MCAS Physics Exams
MCAS 2008 Session 2
A teenager removes the plastic wrapping from a CD. The pieces of wrap cling to her hand. Which of the following forces causes the wrap to cling to her hand?
A. electrostatic
B. gravitational
C. magnetic
D. net
A bicycle rider is traveling at 7 m/s. During an 8 s period, the bicycle rider then slows down with a constant acceleration to a speed of 3 m/s. How far does the bicycle rider travel during the 8 s?
A. 19 m
B. 32 m
C. 40 m
D. 80 m
Which of the following ammeters is shown with an incorrect reading?
Which of the following increases when a metal spring is stretched horizontally?
A. potential energy
B. kinetic energy
C. gravitational energy
D. electrical energy
Two students stretch a rope horizontally between them. One student moves one end of the rope up and down repeatedly for a short time. Which of the following describes the frequency of the waves in the rope?
A. the height that the rope reaches when moved up
B. the amount of time it takes for one wave to travel the length of the rope
C. the number of times the rope is moved up and down in a time interval
D. the distance measured between the crest of one wave and the crest of the next wave in the rope
An engineering student is gathering data on the motion of a model car traveling down a ramp. If energy is conserved, the potential energy of the car at the top of the ramp should equal the kinetic energy of the car at the bottom of the ramp. After the first trial, the student calculates that the kinetic energy at the bottom of the ramp is less than the potential energy at the top of the ramp. Which of the following can best explain this difference?
A. The car gained a small amount of mass as it moved down the ramp.
B. The student accidentally accelerated the car at the top of the ramp.
C. The measured height of the ramp was less than the actual height.
D. The student did not include the effect of frictional force in the calculation.
The distance of the star Vega from Earth is 1.6 million times greater than the distance of the Sun from Earth. Which of the following best describes the gravitational influence of Vega on Earth?
A. It is roughly equal to that of the Sun.
B. Its influence is greater than that of the Sun.
C. Its influence is small because of its distance.
D. It influences the magnitude of Earth’s mass.
What is the momentum of a metal disc with a mass of 1.5 kg sliding on a frictionless surface at 0.75 m/s?
A. 0.50 kgm/s
B. 0.85 kgm/s
C. 11 kgm/s
D. 2.0 kgm/s
A heated rock is placed in a container of water that is cooler than room temperature. Which of the following statements best describes what happens?
A. Cold is removed from the container of water until the rock, the container, and the water all reach the same final temperature.
B. The heated rock loses heat to the container of water until the rock, the container, and the water all reach the same final temperature.
C. The heated rock loses heat to the container of water until the rock, the container, and the water each reach a different final temperature.
D. Cold is removed from the container of water until the rock, the container, and the water each reach a final temperature lower than their original temperatures.
Which of the following is possible due to longitudinal waves?
A. seeing the color red
B. getting a tan at the beach
C. hearing the sound of the ocean
D. riding a wave on a surfboard
A student hypothesizes that the mass of a substance affects how the temperature of the substance changes when it is heated. The student uses the following procedure to test the hypothesis.
Each sample is initially at room temperature before heating.
Each sample is heated for the same amount of time with the same heat source.
The final temperature is measured for each sample.
Which of the following would be the best way to select the samples for testing the student’s hypothesis?
A. Obtain samples of one substance, each with the same mass.
B. Obtain samples of one substance, each with a different mass.
C. Obtain samples of different substances, each with the same mass.
D. Obtain samples of different substances, each with a different mass.
The distance between two charges is represented by d. In which of the following diagrams is the attractive force between the two charges the greatest?
A boat tied to a dock is stationary. Water waves constantly pass by the boat. The crests of the waves are 3 m apart and a crest passes the front of the boat every 4 s. What is the velocity of the waves?
A. 0.75 m/s
B. 1.33 m/s
C. 3 m/s
D. 12 m/s
A window washer noticed that, from the same distance and with no breeze, the smell of ammonia glass cleaner reached him faster on a hot day (30°C) than on a cold day (5°C). Which of the following explains this observation?
A. Molecules expand at higher temperatures.
B. Molecules move more rapidly at higher temperatures.
C. The convection currents carry molecules at higher temperatures.
D. The chemical reaction of molecules increases at higher temperatures.
A student standing on the edge of a swimming pool sees a painted mark on the bottom of the pool. The mark appears to be at a shallower depth than the actual depth of the pool. Which of the following descriptions of light waves best explains this observation?
A. Light from the mark travels through the water in a curved path.
B. Light from the mark is refracted as it travels from the water to the air.
C. Light from the mark is reflected as it travels from the water to the air.
D. Light from the mark bounces off the boundary between the water and the air.
Which of the following is a scalar quantity?
A. the mass of a brick
B. the velocity of a falling tennis ball
C. the force required to lift a 10 kg mass
D. the acceleration of a toy car over a 60 s period
A student is sitting in a large stadium far away from the starting line of a footrace, while listening to the footrace on the radio. As the race starts, the student hears the sound of the starting pistol on the radio. Shortly after that, the student hears the sound of the starting pistol from inside the stadium. Which of the following best explains these observations?
A. Mechanical waves travel faster than electromagnetic waves.
B. Electromagnetic waves travel faster than mechanical waves.
C. The radio’s signal traveled a shorter distance than the sound wave traveled.
D. The radio’s microphone was farther away from the starting line than the student was.
People perceive sound differently in air than they do under water. Which of the following correctly compares the motion of sound waves in air and in water?
A. Sound waves travel faster in air than in water.
B. Sound waves travel slower in air than in water.
C. Sound waves travel in air but do not travel in water.
D. Sound waves travel at the same speed in air and in water.
A performer pulls a tablecloth out from under a complete set of dinnerware as shown in the illustration below.
Which of the following best explains the performer’s success at leaving all the dinnerware on the table?
A. the inertia of the dinnerware
B. the large mass of the tablecloth
C. the placement of the dinnerware
D. the rough material of the tablecloth
Open-Response Questions
BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
Show all your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.
Refer to the following information for the next three questions.
An elastic cord made for bungee jumping is being tested. A weight of 800 N is attached to one end of the bungee cord. Then the weight is released from a tall tower and it moves downward. When the elastic cord is fully extended, it exerts an opposing force of 900 N on the weight.
a. Draw and label a force diagram for this situation.
b. Calculate the net force on the weight. Show your calculations and include units in your answer.
c. Explain what would happen if the elastic cord exerted a maximum force of only 700 N on the weight.
Refer to the following information for the next three questions.
The diagram below shows what happens when a particular light wave strikes a boundary.
a. Identify each light ray, A, B, and C, as an incident, a refracted, or a reflected ray.
b. Describe the relationship between angles x
1
and x
2
.
c. Describe how this setup could be changed so that the size of angle x
3
is different.
Refer to the following information for the next five questions.
A circuit with three identical light bulbs is shown in the diagram below.
a. Identify the symbol labeled J in the circuit.
b. Describe what each light bulb does in each of the following situations:
when switches 1 and 2 are open
when switches 1 and 2 are closed
when switch 1 is open and switch 2 is closed
when switch 1 is closed and switch 2 is open
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