Classical Mechanics
Newton's three laws of motion
1. Inertia (an object stays at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by a net force).
2. F=ma (force equals mass times acceleration)
3. Action-Reaction (for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.)
The acceleration of light (travels in a straight line at a speed of 3*108m/s in a vacuum)
What is 0?
The effect of applying the same force over less area
What is a higher pressure?
An object with its mass distributed away from its axis of rotation has this
What is a higher rotational inertia?
The meaning of "quantum" in quantum mechanics
What is the fact that at extremely small scales, phenomena can be separated into discrete packets. (A seemingly continuous force at the quantum level occurs in increments, light reaching your eyes is just a stream of distinct particles)
The four fundamental interactions in physics that govern everything in the universe.
What are gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force?
The speed that air moves over an aircraft wing compared to the air underneath. (Faster, the same, slower) Hint: think about Bernoulli's principle
What is faster? (or "what is a higher velocity?")
Who invented the experiment that proved the universe was asymmetrical (parity is not conserved)?
Who is Madame Wu?
Torque and its meaning
What is the rotational effect of a force that depends on how strong the force is, how far it acts from the pivot, and the angle at which it is applied?
*Formula: Torque = Fdsin(θ)
The physical or mathematical principle where multiple overlapping waves, quantum states, or stimuli combine to form a net system.
What is superposition?
The reason why the "Twin Paradox" is not a paradox
Why does the traveling twin's acceleration break the symmetry of the paradox?
(or "what is the Lorentz transformation" if you want to brute force the answer using math or spacetime diagram/worldline shift)
The name of the partial differential equations that describe how electric and magnetic fields are generated by electric charges and currents
What are Maxwell's equations?
The principle in Lagrangian mechanics that the path that an object takes will always minimize a certain quanitity
What is the Principle of Least Action? or Why is action minimized?
The name of the phenomenon where there is more matter than antimatter in the universe
What is baryon asymmetry?
This cosmic phenomenon, famously observed during a 1919 solar eclipse, occurs when the curved spacetime around a massive body acts like a giant magnifying glass, bending the path of distant starlight.
What is gravitational lensing? (Also accepted: light bending)
Under classical physics, gravity behaves like a smooth, continuous ramp; however, to successfully quantize it, physicists must prove that spacetime actually behaves like this structural alternative.
What is a staircase?
The main creator of the equation relating the angles at which rays are refracted with their incident angles.
hint: If you played last time, or have taken AP physics 2, you should know this.
Who is Willebrord Snellius?