AS level Physics - AQA A PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Acceleration - ANSWERSThe rate of change of velocity Accurate result - ANSWERSA result that is close to the true answer Apha decay - ANSWERSA type of decay in which an unstable nucleus of an atom emits an alpha particle Alternating current - ANSWERSA current that changes with time in a regular cycle Ammeter - ANSWERSA component used to measure the current flowing through a circuit Amplitude - ANSWERSThe maximum displacement of a wave Angle of incidence - ANSWERSThe angle that incoming light makes to the normal or a boundry Angle of refraction - ANSWERSThe angle that incoming light makes to the normal of a boundary Annihilation - ANSWERSThe process by which a particle and its antiparticle meet and their mass gets converted to energy in the form of a pair of gamma ray photons Anomalous result - ANSWERSA result that doesn't fit in with the pattern of the other results in a set of data Antimatter - ANSWERSThe name given to all antiparticles Antineutrino - ANSWERSThe antiparticle of a neutrino Antiparticle - ANSWERSA particle with the same rest mass and energy as its corresponding particle but equal and opposite charge Atom - ANSWERSA particle made up of protons and neutrons in a central nucleus and electrons orbiting the nucleus Atomic number - ANSWERSThe number of protons in an atom of an element Baryon - ANSWERSA type of hardon made up of three quarks Baryon number - ANSWERSThe number of baryons in a particle Beta-minus decay - ANSWERSA type of decay in which an unstable nucleus of an atom emits a beta-minus particle (an electron) and an antineutrino Breaking stress - ANSWERSThe lowest stress that is big enough to break a material Brittle - ANSWERSA brittle material doesn't deform plastically but snaps when the stress on it reaches a certain point ` Brittle fracture - ANSWERSWhen a stress app;lied to a brittle material causes tiny cracks at the materials surface to get bigger until the material breaks completely Categoric data - ANSWERSData that can be sorted into categories Center of mass - ANSWERSThe point which you can consider all of an object's weight to act through Circuit symbol - ANSWERSA pictorial representation of an electrical component Coherent - ANSWERSSources that have the same wavelength and frequency and a fixed phase difference between them are coherent Compressive force - ANSWERSA force which squashes something Constructive interface - ANSWERSWhen two waves interfere to make a wave with a larger displacement Coulomb - ANSWERSA unit of charge. One coulomb is the amount of charge that passes in one second when the current is one ampere Couple - ANSWERSA pair of forces of equal size which act parallel to each other but in opposite directions Critical angle - ANSWERSThe angle of incidence at which the angle of refraction in 90 degrees Current - ANSWERSThe rate of flow of charge in a circuit, measures in amperes Continuous data - ANSWERSData that can have any value on a scale Density - ANSWERSThe mass per unit volume of a material or object Dependent variable - ANSWERSThe cariable that you measure in an experiment Destructive interference - ANSWERSWhen two waves interfere to make a wave with a reduced displacement Diffraction - ANSWERSWhen waves spread out as they pass through a narrow gap or go round obstacles Diffraction grating - ANSWERSA slide or other thin object that contains lots of equally spaced slits very close together, used to show diffraction patterns of waves Diode - ANSWERSA component designed to allow current flow in one direction only. Directly proportional - ANSWERSA change in ove variable results in a change in the other variable, the changes are always related by the same constant Discrete data - ANSWERSData that can only take certain values Displacement - ANSWERSHow far an object has traveled from its starting point in a given direction in the case of a wave, it is the distance a point on a wave has moved from its undisturbed position Drag - ANSWERSFriction caused by a fluid (gas or liquid) Efficiency - ANSWERSThe ratio of useful energy given out by a machine to the amount of energy put into the machine Elastic - ANSWERSAn elastic material returns to its original shape/length once the forces acting on it are removed Elastic limit - ANSWERSThe force beyond which a material will be permanently stretched Elastic strain energy - ANSWERSThe energy stored in a stretched material Electromagnetic force - ANSWERSA fundamental force that causes interactions between charged particles. Virtual photons are the exchange particle Electromagnetic spectrum - ANSWERSA continuous spectrum of all the possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation Electromotive force (E.M.F) - ANSWERSThe amount of electrical energy a power supply transfers to each coulomb of charge Electron - ANSWERSA lepton with a relative charge of -1 and a relative mass of 0.0005. Electron capture - ANSWERSThe process of a proton rich nucleus capturing an electron to turn a proton into a neutron, emitting a neutrino Electron proton collision - ANSWERSThe process of an electron colliding with a proton and producing a neutron and a neutrino Electron volt - ANSWERSThe kinetic energy carried by an electron after it has been accelerated through a potential difference of one volt Equilibrium - ANSWERSAn object is in equilibrium if all the forces acting on it cancel each other out Exchange particle - ANSWERSA virtual particle which allows forces to act in a particle interaction Excitation - ANSWERSThe movement of an electron to a higher energy level in an atom Fernman diagram - ANSWERSA diagram used to represent particle ineraction First order line - ANSWERSThe first line either side of the zero order line in a diffraction grating interference pattern First overtone - ANSWERSA resonant frequency of a stationary wave for which the wavelength is the length of the string Free fall - ANSWERSThe potion of an object undergoing an acceleration of g Frequency - ANSWERSThe number of whole wave cycles (oscillations) per seconds passing a given point, Or the number of whole wave cycles given out from a source per second. Friction - ANSWERSA force that opposes motion. It acts in the opposite direction to the motion. It arises when two objects are moving past each other, or an object is moving througha fluid. Fundamental frequency - ANSWERSA resonant frequency of a stationsry wave for which the wavelength is double the length of the string Fundamental particle - ANSWERSA particle which cannot be split up into smaller particles Gravitational force - ANSWERSA fundamental force which causes attraction between objects with a force proportional to their mass Gravitational potential energy - ANSWERSThe energy an object gains when lifted up Ground state - ANSWERSThe lowest energy level of an atom Hadron - ANSWERSA particle that is affected by the strong nuclear force Hooke's law - ANSWERSThe extension of a stretched object is proportional to the load or force applied to it, up to the limit of proportionality. Hooke's law limit - ANSWERSThe point beyond which force is no longer proportional to extension. Also known as the limit of proportionality Hypothesis - ANSWERSA specific testable statement based on a theory about what will happen in a test situation Independent variable - ANSWERSThe variable that you change in an experiment Interference - ANSWERSThe superposition of two or more waves Internal resistance - ANSWERSThe resistance created in a power source when the electrons collide with atoms inside the power source Ionisation - ANSWERSThe process where an electron is removed from to an atom Ionisation energy - ANSWERSThe energy required to remove an electron from an atom Isotope - ANSWERSAn isotope of an element has the same proton number as the element but a different nucleon number I-V characteristic - ANSWERSA graph which shows how to current flowing through a component changes as the potential difference across it is increased Kinetic energy - ANSWERSthe energy possessed by a moving object Lepton - ANSWERSA fundamental particle that is not affected by the strong nuclear force Lepton number - ANSWERSThe number of leptons in a particle, the lepton number is counted separately for different types of leptons Level - ANSWERSA structure with a rigid object and a pivot in which an effort force works against a load force Light-dependent resistor - ANSWERSA resistor with a resistance that depends on the intensity of light falling on it. The resistance decreases with increasing light intensity Limit of proportionality - ANSWERSThe point beyond which force is no longer proportional to extension. Line spectrum - ANSWERSThe pattern of lines produced by photons being emitted or absorbed by electrons moving between energy levels in an atom Line absorbtion spectrum - ANSWERSA light spectrum with dark lines corresponding to different wavelengths of light that have been absorbed Line emission spectrum - ANSWERSA spectrum of bright lines on a dark background corresponding to different wavelengths of light that have been emitted from a light source Longitudinal wave - ANSWERSA wave in which the vibrations are in the direction of travel of the wave Lost volts - ANSWERSThe energy wasted per coulomb overcoming the internal resistance of a power source Mass - ANSWERSThe amount of matter in an object Mass number - ANSWERSThe number of nucleons in an atom of an element Matter - ANSWERSThe name given to all particles Maximum - ANSWERSThe points in an interferance pattern where the intensity is brightest Meson - ANSWERSA type of hadron made up of a quark and an antiquark Minimum - ANSWERSThe points in an interference pattern where the intensity is lowest Model - ANSWERSA simplified picture of representation of a real physical situation Moment - ANSWERSThe turning effect of a force around a turning point Monochromatic - ANSWERSA light source that is all of the same wavelength Nucleon - ANSWERSA particle in the nucleus of an atom Nucleon number - ANSWERSThe number of nucleons in an atom of an element Nucleus - ANSWERSThe centre of an atom containing protons and neutrons Neutrino - ANSWERSA lepton with almost zero mass and zero charge Neutron - ANSWERSA neutral baryon with a relative mass of one Newton's first law of motion - ANSWERSThe velocity of an object will not change unless a resultant force acts on it Newton's second law of motion - ANSWERSThe acceleration of an object is proportional to the resultant force acting on it Newton's third law of motion - ANSWERSIf an object A exerts a force on object B them object B exerts an equal but opposite force on object A Ohm's law - ANSWERSProvided the temperature is constant the current through an ohmic conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across it