Iridium is an element that is relatively
A) abundant on Earth, but very rare in meteorites.
B) rare on Earth, but very common in meteorites.
C) abundant on both the Earth and the Moon.
D) rare on both Earth and in meteorites.
Answer:
If you keep increasing the kinetic energy of atoms in a solid
A) melting may occur.
B) freezing may occur.
C) evaporation may occur.
Answer:
Marie pushes horizontally on her desk, but not hard enough to get it moving. The
friction force acting on the desk is
A) zero.
B) equal to the weight of the desk.
C) equal and opposite to her push.
D) none of the above
Answer:
What determines if a star becomes a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole?
A) the principal factor is mass
B) the principal factor is density
C) the principal factor is temperature
D) the principal factor is luminosity
Answer:
What type of polymer would be best to use in the manufacture of stain-resistant
carpets?
A) cellulose
B) nylon
C) Melmac
D) Teflon
Answer:
The reason that a surface appears darker when wet has to do with
A) the darkness of liquids.
B) conversion of light to lower frequencies.
C) absorption of multiply-reflecting light inside the wet region.
Answer:
A succession of 2-m long water waves on a lake goes by a piece of floating cork that
bobs up and down one complete cycle each second. What is the speed of the wave?
A) 0.25 m/s
B) 0.50 m/s
C) 1.0 m/s
D) 2 m/s
E) 4 m/s
Answer:
When evaporation occurs in a dish of water, the molecules remaining in the water
A) are less energetic.
B) have decreased average speeds.
C) are at a lower temperature.
D) all of the above
Answer:
The force of a boxer’s punch is greater when it hits a
A) small punching bag.
B) heavy punching bag.
C) both forces would be the same for the same effort
Answer:
Which requires more work: lifting a 50-kg sack vertically 2 m or lifting a 25-kg sack
vertically 4 m?
A) lifting the 50-kg sack
B) lifting the 25-kg sack
C) both require the same amount of work
Answer:
Barium ions carry a 2+ charge, and nitrogen ions carry a 3- charge. What would be the
chemical formula for the ionic compound barium nitride?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Answer:
The concept of seafloor spreading states that
A) Earth is expanding.
B) seafloor is created at mid-ocean ridges and destroyed at deep ocean trenches.
C) sea level is rising.
D) earthquakes occur underwater.
Answer:
Which of the following would be considered basic research?
A) examining why a mouse likes cheddar cheese more than swiss cheese
B) studying ways of catching mice safely
C) testing the strength of a mouse cage
D) examining how quickly a trapdoor closes
E) testing a safe, nontoxic mouse glue
Answer:
How many grams of water, O, and propene, , can be formed from the reaction
of 6.0 g of 2-propanol, O?
O → + O
2-Propanol Propene Water
A) 6.0 grams of propene, 0.0 grams of water
B) 1.8 grams of propene, 4.2 grams of water
C) 0.0 grams of propene, 6.0 grams of water
D) 4.2 grams of propene, 1.8 grams of water
Answer:
Why are elements heavier than iron less abundant than those that are lighter?
A) because the duration of a supernova is relatively short
B) because they tend to be unstable, and easily undergo fission
C) Spectral evidence suggests they are only rare here on Earth.
D) This is one of the mysteries of cosmic formation that has yet to be answered.
Answer:
As the air cools, water-vapor molecules slow down and capacity
A) increases.
B) decreases.
C) outpaces condensation.
D) increases to maximum humidity.
Answer:
What is the mass of an oxygen atom, O, in grams?
A) 16 grams
B) 1.661 grams
C) 2.66 grams
D) none of the above
Answer:
The reason that the Moon takes on a crescent shape each month has to do with the
A) Earth’s shadow.
B) Sun’s position.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Answer:
Chemical equations need to be balanced not only in terms of the number of atoms, but
also by the charge. In other words, just as there should be the same number of atoms
before and after the arrow of an equation, there should be the same charge. What set of
coefficients is necessary to balance the following chemical equation?
________ + ________ Ag → ________ Sn + ________ Ag⁺
A) 1, 2, 1, 2
B) 1, 1, 1, 2
C) 1, 2, 2, 2
D) 1, 1, 2, 1
Answer:
A bow wave is produced in water when the speed of an object
A) matches the speed of waves in water.
B) exceeds the speed of waves in water.
C) is less than the speed of waves in water.
D) none of the above
Answer:
Which of the following couldNOT be represented by a conceptual model?
A) the energy of a nucleus
B) the floor plan of a house
C) the weather
D) the behavior of schoolchildren
E) both A and B
Answer:
What happens to the pH of an acidic solution as water is added?
A) The pH is not influenced by the addition of water.
B) The pH will decrease as the solution becomes more dilute.
C) The pH will increase as the solution becomes more dilute.
D) The pH will decrease since more hydronium ions are produced from the water.
Answer:
Escape speed from Earth is
A) 8 km/s.
B) 9.8 km/s.
C) 11.2 km/s.
D) 42.2 km/s.
Answer:
The speed of sound varies with
A) loudness.
B) frequency.
C) wavelength.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Answer:
Two tuning forks produce sounds of wavelengths 3.4 m and 3.3 m. Assuming the speed
of sound is 340 m/s, the beat frequency produced is
A) 0.1 Hz.
B) 1.0 Hz.
C) 2.0 Hz.
D) 3.0 Hz.
E) 4.0 Hz.
Answer:
Colors seen on the cover of our paper-bound physical science text book result from
color
A) addition.
B) subtraction.
C) either
D) neither
Answer:
For the following reaction, identify whether the compound in bold is behaving as an
acid or a base.
H3PO4 + H2O H⇌2PO4
– + H3O+
A) acid
B) base
C) neither
D) both
E) none of the above
Answer:
A very massive object A and a less massive object B move toward each other under the
influence of gravity. Which force, if either, is greater?
A) the force on A
B) the force on B
C) both forces on each other are the same
Answer:
According to Einstein, gravity is not the force exerted by one object on another, but
rather the
A) effect we witness when a large mass causes a curvature in the shape of spacetime.
B) force of attraction that exists between two objects.
C) effects of the graviton particle.
D) curvature of space caused by objects reaching the speed of light.
Answer:
The main reason you can walk barefoot on red-hot coals of wood without burning your
feet involves
A) low temperature of the coals.
B) low conductivity of the coals.
C) mind over matter techniques.
Answer:
A given net force propels an object along a straight-line path. If the net force were
doubled, its acceleration would
A) quadruple.
B) double.
C) stay the same.
D) be half.
E) none of the above
Answer:
Air moves from
A) a region of low pressure to a region of high pressure.
B) a region of high pressure to a region of low pressure.
C) a region of stability to a region of instability.
D) a cold front to a warm front.
Answer:
When we consider how frequently an oscillating system vibrates we’re talking about
A) frequency.
B) period.
C) wavelength.
D) amplitude.
Answer:
Why does a sonic boom irritate people on the ground below a supersonic aircraft and
not passengers inside the aircraft?
Answer:
Describe the seafloor spreading theory.
Answer:
Does a rising moist air mass or a descending moist air mass produce precipitation?
Why?
Answer:
Why does sea level rise when spreading rate increases?
Answer:
In dating a mineral, what is meant by “resetting of the mineral’s time clock”?
Answer:
Helium gas has the special property that its thermal energy is directly proportional to its
Kelvin temperature. Consider a flask of helium with a temperature of 10C. If it is
heated until it has twice as much thermal energy, show that its temperature is 293C.
Why would doubling the thermal energy of a flask of 10C water not produce the same
temperature?
Answer:
Distinguish between the concepts of thermal energy, temperature, and heat.
Answer:
If the Earth were not spinning, what direction would the surface winds blow at 15 south
latitude? Why?
Answer:
Briefly describe how thunder and lightning develop.
Answer:
When viewing a seascape, what is a major difference in the effect of wearing polarizing
sunglasses versus sunglasses that simply cut down on intensity?
Answer:
How does silica content effect volcanic eruptions?
Answer:
Explain why the sky is blue.
Answer:
What three factors affect porosity?
Answer:
What is the El Nio condition?
Answer:
How are air convection cycles generated?
Answer:
What is an adiabatic process?
Answer:
Are sand dunes stationary or do they move and migrate?
Answer:
What is “frictional drag” and how does it affect the external movement of a glacier?
Answer:
What type of pressure system is needed for upwelling to occur along the western coast
of North America? Explain.
Answer:
We know that any body more dense than water will sink in water. Why?
Answer: