PHYSICS DEFINITIONS LIST

SYSTEMATIC ERRORS are errors of measurement which results in all readings being consistent
overestimates or under-estimates of the true value

RANDOM ERRORS cause an unpredictable scatter of readings about a mean value

PRECISION refers tor the degree of numerical agreement among measurements of the same
quantity

ACCURACY refers to the degree of conformity of the experimental results with the true values

SCALAR – magnitude

VECTOR – magnitude and direction

DISTANCE is the total length covered by a moving object regardless of the direction of motion

DISPLACEMENT is the linear/shortest distance in a given direction from a reference point

SPEED is the rate of change of distance

VELOCITY is the rate of change of displacement

AVERAGE SPEED is the total distance travelled divided by the total time taken

AVERAGE VELOCITY is the total change in displacement of particle divided by the total time interval

ACCELERATION is the rate of change of velocity

NEWTON’S FIRST LAW states that a body at rest remains at rest and a body at uniform velocity
continues its motion unless acted on upon by an external resultant force

NEWTON’S SECOND LAW states that the rate of change of momentum of a body is directly
proportional to the resultant force acting on it and the change of momentum takes place in the
direction of the resultant force

NEWTON’S THIRD LAW states that when body A exerts a force on body B, body B will exert a force
equal in magnitude but opposite in direction on body A

LINEAR MOMENTUM is the product of the mass of the object and its velocity

IMPULSE is the product of the average force acting on the object and the time the average force is
acted on it and is equal to the change in momentum of the object as a result of the application if the
force

PRINCIPLE OF CONSERVATION OF LINEAR MOMENTUM states that the net momentum of a system
remains constant when no external resultant force acts on the system

HOOKE’S LAW states that the (restoring) force in a spring or wire is directly proportional to its
extension (or compression) provided the limit of proportionality is not exceeded

MOMENT of a force about a point is calculated as a product of force and the perpendicular distance
between the line of action of the force and the point
COUPLE is defined as a pair of equal and oppositely directed parallel forces whose lines of action do
not coincide

TORQUE of a couple is the turning effect of a couple and is calculated as the product of the force and
the perpendicular distance between their lines of action

PRINCIPAL OF MOMENTS states that the system rotational equilibrium the sum of the clockwise
moments about any point must be equal to the sum of anticlockwise moments about the same point

An ELASTIC collision is one in which the total kinetic energy remains the same

An INELASTIC collision is one in which the total kinetic energy is not conserved

WORK is defined as the product of a force and the distance moved in the direction of the force

ENERGY is defined as the stored ability to do work

KINETIC ENERGY is defined as the stored ability of an object to do work as a result of its motion

THE PRINCIPLE OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY states that energy cannot be created or destroyed,
but it can be converted from one form to another

POWER is defined as the rate of doing work

ANGULAR DISPLACEMENT is the angle through which an object turns

ANGULAR VELOCITY is defined as the rate of change of angular displacement

PERIOD (T) is the time taken for the object to complete one revolution

FREQUENCY (F) is number of revolutions per second

TANGENTIAL VELOCITY (V) refers to the linear velocity of the object moving in a circle

UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION is the object moving in a circle at constant speed v where the
magnitude of the velocity remains constant but the direction of the velocity is continuously changing
as object moves around the circle

CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION of a body in uniform circular motion is always directed towards the
centre of the circular path or radially inwards

NEWTON’S LAW OF GRAVITATION states that the fore of attraction between two point objects is
directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance them

GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT refers to a circular orbit around the Earth on which a satellite would appear
stationary to an observer on the Earth’s surface.

THERMISTOR – the resistance of a thermistor decreases as temperature increases. This is due to

more charge carriers being released to engage in conduction in the specific material

LIGHT DEPENDENT RESISTOR – a semiconductor whose resistance changes as the intensity of light
falling on it changes. The resistance of a LDR decreases as the light intensity falling on it increases.
This is due to the energy of the light setting free electrons from the donor atoms in the
semiconductor, thereby increasing the conductivity.
ELECTRIC CURRENT is the rate of flow of electric charges through a given cross-section of the
conductor

ONE AMPERE is the constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conducctors of
infinite length placed at 1 metre apart in a vacuum, would produce between these conductors a
force of 2 x 10-7 newton per metre.

ONE COULOMB is that charge flowing per second past a point in a circuit in which the current is 1
ampere

POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE between two points in a circuit is the energy per unit charge transferred
from electrical energy to other forms of energy when charge passes from one point to the other

ONE VOLT is the potential difference between two points in a circuit when the energy is converted
per unit charge is one joule per coulomb as charge passes from one point to the other

The OHM is the resistance of a conductor in which the current is 1 ampere when a potential
difference of 1 volt is applied across it

OHM’S LAW states that for a conductor at constant temperature, the current in the conductor is
proportional to the potential difference across it

ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE is the energy transferred per unit charge from other forms of energy into
electrical energy when charge is moved round a complete circuit

MAXIMUM POWER THEOREM states that maximum power is delivered to the load when the load
resistance R is equal to the source internal resistance r.

ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTH (E) at a point in an electric field is defined as force per unit positive
charge acting on a small stationary charge placed at that point.

MAGNETIC FIELD is defined as a region of space where a magnetic pole, a current-carrying

conductor or a moving charged particle will experience a force

MAGNETIC FLUX DENSITY (B) is a measure of the strength of the magnetic field in a particular region
of space. The force acting per unit length on a straight wire which carries a unit current and is at
right angles to the direction of the magnetic field