Emily Easygo can paddle her canoe at 8 m/s in still water. With this speed she then
paddles upstream in a river that runs downstream at 6 m/s. Her friend sitting on shore
sees her speed as
A) 2 m/s.
B) 6 m/s.
C) 8 m/s.
D) 10 m/s.
Answer:
The jet streams
A) are high-speed winds in the upper troposphere.
B) play an essential role in the transfer of heat energy from the Equator to the Poles.
C) are generated by strong temperature and pressure gradients.
D) are high speed winds generated by temperature and pressure differences.
Answer:
How does an atom’s electronegativity relate to its ability to become oxidized?
A) The greater the electronegativity of an atom, the greater its ability to become
oxidized.
B) The lower the electronegativity of an atom, the lower its ability to become oxidized.
C) The greater the electronegativity of an atom, the lower its ability to become
oxidized.
D) Electronegativity does not effect the atom’s ability to become oxidized.
Answer:
An amino acid is an organic molecule that contains both an amine group and a carboxyl
group. At neutral pH, which structure is most likely:
A) structure (a)
B) structure (b)
C) neither structure
D) both structures
Answer:
Which of the following is not the name of a chemical family?
A) heavy metals
B) transition metals
C) alkali metals
D) alkaline-earth metals
E) noble gases
Answer:
If the orbit of Mercury were perfectly circular, its rate of precession would be
A) larger than it is now.
B) smaller than it is now.
C) the same as it is now.
D) zero.
Answer:
Radium-226 is a common isotope on Earth, but has a half-life of about 1600 years.
Given that Earth is some 5 billions years old, why is there any radium at all?
A) Radium-226 is one of several self-transmutating isotopes of the elements of the
periodic table and is able to replenish itself so that it is never depleted.
B) Radium-226 and Radium-218 undergo a series of transmutation reactions of alpha
and beta decay to repeatedly become one another approximately every 1600 years.
C) Radium-226 is a “daughter” isotope and the result of the radioactive decay of
uranium.
D) Radium-226 and Astatine-218 are converted back and forth via transmutation to one
another at each of their respective half-life cycles.
Answer:
Transparency of the atmosphere is lowest for radiation of
A) ultraviolet light.
B) visible light.
C) infrared light.
Answer:
A negatively charged rod is brought near a metal can that rests on a wooden table. You
touch the opposite side of the can momentarily with your finger. The can then becomes
A) positively charged.
B) negatively charged.
C) uncharged.
Answer:
Classify the following as element, compound, or mixture, and justify your
classifications: table salt, stainless steel, table sugar, aluminum, ice.
A) mixture; element; compound; element; element
B) compound; mixture; compound element; compound
C) mixture; compound; mixture; element; compound
D) compound; element; compound; element; compound
Answer:
You experience weightlessness
A) in the absence of a supporting surface.
B) momentarily when you step off a chair.
C) in a freely falling elevator.
D) all of the above
Answer:
A sound source of high frequency emits a high
A) speed.
B) amplitude.
C) pitch.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Answer:
A bullet fired horizontally hits the ground in 0.5 s. If it had been fired with twice the
velocity it would have hit the ground in
A) less than 0.5 s.
B) more than 0.5 s.
C) 0.5 s.
Answer:
Sublimation is a change of phase from solid to gas without
A) passing through the liquid phase.
B) a transfer of energy.
C) a change of temperature.
Answer:
What is the relationship between the hydroxide ion and a water molecule?
A) A hydroxide ion is a water molecule plus a proton.
B) A hydroxide ion and a water molecule are the same things.
C) A hydroxide ion is a water molecule minus a hydrogen nucleus.
D) A hydroxide ion is a water molecule plus two extra electrons.
Answer:
Most of the world’s water is in
A) icecaps.
B) glaciers.
C) rivers and lakes.
D) the oceans.
Answer:
The Moon continually falls toward Earth, but doesn’t get closer because
A) the distance of fall is very small.
B) its tangential velocity causes it to fall around as well as toward Earth.
C) gravitation is extremely weak at the Earth-Moon distance.
Answer:
A soda can with a small amount of water is on a hot stove. Soon steam comes from its
opening. When the can is quickly inverted into a pan of water, the can is crushed by
A) suction of the can interior.
B) condensation.
C) atmospheric pressure.
D) a drop in temperature.
Answer:
Young Earth developed a layered structure under the influence of
A) impact heating and convection in its interior.
B) gravitational contraction and radioactive decay.
C) meteorite bombardment.
D) gravity and density segregationthe process of differentiation.
Answer:
Which of the following nuclear equations correctly describes alpha emission?
A) Th → Pa + e
B) Th → Ac + e
C) Th → Pa + e
D) Th → e
E) none of the above
Answer:
The carbon dioxide cycle is important to Earth because it
A) helps sustain the planet’s plant base.
B) has been recognized by the Nobel Prize award committee.
C) and the oceans are critical in moderating and regulating the Earth’s temperatures.
D) prevents the gradual buildup of oxygen, which would eventually lead to a
combustible atmosphere.
Answer:
The image in a pinhole camera is
A) always inverted.
B) sometimes inverted.
C) always right-side up.
Answer:
Two boundaries associated with seafloor spreading centers are
A) convergent boundaries and transform fault boundaries.
B) divergent boundaries and transform fault boundaries.
C) oceanic-oceanic boundaries and divergent boundaries.
D) divergent boundaries and convergent boundaries.
Answer:
Why is flushing a toilet with clean water from a municipal supply about as wasteful as
flushing it with bottled water?
A) Bottled water is typically made from municipal water.
B) Municipal water and bottle water have about the same level of purity.
C) Both the bottled water and municipal water are generally free of pathogens.
D) all of the above
Answer:
Light bends when it
A) passes a massive star.
B) passes through a gravitational field.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Answer:
No net force acts on a loop of wire in a magnetic field when
A) no current is in the loop.
B) no magnetic field lines pass through the loop.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Answer:
How is it possible that today’s diverse universe was able to arise from that which was
very homogeneous at its first moments?
A) Inflation magnified ultrasmall quantum variations in position and momenta.
B) There is evidence of a second, slightly smaller Big Bang that took place very shortly
after the initial Big Bang, which would account for the variation in structure.
C) The rapidly cooling universe created massive quantities of hydrogen, and then
helium, which interacted with each other to create regions of relative structure.
D) Entropy immediately came into effect, slowing down some areas of expansion,
while increasing others.
Answer:
Is an ionic compound an example of a chemical compound, or is a chemical compound
an example of an ionic compound?
A) An chemical compound is an example of a ionic compound.
B) Neither is an example of the other.
C) Each is an example of the other.
D) An ionic compound is an example of a chemical compound.
Answer:
A heavy rock and a light rock in free fall have the same acceleration because the
A) force due to gravity is the same on each.
B) air resistance is always zero in free fall.
C) inertia of each is the same.
D) ratio of force to mass is the same.
E) none of the above
Answer:
Charge carriers in a metal are electrons rather than protons because electrons are
A) negative.
B) smaller.
C) loosely bound.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Answer:
Earth’s early life forms were marine organisms. Life moved to the land during the
A) Cambrian period.
B) Ordovician period.
C) Silurian period.
D) Triassic period.
Answer: