According to the “energy valley” of the mass-per-nucleon versus atomic-number graph,
the element with the least mass per nucleon is
A) hydrogen.
B) helium.
C) iron.
D) uranium.
E) none of the above
The energy released in both fission and fusion is mainly in the form of
A) kinetic energy of fragments.
B) alpha radiation.
C) beta radiation.
D) gamma radiation.
E) none of the above
One half second after starting from rest, a freely falling object will have a speed of
about
A) 2 m/s.
B) 5 m/s.
C) 10 m/s.
D) 20 m/s.
E) none of the above
As you crawl toward the edge of a large freely-rotating horizontal turntable in a carnival
funhouse, the angular momentum of you and the turntable
A) decreases.
B) increases.
C) remains the same, but the revolutions per minute decrease.
D) decreases in direct proportion to your decrease in revolutions per minute.
E) none of these
A canteen that is wet on the outside results in water inside that is
A) warmer.
B) cooler.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
A bullet fired horizontally over level ground hits the ground in 0.5 second. If it had
been fired with twice the speed it would have hit the ground in
A) less than 0.5 s.
B) 0.5 s.
C) more than 0.5 s.
Although perpetual motion is the natural order of things in the universe
A) it follows that machines can operate and do work by perpetual motion.
B) no perpetual-motion device that multiplies energy exists.
C) both of these are false statements
Systems alone tend to move toward a state of
A) less entropy.
B) more entropy.
C) no entropy.
D) none of the above
The resistance of a filament that carries 2 A when a 10-V potential difference across it is
A) 2 ohms.
B) 5 ohms.
C) 10 ohms.
D) 20 ohms.
E) more than 20 ohms.
Nuclei of atoms that make up a newborn baby were manufactured in
A) the mother’s womb.
B) the food the mother eats before delivery.
C) ancient stars.
D) the Earth.
E) none of the above
The greater the temperature difference between input and output reservoirs of a heat
engine, the
A) greater the efficiency.
B) smaller the efficiency.
C) both of the above
D) none of the above
As a light source blinking at a steady rate approaches you at an increasing speed
(accelerating toward you), the rate at which the blinks encounter you
A) increases.
B) decreases.
C) remains the same.
The color of an opaque object is the same as the light that is
A) transmitted.
B) absorbed.
C) reflected.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
The equivalent resistance of any series of resistors in a circuit is
A) often less than the resistance of the lowest resistor.
B) always less than the resistance of the lowest resistor.
C) usually half the value of the lowest resistor.
D) none of the above
An airplane that flies at 100 km/h in a 100-km/h crosswind has a ground speed of
A) 0 km/h.
B) 100 km/h.
C) 141 km/h.
D) 200 km/h.
A 1-centimeter cubed sugar cube scaled up by a factor of 10 has a volume of
A) 10 cm3.
B) 100 cm3.
C) 1000 cm3.
D) none of the above
The pair of protons in the nucleus of a helium atom
A) attract a pair of orbiting electrons.
B) repel orbiting electrons.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Ice crystals in nearly frozen liquid water make up a
A) microscopic slush.
B) region of lower density.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
What is the acceleration of a car that starts from rest and 5 seconds later reaches a speed
of 20 m/s?
A) 1 m/s2
B) 2 m/s2
C) 3 m/s2
D) 4 m/s2
E) 5 m/s2
A force is a vector quantity because it has both
A) magnitude and direction.
B) mass and velocity.
C) action and reaction counterparts.
D) speed and direction.
According to Kepler, the paths of planets about the Sun are
A) parabolas.
B) circles.
C) straight lines.
D) ellipses.
E) none of the above
A projectile is launched vertically upward at 50 m/s. If air resistance does affect motion,
then its speed upon returning to its starting point is
A) less than 50 m/s.
B) 50 m/s.
C) more than 50 m/s.
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
The metal in a chunk of copper or iron is composed of
A) crystals.
B) non-crystalline fibers.
C) amorphous particles.
D) none of the above
A 5000-kg freight car moving at 2 m/s collides with a 10,000-kg freight car at rest.
They couple upon collision and move away at
A) 2 m/s.
B) 1 m/s.
C) 2/3 m/s.
D) 1/3 m/s.
Diffraction is most closely related to
A) refraction.
B) reflection.
C) interference.
D) polarization.
E) dispersion.
Place an iron rod inside a current-carrying coil of wire and you
A) increase the strength of the electromagnet.
B) have a superconducting magnet.
C) a magplane in the making.
Compared to the average size of a hydrogen atom, the average size of a helium atom is
A) larger.
B) smaller.
C) about the same.
When a common fluorescent lamp is lit, the mercury vapor inside is actually in a
A) gaseous phase.
B) liquid phase.
C) plasma phase.
D) solid phase.
E) none of the above
When a parcel of air expands against the environment and no heat enters or leaves, its
temperature
A) increases.
B) decreases.
C) remains unchanged.
Figure T-3
The 50-kg stuntman places a 50-kg uniform 6-meter plank on top of a skyscraper and
stands on the tip of it that overhangs the building as shown. What is the approximate
distance that the overhang can be extended without disaster?
1) 0.5 m
2) 1 m
3) 1.5 m
If the 6-meter board has a mass of only 25 kilograms, then the maximum overhang
distance would be about
5) 0.5 m.
6) 1 m.
7) 1.5 m.
8) 2 m.
A bird sitting on a bare high-voltage wire is not electrocuted because
1) of the high resistance of its body.
2) of no electrical potential difference across its body.
3) its body is at a low electric potential compared to the wire.
4) the high voltage across its feet produces a very small current.
If the bird stood on the wire with only one foot, it would
5) be electrocuted.
6) remain unharmed.
Radioactive by-products mostly occur when atomic nuclei
1) break apart,
2) combine together,
and radioactive by-products are a chief result of atomic nuclei
3) breaking apart.
4) combining together.
5) doing neither.
Special relativity is most concerned with
1) uniform motion,
2) accelerated motion,
3) the warping of space-time,
4) gravitation,
whereas general relativity is more concerned with
5) uniform motion.
6) accelerated motion.
7) energy and mass.
8) time.
A floating object displaces its own
1) volume,
2) weight,
3) density,
and a submerged object displaces its own
4) volume.
5) weight.
6) density.
To say that an object is moving at constant velocity means that it is
1) at rest,
2) moving at an unchanging speed,
3) moving at an unchanging speed in a straight-line path,
and that its acceleration is
4) zero.
5) constantly increasing (or decreasing).
6) uniform.
In the absence of air resistance, a boulder and a pebble dropped from rest will fall with
equal
1) forces of gravity.
2) accelerations.
3) energies.
4) all these.
The reason that this quantity is not greater for the boulder than the pebble is that
5) both the boulder and the pebble fall at the same speed.
6) the initial potential energies of each is the same.
7) gravitational force acting on each is the same.
8) the greater gravitational force on the boulder acts on a correspondingly greater mass.
Figure N-3
If an 800-N man hangs motionless from four vertical strands of rope, then the tension in
each strand of rope is
1) 0 N
2) 200 N
3) 400 N
4) 800 N
which results in a net force on the man of
5) 0 N.
6) 200 N.
7) 400 N.
8) 800 N.
Figure A-4
If the mass per nucleon in atomic nuclei varied as shown in the fictitious plot above,
then nuclear energy would be available from the element iron (atomic no. 26) by the
process of nuclear
1) fission.
2) fusion.
3) both.
4) neither.
Accordingly, krypton (atomic no. 36) would yield energy by nuclear
5) fission.
6) fusion.
7) both.
8) neither.
9) not enough information to say.
Which of these following statements about atoms is valid?
1) The atom is the smallest particle that exists.
2) There are thousands of kinds of atoms, accounting for the great variety of substances.
3) There are nearly 100 different kinds of atoms found in nature.
4) Atoms are small building blocks of nature, being so small they cannot be
photographed.
The word molecule can be at least partly identified by the following statement:
5) The molecule is the smallest particle that exists.
6) The molecule is the smallest subdivision of matter that still retains the chemical
properties of the substance from which it originates.
7) Combinations of molecules form atoms.
8) The chemical elements consist of 105 different molecules, a list that keeps growing.
If you are standing on the Moon and release a strong balloon filled with helium gas, the
balloon will
1) rise.
2) fall.
3) neither rise nor fall.
This occurs because
4) helium gas is lighter than air.
5) the Moon does not have an atmosphere.
6) gravity is weaker on the Moon.
Refer to the figure above. Suppose that an electron makes a transition from n = 3 to n =
2 and emits a photon of frequency 4 x 1014 Hz. Then an electron that makes a transition
from n = 3 to n = 1 may emit a photon with a frequency of
1) 1 x 1014 Hz,
2) 3 x 1014 Hz,
3) 4 x 1014 Hz,
4) 9 x 1014 Hz,
which is consistent with emission of the most energetic photon from a transition from n
= 3 to
5) n = 1.
6) n = 2.
7) either, as both transitions are equivalent.
If the pencil you are holding were 10 times as long and 10 times as wide, its surface
area would be multiplied by
1) 10
2) 100
3) 1000
4) 10,000
5) none of these
and its volume would be multiplied by
6) 10.
7) 100.
8) 1000.
9) 10,000.
10) none of these.
A spectrum of colors seen in gasoline on a wet street is primarily a result of
1) interference,
2) polarization,
3) refraction,
4) scattering,
5) diffraction,
where
6) the light reaching the eye is polarized by double reflection.
7) only the higher frequencies of light resonate with the gasoline and H2O molecules.
8) the thin film of gasoline spreads the light out into its component colors.
9) light reflecting from the gasoline surface interferes with light reflecting from the
water surface.
To drop a package to Earth from a satellite, project it
1) straight downward.
2) ahead at satellite speed.
3) behind at satellite speed.
With a speed of projection
4) less than satellite speed.
5) that matches satellite speed.
6) greater than satellite speed.
7) none of the above
Refraction occurs for both sound and light. When refraction occurs there is a change in
1) frequency.
2) wavelength.
3) speed.
4) all of the above.
When sound travels faster near the ground than above, bending of sound tends to be
5) upward.
6) downward.
7) neither of these.
The density of a 57-kg (126-lb) person who can float in salt water but not in fresh water
is about
1) 505 kg/m3 (32 lb/ft3)
2) 1010 kg/m3 (63 lb/ft3)
3) 2020 kg/m3 (126 lb/ft3)
4) 4040 kg/m3 (252 lb/ft3)
and has a volume of about
5) 1 ft3.
6) 2 ft3.
7) 3 ft3.
8) 4 ft3.
9) need more information
The force that holds atoms together to form molecules is
1) electric,
2) magnetic,
3) gravitational,
4) nuclear,
and the force that holds the protons in a nucleus together is
5) electric.
6) magnetic.
7) gravitational.
8) nuclear.