H1/2 PHYSICS DEFINITIONS LIST

Measurements
Base quantity One of the seven physical quantities of the SI system by which all physical quantities are defined.
Base unit One of the seven base quantities of the SI system whose magnitude is defined without referring to any
other units.
Derived units Those obtained by product or quotient of base units
Homogeneous Equation where units of all the terms are the same, and each term in the equation must correspond to the
equation same physical quantity.
Random errors Present when the measured readings are scattered about the mean value with no fixed pattern; they can be
reduced by averaging, but cannot be eliminated (human reaction time etc)
Systematic errors Consistent deviation of readings from the true value with a fixed pattern; they cannot be eliminated by
averaging, but they can be reduced/eliminated by correct lab procedures and careful design of
experiments (calibration and zero errors correct by negating their errors or calibrating before the actual
experiments).

Accuracy Degree of closeness of the measurement to the true value; a measure of reliability
Precision Degree of closeness of the measurements are to each other; a measure of level of uncertainty in an
instruments scale
Scalar A scalar quantity is one which has magnitude but no direction
Vector A vector quantity is one which has direction and magnitude
Uncertainty A range of values on both sides of a measurement in which the actual value of the measurement is
expected to lie.
Fractional/ Ratio of absolute uncertainty to the measured value of a quantity
percentage
uncertainty

Kinematics
Distance Actual path travelled by an object
Displacement Distance from a fixed point in a specified direction
Speed The rate of change of distance with respect to time
Velocity The rate of change of displacement with respect to time
Acceleration The rate of change of velocity with respect to time
Average Average rate of change of distance/displacement with respect to time
speed/velocity
Instantaneous Rate of change of displacement with respect to time at a particular time
velocity
Projectile motion A motion due to a uniform velocity in one direction and a uniformly accelerated motion in a
perpendicular motion
Acceleration of free Acceleration of a body towards the surface of the Earth when the only force acting on it is its weight
fall

Dynamics
Newtons first law An object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion at constant velocity in
the absence of an external resultant force
Inertia The reluctance of a body to start moving or change its motion
Newtons second The rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the resultant force acting on it and
law it occurs in the direction of the force
Newtons third law If body A exerts a force on body B, then body B exerts an equal but opposite force of the same type on
body A
Linear momentum The product of the mass of an object and its velocity. It acts in the same direction as its velocity.
Impulse Product of constant force F and the time duration for which the constant force acts.
Principle of The total momentum of a system of bodies is constant provided that no net external resultant force acts
conservation of on the system.
momentum
Impulse-momentum Impulse of force acting on an object is equal to the change in momentum of the object
theorem
Elastic collision The collision between 2 bodies in which the total momentum and the kinetic energy of the system are
 conserved after the collision. (Note, during collision, total KE may not be conserve)
Inelastic collision Total KE is not the same before and after the collision, but the total momentum is conserved
Perfectly inelastic Total KE is not the same before and after the collision, but the total momentum is conserved, and the
collision objects stick together after the collision.

Forces
Field of force A region of space where a force is felt
Equilibrium A system is in equilibrium when there is zero resultant force acting on the body in any direction, and
when there is zero resultant moment about any point axis
Hookes law Force is directly proportional to the extension, provided that the elastic limit has not been exceeded
Centre of gravity The point at which all the weight of an object appears to be acting through
Centre of mass The point at which all of the mass of an object appears to be concentrated
Couple A couple consists of a pair of parallel forces of equal magnitude but opposite direction whose lines of
action do not coincide
Moment of a force Product of the force with the perpendicular distance of the force from that point
Torque of a couple Product of one of the forces with the perpendicular separation between the couple
Principle of Sum of clockwise moments about any point is equal to the sum of anticlockwise moments about the same
moments point
Upthrust Upthrust is the vertical upward force exerted by the surrounding fluid when a body is submerged fully or
partially in a fluid. It is equal in magnitude to the weight of fluid displaced by the body.
Pressure Force acting normally to an area per unit area
Archimedes An object immersed fully or partially in a liquid experiences a buoyant force equal in magnitude to the
principle weight of the fluid displaced
Principle of An object floating in a liquid always displaces its own weight of fluid
floatation

Work, Energy and Power

Work done (by The work done by a constant force on an object is defined as the force x displacement in the direction of
constant force) the force.
If F is varying, the work done is the area (sum of integrals) under the force-displacement graph
Principle of the Energy can neither be destroyed nor created in any process. It can be transformed from one form to
conservation of another, and transferred from one body to another but the total amount remains constant.
energy
Mechanical Energy The mechanical energy of a system is the sum of the kinetic energy and all the potential energies present
at an instant.
Power Work done per unit time (scalar)
Watt One watt is the amount of power when the work done per unit time is one joule per second.
Average power Total work done divided by total time taken
Intensity Energy incident per unit time per unit area normal to the wave or radiation.
Kinetic energy Energy of a body associated with its motion
Potential energy Ability to do work as a result of the position, shape or state of an object.
(includes Gravitational potential energy, electrical potential energy, chemical and Elastic potential
energy).

Circular motion
Angular Angle through which an object turns, usually measured in radians (rad).
displacement
Angular velocity Angular velocity is the rate of change of angular displacement of a radius joining the body to the axis of
rotation.
Tangential velocity The instantaneous linear velocity of the particle at a point in the circular path in the orbiting direction and
it is tangential to the circular to the circular path at that point
Centripetal The acceleration which is always perpendicular to the velocity and always acts towards the centre of the
acceleration circular motion
Uniform circular Motion of an object moving in a circular path at constant speed with constant angular velocity
motion
Centripetal force The resultant perpendicular force acting on an object moving in circular motion. The resultant force is
directed to the centre of the circular motion.
Frequency Number of cycles per unit time
Period Time taken for one complete revolution
Radian Angle subtended at centre of a circle by an arc whose arc length is equal to the radius of the circle

Gravitation
Newtons law of The force of attraction between 2 point masses is directly proportional to the product of their masses and
gravitation inversely proportional to the square of their separation
Gravitational field A region in space where a gravitational force is felt by a mass.
Gravitational field The gravitational force per unit mass experienced by a small test mass placed at that point.
strength
Gravitational The gravitational potential at a point is defined as the work done per unit mass in bringing a small test
potential mass from infinity to that point.

Gravitational The gravitational potential energy of a mass at a point is defined as the work done on the mass in moving
potential energy it from infinity to that point.
Escape velocity The minimum velocity of an object at the surface of the planet so that it completely escapes from the
influence of the gravitational field of the planet
Geostationary orbit An equatorial orbit with an orbital period of 24 hours and moves in the direction from West to East.

Thermal Physics
Temperature A measure of degree of hotness of an object. Thermal energy moves on its own accord from objects at
higher temperature to objects at lower temperature.
Internal energy The internal energy of a substance is the sum of the kinetic energy due to the random motion of the
molecules and potential energy due to intermolecular forces of attraction
Internal energy of Sum of kinetic energies due to the random motion of the gas molecules
ideal gas
Thermal equilibrium Refers to a situation whereby there is no net heat transfer between bodies, occurs when the bodies are of
the same temperature.
Zeroth law of If objects A and B are separately in thermal equilibrium with a third object C, then A and B are in
thermodynamics thermal equilibrium with each other
Heat Thermal energy that flows from a region of higher to a region of lower temperature due to differences in
temperature
Absolute zero Theoretical temperature at which the molecules of a substance have the lowest energy and hence a
minimum internal energy
Kelvin 1/273.16 of the temperature difference between absolute zero and the triple point of water
Triple point of water The particular temperature and pressure at which the 3 states of water can coexist in equilibrium, at the
assigned temperature of 273.16K.
Empirical Scale of temperature based on the variation with temperature of a property of a substance (thermometric
temperature scale property), assuming that the property varies linearly with temperature changes
Absolute scale/ Temperature on the absolute scale does not depend on the thermometric property of any particular
Thermodynamic substance, and has absolute zero as lower fixed point and triple point of water as the upper fixed point. It
temperature scale is constructed based on the ideal gas law PV=nRT.
Specific heat The quantity of thermal energy required per unit mass per unit temperature rise.
capacity
Latent heat Thermal energy required by matter for a change in phase
Specific latent heat The quantity of thermal energy required per unit mass when the substance changes from solid state to
of fusion liquid state without a change in temperature.
Specific latent heat The quantity of thermal energy required per unit mass when the substance changes from liquid state to
of vaporization gaseous state (vapour) without a change in temperature.
Evaporation The change of phase of a substance from liquid to gas phase that occurs at the surface at any temperature
below the boiling point
First law of Internal energy of a system depends only on the thermodynamic state of the system; the increase in the
thermodynamics internal energy of a system is equal to the sum of the heat supplied to the system and the work done on
the system (Q + W)
Ideal gas A hypothetical gas that obeys the equation of state (PV = nRT) for an ideal gas perfectly at all pressure,
volume and temperature.
Mole One mole is the amount of substance containing same number of particles as in 0.012 kg of carbon12.
Avogadro constant Number of moles in 0.012kg of carbon-12
Isobaric process Change at constant pressure
Isothermal process Change at constant temperature
Isochoric process Change at constant volume (W is zero)
Adiabatic process A change in the pressure, volume, and temperature of a system such that during the change, there is zero
net transfer of thermal energy in and out of system (Q is zero)
Root-mean-square- The statistical measure of the speed of a molecule of a gas
speed (rms)
Mean translational kinetic energy of a molecule of an ideal gas is directly proportional to the thermodynamic temperature.

Oscillations
Oscillation It is a periodic motion of an object about a fixed point with a continuous interchange of kinetic energy
and potential energies.
Free oscillations Oscillating system where there is no energy gain or loss (no external force acting on the system).
Equilibrium position Equilibrium position (or neutral position) is the position at which no net force acts on the oscillating
mass.
Displacement Displacement is the distance of the oscillating mass from its equilibrium position at any instant in a stated
direction.
Distance of the Maximum displacement of the oscillating object from the equilibrium position in either direction
oscillating object
from its equilibrium
position at any
instant
Amplitude Amplitude is the maximum displacement of the oscillating mass from the equilibrium position.
Period Time taken to complete one cycle of oscillation
Frequency Frequency is the number of complete toandfro cycles per unit time made by the oscillating object (Hz).
Angular frequency The constant which characterises the particular simple harmonic oscillator and is related to its natural
(w) frequency.
Phase An angle in either degrees or radians which gives a measure of the fraction of a cycle that has been
completed by an oscillating particle or by a wave.
Phase difference Phase difference is a measure of how much one wave is out of step with another.
Simple Harmonic Simple harmonic motion is defined as oscillatory motion of a particle whose acceleration is directly
Motion proportional to its displacement from a fixed point and this acceleration is always in opposite direction to
its displacement. (a = -w2x)
Natural frequency A system that is free to vibrate will vibrate at its natural frequency when no external force acting on it.
Resonance Resonance occurs when the resulting amplitude of the system becomes a maximum when the driving
frequency of external driving force equals to natural frequency of the system.
Forced oscillation Forced oscillations are caused by continual input of energy by external applied force to an oscillating
system to compensate the loss due to damping in order to maintain the amplitude of the oscillation.
Damped oscillation Oscillation in which there is a continuous dissipation of energy to the surroundings such that the total
energy in the system decreases with time, hence the amplitude of the motion progressively decreases with
time.
Damping Damping is a process where energy is taken from an oscillating system as a result of dissipative forces.
Light damping Object undergoes a number of complete oscillations with the amplitude of vibration decreasing
exponentially with time.
Critical damping No oscillations occur. The displacement is brought to zero in the shortest possible time.
Heavy damping No oscillations occur about the equilibrium position when the damping force increases beyond the point
of critical damping. The system takes a long time to return to the equilibrium position compared to
critically damped system.

Waves
Wave A means by which energy may be transferred from one place to another as a result of oscillations.
Transverse wave Oscillations of the particles in the wave are in a plane normal to the direction of energy transfer
Longitudinal wave Oscillations of the particles in the wave are along the direction of energy transfer
Mechanical wave A wave that requires a medium for transmission (sound waves and water waves)
Electromagnetic A wave consisting of oscillating electric and magnetic fields perpendicular to each other and to the
wave direction of energy transfer of the wave. It does not require a medium for transmission. It travels through
vacuum at the speed of light (~3x108m/s)
Wavelength The minimum distance between any two points of the waves with the same phase at the same instant.
Wave speed Distance travelled per unit time by the wave energy in the direction of energy transfer, with the equation
v = f
Wave front An imaginary line joining wave points that are in phase
Ray The direction of energy transfer of the wave. Rays are always directed at right angles to the wave fronts.
Progressive wave A wave in which energy is carried from one point to another by means of vibrations or oscillations within
the waves.
Polarization Vibrations in one direction in the plane normal to the direction of transfer of energy of the wave.
Intensity Wave energy incident per unit time per unit area normal to the direction of energy transfer of wave (Wm-
2
)

Superposition
Principle of When two or more waves of the same kind meet at a point at the same time, the displacement of the
oscillation resultant wave is the vector sum of the displacements of the individual waves at that point at that time.
Stationary waves When two progressive waves of the same type of equal amplitude, equal frequency, equal wavelength,
equal speed travelling in opposite directions meet and undergo superposition with each other, a stationary
wave is formed.
Coherence Coherent waves have constant phase difference.
Fundamental The lowest frequency at which a stationary wave can vibrate
frequency
Overtone Higher frequency values at which a stationary wave can vibrate
Antinode A point on a stationary wave vibrating with maximum amplitude
Node A point on a stationary wave vibrating with zero amplitude
Diffraction Bending or spreading out of waves when they pass through a small opening or pass around an obstacle

Diffraction is observed and is more pronounced when the size of the slit/aperture is of the same order as
the wavelength of the wave. It is still slightly observable when the aperture is smaller than the
wavelength in order.

Diffraction pattern: The central max is much brighter and broader compared to the maxima at the sides,
whereas the bright fringes are equally spaced
Interference Interference is an effect that occurs when two or more waves overlap to produce a new wave pattern, i.e.
change in amplitude.
Constructive When two waves meet in phase, the resultant amplitude (maximum) is the sum of individual amplitudes
interference of the waves.
Destructive When two waves meet out of phase (180 deg), the resultant amplitude (minimum) is the difference of the
interference amplitudes of the waves. If the amplitudes of the two waves are the same, we obtain zero resultant
amplitude or complete destructive interference.
Two-source When waves from 2 sources overlap and superpose, they form a two-source interference pattern with
interference maximum intensities at some points when they meet in phase, and minimum intensities at other points
when they meet antiphase.
Diffraction grating A small sheet of glass or transparent plastic on which have been marked many hundreds of parallel
equally spaced lines.

Electric fields
Electric field Electric field is a region of space in which a force acts on a stationary charge. Direction of electric field
is the direction of force on a positive charge.
Coulombs law Electric force between 2 point charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely
proportional to the square of their separation
Electric field The electric force per unit positive charge experienced by a small stationary test charge placed at that
strength point.
Electric potential The work done per unit positive charge in moving a small test charge from infinity to that point.
Electric potential Work done by an external force in bringing a charge from infinity to that point, without change in KE
energy
Equipotential Points equidistant from a point charge have the same electric potential, and this surface always cuts the
surface field lines at right angles
Electronvolt, eV A unit of energy equal to the energy gained by an electron when it is accelerated through a potential
difference of 1 volt.
Current of Electricity and DC circuits
Electric charge If the rate is constant or if the current is steady, then amount of charge (Q) passing through a given
section of a conductor is the product of the steady current I that flows past the section and the time
interval t during which the current flows.
Coulomb Amount of electric charge passing through a cross section of a conductor in 1 second when a constant
current of 1 ampere flows through it
Ampere Amount of constant current in 2 straight conductors of infinite length placed at 1m apart which produces
an electric force per unit length of 2x10-7Nm-1 on each wire
Current Rate of flow of electric charges across a cross section of a conductor (I = Q/t)
Potential difference The work done per unit charge when electrical energy is transferred to nonelectrical energy when the
charge passes from one point to the other.
Volt The potential difference between two points in a circuit where work done per unit charge is one joule per
coulomb when electrical energy is converted to nonelectrical energy.
Electromotive force The work done per unit charge when nonelectrical energy is transferred into electrical energy when the
(emf) charge is moved round a complete circuit.
Resistance Ratio of the potential difference across the conductor to the current flowing through the conductor (R =
V/I)
Resistivity (p) An intrinsic characteristic of a material (whereby R = pl/A)
Ohm The electric resistance between two points of a conductor when the ratio of potential difference to current
is one volt per ampere.
Ohms law The current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference applied across
the conductor provided that physical conditions (like temperature, stress etc) remains constant.
Maximum power Max power is supplied to the external circuit components when the R of the external circuit = r of battery
theorem
Conservation of The total charge entering a junction per unit time (current entering) must equal to the total charge leaving
charge in DC the same junction per unit time (current leaving).
Conservation of The electrical energy produced by the source is equal to the sum of the electrical energy consumed by all
energy in DC the components in the circuit
Potential divider A circuit in which 2 or more resistors are connected in series with a supply voltage (emf) whereby the
resistors will divide the emf into fractions according to their resistance

Electromagnetism and Electromagnetic induction

Magnetic field (B- A region of space where a magnetic pole, a current-carrying conductor, or a moving charge particle will
field) experience a magnetic force (B)
Magnetic flux Force per unit length per unit current acting on a straight conductor placed normal to the field
density (B)
Tesla SI unit for magnetic flux density; if a long straight conductor carrying a current of 1A is placed normal to
a uniform magnetic field of flux density of 1T, then the force per unit length on the conductor is 1N/m
Magnetic flux The product of the magnetic flux density and the area normal to the field through which the field is
passing (BA)
Weber SI unity for magnetic flux; the magnetic flux if a uniform flux density of 1T passes perpendicularly
through an area of 1m2
Magnetic flux Product of the magnetic flux passing through the coil and the number of turns on the coil (NBA)
linkage
Faradays law of Induced emf in a conductor is directly proportional to the rate of change of magnetic flux linkage
magnetic induction
Lenzs law Induced emf is in a direction so as to produce effects to oppose the change causing it

Alternating current
Alternating current An electric current that periodically reverses its direction in a circuit with a frequency
Amplitude Maximum value of the alternating current in either direction of zero value in a periodic cycle
Peak to peak value Difference between the positive peak value and the negative peak value of the AC within a cycle
Root-mean-square RMS current of an AC is the value of the steady direct current that would dissipate heat at the same
value of an AC average rate in a given resistor
Eddy currents Induced currents as a consequence of the alternating primary voltage and primary current. They waste
energy through electrical heating in the iron core of the transformer.
Half wave rectifier Current flows through the resistor only during one half of every generators voltage cycle (a single diode
is used for half wave rectification)
Turn ratio of a Ratio of the number of turns in secondary coil to number of turns in the primary coil
transformer

Quantum Physics
Photoelectric effect The emission of electrons from a cold metal surface when electromagnetic radiation of a sufficiently high
frequency falls on it
Stopping potential Minimum potential difference between the cathode and the anode that will prevent the most energetic
(Vs) photoelectron emitted from the cathode from reaching the anode
Photon A discrete packet/quantum of energy of electromagnetic radiation

Work function Minimum amount of energy required to remove the least tightly bound electron from the surface of a
metal

Threshold frequency Minimum frequency an EM radiation must possess to remove an electron from the surface of a metal to
cause photoelectric emission
Wave-Particle Matter behave like waves in some situations and like particles in others (Photoelectric effect provides the
duality particulate nature; interference patterns produced in double-slit experiment explains wave nature)

de Broglie Wavelength associated with a particle that is moving

wavelength
Energy level The energy of an electron in an isolated atom is quantised. The electron is allowed to exist in specific
energy states known as energy levels.
Emission spectral Bright coloured lines against dark background. The spectra are line spectra as a result of the precise
lines energy levels in the atom.
Absorption spectral Dark lines against bright coloured background
lines
Ground state Electrons in the most stable lowest energy state/level (in an atomic orbit, according to Bohrs atom
model)
X-ray spectrum has Broad continuous spectrum (due to slowing down of incoming colliding electrons) and the
2 distinct characteristic x-ray peaks (peaks of the sharply defined wavelengths due to electron transitions from
components higher to lower energy levels)
Bremsstrahlung EM radiation (photons) is produced whenever a charged particle is accelerated. Wavelength depends on
spectrium magnitude of acceleration. Electrons have a distribution of accelerations so continuous spectrum.
Heisenberg If a measurement of the position of a particle is made with uncertainty x and a simultaneous
Uncertainty measurement of its linear momentum is made with precision p, then the product of the 2 uncertainties
Principle can never be smaller than h/4 (or /2) xp h/4
Square of Probability density of finding a particle at point x at time t
wavefunction
(square of solution
to the Schrodingers
Equation)
Potential barrier A region where there is a sudden increase in potential due to a field of
force (usually electric) that exists and opposes the motion of a particle
through the region.
Quantum tunneling (Based on classical mechanics, an electron with energy E should be unable to overcome a potential
barrier if it does not have sufficient energy)
Experimentally, some electrons can tunnel through the barrier at a probability given by its transmission
coefficient T (represents the probability of the particle being transmitted through a rectangular barrier of
height U and length U)

LASERs and Semiconductors

Spontaneous An excited atom randomly de-excites to a lower energy state and emits a photon without external
emission influence

Stimulated emission When an incoming photon perturbs an excited atom to emit another photon of the same energy, phase,
polarization and direction as the incident photon.
Population inversion A situation when there are more atoms in the higher energy state than in lower energy state

Meta-stable state Excited energy states whose lifetimes are appreciably longer than the other excited energy states
LASERs Light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation. It is coherent, monochromatic, and has a
small angle of divergence.
Energy band Atoms are brought close together and interact with each other. Splitting of the discrete energy level to
form continuous energy bands.
Valence band Highest energy band fully occupied by electrons at 0K
Conduction band The next energy band just above the valence band that is empty or partially occupied by electrons
Band gap The energy gap between the conduction and valence band, no electrons can have energy values that lie in
this region
Semiconductors A material that is an insulator at absolute zero but a conductor at higher temperatures.
Intrinsic A pure semiconductor crystal containing only 1 element or 1 compound is called an intrinsic
semiconductors semiconductor where it does not contain impurities or lattice defects.
Hole An electron deficient site. It acts as a charge carrier in the sense that a free electron from a nearby site can
transfer into the hole. When an electric field is applied, the hole moves in a direction opposite to that of
electron and conduct electricity.
Doping Doping is the process of adding impurities to a semiconductor to increase the number and modify the
type of free charge carriers present to control its conductivity.
p-type Semiconductors doped with atoms of Group 3 element are known as ptype semiconductor because there
semiconductors is an increase in the number of positive charge carriers known as holes. Ptype doping introduces new
energy level known as acceptor level just above the valence band. At higher temperature, electrons in the
valence band can be excited to the acceptor level, leaving behind more holes in the valence band to
conduct electricity.
n-type Semiconductors doped with atoms of Group 5 element are called ntype semiconductors because there is
semiconductors an increase in the number of negative charge carriers known as electrons. Ntype doping introduces new
energy level known as donor level just below the conduction band. At higher temperature, these donor
electrons in the donor level could be thermally excited to the conduction band to conduct electricity.
PN junction Single semiconductor crystal that has been selectively doped so that one part is n-type, and the other p-
type
Depletion region When a pn junction is formed, electrons from the ntype semiconductor diffuse to the ptype
semiconductor due to electrostatic attraction, leaving behind immobile positive ion cores. Similarly, holes
from the ptype semiconductor diffuse to the ntype semiconductor leaving a region of immobile negative
ions cores. The electrons and holes in the region tend to recombine and the region becomes virtually
depleted of mobile charge carriers. This region where a potential barrier is set up is known as the
depletion region. The electric field that sets up prevents further movement of charge carriers.
Forward bias The ptype semiconductor connected to the positive terminal of the battery and the ntype semiconductor
connected to the negative terminal. All the electrons and holes are capable of crossing the junction and
the diode acts as a conductor.
Reverse bias The ntype semiconductor connected to the positive terminal of the battery and the ptype semiconductor
connected to the negative terminal. The holes in the ptype semiconductor move to the negative terminal
of the battery, leaving behind more negative ion cores, and the electrons in the ntype semiconductor
move to the positive terminal of the battery, leaving behind more positive ion cores. The depletion region
widens and the diode acts as insulator.

Nuclear Physics
Nucleus Central core of an atom which contains protons and neutrons
Proton number Number of protons in the nucleus
(atomic number)
Nucleon number Number of nucleons (protons + neutrons) in the nucleus
(mass number)
Nuclide A particular type of nucleus that is specified by its proton and neutron number
Isotopes Nucleus of the same element with the same number of protons but different number of neutrons
Atomic mass unit One u is 1/12 the mass of a carbon-12 atom
(u)
Binding energy Minimum energy required to completely separate the nucleus into its constituent protons and neutrons to
infinity
Mass defect Difference in mass between the mass of a nucleus and the total mass of its constituent nucleons

Binding energy per BE divided by the nucleon number of the nucleus (higher BE/A = higher stability)
nucleon
Fission Nuclear fission is the splitting of a nucleus of high nucleon number into two smaller nuclei of
approximately the same mass with the release of energy and neutrons. The nuclei produced have greater
 binding energy per nucleon.
Fusion The combining of two nuclei of low nucleon number to produce a larger nucleus with the release of
energy.
Radioactive decay Spontaneous and random disintegration of the unstable nucleus, emitting some/all of nuclear radiations
like alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma radiations
Spontaneous decay Decay is affected by external or environmental factors
Random decay Nucleus has a constant probability of decay per unit time, and the time of decay cannot be predicted
Background Radiation detected by a radiation counter when no radioactive source is nearby
radiation
Activity of the Number of nuclear disintegrations per unit time (or rate of decay of nuclei) of the nuclei, in Bq or Ci
radioactive nuclide
Decay constant The constant probability of decay of a nucleus per unit time
Half-life Average time taken for the initial number of nuclei (or activity) of that particular radioactive nuclide to
reduce to half of its initial value