WorksheetsScience Bowl Physics Quiz
Total questions: 120
Worksheet time: 3hrs 45mins
In the SI system of measure, what is the unit of capacitance?
A boy is standing on an elevator which is traveling downward with a constant velocity of 30 meters per second. The boy throws a ball vertically upward with a velocity of 10 meters per second relative to the elevator. What is the velocity of the ball, MAGNITUDE AND DIRECTION, relative to the elevator shaft the instant the boy releases the ball?
A ball leaves a girl's hand with an upward velocity of 6 meters per second. What is the maximum height of the ball above the girl's hand?
A boy throws a ball vertically upward with a velocity of 6 meters per second. How long does it take the ball to return to the boy's hand?
A toy train moves in a circle of 8 meters radius with a speed of 4 meters per second. What is the magnitude of the acceleration of the train?
A certain machine exerts a force of 200 newtons on a box whose mass is 30 kilograms. The machine moves the box a distance of 20 meters along a horizontal floor. What amount of work does the machine do on the box?
A box is initially at rest on a horizontal, frictionless table. If a force of 10 Newtons acts on the box for 3 seconds, what is the momentum of the box at the end of the 3 second interval?
A 10 kilogram body initially moving with a velocity of 10 meters per second makes a head-on collision with a 15 kilogram body initially at rest. The two objects stick together. What is the velocity of the combined system just after the collision?
A certain spring is known to obey Hooke's Law. If a force of 10 newtons stretches the spring 2 meters, how far will a 30 newton force stretch the spring?
A helicopter is ascending vertically with a constant speed of 6 meters per second relative to the ground. At the instant the helicopter is 60 meters above the ground it releases a package. What is the magnitude and direction of the velocity of the package, relative to the ground, the instant the package is released by the helicopter?
A 40 kilogram girl climbs a vertical distance of 5 meters in twenty seconds at a constant velocity. How much work has the girl done?
A machine performs 8 Joules of work in 2 seconds. How much power is delivered by this machine?
What is the name of the first American physicist to win two Nobel prizes?
Who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909 with Guglielmo Marconi for his contribution to the development of wireless telegraphy?
Who first theoretically predicted the existence of the positron, a positively charged electron? He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933.
Name the female physicist who received the Nobel Prize in 1963 for her discovery concerning the shell structure of the nucleus.
The constant potential difference across a 2 ohm resistor is 20 volts. How many watts of power are dissipated by this resistor?
The potential difference across a 4 ohm resistor is 20 volts. Assuming that all of the energy dissipated by this resistor is in the form of heat, how many joules of heat are radiated in 10 seconds?
Five volts are applied across the plates of a parallel plate capacitor. The distance of separation of the plates is .02 meters. What is the magnitude of the electric field inside the capacitor?
Used normally, a 150-watt, 120 volt light bulb requires how many amps of current?
If 10 joules of energy are required to move 5 coulombs of charge between two points, the potential difference between the two points is equal to how many volts?
A two farad and a four farad capacitor are connected in series. What single capacitance is 'equivalent' to this combination?
What single capacitance is "equivalent" to this combination?
A 10 farad capacitor is used in a circuit. The voltage difference between the plates of the capacitor is 20 volts. What is the magnitude of the charge on each of the capacitor's plates?
A circuit which employs a DIRECT CURRENT source has a branch which contains a capacitor. After the circuit has reached a steady state, what is the magnitude of the current in the circuit branch which contains the capacitor?
A charged particle is moving in a UNIFORM magnetic field. If the direction of motion of the charged particle is parallel to the magnetic field, describe the shape of the charged particle's path.
The focal length of a concave mirror is 2 meters. An object is positioned 8 meters in front of the mirror. Where is the image of this object formed?
A converging thin lens has a focal length of 27 centimeters. An object is placed 9 centimeters from the lens. Where is the image of this object formed?
In Bohr's theory of the atom, what force was responsible for holding the electrons in their orbit?
Davisson and Germer scattered electrons from a crystal of nickel. The scattered electrons formed a strong diffraction pattern. What important conclusion was drawn from this experiment?
The speed at which a wave propagates down a string is 300 meters per second. If the frequency of this wave is 150 Hertz, what is the wavelength of this wave?
Assume a ray of light is incident on a smooth reflecting surface at an angle of incidence of 15 degrees to the normal. What is the angle between the incident ray and the reflected ray?
The focal length of a concave spherical mirror is equal to 1 meter. What is the radius of curvature of this mirror?
A quarter of a wavelength is equal to how many degrees of phase?
The frequency of a wave is 50 Hertz and its wavelength is 25 meters. What is the velocity of this wave?
Besides solid, liquid, and gas, what is the fourth form of matter?
What is 25,000 miles per hour on earth, and 5,300 miles per hour on the Moon?
In Einstein's universe, what is the fourth dimension?
Shockley, Brattain and Bardeen won a Nobel prize for what small invention?
What mechanical and electronic device has a name derived from a Czechoslovakian word meaning "work; compulsory service"?
What is the name of the temperature and pressure conditions at which water can be in the solid, liquid and gas phases simultaneously?
A force applied to a rocket gives it an upward acceleration equal to 2 times the acceleration of gravity. The magnitude of the force is equal to:
Induced electric currents can be explained using which of the following laws?
Gauss's Law
Faraday's Law
Ohm's Law
Ampere's Law
Whose principle or law states that each point on a wavefront may be considered a new wave source? Is it:
Snell's Law
Huygen's Principle
Young's Law
Hertz's Law.
For a negative point charge, the electric field vectors:
circle the charge
point radially in toward the charge
point radially away from the charge
cross at infinity
As defined in physics, work is:
a scalar quantity
always a positive quantity
a vector quantity
always zero
Work is equal to which of the following?
the cross product of force and displacement.
the product of force times time
force divided by time
the dot product of force and displacement
To convert a galvanometer to a voltmeter, you should add a:
high resistance in series
high resistance in parallel
low resistance in series
low resistance in parallel
In physics, a radian per second is a unit of:
angular displacement
angular velocity
angular acceleration
angular momentum.
Two vibrating particles that are "out of phase" differ in the phase of their vibration by:
1/4 cycle
1/2 cycle
3/4 cycle
1 cycle
A virtual image can be formed by one or more of the following single mirrors? Identify them.
plane mirror
concave spherical mirror
convex spherical mirror
all of the above
Iron is what type of magnetic material? Is it:
diamagnetic
paramagnetic
ferromagnetic
non-magnetic
The SI unit of pressure is the:
Torr
dyne per centimeter squared
atmosphere
pascal
As a pendulum is raised to higher altitudes, its period:
increases
decreases
remains the same
decreases, then remains the same
An infinitely long wire carries a current of three amps. The magnetic field outside the wire:
points radially away from the wire
points radially inward
circles the wire
is zero.
A pendulum which is suspended from the ceiling of a railroad car is observed to hang at an angle of 10 degrees to the right of vertical. Which of the following answers could explain this phenomena?
The railroad car is at rest.
The railroad car is accelerating to the left.
The railroad car is moving with constant velocity to the right.
The railroad car is accelerating to the right.
A copper rod which is 1 centimeter in diameter carries a current of 5 amps. The current is distributed uniformly throughout the rod. The magnetic field half way between the axis of the rod and its outside edge is:
zero.
pointing radially outward
pointing radially inward
circles the axis of the rod
If the resultant force acting on a body of constant mass is zero, the body's momentum is:
increasing
decreasing
always zero
constant
The Tesla and the Gauss are units of measure of:
conductance
magnetic field strength
magnetic flux
electrical current
The potential drop between the terminals of a battery is equal to the battery's EMF when:
no current is drawn from the battery
a very large current is drawn from the battery
the internal resistance of the battery is very large
the resistance in the external circuit is small
A constant potential difference is applied across the plates of a parallel-plate capacitor. Neglecting any edge effects, the electric field inside the capacitor is:
constant
varying as one over r squared
decreasing as one moves from the positive to the negative plate
zero
The value of G, the universal gravitational constant, was measured experimentally by:
Newton
Cavendish
Copernicus
Kepler
A standing wave is formed on a tightly stretched string. The distance between a node and an antinode is:
1/8 wavelength
1/4 wavelength
1/2 wavelength
1 wavelength
The collision between a photon and a free electron was first explained by which of the following scientists?
Einstein
Heisenberg
Compton
Bohr
If the distance between the earth and moon were halved, the force of the attraction between them would be:
one fourth as great
one half as great
twice as great
four times as great
If the distance between two objects, each of mass 'M', is tripled, the force of attraction between the two objects is:
1/2 the original force
1/3 the original force
1/9 the original force
unchanged
For an infinite sheet of positive charge, the electric field lines:
run parallel to the sheet of charge
are perpendicular to the sheet of charge and point in toward the sheet
are perpendicular to the sheet of charge and point away from the sheet
fall off as one over r squared
As a 10 kilogram mass on the end of a spring passes through its equilibrium position, the kinetic energy of the mass is 20 joules. The speed of the mass is:
2.0 meters per second
4.0 meters per second
5.0 meters per second
6.3 meters per second
Two steel balls are at a distance S from one another. As the mass of ONE of the balls is doubled, the gravitational force of attraction between them is:
quartered
halved
doubled
quadrupled
The greatest induced EMF will occur in a straight wire moving at constant speed through a uniform magnetic field when the angle between the direction of the wire's motion and the direction of the magnetic field is
0 degrees
30 degrees
60 degrees
90 degrees
When a physical property such as charge exists in discrete "packets" rather than in continuous amounts, the property is said to be:
discontinuous
abrupt
quantized
noncontinuous
The time needed for a net force of 10 newtons to change the velocity of a 5 kilograms mass by 3 meters/second is:
1.5 seconds
6 seconds
16.7 seconds
150 seconds
The work done by a friction force is:
always positive
always negative
always zero
either positive or negative depending upon the situation.
A 10 kilogram mass rests on a horizontal frictionless surface. A horizontal force of 5 Newtons is applied to the mass. After the force has been applied for 1 second, the velocity of the mass is:
0 meters per second
0.5 meters per second
5 meters per second
50 meters per second
The wave nature of light is demonstrated by which of the following?
the photoelectric effect
color
the speed of light
diffraction
An electroscope charged WITHOUT contacting a charged body is charged by:
induction
conduction
convection
insulation
Five coulombs of charge are placed on a thin-walled conducting shell. Once the charge has come to rest, the electric potential inside the hollow conducting shell is found to be:
zero
uniform inside the sphere and equal to the electric potential on the surface of the sphere
smaller than the electric potential outside the sphere
varying as one over r squared.
An organ pipe which is open at both ends resonates at its fundamental frequency. Neglecting any end effects, what wavelength is formed by this pipe in this mode of vibration if the pipe is 2 meters long?
2 meters
4 meters
6 meters
8 meters.
The Millikan experiment showed that electric charge was:
negative
quantized
positive
unmeasurable
In the sun, helium is produced from hydrogen by:
radioactive decay
disintegration
fission
fusion
The Michelson interferometer was designed to study the nature of:
water waves
sound waves
an "ether"
sunlight
Alpha particles are nuclei of:
hydrogen
helium
oxygen
nitrogen
Two forces have magnitudes of 11 newtons and 5 newtons. The magnitude of their sum could NOT be equal to which of the following values?
16 newtons
5 newtons
9 newtons
7 newtons
Which of the following colors of visible light has the longest wavelength? Is it:
violet
green
yellow
red
Which of the answers listed below best completes the statement: The rate at which any part of a wave travels from one place to another determines the wave's:
propagation velocity
period
amplitude
frequency
The first law of thermodynamics is concerned with the conservation of
energy
momentum
charge
matter
Which one of the following is the name of a device used to measure voltage without drawing ANY current from the circuit being measured? Is it:
a wattmeter
a galvanometer
an ammeter
a potentiometer
Lenz's law is an example of the law of conservation of one of the following. Is it conservation of:
mass
charge
momentum
energy
After a projectile is fired horizontally near the earth's surface, the horizontal component of its velocity, neglecting any air resistance:
increases steadily
decreases steadily
first decreases, then increases
remains constant
A 10 volt battery connected to a capacitor delivers a charge of 0.5 coulombs. The capacitance of the capacitor is:
2 x 10-2 farads
5 x 10-2 farads
2 farads
5 farads
The first instrument used for measuring temperature was the gas thermoscope invented by:
Celsius
Galileo
Centigrade
Fahrenheit
Which of the following best completes the statement: The calorie is the amount of heat needed to raise:
1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius
1 gram of water 1 degree Rankin
1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius
1 kilogram of water 1 degree Kelvin
Units commonly used for entropy are:
kilograms per degree Kelvin
Joules per degree Kelvin
Newtons per Coulomb
ergs
According to the second law of thermodynamics, energy tends to become more and more unavailable for conversion from:
thermal to kinetic energy
kinetic to thermal energy
thermal to mechanical energy
mechanical to thermal energy
The half-life of an isotope of an element is 5 days. The mass of a 10 gram sample of this isotope remaining after 20 days is:
0.312 grams
0.625 grams
1.25 grams
2.50 grams
Light is normally incident on a thin soap film and is reflected. If the wavelength of this light is "L" and the index of refraction of the soap film is "N", complete destructive interference will occur for a film thickness of:
L / 8N
L / 4N
L / 2N
3L / 4N
A block of metal which weighs 60 newtons in air and 40 newtons under water has a density, in kilograms per meter cubed, of:
1000
3000
5000
7000
Electric current may be expressed in which one of the following units?
coulombs/volt
joules/coulomb
coulombs/second
ohms/second
For the hydrogen atom, which series describes electron transitions to the N=1 orbit, the lowest energy electron orbit? Is it the:
Lyman series
Balmer series
Paschen series
Pfund series
A ball falling vertically from rest for 3 seconds travels very nearly:
14.7 meters
29.4 meters
44.1 meters
88.2 meters
A girl throws a 0.1 kilogram ball at a wall. The ball hits the wall perpendicularly with a velocity of 5 meters per second and then bounces straight back with a velocity of 4 meters per second. The change in the momentum of the ball is:
0.1 kilogram-meters per second
0.4 kilogram-meters per second
0.5 kilogram-meters per second
0.9 kilogram-meters per second
An impulse of 10 kilogram-meter per second acting on an object whose mass is 5 kilogram will cause a change in the objects velocity of:
0.5 meters per second
2 meters per second
10 meters per second
50 meters per second
A spring with a force constant of 100 Newtons per meter is loaded with a mass of 1.0 kilogram. The period of vibration of this system is:
.03 seconds
.06 seconds
.31 seconds
.63 seconds
Which of the following scientists is responsible for the exclusion principle which states that two objects may NOT occupy the same space at the same time? Was it:
Heisenberg
Bohr
Teller
Pauli
When a charge moves through an electric circuit in the direction of an electric force it does one of the following four things. Does it:
lose potential energy and gain kinetic energy
gain potential energy and lose kinetic energy
lose both potential and kinetic energy
gain both potential and kinetic energy
For an object moving in uniform circular motion, the direction of the instantaneous acceleration vector is:
tangent to the path of motion
equal to zero
directed radially outward
directed radially inward
For a parallel-plate capacitor with plate area "A" and plate separation "d", the capacitance is proportional to which of the following?
A divided by d squared
A times d
A divided by d
d divided by A
A car is moving along a straight horizontal road at a speed of 20 meters per second. The brakes are applied and a constant force of 5000 Newtons decelerates the car to a stop in 10 seconds. The mass of the car is:
1250 kilograms
2500 kilograms
5000 kilograms
10,000 kilograms
The force acting between two point charges can be computed using which of the following laws?
Ohm's Law
Ampere's Law
Coulomb's Law
Newton's Second Law.
The amount of heat required to change a boiling liquid to a gas at the same temperature depends on one of the following properties of the liquid. Does it depend on the liquid's:
heat of fusion
heat of vaporization
temperature
density
A satellite of mass "M" is in orbit around the earth. If a second satellite of mass "2M" is to be placed in the same orbit, the second satellite must have a velocity which is:
half the velocity of the first satellite
the same as the velocity of the first satellite
twice the velocity of the first satellite
four times the velocity of the first satellite
The idea that electrons revolved in orbits around the nucleus of an atom without radiating energy away from the atom was postulated by:
Thompson
Bohr
Rutherford
Einstein
A worker lifts a 10 kilogram block a vertical height of 2 meters. The work he does on the block is:
5 Joules
20 Joules
49 Joules
200 Joules
An x-ray photon collides with a free electron, and the photon is scattered. During this collision there is conservation of:
momentum but not energy
neither momentum nor energy
energy but not momentum
both momentum and energy
Two light rays will interfere constructively with maximum amplitude if the path difference between them is:
one wavelength
one-half wavelength
one-quarter wavelength
one-eighth wavelength
When a metal becomes a superconductor, there is a tremendous decrease in its:
total volume
electrical resistance
length
density
As a longitudinal wave moves through a medium, the particles of the medium:
vibrate in a path parallel to the path of the wave
vibrate in a path perpendicular to the path of the wave
follow the wave along its entire path
do not move
A Newton is equal to which of the following?
kilogram-meter per second
meter per second squared
kilogram-meter per second squared
kilogram per meter-second
Three capacitors with different capacitances are connected in series. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
All three of the capacitors have the same potential difference between their plates.
The magnitude of the charge is the same on all of the capacitor plates.
The capacitance of the system depends on the voltage applied across the three capacitors.
Two bodies of equal mass are moving in circular paths at equal speed. The first body moves in a circle whose radius is twice as great as that of the second. The ratio of the centripetal or radial acceleration of the first body to that of the second is:
1 to 4
1 to 3
1 to 2
1 to 1
