Unit 1 Physical Quantities and Units

● Accuracy: How close a measurement is to its true value, influenced by the

systematic and random errors of that measurement
● Absolute Uncertainties: The interval that a value is said to lie within, with a
given level of confidence.
● Base Units: The set of seven basic measures from which all other SI units can be
derived.
● Precision: A measure of how close a measurement is to the mean value. It only
gives an indication of the magnitude of random errors, not how close data is to the
true value
● Random Error: The unpredictable variation in a measurement. These can be
reduced by taking many repeated measurements and calculating their mean.
● Resolution: The smallest interval that a given measuring device can measure.
● Scalar Quantity: A quantity that only has a magnitude.
● Systematic Error: A consistent shift in readings causing a deviation from the
true value. This shift is due to the equipment or method being used and cannot be
reduced by repeated measurements.
● Quantity: A characteristic that can be measured. Quantities always have a size
and unit
● Vector Quantity: A quantity that has a magnitude and a direction.
● Zero Errors: A form of systematic error, caused when a measuring instrument
doesn't read zero at a value of zero. This results in all measurements being offset
by a fixed amount.

Unit 2: Kinematics

● Acceleration: The rate of change of velocity. It is a vector quantity and so has

both a direction and a magnitude.
● Displacement: The direct distance between an object's starting and ending
positions. It is a vector quantity and so has both a direction and a magnitude
● Displacement-Time Graphs: Plots showing how displacement changes over a
period of time. The gradient gives the velocity. Curved lines represent an
acceleration.
● Distance: A measure of how far an object moves. It doesn't depend on the
direction and is therefore a scalar quantity.
● Projectile Motion: The motion of an object that is fired from a point and then
upon which only gravity acts. When solving projectile motion problems, it is useful
to split the motion into horizontal and vertical components.
● Speed: A scalar quantity that is a measure of the rate of change of distance. The
average speed is calculated by dividing the distance traveled by the speed taken.
● Velocity: The rate of change of displacement. It is a vector quantity and so has
both a direction and a magnitude.
● Velocity-Time Graphs: Plots showing how velocity changes over a period of
time. The gradient gives acceleration. The area under the line gives the
displacement. Curved lines represent changing acceleration.

Unit: 3 Dynamics
● Conservation of Momentum: In a closed system with no external forces the
momentum of the system before an event is equal to the momentum of the system
after the event.
● Elastic Collision: When the kinetic energy of a system before an event is equal
to the kinetic energy of the system after the event.
● Force: The rate of change of momentum of an object. The product of the object's
mass with its acceleration.
● Inelastic Collision: When the kinetic energy of a system before an event is not
equal to the kinetic energy of the system after the event. The kinetic energy has
been transferred to other forms
● Momentum: The product of an object's mass and its velocity.
● Newton's First Law: If a body is at rest or moving at a constant speed in a
straight line, it will remain at rest or keep moving in a straight line at constant
speed unless it is acted upon by a resultant force.
● Newton's Second Law: The rate of change of momentum is called force.
● Newton's Third Law: When two bodies interact, they apply forces to one another
that are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. The third law is also known as
the law of action and reaction.
● Terminal Velocity: The maximum velocity an object can achieve. It is the point
at which frictional forces and driving forces are balanced and so no acceleration
occurs and the resultant force on the object is 0 N.
● Upthrust: The upwards force that a fluid applies to an object.
● Weight: The force of gravity on an object, the product of the object's mass, and
the acceleration due to gravity.

Unit: 4 Force, Density and Pressure

● Centre of Gravity: The single point through which the object's weight can be
said to act.
● Centre of Mass: The single point through which all the mass of an object can be
said to act.
● Couple: Two equal and opposite parallel forces that act on an object through
different lines of action. It has the effect of causing a rotation without translation.
● Density: The mass per unit volume of a material.
● Equilibrium: For an object to be equilibrium, both the resultant force and
resultant moment acting on the object must be equal to zero.
● Hydrostatic Pressure: Ap = pgAh
● Moment of Force: The product of a force and the perpendicular distance from
the line of action of the force to the pivot.
● Principle of Moments: For an object to be in equilibrium, the sum of the
clockwise moments acting about a point must be equal to the sum of the
anticlockwise moments acting about the point.
● Pressure: The force that a surface experiences per unit area. It is measured in
Pascals (Pa).
● Triangle of Forces: A method of determining the resultant force of two forces.
The two forces are joined tip to tail and the resultant force is given by the force
that would complete the triangle.
● Upthrust: The upwards force that a fluid applies to an object.

Unit 5 Work energy Power

● Conservation of Energy: In a closed system with no external forces the energy
of the system before an event is equal to the energy of the system after the event.
The energy does not need to be in the same form after the event as it was before
the event.
● Efficiency: The ratio of useful energy output to total energy input for a given
● system.
● Gravitational Potential Energy: The energy gained by an object when it is
raised by a height in a gravitational field.
● Kinetic Energy: A form of energy that all moving objects possess. It is directly
proportional to the mass of the object, and to the square of its velocity.
● Power: The rate of transfer of energy.
● Work Done: The energy transferred by a force moving over a distance. It is equal
to the product of the magnitudes of the force and distance.

Unit: 6 Work energy power

● Compression: The result of two coplanar forces acting into an object.
Compression usually results in a reduction in the length of the object.
● Compressive Deformation: The changing of an object's shape due to
compressive forces.
● Elastic Deformation: If a material deforms with elastic behaviour, it will return
to its original shape when the deforming forces are removed. The object will not be
● permanently deformed.
● Elastic Limit: The force beyond which an object will no longer deform elastically,
and instead deform plastically. Beyond the elastic limit, when the deforming forces
are removed, the object will not return to its original shape.
● Elastic Potential Energy: The energy stored in an object when it is stretched. It
is equal to the work done to stretch the object and can be determined from the
area under a force-extension graph
● Extension: The increase of an object's length.
● Force-Extension Graph: A plot showing how an object extends as the force
applied increases. For an elastic object, the gradient should be linear up to the
limit of proportionality. The gradient gives the spring constant.
● Hooke's Law: The extension of an elastic object will be directly proportional to
the force applied to it up to the object's limit of proportionality.
● Limit of Proportionality: The point at which the stress on an object is so great
that Hooke's law no longer applies to an object.
● Plastic Deformation: If a material deforms with plastic behaviour, it will not
return to its original shape when the deforming forces are removed. The object will
be permanently deformed.
● Spring Constant: The constant of proportionality for the extension of a spring
under a force. The higher the spring constant, the greater the force needed to
achieve a given extension.
● Strain: The ratio of an object's extension to its original length. It is a ratio of two
lengths and so has no unit.
● Stress: The amount of force acting per unit area. Its unit is the Pascal (Pa).
● Tension: The result of two forces acting on an object in opposite, outwards
directions.
Tensile Strain: The extension of an object divided by its original length.
● Tensile Stress: The internal resistance of an object against a force that acts to
deform it. It is the force applied per unit cross-sectional area
● Young Modulus: The ratio of stress to strain for a given material. Its unit is the
Pascal (Pa).

Unit: 7 Waves
● Amplitude: A wave's maximum displacement from its equilibrium pusilion.
● Displacement: The distance and direction that a vibrating particle or wave has
traveled from its equilibrium position.
● Electromagnetic Spectrum: The spectrum of electromagnetic waves,
consisting of Gamma Rays, X-Rays, Ultraviolet, Visible Light, Infrared,
Microwaves, and Radiowaves.
● Frequency: The number of complete oscillations of a wave (wave cycles) per
second. It is the inverse of the time period.
● Intensity: The power transferred per unit area. It is proportional to the square of
a wave's amplitude
● Longitudinal Wave: A wave with oscillations that are parallel to the direction of
energy propagation. Sound waves are an example of a longitudinal wave.
● Period: The time it takes for one complete wave to pass a given point. It is the
inverse of frequency
● Phase Difference: The difference in phase between two points on a wave. It is
usually expressed in radians.
● Polarisation: The restriction of a wave so that it can only oscillate in a single
plane. This can only occur for transverse waves.
● Progressive Waves: A wave that transfers energy from one point to another,
without the transfer of matter.
● Transverse Waves: A wave with oscillations that are perpendicular to the
direction of energy propagation. Electromagnetic waves are examples of
transverse waves.
● Wavelength: The distance between two identical positions on two adjacent
● waves. It is commonly measured from peak to peak or trough to trough.
● Wave Speed: The product of a wave's frequency and wavelength.

Unit: 8 Superposition

● Antinodes: A position of maximum displacement in a stationary wave.

● Coherence: Waves with the same frequency and constant phase difference.
● Constructive Interference: The type of interference that occurs when two
waves meet in phase. The wave amplitudes are superposed.
● Destructive Interference: The type of interference that occurs when the two
waves are in antiphase. When one wave is at a peak and one is at a trough their
addition results in a minimum point.
● Diffraction: The spreading of a wave as it passes through a gap, or around an
obstacle, of a similar magnitude to its wavelength.
● Diffraction Grating: A grating with hundreds of slits per millimetre, that results
in sharper interference patterns when a wave passes through it. They are used to
calculate atomic spacing and to analyze elements.
● Interference: The superposition of the amplitudes of waves when they meet.
● Nodes: A position of minimum displacement in a stationary wave.
● Superposition: When two waves meet at the same point in space their
displacements combine and the total displacement at that point becomes the sum
of the individual displacements at that point.
● Two Source Interference: Interference caused by the interference of two
sources of waves.

Unit: 9 Electricity

● Charge: A property of matter that causes it to experience force when placed in an

electromagnetic field. It can be positive or negative.
● Current: The rate of flow of charge in a circuit.
● Light-Dependent Resistor (LDR): A light-sensitive semiconductor whose
resistance increases when light intensity decreases
● Ohmic Conductor: A conductor following Ohm's law where current flowing
through it is directly proportional to the potential difference between each end of
the conductor. This only holds if the conductor is kept at a constant temperature.
● Potential Difference: The difference in electrical potential between two points
in a circuit. It is also the work done per coulomb to move a charge from the lower
potential point to the higher potential point. It is measured in Volts.
● Power: The rate of energy transfer in a circuit. It can be calculated as the product
of the current and the potential difference between the two points. It is measured
in Watts.
● Resistance: A measure of how difficult it is for current to flow through a
material.
● Resistivity: A measure of how difficult it is for charge to travel through a
material. It is proportional to the object's resistance and cross-sectional area, and
inversely proportional to the object's length. It is measured in Ohm metres.
● Quantization of Charge: The idea that charge can only exist in discrete packets
of multiples of the elementary charge.
● Thermistor: A temperature-sensitive semiconductor whose resistance increases
when temperature decreases.
● Volt: The unit of potential difference.

Unit: 10 DC circuits

● Conservation of Charge: The total charge in a system cannot change.

● Conservation of Energy: Energy cannot be created or destroyed - it can only be
transferred into different forms.
● Electromotive Force: The energy supplied by a source per unit charge passing
through the source, measured in volts.
● Internal Resistance: The resistance to the flow of charge within a source.
Internal resistance results in energy being dissipated within the source.
● Kirchoff's First Law: The total current entering a junction is equal to the total
current leaving it.
● Kirchhoff's Second Law: A consequence of the conservation of energy. The
sum of the voltages in any closed loop must equal zero.
● Parallel Connection: When two electrical components are on separate loops to
one another in a circuit. The potential difference over each loop is the same,
current is split between branches.
● Potential Divider: A method of splitting a potential difference, by connecting
resistors in series. The total potential difference is split in the ratio of their
resistances.
● Series Connection: When two electrical components are on the same loop to
one another in a circuit. Potential difference is split between components
depending on their resistance current is the same across all components.
● Variable Resistors: A resistor that can have its resistance changed. Typically,
these are used with power supplies to change the voltage of a circuit without using
a transformer.

Unit: 11 Particle Physics

● Alpha Particles: A type of particle consisting of two protons and two neutrons.
Alpha particles are emitted in alpha decay and are strongly ionizing, but weakly
penetrating
● Atomic Mass Unit: A unit used to express atomic masses. One AMU is equal to
the one twelfth of the mass of a carbon atom.
● Beta Particles: An electron or positron. Beta particles are emitted during beta
decay and have medium ionising and penetrating capabilities.
● Beta-Minus Decay: The process of a proton inside a nucleus turning into a
neutron, and emitting a beta-minus particle (an electron) and a neutrino
● Beta-Plus Decay: The process of a neutron inside a nucleus turning into a
proton, and emitting a beta-plus particle (a positron) and a neutrino
● Electron: A negatively charged fundamental particle that is found in energy
levels surrounding a nucleus
● Hadron: Particles that undergo strong interactions, they are made up of quarks
so include mesons and baryons.
● Isotopes: A form of an element with the same number of protons but different
numbers of neutrons.
● Leptons: A group of elementary subatomic particles, consisting of electrons,
● muons and neutrinos.
● Meson: A particle consisting of one quark and one antiquark. Pions and Kaons
are examples of mesons.
● Nucleon Number: The number of neutrons and protons in the nucleus.
● Neutron: A neutrally charged nucleon, found in the nucleus of an atom. Neutrons
are a form of hadron.
● Positron: A positively charged particle that is the antiparticle of an electron.
● Proton: A positively charged nucleon, found in the nucleus of an atom. Protons
are a form of hadron.
● Proton Number: The number of protons present in the nucleus of a given
element.
● Quark: Fundamental particle that interacts with other quarks via the strong
interaction, it will change flavour via the weak interaction and annihilate with
antiquarks to form photons via the electromagnetic interaction. They come in 6
flavours: up, down, charm, strange, top, bottom.
● Rutherford Scattering: An experiment involving firing alpha particles at a thin
gold foil and observing their deflections. It showed the existence and nature of the
nucleus.
● Weak Interaction: The force that causes flavour change in quarks and leptons,
it is responsible for beta decay.

A2

Unit: 12 Circular Motion

● Angular Displacement: In circular motion, the angle turned through.

Measured in radians or degrees
● Angular Velocity: The angular displacement per unit time, measured in radians
or degrees per second. It is different from angular speed as it is defined in either a
clockwise or anticlockwise direction.
● Centripetal Acceleration: The acceleration of an object moving in a circular
motion. Any object in circular motion must have an acceleration since the
direction of the object, and therefore the velocity of the object is constantly
changing.Centripetal Force: The resultant force responsible for an object moving
in a circular motion. Centripetal forces always act towards the centre of the
object's rotation
● Frequency: The inverse of time period. The number of rotations per unit time.
● Period: The time taken for one whole rotation.
● Radian: A unit of angle, where 2Ti equal to one complete angular rotation.

Unit: 13 Gravitation

● Field Lines: A line representing the path that a mass would take when placed
within the field.
● Geostationary Satellite: A satellite that orbits above the equator with a 24 hour
period, so it will always remain above the same position on the Earth. They orbit
approximately 36,000km above the surface of the Earth.
● Gravitational Field: A region of space where objects with mass experience an
attractive force due to gravity
● Gravitational Field Strength: The gravitational force on an object divided by
its mass, it is the acceleration due to the gravitational field.
● Gravitational Potential: Defined at a point. The amount of work done in
moving a unit mass from an infinite distance to that point.
● Gravitational Potential Energy: The component of an object's energy due to
its position in a gravitational field.
● Newton's Law of Gravitation: The force between two masses is proportional to
the product of the masses involved and inversely proportional to the square of the
separation of the masses.
● Synchronous Orbits: An orbit with a time period of one day, which means the
orbiting body will return to the same point in the sky each day.
 14 Temperature

● Absolute Temperature: A temperature value relative to absolute zero.

● Absolute Zero: When the particles of a substance have zero kinetic energy, 0 K.
● Kelvin: The unit of absolute temperature.
● Specific Heat Capacity: The amount of energy required to increase the
temperature of 1kg of a substance by 1 Kelvin.
● Specific Latent Heat: The amount of energy required to change the state of 1kg
of a substance without a change of temperature.
● Thermal Equilibrium: A stable state in which there is no thermal heat transfer
between two regions.

Unit: 16 Thermodynamics

● Internal Energy: The sum of all the randomly distributed potential and kinetic
energies of the particles that make up a substance.

Unit 15 Ideal gas

● Avogadro Constant: The number of particles that make up one mole of any gas.
● Boltzmann Constant: A constant relating the average kinetic energy of the
particles in a gas, to the gas' temperature.
● Boyle's Law: As the volume decreases the pressure on a gas at a constant
temperature increases.
● Charles' Law: As temperature increases the volume of a gas at constant pressure
increases
● Ideal Gas: A hypothetical gas that has molecules with no interactions and
occupies negligible space so it obeys the ideal gas law
● Ideal Gas Law: A combination of Boyle's, Charles' and the Pressure Law that
describes the relationship between pressure, volume, and temperature of an ideal
gas
● Pressure Law: As temperature increases the pressure of a gas of constant
volume increases.

Unit: 17 Oscillation

● Angular Frequency: A measure of an object's angular displacement per unit

time
● Critical Damping: The form of damping that reduces the displacement of an
oscillating object to its equilibrium position in the quickest time possible and
without further oscillation.
● Damping: The dissipation of energy from an oscillating system. The consequence
is that the amplitude of oscillation will decrease. Damping occurs when a force
opposes the system's motion.
● Free Oscillations: Oscillations that are not caused by a driver. An object will
naturally oscillate at its natural frequency.
● Frequency: The number of complete oscillations completed by an oscillator per
unit period of time.
● Forced Oscillations: Repeated up and down oscillations at the frequency of a
driver. The amplitude of oscillation is small at high frequencies and large at low
frequencies.
● Natural Frequency: The frequency that a system naturally oscillates at when
there is no driving force.
● Overdamping: A type of damping where the system is damped more than
required to stop the oscillations. It takes longer for the system to return to
equilibrium than for critical damping
● Period: The time taken for one oscillation to occur.
● Phase Difference: The difference between how far through two different cycles
are.
● Simple Harmonic Motion: Motion where the acceleration of an object is
directly proportional, and in the opposite direction, to its displacement.
● Underdamping: A type of damping where energy is gradually removed from the
system and the amplitude of oscillations slowly decreases.

Unit: 18 Electric field

● Coulomb's Law: The size of the force that acts between two point charges is
proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the
square of their separation. It is attractive for opposite charges and repulsive for
like charges
● Electric Field: A region surrounding a charged object which causes a
non-contact force to be exerted on any charged object placed within the field.
● Electrical Field Strength: The force per unit positive charge exerted on a
charged object placed at a chosen point in the field.
● Electric Potential: The work done per unit charge on a positive test charge in
bringing it from infinity to a chosen point in the field.
● Electric Potential Energy: The work done on a positive charge in bringing it
from infinity to that point in the field. It is proportional to the product of the two
charges and inversely proportional to their separation.
● Equipotential: A surface of constant potential. No work is done by the field
when an object moves along an equipotential.
● Field Lines: Lines that demonstrate the direction in which a positive charge
would feel if placed at that point in the field.
 Unit: 18 Capacitance
● Capacitance: The charge stored per unit pd in a capacitor.
● Capacitors in Parallel: When capacitors are connected in parallel, their
individual capacitances are summed to give the total capacitance
● Capacitors in Series: When capacitors are connected in series, the total
capacitance is equal to the inverse of the sum of the inverses of the individual
capacitances
● Parallel Plate Capacitor: A capacitor made up of two parallel conducting plates
● with an insulator between them (dielectric)

Unit: 19 Magnetic Fields

● Electromagnetic Induction: When an emf is induced in a wire/conducting rod

when it is moved relative to a magnetic field.
● Faraday's Law: The magnitude of an induced emf is equal to the rate of change
of flux linkage through the circuit
● Field Lines: Lines that show the direction in which a magnetic North monopole
would experience a force if placed at that point in a field. Magnetic field lines point
from North to South.
● Fleming's Left-Hand Rule: The relative direction of motion, field direction and
current direction in the motor effect can be represented by the thumb, first finger
and second finger of the left hand respectively. For the motion of a charged
particle in a magnetic field, its direction replaces the current direction.
● Force on a Current-Carrying Conductor: A current-carrying conductor will
experience a force when placed in a magnetic field. The direction of the force can
be determined using Fleming's left-hand rule.
● Lenz's Law: The direction of an induced current is such that it opposes the
current that created it.
● Magnetic Field: A region surrounding a magnet or current-carrying wire that
will exert a force on any other magnet, magnetic material or current-carrying wire
placed within it.
● Magnetic Flux Density: The force per unit current per unit length on a
current-carrying wire placed at 90 to the field lines. Sometimes also referred to as
the magnetic field strength
● Tesla: The unit of magnetic flux density.
● Velocity Selector: A combination of a magnetic field and an electric field, which
results in charges passing through and leaving with a specific velocity.

Unit: 21 Alternating Current

● Alternating Current: Electric current that periodically changes direction and

constantly changes its magnitude.
● Peak Value: The maximum value achieved by a waveform.
● RMS Value: The amount of DC current required to achieve the same power as a
given AC current. I'ms = where I peak is the peak voltage of the AC current.

Unit: 22 Quantum Physics

● Absorption Spectrum: The frequencies at which a certain element absorbs

photons at a higher rate as these frequencies correspond to the spacings between
energy levels in the element's atoms.
● De Broglie Hypothesis: All particles have a wave-like nature and a particle-like
nature. The wavelength of a particle is inversely proportional to the particle's
momentum.
● Electronvolt: The kinetic energy gained by one electron that is accelerated
through a potential difference of 1 volt. Equal to 1.6x10-18 J.
● Electromagnetic Waves: Waves that consist of perpendicular electric and
magnetic oscillations.
● Emission Spectrum: When a certain element's atoms de-excite they move from
one energy level to another with a specific energy gap between these levels. This
creates a photon of that specific energy and it is the frequencies of these photons
that make up the emission spectrum
● Intensity: The power transferred by a wave per unit area.
● Photoelectric Effect: When light of a high enough energy shone on a metal
surface causes electrons to be emitted. The electrons are given enough kinetic
energy by the photons to overcome the attractive force of the ions in the metal.
● Photon: A packet of energy.
● Planck's Constant: A constant relating the energy of a photon to its frequency.
● Threshold Frequency: The minimum frequency of light needed to cause
electrons to beemitted in the photoelectric effect regardless of the intensity.
● Work Function: The minimum energy required to remove an electron from a
metal's surface.

Unit: 23 Nuclear Physics

● Activity: The rate of decay of the radioactive nuclei in a given isotope. It is

proportional to the total number of nuclei in the sample and is measured in
Becquerels.
● Binding Energy: The energy required to split a nucleus into its individual
nucleons. The greater the binding energy per nucleon the more stable the nucleus
is.
● Decay Constant: The probability of a decay occurring per unit time.
● Einstein's Mass-Energy Equivalence: Mass and energy are equivalent, with
the energy equivalent of a given mass being equal to the product of the mass and
the speed of light squared.
● Half-Life (T 2): The time taken for half of the radioactive nuclei to decay.
● Mass Defect: The difference in mass between a nucleus and the sum of the
masses of its constituent nucleons.
● Nuclear Fission: The splitting a nucleus, to form two smaller daughter nuclei,
● neutrons and energy.
● Nuclear Fusion: The joining of two smaller nuclei to form a larger nucleus and
to release energy.
● Nucleon Number: The sum of the number of protons and neutrons in a given
● nucleus.
● Random Nature of Decay: Radioactive decay is random - you cannot predict
when a nucleus will decay or which nucleus will decay next.

Unit: 24 Medical Physics

● Acoustic Impedance: The product of the speed of sound through a given
medium, and the density of the medium.
● Attenuation of X-Rays: The reduction of the intensity of X-rays when they pass
through matter. This decay of intensity is exponential.
● Computerized Axial Tomography Scanning: A scanning method that
produces a cross-section of the body by rotating a monochromatic x-ray beam
around it, in combination with a series of detectors. Whilst it produces higher
resolution imagesthat ultrasound and is non-invasive, it is highly ionising and
costly.
● Piezoelectric Effect: An effect shown by crystals like quartz. When a potential
difference is applied, the crystal will mechanically deform. Likewise, when the
crystal is deformed, a potential difference is produced
● Positron Emission Tomography Scans: A scanning technique that produces
cross-sectional and 3D images. It involves a radionuclide being injected into the
body, which then releases gamma photons that are detected by the scanning
machine.
● Technetium-99m: A radionuclide commonly used as a radioactive tracer for
medical purposes.
● Transducer: A device that contains a piezoelectric crystal. In medical contexts,
they are responsible for producing pulses of ultrasound, as well as acting as a
detector for ultrasound echos
● Ultrasound: Sound waves with a frequency higher than the upper-frequency
audible to the human ear (20kHz).
● X-Rays: High energy, ionizing radiation that is used in both medical detection
and medical treatment.
 Unit: 25 Astronomy and Cosmology
● Big Bang Theory: The theory that the universe originated as a small, dense and
hot region that expanded and cooled forming the structures in the universe we see
today.
● Emission Line Spectrum: A series of bright lines at specific frequencies that
have been emitted by the gases present. Elements can only release photons of
certain energies, and therefore frequencies.
● Hubble's Law: The speed of a galaxy moving away from ours is proportional to
its distance away from us. The constant of proportionality is Hubble's constant.
● Luminosity: The total power radiated by a star.
● Red Shift: The shifting of an object's wavelength towards the red end of the
spectrum due to the object moving away from the Earth (Doppler effect). Red shift
is evidence for the expansion of the universe. The more distant the object, the
greater its redshift.
● Standard Candle: Objects of known luminosity used as references to measure
other stars and to measure the distance to stars.
● Stefan's Law: A law stating that the power output (luminosity) of a star is
directly proportional to its surface area and its absolute temperature to the 4"
power.
● Wien's Displacement Law: A law stating that the peak wavelength of emitted
● radiation is inversely proportional to its absolute temperature.