Stpm Physics Sem 3 Definition List

Chapter 19
No Term Definition STPM
1 Simple Periodic motion of an object in which its 2014
harmonic acceleration is directly proportional to its 2019
motion displacement from the equilibrium point and it is
always directed towards the equilibrium point.
The motion of an object whereby the resultant
force acting on it is always directly proportional to
its displacement from the equilibrium point and is
always directed towards the equilibrium point.
2 Free Oscillation The oscillation of a body or system with its own
natural frequency and under no external influence
other than the impulse that initiated the motion.
3 Forced One in which oscillation is in response to a steadily
oscillation applied periodic force.
4 Resonance A forced oscillation with maximum amplitude
when the frequency of the applied force is equal
to the natural frequency of the damped oscillating
system

Chapter 20
No Term Definition STPM
1 Progressive Waves propagated continuously outward from the
wave source of disturbance.
2 Wave intensity The rate of transference of energy by a wave to a
unit surface area perpendicular to the direction of
wave propagation.
3 Principle of When two or more waves move through a 2018
Superposition medium, the resultant displacement at a points is
the algebraic sum individual displacement
produced by each wave respectively.
4 Standing wave/ Result wave as a result of two identical progressive
stationary wave wave travelling in the opposite direction.
5 Transverse Wave in which the direction of oscillation of the 2013
wave particles in the medium is perpendicular to the
direction of propagation of waves
Chapter 21
No Term Definition STPM
1 Sound intensity Sound energy per second received by a unit
surface area which is perpendicular to the
direction of propagation of the sound.
2 Beat Formed when two sound waves of equal
amplitude but slightly different in frequency
superposed on each other.
3 Doppler effect The apparent change in frequency and wavelength
of a wave as perceived by an observer moving
relative to the wave’s source

Chapter 23
No Term Definition STPM
1 Snell’s law When light passes from one medium to another,
the ratio of the sines of the angles of incidence
and refraction is a constant
2 Huygen’s Every point on a wave front may be considered as 2013
principle a secondary source of light. The circular wavelet 2018
from each secondary source spreads forward with
the speed of light.
3 Optical path Optical path length of a light ray which has
length travelled a distance l in a medium of refractive
index, n is equal to nl
4 Diffraction of Spreading of light waves at the edges of an
light waves obstacle
5 Malus’s law When a completely plane polarized light is incident
on a polaroid, the intensity I of the light
transmitted by the polaroid is directly proportional
to the square of the cosine of angle between the
transmission axes of the polaroid and the direction
of polarisation of the incident polarised light.
6 Brewster’s law When the angles of incidence, i is equal to the
Brewster’s angle (polarising angle), the reflected
ray will be completely plane polarised.
Chapter 24
No Term Definition STPM
1 Electron-volt Kinetic energy gained by an electron when it is
accelerated by a potential difference of 1V.
2 Planck’s The energy of electromagnetic wave is quantised.
Quantum
theory
of light
3 Photon Quantum of electromagnetic wave energy
4 Work function Minimum energy required to remove an electron
from the metal
5 Photoelectric The emission of electrons from a metal when
effect electromagnetic radiation falls onto the metal.
6 Threshold Minimum frequency of light that can emit
frequency of a photoelectrons from the metal.
metal
7 Threshold Minimum wavelength of light that can emit
wavelength of a photoelectrons from the metal.
metal
8 Stopping Minimum voltage that will just stop the most
Potential energetic photoelectrons in a photoelectric
experiment.
9 De Broglie Every moving particle has a wave nature and it has
hypothesis a wavelength.
10 Bohr’s first The electron moves round the nucleus in certain 2015U
postulate allowed discrete orbit with angular momentum 2019
𝑛ℎ
mvr = , n=1, 2, 3……
2𝜋
11 Bohr’s second When an electron jumps from higher energy orbit 2015U
postulate to a lower energy orbit, the difference in the 2019
energy is released as a photon. ∆E = hf
12 Excitation Energy required to move the electron from the
energy ground state to an excited state
13 Ionisation Minimum energy required to remove an electron 2015U
energy from the ground state out of atom
Chapter 25
No Term Definition STPM
1 Atomic mass 1
of the mass of one carbon-12 atom.
12
unit
2 Mass defect of The difference between the sum of the masses of
nucleus the individual protons and neutrons in the nucleus
and the mass of the nucleus
3 Binding energy The energy required to separate the protons and
of a nucleus neutrons of the nucleus into separate individual
particles.
4 Binding energy The average energy needed to remove just one
per nucleon of nucleon from the nucleus
a nucleus
5 Radioactivity Process in which an unstable nucleus decays into a
more stable nucleus with the emission of an alpha
particle, a beta particle or a gamma particles.
6 Rate of decay The number of decay per unit time.
7 Decay law The rate of decay of a radioactive sample of X is
directly proportional to the number of atom N of X
in the sample.
8 Decay constant Probability of decay of a nucleus per unit time
9 Half Life Time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a
sample of the nuclide to decay away
Time required for the activity of a sample of the
nuclide to reduce to half of its initial value
10 Nuclear fission Process in which a heavy nucleus break up into
two lighter nuclei with the release of energy
11 Nuclear fusion Process in which two light nuclei combine together
to form a heavier nucleus with the release of
energy