S2 Physical Science Exam Study Guide Dixon

S2 Physical Science Exam Study Guide Dixon

*Complete and study the following questions in preparation for the semester two exam. The exam will be comprised of multiple -choice questions.

1.  Identify the variables plotted on the horizontal and x-axis on a graph.

2.  How do you convert centimeters to meters?

3.  How can you determine the dependent and independent variables on a graph?

4.  Define what a “control” is in a scientific experiment.

5.  Give an example of how velocity is expressed. How is it different from speed?

6.  What is instantaneous speed? How is it expressed on a graph?

7.  What happens to velocity on a merry –go-round?

8.  What happens to acceleration when you go up a hill and then down on a bike?

9.  What is another name for Newton’s first law of motion?

10.  Define air resistance.

11.  Explain the differences between the rates of two objects falling in space compared to the atmosphere.

12.  To increase acceleration you have to increase ______.

13.  How can the momentum of two objects traveling at the same speeds be different?

14.  How do you determine the acceleration of an object? Make up a problem using the formula you would use to compute acceleration.

15.  What must increase for the kinetic energy of an object to increase?

16.  What is measured in joules?

17.  What is chemical potential energy transferred into when a car moves?

18.  What does the law of the conservation of energy state?

19.  How does a fixed pulley make an object easier to lift?

20.  Describe how a simple machine does work (be specific).

21.  Define power as applied to machines.

22.  What is the unit used for power?

23.  How is a wedge different from a lever, pulley, and wheel and axle?

24.  Name two simple machines on a bicycle.

25.  How does an insulator reduce the flow of heat?

26.  How is radiation different from combustion, conduction, and convection?

27.  How does an active solar heating system work?

28.  What happens to heat in refrigerators and air conditioners?

29.  What is combustion?

30.  A heat engine converts thermal energy into ______energy.

31.  What is static electricity?

32.  How many circuits does a parallel circuit have?

33.  How is electrical energy defined?

34.  What is an electroscope? What do the leaves on an electroscope determine?

35.  Explain how a circuit breaker prevents overheating.

36.  Name four common fossil fuels.

37.  How can biomass be used to convert chemical energy into thermal energy?

38.  What are photovoltaic cells used for? What type of energy are they associated with?

39.  List some disadvantages of using hydroelectricity.

40.  Explain how a turbine shaft is used to produce electric current in a generator.

41.  Why are alternative energy sources needed in the world?

42.  What causes a wave to travel?

43.  A coiled spring represents what kind of wave?

44.  The energy of a wave is determined by its ______.

45.  What happens to the wavelength of a wave if the frequency is increased?

46.  A wave passing through matter of different densities will have changes in its speed, ______, and ______.

47.  How does destructive interference occur in waves?

48.  Describe the type of wave that carries sound?

49.  Intensity of a sound is the same as its ______.

50.  What has to be moving for the Doppler effect to occur?

51.  What is a resonator? Give three examples.

52.  How and why do animals use echolocation?

53.  How is reverberation related to sound? How is it controlled?

54.  What kind of waves are electromagnetic waves?

55.  List the types of waves in order on the electromagnetic spectrum.

56.  What happens to the wavelength of the waves in the electromagnetic spectrum as they move from left to right?

57.  For what purpose are X-rays used?

58.  What are radio waves used for?

59.  Why are fluorescent light bulbs advantageous to incandescent lights?

60.  What does refraction mean as applied to light? What causes light to be refracted?