PHYSICS DEFINITION

1. Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity

2. Accuracy is the degree of a measuring instrument to record readings close to the actual value
3. Apparent depth is the distance of image from the surface of the water
4. Archimedes’ principle states that when an object is immersed fully or partially in a fluid, the
weight of fluid displaced is equal to the buoyant force experienced by the object
5. Atmospheric pressure is the pressure which results from the collision between the gas
molecules of the atmosphere with a body
6. Base quantity is a physical quantity that cannot be defined in other terms of physical
quantities
7. Bernoulli’s principle states that in a moving fluid, the points which have a higher velocity will
experience a lower pressure whereas points with a lower velocity will experience a higher
pressure
8. Boiling point is the temperature at which the substance changes from a liquid to a gaseous
state, where the change occurs throughout the liquid
9. Boyle’s law states that for a fixed mass of gas at a fixed temperature, the pressure of gas is
inversely proportional to its volume
10.Buoyant force is an upward force acting on an object partially or fully immersed in a fluid
11.Charles’ law states that for a fixed mass of gas, the volume of gas is directly proportional to
the absolute temperature of the gas if the pressure is constant
12.Consistency / Precision is the degree of a measuring instrument to record consistent readings
for each measurement by the same way
13.Critical angle is the angle of incidence in the optically denser medium for which the angle of
refraction, r = 90⁰
14.Derived quantity is a physical quantity derived by combining base quantities
15.Displacement is the distance in a specific direction
16.Distance is the total path length travelled from one location to another
17.Elastic potential energy is the energy stored in a spring when it is extended or compressed
18.Elasticity is a property of an object to return to its original shape and dimensions after an
applied external force is removed
19.Energy is the capacity to do work
20.Focal length is the distance between the centre of the lens to its focal point
21.Free fall occurs when an object is falling under the force of gravity only, without any obstacles
22.Gas pressure occurs when the gas molecules collide with the wall of the container
23.Gravitational acceleration is the acceleration of an object due to the pull of gravitational
force
24.Heat capacity is the amount of heat required to change its temperature by 1⁰C
25.Hooke’s law states that the extension of a spring, x is directly proportional to the stretching
force acting on it provided the elastic limit of the spring is not exceeded
26.Elastic limit is the maximum stretching force
27.Impulse is the change of momentum
28.Impulsive force is the rate of change of momentum
29.Inertia (Newton’s First Law of Motion) is the tendency of an object to maintain its state of
stationary or uniform motion in a straight line unless it is acted upon by an external force
30.Kinetic energy is the energy possessed by an object due to its motion
31.Mass is the amount of matter in an object
32.Melting point is the temperature at which a substance changes its state from solid to liquid
33.The momentum of an object is defined as the product of mass and velocity
34.Pascal’s principle states that when pressure is applied to an enclosed fluid, the pressure will
be transferred uniformly throughout the liquid
35.Power is the rate at which work is done
36.Pressure is the force acting normally(perpendicularly) on a unit area
37.Pressure law states that for a fixed mass of gas, the pressure of gas is directly proportional to
the absolute temperature of the gas at a constant volume
38.Principle of Conservation of Energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. It
can be transformed from one form to another but the total energy in a system is constant
39.Real image is an image that can be displayed on a screen
40.Refraction of light is the bending of light ray at the boundary as it travels from one medium
to another.
41.Refractive index: When a ray of light travels from the air to a medium, the ratio of sinisinr is
the refractive index
42.Resultant force is a single force that represents the combined effect of two of more forces by
taking account both the magnitude and the direction of the forces
43.Scalar quantity is a quantity that has magnitude only
44.Sensitivity is the ability of a measuring instrument to detect small changes in the quantity that
is being measured.
45.Specific heat capacity is the amount of heat required to increase the temperature of 1kg
mass of the substance by 1⁰C
46.Specific latent heat of fusion is the amount of heat required to change 1kg of substance
from solid to liquid without any change of temperature of the melting point
47.Specific latent heat of vaporisation is the amount of heat required to change 1kg of
substance from liquid to gas without any change of temperature of the melting point
48.Speed is the rate of change of distance
49.Temperature is the degree of hotness of a substance
50.Total internal reflection is the total reflection of a beam of light at the boundary of two
mediums when an angle of incidence, i exceeds the critical angle, c
51.Vector quantity is a physical quantity that has magnitude and directions
52.Velocity is the rate of change of displacement
53.Virtual image is an image that can be seen by the observer but cannot be formed on the
screen
54.Weight is the force of gravity acting on an object
55.Work done is defined as the product of the force, F and the distance, s in the direction of the
force