Rate this statement: No force due to Earth’s gravity acts on astronauts inside the
orbiting space station.
A) always true while in orbit
B) sometimes true while in orbit
C) always false
If all people, animals, trains and trucks all over the world began to walk or run towards
the east (opposite the direction of Earth’s spin), then
A) Earth would spin a bit faster.
B) Earth would spin a bit slower.
C) Earth’s spin would not be affected at all.
According to the law of reflection, the incident light ray, the reflected light ray, and the
normal between them
A) lie in the same plane.
B) may or may not lie in the same plane.
C) lie in planes that are perpendicular to one another.
Half-way to the center of a planet of uniform density, your weight compared to that at
the surface would be
A) one-quarter.
B) one-half.
C) three-quarters.
D) the same as at the surface.
E) zero.
Electromagnetic induction occurs in a coil when there is a change in
A) electric field intensity in the coil.
B) magnetic field intensity in the coil.
C) electromagnetic polarity.
D) none of the above
If a fictional shrinking man shrinks proportionately to 1/10 his original height, his
weight will be multiplied by
A) 0.1.
B) 0.01.
C) 0.001.
D) 0.0001.
E) none of the above
The bob of a conical pendulum swings in a
A) to-and-fro path.
B) circular path.
C) chaotic path.
Tension is actually a force that tends to
A) stretch something.
B) compress something.
C) break something.
D) balance something.
Which potatoes when peeled produce the most peelings?
A) 10 kg of large potatoes
B) 10 kg of small potatoes
C) both the same
When ice crystals collapse at the surface of ice, the result is a
A) thin film of water.
B) slippery surface.
C) both of these.
D) none of the above
According to the special theory of relativity, all laws of nature are the same
A) in all reference frames.
B) for both linear or circular motion.
C) in all uniformly moving reference frames.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Neon signs require about 12,000 volts to operate. If the circuit uses a 120-volt power
source, the ratio of primary to secondary turns on the transformer should be
A) 1 primary to 100 secondary.
B) 100 primary to 1 secondary.
C) neither of these
The helium in a child’s balloon is composed of
A) former alpha-particle.
B) former beta particles.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Unlike Bohr, Schrdinger viewed electrons as
A) fixed in position.
B) traveling in circles.
C) tiny bullets.
D) waves.
You’re at rest in a hammock when a hungry mosquito sees an opportunity for lunch. A
mild 2-m/s breeze is blowing. If the mosquito joins you for lunch it should 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
Sound travels fastest in
A) air.
B) water.
C) steel.
D) a vacuum.
Which would require the greater energy; slowing the orbital speed of a satellite so it
crashes into Earth, or increasing the orbital speed so it escapes Earth?
A) slowing down
B) speeding up
C) same each way
Which of these has the greatest number of protons in its nucleus?
A) gold
B) mercury
C) lead
D) silver
Phil applies 100 N to a pulley system and raises a load one-tenth of his downward pull.
Ideally, the weight of the load is
A) 100 N.
B) 1000 N.
C) 10,000 N.
D) more than 10,000 N
The nuclear process having by-products with least radioactivity is
A) fission.
B) fusion.
C) about the same for both.
If only one color is absorbed in the pigment of a particular blue paint, that color would
be
A) red.
B) yellow.
C) green.
D) blue.
A weightless astronaut in an orbiting satellite is
A) shielded from Earth’s gravitational field.
B) beyond the pull of gravity.
C) like the satellite, pulled by Earth’s gravitation.
D) none of the above
A difference between linear momentum and angular momentum involves
A) a radial distance.
B) two types of speed.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
After a rock thrown straight up reaches the top of its path and then falls a short distance,
its acceleration is (neglect air resistance)
A) greater than at the top of its path.
B) less than at the top of its path.
C) the same as at the top of its path.
Tomatoes have a higher specific heat capacity than dough. This means that when you
bite into a hot pizza
A) the dough feels hotter than the tomato sauce.
B) the tomato sauce feels hotter than the dough.
C) since sauce and dough are at the same temperature, neither feels hotter.
The mass of a cubic meter of water is
A) 1 kg.
B) 10 kg.
C) 100 kg.
D) 1000 kg.
E) 9800 N.
The finding that electrons occupy discrete orbits in an atom was first explained by the
A) quantization of electric charge.
B) small mass of the electron.
C) circumference of each orbit being an integral multiple of an electron wavelength.
D) none of the above
A light woman and a heavy man jump from an airplane at the same time and open their
same-size parachutes at the same time. Which person will get to the ground first?
A) The light woman
B) The heavy man
C) Both should arrive at the same time.
D) not enough information
If less horizontal force is applied to a sliding object than is needed to maintain a
constant velocity, the object
A) accelerates in the direction of the applied force.
B) experiences decreased friction.
C) eventually slides to a stop.
D) none of the above
A positive ion has more
A) electrons than neutrons.
B) electrons than protons.
C) protons than electrons.
D) protons than neutrons.
E) neutrons than protons.
The absorption of an infrared photon that excites an atom to emit a green photon
A) occurs in plants.
B) occurs in the process of phosphorescence.
C) would violate the law of energy conservation.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Neglecting friction, a ball rolling along a horizontal plane will
1) accelerate indefinitely.
2) roll until the force used to roll it was used up.
3) roll indefinitely at a constant speed.
This illustrates
4) the basic principle that a body requires a push or pull to keep it moving.
5) inertia.
6) the law of net force.
The type of lens that brings parallel light rays together is a
A) converging lens.
B) diverging lens.
C) combination of converging-diverging lens.
A package falls off a truck that is moving at 30 m/s. Neglecting air resistance, the
horizontal speed of the package just before it hits the ground is
A) zero.
B) less than 30 m/s but more than zero.
C) about 30 m/s.
D) more than 30 m/s.