Quantum uncertainties are most predominant for simultaneously measuring the speed
and location of
A) a baseball.
B) a spitball.
C) an electron.
D) none of the above
Fraunhofer lines are apparent in
A) absorption spectra.
B) emission spectra.
C) Doppler shifts.
D) a variety of energy levels.
E) none of the above
A rocket coasts in an elliptical orbit about Earth. To attain escape velocity using the
least amount of fuel in a brief firing time, should it fire off at the apogee, or at the
perigee? (Hint: Let Fd = ∆ KE guide your thinking.)
A) perigee, where it is closest and fastest
B) apogee, where it is farthest and slowest
C) same at either location
D) same at any location
An object covers a distance of 8 meters in the first second of travel, another 8 meters
during the next second, and 8 meters again during the third second. Its acceleration is
A) 0 m/s2.
B) 5 m/s2.
C) 8 m/s2.
D) 24 m/s2.
Spectral lines take the shape of vertical lines because
A) the light is vertically polarized.
B) they are images of a vertical slit.
C) the energy levels in the atom are parallel to one another.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
According to Kepler, the speed of a planet is slowest when it is
A) closest to the Sun.
B) farthest from the Sun.
C) neither, for speed is a constant.
An object is dropped and freely falls to the ground with acceleration g. If it is thrown
upward at an angle instead, neglecting air drag, the acceleration along its path will be
A) less than g.
B) the same.
C) more than g.
Which interacts more with high-frequency light?
A) large particles
B) small particles
C) both the same
When ice floats in water, a small part of it extends above the surface. Interestingly, the
volume of ice that extends above the surface is equal to the volume of the
A) water the ice displaces.
B) vast number of open spaces in all the hexagonal ice crystals.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
The rule stating that the sum of two emitted frequencies in an atomic spectrum equals a
third frequency is attributed to the physicist
A) Niels Bohr.
B) Max Planck.
C) W. Ritz.
D) Einstein
The type of radio wave that produces the least static in a radio receiver is
A) AM.
B) FM.
C) neither of these
Due to inertia, perhaps a railroad train in motion should continue moving indefinitely
when its engine is turned off. This is not observed because railroad trains
A) aren’t massive enough.
B) are too heavy.
C) ride on straight tracks.
D) encounter opposing forces.
The pupil of your eye is a net
A) absorber of radiant energy.
B) emitter of radiant energy.
C) reflector of radiant energy.
D) none of the above
When you and your snowboard are in motion, which of the following can be zero?
A) momentum
B) kinetic energy
C) mass
D) inertia
E) none of the above
A water wave passes by a floating leaf that is made to oscillate up and down two
complete cycles each second, which means that the wave’s frequency is
A) 0.5 Hz.
B) 1 Hz.
C) 2 Hz.
D) 3 Hz.
E) 6 Hz.
Compared to the mass of an apple on Earth, the mass of the apple on the Moon is
A) one sixth as much.
B) the same.
C) six times as much.
D) zero.
The principle of equivalence tells us that
A) mass and energy are forms of each other.
B) space and time are forms of each other.
C) electricity and magnetism are forms of each other.
D) observations made in an accelerating reference frame are indistinguishable from
those made in a gravitational field.
E) all of the above
An object released from rest on another planet requires one second to fall a distance of
6 meters. What is the acceleration due to gravity on this planet?
A) 3 m/s2
B) 6 m/s2
C) 12 m/s2
D) 15 m/s2
E) none of the above
A ball is thrown upward and caught when it returns. Compared with its initial speed and
in the presence of air resistance, the speed with which it is caught is
A) more.
B) less.
C) the same.
D) need more information.
The depth to which an inverted drinking glass must be pushed beneath the water surface
to squeeze the enclosed air to half its volume is
A) 76 cm.
B) 10.3 m.
C) 14.7 m.
D) 20.6 m.
E) 29.4 m.
If light in a spectroscope were passed through a star-shaped opening instead of a thin
slit, spectral lines would appear as
A) lines of poorer resolution.
B) stars.
C) blobs of no definite shape.
The energy of sound in air eventually becomes
A) increased internal energy in the air.
B) weaker and weaker until it disappears.
C) cancelled by destructive interference.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
If a loaf of bread is compressed its
A) density decreases.
B) density increases.
C) neither of these
Newton discovered
A) gravity.
B) that gravity is universal.
C) neither of these
When a ball falls downward, it may have a net force
A) equal to its weight.
B) of zero.
C) equal to its weight minus air drag.
D) any of the above
E) none of the above
What is conserved when a photon collides with an electron?
A) momentum
B) energy
C) both of these
D) neither of these
When riding at constant velocity on a Segway electric vehicle, your center of mass is
A) slightly in front of the point between wheels below.
B) slightly behind the point between wheels below.
C) directly above the point between wheels below.
Inside the same room, buoyant force is greater on
A) a helium-filled party balloon.
B) an elephant.
C) both the same
An astronaut on another planet drops a 1-kg rock from rest. The astronaut notices that
the rock falls 2 meters straight down in one second. On this planet, how much does the
rock weigh?
A) 1 N
B) 4 N
C) 5 N
D) 10 N
An elephant radiates less heat for its size than smaller animals because
A) its radiating area is small compared to its volume.
B) its radiating area is large compared to its volume.
C) it is taller than smaller animals.
D) it weighs more than smaller animals.
Recall Galileo’s Leaning Tower experiment. With negligible air resistance, a heavy and
a light object fall
A) with equal accelerations.
B) with the same increases in speed.
C) to the ground in equal times.
D) all of the above
The energy released by the Sun is the outcome of atomic nuclei
1) breaking apart,
2) combining together,
and radioactive by-products are a chief result of atomic nuclei
3) breaking apart.
4) combining together.
5) doing neither.
Figure N-8
The trajectory of a cannonball fired from a canon depends on
1) the initial velocity.
2) the angle of projection.
3) the effects of air resistance.
4) all of these.
When air resistance does affect motion, the cannonball doesn’t travel
5) as high.
6) as far.
7) as high and as far.
The property of objects to resist a change in motion is called
1) friction,
2) velocity,
3) inertia,
4) acceleration,
5) gravity,
and it is measured by its
6) speed.
7) velocity.
8) mass.
9) all of these.
When the momentum of a punch is stopped by the fighter’s jaw, he “rides with the
punch” so as to
1) decrease the velocity of the blow,
2) increase the time of contact of the blow,
and thereby reduce the
3) force.
4) impulse.
5) momentum.
6) energy.
Figure V-4
Which of the sailboats shown sails the fastest in its forward direction?
1) 1
2) 2
3) 3
4) 4
It is interesting to note that
5) this is the only boat that sails forward.
6) only two of the boats sail forward.
7) three out of the four boats sail forward.
8) all sail forward, but at different speeds.
Figure V-3
The weight of the barrel on the slope is shown by the vector which has components (not
shown) parallel to the surface of the incline and perpendicular to the surface of the
incline. Judging from the slope of incline, the greater of these two components is
1) parallel to the slope.
2) perpendicular to the slope.
3) both the same.
4) need more information
If the slope of the incline were steeper, this component vector would
5) decrease.
6) remain the same.
7) increase.
8) again, can’t really say.
Figure E-4
The center of gravity for each truck is marked X. Which truck(s) will tip over?
1) Truck 1
2) Truck 2
3) Truck 3
4) All will tip.
This is because
5) its center of gravity is highest.
6) its center of gravity is lowest.
7) its center of gravity lies beyond a point of support.
8) all the centers of gravity lie above the wheelbases.
Figure E/M-2
Refer to the identical lamps above. If the current in lamp 1 is one ampere, then the
current in lamp 2 is
1) 1/2 A
2) 1/3 A
3) 1 A
4) 2 A
5) 3 A
and the voltage across lamp 2 is
6) 1/2 V.
7) 1/3 V.
8) 1 V.
9) 1.5 V.
10) 3 V.
Figure V-8
Which of the sailboats shown sails fastest in its forward direction?
1) 1
2) 2
3) 3
4) None sails forward.
It is interesting to note that the force of the wind impact is
5) nonexistent on each sail.
6) greatest on 1.
7) greatest on 2.
8) greatest on 3.
Part of a wreck from a ship weighs 500 N. It displaces 100 N of fluid. The buoyant
force acting on it is
1) 100 N.
2) 250 N.
3) 500 N.
From this we can see that the buoyant force is equal to the
4) weight of the submerged object.
5) volume of fluid displaced.
6) difference between the weight of the object and the weight of fluid.
7) weight of fluid displaced.
The “after glow” from some clock faces is caused by atoms
1) being excited,
2) vibrating at frequencies greater than a million billion times per second,
3) remaining for some time in a state of excitation before de-exciting,
and materials exhibiting this property are called
4) fluorescent.
5) phosphorescent.
6) incandescent.
7) luminescent.
Rainbows exist because light in water drops is
1) reflected.
2) refracted.
3) both of these
And the main reason drops disperse different colors involves light’s different
4) frequencies.
5) speeds.
6) directions.
7) energies.
A stone submerged in water displaces a volume of water
1) greater than volume of stone.
2) less than volume of stone.
3) equal to volume of stone.
If the stone were of low-enough density to be able to float, it would displace a volume
of water
4) greater than its volume.
5) less than its volume.
6) equal to its volume.
Sound travels through the air in the form of
1) transverse waves,
2) longitudinal waves,
and radio signals travel through the air in the form of
3) transverse waves.
4) longitudinal waves.
A sports car and a moving van move at the same speed when they crash into a cement
wall and stop equally quickly. The vehicle to have the greater force of impact will be
1) the sports car,
2) the van,
3) neither, for they experience equal forces of impact
because
4) they are traveling at the same speed.
5) the van’s momentum is much greater.
6) the sport car has a greater change in velocity upon impact.
7) they both have equal momentum.