A projectile that is fired vertically from the surface of Earth at 8 km/s will
A) go into circular orbit about Earth.
B) rise and fall back to Earth’s surface.
C) follow an uncertain path.
D) escape from Earth.
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.
Which of these atoms has the greatest number of electrons?
A) helium
B) carbon
C) iron
D) gold
E) uranium
The buoyant force of the atmosphere on a body is equal to the
A) weight of air displaced.
B) volume of air displaced.
C) mass of the air displaced.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
A theory in the field of science is
A) an educated guess.
B) less than a fact.
C) a synthesis of a large body of well-tested knowledge.
D) unchangeable.
If a 5oC piece of iron is heated until it has twice as much internal energy, its
temperature will be
A) 10oC.
B) 273oC.
C) 278oC.
D) 283oC.
E) 556oC.
Buoyant force acts upward on a submerged object because
A) it acts in a direction to oppose gravity.
B) the weight of fluid displaced reacts with an upward force.
C) pressure against its bottom is greater than pressure against its top.
D) none of the above
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
Eight little spheres of mercury coalesce to form a single sphere. Compared to the
combined surface areas of the eight little spheres, the surface area of the big sphere is
A) less.
B) the same.
C) greater.
The flight of a blimp best illustrates
A) Archimedes’ principle.
B) Pascal’s principle.
C) Bernoulli’s principle.
D) Boyle’s law.
When you touch a cold piece of ice with your finger, energy flows
A) from your finger to the ice.
B) from the ice to your finger.
C) actually, both ways.
Radio waves travel
A) always much faster than sound waves.
B) in common cases at the same speed as sound waves.
C) slower, on average, than sound waves.
D) at a speed that depends on frequency.
The more we know about a particle’s position, the less we know about its
A) speed.
B) momentum.
C) kinetic energy.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
A hydrogen atom that emits an alpha particle is a routine occurrence in
A) the environment.
B) laboratories.
C) unlikely.
D) impossible.
Which is the lightest particle?
A) proton
B) electron
C) neutron
D) all about the same
Compared to noise, musical sounds have
A) periodic tones.
B) musical notes.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
The discreteness of orbits of electrons in an atom are due to
A) wave interference.
B) momentum conservation.
C) electric charge quanta
D) all the above
E) none of the above
The temperature at which water freezes is the same as the temperature at which
A) ice melts.
B) water boils in a pressure cooker.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
Diffraction is most closely related to
A) refraction.
B) reflection.
C) interference.
D) polarization.
E) dispersion.
Eratosthenes first learned about the position of the Sun in mid-summer by
A) consulting library information.
B) setting up a stick at Syene.
C) setting up a stick at Alexandria.
D) setting up sticks at both Syene and Alexandria.
E) none of the above
When a pair of identical lamps are connected in parallel
A) voltage across each is the same.
B) current in each is the same.
C) power dissipated in each is the same.
D) all of the above
The red laser beam from a helium-neon laser corresponds to a spectral line of
A) helium.
B) neon.
C) both of these
D) neither of these
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
The nuclear process having by-products with least radioactivity is
A) fission.
B) fusion.
C) about the same for both.
The speed of a 4-kg ball with a momentum of 12 kg m/s is
A) 3 m/s.
B) 4 m/s.
C) 12 m/s.
D) 48 m/s.
E) none of the above
Complementary colors are two colors that
A) blend together.
B) are additive primary colors.
C) produce white light when subtracted.
D) produce white light when added.
E) are right for each other.
Two 5000-kg rail 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, and roll together with a combined
momentum of
A) zero.
B) 5000 kg m/s.
C) 10,000 kg m/s.
D) 15,000 kg m/s.
Which does NOT belong to the same family?
A) infrasonic waves
B) ultrasonic waves
C) radio waves
D) shock waves
E) longitudinal waves
An object that completes 100 vibrations in 5 seconds has a period of
A) 0.5 second.
B) 1 second.
C) 2 seconds.
D) none of the above
The attraction between unlike substances is called
A) adhesion.
B) cohesion.
C) depends on the substances.