CLASSICAL MECHANICS
What fundamental force causes an apple to drop from a tree toward the ground?
Gravity (or gravitational force)
What common instrument measures thermal energy in terms of temperature?
A thermometer
What subatomic particle carrying a negative elementary charge moves through a conductor to create an electric current?
Electron
What happens to light rays when they strike a smooth mirror surface?
Reflection (regular or specular reflection)
What upward force enables ships made of heavy steel to float in ocean water?
Buoyant force (buoyancy)
Which physical property measures an object's resistance to a change in its state of motion?
Inertia (measured quantitatively by mass)
What are the three primary modes of heat transfer?
Conduction, convection, and radiation
Do like magnetic poles (e.g., North and North) attract or repel each other?
They repel each other
What optical phenomenon bends light waves as they pass from air into water, making a straw appear broken in a glass?
Refraction
What happens to the atmospheric pressure as an climber ascends higher up a mountain?
It decreases.
According to Newton's First Law of Motion, what state will a moving object maintain if no net force acts upon it?
It will continue moving at a constant velocity (constant speed in a straight line)
At what temperature on the Celsius scale does pure water freeze at standard atmospheric pressure?
0OC
What standard electrical unit measures electrical resistance?
The Ohm
What glass optical element separates white sunlight into a spectrum of colors?
A prism
What property of water allows water strider insects to walk across the water surface without sinking?
Surface tension
What is the term for energy an object possesses due to its motion?
Kinetic energy
What happens to the volume of most solid materials when they are heated?
They expand (thermal expansion).
What household safety device melts or trips to break a circuit when current flow becomes dangerously high?
A fuse (or circuit breaker)
What type of optical lens is thicker in the middle than at the edges and focuses parallel light rays onto a single focal point?
A convex (converging) lens.
What force allows liquids to rise spontaneously in narrow tubes against gravity, powering water transport in plant roots?
Capillary action (capillarity)
If you push against a solid wall with a force of 50 N, how much force does the wall exert back on you?
50 N (in the opposite direction, according to Newton's Third Law).
What is the term for the hidden heat absorbed or released by a substance during a phase change (e.g., ice melting to water) without changing its temperature?
Latent heat.
What type of electric current continuously reverses its direction of flow, as provided by typical home wall outlets?
Alternating Current (AC)
What region of the electromagnetic spectrum has wavelengths slightly longer than visible red light and is felt as heat?
Infrared radiation
In a second-class lever, where is the load located?
In the middle, between the pivot (fulcrum) and the effort.