Physical World Word List - Science Year 10 MHS

• Weight


  The force of attraction of an object to a large central mass, usually a planet. Measured in newtons.
• Velocity


  Is a vector quantity that is the change in displacement over a period of time. Calculated by the displacement travelled divided by the time interval. Has units of metres per second (m/s or m s-1)
• Vector


  A quantity that needs magnitude, units and direction to fully describe it (MUD).
• Speed


  Is a scalar quantity that is the rate at which an object covers distance. Calculated by the distance travelled divided by the time interval. Has units of metres per second (m/s or m s-1)
• Scalar


  A quantity that can be fully described by magnitude and units.
• Resultant vector

  Is the sum of two or more vectors of the same type.
• Newton


  The unit of force (symbol N).
• Mass


  How much matter an object has; measured in kilograms
• Inertia


  The tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion.
• Gravitational force


  The force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface
• Gradient

  Measures the rate of change of the vertical quantity to a horizontal quantity on a line graph. Calculated using rise/run. Usually gradients in Physics have associated units.
• Friction

  A force that always opposes motion.
• Free body diagram


  A diagram showing the vectors acting on a body; usually drawn with the vectors originating at the centre of mass of the object.
• Force


  An influence that acts to change the motion of a body or to impose an elastic strain on it.
• Field


  A region in which a body experiences a force due to the effects of another body. The effect can be the mass within the bodies, their charges or magnetic properties.
• Equilibrium


  A state of balance resulting from the application of two or more forces that produce a zero net force.
• Distance

  A scalar quantity that measures the change of position of an object between two locations along the actual path connecting them.
• Displacement


  A vector quantity that measures the change between two positions of an object along the shortest path connecting them.
• Rectangular Component


  The parts of a vector resolved into vertical and horizontal vector components. Rectangular components are perpendicular to each other.
• Acceleration

  A change in velocity over a period of time that is caused by an unbalanced force. Has the units of metres per second squared (m/s2 or m s-2) and the acceleration will be in the direction of the net force.