Physics Definition List

Physical Quantity Quantity which can be measured

Basic Quantity Quantity which cannot be derived from any physical quantities
Derived Quantity Quantity which can be expressed in term of base quantity
Scalar Quantity Quantity with magnitude only
Vector Quantity Quantity with magnitude and direction
Speed Distance per unit time
Average Velocity Total displacement of an object divided by total time
Instantaneous Velocity Rate of change of displacement at particular time
Distance Total length of actual path travelled by an object
Displacement Shortest distance between initial point and final point in a straight line
Free falling body Vertical motion of a body at constant acceleration under gravitational
field without air resistance
Impulse Product of force, F and the time interval, t during the force act
Momentum Product if mass and its velocity
Principle of Total momentum of a system is conserved in a collision if no external
conservation of force acted on the system
momentum
Principle of Total energy of a system is conserved and the energy can be transferred
conservation of energy from one form to another
Force Physical quantity which causes an object to move, stop, change its
direction or physical form
Weight Force exerted on the body under gravitational field on or near the
surface of the earth
Tension A contact force exerted when a string pulls on an object
Friction Force that opposes the relative motion of two surface in contact
Kinetic Friction Frictional force between two surfaces that is in contact on an object
which is moving
Static Friction Frictional force between two surfaces that is in contact on an object just
before the object starts to move
Limiting Static Friction The maximum force that opposes the external force at the moment the
object is just about to move
Coefficient of friction Ratio between frictional force to normal force
Normal Force Reaction force that is exerted by the surface to an object in contact with
the surface
External Force A pull of push on the object
Newton’s First Law of An object at rest will remain at rest or continues to move with uniform
Motion velocity in a straight line unless it is acted upon by a external force
Newton’s Second Law Rate of change of linear momentum of a moving body is directly
of Motion proportional to the net force and is in the same direction as the net force
acting on it
Newton’s Third Law of Every action has a reaction force that is equal in magnitude but opposite
Motion in direction
Equilibrium of a force Vector sum of all forces acting on a body is zero
Inertia Tendency of an object to resist any change in its state of rest or motion
Work Scalar product between force and displacement of a body
Principle of In an isolated/closed system, the total energy of that system is con
conservation of energy

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Mechanical Energy Sum of kinetic energy and potential energy in an object that is used to
do work
Kinetic Energy Energy of a body due to its motion
Gravitational Potential Energy stored in a body or system because of its position
Energy
Elastic Potential Energy Energy stored in a elastic body due to stretching or compressing
Hooke’s Law The restoring force is directly proportional to the amount of
compression or stretch if the proportionality limit is not exceeded
Work-Energy Theorem Net work done on an object is equal to the change in object’s kinetic
energy
Net work done on a system is equal to the amount of energy transferred
to the system
Power Rate at which work is done
Rate at which energy is transferred
Uniform circular Motion of an object moving in a circle with constant speed
motion
Angular velocity,  Rate of change of angle at the centre of circular path
Period, T Time taken to complete one revolution
Frequency, f Number of revolutions per second
Centripetal Acceleration of an object moving in circular path whose direction is
Acceleration, ac towards the centre of circular path and whose magnitude is equal to the
square of the speed divided by the radius
Centripetal Force, Fc Net force acting on an object moving in circular motion and it is always
directed towards the centre of the circular path
Newton’s Law of The magnitude of attractive/ gravitational force between two point
Gravitation masses is directly proportional to the product of two masses and
inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them
Gravitational Field Space surrounding a body with mass
Gravitational Field The gravitational force per unit mass of a body placed at a point
Strength, ag
Gravitational Potential Work done by an external force in bring the test mass from infinity to a
Energy, V point
Escape Velocity, ve Minimum velocity required by a mass, m to escape completely from
gravitational field to infinity in outer space
Simple Harmonic The periodic motion without loss of energy in which the acceleration of
Motion (SHM) a body is directly proportional to its displacement from the equilibrium
position and the acceleration is always directed towards the equilibrium
position but in opposite direction of the displacement. a = -xw2
Amplitude Maximum magnitude of displacement from equilibrium position
Period, T Time taken for one complete oscillation
Frequency, f Number of oscillations in one second
Angular frequency,  Rate of change of angular displacement
Initial phase angle Starting point in simple harmonic motion where time t = 0
Waves The propagation of a disturbance that carries the energy and momentum
away from the sources of disturbance
Mechanical Waves A disturbance that travels through particles of the medium to transfer
the energy.
Oscillation A periodic motion of a body about the equilibrium position
Progressive waves The waves propagated continuously from a source of disturbance

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Transverse waves The wave in which the direction of vibrations of the particle is
perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation
Longitudinal waves The wave in which the direction of vibrations of the particle is parallel
to the direction of wave propagation
Angular frequency,  Rate of change of the phase of sinusoidal waveform
Wavelength Distance between two successive crests
Wave number, k The number of waves exist in one meter
Wave vibrational Rate a wave profile moves through a distance v=f,v=constant
velocity
Particle vibrational Rate of change of displacement of the particle of the medium about an
velocity equilibrium point. v=dy/dt
Principle of When two or more waves are moving through a medium, the resultant
superposition displacement of the medium is the algebraic sum of the displacements
of each individual wave at that position.
Interference Interaction of two or more wave motions
Constructive The resultant displacement is greater than the displacement of the
Interference individual wave
Destructive Interference The resultant displacement is less than the displacement of the
individual wave or equal to zero
Stationary wave Wave produced by the superposition of two progressive waves of the
same speed, frequency and amplitude but travelling in opposite
direction.
Sound intensity Rate of sound energy flow per unit area
Doppler Effect The change in the apparent frequency of a wave as a result of relative
motion between the source and the observer
Pitch The property of sound that characterizes highness or lowness of the tone
to an observer
Stress Ratio of magnitude of force exerted per unit cross sectional area of the
material
Strain Ratio of the change in length to the original length of material
Young modulus Ratio of the stress per unit strain if the proportionality limit is not
exceeded
Tensile stress Tension of a material per unit cross sectional area of the material
Heat, Q Energy that is transferred from one body to another because of the
difference in temperature
Temperature A quantity that measures the degree of hotness of a body
Thermal Conduction A process whereby heat is transferred through a solid from a region of
high temperature to a region of lower temperature.
Thermal Conductivity, Rate of heat flows perpendicularly through a unit cross sectional area of
k a solid, per unit temperature gradient a long the direction of heat flow
Temperature Gradient Temperature difference per unit length
Coefficient of linear Fractional increase in length of a solid per unit increase in temperature
expansion
Coefficient of area Fractional increase in area of a solid per unit increase in temperature
expansion
Coefficient of volume Fractional increase in volume of a solid a per unit increase in
expansion temperature
Boyle’s Law The pressure of a fixed mass of an ideal gas at constant temperature is
inversely proportional to its volume

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Charles’s Law The volume of a fixed mass of an ideal gas at constant pressure is
directly proportional to its volume
Gay-Lussac’s Law The pressure of a fixed mass of an ideal gas at constant volume is
directly proportional to its temperature
Principle of The average kinetic energy stored in each degree of freedom of a gas
Equipartition of energy molecule is ½ kT
Degree of Freedom The number of independent ways an atom or a molecule can possess
energy
Internal Energy Total of the kinetic energy and potential energy of all particles in the
system
Thermodynamic The study of systems involving energy in form of heat and work
Closed system A system whose mass remain constant but the energy is allowed to
increase or decrease
First Law of - Total energy in a closed system is constant
Thermodynamics -The change in internal energy of a closed system will be equal to the
energy added to the system minus the work done by the system
Q=dU+W
Isothermal process A process that occurs where temperature is kept constant by doing it
slowly and keeping the gas in a good, thin heat conducting container
Isovolumetric/Isochoric A process that occurs where volume is kept constant
process
Isobaric process A process that occurs where gas pressure is kept constant
Adiabatic process A process that occurs where no heat transfer in or out of the gas system
by doing it rapidly in a thick insulated container

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