Physical Science
Pre-Test Questions
Course Introduction
Physical Science is an introductory course that explores the fundamental principles and concepts underlying the physical world. The course covers key topics in physics and chemistry, including the nature of matter, motion, energy, forces, waves, electricity, magnetism, and the structure of atoms and molecules. Through a combination of theoretical study and practical experiments, students develop a foundational understanding of scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and the application of scientific methods to everyday phenomena. This course prepares students for further study in science by promoting scientific literacy and problem-solving skills in real-world contexts.
Recommended Textbook
An Introduction to Physical Science 14th Edition by James Shipman(Numbers)
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24 Chapters
3231 Verified Questions
3231 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Measurement
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Sample Questions
Q1) ______________ is a measurement of the quantity of matter.
Answer: Mass
Q2) The meter is presently defined as
A) one ten-millionth of the diameter of Earth.
B) the wavelength of a line in the spectrum of krypton-86.
C) the length of a platinum-iridium bar.
D) the distance light travels in a vacuum in a very short time.
Answer: D
Q3) A quantitative observation that is the basis of scientific investigation is a(n) A) experiment.
B) measurement.
C) explanation.
D) number.
Answer: B
Q4) If the decimal point is shifted to the left in a number expressed in powers-of-10 notation,the exponent,or power of 10,is ______________.
Answer: increased
Q5) Dry air has a density of 1.29 kg/m<sup>3</sup>.What would be the volume of a metric ton of air?
Answer: 775 m<sup>3</sup>
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Motion
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Sample Questions
Q1) The magnitude of a displacement is ______________ the magnitude of the distance traveled.
A) always unequal to B) less than or equal to C) always equal to D) greater than or equal to E) none of these; the two cannot be compared.
Answer: B
Q2) An object that is moving with an acceleration different from zero will always have a(n)______________ velocity.
A) changing B) increasing C) constant
D) decreasing
Answer: A
Q3) Dropped objects on the Moon fall at a slower rate than on Earth because of a smaller ______________.
Answer: acceleration due to gravity
Q4) A compass registers ______________.
Answer: direction
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Chapter 3: Force and Motion
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Newton's law of universal gravitation,F = Gm<sub>1</sub>m<sub>2</sub>/r<sup>2</sup> for uniform objects,the quantity r is______________.
Answer: the distance between the centers of m<sub>1</sub> and m<sub>2</sub>
Q2) Jet propulsion can be explained in terms of Newton's third law and the ______________.
Answer: conservation of momentum
Q3) For Newton's third law,the action and reaction forces are equal in ______________ and opposite in direction.
Answer: magnitude
Q4) The force required to move a 90.0 kg object in a 85.0 m circle at a constant speed of 8.10 m/s is
A) 0.0 N
B) 69.5 N
C) 0.77 N
D) 8.58 N
Answer: B
Q5) Force is a(n)______________ quantity.
Answer: vector
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Chapter 4: Work and Energy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is a vector quantity?
A) Force
B) Power
C) Work
D) Time
E) None of these
Q2) One watt is equal to ______________ per second.
A) one kilogram
B) one newton
C) one joule
D) one meter
Q3) The kilowatt-hour is a unit of ______________.
Q4) Given 10 kWh of electricity and assuming no losses,how much work,in joules,could be done?
Q5) A 0.10-kg ball is dropped from a height of 10 m and rebounds to a height of 8.0 m.
a. Is energy conserved in the ball?
b. If not, how much energy was lost, and what happened to it?
Q6) The kinetic energy of a pendulum is ______________ at the bottom of its swing.
Q7) The United States' most abundant fuel supply is ______________.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Temperature and Heat
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Sample Questions
Q1) At approximately what temperature does water have its greatest density?
A) 4°C
B) 100°C
C) 0°C
D) None of these; the density of water is constant at all temperatures.
Q2) In the gas laws,the ______________ temperature scale must be used.
Q3) Solids,liquids,and gases are called ______________ of matter.
Q4) A temperature of -65 Kelvin is equivalent to _____ degrees Celsius.
A) 219.1
B) 208.0
C) -53.9
D) -338.2
Q5) Below 4°C,water ______________ with decreasing temperature.
Q6) On a winter day the temperature drops from -5°C to -15°C overnight.If a pan sitting outside contains 0.40 kg of ice,how much heat is removed from the ice for this temperature change?
Q7) Water has a specific heat value of ______________.
Q8) How much heat is necessary to change 20 g of ice at -10°C into water at 20°C?
Q9) On bare feet,a tile floor feels colder than a rug because the tile has a greater
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Chapter 6: Waves and Sound
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following radiations has the smallest wavelength?
A) Infrared
B) Visible
C) Ultraviolet
D) X-rays
Q2) How many times greater is the speed of red light ( = 700 nm)than the speed of violet light ( = 400 nm)in a vacuum?
Q3) A particular sound with large intensity is reduced 1000-fold.What is the decibel reduction?
Q4) The major difference between transverse and longitudinal waves is the
A) direction of the wave motion.
B) phase difference.
C) direction of the particle displacement with respect to the direction of wave motion.
D) size of the waves.
Q5) Light can travel to Earth from a distant star,but sound cannot.Why is this?
A) Light is an electromagnetic wave, and sound requires a medium.
B) The Sun does not make sound.
C) Light is a longitudinal wave, and sound is a transverse wave.
D) The statement is false; both light and sound can travel in empty space.
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Chapter 7: Optics and Wave Effects
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Sample Questions
Q1) Polarization involves
A) the orientation of field vectors.
B) only longitudinal waves.
C) diffraction.
D) interference.
Q2) A concave mirror will produce
A) only inverted images.
B) real or virtual images.
C) only virtual images.
D) only real images.
Q3) For normal vision,an object can be seen clearly when it is beyond the
Q4) The speed of light in a particular transparent medium is 2/8 the speed of light in a vacuum.What is the index of refraction of the material?
A) 1.3
B) 0.75
C) 4
D) 0.25
Q5) Liquid crystal displays (LCDs)make use of the wave phenomenon called ______________.
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Chapter 8: Electricity and Magnetism
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Sample Questions
Q1) The rate of flow of electric charge is measured in units called ______________.
Q2) In a battery circuit with different resistors in parallel,
A) the total resistance is larger than the value of the largest resistor.
B) the current is the same through each resistor.
C) the total resistance is larger than the value of the smallest resistor.
D) the voltage is the same across each resistor.
Q3) One ampere × one second is a unit of A) power.
B) current.
C) voltage.
D) electric charge.
E) resistance.
Q4) A system of an electron,a proton,and a neutron has a net charge of A) +1.6 × 10<sup>-19</sup> C.
B) -1.6 × 10<sup>-19</sup> C.
C) 3.2 × 10<sup>-19</sup> C. D) zero.
Q5) In a dc motor,the polarity and current are reversed by a(n)______________.
Q6) A(n)______________ converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.
Q7) Another name for electric potential difference is ______________.
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Chapter 9: Atomic Physics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Removal of an electron from an atom leaves a A) neutron.
B) positive ion.
C) free quark.
D) negative ion.
Q2) In the electron cloud model,or quantum model,of the atom,the focus is on the ______________ nature of the electron.
Q3) Doubling the wavelength of a photon would ______________ its energy.
A) halve
B) double
C) quadruple
D) not change
Q4) For a specific element,photons of how many different energies could be emitted by electrons in the n = 4 level as they return to the n = 1 level?
A) 3
B) 5
C) 2
D) 6
Q5) The principal quantum number is symbolized by the letter ______________.
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Chapter 10: Nuclear Physics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Plutonium-239 and uranium-235 undergo fission when bombarded by A) protons.
B) neutrons.
C) alpha particles.
D) electrons.
Q2) The central core of the atom is called the ______________.
Q3) Complete the equation: \({ } _ { 0 } ^ { 1 } \mathrm { n
\mathrm { U } \rightarrow { } _ { 57 } ^ { 147 } \mathrm {~L} \mathrm { a } +\) ______________ \(+ 3 _ { 0 } ^ { 1 } \mathrm { n }\)
Q4) The primary function of a moderator in a nuclear reactor is to A) absorb neutrons.
B) cool the fuel rods.
C) slow down neutrons.
D) transfer heat.
Q5) After 8.0 years have elapsed,15/16 of a sample of a specific radionuclide has decayed.What is the half-life of the radionuclide?
Q6) The four stable odd-odd nuclides are and \({ } _ { 1 } ^ { 2 } \mathrm { H } , { } _ { 3 } ^ { 6 } \mathrm { Li } , { } _ { 5 } ^ { 10 } \mathrm {~B}\) ______________.
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Chapter 11: The Chemical Elements
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Sample Questions
Q1) An element that tends to lose its valence electrons during chemical reactions is classified as a(n)______________.
Q2) The common name for NH<sub>3</sub> is ______________.
Q3) How many shells in an atom of silicon contain electrons?
A) 3
B) 2
C) 5
D) 4
Q4) The periodic table is most easily understood in terms of the ______________ configurations of the elements.
A) periodic
B) proton
C) neutron
D) electron
Q5) Humphry Davy was able to discover six elements by using a new invention called the ______________.
Q6) O<sub>3</sub> and O<sub>2</sub> are the two ______________ of the element oxygen.
Q7) The element ______________ was the gas used in the Hindenburg.
Page 14
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Chapter 12: Chemical Bonding
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following ions would never form in chemical reactions?
A) F<sup>2-</sup>
B) Al<sup>3+</sup>
C) O<sup>2-</sup>
D) N<sup>3-</sup>
Q2) In 400 B.C.,a Greek named ______________ championed the idea that if matter were repeatedly cut into smaller divisions,eventually an indivisible particle would be reached.
Q3) A water molecule is
A) angular and nonpolar.
B) linear and polar.
C) linear and nonpolar.
D) angular and polar.
Q4) Which of the following ions is isoelectronic with an argon atom?
A) Cl<sup>-</sup>
B) Na<sup>+</sup>
C) F<sup>-</sup>
D) S<sup>2+</sup>
Q5) When forming covalent compounds,atoms ______________ electrons.
Q6) When forming ionic compounds,atoms ______________ electrons.
Page 15
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Chapter 13: Chemical Reactions
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Sample Questions
Q1) In general,slow reactions
A) are exothermic.
B) are endothermic.
C) have low activation energies.
D) have high activation energies.
Q2) The energy necessary to start a chemical reaction is called the ______________ energy.
A) exothermic
B) activation
C) endothermic
D) combustion
Q3) How many moles of He would 3.01 × 10<sup>23</sup> helium atoms be?
A) 2.00
B) 4.00
C) 0.50
D) 1.00
E) None of these
Q4) A solution with pH greater than 7 is classified as a(n)______________.
Q5) Balance the chemical equation: Cu + Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> ? CuO + Al
Page 16
Q6) A solution of pH 5 is ______________ times as acidic as a solution of pH 6.
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Chapter 14: Organic Chemistry
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Sample Questions
Q1) Hydrocarbons containing carbon-carbon triple bonds are A) alkenes.
B) cycloalkanes.
C) alkynes.
D) alkanes.
E) ketones.
Q2) The hydrocarbon symbolized by a square is called ______________.
Q3) Organic chemistry studies chemical compounds that contain at least one atom of A) nitrogen.
B) oxygen.
C) carbon.
D) hydrogen.
E) silicon.
Q4) Draw the two structural isomers for propanol.
Q5) Starch is a polymer that consists of long chains of ______________ units.
A) lactose
B) fructose
C) maltose
D) glucose
Q6) Alkanes minus one hydrogen atom are called ______________ groups.
Page 17
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Chapter 15: Place and Time
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Sample Questions
Q1) On September 22 or 23,the noonday Sun is overhead at what latitude?
A) 0°
B) 23.5°N
C) 23.5°S
D) That of the Tropic of Cancer
Q2) A two-dimensional coordinate system is called a(n)______________ coordinate system.
Q3) If it is 1:00 P.M.EST in Washington,D.C.,what is the time in Denver,Colorado,the longitude of which is 30° more westerly?
A) 9:00 A.M. MST
B) 11:00 A.M. MST
C) 3:00 P.M. MST
D) Noon. MST
Q4) The 105°W longitude meridian is the center of the ______________ Standard Time zone in the United States.
A) Pacific
B) Mountain
C) Eastern
D) Central
Q5) The international standard time is called ______________.
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Chapter 16: The Solar System
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the terrestrial planets has rings?
A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Mars
D) None of the terrestrial planets has rings.
Q2) The most distant planet that can be seen with the unaided eye is ______________.
Q3) The closest planet to Earth is
A) Mars.
B) Venus.
C) Mercury.
D) Saturn.
Q4) The Moon's albedo is ______________.
Q5) Calculate the value of the constant k in Kepler's harmonic law,using values for Earth from Table 16.1 in the textbook (1 year can be used for the period,and 1 AU can be used for the mean distance to the Sun).
Q6) The apparent displacement in the direction of light coming from a star because of Earth's orbital motion is called the ______________.
Q7) Other planetary systems are best detected by the Doppler shifts that change the pattern of the star's ______________.
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Chapter 17: Moons and Small Solar System Bodies
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Sample Questions
Q1) At what longitude is an observer who sees the last-quarter moon on his meridian when it is 12:00 noon local solar time at 75°W?
Q2) The asteroid belt is between the orbits of
A) Earth and Mars.
B) Mars and Jupiter.
C) Earth and Venus.
D) Jupiter and Saturn.
Q3) The local solar time at 75°W is 12:00 noon.What is the longitude of an observer who sees the full moon on her meridian at this time?
Q4) Which planet's major moons were named after literary characters?
A) Jupiter
B) Saturn
C) Uranus
D) Neptune
Q5) The Moon's orbital plane is inclined to Earth's orbital plane by A) 0°.
B) 5°.
C) 23.5°.
D) 30°.
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Chapter 18: The Universe
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Sample Questions
Q1) The creation of elements inside a star is called _______________.
A) nucleosynthesis
B) fission
C) production
D) transmutation
Q2) A(n)______________is denser than a neutron star.
Q3) Taking the reciprocal of a star's parallax angle in arcsec gives the star's
A) energy output in joules.
B) absolute magnitude in watts.
C) solar constant in watts.
D) distance in parsecs.
Q4) The Sun has been on the main sequence
A) for about 10 million years.
B) for about 5 billion years.
C) forever.
D) for about 14 billion years.
Q5) The ______________ is the remnant of a supernova explosion observed in A.D.1054.
Q6) An extremely large collection of stars bound together by gravitational attraction and occupying a huge volume of space is called a(n)______________.
21
Q7) A star of magnitude 0 is how many times brighter than a star of magnitude 6?
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Chapter 19: The Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) If the ground-level air temperature is 20°C,what is the air temperature at the top of the troposphere (16 km),assuming a normal lapse rate?
Q2) Radio waves are reflected by layers in the ______________.
Q3) The coldest region of the atmosphere is the A) stratosphere.
B) troposphere.
C) mesosphere.
D) thermosphere.
Q4) Some of Earth's artificial satellites orbit in the A) stratosphere.
B) troposphere.
C) mesosphere.
D) thermosphere.
E) exosphere.
Q5) The heat index accounts for the "real feel" due to the effects of A) temperature and perspiration.
B) temperature and pressure.
C) temperature and humidity.
D) humidity and pressure.
Q6) Ideally,the wind direction is ______________ to isobars.
Page 22
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Chapter 20: Atmospheric Effects
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Sample Questions
Q1) When at home during a tornado warning,you should seek shelter in ______________ of the building.
A) the basement or lowest central level
B) the attic
C) a doorway
D) the garage
Q2) Storms
A) develop as a consequence of frontal activity.
B) are atmospheric disturbances.
C) develop within a single air mass.
D) all of the above
Q3) For water droplets to form,what must be present?
A) Smog
B) Hygroscopic nuclei
C) Carbon dioxide
D) Ozone
Q4) An air mass forming over the Gulf of Mexico would be classified as ______________.
Q5) In the Bergeron process,condensation occurs on ______________.
Q6) An air mass derives its characteristics from its ______________.
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Chapter 21: Structural G Eology and P Late Tectonics
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Sample Questions
Q1) The deflection of one lithospheric plate under another is called A) subduction.
B) seafloor spreading.
C) convergence.
D) continental drift.
Q2) Alfred Wegener postulated that the continents were once part of a single supercontinent that he called ______________.
Q3) Earthquake P waves are
A) neither longitudinal nor transverse.
B) transverse.
C) longitudinal.
D) sometimes longitudinal and sometimes transverse.
Q4) Secondary seismic waves travel ______________ primary waves in solids.
A) in the direction opposite to the movement of
B) slower than
C) faster than
D) at right angles to
Q5) The mountains of the Alps in Europe are examples of ______________ mountains.
Q6) The type of plate boundary at which one plate collides with another and subduction occurs is called ______________.
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Chapter 22: Minerals, rocks, and Volcanoes
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Sample Questions
Q1) Dripstone formations that form on cavern floors are called ______________.
Q2) The deflection of one lithospheric plate beneath another plate with which it is colliding is called
A) subduction.
B) superposition.
C) cross-cutting.
D) plutonic movement.
Q3) A volcano with a low,gently sloping profile is a A) composite volcano.
B) stratovolcano.
C) shield volcano.
D) cinder cone.
Q4) The hardest mineral on the Mohs hardness scale is named ______________.
Q5) The most violent volcanic eruption in recorded history was that of A) Paracutin.
B) Mount Saint Helens.
C) Tambora.
D) Mount Pelée.
Q6) Conglomerate and breccia are classified as ______________ rocks.
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Q7) A general name for an intrusive igneous rock formation is ______________.
Chapter 23: Surface Processes
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Q1) Subsurface soil that remains permanently frozen is called ______________.
Q2) Frost wedging is a common type of ______________ weathering.
Q3) The slow,particle-by-particle movement of weathered debris down a slope is called A) an avalanche.
B) a landslide.
C) slump.
D) creep.
Q4) Most of Earth's fresh water is in
A) the atmosphere.
B) lakes and rivers.
C) glacial ice sheets.
D) aquifers.
Q5) Small glaciers,called ______________ glaciers,form along mountains in hollow depressions that are protected from the Sun.
Q6) About what percent of Earth's surface is covered with water?
A) 70%
B) 10%
C) 50%
D) 30%
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Chapter 24: Geologic Time
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Sample Questions
Q1) Primordial lead contains the isotope lead-______________,whereas radiogenic lead does not.
Q2) A group of eras are called a(n)
A) eon.
B) period.
C) millennia.
D) epoch.
Q3) We live in the ______________ epoch.
Q4) In which of the following eons do we live?
A) Phanerozoic
B) Hadean
C) Proterozoic
D) Archean
Q5) Which epoch is also called the Ice Ages?
A) Permian
B) Holocene
C) Pleistocene
D) Cretaceous
Q6) The largest units of geologic time are called ______________.
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Q7) The time before the Phanerozoic eon is collectively called ______________ time.