Question 1

What is the difference between food calories and a calorie as defined by physicists?

Accepted Answer

Physicists define a calorie as the amoun

Question 2

Which of the following has the greatest amount of gravitational potential energy?

Accepted Answer

A)  a case of books sitting on an end table 
B)  a bowling ball released for the strike 
C)  one diver at the highest point of the dive 
D)  a brick at the top of the Empire State Building 
E)  a hawk diving for its prey 
A)  a case of books sitting on an end table 
B)  a bowling ball released for the strike 
C)  one diver at the highest point of the dive 
D)  a brick at the top of the Empire State Building 
E)  a hawk diving for its prey

Question 3

Which of the following organisms is at the first trophic level?

Accepted Answer

A)  cow 
B)  killer whale 
C)  human 
D)  bacteria 
E)  plants 
A)  cow 
B)  killer whale 
C)  human 
D)  bacteria 
E)  plants

Question 4

Thermal energy is measured in units of:

Accepted Answer

A)  joules/second. 
B)  calories. 
C)  watts. 
D)  foot-pounds. 
E)  meters/second. 
A)  joules/second. 
B)  calories. 
C)  watts. 
D)  foot-pounds. 
E)  meters/second.

Question 5

All popular weight loss diets are based on:

Accepted Answer

A)  the conservation law. 
B)  increasing the exercise you do each day. 
C)  the first law of thermodynamics. 
D)  increasing protein intake. 
E)  decreasing the exercise you do each day. 
A)  the conservation law. 
B)  increasing the exercise you do each day. 
C)  the first law of thermodynamics. 
D)  increasing protein intake. 
E)  decreasing the exercise you do each day.

Question 6

Which object carries the greatest amount of kinetic energy?

Accepted Answer

A)  250-gram baseball hit at 50 meters/second 
B)  300-gram baseball traveling at 50 meters/second 
C)  4-kilogram bowling ball traveling at 7 meters per second 
D)  4-kilogram bowling ball traveling at 10 meters per second 
E)  a 120-gram tennis ball served at 50 meters/second 
A)  250-gram baseball hit at 50 meters/second 
B)  300-gram baseball traveling at 50 meters/second 
C)  4-kilogram bowling ball traveling at 7 meters per second 
D)  4-kilogram bowling ball traveling at 10 meters per second 
E)  a 120-gram tennis ball served at 50 meters/second

Question 7

What are the main problems with using solar energy?

Accepted Answer

Unless stored, solar energy is

Question 8

Describe the time that is left before depletion of high-grade crude oil and the cleanest burning coal deposits.

Accepted Answer

Reserves of high-grade crude o

Question 9

Compare and contrast an open system and a closed system. To which type of system does the first law of thermodynamics apply?

Accepted Answer

Discussions should include a d

Question 10

James Watt designed experiments in horsepower to:

Accepted Answer

A)  assist miners in removing ore. 
B)  calculate the velocity of a water pump. 
C)  quantify the energy generated by a horse in mines. 
D)  invent the steam engine. 
E)  assess the health of horses. 
A)  assist miners in removing ore. 
B)  calculate the velocity of a water pump. 
C)  quantify the energy generated by a horse in mines. 
D)  invent the steam engine. 
E)  assess the health of horses.

Question 11

How would your weight change if you added the calorie equivalent of one canned soda to each of your meals and all other variables about your diet were held constant?

Accepted Answer

Adding the extra calories woul

Question 12

What kind of energy does a person experience during skydiving?

Accepted Answer

A)  potential gravitational energy 
B)  potential energy 
C)  chemical energy 
D)  heat energy 
E)  kinetic energy 
A)  potential gravitational energy 
B)  potential energy 
C)  chemical energy 
D)  heat energy 
E)  kinetic energy

Question 13

If you can make your hands warmer by rubbing them together, can you make two ice cubes warmer by rubbing them together? Explain.

Accepted Answer

Answers will vary. The ice is

Question 14

How did the discovery of radioactivity affect the controversy between two competing theories about the age of the Earth?

Accepted Answer

Answers should discu

Question 15

Construct an energy flow path from the Sun to turning on the ignition of a car.

Accepted Answer

Answers should include the Sun

Question 16

From a physicist's point of view, in which of the following cases has significant work been done?

Accepted Answer

A)  You try to pull your car out of ditch, but it doesn't budge. 
B)  Your brother throws his dirty clothes on the floor. 
C)  Your mother holds a sleeping baby. 
D)  You review for a test by imagining the questions. 
E)  Your father tries unsuccessfully to open a jar. 
A)  You try to pull your car out of ditch, but it doesn't budge. 
B)  Your brother throws his dirty clothes on the floor. 
C)  Your mother holds a sleeping baby. 
D)  You review for a test by imagining the questions. 
E)  Your father tries unsuccessfully to open a jar.

Question 17

The conservation law in science states that:

Accepted Answer

A)  our natural resources are scarce. 
B)  once energy is used, it is lost to the system. 
C)  fossil fuels are an important energy source. 
D)  conservation will save fossil fuels. 
E)  the energy in an isolated system stays the same. 
A)  our natural resources are scarce. 
B)  once energy is used, it is lost to the system. 
C)  fossil fuels are an important energy source. 
D)  conservation will save fossil fuels. 
E)  the energy in an isolated system stays the same.

Question 18

Compare the rate of global fossil fuel consumption to the rate of production of fossil fuel from organic materials.

Accepted Answer

There really is no good comparison becau

Question 19

A stalled car is pushed to the top of a hill, allowed to roll down the hill and started by "clutch-popping" (turning the key while releasing the clutch rapidly). At which point did the car have the greatest amount of potential gravitational energy?

Accepted Answer

A)  at the bottom of the hill 
B)  at the top of the hill 
C)  when restarted using the key and clutch 
D)  being pushed to the top of the hill 
E)  as it was rolling down the hill 
A)  at the bottom of the hill 
B)  at the top of the hill 
C)  when restarted using the key and clutch 
D)  being pushed to the top of the hill 
E)  as it was rolling down the hill

Question 20

When a meteorite hits Earth, heat is generated. Which of the following statements best describes this process?

Accepted Answer

A)  Gravitational potential energy is converted into heat. 
B)  Electrical potential energy is converted into heat. 
C)  Chemical energy is converted into heat. 
D)  Magnetic energy is converted into heat. 
E)  Elastic potential energy is converted into heat. 
A)  Gravitational potential energy is converted into heat. 
B)  Electrical potential energy is converted into heat. 
C)  Chemical energy is converted into heat. 
D)  Magnetic energy is converted into heat. 
E)  Elastic potential energy is converted into heat.

Exam 3: Energy: Why Must Animals Eat to Stay Alive

What is the difference between food calories and a calorie as defined by physicists?

Which of the following has the greatest amount of gravitational potential energy?

Which of the following organisms is at the first trophic level?

Thermal energy is measured in units of:

All popular weight loss diets are based on:

Which object carries the greatest amount of kinetic energy?

What are the main problems with using solar energy?

Describe the time that is left before depletion of high-grade crude oil and the cleanest burning coal deposits.

Compare and contrast an open system and a closed system. To which type of system does the first law of thermodynamics apply?

James Watt designed experiments in horsepower to:

How would your weight change if you added the calorie equivalent of one canned soda to each of your meals and all other variables about your diet were held constant?

What kind of energy does a person experience during skydiving?

If you can make your hands warmer by rubbing them together, can you make two ice cubes warmer by rubbing them together? Explain.

How did the discovery of radioactivity affect the controversy between two competing theories about the age of the Earth?

Construct an energy flow path from the Sun to turning on the ignition of a car.

From a physicist's point of view, in which of the following cases has significant work been done?

The conservation law in science states that:

Compare the rate of global fossil fuel consumption to the rate of production of fossil fuel from organic materials.

A stalled car is pushed to the top of a hill, allowed to roll down the hill and started by "clutch-popping" (turning the key while releasing the clutch rapidly). At which point did the car have the greatest amount of potential gravitational energy?

When a meteorite hits Earth, heat is generated. Which of the following statements best describes this process?

Science: a Way of Knowing: How Do You Know What You Know

The Ordered Universe: Why Do Planets Appear to Wander Slowly Across the Sky

Heat and the Second Law of Thermodynamics: Why Is It Easier to Make an Omelet From an Egg Than to Make an Egg From an Omelet

Electricity and Magnetism: What Is Lightning

Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation: What Is Color

Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity: Can a Human Ever Travel Faster Than the Speed of Light, at Warp Speed

The Atom: Why Are There so Many Different Materials in the World

Quantum Mechanics: How Can the Electron Behave Like Both a Particle and a Wave

Atoms in Combination: the Chemical Bond: How Does Blood Clot

Materials and Their Properties: How Have Computers Gotten so Much Faster

The Nucleus of the Atom: How Do Scientists Determine the Age of the Oldest Human Fossils

The Ultimate Structure of Matter: How Can Antimatter Be Used to Probe the Human Brain

The Stars: How Much Longer Can the Sun Sustain Life on Earth

Cosmology: Will the Universe End

Earth and Other Planets: Is Earth the Only Planet With Life

Plate Tectonics: Can We Predict Destructive Earthquakes

Earths Many Cycles: Will We Ever Run Out of Fresh Water

Ecology, Ecosystems, and the Environment: Are Human Activities Affecting the Global Environment

Strategies of Life: What Is Life

The Living Cell: What Is the Smallest Living Thing

Molecules of Life: What Constitutes a Healthy Diet

Classical and Modern Genetics: Why Do Offspring Resemble Their Parents

The New Science of Life: Can We Cure Cancer

Evolution: How Did Life Emerge on the Ancient Earth

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