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.
Energy transfer by convection is primarily restricted to
A) solids.
B) liquids.
C) gases.
D) fluids.
E) none of the above
Lillian sees a chair at the Exploratorium that has been scaled up by three. In attempting
to lift it, she finds the chair is
A) three times as heavy.
B) six times as heavy.
C) nine times as heavy.
D) more than nine times as heavy.
Neutrons that will initiate the fission of U-235 require speeds that are
A) less than average.
B) about average.
C) more than average.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Most of the waves in the electromagnetic spectrum are
A) red light.
B) blue light.
C) green light.
D) invisible.
Two identical freight cars roll without friction (one at 1 m/s, the other at 2 m/s) toward
each other on a level track. They collide, couple together, and roll away in the direction
of
A) the slower car.
B) the faster car.
C) neither, for they stop.
Which unit represents the most energy?
A) calorie
B) Calorie
C) joule
D) all the same
The fate of the world’s uranium supply is to eventually become
A) alpha and beta particles.
B) iron.
C) lead.
If a nitrogen atom and a slightly heavier oxygen atom have equal average speeds, which
has the greater kinetic energy?
A) nitrogen
B) oxygen
C) both the same
D) need more information
A 1-kg rock is suspended from the tip of a horizontal meterstick at the 0-cm mark so
that the meterstick barely balances like a seesaw when its fulcrum is at the 12.5-cm
mark. From this information, the mass of the meterstick is
A) 1/4 kg.
B) 1/2 kg.
C) 3/4 kg.
D) 1 kg.
E) none of the above
If you thrust a magnet into a closed loop of wire, the loop will
A) rotate.
B) have a current in it.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Strictly speaking, the ratio of circumference to diameter for a circle equals π as we
know it
A) in flat space.
B) on a spherical surface.
C) on a saddle-shaped surface.
D) all or any of the above
E) none of the above
Two vehicles with equal magnitudes of momentum traveling at right angles to each
other undergo an inelastic collision. The combined wreck moves in a direction
A) parallel to either of the cars before collision.
B) at 45 degrees to the direction of either car before collision.
C) at some angle other than 45 degrees.
Colors are barely seen or not at all in nighttime because moonlight
A) has almost no colors in it.
B) is too dim to activate the retina’s cones.
C) photons don’t have enough energy to activate the retina’s cones.
D) is primarily yellow light.
E) is only semi-transparent in Earth’s atmosphere.
The finding that electrons in an atom occupy a volume much greater than the volume of
the nucleus is best explained by
A) electromagnetic forces.
B) angular momentum conservation.
C) relative sizes of electrons and nuclei.
D) the wave nature of the electron.
E) none of the above
High-quality energy in natural processes has a tendency to transform into
A) higher quality energy.
B) lower quality energy.
C) internal energy.
D) entropy.
E) none of the above
The source of all electromagnetic waves is
A) changes in atomic energy levels.
B) vibrating atoms and molecules.
C) accelerating electric charges.
D) crystalline fluctuations.
E) none of the above
What is the wave speed of a wave traveling an average distance of 6 meters in one
second?
A) less than 0.2 m/s
B) 1 m/s
C) 3 m/s
D) 6 m/s
E) more than 6 m/s
There are about as many atoms of air in our lungs at any moment as there are breaths of
air in the atmosphere of
A) a large auditorium.
B) a large city.
C) the United States.
D) the whole world.
E) none of the above
A compass needle in a magnetic field
A) experiences a torque.
B) experiences a pair of torques.
C) may experience a pair of torques.
Waves emitted by the Sun and terrestrial wave emissions are
A) the same except for their frequencies and wavelengths.
B) entirely different kinds of waves.
C) identical.
Colors seen on the cover of your physics book are due to color
A) addition.
B) subtraction.
C) either of these
D) neither of these
If the planet Jupiter underwent gravitational collapse, its rate of rotation about its axis
would
A) decrease.
B) increase.
C) stay the same.
D) need more information
A Thermos bottle has double glass walls with silver coating on the glass surfaces that
face each other. The silver coating reduces energy transfer by
A) conduction.
B) convection.
C) radiation.
D) all the above
E) none of the above
An athlete can perform a certain number of pushups. The same athlete scaled up in size
can do
A) fewer pushups.
B) the same number of pushups.
C) more pushups.
In the double-slit experiment, fringes are more widely spaced when illumination is with
monochromatic
A) low-frequency light.
B) high-frequency light.
C) polarized light.
D) none of the above
When you run along the hall from one classroom to another you’re moving through
A) space.
B) time.
C) both of these
D) none of these
The best time for digging clams (when the low tide is extra low) is during the time of
the
A) new or full moon.
B) half moon.
C) quarter moon.
D) none of the above
The greater proportion of energy immediately converted to heat rather than light occurs
in
A) a fluorescent lamp.
B) an incandescent lamp.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
One of water’s interesting thermal properties is that when heated it takes a relatively
A) long time in changing temperature.
B) short time in changing temperature.
C) same amount of time to cool.
D) none of the above
The surface of hot water has a relatively high rate of
A) evaporation.
B) condensation.
C) conductivity.
D) convection.
To the surprise of Michelson and Morley, their interferometer experiment provided
evidence that the speed of light is
A) invariant.
B) the same whether its source approaches or recedes.
C) constant.
D) all of the above
A good cook knows that the temperature of violently boiling water is
A) higher than that of simmering water.
B) the same as that of simmering water.
C) actually lower than 100oC.
D) neither of the above
When the momentum of a punch is stopped by the fighter’s jaw while he moves into the
oncoming punch, the result is
1) an increase in the relative velocity of the blow,
2) a decrease in the time of contact of the blow,
which thereby most greatly increases the
3) force.
4) impulse.
5) momentum.
6) inertia.
7) energy.