Name: ________________________ Class: ___________________ Date: __________
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. Each question is worth one point.
____ 1. Which of the following is an area of physics that studies heat and temperature?
A) thermodynamics
B) mechanics
C) quantum mechanics
D) optics
____ 2. According to the scientific method, how does a physicist formulate and objectively test hypotheses?
A) by defending an opinion
B) by interpreting graphs
C) by experiments
D) by stating conclusions
____ 3. Why do physicists use models?
A) to explain the complex features of simple phenomena
B) to describe all aspects of a phenomenon
C) to explain the basic features of complex phenomena
D) to describe all of reality
____ 4. What two dimensions, in addition to mass, are commonly used by physicists to derive additional measurements?
A) length and width
B) area and mass
C) length and time
D) velocity and time
____ 5. The symbols for units of length in order from smallest to largest are
A) m, cm, mm, and km.
B) mm, m, cm, and km.
C) km, mm, cm, and m.
D) mm, cm, m, and km.
____ 6. The SI base unit used to measure mass is the
A) meter.
B) second.
C) gram.
D) liter.
____ 7. If some measurements agree closely with each other but differ widely from the actual value, these measurements are
A) neither precise nor accurate.
B) accurate but not precise.
C) acceptable as a new standard of accuracy.
D) precise but not accurate.
____ 8. Poor precision in scientific measurements may arise from
A) significant figures.
B) human error.
C) scientific notation.
D) both significant figures and scientific notation.
____ 9. Five darts strike near the center of a target. The dart thrower is
A) accurate.
B) precise.
C) both accurate and precise.
D) neither accurate nor precise.
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Physics
____ 10. Which of the following equations best describes the graph above?
A) y = 2 x
B) y = x
C) y = x
D) y =
1
2
2 x
____ 11. The Greek letter sigma,  , indicates a(n)
A) difference or change.
B) sum or total.
____ 12. What is the symbol for mass?
A) m
B) m
C) direct proportion.
D) inverse proportion
C) M
D)  m
____ 13. Estimate the order of magnitude of the length of a football field.
A) 10 –1 m
B) 10 2 m
C) 10
D) 10
4
6
m
m
____ 14. Technology can best be defined as
A) science that uses computers.
B) new inventions.
C) applied science.
D) the use of lenses and microscopes.
____ 15. What do scientists who do pure science do?
A) They look for ways to use scientific knowledge to solve problems.
B) They develop new uses for scientific knowledge.
C) They do experiments to find out about the world.
D) They build faster and more powerful computers.
____ 16. For a scientific theory to be valid, it must allow you to
A) perform experiments.
B) obtain new results each time.
C) find a new, more complex explanation.
D) make predictions.
____ 17. Scientific theories can be changed or replaced when
A) new technology is invented.
B) new discoveries are made.
C) scientists decide to work on different problems.
D) scientists make models of events or objects.
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Unit 1 Test

Physics Unit 1 Test
____ 18. Which question cannot be answered by an experiment?
A) Does penicillin kill Salmonella bacteria?
B) Is rabies caused by a virus?
C) Did a comet impact kill the dinosaurs?
D) Can radiation cause cancer?
____ 19. The force with which gravity pulls on a quantity of matter is referred to as
A) mass.
B) length.
C) volume.
D) weight.
____ 20. According to the scientific method, how should conclusions be stated?
A) so that no one can refute the conclusion
B) so that it works with only one set of data
C) so that it is completely correct, with no mistakes
D) in a form that can be evaluated by others
____ 21. In a game of horseshoes, one horseshoe lands on the post. Four horseshoes land nowhere near the post. The one horseshoe on the post was thrown
A) accurately.
B) precisely.
C) both accurately and precisely.
D) neither accurately nor precisely.
____ 22. Of the following numbers: 0.0034 m, 45.6 m, and 1234 m, _____ is the least precise.
A) 0.0034 m
B) 45.6 m
C) 1234 m
D) none
____ 23. _____ is a branch of science that involves the study of the physical world; _____ is the language of physics.
A) Physics, math
B) Natural science, math
C) Math, physics
D) Natural science, English
Short Answer
Answer each question as completely as possible. Each question is worth three points.
24. - Be able to state the various steps of the scientific method.
- Be able to make a graph when given data.
- Be able to find the slope of a line.
Problem
Show your work when appropriate. Each question is worth two points.
25. - Be able to convert units.
- Be able to write numbers into scientific notation.
Essay
You must answer two of the three questions. The third question will count as extra credit. Please circle the question yo u wish to count as extra credit. Each question is worth four points.
26. See instructions.
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