SSA Physical Science Critical Content + Practice

FORCE

•A force is a push or a pull
on an object.
• Objects will always move in
the direction of the force.

Gravitational force

Mass vs. Weight

● Mass is a measure of how much matter is in something.

○ Does not change

● Weight is the measure of the pull of gravity on an

object.
○ Will change if gravity changes

Balanced Force

Unbalanced Force

● Equal force is applied to an object.

● Forces work against each other and

cancel each other out.

● Unequal forces are applied to an object.

● Object's motion will change.

● Object’s direction will change.

Balanced Forces vs. Unbalanced
Forces

Distance - Time Graphs

● These graphs tell us how far, how

fast and what direction and object
traveled.

● The object that is traveling the

fastest will have the steepest line.

● Can be observed or

measured without affecting
the object.

● Does not depend on how

much of the substance you
have – if it is the same
substance it should have the
same properties.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

➔ Density
➔ Thermal Conductivity
➔ Electrical Conductivity
➔ Solubility
➔ Magnetism
➔ Melting / Boiling Point
➔ Mass
➔ Volume

VS

Force that requires two
objects are touching

Force that does not
require two objects to
touch

NET FORCE

●Combination of all forces acting on an object
●If the forces are acting in the same direction on the

object, add the forces together.

●If the forces are acting in the opposite direction on the

object, subtract the forces.

volume

HEAT

SSA Physical Science Critical Content and Practice Questions

HEAT

Adding or removing heat from a system can cause a

change in temperature and / or a change in state.

Energy

Kinetic Energy - energy of motion

Potential Energy - Stored energy

●can depend on height of object (gravitational)

●can depend on shape of object (elastic)

Chemical

Thermal

Sound

Light

Electrical

Mechanical

Law of Conservation of Energy - energy cannot be
created or destroyed, only transformed from one

form to another.

Solid

Liquid

Gas

Atoms are the smallest unit of an element. They are made

up subatomic particles.

Made of one type of

atom

Made of two or more

different types of

atoms

Mixture that is appears
the same throughout.

Mixture that does not

appear the same

throughout.

Acids

● Sour taste
● sticky feel
● turns litmus paper

red

● reacts with bases

to form water and
a salt.

Bases

● Bitter taste
● slippery feel
● turns litmus paper

blue

● reacts with acids to

form water and a
salt.

Neutral

● pH of 7.0 only

Physical Change

●

substance does not change its
identity and/or chemical properties

●

sometimes can easily be reversed

●

May observe change in:
○

color

○

size

○

state of matter

Chemical Change

●

substance changes to a new substance
with new properties

●

cannot be easily reversed

●

May observe:
○

color change

○

gas produced

○

release of energy (heat or light)

○

formation of precipitate

Law of Conservation of Mass

In a closed system, matter cannot be created or destroyed

but it can change forms.

Increase in Temperature

Increase in rate of
chemical change

When temperature increases particles have more
kinetic energy which means they will collide more

frequently to react with each other.

The speed at which sound travels from one
place to another depends on the medium it
travels in and how tightly packed the
molecules are in the matter (density).

The speed at which light travels from
one place to another is affected by
the medium it travels in and how
tightly packed the molecules are in
the matter (density).

Sound MUST have a

medium to travel through!

Light DOES NOT needa

medium to travel through.

It travels the fastest in a

vacuum!

Behavior of Light

The process of passing an electric current through water is known as
electrolysis. During electrolysis, the electric current breaks down the
water into hydrogen and oxygen gasses.

Why is the electrolysis of water an example of a chemical change?

A.

An electric current is used.

B.

New substances are produced.

C.

Water undergoes a change in state.

D.

The composition of the original substance remains unchanged.

Which of the following describes a contact force?

A.

a table supports a book

B.

a ball’s weight makes it fall

C.

Earth and the moon pull on each other

D.

a magnet holds a picture to a refrigerator

How does the mass of an object affect the force of gravity experienced
by the object?

A.

The force of gravity increases as mass increases.

B.

The force of gravity decreases as mass increases.

C.

The force of gravity remains constant because the acceleration is the
same.

D.

The force of gravity is the same for all objects because the force is
determined by Earth’s mass.

The graph below shows the distance a car traveled over 18 hours.

Which statement correctly describes the motion of the car?

A.

The car is accelerating uphill and then downhill.

B.

The car accelerates forward, stops, and then accelerates back.

C.

The car is moving uphill at a constant speed, driving straight, and then
downhill.

D.

The car is moving at a fast constant speed, stops, and then returns at a
constant speed.

Some ice cubes are added to a pot of boiling water. After a few
moments, the water stops boiling.

Which of the following explains why the water stopped boiling?

A.

Cold energy is transferred from the ice causing it to melt.

B.

Heat energy is transferred from the water to the ice, melting the ice.

C.

Particles from the boiling water moved into the ice and melted the
ice.

D.

Cold energy from the ice is transferred into the water, lowering the
temperature of the water.

The following picture shows all the forces acting on this box.

What is the net force acting on this box?

A.

50 N upward

B.

120 N upward

C.

50 N downward

D.

120 N downward

When NASA scientists communicate with the Mars rover, shown in the
illustration, they use electromagnetic radiation with a long wavelength
and low energy.

Which type of radiation do they most likely use?

A.

visible light

B.

radio waves

C.

X-ray waves

D.

infrared waves

Which of the following identifies a type of electromagnetic radiation
with a higher frequency than Microwaves but a lower frequency than
Ultraviolet waves?

A.

X-ray waves

B.

Radio waves

C.

Infrared waves

D.

Gamma waves

Through which of the following materials will light waves travel the
slowest?

A.

copper pipe

B.

swimming pool

C.

air on a cold day

D.

sauna filled with steam

While Melinda was at the beach, she decided to go swimming. While she
was in the water, she saw a motorboat in the distance. When Melinda
put her head under the water, she discovered that she could hear the
sound of the motorboat. The next day, she asked her science teacher
why this happened.

What explanation did Melinda’s science teacher provide?

A.

Sounds travel fastest through the air.

B.

The motorboat moved closer to Melinda.

C.

Sounds travel faster through liquids than through gases.

D.

Melinda’s sense of hearing is better underwater than on land.

When NASA scientists communicate with the Mars rover, shown in the
illustration, they use electromagnetic radiation with a long wavelength
and low energy.

Which type of radiation do they most likely use?

A.

visible light

B.

radio waves

C.

X-ray waves

D.

infrared waves

Ms. Lewis is a chemist mixing two solutions together. A reaction
takes place, and the solution becomes warm.

Which statement best describes what has happened?

A.

Energy has been created in the form of thermal energy.

B.

The chemical energy of the solution has been destroyed.

C.

Energy has been transformed from chemical to thermal energy.

D.

More thermal energy has been created than has been destroyed.

Gordon throws a baseball into the air. It rises, stops momentarily
when it reaches its greatest height, and then falls back to the
ground.

At what point does kinetic energy convert to potential energy?

A.

when the baseball is rising

B.

when the baseball is falling

C.

just after the baseball hits the ground

D.

while the baseball is at its highest point

Some ice cubes are added to a pot of boiling water. After a few
moments, the water stops boiling.

Which of the following explains why the water stopped boiling?

A.

Cold energy is transferred from the ice causing it to melt.

B.

Heat energy is transferred from the water to the ice, melting the ice.

C.

Particles from the boiling water moved into the ice and melted the
ice.

D.

Cold energy from the ice is transferred into the water, lowering the
temperature of the water.

Kito puts his spoon (20°C) into a serving of hot mashed potatoes (50°C) as
shown in the figure below.

Which process takes place when the spoon and mashed potatoes come in
contact?

A.

The average temperature of the spoon does not change.

B.

The temperature of the spoon increases, but its thermal energy does not
change.

C.

The thermal energy of both the mashed potatoes and the spoon
increases as thermal energy is transferred between them.

D.

Thermal energy is transferred from the warmer mashed potatoes to the
cooler spoon until they are at the same temperature.

A manufacturer selected a metal to use in producing a lightweight
button for clothing. A metal that has a density of 2.71 g/cm3 was
selected.

Use the data provided, which metal was selected? (Density =
Mass/Volume)

A.

Metal 1

B.

Metal 2

C.

Metal 3

D.

Metal 4

Metal

Mass (g)

Volume (cm3)

1

22.1

3.0

2

42.0

4.0

3

9.32

5.0

4

8.13

3.0

Daryl is conducting experiments on samples of pure
copper (Cu). While collecting data, he records both the
physical and chemical properties of the metal. Which of the
following is dependent on the amount of Cu in the sample?

A.

mass

B.

density

C.

melting point

D.

electrical conductivity

The diagram below shows two substances joining together to form a
third substance.

Which of these substances is a compound?

A.

A only

B.

B only

C.

C only

D.

both B and C

Which element below has similar properties to Sodium (Na)?

A.

Sulfur (S) and Argon (Ar)

B.

Boron (B) and Neon (Ne)

C.

Calcium (Ca) and Yttrium (Y)

D.

Potassium (K) and Lithium (Li)

The process of passing an electric current through water is known as
electrolysis. During electrolysis, the electric current breaks down the
water into hydrogen and oxygen gasses.

Why is the electrolysis of water an example of a chemical change?

A.

An electric current is used.

B.

New substances are produced.

C.

Water undergoes a change in state.

D.

The composition of the original substance remains unchanged.

Jorge conducted an experiment and included the graph below as part of his
lab report.

Jorge’s experiment involved which of the following?

A.

a physical change

B.

a chemical change

C.

the formation of a new substance

D.

a change in the chemical properties of a substance