An aircraft that flies faster than the speed of sound is said to be
A) subsonic.
B) supersonic.
C) impossible.
D) none of the above
Spots of sunlight on the ground cast through openings between leaves in trees above are
actually
A) images of the Sun.
B) part of a solar eclipse.
C) due to refraction of sunlight.
D) all of the above
A 60-W light bulb connected to a 120-V source draws a current of
A) 0.25 A.
B) 0.5 A.
C) 2.0 A.
D) 4.0 A.
E) more than 4 A.
The origin of most internal energy in Earth’s interior is
A) the Sun.
B) radioactivity.
C) volcanoes.
D) none of the above
A good reflector of radiation is a
A) good absorber of radiation.
B) good emitter of radiation.
C) poor absorber of radiation.
D) none of the above
A bullet is dropped into a river from a very high bridge at the same time as another
bullet is fired straight downward from a rifle. Neglecting air resistance, the acceleration
just before striking the water is
A) greater for the dropped bullet.
B) greater for the fired bullet.
C) the same for each bullet.
D) none of the above
The fact that the weight of a brim-full container of water is unchanged whether or not
something floats in it is nicely employed in
A) hydraulic devices.
B) all floating devices.
C) Scotland’s Falkirk Wheel.
D) none of the above
As a supersonic aircraft increases in speed, the angle of its V-shaped shock wave
becomes
A) wider.
B) narrower.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
If glass expanded more than mercury, then the column of mercury in a mercury
thermometer would fall when the temperature
A) increases.
B) decreases.
C) neither of these
A karate expert executes a swift blow and breaks a cement block with her bare hand.
The magnitude of the force on her hand is
A) zero.
B) less than the force applied to the cement block.
C) the same as the force applied to the block.
D) more than the force applied to the block.
E) need more information
An athlete can perform a certain number of pushups. The same athlete scaled up in size
can do
A) fewer pushups.
B) the same number of pushups.
C) more pushups.
An ideal Polaroid will transmit 50% of incident sunlight. How much light will be
transmitted by two ideal Polaroids oriented with their axes parallel to each other?
A) 0%
B) 50%
C) 100%
D) between 0% and 50%
E) between 50% and 100%
Consider a string with several rocks tied along its length at equally spaced intervals.
You whirl the string overhead so that the rocks follow circular paths. Compared with a
rock at the end of the string, a rock at the middle moves
A) half as fast.
B) twice as fast.
C) at the same linear speed.
The photoelectric effect supports a
A) wave nature of light.
B) particle nature of light.
C) both of these
D) none of these
When a tennis racquet hits a ball,
A) the racquet loses as much speed as the ball gains.
B) the ball is set in motion with the same speed of the racquet upon contact.
C) the ball hits the racquet.
D) all of the above
When we say energy levels in an atom are discrete, we mean that their energy levels are
well defined and
A) separate from one another.
B) separated by equal energy increments.
C) continuous.
D) private.
The buoyant force on an object is least when the object is
A) partly submerged.
B) submerged near the surface.
C) submerged near the bottom.
D) none of the above
Wrapping a hot potato in aluminum foil significantly reduces the rate at which it cools
by
A) conduction.
B) condensation.
C) evaporation.
D) melting.
A step-up transformer steps up voltage by ten times. If voltage input is 120 volts,
voltage output is
A) 60 V.
B) 120 V.
C) 1200 V.
D) 12000 V.
E) none of the above
The mass of a ball moving at 3 m/s with a momentum of 48 kg m/s is
A) 4 kg.
B) 12 kg.
C) 16 kg.
D) 144 kg.
E) none of these
The geometry of our universe is
A) flat.
B) positively curved.
C) negatively curved.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Compared to radio waves, the velocity of visible light waves in a vacuum is
A) less.
B) more.
C) the same.
If you jounce up and down on a bathroom scale, what varies on the scale reading is
A) mg.
B) the normal force.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Strictly speaking, the ratio of circumference to diameter for a circle equals π as we
know it
A) in flat space.
B) on a spherical surface.
C) on a saddle-shaped surface.
D) all or any of the above
E) none of the above
The electric field established by a generator in an ac circuit
A) increases via the inverse-square law.
B) changes magnitude and direction with time.
C) acts in one direction.
D) is non-existent.
E) none of the above
Although the energy per coulomb of a high-voltage party balloon is high, the energy
transfer that occurs if you touch it is low due to
A) the relatively small amount of charge.
B) rubber being a poor conductor.
C) the small electric potential.
D) all of the above
When visible light is incident upon clear glass, atoms in the glass
A) are forced into vibration.
B) resonate.
C) convert the light energy into internal energy.
Polarization is a property of
A) transverse waves.
B) longitudinal waves.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Nuclear reactors that produce consumer power in present times are powered by
A) fission.
B) fusion.
C) both fission and fusion.
Mass number refers to the number of
A) protons in the nucleus.
B) neutrons in the nucleus.
C) nucleons in the nucleus.
In optical fibers of uniform density, light actually
A) curves in a direction parallel to the central axis of the fiber.
B) travels in straight-line segments.
C) travels along the outer surface of the fiber.
D) none of the above
Which of the following statements is true?
A) a molecule is the smallest existing particle
B) chemical elements are made up of about 100 distinct molecules
C) molecules form atoms that determine chemical properties of a substance
D) molecules are the smallest subdivision of matter that still retain a substance’s
chemical properties
E) none of the above
A Thermos bottle has double glass walls with silver coating on the glass surfaces that
face each other. The silver coating reduces energy transfer by
A) conduction.
B) convection.
C) radiation.
D) all the above
E) none of the above
A coin and a ring roll down an incline at the same time. The one to first reach the
bottom is the
A) ring.
B) coin.
C) both reach the bottom at the same time
If you comb your hair and the comb becomes positively charged, then your hair
becomes
A) positively charged.
B) negatively charged.
C) uncharged.