What would the formula be for the following stick model?
A) C6H12
B) C5H5
C) C6H10
D) C5H10
E) none of the above
Answer:
According to the impulse-momentum relationship Ft = change in mv, a falling bungee
jumper has momentum which is reduced by the forceF exerted by the bungee cord. If v
is the speed of the jumper, then m in the equation is the mass of the
A) jumper.
B) cord.
C) ground below.
D) none of the above
Answer:
The age of the Dead Sea Scrolls was found by carbon-14 dating. Could this technique
have worked if they were carved in stone tablets? Explain.
A) Yes, because there are appreciable levels of carbon even in stone.
B) No, this method of dating requires a material that was once living.
C) Yes, because X-ray images could be collected instead.
D) No, the stones in the arid environment of the Dead Sea would have lost all of their
carbon-14 by now.
Answer:
A 5000-kg freight car crashes into a 10,000-kg freight car at rest. They couple upon
collision and move with a speed of 2 m/s. What was the initial speed of the 5000-kg
freight car?
A) 4 m/s
B) 5 m/s
C) 6 m/s
D) 8 m/s
E) none of the above
Answer:
The solvent diethyl ether can be mixed with water but only by shaking the two liquids
together. After the shaking is stopped, the liquids separate into two layers, much like oil
and vinegar. The free-base form of the alkaloid caffeine is readily soluble in diethyl
ether but not in water. Suggest what might happen to the caffeine of a caffeinated
beverage if the beverage was first made alkaline with sodium hydroxide and then
shaken with some diethyl ether.
A) The water layer would turn a pink color indicating an alkaline pH.
B) The caffeine would transform into the free base and transfer into the diethyl ether.
C) The caffeine would transform into the free acid and transfer into the diethyl ether.
D) The diethyl ether and water would mix into one layer.
Answer:
In a museum collection you can likely see a
A) meteoroid but not a meteorite.
B) meteor but not a meteoroid.
C) meteorite but not a meteoroid.
Answer:
If a cool dry day was followed by a warm humid day, you might expect they resulted
from which of the following consecutive air masses?
A) maritime tropical (mT) followed by continental polar (cP)
B) maritime polar (mP) followed by maritime tropical (mT)
C) continental polar (cP) followed by maritime tropical (mT)
D) continental tropical (cT) followed by continental polar (cP)
Answer:
A big and a small person wish to parachute at equal terminal velocities. The big person
should
A) jump first.
B) jump lightly.
C) pull upward on the supporting strands to decrease the downward net force.
D) get a larger parachute.
E) none of the above
Answer:
The most important event during the Cambrian period was the
A) emergence of the fishes.
B) ability of organisms to form an outer skeleton.
C) emergence of the trilobite.
D) ability of organisms to develop lungs.
Answer:
The least energy required to produce forced vibrations in an object occurs
A) below its natural frequency.
B) at its natural frequency.
C) above its natural frequency.
D) none of the above
Answer:
Which of the following statements about sewage is not true?
A) All municipalities must treat sewage the same way.
B) All municipalities must treat sewage.
C) Once treated, sewage is released to the environment.
D) Treated sewage becomes drinking water downstream.
E) None of the above are true.
Answer:
Which type of cloud is also called a thunderhead?
A) nimbus
B) cirrus
C) stratocumulus
D) cumulonimbus
Answer:
Compressions and rarefactions travel
A) at right angles to the wave.
B) in the same direction of the wave.
C) in opposite directions of the wave.
D) none of the above
Answer:
Describe what usually happens to a hot solution that is saturated with a solid as it cools.
A) The solid that is dissolved comes out of the solution completely.
B) The solid stays in the solution.
C) Some of the solid comes out of the solution.
D) The solution freezes.
E) The solution solidifies.
Answer:
Resonance occurs when a 200-Hz tuning fork encounters a sound wave with a
frequency of
A) 150 Hz.
B) 200 Hz.
C) 300 Hz.
D) any of the above
E) none of the above
Answer:
Pascal’s principle applies to
A) liquids.
B) gases.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Answer:
Which of the following is not a characteristic of clastic sedimentary rock?
A) They are composed of small pieces of weathered rock.
B) They are classified by particle size.
C) They are created by precipitation.
D) They may contain organic matter.
Answer:
The rate of seafloor spreading can be calculated by
A) the magnetic pattern generated at the ocean floor.
B) knowing the dates for magnetic pole reversals, and the distance from the location of
a known reversal site to the ocean ridge.
C) looking at the magnetic tape recording of the ocean floor.
D) the rate of seafloor spreading cannot be calculated.
Answer:
Lightning occurs as water droplets in a cloud become electrically charged. Energy is
positively charged
A) at the base of the cloud.
B) at the top of the cloud.
C) throughout the cloud.
D) surrounding the cloud.
Answer:
Land subsidence is caused by
A) groundwater pumping.
B) clay layers that shrink.
C) gophers.
D) over-pumping of groundwater and the compaction of clay layers.
Answer:
Compared to the speed a satellite loses when traveling from nearest to farthest points
from Earth, the speed gained when returning from farthest to nearest is
A) less.
B) the same.
C) more.
Answer:
The yearly motion of celestial objects in the sky is caused by
A) the rotation of our planet about its axis.
B) the revolution of our planet around the Sun.
C) the movement of our planet within the Milky Way.
D) the tilt of Earth’s axis.
Answer:
Why does a glowing splint of wood burn only slowly in air, but rapidly in a burst of
flames when placed in pure oxygen?
A) There is a greater number of collisions between the wood and oxygen molecules.
B) Oxygen is a flammable gas.
C) Pure oxygen is able to absorb carbon dioxide at a faster rate.
D) A glowing wood splint is actually extinguished within pure oxygen because there’s
no room for the smoke to expand.
Answer:
During each second of free fall, the speed of an object
A) increases by the same amount.
B) changes by increasing amounts each second.
C) remains constant.
D) doubles each second.
Answer:
At about what frequency is Earth struck by a meteorite large enough (about 10 km in
diameter) to cause mass extinctions?
A) about every 1 million years
B) about every 10 million years
C) about every 100 million years
D) This has yet to occur on Earth.
Answer:
The Carboniferous period is well noted for the
A) emergence of the insect.
B) evolution of the amniotic egg.
C) age of the reptiles.
D) extinction of shallow water organisms.
Answer:
A mineral deposit can be classified as an ore deposit when
A) valuable metals are present in the deposit.
B) valuable metals in the deposit can be mined at a profit.
C) it contains valuable fossil fuels.
D) it contains valuable gemstone quality minerals.
Answer:
When a cold air mass moves into a region occupied by a warm air mass, the contact
zone is called
A) a cold front.
B) a warm front.
C) a stationary front.
D) an occluded front.
Answer:
If a neutral atom loses one electron, what is the electrical charge of the atom?
A) -1
B) +1
C) -2
D) +2
E) neutral
Answer:
Which of the above molecules is a carboxylic acid?
A) a
B) b
C) c
D) d
E) none of the above
Answer:
The lowest possible temperature is
A) 0C.
B) -273C.
C) 4 K.
Answer:
Ignoring air resistance, what maximum speed can be given to a horizontally moving
tennis ball as it clears the net 1.25 m high to remain within the edge of the court, which
is 12.0 m from the bottom of the net?
A) 12.0 m/s
B) 16.0 m/s
C) 24.0 m/s
D) 48.0 m/s
Answer:
In a battery, the following two oxidation-reduction reactions are taking place:
rxn A: Zn + 2 OH– → ZnO + H2O + 2e–
rxn B: 2 MnO2 + H2O + 2e– → Mn2O3 + 2 OH–
What is undergoing reduction?
A) Zn
B) ZnO
C) MnO2
D) H2O
E) OH–
Answer:
What is the hydroxide ion concentration in an aqueous solution where the pH = 5?
A) The hydronium ion concentration equals 1 .
B) The hydronium ion concentration equals 1 .
C) The hydronium ion concentration equals 1 .
D) The hydronium ion concentration equals 1 .
Answer:
Which of the following occurs during an El Nio year?
A) Fishing catches improve along the South American coast.
B) Cold water upwelling increases.
C) The Trade winds become stronger.
D) Storms increase on the western side of the Pacific.
Answer:
At the edge of a cliff you throw one ball downward and another ball upward at the same
speed. Which will hit the ground faster? Does direction of the thrown ball make a
difference? Explain.
Answer:
What are the two major kinds of waves an earthquake produces?
Answer:
A physicist says that a car accelerating along a level road is being propelled by the road.
Defend this statement.
Answer:
What are the outward forces that act on a star? What are the inward forces? How do
these compare?
Answer:
What is wave interference, and the two types of wave interference?
Answer:
In a cooling magma, which minerals are the last to crystallize?
Answer:
What is the evidence that a meteorite impact caused the great extinction at the end of
the Mesozoic?
Answer:
Why does a good emitter of heat radiation appear black at room temperature?
Answer:
What correction do you suggest to a friend who states that a step-up transformer boosts
energy, while a step-down transformer reduces energy in a circuit?
Answer:
What is the difference between a mineral and an element?
Answer:
A 60-W bulb and a 100-W bulb are connected in series in a circuit. Which draws more
current? Which draws more current when connected in parallel?
Answer:
Similar reptiles were present on all continents during the Mesozoic era, but mammals of
the Cenozoic era are often different on the different continents. Explain.
Answer:
Distinguish between metamorphic foliation and sedimentary layering.
Answer:
How do glaciers affect underlying rock?
Answer:
Coal beds are formed from the accumulation of plant material that becomes trapped in
swamp floors. Yet coal deposits are present in the continent of Antarctica, where no
swamps or vegetation exists. How can this be?
Answer:
As the process of crystallization continues (from molten liquid to solid crystal), how
does the composition of the molten liquid change?
Answer: