physics P2 definitions

• effort


  force applied to a lever
• elastic deformation


  when an object has been stretched or compressed and does return to its original shape
• free body diagram


  a diagram of forces acting on an object (the object is represented as a dot or small circle)
• fulcrum


  another name for a pivot
• gear


  a system of cogs that word together as a force multiplier
• lever


  an object which enables a small force to be applied at large distance to create a moment and reduce the effort while still applying the load force
• linear


  a straight line on a graph, shows that two variables are proportional
• load


  force produced by a lever
• moment


  a turning force, measured in Nm can be clockwise or anticlockwise, also a type of force multiplier
• plastic deformation


  when an object has been stretched or compressed and does not return to its original shape
• pressure


  perpendicular force per unit area, acts at 90 degrees to a surface, measured in N/m2
• spring constant


  a measure of how easily an object will stretch when a force is exerted on it
• upthrust


  a force due to the displacement of a fluid by an object
• acceleration


  the change in velocity divided by the change in time, measured in m/s2
• conservation of energy


  energy can not be created or destroyed, energy can only be transferred between stores
• deceleration


  negative acceleration
• displacement


  the distance from a point in a particular distance (a scaler)
• drag


  a force that acts opposite to the direction of motion of the body
• elastic collision


  a collision in which kinetic energy is conserved
• gravitational field strength


  the force on 1kg in a gravitational field
• gravitational potential energy


  the energy transferred to a gravity store when you lift an object in a gravitational field
• inelastic collision


  a collision in which kinetic energy is not conserved
• joule


  the unit of energy
• kinetic energy


  the energy associated with a kinetic store. the energy an object has due to its movement
• magnitude


  a quantitative value, size
• mass


  the amount of matter, usually measured in kg
• momentum


  mass x velocity
• newton


  the unit of force
• newtonmeter


  a device that measures the forces applied to an object
• power


  rate of transfer of energy, or work done/time
• rate


  how quickly something changes
• recoil


  the movement back (due to conservation of momentum) of a object, often a gun
• scalar


  a quantity that has a magnitude (size) but no direction
• terminal velocity


  the velocity that a moving object achieves when the resultant force is zero
• vector


  a quantity that has both magnitude and direction
• velocity


  the speed in a particular direction, a vector
• watt


  the unit of power
• weight


  the force due to gravity that acts on an object
• work done


  the transfer of energy, force x distance