Motion in a P-wave is
A) side to side.
B) transverse.
C) longitudinal.
D) up and down.
Answer:
An electron vibrating to and fro 1000 times per second generates an electromagnetic
wave having a
A) period of 1000 s.
B) speed of 1000 m/s.
C) wavelength of 1000 m.
D) frequency of 1000 Hz.
Answer:
Granite does not readily form near oceanic-oceanic convergent boundaries because
A) granite forms from granitic magma and most oceanic material is basaltic in origin.
B) the magma formed at this type of boundary is not conducive to producing granitic
type rocks.
C) oceanic-oceanic convergence often results in the eruption of andesitic lavas.
D) all of the above
Answer:
During the Cenozoic, animals grew to great sizes and proportions. The woolly
mammoth and the saber tooth tiger were much larger than animals we see today. Some
of the causes for their extinction may be
A) the emergence of man and competition for food.
B) burning of the grasslands, severe climatic change, and man’s emergence.
C) dwindling food supplies, extreme climatic variation, and man’s emergence.
D) the extensive ice sheets that covered the land surface.
Answer:
The Sun tends to bloat outward by nuclear fusion, and contract due to
A) gravitation.
B) nuclear fission.
C) mass decrease.
D) its relatively slow spin.
E) reduced gaseous pressures.
Answer:
The observable universe is
A) the minor portion of the universe we can observe.
B) the part of the universe that is within the visible electromagnetic spectrum.
C) part of the universe visible to the unaided eye.
D) about 100 billion light years across.
Answer:
Ancient coal beds can be found in Antarctica because
A) at one time the climate of Antarctica was mild enough to support swamplands.
B) ancient coal beds were frozen in the Antarctic ice.
C) it used to be located in the northern hemisphere.
D) it was located at the equator during the Carboniferous period.
Answer:
What it the main difference between an ionic and a covalent bond?
A) One is the sharing of a pair of electrons, the other is the transfer of at least one
electron.
B) One involves electrons, the other does not involve any electrons.
C) The electrons in both types of bonding undergo an exchange.
D) The electrons are traded between the two atoms and this keeps the atoms close.
E) Both bonds are the same, but named different to describe different atoms involved.
Answer:
Plutonic rocks subjected to high temperature and pressure transform by
A) recrystallization of existing mineral grains.
B) deformation of mineral grains.
C) melting down of existing minerals.
D) any of these
Answer:
Based on its abundance in Earth’s crust, most rocks contain a mineral composed of the
elements oxygen and
A) carbon.
B) silicon.
C) iron.
D) sulfur.
Answer:
It takes 10 J of work to push a charge initially at rest into an electric field. If the charge
is then released, it flies back to its initial position with a kinetic energy of
A) zero.
B) 5 J.
C) 10 J.
D) more than 10 J.
E) need more information.
Answer:
Light is without mass, so how can gravity have an effect on light?
A) The space through which the light passes is curved.
B) Photons actually have a very small mass, so gravity does have an effect on them.
C) When light interacts with particles, it loses some energy, and thus takes on some
mass.
D) Gravity has no effect on light.
Answer:
Atmospheric stability can determine the types of clouds that form. In stable air, clouds
tend to
A) have lots of vertical development.
B) take a billowy and towering form.
C) spread out into horizontal layers.
D) evaporate quickly.
Answer:
With no air resistance a projectile fired horizontally maintains its horizontal component
of velocity because
A) no forces act on it.
B) no horizontal forces act on it.
C) of no initial vertical component of velocity.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Answer:
Which of the following statements does not describes the similarity between soaps and
detergents?
A) They have a polar ionic end and a long nonpolar tail.
B) Both dissolve oils.
C) Both are synthetic.
D) Both are biodegradable.
E) Both are made from fatty acids.
Answer:
Refrigerator magnets are typically
A) short range.
B) long range.
C) none of these
Answer:
Every proton in the universe is surrounded by its own
A) electric field.
B) gravitational field.
C) both of these
D) none of the above
Answer:
Water is vital to life on our planet. Most of Earth’s water supply is in the
A) oceans.
B) ice caps.
C) rivers, lakes, and streams.
D) ground.
Answer:
Rust has a tendency to form when iron in contact with water reacts according to the
following reaction:
4 Fe + 3 O2 → 2 Fe2O3
What is happening at the cathodic region?
A) Iron is being oxidized.
B) Oxygen is being oxidized.
C) Oxygen is being reduced.
D) Iron is being reduced.
E) none of the above
Answer:
The magnitude of the Coriolis force varies according to two factors:
A) the velocity of the moving object and the pressure-gradient force.
B) temperature and pressure.
C) the velocity of the moving object and the degree of latitude.
D) frictional force and pressure-gradient force.
Answer:
When Lillian hangs from a pair of gym rings, the upward support forces by the rings
will always
A) each be half her weight.
B) each be equal to her weight.
C) add up to equal her weight.
D) add up to more than her weight.
Answer:
What element is behaves as the oxidizing agent in the following equation and what
element behaves as the reducing agent?
+ 2 Ag → Sn + 2 Ag⁺
A) The tin ion, , is the oxidizing agent while silver, Ag, is the reducing agent.
B) The tin ion, Sn2+, is the reducing agent while silver, Ag, is the oxidizing agent.
C) The tin, Sn, is the reducing agent while silver ion, Ag , is the oxidizing agent.⁺
D) The tin, Sn, is the oxidizing agent while silver ion,Ag , is the reducing agent. ⁺
Answer:
Red giant stars are
A) close to exhausting their supply of hydrogen.
B) have already exhausted their supply of hydrogen.
C) are close to exhausting their supply of helium.
D) have already exhausted their supply of helium.
Answer:
How many molecules of sucrose are in 0.5 L of a 2 molar solution of sucrose?
A) 3.01 1023 molecules of sucrose
B) 6.02 1023 molecules of sucrose
C) 12.04 1023 molecules of sucrose
D) 0.5
E) 1 gram
Answer:
Compared with the photons of light that shines on glass, the emerging photons are
A) the same photons.
B) different though identical.
C) a mixture of being the same and different.
Answer:
The main reason ocean tides exist is that the pull of the Moon
A) and Sun are in conjunction at high tides and in opposition at low tides.
B) is greater on oceans closer to the Moon and less on oceans farther from the Moon.
C) is greater on Earth because the Moon is closer to Earth.
D) and the Sun on the oceans are in opposite directions.
E) none of these
Answer:
The poorest absorber of water is
A) sand and gravel.
B) clay.
C) rocky surfaces covered by a soil layer.
D) rocky surfaces with no soil layer.
Answer:
A 10-kg brick and a 1-kg book are dropped in a vacuum. The acceleration of the 10-kg
brick is
A) the same as that of the 1-kg book.
B) 5 times as much as for the 1-kg book.
C) 10 times as much as for the 1-kg book.
D) zero.
Answer:
Oceans are about four times as deep as mountains are high. At the bottom of the ocean
are
A) towering mountains, deep valleys, and deep trenches near the continental borders.
B) thick layers of basaltic crust at mid-ocean ridges that gradually thin near deep ocean
trenches.
C) towering plutonic mountains created from volcanoes and fissures at oceanic ridge
areas.
D) all of these
Answer:
The most common extrusive rocks are generated from
A) andesitic magma.
B) granitic magma.
C) basaltic magma.
D) none of the above
Answer:
If an atom were the size of a baseball, its nucleus would be about the size of a(n)
A) walnut.
B) raisin.
C) flea.
D) atom.
Answer:
What is the difference between speed, velocity, and instantaneous velocity? Give
examples of each.
Answer:
What is the Gulf Stream?
Answer:
What factors increase salinity in the ocean? What factors decrease salinity?
Answer:
Only one side of the Moon faces Earth. Is this because the Moon spins about its axis, or
doesn’t spin about its axis? Defend your answer.
Answer:
Shoot a cannonball horizontally from a cannon at a mountain top and it gains speed as it
falls and hits the ground below. But fire the cannonball fast enough for circular orbit
and no change in speed occurs. Why?
Answer:
If water vapor content is held constant as air temperature decreases, does relative
humidity increase, decrease, or stay the same? Explain.
Answer:
What effect do fluids have on metamorphism?
Answer:
In the formation of a river delta, why is it that coarser material is deposited first,
followed by medium and finer material farther out?
Answer:
If you drop a pencil while riding on a smooth riding bus, why does the pencil land at the
same place it would if the bus were at rest?
Answer:
What is the largest repository of fresh water?
Answer:
Is it possible for the temperature of an air mass to change if no thermal energy is added
or subtracted? Defend your answer.
Answer:
Distinguish between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse, and the reasons for each.
Answer:
Describe the process of crystallization.
Answer:
What are glacial striations, and how did Wegener use them to support his hypothesis of
continental drift?
Answer:
What is the most widely accepted hypothesis for the dinosaur extinction at the end of
the Cretaceous period?
Answer:
Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to break along planes of weakness. What factors
determine these planes of weakness?
Answer:
What is the connection, if any, between electromagnetic induction and sunshine?
Answer:
Why will girls wearing gym shoes win in a tug-of-war against boys wearing socks
while the activity occurs on a smooth floor?
Answer:
How does sediment turn into sedimentary rock?
Answer:
In a hypothetical stream flowing downslope, stream discharge doubles while the
channel remains the same size and shape. For this situation, what will happen to the
stream’s speed?
Answer: