DEFINITIONS ~ Nyari Gandhi

1. FORCE

Translational Motion When a force acts on a stationary rigid body, which is free to move, the body
starts moving in a straight path in the direction of applied force.

Rotational Motion When a force acts on a body pivoted about a point, it rotates about its own
axis, the turning effect and motion of the body is called rotational motion

Moment of force Product of magnitude of force and perpendicular distance from line of action
of force to axis of rotation

Couple Two equal forces opposite and parallel to each other, not acting along the
same line

Moment of couple Product of magnitude of either force and perpendicular distance between the
two forces

State of equilibrium When number of forces acting on the body produce no change in its state of
rest or of linear or rotational motion

Centre of Gravity The point about which the algebraic sum of moments of weights of all the
particles constituting the body is zero. The entire weight of the body is
considered to act at this point.

Uniform Circular motion When a particle moves with a constant speed in a circular path (accelerated)

Uniform Linear motion When a particle moves with a constant speed in a straight line path
(unaccelerated)

Centrifugal Force A force assumed to be acting on a body moving in a circular path, in the
direction away from the center of the circular path

Centripetal force A force which acts on a body moving in a circular path, in the direction
towards the center of the circular path

2. WORK, ENERGY, AND POWER

Work Work is said to be done on the body when the force applied on the body
makes the body move

1 Joule 1 joule of work is said to be done when a force of 1 newton applied on the
body makes the body move by 1 meter in its own direction

1 erg 1 erg of work is said to be done when a force of 1 dyne applied on the body
makes the body move by 1 centimeter in its own direction

Power Rate of doing work

Energy Capacity to do work

Watt hour One watt hour is the energy spent by a source of power 1 watt in 1 hour

Kilowatt hour One kilowatt hour is the energy spent by a source of power 1 kilowatt in 1
hour

Calorie Heat energy required to raise temperature of 1 gram of water from 14.5 to
15.5 degree Celsius

Electron volt Energy gained by an electron when it is accelerated through a potential

difference of 1 volt

Potential energy Energy possessed by a body at rest due its shape, size, or position

Gravitational potential Energy possessed by a body due the force of attraction of earth on it
energy

Elastic potential energy Energy possessed by a body in its deformed state due to its change in size
and shape

Kinetic energy Energy possessed by a body due to its state of motion

Work energy theorem Change in kinetic energy of a moving body is equal to the work done by a
force acting in the direction of a moving body

Degraded energy The undesired part of energy is lost to the surroundings in the form of heat or
radiation usually due to friction is called degraded energy since it is not of
any productive purpose

Principle of conservation of Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed. It can only change from one
energy form to another.

3. MACHINES

Machine A device used to either obtain a gain in speed or overcome a large resistive
force by applying a small force at a convenient point in desired direction

Load The resistive or opposing force to be overcomed by a machine

Effort Force applied on the machine to overcome the load

Velocity ratio Ratio of displacement effort to displacement of load

Ratio of velocity of effort to velocity of load

Efficiency Ratio of work done on the load by the machine to the work done on the
machine by the effort

Ratio of work output to work input

Work output work done on the load by the machine

 Work input work done on the machine by the effort

Movable pulley A pulley which has its axis of rotation movable

Single fixed pulley A pulley which has its axis of rotation stationary in its position

Mechanical Advantage Ratio of load to effort

4. REFRACTION OF LIGHT AT PLANE SURFACE

Refraction of light It is a surface phenomenon in which there is a change in direction of path of

light when it passes from one transparent medium to another transparent
medium

Laws of refraction - Incident ray, normal and refracted ray are in the same plane
- Ratio of sin or angle of incidence to sin of angle of refraction is
constant for a given pair of media

Refractive index Refractive index of second medium with respect to first is ratio of sin of angle
of incidence in first medium to sin of refraction in second medium

Lateral displacement Perpendicular distance between path of incident ray and direction of
emergent ray

Critical angle Angle of incidence in denser medium corresponding to which angle of

refraction in rarer medium is 90 degree

Total internal reflection When a light ray traveling in a denser medium is incident at a surface of a
rarer medium at an angle of incidence greater than critical angle for the pair
of media, is totally reflected back in the denser medium. This phenomenon is
called total internal reflection

5. REFRACTION THROUGH A LENS

Linear Magnification Ratio of length of image perpendicular to the principal axis, to the length of
object

Power of lens Deviation of incident light ray produced by a lens on refraction through it
 6. SPECTRUM

Spectrum On passing white light through a prism, the band of colors seen on a screen
is called a spectrum

Dispersion of light The phenomenon of splitting of white light by a prism into its constituent
colors

Scattering of light Absorption and then re-emission of light energy by the dust particles and air
molecules present in the atmosphere

7. SOUND

Echo The sound heard after reflection from distant obstacle after original sound
has ceased

Reverberation If there are repeated reflections at a reflecting surface, the sound gets
prolonged. This is called reverberation.

Natural Vibrations The periodic vibrations of a body in the absence of any external force on it

Damped Vibrations The periodic vibrations of a body of decreasing amplitude in presence of a

resistive force

Forced Vibrations Vibrations of a body which take place under the influence of a periodic force
acting on it

Sympathetic vibrations It is possible to keep the amplitude of vibrations constant by applying an

external periodic force that compensates for the loss of energy in each
vibration due to damping forces. This is called sympathetic vibrations.

Resonance It is a special case of forced vibrations in which the frequency of the

externally applied periodic force matches the natural frequency of the body
and it vibrates with an increased amplitude

Loudness Characteristic by virtue of which a loud sound can be distinguished from a

faint one, both having the same pitch and quality

Intensity Intensity of a sound wave at a point of a medium is the amount of sound

energy passing per second normally through a unit area at that point

Pitch Characteristic of sound by which an acute note can be distinguished from a

grave note of the same loudness and quality

Quality Characteristic which distinguishes the two sounds of same loudness and
pitch, but differ in their waveform
 8. CURRENT

Current Rate of flow of charge

Potential Amount of work done per unit change in bringing a positive test charge from
infinity to that point

Potential difference Work done per unit charge in moving a positive test charge from one point to
another

Resistance Obstruction offered to flow of current by the conductor

Ohm’s Law The current flowing in a conductor is directly proportional to the potential
difference applied across its ends provided that the physical conditions and the
temperature of the conductor remain constant

Conductance Reciprocal of resistance

Conductivity Reciprocal of specific resistance

Resistivity / Specific Specific resistance of a material is the resistance of a wire of that unit length
Resistance and unit area of cross section

Superconductor Substance of zero resistance at a very low temperature

Terminal voltage Work done per unit charge in carrying a positive test charge around the entire
external circuit of the cell connected across its terminals

E.M.F Work done per unit charge in carrying a positive test charge around the entire
circuit of the cell

Voltage drop Work done per unit charge in carrying a positive test charge through the
electrolyte

Internal resistance Resistance offered by the electrolyte inside the cell

One watt Electric power consumed when a current of 1 ampere flows through a circuit
having potential difference of 1 volt

9. HOUSEHOLD CIRCUIT

Fuse Safety device which is used to limit the current in an electric circuit

Switch on -off device for current in a circuit connected in a live wire

High tension wires Wires of low resistance to allow large current to flow through and large
surface area so that heat produced is radiated more quickly to its
surroundings
 10. Electromagnetism

Right hand thumb rule If we hold the current carrying conductor in our right hand such that the
thumb points in the direction of flow of current, then the fingers encircle the
conductor in direction of the magnetic field lines

Solenoid A conducting wire wound in form of a cylindrical coil whose diameter is less
in comparison to its length

Electromagnet Temporary strong magnet made by passing current in a coil wound around a
piece of soft iron

Lorentz force A charge moving in a magnetic field, in a direction other than the direction of
the magnetic field experiences a force called lorentz force

Fleming’s left hand rule Stretch the forefinger, thumb and central finger, mutually perpendicular to
each other. If the forefinger indicates the direction of magnetic field and
central finger indicates direction of current, then the thumb indicates the
direction of motion of conductor

Fleming's right hand rule Stretch the forefinger, thumb and central finger, mutually perpendicular to
each other. If the forefinger indicates the direction of magnetic field and
thumb indicates direction of motion of conductor, then the central finger
indicates the direction of induced current

Electric motor Device which converts electrical energy to mechanical energy

Electromagnetic induction Phenomenon in which an E.M.F is induced in the coil if there is a change in
the magnetic flux linked with the coil

Lenz law Direction of induced E.M.F opposes the force which produces it

A.C. generator Device which converts mechanical energy to electrical energy using principle
of electromagnetic induction

11. CALORIMETRY

Heat Form of energy which flows from a hot body to a cold body when kept in
direct contact

One calorie Quantity of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1g of water
from 14.5 to 15.5 degree celsius

One kilocalorie Quantity of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1kg of water
from 14.5 to 15.5 degree celsius

Temperature Parameter which determines the thermal state of a body and the direction of
flow of heat between the two bodies at different temperatures when placed
in contact

Heat capacity Amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a body by 1
 degree celsius

Specific heat capacity Amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of unit mass of
that substance through 1 degree celsius

Calorimeter A cylindrical vessel used to measure the amount heat gained by a body
when it is mixed with another body or substance

Principle of calorimetry Heat lost by a hot body = heat gained by a cold body

Latent heat Heat energy absorbed or liberated in change of phase is not externally
manifested by any rise or fall in temperature. This is called latent heat.

Specific Latent Heat Quantity of heat energy absorbed or liberated by the unit mass of the
substance for the change in its phase at a constant temperature

12. RADIOACTIVITY

Isotopes Atoms of the same element having same atomic number but different mass
number

Isobars Atoms of different elements having same mass number but different atomic
number

Isotones Atoms having same number of neutrons, different number of protons and
electrons

Radioactivity A nuclear phenomenon, spontaneous emission of alpha or beta and

gamma radiations from nucleus of atoms of a radioactive substance during
their decay

Background radiations Radioactive substances to which we all are exposed, even in absence of a
visible radioactive source

Nuclear fusion Process in which two light nuclei combine to form a heavy nucleus under
high temperature and pressure

Nuclear fission Process in which a heavy nucleus splits into two nearly equal light nuclei
when bombarded by slow neutrons