After the 5th review exam, There will be two grades on the Web- one grade for choice 2 (graded with no final exam and no dropped review exams), and one grade for choice 1 (accumulated grade going into the final exam from the best 4 review exams).
Final Review Questions
No note pages will be allowed.
There will be 25 questions on the final, drawn from this list.
1. Two objects of different mass are released simultaneously from the top of a 20 foot tower and fall to the ground. If air resistance is negligible, which statement best applies?
a. The greater mass hits the ground first.
b. Both objects hit the ground together.
c. The smaller mass hits the ground first.
d. No conclusion can be made with the information given.
2. The value of an object's acceleration may be characterized in equivalent words by which of the following?
a. Displacement.
b. Rate of change of displacement.
c. Velocity.
d. Rate of change of velocity.
3. If an object is moving with constant acceleration, its velocity will be proportional to
a. v*t
b. x/t
c. a*t
d. a/t
4. When we subtract a velocity vector from another velocity vector, the result is:
a. Another velocity vector.
b. An acceleration vector.
c. A displacement vector.
d. A scalar.
5. If we know an object is moving at constant velocity, we must we assume:
a. There is no net force acting on the object.
b. There are no forces acting on the object.
c. The object is accelerating.
d. The object is losing mass.
6. The sliding friction force is usually proportional to
a. the surface area.
b. the normal force.
c. velocity.
d. all three of the above.
7. Newton's second law of motion may be written as
a. x = a*t2/2
b. v = a*t
c. a = F/m
d. a = F*m
8. Two blocks are released from the top of a building. One falls straight down while the other slides down a smooth ramp. If all friction is ignored, which one is moving faster when it reaches the bottom?
a. The block that went straight down.
b. The block that went down the ramp.
c. They both will have the same speed.
d. Insufficient information to work the problem.
9. The concept of potential energy is related to
a. work done in a conservative force field.
b. velocity squared.
c. mass times the speed of light squared.
d. friction.
10. A 70 kg man is standing in a 20 kg boat. The man steps to the right thinking he is stepping out onto the dock. However, the following will actually happen (ignore the friction of the water or air on the boat or the man):
a. The man only moves a short distance to the right while the boat moves
a larger distance to the left.
b. The man actually stays still while the boat moves toward the left.
c. The boat doesn't move and the man moves to the right.
d. None of the above.
11. Newton's third law (action = reaction) is an expression of
a. conservation of energy.
b. conservation of mass.
c. conservation of forces.
d. conservation of momentum.
e. conservation of charge.
12. A billiard ball collides in an elastic head-on collision with a second stationary identical ball. Which of the following conditions applies to the first ball?
a. maintains the same velocity as before
b. has one half its initial velocity
c. comes to rest
d. moves in the opposite direction
13. From dimensional analysis alone, which of the following is the correct formula for the acceleration required to keep an object moving at constant speed v in a circle of radius r?
a. a = v*v /r
b. a = v /r*r
c. a = r /v*v
d. a = r*r /v
e. If the speed is constant, there is no acceleration.
14. If a net torque is applied to an object, that object will experience:
a. a constant angular velocity.
b. an angular acceleration.
c. a constant moment of inertia.
d. an increasing moment of inertia.
15. When a spinning skater pulls in her arms, her rotation rate increases. Which of the following concepts is responsible?
a. conservation of moment of inertia.
b. conservation of angular momentum.
c. torque = moment of inertia times angular acceleration.
d. for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
16. Generally one may write the same equations for rotations as for linear motions if one replaces
a. mass with moment of inertia.
b. linear displacement with angular displacement.
c. linear velocity with angular velocity.
d. force with torque.
e. All of the above.
17. Which of the following is a definition of pressure?
a. Force per unit area.
b. Mass per unit volume.
c. Momentum per unit volume.
d. Energy per unit area.
e. Two of the above.
18. In hydrostatic equilibrium, the pressure on level surfaces equals
a. the mass per unit volume at that level.
b. the total mass above that level.
c. the total weight of material above a unit area of the surface.
d. the temperature times the density.
e. none of the above.
19. Weight differs from mass by a factor of
a. v (velocity).
b. g (acceleration of gravity).
c. F (force).
d. 2p.
e. 1 (they are the same- just different units).
20. Which best describes the relationship between two systems in thermal equilibrium?
a. No net energy is exchanged.
b. The volumes are equal.
c. The masses are equal.
d. They have zero velocity.
21. The absolute temperature of an ideal gas is directly proportional to which of the following properties of the molecules of that gas?
a. The average speed.
b. The average momentum.
c. The average mass.
d. The average kinetic energy.
22. Which expression below is correct for the equation of state for an ideal gas?
a. PV = nRT.
b. TV = nRP.
c. Q = mc*DT.
d. W = P*DV.
23. Which of the following best describes a substance in which the temperature remains constant while at the same time it is experiencing an inward heat flow?
a. It is a gas.
b. It is a liquid.
c. It is a solid.
d. It is undergoing a change of phase.
24. Which expression below is correct for the first law of thermodynamics (conservation of energy)?
a. PV = nRT.
b. DU = Q-W.
c. Q = mc*DT.
d. W = P*DV.
25. Which one of the following quantities is at a maximum when an object in simple harmonic motion is at its maximum displacement?
a. velocity
b. acceleration
c. kinetic energy
d. frequency
26. Low amplitude pendulums, masses on springs, and vibrating oxygen molecules are all examples of
a. circular motion.
b. simple harmonic motion.
c. forced oscillators.
d. they have nothing in common.
27. If a wave pulse is reflected from a free boundary, which of the following choices best describes what happens to the reflected pulse?
a. It becomes inverted.
b. It remains upright.
c. It is halved in amplitude.
d. It is doubled in amplitude.
28. In transverse waves, particle motion
a. is parallel to the wave travel direction.
b. is perpendicular to the wave travel direction.
c. oscillates between parallel and perpendicular to the wave motion.
d. is stationary while the wave moves.
29. The equation which relates properties of a wave is
a. v = f*w.
b. f = v*w.
c. w = f*v.
d. w = 2p*f.
30. What plays the role of a "spring" to cause the wave oscillations in sound?
a. gravity
b. density
c. pressure
d. no forces are involved.
31. If a conductor is in electrostatic equilibrium near an electrical charge:
a. the total charge on the conductor must be zero.
b. the electric field inside the conductor must be zero.
c. any charges on the conductor must be uniformly distributed.
d. the sum of all forces between the conductor and the charge must be zero.
32. The work needed to move a charge into the direction of an electric field is
a. field strength times charge value times acceleration.
b. field strength times charge value times distance.
c. field strength times mass times acceleration.
d. field strength times mass times distance.
33. Electric field strength and electric force differ by a factor of
a. F (force).
b. m (mass).
c. q (charge).
d. 2p.
e. 1 (they are the same- just different units).
34. The unit for rate of energy transformation, the Watt, in an electric circuit is dimensionally equivalent to which of the following?
a. Volt / sec
b. Ampere * Ohm
c. Volt * Ampere
d. Volt / Ohm
35. Assume that a uniform magnetic field is directed into this page. If an electron is released with an initial velocity directed from the bottom edge to the top edge of the page, which of the following describes the direction of the resultant force acting on the electron? (sound familiar? :-))
a. out of the page
b. to the right
c. to the left
d. into the page
36. The force exerted on a current carrying wire located in an external magnetic field is directly proportional to which of the following?
a. current value times field strength
b. field strength alone
c. field strength divided by current value
d. None of the above are valid
37. The magnetic field produced by a current carrying wire
a. is parallel to the current.
b. is anti-parallel to the current.
c. circles around the wire clockwise as seen parallel to the current.
d. circles around the wire counter-clockwise as seen parallel to the current.
38. Electricity may be generated by rotating a loop of wire between the poles of a magnet. The induced current is greatest when:
a. the plane of the loop is parallel to the magnetic field.
b. the plane of the loop is perpendicular to the magnetic field.
c. the magnetic flux through the loop is a maximum.
d. the plane of the loop makes an angle of 45 deg with the magnetic field.
39. The electric field, E, in an electromagnetic wave is oriented in what direction with respect to its associated magnetic field, B?
a. E is parallel to B.
b. E is anti-parallel to B.
c. E is perpendicular to B.
d. E is at a 45 deg angle to B.
40. Approximately what is the shortest wavelength of EM radiation visible to the normal human eye?
a. 200 nm
b. 400 nm
c. 500 nm
d. 700 nm
41. Which of these phenomena is not a variety of electromagnetic radiation?
a. microwaves
b. light
c. X-rays
d. radio
e. cosmic rays
42. What is the speed of light in a vaccuum? (you better remember it! :-))
a. 300,000 km/sec
b. 186,000 mi/sec
c. 1 light year per year
d. all of the above.
43. The wave-particle duality of light means that, in one experiment:
a. light will act both like a wave and like a particle.
b. light will act either like a wave or like a particle.
c. light will not act like either a wave or a particle.
d. light always exists as two waves or as two particles.
44. What formula would you use to determine ray paths for light passing through a boundary between two media?
a. angle of incidence = angle of reflection
b. v = c/n
c. Snell's law: n1sinq1 =
n2sinq2
d. c = w*f
45. Which of the following describes what will happen to a light ray incident on an glass-to-air boundary at greater than the critical angle?
a. total reflection
b. total transmission
c. partial reflection, partial transmission
d. depends on the angle of incidence
46. A ray of white light, incident upon a glass prism, is dispersed as usual according to frequency. Which one of the following frequencies experiences the greatest angle of deviation?
a. Those perceived as orange.
b. Those perceived as violet.
c. Those perceived as red.
d. Those perceived as green.
47. When light in air hits a smooth piece of glass, the part of the light passing into the glass
a. will not change its speed.
b. will not change its frequency.
c. will not change its wavelength.
d. will not change its intensity.
48. Which of the following best describes the image for a thin convex lens that forms whenever the object is at a distance less (or more?) than one focal length from the lens?
a. It is inverted, enlarged and real.
b. It is upright, enlarged and virtual.
c. It is upright, diminished and virtual.
d. It is inverted, diminished and real.
49. What is reversed in your bright-eyed and bushy-tailed morning mirror image?
a. right-left
b. front-back
c. up-down
d. I always get up on the wrong side of the bed.
50. Interference effects observed in the early 1800's were instrumental in supporting a concept of the existence of which property of light?
a. polarization
b. particle nature
c. wave nature
d. electro-magnetic character
51. The blue tint of a coated camera lens is largely caused by what effects?
a. diffraction
b. refraction
c. polarization
d. interference
52. What color is on the outside edge of a rainbow in the sky?
a. red
b. blue
c. green
d. violet
53. A diverging (or converging?) lens will be prescribed by the eye doctor to correct which of the following?
a. farsightedness
b. glaucoma
c. nearsightedness
d. astigmatism
54. Why are maps good analogies for our perception?
a. We can read maps.
b. The colors on maps have meaning.
c. Maps follow the same conventions as vision.
d. Maps are drawn to scale.
e. Both our vision and maps only represent reality.
55. A magnifing glass uses a:
a. converging lens to form a real image.
b. converging lens to form a virtual image.
c. diverging lens to form a virtual image.
d. diverging lens to form a real image.
56. Einstein's theory of relativity is based in part on which one of the following postulates?
a. Mass and energy are equivalent.
b. Space and time are absolutes.
c. Energy is conserved only in elastic collisions.
d. Speed of light in a vacuum is same for all observers.
57. According to Einstein's prediction, which of the following happens to an observed time interval (or ruler length?) between two events occurring in an inertial frame of reference as the frame's velocity with respect to the observer increases?
a. interval increases
b. interval decreases
c. interval remains constant
d. there is no prediction.
58. The uncertainty principle states that
a. A particle's displacement cannot be precisely defined or measured.
b. A particle's energy cannot be precisely defined or measured.
c. The product of a particle's displacement times its momentum
cannot be precisely defined or measured.
d. Students are always uncertain of the professor's intentions.
(it's getting late...:-))
59. According to the de Broglie hypothesis, the wavelength of a moving particle is
a. directly proportional to its energy
b. directly proportional to its momentum
c. inversely proportional to its energy
d. inversely proportional to its momentum
60. The exclusion principle prevents
a. two electrons from occupying the same quantum state.
b. two electrons from occupying the same atom.
c. electrons from entering an atomic nucleus.
d. more than N electrons from occupying the same atom.
e. more than one student from occupying the same seat (really late...)
61. If there are 2n2 quantum states for each principle quantum number n, how many electrons occupy the outer shell of chlorine atoms (N=17)? (the only numerical problem!)
a. 1
b. 4
c. 7
d. 8
62. The half-life of a radioactive element refers to
a. half of the lifetime of individual atoms.
b. half of the lifetime of a sample of the radioactive material.
c. The decay constant of the material.
d. The time interval in which half of the atoms in a sample will decay.
63. "Missing" particles in a nuclear reaction event can often be assumed to exist to conserve
a. baryon number.
b. lepton number.
c. charge.
d. energy.
e. all of the above.
64. Solar energy originally comes from
a. heat stored in the interior of the sun.
b. hydrogen burning in a chemical reaction.
c. the liberation of gravitational potential energy through slow collapse.
d. nuclear potential energy released when hydrogen fuses into helium.
65. In the "standard model" the most elementary particles are
a. protons, neutrons, and electrons.
b. atomic nuclei.
c. quarks and leptons.
d. muons and neutrinos.
66. The elementary particles interact via forces carried by quanta. These forces are
a. gravity, electric, and magnetic.
b. pressure and gravity.
c. strong, electromagnetic, weak, and gravity.
d. virtual only.
67. All physical evidence is consistent with the idea that our universe including its space-time geometry began in a super-hot, super-dense configuration about
a. 4.5 billion years ago.
b. 9 billion years ago.
c. 15 billion years ago.
d. 30 billion years ago.
e. last night.