Archives: Quiz

Helium, He, is a nonmetallic gas and the second element in the periodic table. Rather than being placed adjacent to hydrogen, H, however, helium is placed on the far right of the table because A) hydrogen and helium repel one […]

The overflow of gasoline from a car’s full metal tank on a hot day is evidence that gasoline expands A) more than metal. B) about the same as metal. C) less than metal. D) none of the above. Answer: Hot […]

A spinning cloud of interstellar gas tends to A) disperse. B) flatten. C) turn into a sphere. D) condense. Answer: An object travels 8 m in the 1st second of travel, 8 m again during the 2nd second of travel, […]

A Doppler effect occurs when a source of sound moves A) toward you. B) away from you. C) either of these D) none of the above Answer: Einstein theories tell us that the speed of light A) depends on one’s […]

Radiocarbon dating is limited to the remains of plants and animals that died no longer than about A) 100 years ago. B) 5700 years ago. C) 40,000 years ago. D) 1,000,000 years ago. Answer: It is theorized that a pulsar […]

An outcome of universal gravitation is that A) planets aren’t cubes with sharp corners. B) its discovery prompted other laws of nature. C) it provided prediction and discovery of planets. D) all of the above Answer: Explain how radioactive decay […]

Very importantly, a hydraulic press can multiply A) forces. B) pressures. C) energy. D) all of the above E) none of the above Answer: The acceleration of a Tesla that maintains a constant velocity of 120 km/h over a time […]

Subduction occurs as a result of A) slab pullgravity pulls older and denser lithosphere downward. B) horizontal plate accommodation. C) upwelling of hot mantle material along the trench. D) lubrication from the generation of andesitic magma. Answer: The discharge of […]

The speeds of the planets about the Sun depend on A) their distances from the Sun. B) the masses of the planets. C) both of these D) none of the above Answer: While in an airplane flying at 100 km/h […]

What coefficient is needed in front of the O2 molecule to balance the following equation? 2 (g) + ________ (g) → 8 (g) + 10 O (l) A) 8 B) 13 C) 5 D) 1 Answer: A Starburst galaxy has […]

The density of air at room temperature is about 1.2 g/cm3. Estimate the mass of air inside a 0.80-m3 volume refrigerator. (There are 1 million cm3 in 1 m3.) A) 0.96 g B) 960 kg C) 1000 kg D) more […]

When an apple falls to the ground, momentum is transferred to the ground. The momentum absorbed by the ground is A) negligible compared to the momentum of the apple. B) greater if the apple bounces. C) greater than that of […]

Compared with a 1-kg block of solid iron, a 2-kg block of solid iron has twice as much A) inertia. B) mass. C) volume. D) all of the above E) none of the above Answer: Why is there a drastic […]

A boat at anchor is rocked by waves whose crests are 40 m apart and with wave speed 10 m/s. These waves reach the boat once every A) 400 s. B) 30 s. C) 4 s. D) 0.25 s. Answer: […]

The internal pressure of a fluid that gains speed A) increases. B) remains unchanged. C) decreases. Answer: An electric generator A) can create enough energy to light cities. B) can convert mechanical energy to electric energy. C) needs no energy […]

The principal difference between a step-up and step-down transformer is A) step-up transformers can handle more current. B) different geometries. C) different ratios of turns for each set of loops or coils. D) none of the above Answer: Action and […]

The volume of water that flows past a given point in a channel during a specified time is called A) load. B) gradient. C) discharge. D) runoff. Answer: A parachutist falling at constant velocity is in a state of A) […]

A large block of wood and a small block of iron each register 2000 N on a weighing scale. Taking buoyancy of air into account, which has the greater mass? A) wood B) iron C) both the same Answer: A […]

What is the name for the following polyatomic ion? PO4 -3 A) phosphate B) phosphorus oxide C) phosphinate D) trioxo phosphoride E) potassium Answer: The white light from the Sun is a A) compliment of the surrounding blue sky. B) […]

The most powerful agent of erosion is A) stream flow. B) glacial action. C) action from waves and ocean currents. D) wind. Answer: Does a radioactive isotope ever lose its radioactivity? A) yes B) no C) sometimes D) usually Answer: […]

Air becomes saturated when its temperature A) falls to a point where water vapor molecules evaporate. B) rises to a point where water vapor molecules condense. C) rises to a point where water vapor molecules evaporate. D) falls to a […]

The Milky Way is A) a spiral galaxy. B) an elliptical galaxy. C) an irregular galaxy. D) a galaxy in the making. E) the remains of a galaxy that has run its life course. Answer: A spinning tossed baseball veers […]

Water is 88.88 percent oxygen by mass. Oxygen is exactly what a fire needs to grow brighter and stronger. So why doesn’t a fire grow brighter and stronger when water is added to it? A) Oxygen in water is already […]

At the end of the Paleozoic era, all A) dinosaurs became extinct. B) flowering plants grew to great heights. C) fish species became extinct. D) trilobites became extinct. Answer: Fossils are found in A) sedimentary rocks. B) metamorphic rock. C) […]

When the voltage across a steady resistance is doubled, the current A) is half. B) remains the same. C) is doubled. D) is quadrupled. Answer: Evidence for dark matter is exhibited by the A) relatively similar speeds at which all […]

If molecules in the sky scattered red-orange light strongly instead of blue light, sunsets would be A) orange. B) yellow. C) green. D) blue. Answer: According to most estimates, Earth is approximately A) 4.5 thousand years old. B) 4.5 million […]

A beam of protons and a beam of neutrons of the same energy are both harmful to living tissue. The beam of neutrons, however, is less harmful. Why? A) Neutrons are much smaller and lighter than protons and would do […]

In a gaseous mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, the faster molecules on average are A) hydrogen. B) oxygen. C) both the same D) not enough information Answer: Basaltic volcanic eruptions tend to be A) slow moving and highly viscous. B) […]

If the Sun were twice as massive, A) its pull on the Earth would double. B) Earth’s pull on the Sun would double. C) both of these D) none of the above Answer: The outer core A) has a plastic-like […]

Which of the following not generally thought of as matter? A) light B) trees C) air D) clouds E) rain Answer: A standing wave can occur when A) two waves overlap. B) a wave reflects upon itself. C) the speed […]

While driving down the highway a lovebug spatters onto your windshield. Which undergoes the greater impulse? A) the lovebug B) your car C) both the same Answer: All continental landmasses joined together as Pangaea resulted in A) a reduction in […]

Luminosity is A) the total amount of light energy that star emits into space. B) the stars apparent brightness. C) the stars particular color spectrum output. D) the stars total infrared output. Answer: In science, an educated guess is a […]

The Moon’s reflected image in a lake often appears as a vertical column when the water is A) perfectly still. B) slightly rough. C) very rough, churning with waves. Answer: Consider a gun with a pellet that is more massive […]

In a sequence of rock layers we find trilobite fossils at the bottom of rock layer 1 and dinosaur fossils directly above the fossil trilobites in layer 2. There are inclusions of trilobites in layer 2. We conclude that A) […]

Like Jupiter and Saturn, Neptune emits about 2.5 times as much heat energy as it receives from the Sun, although calculations show it should have already lost all of its original heat. What is the most likely explanation? A) Unlike […]

The brightest color emitted by the Sun is A) red. B) yellow-green. C) blue. D) all the same Answer: Water at 4C will contract when it is slightly A) cooled. B) warmed. C) both of these D) none of the […]

A galvanometer calibrated to read current is A) an ammeter. B) a voltmeter. C) an ohm meter. D) none of the above Answer: A mirage is a result of atmospheric A) reflection. B) refraction. C) scattering. D) dispersion. E) aberrations. […]

The Sun A) rotates in the same direction as the planets revolve. B) rotates in the opposite direction as the planets revolve. C) does not rotate relative to the planets. D) takes longer to rotate than for the planets to […]

The volume of water displaced by a floating 20-ton boat is A) 20 cubic meters. B) the volume of 20 tons of water. C) the volume of the boat. D) depends on the shape of the ship’s hull. E) none […]

Which of the following statements accurately describes the action of ozone? A) It absorbs UV radiation and undergoes fragmentation. B) It reflects UV radiation back into space. C) It reflects heat back into space. D) It emits UV radiation when […]

How long does it take for Earth to revolve around the Sun? A) one day B) one week C) one month D) one year Answer: When Paul compresses air with a tire pump, the temperature of the compressed air A) […]

The Big Bang occurred A) at the tip of your nose. B) at the center of each galaxy. C) at some undetermined yet vastly distant point. D) within an unusually large supernova. Answer: The climatic zones of Pangaea ranged from […]

R = reactants P = products For the above energy profiles, which reaction has the lowest activation energy? A) a B) b C) c D) d E) All have the same activation energy. Answer: What is the purpose of a […]

The following statement describes which subatomic particle best? It is electrically charged. A) an electron B) a proton C) a neutron D) A and B E) B and C Answer: The source of electrons lighting an incandescent ac light bulb […]

A music console is pushed 2 m by a force of 20 N. The work done on the console is A) 2 J. B) 10 J. C) 20 J. D) 40 J. E) 80 J. Answer: The force that accelerates […]

Our local group consists of A) 1 major galaxy. B) 2 major galaxies. C) 3 major galaxies. D) about a dozen major galaxies. Answer: The source of an atom’s electronegativity is the A) repulsive force occurring among electrons within the […]

The Earlybird communication satellite hovers over the same point on Earth’s equator indefinitely because A) forces other than Earth’s gravity act on it. B) it pulls as hard on Earth as Earth pulls on it. C) it is beyond the […]

Power is defined as the A) force exerted divided by the time of exertion. B) force exerted multiplied by the distance moved. C) work done multiplied by the time to do the work. D) work done divided by the time […]

When a 10-N object is suspended at rest by two equally-taut vertical strands of rope, the tension in each strand is A) less than 5 N. B) 5 N. C) more than 5 N. D) 10 N. Answer: Although tornadoes […]

The electric force between charges is strongest when the charges are A) close together. B) far apart. C) either of these Answer: According to the following balanced chemical equation, if you want to generate two moles of H2O how many […]