Download VOCAB File - ASW Moodle

Scalar – a quantity with only a magnitude
Vector – a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
Average speed – value over a certain time frame
Instantaneous speed – value at a specific time
Distance – total length of the path followed
Displacement – length of the shortest path between two points in a specific
direction
Speed – rate of change of distance with respect to time
Velocity – rate of change of displacement with respect to time
Acceleration – rate of change of velocity with respect to time
Free fall – an object moving vertically in a gravitational field with no air
resistance
Terminal velocity – maximum velocity of a falling object, this occurs when air
resistance is equal in magnitude to the weight of the object
Resultant – the sum of vector quantities
Free body diagram – a diagram showing direction and magnitude of all forces
acting on an object
Translational equilibrium – occurs when the resultant force acting on an object is
zero
Momentum – product of an object’s mass and velocity
Impulse – change in momentum
Weight – force exerted by a body due to its acceleration in a gravitational field
Law of conservation of momentum - momentum of a system is conserved
provided no external forces act
Elastic collision – a collision in which KE is conserved
Inelastic collision – a collision in which KE is not conserved
Work – product of force and the object’s displacement in the direction of the
force
Kinetic energy – energy associated with motion
Gravitational potential energy – energy associated with an object’s position
relative to the ground (height)
Efficiency – ratio of useful work to total work (useful power to total power,
useful energy to total energy)
Power – rate of energy production/consumption (depends on the question)
Centripetal motion – motion for which the acceleration is perpendicular to the
motion (acceleration perpendicular to velocity)
HL MECHANICS