Question 1

When a pendulum is released, it swings back and forth. It will continue moving without any additional push until it is slowed by friction from the air around it. This illustration demonstrates three positions of a pendulum during its swing.     At which point does the pendulum weight have the greatest amount of potential energy?

Accepted Answer

Position 1

Answer

Gravitational potential energy does not change.

Answer

Position 2

Answer

Position 3

Question 2

What is the Law of Conservation of Energy?

Accepted Answer

The total amount of energy on Earth is constant and is conserved over time.

Answer

Heating an object creates energy and cooling destroys energy .

Answer

Energy can be created or destroyed, but never transformed.

Answer

Energy can only be created when a force acts on an object.

Question 3

A delivery driver recorded the distance her van traveled each hour of her workday. Which statement describes the van’s motion during the time between 4 and 5 h?

Accepted Answer

It was not moving

Answer

It was slowing down

Answer

Its speed was increasing.

Answer

Its speed was constant

Question 4

Which of the following forces can act only when two objects are in contact with each other?

Accepted Answer

Friction

Answer

Gravitational

Answer

Electrical

Answer

Magnetic

Question 5

Some forces act at a distance. Other forces act only when two objects are in contact with each other. Which of the following forces can act across a distance?

Accepted Answer

Magnetic

Answer

Drag

Answer

Mechanical

Answer

Friction

Question 6

Which properties determine the force of gravity between two objects?

Accepted Answer

Mass and distance

Answer

Mass and volume

Answer

Volume and distance

Answer

Volume and density

Question 7

Two balls are falling from the same ledge. One ball falls straight down. The other ball is moving horizontally when it leaves the ledge. Which of the following statements describes the amount of time needed for the balls to reach the ground?

Accepted Answer

The balls hit the ground at the same time because gravity is the only unbalanced force acting on them.

Answer

The ball with more mass will hit the ground first because it experiences more acceleration due to gravity.

Answer

The ball that is falling straight down from the ledge hits the ground first because it does not travel as far.

Answer

The ball that is moving horizontally away from the ledge hits the ground first because it experiences acceleration in both directions.

Question 8

In 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered x-rays. The drawing below shows an example of a chest x-ray of an adult human. What was the impact of Roentgen’s discovery on medicine?

Accepted Answer

It enabled doctors to make more accurate diagnoses than they could before.

Answer

It led to new ways to treat viral illnesses such as influenza and smallpox.

Answer

It helped doctors develop new ways to treat infections of the bone.

Answer

It encourage more people to visit doctors after they became ill.

Question 9

Scientists use spacecraft to study a variety of objects in space. What benefits do unmanned spacecraft provide to space scientists?

Accepted Answer

Instruments can be sent places humans cannot go.

Answer

Instruments never commit errors

Answer

Instruments can replace analysis by human scientists.

Answer

Instruments require more control over the environment than human spaceflight does

Question 10

Identifying the independent and dependent variables in an experiment will help you better interpret and convey results. What is the difference between the independent and dependent variables in an experiment?

Accepted Answer

The independent variable is what you control, and the dependent variable is what changes as a result.

Answer

The independent variable is always a number, and the dependent variable is never a number

Answer

The dependent variable is what the investigator controls, and the independent variable is what happens as a result of this

Answer

The dependent variable is typically found in the first column of a table, and the independent variable is typically found in the second column

Question 11

Scientists conduct many types of scientific investigations. Their efforts often include fieldwork, surveys, models, and experiments. Which statement about scientific investigations is NOT true?

Accepted Answer

They follow exactly the same steps because there is only one scientific method

Answer

They often involve the collection of data under controlled conditions

Answer

They may focus on comparing or describing the unregulated world.

Answer

They often include multiple trials to increase the consistency of data

Question 12

Renee rolls a steel ball down a ramp. She conducts multiple trials by releasing the ball from varying heights on the ramp. For each trial, she measures and records the release height of the ball and the distance the ball travels away from the ramp before falling to the ground. The figure below shows the experiment. In this experiment, which variable is the independent variable?

Accepted Answer

Height from which the ball is released

Answer

Time it takes the ball to hit the ground.

Answer

Distance traveled by the ball

Answer

Path of ball once it leaves the ramp

Question 13

Cindy hypothesizes that plastic foam insulates cold drinks better than metal or ceramic materials do. To test the hypothesis, she fills cups made from these materials with equal amounts of cold water. She records the temperature of the water in each cup, using scientific thermometers, every 10 minutes until the water reaches room temperature. Which of these conditions must be the same for this experiment to be valid?

Accepted Answer

The starting temperature of the water in each cup

Answer

The material of each cup

Answer

The ending temperature of the water in each cup.

Answer

The thermometer that is in each cup

Question 14

Ella paints three identical pieces of metal different colors. She then makes sure they are the same temperature and places them near each other in direct sunlight for 30 minutes. She records temperature data in a table. Based on the procedure and the data, which explanation tells why the temperatures are not the same?

Accepted Answer

Each color absorbs a different amount of heat energy

Answer

The mass of each sample varies, which affects heat absorption

Answer

The temperatures of the metal pieces vary at the beginning of the experiment

Answer

A different amount of sunlight strikes each piece of metal.

Question 15

Scientific investigations include many different steps. Which step in a scientific investigation can result in the need for a new hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

Analyze data

Answer

Identify variables

Answer

Follow a procedure

Answer

Plan the experiment

Question 16

How should the scientists handle their research data?

Accepted Answer

They should keep accurate and open records, allowing other scientists to replicate the experiments and contribute to the knowledge of this topic.

Answer

They should keep accurate and open records in order to ensure they get the results that are best for the ecosystem

Answer

They should only publish data that reflect desired results

Answer

They should keep accurate and open records to discourage other scientists from repeating the same experiment

Question 17

When plants undergo photosynthesis, they make food for themselves and release oxygen as a byproduct. A scientist measured how much oxygen was produced under different light intensities. She had hypothesized that the amount of oxygen produced would increase consistently with the light intensity. Her results are shown in the table below. Do the scientist’s results support her hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

No; levels of oxygen increased and then began to level off despite increasing light intensity.

Answer

No; levels of oxygen decreased as light intensity increased.

Answer

Yes; levels of oxygen increased as light intensity increased.

Answer

Yes; oxygen levels at high light intensities were greater than her equipment could measure

Question 18

A scientist hypothesizes that sandy soils erode more than clay soils. He investigated two types of soils with either grass or shrubs growing in the soil. The table below shows how the height of the soil changed for three different soil angles with different vegetation growing. Based on the data, which result supports or fails to support the scientist's hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

Clay soil with grass has the largest amount of erosion, failing to support his hypothesis

Answer

Sandy soil with grass has the largest amount of erosion, supporting his hypothesis

Answer

Clay soil with shrubs has the largest amount of erosion, supporting his hypothesis

Answer

Sandy soil with shrubs has the largest amount of erosion, failing to support his hypothesis.

Question 19

A microbiologist investigates the outbreak of an unknown illness, which is thought to be caused by a new strain of bacteria. Doctors have determined the bacteria are located in the lungs. Initial work on treating the illness is dependent upon analysis of the bacteria. Which investigational method should the microbiologist use to start the process to analyze the bacteria?

Accepted Answer

Take samples of the bacteria and grow cultures in a lab setting

Answer

Interview people who have become sick

Answer

Review the treatment medications and their effectiveness

Answer

Review the patients’ medical charts.

Question 20

Biologists study the migration patterns of the Florida manatee. To gather evidence, they sometimes put radio tracking devices on the manatees. The picture shows a manatee wearing such a device. The belt that holds the device on the manatee is designed to be breakable. Why would biologists design a belt that would break in certain situations?

Accepted Answer

To prevent manatees from being trapped if the device snags on something

Answer

To destroy a tracking device the biologists consider to be faulty

Answer

To discourage other animals from coming near the manatees

Answer

To avoid collecting information on a manatee that migrates outside its range

Question 21

Scientists use logical reasoning to help them make sense of evidence. Canada geese are more aggressive towards humans during spring than at other times of the year. Which of the following conclusions best demonstrates logical reasoning about the aggression?

Accepted Answer

The geese are being protective of their nests and eggs.

Answer

The geese are hungry and view humans as potential food sources

Answer

The geese are fearful, since spring is hunting season

Answer

The geese are cranky after a long, cold winter

Question 22

A scientist graphs the mass and volume of three samples, as shown in the graph below. Which personal trait does the scientist need when attempting to explain these data?

Accepted Answer

Logic

Answer

Curiosity

Answer

Imagination

Answer

Skepticism

Question 23

The diagram below shows how our understanding of the structure of the atom has changed over time.  Based on these models, which statement correctly describes what has happened to the theory of atomic structure over time?

Accepted Answer

It has been updated and modified based on the new data collected.

Answer

It has remained constant and unchanged since its development.

Answer

It has remained basically intact but has been updated based on opinions and beliefs

Answer

It has been completely rejected once new data showed it to be false

Question 24

When scientists obtain new information, what happens to an existing scientific theory?

Accepted Answer

It is reevaluated

Answer

It becomes a law

Answer

It is revised

Answer

It remains the same

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