Advanced Subsidiary Definitions

Chapter 0-11
 accuracy: refers to degree of agreement between result of a measurement and true value
of quantity.
 precision: refers to degree of agreement of repeated measurements of the same quantity
(regardless of whether it is correct or not).
 displacement: the distance travelled in a particular direction.
 acceleration: the rate of change of velocity of an object.
 Newton’s second law of motion: resultant force is proportional to mass times
acceleration. (resultant force is proportional to the rate
of change of momentum of the body.)
 centre of gravity: the point where the entire weight of an object appears to act.
 Newton’s first law of motion: an object will remain at rest or in a state of uniform motion
unless it is acted by a resultant force.
 Newton’s third law of motion: when two bodies interact, the forces they exert on each
other are equal in size and opposite in direction.
 homogenous: equations with the same base units on each side are homogenous.
 resultant force: the single force that has the same effect as all of the forces acting on an
object.
 moment of a force: the moment of a force about a point is the product of the force and
perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the point.
 principle of moments: the sum of the clockwise moments about a point is equal to the
sum of the anticlockwise moments about the same point provided
the body is in equilibrium.
 couple: a pair of equal and opposite forces that act on an object at different points and
produce rotation only.
 torque (of a couple): the product of one of the forces and the perpendicular distance
between the forces.
 gravitational potential energy, Ep: the energy a body has due to its position in a
gravitational field.
 principle of conservation of energy: energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only
be changed from one form to another.
 work done: the product of the force and the distance moved in the direction of the force.
 power: the power of a device is the rate at which it does work per unit of time.
 linear momentum: the product of its mass and velocity.
 closed system: a system of interacting objects in which there are no external force.
 conservation of momentum: the sum or total momentum of the bodies in a closed
system is constant provided no resultant external force
acts.
 density: mass per unit volume.
 pressure: the normal force acting per unit cross-sectional area.
 Archimedes’s principle: the upthrust acting on a body is equal to the weight of the liquid
or gas that is displaces.
 Hooke’s law: provided the elastic limit is not exceeded, the extension of an object is
proportional to the applied force.
 elastic deformation: an object that returns to its initial length when the force is removed
has deformed elastically.
 plastic deformation: an object that does not return to its initial length when the force is
removed is deformed permanently.
 limit of proportionality: the point beyond which extension of a spring is no longer
proportional to the force.
 elastic limit: the value of stress beyond which an object will not return to its original
dimensions.
 stress: force per unit cross-sectional area that acts at right angles to a surface.
 strain: extension per unit length.
 young modulus: the stress in the material divided by the strain.
 elastic potential energy (strain energy): energy stored in a body due to a change in its
shape.
 current: the rate of flow of electric charge past a point.
 coulomb: one coulomb is the charge that flows past a point in a circuit in a time of 1s
when the current is 1A.
 number density: the number of charged carriers per unit volumn in a material.
 mean drift velocity: the average speed of a collection of charged particles when there is
a current in a conductor.
 potential difference between two points, A and B: the energy transferred per unit
charge as it moves from point A to
point B.
 e.m.f.: the energy transferred per unit charge in driving charge round a complete circuit.
 electrical resistance: the ratio of potential difference to current.
 ohm: the ohm is the resistance of a component when a potential difference of a volt
drives a current of 1 ampere through it.
 Kirchhoff’s first law: the sum of the currents entering any point in a circuit is equal to the
sum of the currents leaving that same point.
 Kirchhoff’s second law: the sum of the e.m.f.s aound any loop in a circuit is equal to the
sum of the p.d.s around the loop.
 threshold voltage: the minimum forward potential difference across a diode at which it
starts to conduct.
 internal resistance: the internal resistance of a source of e.m.f. is the resistance inherent
in the source itself. Some energy is transferred into other forms as
work is done in driving charge through the source itself.
 terminal p.d.: the potential difference across the terminals of a source and is dependent
on the current that is taken from the source.
 potentiometer: a device used for comparing potential difference.
 null method: an experimental technique where a zero reading is sought.

Chapter 12
 progressive wave: a wave that carries energy from one place to another.
 displacement: the distance of a point on the wave from its undisturbed position or
equillibrium position.
 amplitude: the maximum displacement of a wave.
 wavelength: the distance between two adjacent points on a wave oscillating in step with
each other.
 period: the time taken for one complete oscillation of a point in a wave.
 frequency: the number of oscillations per unit time of a point in a wave.
 longitudinal wave: a wave in which the particles of the medium oscillate along the
direction in which the wave travels.
 transverse wave: a wave in which the particles of the medium oscillate at right angles to
the direction in which the wave travels.
 compression: the point in a sound wave at which the air pressure is at maximum.
 rarefaction: a region in a sound wave where the air pressure is less than its mean value.
 phase difference: the fraction of a cycle between two oscillating particles, expressed in
either degrees or radians.
 intensity: the rate of energy transmitted per unit area at right angles to the wave velocity.
 doppler effect: the change in frequency or wavelength of a wave observed when the
source of the wave is moving towards or away from the observer.
 magnetic field: a force field in which a magnet, a wire carrying a current, or a moving
charge experiences a force.
 electromagentic wave: a transverse wave travelling through space as vibrations of
electric and magnetic field.
 electric field: a force field in which an electric charged particle experiences a force.
Chapter 13
 principle of superposition: when two or more waves meet at a point, the resultant
displacement is the sum of the displacement of the individual
waves.
 diffraction: the spreading of a wave when it passes through a gap or past the edge of an
object.
 interference: the superposition of two or more waves from coherent sources.
 constructive interference: when two waves reinforce to give increased amplitude at a
point in space.
 destructive interference: when two waves cancel to give reduced (or zero) amplitude at
a point in space.

 coherence: term used to describe two waves emitted from two sources that
have a constant phase difference. The sources emitting such waves are referred to as
coherent sources.
 dispersion: the splitting of light into its component wavelengths.

Chapter 14
 stationary wave: a stable wave pattern produced from the superposition of two
progressive waves of the same frequency and travelling in opposite
directions.
 node: a point on a stationary wave with zero amplitude.
 antinode: a point on a stationary wave with maximum amplitude.

Chapter 15
 isotopes: nuclei of the same element with different numbers of neutrons but the same
number of protons.
 electronvolt: one electronvolt is the energy transferred when an electron travels through
a potential difference of one volt.
 baryon: a hadron made up from three quarks.
 meson: a hadron made up of a quark and an antiquark.