Mass, velocity, acceleration — yep, it’s time to review all the physics you learned in high school and prepare for the MAT (Miller Analogies Test). For the MAT, getting familiar with physics doesn’t entail learning any complicated equations. You just have to remember some physics terms and learn about some famous physicists. These lists help you remember the basics.
Physics terms that appear on the MAT test
Brush up on your physics by studying these terms and their definitions.
Acceleration: Rate at which velocity changes with time
Acoustics: Science that deals with the study of mechanical waves
Adhesion: Tendency for different types of particles to cling together
Aerodynamics: Study of the motion of air when it interacts with solid objects
Alloy: Metallic mixture of two different elements
Alternating current: Movement of electric charge that reverses direction
Ampere: Unit of electric current
Angstrom: One ten-billionth of a meter
Astronomical unit: Distance from Earth to the sun
Background radiation: Ionizing radiation that is always present in Earth’s atmosphere
Big bang: Model that explains the early development of the universe
Binary star: Star system with two stars orbiting around each other
Black hole: Region of space where gravity prevents everything from escaping
Boson: Fundamental particle
Buoyancy: Upward force that opposes the weight of a submerged object
Celsius: Scale and measurement unit for temperature
Centripetal force: Force that makes something follow a curved path
Cohesion: Tendency for like particles to cling together
Density: Mass per volume
Dew point: Temperature at which water vapor condenses to liquid water
Displacement: Fluid moving out of the way when an object is placed in it
Doppler effect: Change in the frequency of a wave when the observer moves
Drag: Air resistance or fluid resistance
Elasticity: Property of an object returning to its original shape after a force is applied
Endothermic: Reaction in which the system absorbs energy from its surroundings
Equilibrium: A system in balance
Exothermic: Reaction in which the system releases energy
Farad: Unit of capacitance
Fission: Process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts
Force: Mass times acceleration
Friction: Force resisting the motion of materials sliding against each other
Fusion: Process in which multiple atomic nuclei join to create a larger nucleus
Gamma ray: Electromagnetic radiation of high frequency
General relativity: Einstein’s theory of gravitation
Hertz: Unit of frequency, defined as cycles per second
Inertia: Resistance of an object to change in its motion
Joule: Unit of heat
Lever: Simple machine consisting of a beam pivoting on a hinge
Light: Electromagnetic radiation visible to the human eye
Mass: Amount of matter in a body
Matter: Anything that has mass and volume
Momentum: Mass times velocity
Neutrino: Neutral elementary particle
Ohm: Unit of electrical resistance
Pendulum: Suspended weight that can swing on a pivot
Photon: Elementary particle of light
Pneumatics: Application of pressurized gas to affect motion
Pressure: Ratio of force to area
Pulley: Simple machine; a wheel on an axle that moves a cable along its circumference
Quantum mechanics: Physics dealing with atomic and subatomic particles
Supernova: Explosion of a star
Temperature: Physical property that expresses notions of hot and cold
Torque: Tendency of a force to rotate an object on an axis
Transducer: Device that converts energy from one form to another
Uncertainty principle: Principle that the position and momentum of a particle cannot be simultaneously known
Vacuum: Space that is empty of matter
Watt: Unit of power
Important figures in the field of physics
The following lists important people in the field of physics you should become familiar with before taking the MAT.
Ampere, Andre-Marie: French founder of classical electromagnetism
Archimedes: Ancient Greek scientist known for hydrostatics
Becquerel, Antoine Henri: French physicist who helped discover radioactivity
Bernoulli, Daniel: Swiss physicist who worked on fluid dynamics
Bohr, Niels: Danish physicist who contributed to quantum mechanics
Einstein, Albert: German physicist known for general and special relativity
Faraday, Michael: English scientist known for work in electromagnetism
Fermi, Enrico: Italian-American physicist who developed the nuclear reactor
Galileo: Italian astronomer and father of modern physics
Heisenberg, Werner: German physicist credited for creating quantum mechanics
Newton, Isaac: English physicist who described three laws of motion
Planck, Max: German physicist who came up with quantum theory
Tesla, Nikola: Serbian-American known for contributions to alternating current electricity
