PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Name: __________________________________________________ Date: __________________ Score:________

Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write the letter of your choice on the space provided.

_____1. Which one of the following pairs of atoms would form a non-polar covalent bond?
a. C and O b. N and O c. Cl and Cl d. Ne and Ne
_____2. Nonmetals are found in which area of the periodic table?
a. on the left-most side c. on the right side
b. in the middle column of the periodic table d. in the bottom rows
_____3. In Mendeleev’s periodic table, elements in each column had similar
a. atomic masses b. atomic numbers c. Properties d. symbols
_____4. How was Mendeleev’s periodic table arranged?
a. by increasing atomic mass c. by increasing atomic number
b. by decreasing atomic mass d. by decreasing atomic number
_____5. Which of the following elements has three valence electrons?
a. lithium b. boron c. nitrogen d. more than one of the above
_____6. Which statement is true about isotopes of the same element?
a. They have the same number of protons. c. They have the same number of neutrons.
b. They have a different atomic number. d. They have the same mass.
_____7. Which of the following has the least mass in an atom?
a. nucleus b. proton c. neutron d. electron
_____8. How would you describe the nucleus?
a. dense, positively charged c. mostly empty space, positively charged
b. tiny, negatively charged d. dense, negatively charged
_____9. The elements in each vertical column on the periodic table usually have similar properties and are called a(n)
a. period b. group c. element d. property
_____10. All of the naturally occuring chemical elements heavier than hydrogen, helium and lithium were created in
nuclear reactions having to do with the evolution of stars. Where did hydrogen come from?
a. It came from the radioactive decay of Uranium. c. It was synthesized during formation of stars.
b. It was synthesized during the Big Bang d. It was synthesized in supernova explosions.
_____11. Where did the rest of the naturally occurring chemical elements (carbon, nitrogen, iron, etc.) come from?
a. They existed before the Big Bang. c. They were created in laboratory experiments.
b. They were also formed during the Big Bang. d. They were produced by nuclear reactions in stars.
_____12. The alpha particle has the same composition as a
a. Hydrogen nucleus b. Beryllium nucleus c. Deuterium nucleus d. Helium nucleus
_____13. Which nuclear decay emission consists of energy, only?
a. Alpha particle b. Beta particle c. Gamma radiation d. Positron
_____14. The atomic mass number represents the following:
a. The total number of electrons in the atom c. The total number of protons and neutrons in the atom
b. The total number of neutrons in the atom d. The total number of electrons and protons in the atom
_____15. Oxygen’s atomic number is 8. This means that an oxygen atom has
a. eight neutrons in its nucleus. c. a total of eight protons and neutrons.
b. eight protons in its nucleus. d. a total of eight neutrons and electrons.
_____16. The number of electrons in an element X is 15 and the number of neutrons is 16. Which of the following is the
correct representation of the element?
a. 31
15𝑋 b. 31
16𝑋 c. 16
15𝑋 d. 15
16𝑋
_____17. Which of the following statement is/are correct about Rutherford’s α–particle scattering experiment?
(i) electrons have negative charge
(ii) the mass and positive charge of the atom is concentrated in the nucleus
(iii) neutron exists in the nucleus
(iv) most of the space in atom is empty
a. (i) and (iii) b. (ii) and (iv) c. (i) and (iv) d. (iii) and (iv)
_____18. Dalton’s atomic theory successfully explained
(i) Law of conservation of mass (ii) Law of constant composition
 (iii) Law of radioactivity (iv) Law of multiple proportion
a. (i), (ii) and (iii) b. (i), (iii) and (iv) c. (ii), (iii) and (iv) d. (i), (ii) and (iv)
_____19. Neutron was discovered by
a. Eugene Goldstein b. John Dalton c. Ernest Rutherford d. James Chadwick
_____20. According to the law of conservation of mass, the total mass of the reacting substances is
a. always more than the total mass of the products c. always less than the total mass of the products
b. more or less than the total mass of the products d. always equal to the total mass of the products
_____21. A decomposition chemical reaction can be compared to
a. two dancing couples switching partners. c. eight couples doing a square dance.
b. a dancing couple breaking up. d. two single people joining for dance.
_____22. Orbitals hold:
a. A number of electrons that depends on the energy level. c. A maximum of two electrons each
b. A number of electrons that depends on the type of orbital d. A maximum of one electron each
_____23. Which of the following typically has a low melting point?
a. metals b. nonmetals c. metalloids d. transition metals
_____24. Which pair of atoms would most likely form an ionic compound when bonded to each other?
a. calcium and fluorine b. silicon and nitrogen c. 2 oxygen atoms d. none of the above
_____25. Which statement about the alkali metals is correct?
a. They are located in the left-most column of the periodic table c. They are usually gases.
b. They form negative ions with a 1– charge. d. They are extremely nonreactive.
_____26. Which electron configuration represents a violation of the Pauli Exclusion Principle?

a. c.

b. d.
_____27. Identify the subshell in which electrons with the quantum numbers n = 3, l = 2 may be found.
a. 3d b. 4f c.4d d.3p
_____28. Which quantum number describes the shapes of the orbital?
a. principal b. azimuthal c. magnetic d. spin
_____29. "No two electrons in an atom can have the same set of n, l, ml and ms quantum numbers." This is a statement of:
a. Pauli’s Exclusion Principle c. Aufbau Principle
b. Hund’s Rule d. Uncertainty Principle
_____30. Most halogens form compounds by
a. gaining an electron to form a negative ion. c. losing an electron to form a positive ion.
b. losing protons. d. joining with both calcium and carbon
_____31. An object is said to be moving at constant velocity if
a. ts speed is constant c. Its direction as it travels does not change
b. It covers unequal distance in equal times d. Both the speed and direction do not change
_____32. Which of the following should you change in order to accelerate?
a. is accelerating c. both velocity and acceleration
b. has constant velocity d. weight
_____33. The instantaneous speed of an object at the midpoint of a trip is defined to be the
a. distance it travels divided by the time the trip takes.
b. distance it travels multiplied by the time the trip takes.
c. the speed precisely at the midpoint of the trip.
d. the distance traveled during a very small time interval near the mid point of the trip divided by the size of
the small time interval
_____34. A book sits at rest on a table. Which force does Newton's third law tell us is equal and opposite to the
gravitational force acting on the book?
a. the normal force by the table on the book c. the normal force by the book on the table
b. the gravitational force by the book on the Earth d. the net force on the book
_____35. Which of the following statements best describes the difference between the apparent diurnal and annual
motions that we see in the sky?
a. There really isn’t any difference between the diurnal and the annual motion, since all motions in the sky
take 24 hours to complete one cycle.
b. The diurnal motion means that the sky seems to rotate westward once per day, while the Sun seems to
move eastward relative to the stars, making one eastward circuit per year.
c. The diurnal motion means that the sky seems to rotate eastward once per day, while the Sun seems to
move westward relative to the stars, making one westward circuit per year.
d. The apparent annual motion of the Sun is much faster than the apparent diurnal motion of the sky. The first
only takes 24 hours, while the second one takes a full year.
______36. What was the main purpose of a planet’s EPICYCLE in the Ptolemaic model of the Solar System?
a. It explained why the planets orbit around the Earth.
b. It explained the relative sizes of the planets’ orbits.
c. It explained why each planet appears to move across the sky with a certain speed.
d. It explained the occasional retrograde motion of the planets.
______37. When Galileo observed the Moon through a telescope, what did he see that didn’t fit with the Aristotelian view
of the universe?
a. The Moon has light and dark patches on its surface.
b. The Moon appears to have a spherical shape.
c. The Moon has mountains, plains, and valleys, much like the `imperfect’ Earth.
d. The Moon is completely smooth, confirming that everything above the Earth is perfect.
______38. Which of the following apparent sky motions is caused by the ROTATION of the Earth?
a. The Moon appears to move around the sky in about one month.
b. Mars appears to move in a `retrograde’ direction about once every year and a half.
c. The sky seems to rotate westward once per day.
d. The Sun seems to move around the sky once per year.
______39. Which of the following changes when an unbalances force acts on an object?
a. Mass b. Motion c. Inertia d. Weight
______40. When we view a foreground object from two different points and see it appear to jump relative to the distant
background, the effect is called
a. parallax b. retrograde motion c. precession d. alteration
______41. According to Newton’s Second Law of Motion, if the net force acting on the object increases while the mass of
the object remains constant, what happens to the acceleration?
a. Acceleration decreases. c. Acceleration increases.
b. Acceleration remains the same. d. Acceleration is independent of mass
______42. The four large moons around Jupiter were discovered by
a. Copernicus b. Ptolemy c. Tycho Brahe d. Galileo
______43. Which of the following is not true about forces and acceleration?
a. F and A are directly proportional to each other. c. F and A are vector quantities.
b. F and A always have the same direction. d. If F is increased, A decreases.
______44. If 1 kg of oatmeal weighs 10 N on earth’s surface, what can be said about the weight of 1 kg cotton?
a. One kilogram of cotton weighs twice that of the oatmeal.
b. One kilogram weights half the weight of the oatmeal.
c. One kilogram of cotton weight about 10 N on the earth’s surface.
d. One kilogram of cotton weighs one-sixth that of the oatmeal on the earth’s surface.
______45. A ballpen is on a dashboard of a moving car. When the car suddely surges forward. What happens to the
ballpen?
a. it rolls backward by the Law of Interaction c. it rolls forward by the Law of Acceleration
b. it rolls backward by the Law of Inertia d. it rolls forward by the Law of Inertia
______46. What can be said about 1 mol Ag and 1 mol Au?
a. They are equal in mass. c. They contain the same number of atoms.
b. Their molar masses are equal. d. They have the same atomic mass.
______47. An Avogadro’s number of any element is equivalent to
a. the atomic number of that element. c. 6.02x1023 particles.
b. the mass number of that element. d. 12 g of that element.
_______48. What information is needed to calculate the percent composition of a compound?
a. the weight of the sample to be analyzed and its density
b. the weight of the sample to be analyzed and its molar volume
c. the formula of the compound and the gram atomic mass of its elements
d. the formula of the compound and its density
_______49 . The Sun and planets move in a path in the sky called:
a. the equator b. the ellipse c. the ecliptic d. the equinox
_______50. In the Ptolemaic model of the Universe planets moved uniformly around small circles, centered on larger
circles, these small circles were called:
a. epicycles b. deferents c. eccentrics d. equants
_______51. Copernicus’s hypothesis states that the center of the universe is the:
a. Earth b. Sun c. Essence d. Prime Mover
_______52. At night we see different constellations during different seasons. This happens because
a. the Earth rotates on its axis. c. the Earth precesses on its axis.
b. the Earth orbits around the Sun. d. the Earth is round.
_______53. Acceleration is negative if
a. speed in increasing c. speed is decreasing
b. speed is neither increasing or decreasing d. speed is constant
_______54. Which of the following is true of the mass and weight of an astronaut on the moon?
a. less mass and less weight c. the same mass and less weight
b. less mass and more weight d. the same weight and less mass
_______55. A train moves at a constant velocity of 50 km/h. How far will it move in 0.5 h?
a. 100 km b. 20 km c. 25 km d. 45 km
_______56. A car accelerates at 2 m/s2. Assuming the car starts from rest, how much time does it need to accelerate to a
speed of 20 m/s?
a. 2 seconds b. 10 seconds c. 20 seconds d. 40 seconds
_______57. Suppose you take a trip that covers 180 km and takes 3 hours to make. Your average speed is
a. 30 km/h. b. 60 km/h. c. 180 km/h. d. 540 km/h.
_______58. A bicyclist moves at a constant speed of 4 m/s. How long it will take for the bicyclist to move 36 m?
a. 3 sec b. 6 sec c. 12 sec d. 9 sec
_______59. Which of the following descriptions about speed, velocity and acceleration is INCORRECT?
a. Velocity and acceleration are vectors.
b. An object can have zero acceleration but non-zero speed.
c. If an object has non-zero acceleration, its velocity must not be zero at all times.
d. If an object has zero acceleration, its average speed is equal to the instantaneous speed.
_______60. A body at rest tends to remain at rest and a body in motion tends to remain in motion unless acted upon by an
unbalanced force is stated in the law of
a. motion b. inertia c. velocity d. action and reaction
a. Aphelion b. equant c. focus d. perihelion