Download P1 Foundation Glossary

P1 Foundation Glossary
Alternating current Current that changes direction many times every second (mains electricity from a
(AC)
power station)
Amplitude
Big Bang theory
Electrical
conductor
Convection
The universe began from a tiny point with huge energy, and has been expanding ever
since
A sample which allows electricity to pass through it
When hot liquid or gas rises through cold liquid or gas
Convex lens
A lens which is thicker in the middle that at the edges
Core
The middle of the Earth
Cosmic microwave
background
radiation (CMB)
Cost-efficient
Microwave radiation from the Big Bang
Crust
The outer surface of the Earth
Current
A flow of charge (electrons)
Decommission
To close down a power station and take it apart (dismantle) it safely
Direct current (DC)
A current that flows in one direction only (e.g. from a battery or cell)
Dynamo
A small machine that generates electricity using a spinning magnet inside a coil of wire
(e.g. on a bike)
A sudden movement within the Earth, releasing a large amount of stored energy
Earthquake
Efficiency
Elastic potential
energy
Electricity
Something that saves a lot of money compared to how much it costs
How much of the energy put in is used to carry out a function (e.g. the amount of the
energy put into a light bulb that produces light, after some energy is lost as heat)
The energy stored by things that have been stretched or squashed and can spring back
A flow of charged particles that can be used to transfer energy
Electromagnet
A magnet made using a coil of wire with electricity flowing through it
Electromagnetic
induction
Electromagnetic
radiation
Creating a current in a wire by moving it past a magnet, or by moving the magnet past
the wire
Radio waves, microwaves, infra-red, visible light, ultraviolet, X rays, gamma rays
(longest ---------------------------------------------------------------- shortest wavelength)
(lowest --------------------------------------------------------------------- highest frequency)
(least dangerous ----------------------------------------------------------- most dangerous)
Energy being moved from one place to another, possibly with a change in the form of
the energy (e.g. electrical energy to light energy/ heat energy in a light bulb)
Energy transfer
Epicentre
The point on the surface of the Earth directly above the focus of an earthquake
Fluorescence
Frequency
Absorbing radiation of one wavelength and letting it out at another wavelength (so it
becomes visible)
Produce ultra-violet radiation which is absorbed by a coating inside the bulb and is let
back out as visible light
The distance from a convex lens (thicker in the middle) to the point where the image
is produced
The number of waves that pass a point each second
Gamma rays
High frequency, short wavelength electromagnetic radiation
Generator
A machine that makes electricity when it turns
Geocentric
With Earth in the centre (people at first believed that the Sun, moon and planets
orbited the Earth)
Energy from hot rocks deep beneath the Earth’s surface
Fluorescent lamp
Focal length
Geothermal
energy
Gravitational
potential energy
Heliocentric
Hertz (Hz)
Hydroelectricity
The energy stored in things that can fall
With the Sun in the centre (people now know that the Earth, moon and planets in the
Solar System orbit the Sun)
The unit for frequency of waves (1Hz = 1 wave per second)
Induced current
Electricity made using falling water (gravitational potential energy turned to kinetic
energy, as the water falls)
The current that flows in a wire that is moving past a magnet
Infrared (IR)
Electromagnetic radiation that we feel as heat
Infrasound
Sound waves with a frequency below 20Hz. Too low for humans to hear.
Ionising radiation
Joule (J)
Radiation that can cause atoms to become electrically charged (e.g. gamma, alpha and
beta rays can damage DNA and cause cancer because they are ionising)
A unit of energy
Kilowatt (kW)
1000 Watts. Unit of power.
Kilowatt-hour
(kWh)
Kinetic energy
The amount of energy used an hour by a 1kW appliance
(e.g. 1kW for 1 hour OR 2kW for 0.5 hours OR 0.5kW for 2 hours…)
Movement energy
Longitudinal
E.g. sound waves. Where the particles vibrate straight out, back and forth, from where
they start
Magnetic field
The area around a magnet that can affect magnetic materials or it can induce an
electric current to flow through a wire
A star during the main part of its life cycle, when it is using hydrogen fuel
Main sequence
star
Mantle
The part of the Earth between the crust and the core
Milky Way
The name of our galaxy
National Grid
The wire and transformers that carry electricity around the country
Nebula
A cloud of gas in space
Nuclear potential
energy
Orbit
The energy stored in the nuclei of atoms
P waves
Longitudinal seismic waves that can travel through the Earth
Payback time
Power
How long it takes to save the money that you spent on something (e.g. if insulation costs £100
but saves you £10 a year, it has a payback time of 10 years)
How quickly something gives energy
Protostar
A cloud of gas drawn together by gravity that has not started to produce its own energy yet
Radioactive
Any material that gives out alpha, beta or gamma radiation
Red Giant
A star that has used up all the hydrogen in its core and is now using helium as a fuel. It is
bigger than a normal star.
The waves given out by something moving away from you
Red-shift
The path a planet takes around the Sun, or the path a satellite takes around a planet
Reflecting
telescope
Refracting
telescope
Refraction
A telescope that focusses an image using a curved mirror
S waves
(Look at picture above) Tranverse seismic waves that travel through the Earth (but not
through liquid in the core)
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence – they search for life by looking for radio signals
from Space
A machine that detects seismic waves
SETI
Seismometer
Sonar
Spectrometer
A telescope that has a series of lenses
When waves change speed and direction as they enter a new material
A way of finding the distance to an underwater object by timing how long it takes for a pulse
of ultrasound to be reflected
- Remember to halve the time before working out how far away something is!
- Distance = Speed x Time
An instrument that can split up light to show the colours of the spectrum
Tectonic plate
A ball of gas that produces heat and light energy from fusion reactions (when the nuclei of
two atoms join together and release energy)
Our Sun is a star
Pieces of the Earth’s crust that can move around very slowly
Thermal energy
Energy from heating
Star
Thermal imaging
Photography using detection of infrared radiation (heat)
Transformer
A device that can change the voltage of an alternating electricity supply
The voltage is increased, to lower the current, before electricity goes through cables to our
homes. This is so that energy isn’t lost as heat in the wires.
Transverse wave
The voltage is then decreased before it goes into our homes, which increases the current.
Waves which move up and down, whilst the energy is moving forwards
Tsunami
A huge wave cause by an earthquake or landslide on the sea bed
Ultrasound
Universe
Sound waves with a frequency above 20,000 Hz. Too high for humans to hear. Used to scan a
part of the body (usually a foetus).
All of the stars, galaxies and space itself
Vacuum
A place where there is nothing/ there is no matter (e.g. space)
Visible light
Electomagnetic waves that can be detected by the human eye
Watt (W)
The unit for measuring power (1 Watt = 1 joule of energy per second)
Wave speed
The distace a wave travel in one second (in a vaccuum all waves in the electromagnetic
spectrum travel at the same speed)
(See picture above) The distance between a point on one wave and the same point on the
next wave
A very dense star that is not very bright. A red giant turns into a white dwarf.
Wavelength
White dwarf