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University Physics Volume 1

Key Terms

University Physics Volume 1Key Terms

Key Terms

center of mass: weighted average position of the mass

closed system: system for which the mass is constant and the net external force on the system is zero

elastic: collision that conserves kinetic energy

explosion: single object breaks up into multiple objects; kinetic energy is not conserved in explosions

external force: force applied to an extended object that changes the momentum of the extended object as a whole

impulse: effect of applying a force on a system for a time interval; this time interval is usually small, but does not have to be

impulse-momentum theorem: change of momentum of a system is equal to the impulse applied to the system

inelastic: collision that does not conserve kinetic energy

internal force: force that the simple particles that make up an extended object exert on each other. Internal forces can be attractive or repulsive

Law of Conservation of Momentum: total momentum of a closed system cannot change

linear mass density: $λ$ , expressed as the number of kilograms of material per meter

momentum: measure of the quantity of motion that an object has; it takes into account both how fast the object is moving, and its mass; specifically, it is the product of mass and velocity; it is a vector quantity

perfectly inelastic: collision after which all objects are motionless, the final kinetic energy is zero, and the loss of kinetic energy is a maximum

rocket equation: derived by the Soviet physicist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1897, it gives us the change of velocity that the rocket obtains from burning a mass of fuel that decreases the total rocket mass from $m_{i}$ down to m

system: object or collection of objects whose motion is currently under investigation; however, your system is defined at the start of the problem, you must keep that definition for the entire problem

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- Authors: William Moebs, Samuel J. Ling, Jeff Sanny
- Publisher/website: OpenStax
- Book title: University Physics Volume 1
- Publication date: Sep 19, 2016
- Location: Houston, Texas
- Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/1-introduction
- Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/university-physics-volume-1/pages/9-key-terms

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