The fact that desert sand is very hot in the day and very cold at night is evidence that
the specific heat capacity of sand is relatively
A) low.
B) high.
C) practically absent.
In gaseous form at the same temperature, the average speed of U-238 compared to the
speed of U-235 is
A) less.
B) more.
C) the same.
Stone slabs are stronger under
A) tension.
B) compression.
C) both of these
D) none of these
Magnetic field lines about a current-carrying wire
A) extend radially from the wire.
B) circle the wire in closed loops.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
An object is thrown vertically into the air. In this case air resistance affects motion.
Compared with its time for ascent, the time for its descent is
A) shorter.
B) the same.
C) longer.
D) need more information
The gravitational field simulated by rotation in a space habitat that is best suited for
humans is
A) zero.
B) g.
C) one-quarter g.
D) one-half g.
E) three-quarters g.
A ball tossed vertically upward rises, reaches its highest point, and then falls back to its
starting point. During this time the acceleration of the ball is always
A) in the direction of motion.
B) opposite its velocity.
C) directed upward.
D) directed downward.
E) none of the above
An astronaut traveling forward at 0.87c holds a meterstick in spear-like fashion. An
observer at rest sees the spear’s length as
A) 0.5 m.
B) 0.87 m.
C) 1 m.
D) 1.25 m.
E) 1.5 m.
Consider a string with several rocks tied along its length at equally spaced intervals.
You whirl the string overhead so that the rocks follow circular paths. Compared with a
rock at the end of the string, a rock at the middle moves
A) half as fast.
B) twice as fast.
C) at the same linear speed.
When the tiny hole in a pinhole camera is made larger, the image is
A) brighter but less clear.
B) clearer.
C) right-side up.
D) none of the above
The volume of water displaced by a floating 20-ton boat
A) is 20 cubic meters.
B) is the volume of 20 tons of water.
C) is the volume of the boat.
D) depends on the shape of the ship’s hull.
E) none of the above
A helium-neon laser beam in a vacuum is
A) red.
B) orange.
C) white.
D) invisible.
E) none of the above
The human body can withstand an acceleration of 10 g under certain conditions. What
net force would produce this acceleration for a 50-kg person?
A) 500 N
B) 2500 N
C) 5000 N
D) 25,000 N
E) none of the above
Solar power is the rate at which
A) the Sun emits energy.
B) solar energy is received from the Sun.
C) the atmosphere absorbs energy.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Nellie pulls on a 10-kg wagon with a constant horizontal force of 30 N. If there are no
other horizontal forces, what is the wagon’s acceleration?
A) 0.3 m/s2
B) 3.0 m/s2
C) 10 m/s2
D) 30 m/s2
E) 300 m/s2
When a chocolate bar is cut in half, its density is
A) halved.
B) unchanged.
C) doubled.
Sunlight passing through a pinhole in a piece of card casts a solar image on the ground.
If the card is held so the image exactly covers a coin, measurements will show you
could fit 110 coins between the image and the card. This further tells you
A) 110 Suns would fit between the top of the card and the Sun.
B) that this activity is useful for estimating the Sun’s diameter.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
A tuning fork of frequency 200 hertz can resonate if an incident sound wave has a
frequency of
A) 100 hertz.
B) 200 hertz.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Compressions and rarefactions are characteristics of
A) longitudinal waves.
B) transverse waves.
C) both of these
D) need more information
Disconnect a small-voltage battery from a coil of many loops of wire and a large
voltage may be produced by
A) the sudden collapse in the magnetic field.
B) latent energy in the battery.
C) the resistance of the battery to a change in polarity.
D) electrons already in the wire.
E) the electric field between the battery terminals.
Planets wobble in their orbits due to
A) the gravitational attraction to other planets.
B) uncertainties in the inverse-square law.
C) elliptical-orbit quirks.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
The wavelength of a particle relates to its
A) momentum.
B) energy levels.
C) quantum number.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
The vertical height attained by a basketball player who achieves a hang time of a full 1
s is about
A) 0.8 m.
B) 1 m.
C) 1.2 m.
D) 2.5 m.
E) more than 2.5 m.
Magnetic compasses reportedly were first used for navigation by
A) Aristotle.
B) Australian aborigines.
C) Chinese sailors.
D) none of the above
A whitish sky is evidence that the atmosphere contains
A) predominantly small particles.
B) predominantly large particles.
C) a mixture of particle sizes.
D) water vapor.
E) pollutants.
When a vapor condenses, energy is
A) absorbed by the vapor.
B) released from the vapor.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
What is the threshold of hearing?
A) 0.1 decibel
B) 0.01 decibel
C) 1 decibel
D) 10 decibel
E) none of the above
A large and a small person wish to parachute at equal terminal velocities. The larger
person should
A) get a larger parachute.
B) jump lightly.
C) pull upward on the supporting strands to decrease the downward net force.
D) jump first from the plane.
The frequencies of sound that carry farther in air are
A) low.
B) high.
C) ultrasonic.
D) none of the above
Diffraction is least when illumination is with
A) red light.
B) blue light.
C) an electron beam
D) none of the above
When you rub your hands together, you
A) can push harder on one hand than the other.
B) cannot push harder on one hand than the other.
C) need more information
The thing that is different between x-rays and radio waves is
1) their charges,
2) their masses,
3) their frequencies,
4) the medium through which they travel,
5) the speeds at which they travel,
and the thing that is the same for x-rays and radio waves is
6) their masses.
7) their frequencies.
8) the medium through which they travel.
9) the speeds at which they travel.
10) none of these.
An object drops in free fall. At one instant it is moving at a speed of 50 meters per
second. Exactly one second later its speed is about
1) 10 m/s.
2) 50 m/s.
3) 60 m/s.
4) 100 m/s.
This is because
5) no net force acts on the object while in its state of free fall.
6) it gains a speed of about 10 m/s for each second of fall.
7) its velocity nearly doubles each second.
Strictly speaking, if a beam of white light is shone through a piece of very thick glass,
the first color to emerge from the other side is
1) white.
2) violet.
3) red.
4) green.
This is because
5) all frequencies travel at c.
6) lower frequencies undergo more refraction in a medium.
7) higher frequencies of light travel at a faster average speed through a medium.
8) higher frequencies of light interact with more molecules in a medium.
Figure S-2
If these are sound waves, which corresponds to the highest pitch?
1) Wave I
2) Wave II
3) Wave III
4) Wave IV
And which has the greatest wavelength?
5) Wave I
6) Wave II
7) Wave III
8) Wave IV
9) all have the same wavelength
Figure A-3
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, hydrogen would yield energy by nuclear
5) fission.
6) fusion.
7) both.
8) neither.
9) not enough information to say.
A stone is thrown downward from a tall cliff and hits the ground below. If it were
instead thrown straight upward with the same initial speed, it would end up striking the
ground below (neglect air resistance) with
1) the same speed.
2) less speed.
3) greater speed.
If air resistance IS a factor, then when the stone is moving downward it will undergo
4) an increase in acceleration as velocity increases.
5) a decrease in acceleration as velocity increases.
6) a constant acceleration.
Figure G-2
Suppose masses M1 and M2 are falling toward planet M under gravitational influence.
We would find that M1 falls
1) faster than M2,
2) as fast as M2,
3) slower than M2,
with the result that
4) ocean tides are formed on M.
5) the distance between M1 and M2 increases.
6) the distance between M1 and M2 decreases.
7) the distance between M1 and M2 remains unchanged, but the distance between M
and M1 decreases.
A spear 10 meters long is thrown at a relativistic speed through a pipe that is 10 meters
long (both these dimensions are measured when each is at rest). When the spear passes
through the pipe, which of the following statements best describes what is observed?
1) The spear shrinks so that the pipe completely covers it at some point.
2) The pipe shrinks so that the spear extends from both ends at some point.
3) Both shrink equally so the pipe just barely covers the spear at some point.
4) any of these, depending on the motion of the observer (moving with the spear, at rest
with the pipe, etc.)
An observer fixed to the pipe would measure the mass of the spear to be greater than
when at rest; an observer moving with the spear would measure the mass of the pipe to
be
5) more than when at rest.
6) less than when at rest.
7) the same as when at rest.
Orbital electrons do not spiral into the atomic nucleus because of
1) electrical forces,
2) the wave nature of the electrons,
3) angular momentum,
4) the discreteness of energy levels,
5) quantum mechanical laws,
and the electrons have discrete radii from the nucleus because
6) the circumference of each orbit is an integral multiple of the electron wavelength.
7) electrical forces act over discrete distances.
8) energy levels themselves are discrete.
Figure M-6
It would be easier to pull the hemispheres apart
1) when they are at sea level
2) if submerged several meters in water
3) if high above the clouds
because
4) external pressure on the hemispheres is lessened.
5) water serves as a lubricant.
6) the atmosphere exerts a pressure of 105 N/m2 on both hemispheres.
A pinhole cameras has no lens. The tiny pin-hole opening insures that rays of light from
different parts of an object
1) overlap.
2) don’t overlap.
3) bend to a focus.
Small openings between leaves in a tree act as pinholes. The round spots of light cast on
the ground below are images of
4) the Sun.
5) the openings themselves.
6) both of these
7) neither of these
Strictly speaking, from the point of view of a person on the ground floor of a tall
skyscraper, a person at the top ages
1) more slowly,
2) faster,
3) the same,
and from the point of view of a person at the top of the skyscraper, the person at the
ground level ages
4) more slowly.
5) faster.
6) the same.
The body chiefly responsible for ocean tides is the
1) Moon,
2) Sun,
chiefly because
3) the Moon is closer to Earth than the sun.
4) gravitational pull by the Moon is less than that of the sun.
5) the difference between the Moon’s pull on the near and far sides of Earth is
appreciable.
Figure N-7
Ball A is dropped from rest as ball B is shot out horizontally. Ball A hits the ground
1) before ball B.
2) after ball B.
3) at the same time as ball B.
This is because
4) ball A has less distance to travel.
5) ball B is acted upon by an additional force.
6) both balls fall the same vertical distance with the same acceleration.
If the mass of Earth somehow increased with no change in radius, your weight would
1) increase also.
2) decrease.
3) remain the same.
If instead, both Earth’s mass and its radius doubled, your weight at Earth’s surface
would be
4) half before the changes.
5) the same as before the changes.
6) twice.
7) four times greater.