause
further
reactions
Moderator -
Substance in a
nuclear reactor
that slows down
fission neutrons
Nuclear Fusion -
The process where
small nuclei are
forced together to
fuse and form a
larger nucleus
Chapter 8
Displacement - Distance in a given direction
Vector - A physical quantity that has a
magnitude and a direction (e.g. displacement)
Scalar - A
physical
quantity
that has
magnitude
only (e.g.
mass)
Magnitude - The size or amount of a physical quantity
Forces - Can
change the motion
of an object.
Measure in N,
newtons
Newton's Third Law -
When two objects interact
with each other, they exert
equal and opposite forces
on each other
Friction - The force opposing the relative motion
of two solid surfaces in contact
Resultant
Force - A
single force
that has the
same effect as
all the forces
acting on the
object
Newton's First
Law of Motion -
If the resultant
force on an object
is zero, the object
stays at rest if it
is stationary, or
it keeps moving
with the same
speed in the
same direction
Moment
-
The
turning
effect
of
a
force
Load - The
weight of
an object
raised by
a device
used to
lift the
object, or
the force
applied by
a device
when it is
used to
shift an
object
Principle of Moments - For an
object in equilibrium, the sum
of all the clockwise moments
about any point = the sum of
all the anti-clockwise moments
about that point
Parallelogram of
forces - A
geometrical
method used to
find the resultant
of two forces that
do not act along
the same line
Chapter 9
Velocity -
Speed in a
given
direction.
Measured
in m/s
Acceleration -
Change of
velocity per
second.
Measured in
m/s²
Deceleration
- Change of
velocity per
second
when an
object slows
down
Chapter 10
Newton's Second Law of
Motion - The acceleration of
an object is proportional to
the resultant force on the
object, and inversely
proportional to the mass of
the object
Inertia -
The
tendency
of an
object to
stay at
rest or to
continue
in
uniform
motion
Weight -
The force
of gravity
on an
object.
Mass - The quantity
of matter in an
object, a measure of
the difficulty of
changing the motion
of an object.
Measured in kg
Gravitational
Field
Strength -
The force of
gravity of an
object of
mass 1kg
and also the
acceleration
of free fall.
Measured in
N/kg
Terminal
Velocity - The
velocity
reached by an
object when
the drag force
on it is equal
and opposite
to the force
making it
move
Stopping Distance -
The distance travelled
by the vehicle in the
time it takes for the
driver to think and
brake
Thinking
Distance
- The
distance
travelled
by the
vehicle in
the time
it takes
the
driver to
react
Braking
Distance
- The
distance
travelled
by a
vehicle
during
the time
it takes
for its
brakes to
act
Conservation
of
Momentum -
In a closed
system the
total
momentum
before an
event is
equal to the
total
momentum
after the
event.
Extension - The
increase in
length of a
spring from its
original length
Limit of Proportionality - The limit for
Hooke's law applied to the extension
of a stretched spring
Chapter 11
Pressure - Force per unit
area. Measure in Pa
(Pascals) or N/m²
Chapter 12
Mechanical
Waves
-
Vibration
that
travels
through
a
substance
Electromagnetic
Waves - Electric
and magnetic
disturbances
that transfer
energy from one
place to another
Transverse
Waves - A wave
whose
oscillations are
perpendicular to
the direction of
energy transfer
Longitudinal
Waves - Waves
whose oscillations
are parallel to the
direction of
energy transfer
Compression -
Squeezing together
Refraction - The
change of
direction of a
light ray when it
passes across a
boundary
between two
transparent
substances
Wavelength
- The
distance
from one
wave crest
to the next
Amplitude - The
maximum distance
moved by an
oscillating object
from its equilibrium
position
Frequency - The
number of wave
crests passing a
fixed point every
second
Speed - The
distance travelled
by each wave
every second
through a
medium
Reflection -
The change
of direction
of a light
ray or wave
when it
passes
across a
boundary
when the
ray or wave
stay in the
incident
medium
Transmission -
a wave passing
through a
substance
Echo -
Reflection
of
a
sound
that
can
be
heard
Ultrasound
Waves -
Sound
waves at
frequency
greater
than
20000Hz
Seismic
Waves
-
Shock
waves
that
travel
through
the
Earth
and
across
its
surface
as
a
result
of
an
earthquake
Chapter 13
Radio Waves - Electromagnetic waves
of wavelength greater than 0.10m
Microwaves - Electromagnetic
waves between infrared and
radio waves in the
electromagnetic spectrum
Infrared
Radiation -
Electromagnetic
waves
between
visible
light
and
microwaves
on
the
electromagnetic
spectrum
Ultraviolet
Radiation -
Electromagnetic
waves between
visible light and
x-rays on the
electromagnetic
spectrum
X-Rays -
Electromagnetic
waves smaller
in length than
ultraviolet
waves
White Light - Light
that includes all the
colours of the
spectrum
Carrier
Waves -
Waves
used to
carry an
type of
signal
Contrast
Medium - An
x-ray absorbing
substance used
to fill a body
organ so it can
be seen on a
radiograph
Charge Couple Device - An
electronic device that creates
an electronic signal from an
optical image formed on the
CCD's array of pixels
Radiation Dose - Amount
of ionising radiation a
person receives
Chapter 14
Normal - Straight line through a
surface or boundary perpendicular to
the surface or boundary
Angle of Incidence -
Angle between the
incident ray and the
normal
Angle of
Reflection -
Angle between
reflected ray
and the
normal
Virtual
Image - An
image seen
in a lens or
a mirror,
from which
light rays
appear to
come after
being
refracted
by a lens
or reflected
by a mirror
Specular Reflection -
Reflection from a
smooth surface
where each ray is
reflected in the same
direction
Diffuse Reflection - Reflection from a rough
surface so the rays are scattered in different
directions
Convex Lens - A lens that
makes the light rays parallel to
the principal axis converge at a
point
Principal Focus - The
point where light
rays parallel to the
principal axis of a
lens are focused
Magnifying Glass - A
converging lens used to
magnify small objects
which must be placed
between the lens and
its focal point
Concave Lens - A
lens that makes
light rays parallel
to the axis
diverge
Chapter
15
Magnetic Field
- The space
around a
magnet or a
current-carrying
wire
Electromagnet - An insulated
wire wrapped round an iron
bar that becomes magnetic
when there is a current in the
wire
Motor Effect - When a current is
passed along a wire in a magnetic
field, and the wire is not parallel to
the lines of the magnetic field, a
force is exerted on the wire by the
magnetic field
Fleming's left-hand Rule - Gives the
direction of a force on a
current-carrying wire in a magnetic
field according to the directions of the
current and the field
Solenoid - A long coil
of wire that produces
a magnetic field in and
around the coil when
there is a current
through it
Electromagnetic Induction - The process of
inducing a potential difference in a wire by
moving the wire so it cuts across the lines
of flux
Generator Effect - The
production of a potential
difference using a
magnetic field
Alternator -
An
alternating
current
generator
Dynamo - A
direct current
generator
Transformer -
Electrical device
used to change
an alternating
voltage
Step-up Transformer - Transformer used to increase the size of the alternating voltage
Step-down Transformer
- Transformer used to
decrease the size of the
alternating voltage
Chapter 16
Protostar - The
concentration
of dust clouds
and gas in
space that
forms a star
Main Sequence -
The main
sequence is the
life stage of a star
during which it
radiates energy
because of fusion
of hydrogen nuclei
in its core
Red Giant - A
star that has
expanded and
cooled, resulting
in it becoming
red and much
larger and cooler
than it was
before it
expanded
White Dwarf - A
star that has
collapsed from
the red giant
stage to become
much hotter and
denser
Black Dwarf
- A star that
has faded
out and gone
cold
Red Supergiant - A star much
more massive than the Sun will
swell out after the main
sequence stage to become a red
supergiant before it collapses
Supernova - The
explosion of a massive
star after fusion in its
core ceases and the
matter surrounding its
core collapses on to the
core and rebounds
Neutron Star - The highly
compressed core of a massive
star that remains after a
supernova explosion
Black Hole -
An object in
space that has
so much mass
that nothing,
not even light,
can escape
from its
gravitational
field
Centripetal
Force - The
resultant
force
towards the
centre of a
circle acting
on an object
moving in a
circular path
Redshift - Increase in the
wavelength of
electromagnetic waves
emitted by a star or
galaxy due to its motion
away from us. The faster
the speed of the star or
galaxy, the greater its
redshift
Big Bang Theory - The
theory that the universe
was created in a massive
explosion and that the
universe has been
expanding ever since
Cosmic Microwave
Background Radiation -
Electromagnetic radiation
that has been travelling
through space ever since it
was created shortly after the
big bang
Dark Matter - Matter in
a galaxy that cannot be
seen. Its presence is
deduced because
galaxies would spin
much faster if their
stars were their only
matter