Y8 Physics Keyword List
Autumn Term – Forces
Word
force
contact force
non-contact
force
force meter
newton meter
newton (N)
mass
gram (g)
kilogram (kg)
weight
gravity
magnetism
static electricity
Definition
A push or a pull
A force that needs to touch an object before it can affect it (e.g. friction)
A force that can affect something from a distance (e.g. gravity)
A piece of equipment containing a spring that is used to measure forces
Another name for force meter
The unit of force
The amount of matter that something is made of. Your mass does not
change if you go into space or to another planet
A unit for measuring mass
A unit for measuring mass. 1 kg = 1000 g
The amount of force with which gravity pulls something towards the
Earth
The force of attraction between any two objects. The Earth has a large
mass, so it has a strong force of gravity that pulls objects down towards it
A non-contact force that attracts objects made out of certain materials
A non-contact force that attracts things. It is caused when some
materials rub together
Word
friction
lubricant
lubricating
Definition
A force that slows things down when they rub against something
A substance used to reduce friction
Adding a lubricant to something
Word
air resistance
water
resistance
drag
streamlined
balanced forces
Definition
A force that acts to slow things down as they move through air
A force that acts to slow things down as they move through water
Another name for air resistance and water resistance
Something that has a smooth shape to reduce drag
Two forces that are the same strength and working in opposite directions
Word
upthrust
float
sink
volume
density
displace
Word
prediction
method
apparatus
independent
variable
dependent
variable
control variable
Definition
A force that pushes things up in liquids and gases
When an object stays on the surface of a liquid
When an object falls to the bottom of a liquid
The space that an object takes up. Measured in m3 or cm3
A measure of mass per unit volume of a substance. Measured in kg/m3 or
g/cm3
To push out of the way
Definition
What you think will happen in an experiment
A detailed explanation of how to carry out an experiment
The equipment used in an experiment
The thing you change in an experiment
The thing you measure in an experiment. It depends on the independent
variable
The things you keep the same in an experiment to achieve a fair test
Word
Definition
conclusion
A summary of what you have learnt from your results
continuous data Results that can take any numerical value. These are plotted in a line
graph
categoric data
Results that can be grouped into categories. These are plotted in a bar
chart
Word
permanent
magnet
bar magnet
attract
repel
north pole
south pole
electromagnet
core
magnetic
material
iron
steel
nickel
cobalt
Definition
A magnet that keeps its magnetism – it does not depend on electricity
A straight magnet shaped like a small bar
Pull towards
Push away
One end of a magnet. It is attracted to a south pole
One end of a magnet. It is attracted to a north pole
A coil of wire with electricity flowing in it
A solid bar inside an electromagnet, usually made of iron
Material that is attracted to a magnet
A metal that is a magnetic material
A mixture of metals mostly made of iron. It is a magnetic material
A metal that is a magnetic material
A metal that is a magnetic material
Word
magnetic field
compass
plotting
compass
north seeking
pole
south seeking
pole
Word
lever
effort
pivot
load
biceps muscle
distance
multiplier
force multiplier
fulcrum
Definition
The space around a magnet where it can affect magnetic materials or
other magnets
A magnetised piece of metal that can swing around – it points north
A small compass used for finding the direction of a magnetic field
The end of a magnet that points north if the magnet can move freely
The end of a magnet that points south if the magnet can move freely
Definition
A simple machine that can increase the size of a force, or increase the
distance the force moves
A force put on something, especially a lever
a point about which something turns
The weight or force on something
The muscle on the front of the upper arm that makes the arm bend
A lever where the load moves further than the effort
A lever where the load is bigger than the effort
Another name for a pivot
Spring Term – Sound
Word
vibrations
sound waves
intensity
volume
pitch
cycles per
second
longitudinal
transverse
Definition
Movement backwards and forwards
Sound energy carried from one place to another in the form of waves
The loudness or volume of a sound
The loudness of a sound
How high or low a note sounds
The number of complete forward and backward vibrations made in one
second
A wave in which the vibrations are parallel (in the same direction) as the
transfer of energy
A wave in which the vibrations are perpendicular (at right angles) to the
direction of transfer of energy
Word
amplitude
frequency
Hertz (Hz)
wavelength
microphone
Definition
Half the height of a complete wave. The sound wave for a loud sound has
a large amplitude
The number of waves passing a point each second
The unit of frequency. 1 Hz = one wave per second
The distance between two successive identical points on a wave
A device that detects sound. It converts sound energy to electrical energy
Word
oscilloscope
trace
Definition
An instrument that shows a picture of a wave on a screen
The wave that is shown on an oscilloscope screen
Word
medium
transferred
vacuum
Definition
Any substance a wave travels through
When energy, carried by waves, moves from one place to another
A completely empty space that contains no particles
Word
incident
absorbed
transmitted
reflected
echo
sound intensity
meter
decimeter
decibel (dB)
threshold of
hearing
noise
Word
ultrasound
sonar
eardrum
cochlea
impulses
Definition
Waves approaching an object
Taken in
Travels through a medium
When a wave bounces back off a surface
The reflection of a sound wave
A meter that measures the loudness of a sound
Another name for a sound intensity meter
Unit for measuring the loudness of a sound
The quietest sound that can be heard
Unpleasant sound
Definition
Sound waves with frequencies above 20,000 Hz (the upper limit of
human hearing)
A machine for finding the depth of the sea or finding fish by sending
sound waves and listening for echoes
A thin membrane inside the ear that vibrates when sound reaches it
The part of the ear that changes vibrations into electrical signals
Electrical signals carried by a nerve cell
Late Spring and Summer Term – Light
Word
source
luminous source
non-luminous
source
ray
shadow
image
Word
pinhole camera
digital camera
pupil
retina
Word
transparent
translucent
opaque
reflect
absorb
transmit
sensor
Word
plane mirror
ray diagram
angle of
incidence
angle of
reflection
incident ray
normal
reflected ray
scatter
Definition
An object that creates something
Objects that create light
Objects that do not create light
A narrow beam of light. We draw arrows to represent rays and show the
direction in which light is moving
A place where light cannot get to, because an opaque object is blocking
the light
A picture that forms from the light from an object
Definition
Something that forms an image of an object on a screen when light rays
travel through a tiny hole in the front
A camera that uses electronics (instead of film) to record an image
The hole in front of the eye that light can pass through
The part at the back of the eye that converts light into electrical signals
Definition
Material that light can travel through
Material through which a glow of light can be seen
Material that does not let light through
To bounce off something
To take in. If something absorbs light it does not let it back out
To send along or pass through
An instrument that detects something. In a digital camera, the sensors
detect light and convert it to electrical signals
Definition
A smooth, flat mirror
A diagram showing the passage of light rays
Angle between an incoming light ray and the normal
The angle between the normal and the ray of light leaving a mirror
A ray of light going towards the mirror or other object
An imaginary line at right angles to the surface of a mirror or other object
where a ray of light hits it
A ray of light bouncing off a mirror
Spread out in all directions
Word
refraction
angle of
refraction
interface
lens
concave lens
convex lens
Word
white light
filter
prism
spectrum
dispersion
Word
cone cells
rod cells
primary colours
secondary
colours
cyan
magenta
Definition
The change in direction when light goes from one transparent material
another
The angle between the normal and a ray of light that has been refracted
The boundary between two materials
A curved piece of glass or other transparent material that can change the
direction of rays of light
A lens which diverges (spreads out) rays of light. It is thinner in the
middle than at the ends
A lens which converges (focuses) rays of light. It is fatter in the middle
than at the ends
Definition
Normal daylight, or the light from light bulbs
Something that only lets certain colours of light through and absorbs the
rest
A block of clear, colourless glass or plastic, usually in a triangular shape
The colours within white light separated out
The separating of the colours in light, for example when white light
passes through a prism
Definition
The cells in the retina that detect different colours of light
The cells in the retina that detect low levels of light. They cannot detect
different colours of light
The three main colours which can make white light (red, green and blue)
The colours made when two primary colours mix
Secondary colour made by mixing green and blue light
Secondary colour made by mixing red and blue light
After Summer Exams – Static Electricity
Word
static electricity
Van de Graaff
generator
nucleus
electron
neutron
proton
current
electrical
conductors
electrical
insulators
discharging
Definition
A non-contact force that attracts things. It is caused when some materials
rub together
A device used to produce static electricity
The small centre of the atom
A particle with a negative charge which is found moving around the
outside of the nucleus in an atom
A particle with no charge which is found in the nucleus of an atom
A particle with positive charge which is found in the nucleus of an atom
A flow of charge. In an electric circuit, it is the flow of electrons around
the circuit
A material that allows a current to flow through it
A material that does not allow a current to flow through it
The process of removing charge from an object