If an elephant grows proportionally to twice its height, its weight would be multiplied
by about
A) 2.
B) 4.
C) 6.
D) 8.
E) none of the above
Due to inertia, perhaps a railroad train in motion should continue moving indefinitely
when its engine is turned off. This is not observed because railroad trains
A) aren’t massive enough.
B) are too heavy.
C) ride on straight tracks.
D) encounter opposing forces.
When you place a stick in water and remove it, the stick is wet. If you instead place it in
mercury the opposite occurs. The stick is dry. This is because adhesive forces are
greater
A) between stick and water.
B) between the stick and mercury.
C) between the mercury and the water.
D) none of the above
An electroscope is charged positively as indicated by foil leaves that stand apart. As a
negative charge is brought close to the electroscope, the leaves become
A) closer together.
B) farther apart.
C) motionless.
An 800-N man stands at rest on two bathroom scales so that his weight is distributed
evenly over both scales. The reading on each scale is
A) 200 N.
B) 400 N.
C) 800 N.
D) 1600 N.
E) none of the above
When fast-moving water molecules collide they tend to
A) rebound without sticking.
B) stick.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
An Earth satellite is in an elliptical orbit. The satellite travels faster when it is
A) nearest Earth
B) farthest from Earth
C) constant speed everywhere in orbit
and in close orbit travels faster when orbiting
4) the Moon.
5) Earth.
6) both about the same for the same altitudes.
A temperature difference of 10 Celsius degrees is also equal to a temperature difference
of 10 on the
A) Fahrenheit scale.
B) Kelvin scale.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
The famous Leaning Tower of Pisa doesn’t topple over because its center of gravity is
A) relatively low for such a tall building.
B) stabilized by its structure.
C) displaced from its center.
D) above a place of support.
E) in the same place as its center of mass.
Due to the presence of ice crystals in nearly frozen liquid water, the density of water is
A) lower.
B) unaffected.
C) higher.
To connect a pair of resistors so their equivalent resistance (the single resistor having
their combined value) will be least, connect them in
A) series.
B) parallel.
C) either of these
If you float a piece of wood in a container brim-full of water that rests on a weighing
scale, some water will spill. Then the weight reading on the scale will
A) decrease.
B) remain unchanged.
C) increase.
Much of the charge on a conducting cube is
A) uniformly spread over its surface.
B) partly beneath the surface.
C) mutually repelled toward its corners.
D) none of the above
The main difference between gases and plasmas has to do with
A) the kinds of elements involved.
B) interatomic spacing.
C) electrical conduction.
D) fluid pressure.
E) the proportion of matter to antimatter in the universe.
Surrounding a magnet is a magnetic field. Surrounding an electron is an electric field.
Surrounding Earth is
A) an alteration in space in which mass experiences a force.
B) a gravitational field.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Astronomers can tell whether a light source approaches or recedes from Earth by
A) its temperature.
B) its change in temperature.
C) its absorption spectra.
D) the Doppler effect.
E) all of the above
The possible fate of a neutron in ordinary uranium metal is to
A) cause fission of U-235 if present.
B) escape the metal.
C) be absorbed by U-238 without causing fission.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Apart from the effects of other planets, the orbit of Mercury precesses because
A) Mercury travels faster than any other planet.
B) Mercury’s orbit is nearly circular.
C) of pronounced variations in Mercury’s orbit about the Sun.
In general, a common magnet has
A) one pole.
B) at least two poles.
C) only two poles.
A mosquito flying at 3 m/s that encounters a breeze blowing at 3 m/s in the opposite
direction has a speed of
A) 0 m/s.
B) 3 m/s.
C) 4 m/s.
D) 6 m/s.
A melon is projected into the air with 100 J of kinetic energy in the presence of air
resistance. When it returns to its initial level its kinetic energy is
A) less than 100 J.
B) more than 100 J.
C) 100 J.
D) need more information
The direction of the force exerted on a moving charge in a magnetic field is
A) in the direction of the motion.
B) opposite its motion.
C) at right angles to the direction of the motion.
The refraction of light in a diamond is greater for
A) long-wavelength light.
B) short-wavelength light.
C) both refract the same
At the same temperature, which has greater average speed in the air?
A) very light molecules
B) heavier molecules
C) both have equal average speeds.
When a magnet is moved to and fro in a wire coil, voltage is induced. If the coil has
twice as many loops, the voltage induced is
A) half.
B) the same.
C) twice.
D) four times as much.
E) none of the above
When you vigorously shake a can of chicken broth, you
A) are doing work on the broth.
B) increase the temperature of the broth.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
A solar eclipse occurs when the
A) Sun passes into Earth’s shadow.
B) Moon passes into Earth’s shadow.
C) the Moon’s shadow is cast on Earth.
D) none of the above
When Monkey Mo is suspended at rest by holding a rope with one hand and the side of
his cage with the other, all the force vectors that act on him
A) have equal magnitudes.
B) cancel except for his weight vector, mg.
C) have a vector sum of zero.
When a bar magnet is thrust into a coil of copper wire, the coil tends to
A) attract the magnet as it enters.
B) repel the magnet as it enters.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
An iron nail is more strongly attracted to the
A) north pole of a magnet.
B) south pole of a magnet.
C) either of these
D) neither of these
Which produces more force: driving into a very massive concrete wall with no “give,”
or having a head-on collision with an identical car moving toward you at the same
speed?
A) car
B) wall
C) both the same
D) need more information
To change mercury into gold, a pair of protons must be
A) removed from the mercury nucleus.
B) added to the mercury nucleus.
C) either of these
D) neither of these
Every heat engine
A) gains heat from a high-temperature reservoir.
B) converts energy into mechanical work.
C) expels heat to a lower-temperature reservoir.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above