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College Physics

Glossary

College PhysicsGlossary

air resistance: a frictional force that slows the motion of objects as they travel through the air; when solving basic physics problems, air resistance is assumed to be zero

analytical method: the method of determining the magnitude and direction of a resultant vector using the Pythagorean theorem and trigonometric identities

classical relativity: the study of relative velocities in situations where speeds are less than about 1% of the speed of light—that is, less than 3000 km/s

commutative: refers to the interchangeability of order in a function; vector addition is commutative because the order in which vectors are added together does not affect the final sum

component (of a 2-d vector): a piece of a vector that points in either the vertical or the horizontal direction; every 2-d vector can be expressed as a sum of two vertical and horizontal vector components

direction (of a vector): the orientation of a vector in space

head (of a vector): the end point of a vector; the location of the tip of the vector’s arrowhead; also referred to as the “tip”

head-to-tail method: a method of adding vectors in which the tail of each vector is placed at the head of the previous vector

kinematics: the study of motion without regard to mass or force

magnitude (of a vector): the length or size of a vector; magnitude is a scalar quantity

motion: displacement of an object as a function of time

projectile: an object that travels through the air and experiences only acceleration due to gravity

projectile motion: the motion of an object that is subject only to the acceleration of gravity

range: the maximum horizontal distance that a projectile travels

relative velocity: the velocity of an object as observed from a particular reference frame

relativity: the study of how different observers moving relative to each other measure the same phenomenon

resultant: the sum of two or more vectors

resultant vector: the vector sum of two or more vectors

scalar: a quantity with magnitude but no direction

tail: the start point of a vector; opposite to the head or tip of the arrow

trajectory: the path of a projectile through the air

vector: a quantity that has both magnitude and direction; an arrow used to represent quantities with both magnitude and direction

vector addition: the rules that apply to adding vectors together

velocity: speed in a given direction

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- Authors: Paul Peter Urone, Roger Hinrichs
- Publisher/website: OpenStax
- Book title: College Physics
- Publication date: Jun 21, 2012
- Location: Houston, Texas
- Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/college-physics/pages/1-introduction-to-science-and-the-realm-of-physics-physical-quantities-and-units
- Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/college-physics/pages/3-glossary

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