PhysicsLAB AAPT Quiz
PhysicsBowl 2014 (Part 1)
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All Division I students, START HERE.
All Division II students – skip the first 10 questions, begin on #11.
*** Treat g = 10.0 m/s2 for ALL questions #1-#50.


1. An FM radio station sends a signal with a frequency of 99.99 ×106 Hz. Which one of the following choices best represents this frequency expressed using metric prefixes?
 
2. In the laboratory, a student makes the following six measurements for the length of an object: 5.05 cm, 5.06 cm, 5.07 cm, 5.06 cm, 5.07 cm, and 5.09 cm. Using the rules of significant digits, which one of the following choices correctly represents how she should express the average length of the object?
 
3. An object is dropped into free fall. Through how many meters does the object fall during the first 3.00 seconds of flight?
 
 
 
4. Three equal masses are suspended from a classroom ceiling by a series of strings as shown in the figure. Which string has the greatest tension?




 
5. A simple pendulum consists of a massive bob connected to the end of a very light string. Which one of the following changes should be made in order to increase the period of the pendulum? Ignore air resistance.
 




 
6. MRI is a commonly used acronym for a medical diagnostic technique. MRI stands for which one of the following choices?




 
7. Starting from rest, a cart uniformly accelerates to a speed of 7.60 m/s in a time of 3.00 s. Through what distance does the cart move in this time?
 
8. A 2.50 kg mass connected to the end of an ideal spring oscillates in simple harmonic motion. The mass’s position is described as a function of time by x(t) = 0.20 cos(8.00t + 0.50) where all quantities are in base SI units. Which one of the following choices gives the numerical value of the oscillation’s amplitude in base SI units?
 
9. Which one of the following quantities is not a scalar quantity?
 
 
 
 
10. Two charges, -Q and +Q, are fixed in place on the x-axis, each a distance a from the origin as shown. At the point labeled P, a distance d along the y-axis from the origin, what is the direction of the electric field from the given charges?




 

All Division 01 students, continue to question #40.
All Division 02 students, START HERE. Numbers 1 – 10 on your answer sheet should be blank. Your first answer should be for #11.
*** Treat g = 10 m/s2 for ALL questions #1 – #50.


11. A crate gains 36.0 J of kinetic energy while its speed is increased from 2.00 m/s to 4.00 m/s. Which one of the following choices best represents the mass of the crate?
 
12. A box of mass 5.0 kg is being pushed to the right across a horizontal surface while a constant frictional force of 8.0 N acts on the box. At some instant of time, the box has a speed of 4.0 m/s and an acceleration of 3.0 m/s2. What is the magnitude of the net force acting on the box at this instant?
 
13. Which one of the following scientists is most associated with the following statement: “For small displacements of an object from equilibrium, there is a restoring force that is proportional to the displacement.”?
 
14. A box rests on the floor of an elevator. The elevator is accelerating upward. Which one of the following choices best represents the Newton’s Third Law pair force to the gravitational force acting on the box by the Earth?




 
15. Two objects, A and B, move in space and then collide.

             Before collision: Object A, of mass 5.0 kg, moves to the right with a speed of 25.0 m/s.
                                       Object B, of mass 10.0 kg, moves to the left with a speed of 20.0 m/s.

            After collision:     Object A moves to the left with a speed of 25.0 m/s.

What is the velocity of object B after the collision?
 

The next two questions share the same information Base your answers to questions 16 and 17 on the information below.

A toy car initially moves to the right at 60.0 cm/s. Five seconds later, the car is moving at 40.0 cm/s to the left. The total displacement of the car during this time is 10.0 cm to the left of where it started.

16. Which one of the following choices best represents the magnitude of the average velocity of the car during the five second motion?
 
17. Which one of the following choices best represents the magnitude of the average acceleration of the car during the five second motion?
 

18. A rectangular block of wood has a mass of 17.8 g and dimensions of length: 3.00 cm, width: 4.00 cm, and height: 2.00 cm. Which one of the following choices correctly gives the average density of the block?
 
19. In 2013, the Nobel Prize in physics was awarded "for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider". The winners were François Englert and
 
 
 
20. A uniform block of mass m is placed on an inclined plane of angle When released, the block does not move. It is determined that the normal force acting from the incline on the block has a magnitude of 62 N while the force of static friction acting on the block has a magnitude of 38 N. The coefficient of static friction between the block and inclined plane is µs = 0.92. Which one of the following choices best represents the mass, m, of the block?
 
21. A tuning fork placed over a 57 cm column of air closed only at its bottom end produces a standing wave in the 3rd harmonic. The speed of sound in air is 342 m/s. What is the frequency of the tuning fork?
 
 
 
22. For the circuit shown, all three light bulbs have the same resistance. The battery and wires have no resistance. What is the proper ranking of the bulbs’ brightness?




 
 
 
23. Two small identical coins (labeled X and Y) are at rest on a horizontal disk rotating at a constant rate about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the disk and through its center. The distance of the coins from the center of disk is related by dX = (1/2)dY. Which one of the following choices correctly identifies the relationship between fx and fY, the frictional force on coin X and on coin Y, respectively?
 
 
 
 
24. For the bar magnet shown in the figure, which choice best describes the direction of the magnetic field at the point P located directly above the center of the magnet?
 
25. It is observed that a light ray changes direction when it enters a new material. Which one of the following choices is the term best associated with this phenomenon?
 



 
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