If each dimension of a steel bridge is scaled up ten times, its strength will be multiplied
by about
A) ten and its weight by ten also.
B) one hundred, and its weight by one thousand.
C) one thousand, and its weight by one hundred thousand.
D) none of the above
Answer:
Energy released by the Sun results from the process wherein atomic nuclei
A) break apart.
B) combine.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Answer:
Your weight is the force
A) due to gravity only.
B) you exert against a supporting surface.
C) equal to your normal force on any surface.
Answer:
An empty jar is pushed open-side downward into water so that trapped air cannot
escape. As it is pushed deeper, the buoyant force on the jar
A) increases.
B) decreases.
C) increases, then decreases.
D) decreases, then increases.
E) remains the same.
Answer:
An 80-km/h airplane flying in the same direction as a 10 km/h tail wind has a
groundspeed of
A) 10 km/h.
B) 70 km/h.
C) 80 km/h.
D) 90 km/h.
Answer:
Discrete radii and energy states of atoms were first explained by electrons circling the
atom in an integral number of
A) wave frequencies.
B) de Broglie wavelengths.
C) diffraction patterns.
D) high-speed particles.
E) none of the above
Answer:
A 5-kg shark swimming at 1 m/s swallows an absent-minded 1-kg fish swimming
toward it at 4 m/s. The speed of the shark after his meal is
A) 1/2 m/s.
B) 1/5 m/s.
C) 1/6 m/s.
D) 2/3 m/s.
E) 3/2 m/s.
Answer:
A transistor is an example of a
A) resistor.
B) superconductor.
C) semiconductor.
D) dry cell.
E) transmitter.
Answer:
In gaseous form at the same temperature, the average speed of U-238 compared to the
speed of U-235 is
A) less.
B) more.
C) the same.
Answer:
Alcohol is less dense than water. If alcohol is used to make a barometer at normal
atmospheric pressure, the height of the alcohol column would be
A) less than 10.3 m.
B) 10.3 m.
C) more than 10.3 m.
Answer:
The long, heavy tail of a spider monkey enables the monkey to easily vary its
A) weight.
B) momentum.
C) inertia.
D) center of gravity.
E) none of the above
Answer:
By scattering alpha particles from gold, Rutherford showed the atomic nucleus to be
very
A) small relative to the atom.
B) massive relative to the mass of an electron.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Answer:
As a system becomes more disordered, entropy
A) increases.
B) decreases.
C) remains the same.
Answer:
Whereas loudness is a physiological sensation, sound intensity is
A) the same.
B) measurable with acoustical instruments.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Answer:
If the orbit of Mercury were perfectly circular, its rate of precession would be
A) larger.
B) smaller.
C) the same.
D) zero.
Answer:
When water freezes, the surrounding air is
A) cooled.
B) warmed.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Answer:
The fact that you can see stars in the nighttime sky is evidence that
A) our atmosphere is transparent to visible light.
B) light can travel in a vacuum.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Answer:
Sustained energy output by fusion is a daily occurrence in
A) military installations.
B) breeder reactors.
C) the Sun.
D) Earth’s interior.
Answer:
The fastest moving planet in a solar system is the
A) smallest planet.
B) most massive planet.
C) planet nearest the Sun.
D) planet farthest from the Sun.
E) all move at the same speed.
Answer:
When you adjust a telescope to get a clear image of Saturn’s rings, in a small but
measurable way you alter
A) the telescope.
B) Saturn’s rings.
C) both of these
D) neither these
Answer:
Casually sneaking a quick peek at a photo in your mobile phone
A) adds energy to the photo.
B) subtracts energy from the photo.
C) brings you into an observer-observed relationship that intrigues some science types.
D) changes the phone itself
E) none of the above
Answer:
If the specific heat capacity of water were lower than it is, a nice hot bath would be a
A) shorter experience.
B) longer experience.
C) same regardless of water’s specific heat capacity.
Answer:
A certain radioactive isotope placed near a Geiger counter registers 160 counts per
minute. Eight hours later, the counter registers 10 counts per minute. What is the
half-life of the isotope?
A) 8 hours
B) 6 hours
C) 4 hours
D) 2 hours
E) none of the above
Answer:
What is special about the ratio distance traveled per unit of time?
A) it is constant for light
B) it is relative to a frame of reference
C) distance traveled very much depends on time
Answer:
Vibrating air columns relate to which instrument?
A) guitar
B) harp
C) trumpet
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Answer:
When taking a photo of a nearby flower, your camera lens should be set
A) closer than one focal length from the photosensitive surface.
B) farther than one focal length from the photosensitive surface.
C) to one focal length from the photosensitive surface.
Answer:
One end of a rope is pulled with 100 N, while the opposite end also is pulled with 100
N. The tension in the rope is
A) 0 N.
B) 50 N.
C) 100 N.
D) 200 N.
Answer:
A push on a 1-kg brick accelerates it. Neglecting friction, equally accelerating a 10-kg
brick requires
A) just as much force.
B) 10 times as much force.
C) 100 times as much force.
D) one-tenth the amount of force.
E) none of the above
Answer:
If a stone falls to the bottom of a mineshaft in 6 seconds, then the depth of the shaft is
about
A) 60 m.
B) 120 m.
C) 180 m.
D) more than 200 m.
Answer:
A constant net force on a rail-road car produces constant
A) velocity.
B) acceleration.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Answer:
While a rock thrown upward at 50 degrees to the horizontal rises, neglecting air drag,
its horizontal component of velocity
A) increases.
B) remains unchanged.
C) decreases.
Answer:
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
Answer:
An observer moving with a light clock in a spaceship sees a light flash bouncing up and
down between parallel mirrors in 1 nanosecond. An observer at rest outside the
spaceship sees the same up-and-down flash in
A) 1 nanosecond also.
B) less than 1 nanosecond.
C) more than 1 nanosecond.
Answer:
Earth’s atmosphere gets most of its heat from the
A) Sun.
B) Earth’s core.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Answer:
If an all-electric car has kinetic energy, then it also must have
A) impulse.
B) momentum.
C) acceleration.
D) force.
E) none of the above
Answer:
If you are standing on the Moon and release a strong balloon filled with helium gas, the
balloon will
1) rise.
2) fall.
3) neither rise nor fall.
This occurs because
4) helium gas is lighter than air.
5) the Moon does not have an atmosphere.
6) gravity is weaker on the Moon.
Answer:
If a battleship in a canal lock sinks, the water level in the canal will
1) rise.
2) fall.
3) remain unchanged.
In the submerged condition, the amount of water displaced is equal to the battleship’s
4) weight.
5) volume.
6) density.
Answer:
Earth satellites are typically more than 100 km high so as to be above Earth’s
1) atmosphere,
2) gravitational field,
3) both the atmosphere and the gravitational field,
and if its path is circular at that altitude, then the satellite has a constant
4) speed.
5) acceleration.
6) radial distance from Earth.
7) all of these
8) none of the above
Answer:
Figure N-1
When the spool is pulled to the left, it accelerates toward the
1) right,
2) left,
which illustrates the fact that
3) for every force there is an equal and opposite reaction force.
4) net force and acceleration act in the same direction.
Answer:
Figure V-2
A block is pulled across a floor as shown in the vector diagram. The greater component
of F is in the
1) horizontal direction,
2) vertical direction,
although both horizontal and vertical components would be of equal magnitude if
vector F were
3) horizontal.
4) vertical.
5) at an angle of 45o.
Answer:
Figure N-5
The two men compete in a tug of war. Both pull equally and the scale reads 800
newtons. Each man must pull with a force of
1) 400 N.
2) 800 N.
3) 0 N.
Consider action and reaction forces in this case: If action is the man on the left pulling
on the rope, then the reaction force is
4) the rope pulling on the man on the left.
5) the rope pulling on the man on the right.
6) the man on the right pulling on the rope.
Answer:
An umbrella has a tendency to move upward when it is windy principally because
1) moving air over the curved surface produces reduced pressure against its top.
2) air moves up into the “bowl” and pushes upward with increased pressure.
3) buoyancy increases with increasing wind speed.
4) the umbrella is simply pushed upward by the wind.
This effect was first accurately described by
5) Galileo.
6) Newton.
7) Bernoulli.
8) Einstein.
9) Archimedes.
Answer:
To say that an object is being accelerated, means that
1) it is at rest,
2) it is moving,
3) it is either at a state of rest or a state of constant velocity,
4) its state of motion is changing,
and we define acceleration to be
5) a change in speed.
6) a change in velocity.
7) the rate at which speed changes.
8) the rate at which velocity changes.
Answer:
Figure H-1
When an iron ring is heated, the hole becomes
1) smaller,
2) larger,
3) neither smaller nor larger,
which follows from the fact that
4) expansion takes place inward toward the center of the ring as well as outward.
5) expansion takes place in all directions.
6) the surrounding air and the iron expand at different rates.
Answer:
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.
Answer:
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.
Answer:
According to special relativity
1) space and time are aspects of each other.
2) mass and energy are aspects of each other,
3) both of the above,
4) neither of the above,
and the underlying postulate of special relativity is
5)F = ma.
6) E = mc2.
7) that the speed of light has a constant value for all observers.
Answer:
Figure S-2
If these are sound waves, which corresponds to the highest pitch?
1) Wave I
2) Wave II
3) Wave III
4) Wave IV
And which has the greatest wavelength?
5) Wave I
6) Wave II
7) Wave III
8) Wave IV
9) all have the same wavelength
Answer:
Earth is closer to the Sun in winter than in summer. The orbital speed of Earth about the
Sun is therefore faster during the
1) summer.
2) winter.
3) is the same for all seasons.
Correspondingly, the gravitational force between the Sun and Earth is strongest during
4) summer.
5) winter.
6) is the same for all seasons.
Answer:
Figure T-2
The heavy boy and light girl are balanced on the seesaw. If they both move inward so
that each is exactly half the original distance from the pivot, then the
1) boy’s end will move downward.
2) girl’s end will move downward.
3) seesaw will remain in balance.
If the fulcrum of the seesaw is repositioned so each can sit at an END of the board and
be in balance, then if each moves inward half way the
4) boy’s end will move downward.
5) girl’s end will move downward.
6) seesaw will remain balanced.
Answer:
Figure A-4
If the mass per nucleon in atomic nuclei varied as shown in the fictitious plot above,
then nuclear energy would be available from the element iron (atomic by no. 26 the
process of nuclear
1) fission.
2) fusion.
3) both.
4) neither.
Accordingly, krypton (atomic no. 36) would yield energy by nuclear
5) fission.
6) fusion.
7) both.
8) neither.
9) not enough information to say.
Answer:
Protons and electrons
1) repel each other.
2) attract each other.
3) do not interact with each other.
If the distance between a proton and an electron is doubled, the electrical force is
4) 1/4 as much.
5) 1/2 as much.
6) the same.
7) twice as much.
8) four times as much.
Answer:
If an elephant grew in proportion to twice its normal height, then the area of its ears
would be multiplied by
1) two
2) four
3) six
4) eight
and its total weight would be multiplied by
5) two.
6) four.
7) six.
8) eight.
Answer:
In the absence of air resistance, a boulder and a pebble dropped from rest will fall with
equal
1) forces of gravity.
2) accelerations.
3) energies.
4) all these.
The reason that this quantity is not greater for the boulder than the pebble is that
5) both the boulder and the pebble fall at the same speed.
6) the initial potential energies of each is the same.
7) gravitational force acting on each is the same.
8) the greater gravitational force on the boulder acts on a correspondingly greater mass.
Answer:
A stone is thrown downward from a tall cliff and hits the ground below. If it were
instead thrown straight upward with the same initial speed, it would end up striking the
ground below (neglect air resistance) with
1) the same speed.
2) less speed.
3) greater speed.
If air resistance IS a factor, then when the stone is moving downward it will undergo
4) an increase in acceleration as velocity increases.
5) a decrease in acceleration as velocity increases.
6) a constant acceleration.
Answer: