OCR GCSE Physics B key terms

A computer-based representation of the climate system used to test explanations and make predictions.

A complete conducting path around which charge can flow.

A system across whose boundary no energy enters or leaves.

The fluid-filled, snail-shaped structure in the inner ear where vibrations lead to electrical signals that can be carried to the brain.

A material that transmits one or more ranges of visible wavelength and absorbs others.

A region in a longitudinal wave where particles are closer together than normal.

A model run by a computer to apply rules and calculations, often repeatedly or to many interacting parts.

A lens that is thinner in the middle and makes parallel rays diverge as though they came from a principal focus.

A material, such as a wire, through which electric current can flow.

A thin part of a loudspeaker or headphones that vibrates and causes the surrounding air to vibrate.

A third variable that affects both variables being studied and can therefore create or alter an apparent correlation.

The principle that energy cannot be created or destroyed, so total energy input equals total energy output.

The principle that the total mass of a closed system remains constant because matter is not created or destroyed.

The principle that the total momentum of a system stays the same when no resultant external force acts on it.

Acceleration that remains unchanged during the motion being considered.

A condition in which the space occupied by a gas does not change.

A factor kept constant so that it does not offer another explanation for a change in the measured outcome.

The agreed direction of current from the positive terminal of a power supply towards its negative terminal.

A ratio equal to one that changes the unit used to express a quantity without changing the quantity itself.

A lens that is thicker in the middle and makes parallel rays converge towards a principal focus.

A relationship in which two measured variables tend to change together.

The rate at which electric charge flows, measured in amperes (A).

One of the smaller nuclei produced when a larger nucleus undergoes nuclear fission.

Acceleration acting opposite to an object's velocity, causing its speed to decrease.

A change in an object's shape or size caused by forces.

The mass contained in each unit of volume of a substance, calculated using $\rho=\frac{m}{V}$.

The variable measured in response to changes in the independent variable.