Glossary

classical physics

physics that was developed from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th century

English units

system of measurement used in the United States; includes units of measurement such as feet, gallons, and pounds

law

a description, using concise language or a mathematical formula, a generalized pattern in nature that is supported by scientific evidence and repeated examples

model

representation of something that is often to difficult (or impossible) to display directly

Modern physics

the study of relativity, quantum mechanics, or both

physical

my awesome definition

physical quantity

a characteristic or property of an object that can be measure or calculated from other measurements

Physics

the science concerned with describing the interactions of energy, matter, space, and time; it is especially interested in what fundamental mechanisms underlie every phenomenon

Quantum mechanics

the study of objects smaller than can be seen with a microscope

Relativity

the study of objects moving at speeds greater than about 1% of the speed of light, or of objects being affected by a strong gravitational field

scientific method

a method that typically begins with an observation and question that the scientist will research; next, the scientist typically performs some research about the topic and then devises a hypothesis; then, the scientist will test the hypothesis by performing an experiment; finally, the scientist analyzes the results of the experiment and draws a conclusion

SI units

the international system of units that scientist in most countries have agreed to use; includes units such as meters, liters, and grams

theory

an explanation for patterns in nature that is supported by scientific evidence and verified multiple times by various groups of researchers

units

a standard used for expressing and comparing measurements

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College Physics by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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