One solution to the problem of our overflowing landfills is to burn plastic objects
instead of burying them. What would be some of the advantages and disadvantages of
this practice?
A) disadvantage: toxic air pollutants; advantage: reduced landfill volume
B) disadvantage: loss of vital petroleum-based resource; advantage: generation of
electricity
C) disadvantage: discourages recycling; advantage: provides new jobs
D) all of the above
Answer:
If a freely-falling object were somehow equipped with a speedometer on a planet where
the acceleration due to gravity is 20 m/s2, then its speed reading would increase each
second by
A) 10 m/s.
B) 20 m/s.
C) 30 m/s.
D) 40 m/s.
E) depends on its initial speed
Answer:
Hydrogen chloride, HCl, is a gas at room temperature. Would you expect this material
to be very soluble or not very soluble in water?
A) HCl is very soluble in water by virtue of the dipole/dipole attractions occurring
between the HCl and O molecules.
B) It is not very soluble because it is a gas, and all gases have very low solubility in
water at room temperature.
C) HCl is very soluble in water because it is such a small molecule, there is little
electrical attraction to other HCl molecules.
D) It is not very soluble because as a gas with low density, it floats to the surface of the
water and then into the surrounding atmosphere.
Answer:
In a swell, wavelength is constant. As a swell touches bottom, the wavelength
A) increases and velocity decreases.
B) shortens and velocity decreases.
C) shortens and velocity increases.
D) and velocity increase.
Answer:
An object is pulled with two forces, 10 N northward and 15 N southward. The
magnitude of the net force is
A) 0 N.
B) 5 N.
C) 10 N.
D) 15 N.
E) none of the above
Answer:
Compared with a 1-kg block of solid iron, a 2-kg block of solid iron has the same
A) mass.
B) volume.
C) weight.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Answer:
Given the following generic chemical reaction, which is the product?
X → Y
A) Y is the product.
B) X is the product.
C) → is the product.
D) Both X and Y are the products.
E) Both X and Y are the reactants.
Answer:
Hot sand cools off faster at night than plants and vegetation, which indicates that the
specific heat capacity of sand is
A) less than for plants.
B) more than for plants.
C) likely the same as for plants.
D) not enough information
Answer:
A rising balloon is buoyed up with a force equal to the
A) weight of air it displaces.
B) density of surrounding air.
C) atmospheric pressure.
D) weight of the balloon and its contents.
E) all of the above
Answer:
To say a circuit is dc is to say that current in the circuit
A) has a single direction.
B) alternates only slowly.
C) is parallel to the connecting wires.
Answer:
If the pH of a solution was 7 and you were to increase the hydronium ion concentration
1000x, what would the pH be?
A) 4
B) 4 M
C) 1 10-4 M
D) 7000 M
E) 10
Answer:
In which city is Polaris highest in the sky?
A) Singapore
B) Mexico City
C) Denver
D) Anchorage
E) All the same, depending on the time of night
Answer:
An acid and a base react to form a salt, which consists of positive and negative ions.
Which forms the positive ions: the acid or the base? Which forms the negative ions?
A) The acid forms the positive ion, the base forms the negative ion.
B) The acid forms the negative ion, the base forms the positive ion.
C) Because different substances can act as an acid or a base, it depends on the substance
you begin with.
D) all of the above
Answer:
At the end of the Ordovician, many shallow-marine organisms went extinct due to
A) deep water predators.
B) a long duration of high sea level.
C) cooling temperatures, increased glaciation, and decreased sea level.
D) cooling temperatures, increased glaciation, and a rise in sea level.
Answer:
The source of electromagnetic waves is vibrating
A) electric charges.
B) atoms.
C) molecules.
D) energy fields.
Answer:
A galvanometer calibrated to read potential difference is
A) an ammeter.
B) a voltmeter.
C) an ohm meter.
D) none of the above
Answer:
Disregarding the effects of friction, a cyclist will coast farther when a lamp powered by
a wheel generator is
A) of low wattage.
B) of high wattage.
C) burned out.
D) none of the above
Answer:
A volume of helium gas has a temperature of 10C. The same gas twice as hot has a
temperature of
A) 20C.
B) 12C.
C) 283C.
D) 293C.
E) none of the above
Answer:
Slate is metamorphosed
A) granite, a foliated rock with alternating layers of dark platy minerals and lighter
granular minerals.
B) shale, a foliated rock composed of very small particles and flakes of mica.
C) marble, a foliated rock with water-tight crystals.
D) limestone.
Answer:
How would you describe light generated by heating pure elements if it was observed
through a prism or spectroscope?
A) You would see a series of very sharp lines of emitted light.
B) You would see a rainbow of colors.
C) Light is absorbed by heated elements so you would not see anything.
D) You would see one line of emitted light, but it would be different for each element.
E) none of the above
Answer:
Evaporation and precipitation are in balance over the
A) polar ice caps.
B) continents.
C) oceans.
D) equator.
Answer:
The damage of electrical shock is predominantly due to
A) excess current.
B) an absence of voltage.
C) reduced resistance.
D) none of the above
Answer:
What does the following element description actually mean?
iron-57
A) iron with a mass number of 57
B) iron with an atomic number of 57
C) iron with 57 protons
D) iron with 57 neutrons
E) 57 iron atoms
Answer:
Which has the greatest mass?
A) a fluffed-up king-size pillow
B) a scrunched-up king-size pillow
C) an automobile battery
D) all about the same
Answer:
Conduction has most to do with electrons and atoms
A) bumping into one another.
B) flowing past one another.
C) radiating energy.
D) changing identities.
Answer:
Two identical arrows, one with twice the speed of the other are fired into a bale of hay.
The faster arrow will penetrate the bale
A) the same distance as the slower arrow.
B) twice as far as the slower arrow.
C) four times as far as the slower arrow.
D) more than four times as far as the slower arrow.
E) none of the above
Answer:
Water able to be contained in the subsurface depends on
A) permeability.
B) porosity.
C) chemical composition.
D) none of these
Answer:
Because of trapped air inside, snow is a
A) poor conductor.
B) good insulator.
C) both of these
D) none of the above
Answer:
Would you use a physical model or a conceptual model to describe the following: the
brain; the mind; the solar system; the beginning of the universe?
A) conceptual; physical; conceptual physical
B) conceptual; conceptual; conceptual; conceptual
C) physical; conceptual; physical; conceptual
D) physical; physical; physical; physical
Answer:
Which of the following elements is a transition metal?
A) xenon (Xe)
B) lead (Pb)
C) chlorine (Cl)
D) silver (Ag)
E) lithium (Li)
Answer:
A marshmallow in a vacuum becomes
A) larger.
B) smaller.
C) does not change.
Answer:
The synthesis of a large collection of information that contains well-tested and verified
hypotheses about certain aspects of the world is known as a scientific
A) fact.
B) hypothesis.
C) law or principle.
D) theory.
E) none of the above
Answer:
The predominant gas in the atmosphere of Earth is
A) oxygen.
B) nitrogen.
C) water vapor.
D) carbon dioxide.
E) methane.
Answer:
Two projectiles are fired at equal speeds but different angles. One is fired at an angle of
30 and the other at 60. With no air resistance, the projectile to hit the ground first will
be the one fired at
A) 30.
B) 60.
C) both hit at the same time
Answer: