GLOSSARY
acceleration —the change in an object’s velocity divided by the time it took to make that change; equal to
the derivative (slope) of an object’s velocity–time function
amplitude —the maximum displacement from the equilibrium position during a cycle of periodic motion;
also, the height of a wave
angular momentum —the amount of effort it would take to make a rotating object stop spinning
atom —the fundamental unit of matter; includes protons and neutrons in a small nucleus, surrounded by
electrons
atomic mass unit (amu) —the mass of a proton; also the mass of a neutron
average speed —the distance an object travels divided by the time it took to travel that distance
capacitor —a charge-storage device, often used in circuits
centrifugal force —a made-up force; when discussing circular motion, only talk about “centripetal”
forces
centripetal force —the force keeping an object in uniform circular motion
coefficient of friction —the ratio of the friction force to the normal force. The coefficient of static
friction is used when an object has no velocity relative to the surface it is in contact with; the
coefficient of kinetic friction is used for a moving object
concave lens —a translucent object that makes the light rays passing through it diverge
conservative force —a force that acts on an object without causing the dissipation of that object’s energy
in the form of heat
current —the flow of positive charge in a circuit; the amount of charge passing a given point per unit time
dipole —something, usually a set of charges, with two nonidentical ends
direction —the orientation of a vector
displacement —a vector quantity describing how far an object moved
elastic collision —a collision in which kinetic energy is conserved
electric field —a property of a region of space that affects charged objects in that particular region
electric flux —the amount of electric field that penetrates a certain area
electric potential —potential energy provided by an electric field per unit charge
electromagnetic induction —the production of a current by a changing magnetic field
electron —a subatomic particle that carries a negative charge
energy —the ability to do work
equilibrium —when the net force and net torque on an object equal zero
equipotential lines —lines that illustrate every point at which a charged particle would experience a
given potential
field —a property of a region of space that can affect objects found in that particular region
free-body diagram —a picture that represents one or more objects, along with the forces acting on those