Science Questions

Which forms of light are lower in energy and frequency than the light that our eyes can see?A. visible lightB. infrared and radioC. infrared and ultravioletD. ultraviolet and X rays

Consider an atom of carbon in which the nucleus contains 6 protons and 7 neutrons. What is its atomic number and atomic mass number?A. atomic number = 6; atomic mass number = 13B. atomic number = 13; atomic mass number = 6C. atomic number = 6; atomic mass number = 7D. atomic number = 7; atomic mass number = 13

An atom which has 4 protons and 6 neutrons will be electrically neutral if it contains ______.A. 10 electronsB. 4 electronsC. at least one electronD. 6 electrons

Suppose you built a scale-model atom in which the nucleus is the size of a tennis ball. About how far would the cloud of electrons extend?A. Several kilometersB. To the SunC. Several centimetersD. A few meters

Which of the following was not observed by Galileo?A. Phases of Venus.B. Four moons orbiting JupiterC. Stellar parallaxD. Mountains and valleys on the Moon

The allowed shapes for the orbits of objects responding only to the force of gravity are ______.A. circles and ellipsesB. ellipses onlyC. ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolasD. ellipses, spirals, and parabolas

Sublimation is the process in which ___________.A. molecules go from the solid phase to the liquid phaseB. electrons are stripped from atomsC. molecules go directly from the solid phase to the gas phaseD. molecules go from the liquid phase to the gas phase

Suppose you watch a leaf bobbing up and down as ripples pass it by in a pond. You notice that it does two full up and down bobs each second. Which statement is true of the ripples on the pond?A. They have a frequency of 4 hertz.B. They have a wavelength of two cycles per second.C. They have a frequency of 2 hertz.D. We can calculate the wavelength of the ripples from their frequency.

Newton's Second Law of Motion tells us that the net force applied to an object equals its _________.A. momentum times velocityB. mass times accelerationC. mass times velocityD. mass times energy

The Moon always shows nearly the same face to Earth because ________.A. sunlight always hits the same face of the MoonB. the Moon does not rotateC. the Moon rotates once in the same amount of time that it takes Earth to orbit the Sun onceD. the Moon rotates once in the same amount of time that it takes the Moon to orbit Earth once

The great contribution of Tycho Brahe was to _________.A. discover that planets orbit the Sun in elliptical orbits with varying speedB. discover four moons orbiting Jupiter, thereby lending strong support to the idea that the Earth is not the center of the universeC. offer the first detailed model of a Sun-centered solar system, thereby beginning the process of overturning the Earth-centered model of the GreeksD. observe planetary positions with sufficient accuracy so that Kepler could later use the data to discover the laws of planetary motion

Which of the following best describes the fundamental difference between two different chemical elements (such as oxygen and carbon)?A. They have different numbers of protons in their nucleus.B. They have different atomic mass numbers.C. They have different names.D. They have different numbers of electrons.

Right now, where would you find a tidal bulge on Earth?A. On the portion of Earth facing directly toward the Moon and on the portion of Earth facing directly away from the MoonB. Anywhere that ocean water laps upon the shoreC. Only on the portion of the Earth facing directly toward the MoonD. Wherever it is currently noon

Suppose you lived on the Moon. Which of the following would be true?A. Your weight would be less than your weight on Earth, but your mass would be the same as it is on Earth.B. Your mass would be less than your mass on Earth, but your weight would be the same as it is on Earth.C. Both your weight and your mass would be the same as they are on Earth.D. Both your weight and your mass would be less than they are on Earth.

Why is Newton's version of Kepler's third law so useful to astronomers?A. It allows us to calculate distances to distant objects.B. It tells us that more-distant planets orbit the Sun more slowly.C. It can be used to determine the masses of many distant objects.D. It explains why objects spin faster when they shrink in size.

The great contribution of Nicholas Copernicus was to _________.A. create a detailed model of our solar system with the Sun rather than Earth at the centerB. prove that the Earth is not the center of the universeC. discover the law of gravityD. discover the laws of planetary motion

Which of the following statements about an ellipse is not true?A. The semimajor axis of an ellipse is half the length of the longest line that you can draw across an ellipse.B. A circle is considered to be a special type of ellipse.C. The focus of an ellipse is always located precisely at the center of the ellipse.D. An ellipse with a large eccentricity looks much more elongated (stretched out) than an ellipse with a small eccentricity.

What does temperature measure?A. The average kinetic energy of particles in a substanceB. The average mass of particles in a substanceC. The total amount of heat in a substanceD. The total potential energy of particles in a substance

Which statement must be true in order for a rocket to travel from Earth to another planet?A. It must attain escape velocity from Earth.B. It must have very large engines.C. It must carry a lot of extra fuel.D. It must be launched from space, rather than from the ground.

When a spinning ice skater pulls in his arms, he spins faster because _________.A. there is less friction with the iceB. his angular momentum must be conserved, so reducing his radius must increase his speed of rotationC. there exists an unbalanced reaction forceD. there is less friction with the air