Quiz about Physical Science MAAP Practice Test Questions

Question 1

A student is comparing two sound waves. Select the answers that correctly compare the wavelength and the energy of the two sound waves. The wavelength of sound wave X is _________ the wavelength of sound Y. Therefore, sound wave X has ________ sound wave Y.

Accepted Answer

shorter than, more energy than

Answer

shorter than, less energy than

Answer

longer than, more energy than

Answer

shorter than, the same amount of energy as

Answer

equal to, the same amout of energy as

Question 2

The color _________ has the most energy, as it has the ________ wavelength.

Accepted Answer

violet, shortest

Answer

orange, shortest

Answer

red, longest

Answer

blue, longest

Question 3

Which statement best describes the behavior of the different colors of light exiting the prism after the white light shines on it?

Accepted Answer

D. The different colors of light refract at different angles.

Answer

A. The different colors of light reflect at the same angle.

Answer

B. The different colors of light reflect at different angles.

Answer

C. The different colors of light refract at the same angle.

Question 4

The diagrams represent the movement of sound from music playing to a person's ear and the movement of light from a source to an object and then to the observer.
Which statement best explains which type of energy shown needs a medium through which to travel?

Accepted Answer

C. Sound needs to travel through a medium because it involves the movement of particles.

Answer

A. Sound needs to travel through a medium because the energy is produced by a speaker.

Answer

B. Light needs to travel through a medium because it involves the movement of light rays.

Answer

D. Light needs to travel through a medium because the energy is moved in two directions

Question 5

A student builds a simple guitar using rubber bands and a cardboard box. Plucking the rubber bands results in sound waves. Which step would best help the student investigate the effect of changing the resonance of the sound waves?

Accepted Answer

D. building a similar guitar using a larger or smaller box

Answer

A. adding more rubber bands to the guitar

Answer

B. adding color patterns to the outside of the box

Answer

C. using more force when plucking the rubber bands

Question 6

A light source sends light waves through a small opening in a piece of paper to a screen. The diagram shows the setup Choose the answers that best describe the most likely effect that the opening in the paper will have on the light waves.

The light waves will be diffracted by the opening in the paper, causing the light waves to 1.( cancel out / come together / spread out ) and appear 2.( brighter / dimmer / equally bright ).

Accepted Answer

1. spread out, dimmer

Answer

come together, dimmer

Answer

cancel out, brighter

Answer

come together, equally bright

Question 7

A student is investigating the properties of sound waves and light waves. To learn more about sound, the student constructs a straw horn following the procedure below.
Procedure
1. Collect three plastic straws and cut them to three different lengths.
2. Flatten the top end of each straw and cut off the top corners of each straw.
3. Tape the three straws together.
4. Blow air downward into each straw and listen to the sound
The student observes that the shorter straws produce sounds with a higher pitch. Which set of information identifies and explains the characteristic of sound that the student observes?

Accepted Answer

D. Characteristic: frequency Explanation: Sounds with higher pitches have greater frequencies.

Answer

A. Characteristic: amplitude Explanation: Sounds with higher pitches have greater amplitudes.

Answer

B. Characteristic: amplitude Explanation: Sounds with lower pitches have greater amplitudes.

Answer

C. Characteristic: frequency Explanation: Sounds with lower pitches have greater frequencies.

Question 8

A student is investigating the properties of sound waves and light waves. To learn more about sound, the student constructs a straw horn following the procedure below.
Procedure
1. Collect three plastic straws and cut them to three different lengths.
2. Flatten the top end of each straw and cut off the top corners of each straw.
3. Tape the three straws together.
4. Blow air downward into each straw and listen to the sound
The student wants to investigate how sound waves from the straw horn interact with different materials. Which wave property should be tested, and which method should be used to test it?

Accepted Answer

A. Wave property: absorption  Method: playing the straw horn in a room with hard surfaces and a room with soft surfaces

Answer

B. Wave property: absorption  Method: making several sounds from straws of different lengths

Answer

C. Wave property: pitch   Method: playing the straw horn in a room with hard surfaces and a room with soft surfaces

Answer

D. Wave property: pitch   Method: making several sounds from straws of different lengths

Question 9

Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells capture sunlight to produce electrical energy. The graph shows the components of sunlight reaching Earth's surface. The table shows three types of PV cells and the wavelengths of light absorbed for electrical production.
Which statement explains which PV cells would most likely produce more energy from sunlight?

Accepted Answer

C. Blue-absorbing PV cells would produce more energy because blue-light wavelengths contain more energy than other wavelengths and produce more energy from sunlight.

Answer

A. Blue-absorbing PV cells would produce more energy because infrared light wavelengths are most of the energy in sunlight and produce more energy from sunlight.

Answer

B. Red-absorbing PV cells would produce more energy because infrared light wavelengths are most of the energy in sunlight and produce more energy from sunlight.

Answer

D. Red-absorbing PV cells would produce more energy because blue-light wavelengths contain more energy than other wavelengths and produce more energy from sunlight

Question 10

The model represents a sound wave. Which statement best describes the relationship between matter and energy in a sound wave?

Accepted Answer

C. Energy in a sound wave transfers between particles of matter in a repeating pattern.

Answer

A. Particles of matter transform into energy to produce a sound wave.

Answer

B. Energy in a sound wave moves particles of matter from one place to another.

Answer

D. Particles of matter are transformed into other types of matter by energy in a sound wave.

Question 11

The energy of a single wave could power an electric car for hundreds of miles if its energy were converted into electrical energy in a wave energy converter. Which statement correctly describes the energy in ocean waves?

Accepted Answer

D. Ocean waves carry energy originating from the Sun, which unevenly heats the air and produces winds that transfer energy to the water surface.

Answer

A. Ocean waves interact with other waves, diminishing in energy as the waves reach the shore.

Answer

B. Ocean waves travel thousands of miles before reaching the shore, losing energy as they travel.

Answer

C. Ocean waves move in different directions, making it difficult to harness energy for conversion into electrical energy.

Question 12

A student is using an instrument to produce the following sound differences.
Sound Differences        
1. one loud sound and one quiet sound of the same pitch 
2. two sounds of different pitches
Which statement best describes the sound differences produced by the student?

Accepted Answer

C. Sound difference 1 is caused by the amplitude of the sound waves, and sound difference 2 is caused by the frequency of the sound waves.

Answer

A. Both sound difference 1 and sound difference 2 are caused by the amplitude of the sound waves.

Answer

B. Both sound difference 1 and sound difference 2 are caused by the frequency of the sound waves.

Answer

D. Sound difference 1 is caused by the frequency of the sound waves, and sound difference 2 is caused by the amplitude of the sound waves.

Question 13

A student uses rubber bands, paper towel tubes, and two tissue boxes of different sizes to build two guitars. Guitar 2 is deeper and wider than guitar 1. Both guitars have an equal length. The student uses four rubber bands, each with a different width, as strings on each guitar.
Which statement best describes the sounds made by the guitars?

Accepted Answer

B. Guitar 2 is the louder guitar because the sound energy produced by plucking a rubber band causes a larger volume of air in the box to resonate and amplify the sound.

Answer

A. Guitar 1 is the louder guitar because the sound energy produced by plucking a rubber band causes a smaller volume of air in the box to resonate and amplify the sound.

Answer

C. Guitar 1 is the louder guitar because the rubber bands are stretched tighter around the box, amplifying the sound.

Answer

D. Guitar 2 is the louder guitar because the rubber bands are less stretched around the box, amplifying the sound.

Question 14

The electrical telegraph was the first point-to-point messaging system. This system worked by sending electrical signals through a wire laid between two stations. The telegraph system was eventually replaced by the telephone system.
Which statement best identifies the primary difference between these two communication systems?

Accepted Answer

D. The telegraph transmits coded electrical signals that are decoded at a receiving station; the telephone converts sound waves to electrical signals that travel through an electrical connection.

Answer

A. The telegraph converts mechanical energy to electrical signals; the telephone converts sound energy to light waves that are reflected from satellites to receiving stations.

Answer

B. The telegraph converts sound waves to electrical signals that generate a code at the receiving station; the telephone converts light waves to electrical signals that generate sound waves.

Answer

C. The telegraph transmits mechanical signals to produce sound waves at the receiving station; the telephone produces sound waves that are converted to electrical energy at a receiving station.

Question 15

A group of students in a class is researching how cellular telephones transmit sound from one person to another person who is hundreds of miles away. The group presents a step-by-step description to the class.
                        Cellular Telephone Process
1. The cellular telephone converts sound energy into digital signals.
2. The digital signals are transmitted to a cell tower a few miles away.
3. The cell tower transmits the digital signals to a switching office.
4. The switching office transmits the digital signals to another cell tower hundreds of miles away.
5. The cell tower transmits the digital signals to the telephone of the person receiving the call a few miles away.
6. The receiver telephone converts digital signals into sound.
Which statement most accurately describes a step of the cellular telephone transmission process?

Accepted Answer

B. In step 2, the digital signals are transmitted using electromagnetic waves.

Answer

A. In step 1, digital information is converted into mechanical waves.

Answer

C. In step 5, the digital signals are transmitted using sound waves.

Answer

D. In step 6, sound waves are converted into electromagnetic waves.

Question 16

A teacher places an apple on a table in a sunlit classroom. The students observe that the apple appears red. The teacher then holds a blue filter in front of the apple. The blue filter transmits only blue light. The students observe that the apple appears black.
Why does the apple appear black and not red when observed with the blue filter?

Accepted Answer

D. The other colors of the visible spectrum are absorbed by the filter, and no colors are reflected.

Answer

A. The colors of the visible spectrum are destroyed by the filter, and no colors are reflected.

Answer

B. The colors of the visible spectrum are destroyed by the filter, and no colors are absorbed.

Answer

C. The other colors of the visible spectrum are reflected by the filter, and no colors are absorbed.

Physical Science MAAP Practice Test Questions

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