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| A physical property with magnitude (size) but not direction; for example, speed, distance, pressure, potential difference, etc. |
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| The displacement per unit time, measured in metres per second (m s–1), e.g. 330 m s–1; a vector quantity. |
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| The distance travelled in a particular direction, measured in metres (m), e.g. 3 m; a vector quantity. |
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| A measure of the total distance travelled in a certain time. |
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| The distance travelled per unit time, measured in metres per second (m s–1), e.g. 12 m s–1; a scalar quantity. |
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| The displacement per unit time, measured in metres per second (m s–1), e.g. 330 m s–1; a vector quantity. |
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| The rate of change of velocity, measured in metres per second squared (m s–2); a vector quantity. |
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| The speed of an object at a given moment in time. |
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| Unit of force (N), e.g. 4000 N. 1 N is the force which gives a mass of 1 kg an acceleration of 1 m s–2. |
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| The gravitational force on a body, measured in newtons. |
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| The resistive force that acts on a body when it moves through a fluid. |
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| The velocity at which an object’s drag equals its accelerating force. Therefore there is no resultant force and zero acceleration. |
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| The point at which the entire weight of an object can be considered to act. |
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| Two forces that are equal and opposite to each other but not in the same straight line. |
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| The turning effect due to a couple, measured in newton metres (N m). |
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| The turning effect due to a single force, measured in newton metres (N m), e.g. 4 N m; a vector quantity. |
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| The distance travelled from seeing the need to stop to applying the brakes. |
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| The distance a vehicle travels while decelerating to a stop. |
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| The sum of the thinking distance and the braking distance (i.e. the total distance required to stop a vehicle from seeing the need to stop to vehicle becoming stationary). |
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| The product of force and the distance moved in the direction of the force, it can also be considered as the energy converted from one form into another, measured in joules (J); a scalar quantity. |
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| Unit of energy (J), e.g. 1200 J. 1 J is the work done when a force of 1 N moves its point of application 1 m in the direction of the force. |
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| Physical law stating energy cannot be created or destroyed, just transformed from one form into another or transferred from one place to another. |
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| The rate of doing work, measured in watts (W); a scalar quantity. |
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| Unit of power (W), e.g. 60 W. 1 W = 1 J s–1. |
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| The point at which elastic deformation becomes plastic deformation. |
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| The object will return to its original shape when the deforming force is removed. |
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| The object will not return to its original shape when the deforming force is removed, it becomes permanently distorted. |
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| The extension of an elastic body is proportional to the force that causes it. |
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Definition
| The force per unit cross-sectional area, measured in pascals (Pa). |
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| The extension per unit length. |
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| The ratio of tensile stress to tensile strain, measured in pascals (Pa). |
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| ultimate tensile strength |
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Definition
| The maximum tensile force that can be applied to an object before it breaks. |
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Definition
| Materials that have a large plastic region (therefore they can be drawn into a wire); for example, copper. |
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Definition
| A material that distorts very little even when subject to a large stress and does not exhibit any plastic deformation; for example, concrete. |
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| A material made of many smaller molecules bonded together, often making tangled long chains. These materials often exhibit very large strains (e.g. 300%), for example rubber. |
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