Edexcel GCSE Physics key terms

An energy transfer that does not contribute to the intended outcome of a process.

A container of heated water used to warm another container gently rather than heating it directly with a flame.

A method of finding an object’s volume from the volume of water it pushes aside when fully submerged.

The unit of power. One watt is a transfer of one joule of energy each second.

A travelling disturbance that transfers energy and information without an overall transfer of matter.

A line joining points on a wave that are at the same stage of their cycle, such as a line along a crest.

The distance between corresponding points on successive waves, measured in metres (m).

How the intensity of emitted radiation is spread across different wavelengths.

The speed at which a wave transfers energy through a medium, measured in metres per second (m/s).

The velocity at which the wave disturbance and its energy propagate, measured in metres per second (m/s).

The force acting on a body because it is in a gravitational field, measured in newtons (N).

The small, hot and extremely dense core remnant left after a Sun-like red giant loses its outer layers.

The transfer of energy when a force causes an object or boundary to move through a distance.

Energy transferred when a force causes an object to move in the direction of that force, measured in joules (J).

High-frequency electromagnetic radiation that can pass through some materials and is absorbed more strongly by others.