Physical Science Comprehensive Final Exam Study Guide
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1. The process of learning more about the natural world is ____.
a. an experiment
c. a hypothesis
b. a control
d. science
2. Experiments and investigations must be ____.
a. approved
c. repeatable
b. unreproduceable
d. accepted
3. A prediction about a problem that can be tested is a(n) ____.
a. hypothesis
c. dependent variable
b. independent variable
d. control
4. A variable in an experiment that stays the same is a(n) ____.
a. independent variable
c. constant
b. dependent variable
d. control
5. Science cannot answer questions about ____.
a. distance
c. politics
b. temperature
d. the natural world
6. Models can be used to describe which of the following environments?
a. the floor of the ocean
c. space
b. volcanoes
d. all of the above
7. Scientific ____ must be supported by observations and results from many investigations and are not absolute.
a. constants
c. systems
b. theories
d. laws
8. Another term for technology is ____.
a. applied science
c. comparison
b. controlled experiment
d. sequence
9. When designing an experiment, the first step is to ____.
a. draw conclusions
c. recognize a problem
b. form a hypothesis
d. test a hypothesis
10. When conducting an experiment, the last step is to ____.
a. analyze the data
c. form a hypothesis
b. draw conclusions
d. recognize a problem
11. To evaluate the observations you make, you must use ____.
a. a hypothesis
c. measurements
b. critical thinking
d. models
12. Scientists must be impartial and not base their conclusions on ____.
a. opinions
c. models
b. evidence
d. experiments
13. To ____ means to draw a conclusion based on something you observe.
a. guess
c. model
b. control
d. infer
14. In which of the following situations would it NOT be wise to estimate?
a. the number of miles per gallon an automobile can provide
b. the time it would take to walk to the grocery store from home
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c. the amount of food to prepare for twelve people
d. the amount of medicine to give a patient
SI units are useful because they are all related by multiples of ____.
a. two
c. 10
b. five
d. 50
The advantage data in a table has over data presented in a paragraph is the ____.
a. number of digits that can be included
b. accuracy of the data
c. way the data is organized
d. amount of detail that can be included
Which of the following visual displays would be best for describing the percentages of different gases in the
atmosphere?
a. circle graph
c. bar graph
b. line graph
d. any of the above
Matter that has the same composition and properties throughout is called a(n) ____.
a. substance
c. atom
b. mixture
d. isotope
When two pure substances are combined so that each of the pure substances retains its own properties, the
result is a(n) ____.
a. compound
c. element
b. mixture
d. isotope
All ____ except mercury are solids at room temperature.
a. metalloids
c. metals
b. nonmetals
d. mixtures
In general, nonmetals are ____.
a. good conductors of electricity
c. good conductors of heat
b. malleable and ductile
d. gases at room temperature
In general, metals are ____.
a. poor conductors of heat
c. poor conductors of electricity
b. brittle
d. good conductors of heat
Most of the mass of an atom is found in its ____.
a. nucleus
c. atomic number
b. electron cloud
d. mass number
A certain atom has 26 protons, 26 electrons, and 30 neutrons. It mass number is ____.
a. 26
c. 52
b. 30
d. 56
The ____ is a unit of force.
a. pascal
c. newton
b. atmosphere
d. kilopascal
The freezing point of a substance is ____ the melting point of the same substance.
a. greater than
c. equal to
b. less than
d. unrelated to
Kinetic energy is the ____ of motion.
a. temperature
c. heat
b. energy
d. state
Pascal's Principle can be applied to ____.
a. all states of matter
c. solids and liquids only
b. solids and gases only
d. any matter that can flow
____ 29. Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's ____.
a. resistance to flow
c. average kinetic energy
b. adhesive forces
d. buoyancy
____ 30. All of the following are a state of matter EXCEPT ____.
a. solid
c. liquid
b. gas
d. density
____ 31. Density is an example of a ____.
a. chemical property
c. physical property
b. chemical change
d. physical change
____ 32. Density is equal to ____.
a. volume times mass
c. volume divided by mass
b. mass times volume
d. mass divided by volume
____ 33. A neutral sample has a pH ____.
a. between 0 and 7
c. of exactly 7
b. between 7 and 14
d. of exactly 0
____ 34. A characteristic of matter that allows it to change to something new is a ____.
a. physical property
c. chemical property
b. physical change
d. chemical change
____ 35. All of the following are examples of physical changes except ____.
a. melting
c. burning
b. evaporating
d. solidifying
____ 36. Which of the following is an example of a chemical change?
a. bending a pop can
c. melting wax
b. evaporation of milk
d. burning paper
____ 37. The particles that make up an atom are ____.
a. electrons, protons, and nuclei
c. protons, neutrons, and nuclei
b. elements, protons, and electrons
d. protons, neutrons, and electrons
____ 38. In an atom, electrons ____.
a. are located in the nucleus
c. travel outside the nucleus
b. are paired with neutrons
d. are always in the same place in an atom
____ 39. Dot diagrams are used to represent ____.
a. protons
c. atomic mass
b. outer electrons
d. the structure of the nucleus
____ 40. The energy levels of an atom are occupied by ____.
a. electrons
c. neutrons
b. protons
d. ions
____ 41. The maximum number of electrons in the second energy level of an atom is ____.
a. two
c. eight
b. four
d. ten
____ 42. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener; its formula is C13H16N2O5. Which element in the formula has the largest
number of atoms?
a. carbon
c. nitrogen
b. hydrogen
d. oxygen
____ 43. Which of the following statements about the atom is false?
a. Each atom has a tiny nucleus at its center.
b. All the protons and neutrons are located in the nucleus.
c. Electrons travel in definite circular pathways around the nucleus.
d. All atomic nuclei are positively charged.
____ 44. Which of the following changes is chemical rather than physical?
a. Water is boiled.
c. Glass is shattered.
b. Aluminum foil is crumpled.
d. Wood is burned.
____ 45. Each substance written to the right of the arrow in a chemical equation is a ____.
a. reactant
c. precipitate
b. product
d. catalyst
____ 46. According to the law of conservation of mass, how does the mass of the products in a chemical reaction
compare to the mass of the reactants?
a. There is no relationship.
b. The mass of products is sometimes greater.
c. The mass of reactants is greater.
d. The masses are always equal.
____ 47. Which chemical equation is balanced?
a. Na + O2  Na2O
c. 2Na + 2O2  2Na2O
b. 2Na2 + O2  2Na2O
d. 4Na + O2  2Na2O
____ 48. Which one of the following factors would not speed up a chemical reaction?
a. increasing the concentration of a reactant
b. adding a catalyst
c. raising the temperature
d. making the reactant particles larger
____ 49. A substance that speeds up chemical reactions in the human body is ____.
a. an inhibitor
c. polar
b. an enzyme
d. a prohibitor
____ 50. The substance being dissolved to form a solution is the ____.
a. solvent
c. precipitate
b. solute
d. mixture
____ 51. The atmosphere of Earth is an example of a ____ solution.
a. liquid-liquid
c. gas-gas
b. gas-liquid
d. solid-liquid
____ 52. A solution that contains all the solute it can hold under the given conditions is ____.
a. saturated
c. dilute
b. unsaturated
d. supersaturated
____ 53. A solution that contains a large amount of solute compared to solvent is described as ____.
a. dilute
c. unsaturated
b. heterogeneous
d. concentrated
____ 54. Stainless steel is an example of a ____ solution.
a. liquid-solid
c. solid-solid
b. solid-liquid
d. gas-solid
____ 55. The amount of table sugar that will dissolve in 1 kg of water can be increased by ____.
a. stirring the solution
b. heating the solution
c. breaking the sugar into smaller pieces
d. doing any of the above
____ 56. A solution with a pH of 13 is a ____.
a. weak acid
c. strong acid
b. weak base
d. strong base
____ 57. To describe velocity you need to know ____.
a. speed and direction
c. direction and acceleration
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b. speed and time
d. speed and acceleration
Acceleration is a change in ____.
a. speed
c. displacement
b. velocity
d. position
Inertia ____.
a. depends on direction
c. resists a change in motion of an object
b. depends on momentum
d. both a and b
If you exert a force on an object in motion you will change its ____.
a. mass
c. inertia
b. weight
d. momentum
The distance traveled divided by the time taken to travel the distance is ____.
a. average speed
c. momentum
b. mass
d. speed
Momentum is a measure of ____.
a. how hard it is to stop an object
b. the amount of matter in an object
c. the tendency of an object to change its motion
d. the amount of force acting on an object
Forces that are equal in size but opposite in direction are ____.
a. balanced forces
c. inertial forces
b. frictional forces
d. net forces
If gravity did not affect the path of a horizontally thrown ball, the ball would ____.
a. go straight up
c. fall straight down
b. travel horizontally
d. follow a curved path
Newton's first law of motion states that an object remains at rest unless a ____ force acts on it.
a. balanced
c. gravitational
b. frictional
d. net
Whenever a body is in motion, there is always ____ to oppose the motion.
a. friction
c. gravity
b. inertia
d. acceleration
The relationship among force, mass, and acceleration is stated in ____.
a. the law of conservation of momentum
c. Newton's second law of motion
b. Newton's first law of motion
d. Newton's third law of motion
A feather falls through the air more slowly than a brick because of ____.
a. gravity
c. inertia
b. air resistance
d. momentum
According to Newton's second law of motion, ____.
a. F = mv
c. a = Fnet /m
b. F = m/a
d. F = ma
The statement "for every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction" is a statement of ____.
a. the law of conservation of momentum
c. Newton's second law
b. Newton's first law
d. Newton's third law
If you are standing on one foot and then put both feet down, you have ____ the force on the ground.
a. increased
c. not changed
b. decreased
d. can't tell
If you are standing on both feet and then stand on one foot, you have ____ the pressure on the ground.
a. increased
c. not changed
b. decreased
d. depends on your motion
____ 73. As an object sinks in a fluid, the buoyant force ____.
a. increases
c. remains the same
b. decrease
d. depends on the shape
____ 74. If an object sinks in a fluid, the buoyant force is ____ the weight of the object.
a. greater than
c. the same as
b. less than
d. doesn't apply
____ 75. Density is given in ____.
a. Pa/cm3
c. g/s2
2
b. N/m
d. g/cm3
____ 76. According to Archimedes, the buoyant force on an object is equal to ____.
a. the weight of the object
c. the density of the fluid
b. the fluid pressure on the object
d. the weight of the fluid displaced
____ 77. As the speed of a fluid increases, ____.
a. the pressure decreases
c. the force decreases
b. the pressure increases
d. the volume decreases
____ 78. When a rubber band is stretched, it has ____ energy.
a. potential
c. chemical
b. kinetic
d. nuclear
____ 79. A green plant has ____ energy.
a. electrical
c. chemical
b. kinetic
d. thermal
____ 80. A burning fire produces ____ energy.
a. kinetic and potential
c. electrical and thermal
b. radiant and thermal
d. chemical and radiant
____ 81. In every energy transformation, some energy is always “lost” as ____ energy.
a. chemical
c. electrical
b. radiant
d. thermal
____ 82. Most plants use a ____ to turn a generator.
a. turbine
c. photovoltaic
b. motor
d. engine
____ 83. The form of energy in fossil fuels is ____ energy.
a. nuclear
c. radiant
b. chemical
d. electrical
____ 84. ____ is an alternative resource.
a. Coal
c. Wind
b. Natural gas
d. Oil
____ 85. Which one of the following is NOT an example of a mechanical wave?
a. sound wave
c. earthquake wave
b. water wave
d. radio wave
____ 86. Which one of the following is NOT an example of an electromagnetic wave?
a. sound wave
c. red light
b. x-rays
d. gamma rays
____ 87. A place where molecules are far apart is a ____.
a. refraction
c. rarefaction
b. reflection
d. compression
____ 88. The speed of sound through air is about ____.
a. 340 m/s
c. 3,000,000 m/s
b. 2,000,000 m/s
d. 3,000,000 m/hour
____ 89. When light bounces off a surface it is called ____.
a. reflection
c. diffraction
b. refraction
d. interference
____ 90. In which one of the following cases will refraction occur?
a. light traveling from air to glass
b. light reflecting off of a mirror
c. light bending around the corner of a door
d. green light interfering with blue light
____ 91. Constructive interference occurs when waves meet ____.
a. crest-to-crest and trough-to-trough
b. crest-to-trough and crest-to-trough
c. trough-to-crest and trough-to-crest
d. crest-to-crest
____ 92. The speed of electromagnetic waves is ____.
a. greater in water than in air
b. different for each frequency in a vacuum
c. 300,000 km/s in a space
d. less for light than for x rays
____ 93. The number of waves that pass a certain point in one second is the wave’s ____.
a. frequency
c. wavelength
b. amplitude
d. intensity
____ 94. Sunscreen protects the skin from damage caused by ____.
a. infrared waves
c. ultraviolet radiation
b. visible light
d. all of the above
____ 95. A wave transfers ____.
a. energy
c. vibrating electric charges
b. matter
d. electromagnetic energy
____ 96. Electromagnetic waves are produced by ____.
a. positive and negative charges
c. charged particles in motion
b. magnetic fields
d. electromagnetic energy
____ 97. The longest wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum is the ____.
a. gamma ray
c. radio wave
b. ultraviolet ray
d. infrared ray
____ 98. The electromagnetic waves with wavelengths slightly longer than visible light are ____.
a. microwaves
c. ultraviolet waves
b. infrared waves
d. x rays
____ 99. ____ are used for medical imaging.
a. Ultraviolet waves
c. X rays
b. Infrared ways
d. Gamma rays
____ 100. Television uses ____ to transmit signals.
a. microwaves
c. ultraviolet waves
b. radio waves
d. inferred waves