A level Module 5 Definitions

5.1 Thermal Physics

Phase The state of the matter (solid, liquid or gas)
Pressure Pressure = Force (perpendicular to the area) / Area
Internal energy (The sum of) the random kinetic; and potential energies of the
atoms/molecules/particles of the gas
Ideal Gas A gas that has its internal energy only in the form of random kinetic energy (and
obeys the ideal gas equations)
Absolute zero The lowest limit for temperature; the temperature at which a substance has
minimum internal energy.
Thermal equilibrium Two objects at the same temperature are in thermal equilibrium so there is no
net heat transfer between the objects
Brownian Motion The random, zigzag motion of a large particle (e.g. pollen grain or smoke particle)
due to the bombardment of rapid and randomly moving fluid atoms or
molecules.
Specific heat capacity Specific heat capacity of a substance is the energy required per unit mass to
change the temperature by a unit temperature (such as 1 K / 1 °C).
Latent heat of fusion The energy required to change the state of a unit mass of a substance at its
melting point from a solid to liquid at a constant temperature.
Latent heat of The energy required to change the state of a unit mass of a substance at its
vaporisation boiling point from a liquid to a vapour at a constant temperature.
State Boyle’s law The volume of a fixed mass of gas is inversely proportional to the pressure
exerted on it, provided temperature remains constant.
Ideal gas temperature T For a fixed mass of an ideal gas at constant pressure, its volume V is proportional
to the ideal gas temperature T (in Kelvin)
State the basic Large number of particles in rapid random motion
assumptions of the Particles (atoms or molecules) occupy negligible volume compared to the volume
kinetic theory of gases of the gas
All collisions are perfectly elastic and the time of collisions is negligible compared
with the time between collisions
There are negligible forces between particles except during collisions
One mole of a substance One mole of any substance contains 6.02 × 1023 particles and that
6.02 × 1023 mol-1 is the Avogadro constant NA;
Temperature Explain that the mean translational kinetic energy of an atom of an ideal gas is
directly proportional to the temperature of the gas in Kelvin.
Boltzmann Constant The gas constant for a single molecule (=1.38 x 10-23 J K-1)
5.2 Circular Motion
Radian One radian is the angle subtended at the centre of a circle by an arc length equal
to the circle’s radius.
Time Period The time taken to complete one revolution
Frequency The number of revolutions per unit time
Angular velocity A measure of rotation rate, measured in radians per sec ω = 2πf = 2π/T (with
symbols defined).
Centripetal acceleration a = v2/r (with symbols defined) and directed towards the centre of the circle.
Centripetal force F = m ´v2/r (with symbols defined) and directed towards the centre of the circle.
5.3 Oscillations
Displacement The distance an object moves from its mean (or rest) position; may be positive or
negative
Amplitude The maximum displacement and will always be positive.
Time Period The time taken to complete one full oscillation
Frequency The number of oscillations per unit time.
Angular frequency A measure of rotation rate, measured in radians per sec ω = 2πf = 2π/T (with
symbols defined). (Note: same definition as angular velocity)
Phase difference A measure of the relationship between the pattern of vibration at two points.
Simple harmonic motion; The acceleration of the oscillator is directly proportional to the
displacement with the acceleration always directed to a fixed / equilibrium point
Isochronous Oscillator The period of the SHM oscillator is independent of its amplitude
Free Oscillation Oscillation where there is no external periodic force
Forced Oscillation Oscillation where an external force or driving force is applied to keep the body
oscillating. The system oscillates at the frequency of the driver
Damping Damping forces reduce the amplitude of an oscillation with time, by removing
energy from the oscillating system
Resonance When maximum amplitude of oscillation of a system occurs due to the driving
frequency matching the natural frequency of the system
Natural frequency The frequency at which a system will oscillate when undergoing free oscillations
5.4 Gravitational Fields
Gravitational field
It is the force (of attraction) per unit mass.
strength
Newton’s law of The gravitational force of attraction between two bodies is directly proportional
gravitation to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them.
Kepler’s 1st law Planets travel around stars in elliptical orbits (with the star at one of the foci)
nd
Kepler’s 2 law A line joining a star to a planet will sweep out equal areas in equal times
Kepler’s 3rd law The time period squared of a planet is proportional to the cube of its average
radius of orbit
Geostationary orbit of a A geostationary satellite must:
satellite Have its orbit centered on the centre of the earth
state the uses of such Be traveling from west to east
satellites Be over the equator
Have a period of 24 hours
Uses: Telecommunications, monitoring the weather
Gravitational Potential at The work done in bringing a unit mass from infinity to that point; the
a point gravitational potential at infinity is zero (hence gravitational potential is always
negative)
Escape velocity The minimum initial speed required by a projectile to move from a point in a
gravitational field to a point at infinity
5.5 Astrophysics and Cosmology
Planet A body that orbits a star in a circular or elliptical orbit (and has cleared its orbit of
all other objects)
Planetary satellite Objects that orbit around a plant
Comets Rocky ice balls that come from the Kuiper belt or Oort cloud and have highly
elliptical orbits
Solar systems Systems involving a star and the planets that orbit around them
Galaxies Collections of hundreds of billions of stars that all orbit around the centre of
gravity of the system (thought to be a supermassive black hole)
Solar mass A mass equal to the mass of our Sun
Nebula Clouds of gas and dust of higher than average density where stars are formed
Main sequence star A star that is fusing hydrogen into helium and has a balance of radiation pressure
outwards and gravitational pressure inwards
Red Giant/Red Super A cooler but very large star that has high luminosity (due to its size). Formed after
Giant hydrogen fusion stops in a main sequence star
White dwarf A very hot, but very small (and hence low luminosity) object left over after the
death of a medium sized star such as our Sun. It is very dense and made of
electron degenerate matter. It has a mass below 1.4 solar masses
Planetary nebula A nebula formed of ionized gas ejected from a red giant that is present around a
white dwarf
Supernova A huge explosion that scatters newly formed atoms across the galaxy caused by
the collapse of a red super giant
Neutron star An extremely dense object left over after a supernova, formed of closely packed
neutrons. It has a density similar to nuclear density
Black hole An object so massive that it has an escape velocity greater than the speed of
light. It is believed that black holes collapse in on themselves to form a singularity
Electron degeneracy An outward pressure that halts the collapse of stars below the Chandrasekhar
pressure limit. The pressure is caused by the inability of two electrons to occupy the same
quantum state
Chandrasekhar limit The maximum mass of a stable white dwarf star that can be supported by
electron degeneracy pressure. It is equal to 1.4 solar masses
Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) A plot of luminosity vs temperature of a star (note: temperature axis is reversed).
diagram It shows the position of main sequence stars, red giants, red super giants and
white dwarfs
Energy levels of electrons Discrete orbits that are the only energy values that electrons can orbit an atom in
Continuous spectrum An uninterrupted colour spectrum that contains all wavelengths
Emission line spectrum A pattern of different coloured lines on a dark background caused by the
transition of electrons from high energy levels to lower energy levels. These are
unique to each element
Absorption line spectrum A pattern of dark lines at specific wavelengths on a background of a continuous
spectrum. These are caused by specific wavelengths of light having the exact
energy needed to cause the transition of an electron from a lower energy level to
a higher one. These are unique to each element and correspond exactly to the
frequencies of light from the emission line spectrum of that element
Wien’s displacement law The wavelength that corresponds to the maximum intensity of a star is inversely
proportional to its temperature in Kelvin
Stefan’s law
with symbols defined
Define distances (AU) – Is the mean distance from the centre of the Earth to the centre of the Sun.
measured in (pc) – The distance from a baseline of 1 AU when the parallax angle is one second
astronomical units (AU), of arc (1/3600 of a degree)
parsecs (pc) and light- (ly) – The distance light will travel through a vacuum in one year.
years (ly)
Stellar Parallax The apparent shifting of a stars position relative to distant stars due to the
movement of the Earth around the Sun
State the cosmological Universe is isotropic /same in all directions
principle Homogeneous / evenly distributed
Doppler effect The apparent change in the frequency of a wave due to the relative motion
between the source and the observer
Hubble’s law The speed of the recession of a galaxy is directly proportional to its distance from
the Earth.
Cosmic Microwave Radiation characteristic of a temperature of 2.7K that is red shifted radiation left
Background Radiation over from the big bang
Dark Matter Type of matter that cannot be seen but accounts for the extra mass needed to
explain the rotation of galaxies and gravitational lensing of starlight
Dark Energy A type of energy that permeates the universe and exerts an outwards negative
pressure. It is used to explain the accelerated expansion of space between distant
galaxies