Science Vocabulary
By: Cynthia Muñoz
Motion
The action or process of moving or of changing place or position or movement
Mass
A unified body of matter with no specific shape
Force
The capacity to do work or cause physical change energy, strength, or active power
Balanced Forces/ Unbalanced Forces
Balanced Force: Forces are balanced when the forces pushing (or pulling) an object in one direction are the same size as the forces acting in the opposite direction.
Unbalanced Force: Pulling force exerted by a string, cable, chain, or similar solid object on another object
Work
Activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result
Speed
The rate at which someone or something is able to move or operate
Distance
An amount of space between two things or people
Time
Continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future
Velocity
The speed of something in a given direction
Acceleration
Increase in the rate or speed of something
Deceleration
Decrease in the rate or speed of something
Energy
The property of matter and radiation that is manifest as a capacity to perform work (such as causing motion or the interaction of molecules)
Newton's Law of Inertia
Newton's first law states that a body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion with a constant velocity, unless acted upon by a force
Newton's Law of Force and Acceleration
The behavior of objects for which all existing forces are not balanced. The acceleration of an object is dependent upon two variables - the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the object
Newton's Law of Action-Reaction
According to Newton, whenever objects interact with each other, they exert forces upon each other. When you sit in your chair, your body exerts a downward force on the chair and the chair exerts an upward force on your body. There are two forces resulting from this interaction - a force on the chair and a force on your body. These two forces are called action and reaction forces and are the subject of Newton's third law of motion
Displacement
The moving of something from its place or position
Friction
The resistance that one surface or object encounters when moving over another
Free Fall
Downward movement under the force of gravity only
Momentum
The quantity of motion of a moving body, measured as a product of its mass and velocity
Projectile
An object propelled through the air, one thrown as a weapon
Example: A missile designed to be fired from a rocket or gun
Period
A length or portion of time
Frequency
The rate at which something occurs or is repeated over a particular period of time or in a given sample
Centripetal Force
A force that acts on a body moving in a circular path and is directed toward the center around which the body is moving
Centripetal Acceleration
The acceleration toward the center that holds a satellite in elliptical orbit
Newton (SI unit not Sir Newton)
The newton (symbol: N) is the International System of Units (SI) derived unit of force It is named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on classical mechanics
Inertia
Resistance of any physical object to any change in its state of motion: it is the tendency of objects to keep moving in a straight line at constant linear velocity