The Earlybird communication satellite hovers over the same point on Earth’s equator
indefinitely because
A) forces other 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.
Answer:
Does it make sense to say that a textbook is about 99.9 percent empty space?
A) No. A textbook is a solid and thus is quite dense. Therefore it is not 99.9 percent
empty space.
B) No. Only gases are considered to be 99.9 percent empty space. Liquids and solids
are not.
C) Yes. A textbook like all material things is made up of atoms, which are considered to
be 99.9 percent empty space.
D) No. A textbook could only be considered to be 99.9 percent empty space if it were
combusted.
Answer:
Consider a monkey wrench released at rest at the far edge of the solar system that drops
to Earth by virtue of only Earth’s gravity. The wrench will strike Earth’s surface with a
speed of about
A) 10 m/s.
B) 8 km/s.
C) 11 km/s.
D) the speed of light.
Answer:
Which of the following molecules is the most polar?
A) HCl
B) BrF
C) CO
D)
Answer:
What evidence supports the contention that the strong nuclear force is stronger than the
electrical interaction at short inter-nuclear distances?
A) Protons are able to exist side-by-side within an atomic nucleus.
B) Neutrons spontaneously decay into protons and electrons.
C) Uranium deposits are always slightly warmer than their immediate surroundings.
D) The radio interference that arises adjacent to any radioactive source.
Answer:
If we double the mass of an object without a change in volume, its density would be
A) half.
B) double.
C) unchanged.
Answer:
An object that has kinetic energy must be
A) moving.
B) falling.
C) at an elevated position.
D) at rest.
E) none of the above
Answer:
The process of crystallization acts to
A) enrich the molten magma in silica.
B) deplete the molten magma of silica.
C) enrich the crystallized minerals in silica.
D) none of the above.
Answer:
The consequences of a comet’s tail sweeping across the Earth would be
A) a meteor shower.
B) likely catastrophic.
C) like an enhanced Aurora Borealis worldwide.
D) quite unpredictable.
Answer:
A chunk of metal has a mass of 1 kg on Earth. If the same chunk were on the Moon its
mass would be
A) less.
B) the same.
C) more.
Answer:
For the following reaction, identify whether the compound in bold is behaving as an
acid or a base.
H3PO4 + H2O H⇌2PO4
– + H3O+
A) acid
B) base
C) neither
D) both
E) none of the above
Answer:
The boiling point of methanol is 65C and the boiling point of ethanol is 78C. Which of
the following statements is true?
A) At 70C you would have methanol gas and liquid ethanol.
B) At 90C you would have methanol and ethanol as solids.
C) At 50C you would have methanol and ethanol as gases.
D) At 40C the methanol reacts with the ethanol.
E) none of the above
Answer:
The two most abundant elements in Earth’s crust are
A) silicates and carbonates.
B) silicon and oxygen.
C) oxygen and aluminum.
D) quartz and feldspar.
Answer:
In a delta environment we find that fine-grained sediments settle
A) close to the mouth of the stream channel.
B) far away from the mouth of the stream channel.
C) both of these
D) none of these
Answer:
Why might the following nuclear reaction not be very good for energy production in a
fusion reactor?
Fe + Fe → Te
A) The material only produces a few neutrons so the chain reaction will not be very
efficient.
B) The reactants are too stable and it would cost energy to produce the product due to
strong nuclear force.
C) The products are not the right size to obtain any energy from the missing mass due to
the strong nuclear force.
D) The mass of the byproducts is too high and therefore the energy released will not be
high enough.
E) Interatomic attraction between the products will impede the separation of the atoms
from the unstable nuclei.
Answer:
The pair of water-filled caissons of the Falkirk Wheel have equal weights whenever
A) they carry equal-weight floating boats.
B) one carries a heavy floating boat and the other only water.
C) they carry unequal weights of floating boats.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Answer:
Which of the following is most easily understood to be quantized?
A) the number of eggs in an egg carton
B) the amount of water in a glass
C) the volume of air in a balloon
D) the amount of time in an hour
E) none of the above
Answer:
What is the name for the following polyatomic ion?
CH3CO2
-1
A) acetate
B) monocarboxylate
C) carboxylic
D) acidic
E) acetic
Answer:
Which of these scientists pioneered the study of electricity?
A) Isaac Newton
B) Galileo
C) Benjamin Franklin
D) all of the above
Answer:
Silica has a relatively
A) low percentage of silicon.
B) high percentage of silicon.
Answer:
When two elements come together to form a compound, which element is named first
within the name of the compound?
A) The element coming first in the English alphabet.
B) The element with the greater atomic mass.
C) The element with the greater atomic number.
D) The element toward the left hand side of the periodic table.
Answer:
Qualitatively, what happens to the hydronium ion concentration if you increase the
hydroxide ion concentration?
A) The concentration of H3O+ stays the same but the ratio changes.
B) The concentration of H3O+ increases but the ratio stays the same.
C) The concentration of H3O+ increases to neutralize the excess hydroxide.
D) none of the above
Answer:
If champagne has a proof of 28, how many milliliters of alcohol are in 250 mL of
champagne?
A) 35
B) 38
C) 28
D) 3.8
E) 200
Answer:
Which of these singly ionized atoms of the same speed will curve most in a magnetic
field?
A) helium
B) iron
C) uranium
D) all the same
Answer:
Lithospheric plates move in response to
A) convection in Earth’s interior.
B) upper mantle convection cells.
C) gravity and heat flow in the mantle.
D) convection cells generated by gravity and heat flow in the mantle.
Answer:
How do we account for the great variety of substances in the world?
A) The Earth is 4.5 billion years old.
B) Most of these substances are organic compounds.
C) Atoms are incredibly small.
D) There are many possible combinations of atoms.
Answer:
The first time period for which abundant fossils have been found is the
A) Precambrian.
B) Silurian.
C) Pliocene.
D) Cambrian.
Answer:
In a common dc circuit, electrons typically move at the speed of
A) a fraction of a centimeter per second.
B) a few meters per second.
C) sound.
D) light.
E) none of the above
Answer:
The Coriolis force greatly affects the path of air circulation, and is the result of
A) global winds.
B) Earth’s rotation.
C) Earth’s tilt.
D) all of these
Answer:
Why will nuclear fission probably not be used directly for powering automobiles?
A) Massive shielding would be required to protect against radioactivity exposure.
B) Radioactive wastes could not be adequately controlled.
C) It’s more practical for cars to use the electricity generated by nuclear fission power
plants.
D) All of the above are true.
Answer:
Which of the following would be considered a homogeneous mixture?
A) wine
B) hydrogen cyanide
C) rusty iron
D) pretzel
E) sugar
Answer:
Which of the following two stick structures are different conformations of the same
molecule?
A) a and c
B) b and c
C) a and d
D) b and d
E) none of the above
Answer: