Associated Studies: Supporting Science

Information & tools	Gross vehicle mass	Gross Vehicle Mass of a goods-carrying, commercial vehicle is the sum of its tare mass, and the mass of goods the vehicle can safely carry, in accordance with its design specifications.
	Hardening & tempering	By heating and then swiftly cooling certain kinds of steel changes the way that the elements in the alloy are arranged, resulting in a harder material.
	Carbon-alloy	When carbon and other materials are alloyed with iron it forms steel. The amount of carbon used can be changed effecting hardness and toughness.
	Bitumen	Bitumen is a category of organic liquids which are highly viscous, black, sticky and wholly soluble in carbon disulfide.
	Bosch	The Robert Bosch GmbH is a German company which was started in 1886 by Robert Bosch.
	Force	In physics, a force is defined as the time derivative of momentum.
	Inclined plane	An inclined plane, or ramp, reduces the force necessary to move a load a certain distance up by providing a path for the load to move at a low angle to the ground.
	Vacuum	In engineering, a vacuum is any region where the gas pressure is less than atmospheric pressure.

Units of measure	Multiples and decimals for the SI system	The units in the SI system are referred to as basic units.
	Length	Length is a measurement of linear distance.
	Mass	Mass is a unit or system of units by which a degree of heaviness is measured.
	Time	Time measurements are the same in both metric and Imperial systems.
	Velocity	Velocity is the measurement of distance traveled over a period of time.
	Volume	Volume is the amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object.
	Area	Area is the amount of expanse of a flat or curved surface.
	Electrical units	Electrical units are uniform across both metric and Imperial systems.
	Pressure	Pressure is a measurement of force per unit area.
	Energy	Energy is used up when any physical system does work.
	Temperature	Temperature is the measurement of heat intensity.
	Torque	Torque is the twisting force applied to a shaft.
	Power	Power is the ability to do work.

Electrics	Absolute zero	Absolute zero is a fundamental lower bound on the temperature of a macroscopic system.
	Atoms	An atom is a submicroscopic structure found in all ordinary matter around us.
	Electrical charge	Electric charge can be directly measured with an electrometer. The discrete nature of electric charge was demonstrated by Robert Millikan in his oil-drop experiment.
	Electrically conductive	Electrical conduction is the movement of electrically charged particles through matter.
	Electric current	In electricity, current refers to electric current, which is the flow of electric charge.
	Electrolyte	The properties of electrolytes may be exploited via electrolysis to extract constituent elements and compounds contained within the solution.
	Electromotive force	Electromotive force (emf) is a measure of the strength of a source of electrical energy.
	Electrons	Electrons have an electrical charge, and produce an electric current when they move; all electricity is created by moving electrons.
	Fermi energy	The Fermi energy of a system of non-interacting fermions is the smallest possible increase in the ground state energy when exactly one particle is added to the system.
	Neutrons	The neutron is a subatomic particle with no net electric charge and a mass of 939.6 MeV/c².
	Nucleus	Nuclei are composed of protons and neutrons.
	Protons	Because the electromagnetic force is many orders of magnitude stronger than the gravitational force, the charge on the proton must be equal and opposite to the charge on the electron.

Electronics	Solid state physics	Solid-state physics, the largest branch of condensed matter physics, is the study of rigid matter, or solids.
	Subatomic particles	A subatomic particle is a particle smaller than an atom: it may be elementary or composite.
	N-type doping	An N-type semiconductor is obtained by carrying out a process of doping, that is adding a certain type of atoms to the semiconductor in order to increase the number of free negative charge carriers.
	P-type doping	A P-type semiconductor is obtained by carrying out a process of doping, that is adding a certain type of atoms to the semiconductor in order to increase the number of free positive charge carriers.
	Valence band	The valence band is the highest range of electron energies where electrons are normally present at zero temperature.
	Electronics	The field of electronics is the study and use of electronic devices that operate by controlling the flow of electrons or other electrically charged particles in devices such as thermionic valves and semiconductors.
	Faraday's law	A practical automotive example of Faradays law is contained in automotive ignition systems which use an induction coil, to step up the nominal battery voltage of 12 volts to the voltage needed to bridge the gap across the spark plug electrodes.
	PZT	Lead zirconium titanate (PZT, also Lead zirconate titanate) is a ceramic material that shows a marked piezoelectric effect.
	Stepper motor	A stepper motor is a type of electric motor that is used when something has to be positioned very precisely or rotated by an exact angle.
	Tolerances	Tolerance in engineering is an allowance made for imperfections in a manufactured object.
	Transformer	A transformer is an electrical device that transfers energy from one electrical circuit to another by magnetic coupling without moving parts.

Chassis	Asbestos	Asbestos was once used in brake shoes and gaskets for its heat resistance.
	Electronic stability program	Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is the generic term for systems designed to improve a vehicle's handling, particularly at the limits where the driver might loose control of the vehicle.
	Fluid friction	Fluid friction is the friction between a solid object and a fluid (a liquid or gas) it is moving through.
	Handbrake turns	The handbrake turn is a driving technique used to deliberately slide a car sideways, either for the purpose of negotiating a very tight bend quickly, or for turning around well within the vehicle's own turning circle.
	Rolling friction	Rolling friction is the friction that occurs when an object (e.g a wheel or tire) rolls.
	Sliding friction	Sliding friction is when two objects are rubbing against each other.
	Traction control	Traction control is usually considered as a performance enhancement, allowing maximum traction under acceleration without wheel spin.
	Helix	The helix shape is commonly used as a thread on nuts and bolts, and also for teeth in steering gears, and transmissions.
	Unsprung weight	Parts of a vehicle not supported by the suspension system are known as unsprung weight.
	Dampening	Dampening prevents or reduces the bouncing effect of oscillation by absorbing the energy from the oscillation.
	Coefficient of friction	The coefficient of friction is the measurement of friction between pairs of surfaces.
	Lever/mechanical advantage	Mechanical advantage (MA) is the factor by which a machine multiplies the force put into it.
	Hydraulic pressure & force	Hydraulic pressure is transmitted through liquid & can transmit increased force.
	Bleeding	When you bleed an hydraulic system you are removing air from the system.

Engine cycles	Pressure & temperature	The pressure and temperature of a gas are linked. As pressure goes up and down, so does temperature.
	Pressure & volume	Pressure and volume are in inverse relation. As one rises, the other falls.
	Temperature & energy	The temperature of a gas is a measure of how much energy it has.
	Alloys	An alloy is a combination of materials to make a substance that has properties that are different from the original materials.
	Engine output	Engine output refers to the torque and power produced by an engine.
	Power range	The power range of an engine can be described by its 'load factor' which gives its load and speed as an average.

Engine components	Grey iron	Grey iron is a cast iron that contains carbon in the form of graphite, plus silicon, manganese and phosphorus.
	Turbulence	Turbulence refers to the swirling motion of a liquid or a gas.
	Valve-timing diagram	The time valves in a 4-stroke engine cycle actually open and close can be measured by angles. These angles can be easily read using a valve-timing diagram.
	Compression ratio	An engine’s compression ratio can be a guide to the power it can generate, the higher the engine's compression ratio and the more powerful the engine.

Engine cooling	Electrolysis	Electrolysis is also a method of epilation. In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a method of separating bonded elements and compounds by passing an electric current through them.
	Centrifugal force	Centrifugal force is a force pulling outward on a rotating body.
	Thermo-switch	A thermo-switch opens and closes according to pre-set temperature levels.
	Boiling point & pressure	Changes in water pressure can change the temperature at which it boils.

Engines	Engine displacement	The total volume of air/fuel mixture an engine can draw in during one complete engine cycle.
	Electrolysis	Electrolysis is also a method of epilation. In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a method of separating bonded elements and compounds by passing an electric current through them.

Fuel systems	Bernoulli's principle	Bernoulli's principle states that in fluid flow, an increase in velocity occurs simultaneously with decrease in pressure.
	Carbon monoxide	Is a major product of the incomplete combustion of carbon and carbon-containing compounds.
	Oxygen	At standard temperature and pressure, oxygen is predominantly found as a gas consisting of a diatomic molecule with the chemical formula O2.
	Venturi	Are found in many applications where the speed of the fluid is important, and form the basis of devices like a carburetor.
	Volumetric efficiency	Volumetric efficiency is a measure of the air-fuel mixture burned in the cylinder, usually expressed as a percentage.
	Thermal expansion	Thermal expansion refers to the way some materials expand when they are heated.
	Frequency	Sound travels through the air by producing pressure waves - areas of high pressure and areas of low pressure. The rate at which these waves reach our ears is called frequency.
	Back-pressure	Back-pressure in an exhaust system refers to a build-up of pressure in the system that interferes with the outward flow of exhaust gases.
	Stoichiometric ratio	Stoichiometric ratio is the air-fuel ratio necessary for complete combustion.
	Pressure & vacuum	As air pressure is reduced, a vehicle has to reduce the amount of fuel delivered to the engine to maintain the correct air-fuel ratio.
	Air density	The density of air is its mass per unit volume.
	Tachometric relay	The tachometer indicates engine RPM.
	Potentiometer	A potentiometer is a mechanically variable resistor.
	Closed loop	A closed loop is part of a feedback system that collects information on how a system is operating & feeds that information back to affect how the system is working.