wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

NEW

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

Pre-Test (Physics)

Total questions: 50

Worksheet time: 25mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What is the branch of science that is concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy? Its subject matter includes mechanics, heat, light and other radiation, sound, electricity, magnetism, and the structure of atoms.

a)

kinematics

b)

Classical physics

c)

Modern physics

d)

physics

2.

The degree of refinement in the performance of an operation, or the degree of perfection in the instruments and methods used to obtain a result is called _______________

a)

accuracy

b)

uncertainty

c)

precision

d)

error

3.

What is the process of detecting an unknown physical quantity using standard quantity?

a)

measurement

b)

kinematics

c)

vectors

d)

errors

4.

It is the velocity of an object in motion at a specific point in time. This is determined similarly to average velocity, but we narrow the period of time so that it approaches zero.

a)

instantaneous velocity

b)

instantaneous displacement

c)

instantaneous acceleration

d)

instantaneous resultant

5.

You drive your car from your house all the way to your school which is 50km away. After you are done with classes you drive back through the same route and park exactly where you had your car at the beginning of the day. By the end of the day, what were the distance and displacement of your motion?

a)

Distance=100km, Displacement=0km

b)

Distance=−50km, Displacement=50km

c)

Distance=50km, Displacement=50km

d)

Distance=0km, Displacement=−100km

6.

A student measures the mass, volume, weight, and density of a solid in SI units. Which measurement(s) has/have units that are not a type of derived unit?

a)

Mass and volume

b)

Mass and weight

c)

Weight and density

d)

Only mass

7.

An airplane is in flight. Which of the following is an example of a vector?

a)

None of these are vectors

b)

The angle at which the plane flies

c)

The speed of the plane

d)

The velocity of the plane

8.

The systematic errors are those errors that tend to be in one direction, either positive or negative. Some of the sources of systematic errors are the following EXCEPT

a)

Instrumental errors that arise from the errors due to imperfect design or calibration of the measuring instrument, zero error in the instrument, etc.

b)

Imperfection in experimental technique or procedure.

c)

Unpredictable fluctuations in experimental conditions.

d)

Personal errors that arise due to an individual’s bias, lack of proper setting of the apparatus or individual’s carelessness in taking observations without observing proper precautions.

9.

What uniformly accelerated motion occurs wherein the state of a body moves freely in any manner in the presence of gravity?

a)

acceleration

b)

circular motion

c)

free fall

d)

projectile motion

10.

What path of a massive object in motion follows through space as a function of time?

a)

trajectory

b)

projectile

c)

range

d)

displacement

11.

What is the tendency of all matter to stay still, or, if in motion, to continue moving in the same direction, unless acted upon by an outside force?

a)

inertia

b)

impulse

c)

momentum

d)

trajectory

12.

What is the law of motion that pertains to an external force requiring the body to move in uniform motion?

a)

law of inertia

b)

law of dynamic

c)

law of acceleration

d)

law of ellipse

13.

All of the following statements are true. Which of them is NOT explained by Newton's first law of motion?

a)

A baseball thrown in space will keep moving in the same direction until it hits something.

b)

A ball rolling straight down a tilted plane hill won't veer left or right unless something pushes it.

c)

Dropping a box causes it to accelerate downwards.

d)

A book lying on a desk doesn't start moving without an external force.

14.

You are traveling on an airplane at constant speed of 650mph. Your friend is traveling in his car at a constant speed of 60mph. Who experiences a larger acceleration?

a)

Neither you nor your friend

b)

Your friend

c)

You

d)

Cannot be determined; we must know the force due to friction

15.

You are sitting in a car, at rest, when another car rear ends your vehicle. Why do you and the passengers experience a whiplash, in terms of Newton's laws of motion?

a)

Acceleration is the time derivative of velocity

b)

None of these

c)

A larger/more massive object means a larger inertia

d)

An object at rest tends to stay at rest

16.

Suppose that two people skydive out of a plane. Person A is 40 kg, while person B is 80 kg. After both people open their parachutes, they begin to slow down until they both reach a constant velocity. How does the net force between persons A and B differ?

a)

The net force on person A is four times as great

b)

The net force on person A and B are equal

c)

The net force on person A is twice as great

d)

The net force on person B is four times as great

17.

What law of motion states that the total linear momentum of a closed system remains constant through time, regardless of other possible changes within the system?

a)

equilibrium of particle

b)

conservation of momentum

c)

friction

d)

law of acceleration

18.

What force pertains to the resistance to motion of one object relative to one another?

a)

friction

b)

momentum

c)

work

d)

energy

19.

What is the energy that exists by virtue of the relative positions (configurations) of the objects within a physical system?

a)

kinetic energy

b)

potential energy

c)

mechanical energy

d)

gravitational energy

20.

What principle of work and kinetic energy states that the work done by the sum of all forces acting on a particle equals the change in the kinetic energy of the particle?

a)

Aristotelian’s law

b)

law of inertia

c)

work – energy theorem

d)

power

21.

The same force F pushes in three different ways on a box moving with a velocity v, as the drawings show. Rank the work done by the force F in ascending order (smallest first):

a)

(C, A, B)

b)

(A, C, B)

c)

(B, C, A)

d)

(A, B, C)

22.

In a totally inelastic collision between two objects, all of the following are true, except that __________.

a)

momentum is conserved

b)

the two objects stick together

c)

energy is conserved

d)

kinetic energy is conserved

23.

In an elastic collision, which of the following quantities is not conserved?

a)

Potential energy

b)

Momentum

c)

Kinetic energy

d)

All of these are conserved

24.

Scientists invent a frictionless surface that allows any object to slide without losing energy to friction. How would the energy of a ball change if it were rolled down the side of a bowl made of this frictionless material in a vacuum?

a)

Internal energy would decrease when the ball rolls upward

b)

There would be no change in energy

c)

Potential and kinetic energy would both gradually decrease and eventually become zero

d)

Both kinetic and potential energy would constantly change

25.

What principle in physics states that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant irrespective of whatever internal changes may take place with energy disappearing in one form reappearing in another?

a)

conservative force

b)

conservation of energy

c)

non – conservative force

d)

impulse – momentum theorem

26.

What are the forces that are exerted on any part of the system by other objects outside the system?

a)

conservative forces

b)

non-conservative forces

c)

external forces

d)

internal forces

27.

What principle of physics states that for an isolated system, the total momentum before an interaction is equal to the total momentum after the interaction?

a)

conservation of energy

b)

collisions

c)

conservation of momentum

d)

center of mass

28.

What forces are exchanged by the objects in the system?

a)

external forces

b)

internal forces

c)

conservative forces

d)

non-conservative forces

29.

Which of these would NOT be an example of an inelastic collision?

a)

A match scrapes a matchbook and bursts into flame

b)

Two hydrogen atoms fuse together to form a helium atom and gamma radiation

c)

Neutrons fuse with hydrogen atoms in a nuclear reactor core such that kinetic energy is conserved

d)

A man is clapping his hands such that they move with equal, but opposite velocities

30.

Which of the following changes would increase a pendulum's frequency?

a)

Decreasing the angle of displacement

b)

Increasing the angle of displacement

c)

Shortening the length of the pendulum's string

d)

Increasing the length of the pendulum's string

31.

Consider a spring undergoing simple harmonic motion. When the spring is at its maximum velocity __________.

a)

kinetic energy is at a minimum and potential energy is at a maximum

b)

kinetic energy is at a maximum and potential energy is at a minimum

c)

kinetic energy and potential energy are at a minimum

d)

kinetic energy and potential energy are at a maximum

32.

Ignoring air resistance, which of the following is true regarding the motion of a pendulum?

a)

At the bottom of the oscillation potential energy is at a minimum and kinetic energy is at a minimum

b)

At the bottom of the oscillation potential energy is at a minimum and kinetic energy is at a maximum

c)

At the bottom of the oscillation potential energy is at a maximum and kinetic energy is at a maximum

d)

At the bottom of the oscillation potential energy is at a maximum and kinetic energy is at a minimum

33.

What is defined as the distance from the axis of rotation to a point where the total mass of the body is supposed to be concentrated, so that the moment of inertia about the axis may remain the same?

a)

radius of gyration

b)

torque

c)

moment arm

d)

moment of inertia

34.

What angular kinematics in physics refers to the rate of velocity at which an object or a particle is rotating around a center or a specific point in a given time period?

a)

moment of inertia

b)

angular displacement

c)

angular acceleration

d)

angular velocity

35.

What rotational motion tends the force applied to an object to make it rotate about an axis?

a)

angular velocity

b)

moment of inertia

c)

torque

d)

angular momentum

36.

What law of planetary motion states that the ratio of the squares of the orbital period for two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their mean orbit radius?

a)

law of ellipses

b)

law of equal areas

c)

law of period

d)

escape velocity

37.

A mechanic is using a wrench to loosen and tighten screws on an engine block and wants to increase the amount of torque he puts on the screws to adjust them more easily. Which of the following steps will not help him to do so?

a)

Using a wrench of a different material

b)

Pulling or pushing at an angle that is less perpendicular to the wrench

c)

Increasing the magnitude of the force he puts on the wrench

d)

Using a longer wrench

38.

What is the difference in the angular velocity of the second hand of radius 1cm on a wristwatch, compared to the second hand of radius 5m on a large clock tower?

a)

The clocktower second hand has an angular velocity that is 500 times faster than that of the wristwatch

b)

The clocktower second hand has an angular velocity that is 5 times faster than that of the wristwatch

c)

The clocktower second hand has an angular velocity that is 500 times slower than that of the wristwatch

d)

No difference

39.

Two cars are racing side by side on a circular race track. Which has the greater angular velocity?

a)

Impossible to determine

b)

They are the same

c)

The inside car

d)

The outside car

40.

The ukulele is a short instrument, relative to a guitar. How does this affect the frequencies of sounds that these two instruments produce? Assume the two instruments use the same strings.

a)

The shorter length creates a higher speed of sound

b)

The shorter length strings produce higher frequencies

c)

The shorter length strings produce lower frequencies

d)

The shorter length creates a lower speed of sound

41.

What is defined as a relatively massive object hung by a string from a fixed support?

a)

physical pendulum

b)

underdamped oscillation

c)

simple pendulum

d)

overdamped oscillation

42.

What do you call the wave motion, in which the particles of the medium oscillate about their mean positions at right angles to the direction of propagation of the wave?

a)

mechanical wave

b)

longitudinal wave

c)

transverse wave

d)

electromagnetic wave

43.

What is the proposition in hydrostatics stating that the downward pressure of a liquid does not depend on the shape of the container but only on the height of the fluid?

a)

hydrostatic pressure

b)

hydrostatic paradox

c)

Pascal’s principle

d)

atmospheric pressure

44.

What is defined as the upward-directed force that a fluid exerts on an object and is partially or completely immersed in the fluid?

a)

Pascal’s principle

b)

relative density

c)

Archimedes’ principle

d)

buoyant force

45.

What theorem in fluid dynamics relates the speed of fluid flowing out of an orifice to the height of fluid above the opening?

a)

Continuity equation

b)

Zeroth Law

c)

Torricelli's law

d)

Bernoulli's principle

46.

The speed of sounds is the fastest in which of the following media?

a)

Glass

b)

Water

c)

Air

d)

Vacuum

47.

Three substances are added to a mug to make coffee: the coffee, which is 65oC, the milk, which is 65oC, and the sugar, which is in thermal equilibrium with the coffee. Describe the thermal state of the sugar.

a)

The sugar is in equilibrium with the milk, based on the zeroth law of thermodynamics

b)

Heat will be transferred from the coffee to the sugar to reach equilibrium

c)

The sugar is 65oC, based on the second law of thermodynamics

d)

None of these conclusions are valid

48.

Which will produce the greatest increase in flow velocity through a tube?

a)

Doubling the tube radius

b)

Halving the tube radius

c)

Dividing the tube area by three

d)

Doubling the tube area

49.

Cazzie is holding onto an ice cube. Why does it melt in her hand?

a)

The cold leaves the ice cube

b)

Her hand took energy from the ice cube

c)

The ice cube gave off energy to her hand

d)

The heat from her hand warms it

50.

A metal sample is suspended from a thread and submerged in a beaker of water. The metal sample does not touch the sides or bottom of the beaker. The beaker of water is on a laboratory scale as the metal sample is submerged. What happens to the scale reading as the sample is submerged?

a)

The scale reading first increases then decreases

b)

The scale reading increases

c)

The scale reading first decreases then increases

d)

The scale reading does not change