An astronaut at Earth’s surface has a mass of 50 kg and a weight of 500 N. If she were
floating freely inside a space habitat in remote space, she would have
A) no weight and less mass.
B) no weight and the same mass.
C) more weight and no mass.
D) none of the above
A 1000-kg automobile enters a freeway on-ramp at 20 m/s and accelerates uniformly up
to 40 m/s in a time of 10 seconds. How far does the automobile travel during that time?
A) 100 m
B) 200 m
C) 300 m
D) 400 m
E) none of the above
What does a breeder reactor “breed?”
A) more energy output than energy input
B) fissionable isotopes from a non-fissionable isotopes
C) more mass than it begins with
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
The period of the second hand on a clock is
A) 1 second.
B) 1/60 second.
C) 60 seconds.
D) 3600 seconds.
E) 12 hours.
The density of a 2-cubic meter block of mass of 1000 kg is
A) 100 kg/m3.
B) 200 kg/m3.
C) 500 kg/m3.
D) 1000 kg/m3.
E) none of the above
The probability cloud for the electron in the hydrogen atom has an average radius
A) quite different from the radius predicted by Bohr.
B) in agreement with the orbital radius of Bohr.
C) as yet not accurately measured.
Detonation of a fission-type uranium bomb begins by
A) splitting uranium.
B) pressing together pieces of uranium.
C) igniting a small conventional bomb.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Rockets that launch satellites into orbit need less thrust when fired from
A) Cape Canaveral in Florida.
B) Edwards Air Force Base in California.
C) Hawaii.
D) location does not affect the required rocket thrust.
One reason for the higher pitch of your voice after you’ve inhaled some helium is that
sound travels
A) slower in helium than in air.
B) faster in helium than in air.
C) the same speed in helium but with a longer wavelength.
An apple pie will be a net emitter of energy when its temperature is
A) higher than its surroundings.
B) lower than its surroundings.
C) none of these
For all paths of Earth satellites, one focus of the path is
A) the location from which the satellite was launched.
B) Earth’s center.
C) the Sun’s center.
D) need more information
Which of the following expands more when the temperature is increased? Equal
volumes of
A) iron.
B) wood.
C) ice water.
D) helium.
E) all expand the same.
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
If the composition of the upper atmosphere were altered to permit a greater amount of
terrestrial radiation to escape, Earth would be
A) cooler.
B) warmer.
C) quite unaffected.
D) none of the above
An excited atom decays to its ground state and emits a photon of red light. If instead the
decay is to an intermediate state, then the light emitted could be
A) red.
B) violet.
C) blue.
D) any of these
E) none of these
When the nucleus of an atom emits only a gamma ray, the atom’s atomic number
A) decreases.
B) remains unchanged.
C) increases.
The larger a turkey cooked in a conventional oven at a given temperature, the
A) more time per pound is needed.
B) less time per pound is needed.
C) the same time per pound is needed.
A column that extends from sea level to the top of the atmosphere contains a certain
mass of air. If the column instead contained the same mass of mercury, its height would
be about
A) 3/4 meter.
B) 10.3 meters.
C) 5.6 kilometers.
D) none of the above
When you walk barefoot on red-hot wooden coals it is best if
A) no pieces of metal are among the coals.
B) you walk slowly to demonstrate your courage.
C) you impress your friends by carrying away bits of wood between your toes.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Before a thunder storm, clouds in the sky likely become
A) conducting.
B) polarized.
C) grounded.
D) a field-free region.
A fishing-boat captain returns to port saying, “It’s rough out there with waves that are 4
meters high.” He is probably talking of waves of amplitude
A) 1 m.
B) 2 m.
C) 3 m.
D) 4 m.
If the color spectrum ranges from red to violet, then it ranges from
A) low frequencies to high frequencies.
B) long wavelengths to short wavelengths.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
The percentage of electricity from nuclear power generated in recent decades in the
United States has been about
A) 10%.
B) 20%.
C) 30%.
D) 40%.
E) more than 40%
If an astronaut landed on a planet composed of antimatter, there would be an explosion
and the
A) planet would annihilate.
B) astronaut would annihilate.
C) astronaut and an equal amount of planet antimatter would both annihilate.
An annular eclipse of the Sun occurs when the Moon doesn’t quite cover the Sun in the
zone of totality. This means that the Moon is
A) closer than usual to Earth.
B) farther than usual from Earth.
C) none of these
Neglecting air resistance, how fast must you toss a ball straight up in order for it to take
6 seconds to return to its initial level?
A) 5 m/s
B) 10 m/s
C) 20 m/s
D) 30 m/s
E) more than 30 m/s
The speeds of the planets about the Sun depend on
A) their distances from the Sun.
B) the masses of the planets.
C) their periods of rotation.
D) none of the above
Earth is presently accelerating toward the Sun (centripetal acceleration). If the Sun
collapsed into a black hole, this acceleration would
A) increase.
B) decrease.
C) remain the same.
D) cease to exist.
When thorium (A = 90) emits a beta particle, the resulting nucleus has atomic number
A) 88.
B) 89.
C) 90.
D) 92.
E) none of the above
Light of different colors in a glass prism travel at
A) different speeds.
B) the same speed.
C) the same speed in prisms and all materials.
If you toss a coin straight upward while in a train moving at constant velocity, the coin
will land
A) as if you were at rest.
B) in front of you.
C) in back of you.
An atomic mass unit (amu) is 1/12 the mass of
A) an electron.
B) a proton.
C) a hydrogen atom.
D) a carbon atom.
E) a uranium atom.
Entropy measures temperature
A) at constant pressure.
B) at constant volume.
C) as pressure increases.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Newton’s law of cooling applies to objects undergoing
A) cooling.
B) warming.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
The shortest distance between two points in flat Euclidean space is a
A) straight line.
B) geodesic.
C) neither of these
The Moon does not fall to Earth because
1) the net force on it is zero.
2) it is being pulled by the sun and planets as well as Earth.
3) it is beyond the main pull of Earth’s gravity.
4) but it does fall!
More specifically, the Moon
5) is subject to both centripetal and centrifugal forces.
6) interacts with all massive bodies, both near and far.
7) is free of air resistance as well as other Earthly influences.
8) continually falls around Earth rather than straight into it.
Provided that in each case heat input is the same, boiling takes place more quickly
1) at sea level.
2) in a valley.
3) in the mountains.
This is because
4) increased pressure on the surface of a liquid lowers its boiling point.
5) decreased pressure on the surface of a liquid lowers its boiling point.
6) water always boils quickest at sea level.
Figure V-1
A block is pulled across a floor as shown in the vector diagram. The force vector F has
the greater component in the
1) horizontal direction,
2) vertical direction,
and this component is
3) larger than the vector F.
4) smaller than the vector F.
5) equal to the vector F.
What determines what element a configuration of protons, neutrons and electrons will
be is
1) the number of protons,
2) the number of neutrons,
3) the mass of protons and neutrons,
and the principal variable that determines whether the atoms will form a solid, liquid,
gaseous, or plasma phase is
4) atomic number.
5) atomic weight.
6) density.
7) temperature.
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.
Doubling the linear size of an object multiplies its area by
1) two,
2) four,
3) six,
4) eight,
and its volume and weight by
5) two.
6) four.
7) six.
8) eight.
When a source of sound approaches, measurements will show an increase in the sound’s
1) speed,
2) frequency,
3) wavelength,
4) all of these,
5) none of these,
and when a source of sound recedes, measurements will show an increase in the sound’s
6) speed.
7) frequency.
8) wavelength.
9) all of these.
10) none of these.
Figure N-11
As the ball rolls from the straight path from A to B its velocity increases and its
acceleration
1) increases,
2) decreases,
3) remains constant,
and as it rolls from B to C its acceleration along the path
4) increases.
5) decreases.
6) remains constant.
Escape speed from Earth is about
1) 8 km/s.
2) 11.2 km/s.
3) more than 11.2 km/s.
Interestingly, if a stone released at rest at the far edge of the solar system drops to Earth
by virtue of only Earth gravity, it will strike Earth’s surface with a speed of about
4) 8 m/s.
5) 10 km/s.
6) 11.2 km/s.
7) more than 11.2 km/s.
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.
When a metal plate with a hole in it is cooled, the size of the hole becomes
1) smaller,
2) larger,
3) remains the same size,
and when the plate is heated, the hole becomes
4) smaller.
5) larger.
6) remains the same size.
A 10-kg block has twice the density of water. Compared to 10 kg of water, its volume is
1) as much,
2) half as much,
3) twice as much,
and when suspended in water its mass will seem to be
4) 0 kg.
5) 3.33 kg.
6) 5 kg.
7) 10 kg.
8) none of these.
Compared to a soft sound, the speed of a loud sound is
1) less,
2) greater,
3) the same,
and compared to low-frequency sound, higher-frequency sound travels
4) more slowly.
5) faster.
6) the same speed.
A 2-m-tall person viewing his full-length image in a plane mirror requires a mirror that
is at least
1) any visible size.
2) 2 m tall.
3) 1 m tall.
The size of mirror required
4) depends on how far away from it he stands.
5) does not depend on how far away from it he stands.
Electric potential energy is measured in
1) amperes.
2) volts.
3) joules.
4) watts
and electric potential is measure in
5) amperes.
6) volts.
7) joules.
8) watts