WGU Integrated Physical Sciences C165 - PA

A mathematical model is used to predict the trajectory of a bullet fired from a gun.

Which discipline of physical science is used to develop this model?

Physics

Chemistry

Earth science

Astronomy

Physics

An environmental scientist monitors pollutants in a lake.

Which two disciplines of physical science does this scientist use?

Choose 2 answers

Astronomy

Chemistry

Earth science

Physics

Chemistry & Earth Science

Which study involves both Earth science and physics?

Calculating how much energy is associated with a hurricane

Measuring the energy produced by a generator

Comparing the composition of crude oil from different regions

Monitoring changes in phosphorus levels of a lake

Calculating how much energy is associated with a hurricane

Which question could be answered with a controlled experiment?

Does ice melt faster in an empty glass or in a glass full of water?

Do all planets have the same shape of orbit around the sun?

What is the maximum distance between Earth and Jupiter?

What is the length of the longest river in North America?

Does ice melt faster in an empty glass or in a glass full of water?

Which topic would be appropriate for a controlled experiment?

Determining how fast different chemical pollutants dissolve in water

Comparing the elements present in different stars

Measuring how fast a river flows

Predicting the path of a tornado

Determining how fast different chemical pollutants dissolve in water

Which question requires a controlled experiment to answer?

Which type of rock contains the most calcium?

Which planet has the most moons?

Which elements are found in Earth's atmosphere?

Which fossils formed earliest in Earth's history?

Which type of rock contains the most calcium?

Sir Isaac Newton discovered that the force of gravity between two masses increases if the masses increase, and decreases if the distance between the masses increases. No experiments have ever contradicted this relationship.

Which type of scientific statement is this?

Hypothesis

Theory

Law

Prediction

Law

The well-accepted scientific explanation for many characteristics of Earth's crust states that the crust is broken into several large plates. These plates move slowly over the mantle below because of convection and other processes. Earthquakes and volcanoes are most common at places where the plates interact. Evidence from physics, chemistry, and geology supports this explanation.

Which type of scientific idea is this explanation an example of?

Hypothesis

Theory

Law

Prediction

Theory

A student proposes that sugar will dissolve faster in rubbing alcohol than in water. The student reasons that sugar and rubbing alcohol both contain carbon so they will mix more easily.

Which type of scientific idea is the student's proposal an example of?

Hypothesis

Theory

Law

Observation

Hypothesis

Why was the shrinking Earth idea replaced by the theory of plate tectonics?

Plate tectonics was a new theory, which made it more reliable.

Plate tectonics explained observations about Earth that the shrinking Earth idea could not explain.

Geologists voted on which theory to accept, and chose plate tectonics.

Many well-known geologists were involved in proposing plate tectonics.

Plate tectonics explained observations about Earth that the shrinking Earth idea could not explain.

Astronomers have long accepted that plate tectonics exists nowhere in our solar system except on Earth. In 2011, a scientist analyzed 100 NASA-space-mission photographs of Valles Marineris on Mars, the longest known series of canyons in the solar system. The scientist found that Valles Marineris showed features found only in locations on Earth where major tectonic plates divide.

What would be the appropriate response of scientists to this information?

Reject plate tectonics on Mars as the explanation because it contradicts accepted science

Decide whether to accept plate tectonics on Mars based on the reputation of scientists involved

Hold public debates among scientists and then vote whether plate tectonics occurs on Mars

Carry out further research to gain more understanding of possible plate tectonics on Mars

Carry out further research to gain more understanding of possible plate tectonics on Mars

According to the theory of plate tectonics, volcanoes are especially likely to form along plate boundaries because of rising magma. New satellite data mapping the ocean floor reveals thousands of seamounts, which are small volcanoes. Some of the seamounts are in lines that could correspond to past or present plate boundaries, but many are not aligned in this way.

How should scientists appropriately respond to the idea that some new mechanism of forming the volcanoes is involved?

Reject it because it contradicts the theory of plate tectonics

Accept it if the person proposing it is a credible expert on plate tectonics.

Carry out more research to understand better how the seamounts form

Stage public debates to get a consensus on how the seamounts form

Carry out more research to understand better how the seamounts form

For many decades, scientists thought they understood how ozone breaks down in the stratosphere, creating ozone holes. However, new data show significantly lower reaction rates than can be explained by the long-held model.

What is the appropriate scientific approach for dealing with this contradiction?

Conduct additional experiments to confirm the new data

Ignore the new data because it contradicts the accepted model

Ask the general public to vote on which data are correct

Accept whichever data the most famous scientists support

Conduct additional experiments to confirm the new data

For almost 1500 years most scientists in Europe accepted Ptolemy's geocentric planetary model that suggested the sun revolved around Earth. By the eighteenth century, most scientists supported a heliocentric model that suggests that Earth revolves around the sun.

What is an appropriate scientific basis for this change in view?

The most prominent scientist that supported the geocentric model died

The existing theory was changed to account for new data

The old theory was voted down by a scientific council

The heliocentric model was supported by a popular scientist

The existing theory was changed to account for new data

A woman does pushups by lowering her body to the floor using her arms and then pressing against the floor with her hands to push herself back up.

Which force causes her to rise?

The downward force of gravity that Earth exerts on the woman

The downward force that the woman's arms exert on the ground

The upward force that the ground exerts on the woman

The upward force that the woman's arms exert on the ground

The upward force that the ground exerts on the woman

Two boxes sitting on the floor look identical, but one has more mass than the other.

What happens when the same net force, sufficient to overcome static friction, is applied to each box?

The box with less mass accelerates more.

The box with more mass accelerates more.

Both boxes accelerate at the same rate.

Both boxes remain at rest.

The box with less mass accelerates more.

Two identical train engines are parked on parallel tracks. One engine has ten cars attached, and the other has no cars attached. Each engine exerts the same net force, which allows the train to overcome static friction.

Which engine will be able to accelerate more?

The engine not pulling any cars will accelerate more.

The engine pulling ten cars will accelerate more.

Both engines will accelerate at the same rate.

Both engines will remain at rest.

The engine not pulling any cars will accelerate more.

A woman applies an upward force to a basket filled with groceries. Assume she is standing still.

What will happen to the basket if the force she applies is greater than the force of gravity?

The basket will move sideways.

The basket will remain at the same height.

The basket will move up.

The basket will move down.

The basket will move up.

A heavy truck and a light car travel at the same velocity side-by-side on the highway. Both drivers apply the same braking force at the same moment.

What will happen to the two vehicles?

The car will slow down more quickly than the truck.

The truck will slow down more quickly than the car.

Both vehicles will slow down at the same rate.

The car will slow down but the truck will continue at the same speed.

The car will slow down more quickly than the truck.

Which force causes graphite from the tip of a pencil to transfer to the paper?

Friction

Gravity

Air Resistance

Tension

Friction

Which force keeps Jupiter in orbit around the Sun?

Air resistance

Gravity

Kinetic friction

Magnetism

Gravity

Which force causes a jet airplane to stop on a runway?

Friction

Gravity

Tension

Centripetal Force

Friction

Which force causes meteors to burn up when they enter Earth's atmosphere?

Friction

Gravity

Magnetism

Tension

Friction

A slingshot is a Y-shaped stick with rubber bands between the prongs for shooting stones and other small projectiles. A stone is shot by first placing it in the slingshot holder, which is attached to the rubber bands. The stone and holder are then pulled back, stretching the rubber bands. When released, the stone is propelled forward and leaves the slingshot at a high speed.

Which type of energy transformation occurs from the point when the rubber bands are fully stretched to when the stone leaves the slingshot?

Chemical potential energy is converted into gravitational potential energy.

Gravitational potential energy is converted into thermal energy.

Chemical potential energy is converted into gravitational potential energy.

Elastic potential energy is converted into kinetic energy.

Elastic potential energy is converted into kinetic energy.

Which type of energy conversion occurs at the moment fireworks explode?

Elastic potential energy is converted into thermal energy.

Gravitational potential energy is converted into thermal energy.

Chemical potential energy is converted into kinetic energy.

Elastic potential energy is converted into gravitational potential energy..

Chemical potential energy is converted into kinetic energy.

What energy conversion takes place as a box slides to a stop on a horizontal table?

Kinetic energy is converted into thermal energy.

Gravitational potential energy is converted into kinetic energy.

Chemical potential energy is converted into gravitational potential energy.

Elastic potential energy is converted into gravitational potential energy.

Kinetic energy is converted into thermal energy.

What energy conversion occurs in a car's engine?

Kinetic energy is converted into elastic potential energy.

Gravitational potential energy is converted into electrical potential energy.

Chemical potential energy is converted into thermal energy.

Thermal energy is converted into gravitational potential energy.

Chemical potential energy is converted into thermal energy.

Which kind of electromagnetic radiation carries information to and from a cell phone when it is used for a phone call?

Microwaves

X-rays

Infrared radiation

Ultraviolet radiation

Microwaves

A cashier who has been handed a hundred-dollar bill may check its authenticity by holding it under a special lamp that emits electromagnetic radiation mostly at wavelengths slightly shorter than visible light. The electromagnetic radiation makes a pattern of previously invisible markings on the bill glow brightly, or fluoresce.

Which kind of electromagnetic radiation does the lamp emit to produce this effect?

Microwaves

Infrared radiation

Ultraviolet radiation

X-rays

Ultraviolet radiation

After natural disasters, first responders can locate survivors in the rubble by using thermal detectors. Because the victims' bodies are warmer than their surroundings, the difference in temperature is detected by electromagnetic waves.

Which part of the electromagnetic spectrum is being detected?

Radio waves

Infrared radiation

Ultraviolet radiation

X-rays

Infrared radiation

Airport security uses electromagnetic radiation to form images of objects inside passenger luggage.

Which type of electromagnetic radiation is used in this way?

Radio waves

Visible light

Ultraviolet radiation

X-rays

X-rays

Which type of wave has a longitudinal motion?

Gamma waves

Transverse waves

Sound waves

Light waves

Sound waves

Which is a characteristic of electromagnetic waves?

Transverse wave motion

Travels faster through water than air

Longitudinal wave motion

Can travel only through a vacuum

Transverse wave motion

Which subatomic particle is located outside the nucleus?

Proton

Neutron

Electron

Ion

Electron

What charge does a neutron have?

Positive charge

Negative charge

No charge

Variable charge

No charge

A chocolate chip cookie is made with dough and chocolate chips.

Which type of substance is a chocolate chip cookie?

Element

Compound

Mixture

Mineral

Mixture

Which example describes a compound?

A substance with only iron atoms

A substance with sodium atoms bonded to chlorine atoms

A substance with fluorine and nitrogen atoms that are not bonded together

A substance with iron and aluminum atoms that are not bonded to each other

A substance with sodium atoms bonded to chlorine atoms

In which state of matter are particles close together, but able to slide past one another?

Liquid

Solid

Plasma

Gas

Liquid

Which action demonstrates a chemical change?

Cooking an egg

Shredding paper

Evaporating water

Breaking a stick

Cooking an egg

Which type of bond is formed when valence electrons are shared between two atoms?

Ionic

Mechanical

Covalent

Metallic

Covalent

Which properties will elements in group 2 share, based on location in the periodic table?

Choose 2 answers

Good thermal conductivity

Good electrical conductivity

Poor thermal conductivity

Poor electrical conductivity

Good thermal conductivity & Good electrical conductivity

A beaker contains 500 g of liquid water. An ice cube with a mass of 5 g is added to the water in the beaker.

How many grams of liquid water are in the beaker when the ice has melted?

Less than 500 g

500 g

505 g

More than 505 g

505 g

A chemist places 250 grams of liquid water into a beaker. The volume of the liquid water is 250 milliliters. The chemist then freezes the water. After it is frozen, the ice has a volume of 273 milliliters.

What is the mass of the ice?

250 grams

Between 250 grams and 273 grams

273 grams

More than 250 grams

250 grams

When baking soda is added to vinegar, a chemical reaction occurs. The reaction produces carbon dioxide gas, and a liquid solution consisting mostly of water and a salt called sodium acetate.

How is mass affected in this reaction, according to the law of conservation of matter?

The total mass of baking soda and carbon dioxide must equal the total mass of the liquid solution.

The total mass of baking soda and vinegar must equal the total mass of carbon dioxide and the liquid solution.

The total mass of baking soda and vinegar must equal the total mass of the liquid solution.

The total mass of vinegar and water must equal the total mass of baking soda, carbon dioxide, and the liquid solution.

The total mass of baking soda and vinegar must equal the total mass of carbon dioxide and the liquid solution.

In which phase change is energy being absorbed from the surroundings?

A pond freezing over in winter

Water boiling on an electric burner

Molten glass solidifying into a vase

Clouds forming on a summer day

Water boiling on an electric burner

What happens when wet clothes dry outside on a warm day?

The water in the clothes absorbs energy from the air and becomes a gas.

The water in the clothes releases energy into the air and becomes a gas.

The air absorbs energy from the water and changes the water into a gas.

The air releases energy into the clothes and changes into liquid water.

The water in the clothes absorbs energy from the air and becomes a gas.

A geologist is doing a risk assessment for a location where the African plate is moving away from the South American plate.

Which risk description must the geologist give for this location?

There is high risk of volcanoes and low risk of large earthquakes.

There is low risk of volcanoes and high risk of large earthquakes.

There is high risk of both volcanoes and large earthquakes.

There is low risk of both volcanoes and large earthquakes.

There is high risk of volcanoes and low risk of large earthquakes.

A utility company is considering building a power plant at a location on the Eurasian plate far from any plate boundaries.

Which types of risk are present in this location?

Low risk of volcanoes, high risk of earthquakes

High risk of volcanoes, low risk of earthquakes

Low risk of both volcanoes and earthquakes

High risk of both volcanoes and earthquakes

Low risk of both volcanoes and earthquakes

A river flows across a region. As the river flows, it erodes the rock beneath it.

Which type of landform will develop if the river continues to flow along a straight path?

Valley

Dune

Glacier

Meander

Valley

Which landform is produced when sediment is eroded from one side of a river and deposited on the other side?

Valley

Dune

Waterfall

Meander

Meander

Where is metamorphic rock found in the rock cycle?

After erosion and deposition

After folding and cracking

After heat and pressure

After melting and cooling

After heat and pressure

Through which layer of the atmosphere does a mountaineer climbing a tall mountain ascend?

Troposphere

Stratosphere

Mesosphere

Thermosphere

Troposphere

A meteorologist is studying the formation of a hurricane.

Which layer of the atmosphere is the meteorologist studying?

Troposphere

Stratosphere

Mesosphere

Thermosphere

Troposphere

During heavy rains, the soil on a farm is washed away into a nearby river.

Which parts of the water cycle result in this loss of soil?

Choose 2 answers

Precipitation

Infiltration

Runoff

Evaporation

Precipitation & Runoff

Snow falls from the atmosphere and accumulates on a glacier.

Which part of the water cycle does this process represent?

Precipitation

Infiltration

Evaporation

Runoff

Precipitation

A gardener is working in a garden on a hot, humid day. Suddenly, clouds begin to form. Within a few hours, gusty winds and a thunderstorm are passing through the area. After the storms pass, the weather is clear and much cooler.

What caused this change in weather?

A high pressure system rested over the area.

A low pressure system rested over the area.

A cold front moved through the area.

A warm front moved through the area.

A cold front moved through the area.

A hiker needs to select a day for a hike. The hiker examines weather forecasts for the next several days.

Which day should the hike be planned for, if the hiker wants to hike on a clear day with no clouds?

A day when a high pressure system rests over the area

A day when a low pressure system rests over the area

A day when a warm front moves through

A day when a cold front moves through

A day when a high pressure system rests over the area

Which of these is an example of climate change caused by natural variation?

The low rainfall that helped produce the dust bowl in the American Great Plains

The increase in the Sahara desert's area from overgrazing by farm animals in North Africa

The decrease in average humidity of the air from draining swampland in an area

The decrease of rainfall from cutting down the trees in a rainforest

The low rainfall that helped produce the dust bowl in the American Great Plains

What is an example of climate change that can be caused by human activity?

Changes in average temperature from increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide

Changes in average temperature from changes in the sun's energy emission

Changes in average temperature over Earth's history from changes in Earth's tilt

Changes in temperature from the onset of the last ice age

Changes in average temperature from increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide

Earth formed from dust and gases surrounding the sun.

Which force pulled the dust and gases together to form Earth?

Gravitational

Electrical

Magnetic

Frictional

Gravitational

A galaxy consists of many stars in the same large region of space.

Which phenomenon leads stars to group together to form a galaxy?

Gravity between stars

Electrical attraction

Random coincidence

Nuclear force between ions

Gravity between stars

What is true during summer in the northern hemisphere?

Earth is closer to the sun than during the winter.

Earth rotates more slowly than in the winter.

The northern hemisphere receives more direct sunlight than in the winter.

The northern hemisphere is tilted less toward the sun than in the winter.

The northern hemisphere receives more direct sunlight than in the winter.