F4

Scalar Quantity - Physical quantity with magnitude only

Vector Quantity - Physical quantity with both magnitude and direction
Displacement - Shortest distance between initial and final position in a specific direction
Velocity - rate of change of displacement
Acceleration - rate of change of velocity

Free fall - motion of object affected by gravitational force only

Momentum - product of mass and velocity
Impulse - change in momentum
Impulsive force - rate of change of momentum
Weight - Gravitational force acting on the mass of an object

Centripetal force - Force that acts on a body in a direction towards the center of the circle
Escape velocity - minimum velocity of an object to overcome the gravitational force and escape to
outer space

Thermal equilibrium - A state where there is no net heat transfer between two objects in thermal
contact
Heat capacity - quantity of heat needed to raise the temperature of an object by 1 °C
Specific Heat capacity - quantity of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of mass of a
substance by 1 °C
Specific latent heat of fusion - quantity of heat absorbed by substance during melting or released
during freezing of 1kg of substance without change in temperature
Specific latent heat of vaporisation - quantity of heat absorbed by substance during boiling or
released during condensation of 1kg of substance without change in temperature

Damping - Reduction of amplitude in an oscillating system due to loss of energy

Resonance - When a periodic force is applied to an oscillating system at its natural frequency
Refraction of waves - Change in velocity of waves when wave propagate from one medium to another
Diffraction of waves - Spreading of waves when the wave propagates through a slit of side of barrier
Interference of waves - Superposition of two or more waves from a coherent source of waves

Total internal reflection - When light travels from medium of high optical density to medium of low
optical density with angle of incidence exceeding the critical angle
Critical angle - angle of incidence in medium of high optical density when angle of refraction in the
medium of low optical density is 90°
F5
Resultant force - single force that represents the vector sum of two or more forces acting on an object
Resolution of forces - Resolving a force into two components
Forces in equilibrium - When the forces acting on an object produces zero resultant force
Elasticity - Property of a material to revert to its original shape and size after a force applied is
removed

Atmospheric pressure - pressure due to weight of layer of air acting on the surface of the Earth
Buoyant force - Force acting upwards on an object which is partially or fully submerged in a liquid due
to the difference in pressure between the lower and upper surface of the object

Electric field - Region where a test charge will experience an electric force
Electric field strength - Electric force acting on a unit positive charge placed at a point
Current - Rate of flow of charge in a conductor
Potential difference - Work done in moving on coulomb of charge from one point to another
Resistivity - measure of a conductor’s ability to oppose the flow of electric current
e.m.f - Energy transferred/work done by an electrical source to move one coulomb charge in a
complete circuit
Internal resistance - Resistance caused by electrolyte in a dry cell

Catapult field - resultant magnetic field produced by interaction of the magnetic field of a current-
carrying conductor with the magnetic field of a permanent magnet
Electromagnetic induction - production of an induced emf in a conductor when there is relative
motion between the conductor and a magnetic field

Thermionic emission - Emission of electrons from a heated metal surface

Cathode rays - High velocity electrons in a vacuum

Half life - Amount of time needed for a radioactive substance to decay to half of its original mass
Nuclear energy - Atomic energy released during nuclear reactions
Laws
Newton’s first law of motion - An object will remain at rest or in motion unless acted upon by an
external force

Newton’s second law of motion - rate of change of momentum is directly proportional to the force
applied

Newton’s third law of motion - Every action force has a reaction force of same magnitude but in
opposite direction

Newton’s universal law of gravitation - Gravitational force is directly proportional to the product of
the masses of two bodies and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the
centers of the two bodies

Kepler’s first law - All planets move in elliptical orbits with the sun at one focus
Kepler’s second law - A line connecting a planet to the sun will sweep out equal areas at equal times
Kepler’s third law - The square of the orbital period is directly proportional to the cube of the orbital
radius

Boyle’s law - Pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume for fixed mass of gas at constant
temperature
Charles’ law - Volume of gas is directly proportional to the temperature for a fixed mass of gas at
constant pressure
Gay-lussac’s law - Pressure of gas is directly proportional to the temperature for a fixed mass of gas at
constant volume

Hooke’s law - Extension of spring is directly proportional to the force applied provided the elastic limit
of the spring is not exceeded

Pascal’s principle - Pressure applied is uniformly transmitted in all directions throughout an enclosed
liquid
Archimedes’ principle - An object that is fully or partially submerged in a fluid will experience a
buoyant force equal to the weight of fluid displaced
Bernoulli’s principle - When the velocity of a fluid increases, the pressure in the fluid decreases and
vice versa

Faraday’s Law of electromagnetic induction The magnitude of induced emf is directly proportional to
the rate of change of magnetic flux/rate of cutting of magnetic field lines
Lenz’s law - Induced current always flows in a direction that opposes the change in magnetic flux that
causes it