P5 Key Terms

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P5 Key Terms

Pink- Higher and Foundation Tier

Blue- Foundation Tier

Action- Force that acts on an objects

Aerial- Piece of metal that absorbs radio waves to produce and alternating electrical current

Amplitude- The maximum displacement of a wave or oscillation (the maximum height of a wave from the crest to the middle)

Artificial satellite- Man-made object in orbit around the earth or other planets

Atmosphere- Thin layer of gases between the solid surface of the Earth and empty space

Centripetal force- Force acting on an object that allows it to follow a circular path. The force must act towards the centre of the circle

Coalesce- Join together

Coherent- Describes different waves that have the same frequency and velocity

Constructive interference- Where overlapping waves are in step and make a wave with bigger amplitude

Converging- Describes a lens that changes the direction of parallel rays of light so that they meet at a focus once they have passed through the lens

Convex- Describes a lens whose thickness decreases with increasing distance from its centre

Critical angle- smallest angle of incidence for which TIR takes place

Destructive interference- Where overlapping waves are out of step and cancel each other out to leave no wave at all

Diffraction- Spreading out of waves when they pass through a gap or around an obstacle

Direction- Where a vector quantity points to

Dispersion- The splitting of white light into its component colours (ROYGBIV)

Electromagnetic wave- Wave that has oscillating electric and magnetic fields at right angles to its direction of motion

Focal length- Distance from the centre of a lens to the principle focus

Focus- To aim something at one point, or the single point to which rays of light are focusses by a lens

Geostationary orbit- An orbit where the satellite orbits at the same speed the plant rotates

Gravitational attraction- The force pulling two objects together because of their mass

Gravity- A force that pulls one object towards another, depending on their mass and separation

Interference- What happens when waves overlap and reinforce or cancel each other out

Inverse square law- Any relationship where if one variable increases by a factor of x the other falls by x

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