The Milky Way is
A) a spiral galaxy.
B) an elliptical galaxy.
C) an irregular galaxy.
D) a galaxy in the making.
E) the remains of a galaxy that has run its life course.
Answer:
A spinning tossed baseball veers off course in the direction of
A) reduced air pressure on the ball.
B) increased air pressure on the ball.
C) non-crowded streamlines.
Answer:
Is it possible to have a macroscopic sample of oxygen that has a mass of 14 atomic
mass units?
A) Yes, but it would need to be made of oxygen atoms that each had less than the
normal number of neutrons.
B) No, this is less than than the mass of a single oxygen atom.
C) Yes, but it would have the same density as nitrogen.
D) No, because oxygen is a gas at room temperature.
Answer:
Which of these statements is true?
A) a battery produces dc and a generator produces ac
B) a battery produces ac and a generator produces dc
C) a battery and a generator produce dc
D) a battery and a generator produce ac
Answer:
You’re at rest in a hammock when a hungry mosquito sees you as lunch, while a 2-m/s
breeze is blowing. If the mosquito joins you for lunch, it should first hover over you by
flying
A) against the breeze at 2 m/s.
B) with the breeze at 2 m/s.
C) a bit faster than wind speed.
D) none of the above
Answer:
The fact that a thermometer “takes its own temperature” illustrates
A) thermal equilibrium.
B) energy conservation.
C) the difference between heat and thermal energy.
D) that molecules are constantly moving.
Answer:
Humidity can be expressed in many different waysvolume, pressure, mass; but
humidity is always
A) the moisture condensation.
B) the amount of water vapor in the air.
C) equal to relative humidity.
D) maximum amount of water vapor in the air at a given temperature.
Answer:
What property of metal atoms account for many of the observed bulk phenomena seen
in metal samples?
A) Metal atoms easily lose one or more outer electrons.
B) Metal atoms easily gain one or more outer electrons.
C) Metals readily form ionic bonds.
D) Metals readily form covalent bonds.
E) none of the above
Answer:
What are the relative compositions of the materials from which stars form?
A) about 74% hydrogen, about 24% helium, no more than 2% other materials
B) about 24% hydrogen, about 74% helium, no more than 2% other materials
C) about 2% hydrogen, about 74% helium, no more than 24% other materials
D) Stars have vastly differing combinations of materials.
Answer:
In what region of Mars is microscopic life most likely to exist?
A) At the poles, where ice caps may harbor microorganisms.
B) At the equator, where temperatures are most moderate.
C) Deep within the planet’s core.
D) Beneath the planet’s surface, where melting water may pool.
Answer:
Different colors of light travel at different speeds in a transparent medium. In a vacuum,
different colors of light travel at
A) different speeds.
B) the same speed.
C) decreased speed.
Answer:
The Big Bang is regarded as the expansion of
A) space.
B) energy.
C) time.
D) matter.
Answer:
Which of the following molecules could be a different conformation of the underlined
molecule below?
A) a
B) b
C) c
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Answer:
The oldest rocks that have been dated by radioactivity are approximately
A) 2 million years old.
B) 200 million years old.
C) 4 billion years old.
D) 10 billion years old.
Answer:
V-shaped valleys are
A) “old-age” valleys.
B) formed by glaciers.
C) of depositional origin.
D) common in mountainous regions.
Answer:
Compared to the density of water, the density of Saturn is
A) less.
B) more.
C) about the same.
Answer:
When water boils, energy added to the water is counteracted by
A) decreased pressure in the water.
B) static equilibrium.
C) energy carried away by steam.
D) energy of the whole system.
E) none of the above
Answer:
Which type of radiation from cosmic sources predominates on the inside of a
high-flying commercial airplane: alpha, beta, or gamma?
A) alpha radiation
B) beta radiation
C) gamma radiation
D) None of these predominate as all three are abundant.
Answer:
The Sahara in northern Africa is an example of a
A) rain shadow desert on the downslope of a large mountain range.
B) cold ocean current desert formed by local winds coming off cool ocean areas.
C) horse latitude desert formed by Earth’s tradewinds.
D) subtropical desert formed when tropical areas are overwhelmed by sand.
Answer:
A sample of steel is composed of 5 percent carbon and 95 percent iron. Which is the
solvent?
A) iron
B) carbon
C) steel
D) Steel is not a solution, it is a mixture.
E) A solid cannot be a solvent.
Answer:
If sunlight were green instead of white, the most comfortable color to wear on a hot day
would be
A) magenta.
B) yellow.
C) green.
D) blue.
E) violet.
Answer:
San Francisco Chef Manual rates the energy content of foods in units of
A) calories.
B) Calories.
C) joules.
D) Celsius degrees.
Answer:
Infrasonic sound waves have relatively
A) low frequencies.
B) long wavelengths.
C) both of these
D) none of the above
Answer:
A pulsar is likely a
A) throbbing star in its death throes.
B) black hole companion.
C) spinning neutron star.
D) binary star with a dark companion.
Answer:
Tsunami are correctly referred to as
A) seismic sea waves.
B) tidal waves.
C) energy waves.
D) mega waves.
Answer:
Cosmic Inflation refers to
A) an extremely rapid expansion of the early universe that occurred in an extremely
brief period of time.
B) the fact that there is an ever increasing energy cost in order for fusion within stars to
occur.
C) the phenomenon of matter within the universe is becoming increasingly disordered.
D) is another way of referring to the Big Bang itself.
Answer:
In the reaction below, what does the symbol mean?⇌
OH– + NH4
+ H⇌2O + NH3
A) It means that the forward and backward reactions are happening at the same time.
B) It means that the reaction cannot decide which way to go.
C) It means that the forward reaction does not progress.
D) It means that the backward reaction happens as fast as the forward reaction and so
the proton is not transferred at all.
E) none of the above
Answer:
Which of the half-reactions below would be complementary and balance the following
half-reaction?
Zn+2 → Zn
A) Cu → Cu+2
B) K+ → K
C) 2 Cu → 2 Cu+2
D) 2 K+ → 2 K
E) Cl2 → 2 Cl–
Answer:
Science and technology are
A) really one and the same.
B) responsible for all the good in the world.
C) responsible for all that is wrong in the world.
D) fundamentally different from each other.
Answer:
What is the purpose of allowing water to cascade or bubble in a fountain during the
purification process?
A) to mix air into the water and improve flavor
B) to remove radioactive gases
C) to remove unpleasant smelling chemicals like sulfur
D) all of the above
E) only A and B
Answer:
The amount of current in an LED bulb rated 10.5W-120V is
A) less than 1 A.
B) about 1 A.
C) more then 1 A.
Answer:
A mineral’s hardness is dependent on the
A) strength of its chemical bonds.
B) mineral ionization.
C) size of its atoms, large atoms are harder than small atoms.
D) geometric arrangement of atoms.
Answer:
Water that does not infiltrate into the ground or evaporate becomes
A) groundwater.
B) runoff.
C) soil moisture.
D) hydrologic cycle.
Answer:
When a falling object has reached its terminal velocity, its acceleration is
A) constant.
B) zero.
C) g.
Answer: