If a freely falling object were equipped with a speedometer on a planet where the
acceleration due to gravity is 20 m/s2, then its speed reading would increase each
second by
A) 10 m/s.
B) 20 m/s.
C) 30 m/s.
D) 40 m/s.
E) depends on its initial speed
A swimmer cannot snorkel more than a meter deep because air
A) in the lungs cannot easily be expelled.
B) tends to liquefy in the snorkel tube.
C) is buoyed up leaving the swimmer breathless.
D) at the surface will not freely enter the higher-pressure region in the compressed
lungs.
E) all of the above
The pascal is a pressure unit equal to
A) 1 newton per square meter.
B) 1 kilogram per square meter.
C) 1 newton per square centimeter.
D) 1 kilogram per square centimeter.
Two charges that are separated by one meter exert 1-N forces on each other. If the
magnitude of each charge is doubled, the force on each charge is
A) 1 N.
B) 2 N.
C) 4 N.
D) 8 N.
E) none of the above
Pioneer 10 was able to escape the solar system by
A) having a sufficient escape velocity at launch.
B) “bouncing off” Jupiter like a tennis ball bouncing off an approaching tennis racket.
C) refueling via solar cells.
D) nuclear-powered sustained thrust.
Rays with the shortest wavelengths have the
A) highest frequencies and energies.
B) lowest frequencies and energies.
C) lowest frequencies but highest energies.
The highest frequency of visible light is
A) red.
B) green.
C) blue.
D) violet.
E) all the same
A wave of frequency of 1000 hertz vibrates at
A) less than 1000 cycles per second.
B) 1000 cycles per second.
C) more than 1000 cycles per second.
D) none of the above
It is correct to say that impulse is equal to
A) momentum.
B) a corresponding change in momentum.
C) force multiplied by the distance it acts.
D) velocity multiplied by time.
According to Huygens’ principle, every point on a wave
A) is a diffraction source.
B) behaves as a source of new waves.
C) is the superposition of every other part of the wave.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
The Early Bird communication satellite hovers over the same point on Earth’s equator
indefinitely, because
A) other forces than Earth’s gravity act on it.
B) it pulls as hard on Earth as Earth pulls on it.
C) it is beyond the main pull of Earth gravity.
D) it is kept aloft by ground control.
E) its orbital period is 24 hours.
The sky is blue because air molecules in the sky act as tiny
A) mirrors which reflect only blue light.
B) optical tuning forks that scatter blue light.
C) sources of white light.
D) prisms.
E) none of the above
The power dissipated in a 4-ohm resistor carrying 3 A is
A) 7 W.
B) 18 W.
C) 36 W.
D) 48 W.
E) need more information
Wood does not have magnetic properties because it contains no
A) iron or other metals.
B) magnetic domains.
C) moving electrons.
D) none of the above
A 10-kilogram block with an initial velocity of 10 m/s slides 10 meters across a
horizontal surface and comes to rest. It takes the block 2 seconds to stop. The stopping
force acting on the block is about
A) 5 N.
B) 10 N.
C) 25 N.
D) 50 N.
E) none of the above
According to the well-known equation E = mc2,
A) mass and energy travel at the speed of light squared.
B) energy is actually mass traveling at the speed of light squared.
C) mass and energy travel at twice the speed of light.
D) mass and energy are related.
E) none of the above
Some double-pane airplane windows darken when the inner pane is rotated. The panes
are
A) thin films.
B) Polaroid filters.
C) optical fibers.
A hologram is simply a
A) complex diffraction grating.
B) thin sheet of non-cubic transparent crystals.
C) pair of semi-crossed polarization filters.
D) thin photographic film with microscopic images over the entire surface.
E) none of the above
If an electric charge is shaken up and down frequently enough
A) sound can be emitted.
B) light can be emitted.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Voltage can be induced in a wire by
A) moving the wire near a magnet.
B) moving a magnet near the wire.
C) changing the current in a nearby wire.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Compared to a giant iceberg, a hot cup of coffee has
A) more internal energy and higher temperature.
B) higher temperature, but less internal energy.
C) a greater specific heat and more internal energy.
D) none of the above
Which is an example of matter in a plasma phase?
A) dry ice
B) a torch flame
C) molten lava
D) liquid hydrogen
E) none of the above
Physicists find that the energy states of atoms are
A) discrete.
B) circular.
C) elliptical.
D) chaotic.
A ball player wishes to determine pitching speed by throwing a ball horizontally from
an elevation 5 m above ground level. The ball lands 20 m downrange. The player’s
pitching speed is about
A) 5 m/s.
B) 10 m/s.
C) 20 m/s.
D) 25 m/s.
E) none of the above
It is important that the two metals that compose a bimetallic strip have
A) different conductivities.
B) different rates of expansion.
C) equal thicknesses.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
A mirage occurs when light travels faster
A) near the ground than higher up.
B) in less dense air than more dense air higher up.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
According to de Broglie, destructive interference occurs when an orbiting wave
A) reinforces itself
B) doesn’t reinforce itself.
C) neither of these
When waves from a pair of closely-spaced slits arrive out of phase
A) a bright fringe is produced.
B) a dark fringe is produced.
C) both bright and dark fringes are produced.
D) none of the above
A shoe on an inclined surface barely remains at rest when friction equals the
A) weight mg of the shoe.
B) component of mg perpendicular to the surface.
C) component of mg parallel to the surface.
D) none of the above
The shape of a magnetic field surrounding a current-carrying conductor is
A) consistent with the inverse-square law.
B) radial.
C) circular.
D) all of these
E) neither of these
If an elephant grows proportionally to twice its height, the area of its ears would be
about
A) twice.
B) four times more.
C) six times more.
D) eight times more.
E) none of the above