June 2011 Physics Regents

1. Scalar is to vector as

(1) speed is to velocity
(2) displacement is to distance
(3) displacement is to velocity
(4) speed is to distance

2. If a car accelerates uniformly from rest to $15$ meters per second over a distance of $100.$ meters, the magnitude of the car’s acceleration is

(1) $0.15$ $m/s^{2}$
(2) $1.1$ $m/s^{2}$
(3) $2.3$ $m/s^{2}$
(4) $6.7$ $m/s^{2}$

3. An object accelerates uniformly from $3.0$ meters per second east to $8.0$ meters per second east in $2.0$ seconds. What is the magnitude of the acceleration of the object?

(1) $2.5$ $m/s^{2}$
(2) $5.0$ $m/s^{2}$
(3) $5.5$ $m/s^{2}$
(4) $11$ $m/s^{2}$

4. A rock is dropped from a bridge. What happens to the magnitude of the acceleration and the speed of the rock as it falls? [Neglect friction.]

(1) Both acceleration and speed increase.
(2) Both acceleration and speed remain the same.
(3) Acceleration increases and speed decreases.
(4) Acceleration remains the same and speed increases.

5. A soccer ball kicked on a level field has an initial vertical velocity component of $15.0$ meter per second. Assuming the ball lands at the same height from which it was kicked, what is the total time the ball is in the air? [Neglect friction.]

(1) $0.654$ s
(2) $1.53$ s
(3) $3.06$ s
(4) $6.12$ s

6. A student is standing in an elevator that is accelerating downward. The force that the student exerts on the floor of the elevator must be

(1) less than the weight of the student when at rest
(2) greater than the weight of the student when at rest
(3) less than the force of the floor on the student
(4) greater than the force of the floor on the student

7. The magnitude of the centripetal force acting on an object traveling in a horizontal, circular path will decrease if the

(1) radius of the path is increased
(2) mass of the object is increased
(3) direction of motion of the object is reversed
(4) speed of the object is increased

8. The centripetal force acting on the space shuttle as it orbits Earth is equal to the shuttle’s

(1) inertia
(2) momentum
(3) velocity
(4) weight

9. As a box is pushed $30.$ meters across a horizontal floor by a constant horizontal force of $25$ newtons, the kinetic energy of the box increases by $300.$ joules. How much total internal energy is produced during this process?

(1) $150$ J
(2) $250$ J
(3) $450$ J
(4) $750$ J

10. What is the power output of an electric motor that lifts a $2.0$ -kilogram block $15$ meters vertically in $6.0$ seconds?

(1) $5.0$ J
(2) $5.0$ W
(3) $49$ J
(4) $49$ W

11. Four identical projectiles are launched with the same initial speed, $v$ , but at various angles above the level ground. Which diagram represents the initial velocity of the projectile that will have the largest total horizontal displacement? [Neglect air resistance.]

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

12. Two forces act concurrently on an object on a horizontal, frictionless surface, as shown in the diagram below.

What additional force, when applied to the object, will establish equilibrium?

(1) $16$ N toward the right
(2) $16$ N toward the left
(3) $4$ N toward the right
(4) $4$ N toward the left

13. As shown in the diagram below, an open box and its contents have a combined mass of $5.0$ kilograms. A horizontal force of $15$ newtons is required to push the box at a constant speed of $1.5$ meters per second across a level surface.

The inertia of the box and its contents increases if there is an increase in the

(1) speed of the box
(2) mass of the contents of the box
(3) magnitude of the horizontal force applied to the box
(4) coefficient of kinetic friction between the box and the level surface

14. Which statement describes the kinetic energy and total mechanical energy of a block as it is pulled at constant speed up an incline?

(1) Kinetic energy decreases and total mechanical energy increases.
(2) Kinetic energy decreases and total mechanical energy remains the same.
(3) Kinetic energy remains the same and total mechanical energy increases.
(4) Kinetic energy remains the same and total mechanical energy remains the same.

15. Which diagram represents the electric field lines between two small electrically charged spheres?

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

16. The diagram below represents a view from above of a tank of water in which parallel wavefronts are traveling toward a barrier.

Which arrow represents the direction of travel for the wavefronts after being reflected from the barrier?

(1) $A$
(2) $B$
(3) $C$
(4) $D$

17. Two metal spheres, $A$ and $B$ , posses charges of $1.0$ microcoulomb and $2.0$ microcoulombs, respectively. In the diagram below, arrow $F$ represents the electrostatic force exerted on sphere $B$ by sphere $A$ .

Which arrow represents the magnitude and direction of the electrostatic force exerted on sphere $A$ by sphere $B$ ?

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

18. The diagram below represents a positively charged particle about to enter the electric field between two oppositely charged parallel plates.

The electric field will deflect the particle

(1) into the page
(2) out of the page
(3) toward the top of the page
(4) toward the bottom of the page

19. What is the total amount of work required to move a proton through a potential difference of $100$ volts?

(1) $1.60 \times 10^{-21}$ J
(2) $1.60 \times 10^{-17}$ J
(3) $1.00 \times 10^{2}$ J
(4) $6.25 \times 10^{20}$ J

20. What is the current through a wire if $240$ coulombs of charge pass through the wire in $2.0$ minutes?

(1) $120$ A
(2) $2.0$ A
(3) $0.50$ A
(4) $0.0083$ A

21. An electric circuit consists of a variable resistor connected to a source of constant potential difference. If the resistance of the resistor is doubled, the current through the resistor is

(1) halved
(2) doubled
(3) quartered
(4) quadrupled

22. Circuit $A$ has four $3.0$ -ohm resistors connected in series with a $24$ -volt battery, and circuit $B$ has two $3.0$ -ohm resistors connected in series with a $24$ -volt battery. Compared to the total potential drop across circuit $A$ , the total potential drop across circuit $B$ is

(1) one-half as great
(2) twice as great
(3) the same
(4) four times as great

23. How much total energy is dissipated in $10$ seconds in a $4.0$ -ohm resistor with a current of $0.50$ ampere?

(1) $2.5$ J
(2) $5.0$ J
(3) $10.$ J
(4) $20.$ J

24. Moving a length of copper wire through a magnetic field may cause the wire to have a

(1) potential difference across it
(2) lower temperature
(3) lower resistivity
(4) higher resistance

25. A pulse traveled the length of a stretched spring. The pulse transferred

(1) energy, only
(2) mass, only
(3) both energy and mass
(4) neither energy nor mass

26. The graph below represents the displacement of a particle in a medium over a period of time.

The amplitude of the wave is

(1) $4.0$ s
(2) $6.0$ s
(3) $8$ cm
(4) $4$ cm

27. What is the period of a water wave if $4.0$ complete waves pass a fixed point in $10.$ seconds?

(1) $0.25$ s
(2) $0.40$ s
(3) $2.5$ s
(4) $4.0$ s

28. The diagram below represents a periodic wave.

Which point on the wave is $90^{\circ}$ out of phase with point $P$ ?

(1) $A$
(2) $B$
(3) $C$
(4) $D$

29. What is the wavelength of a $256$ -hertz sound wave in air at STP?

(1) $1.17 \times 10^{6}$ m
(2) $1.29$ m
(3) $0.773$ m
(4) $8.53 \times 10^{-7}$ m

30. What is the minimum total energy released when an electron and its antiparticle [positron) annihilate each other?

(1) $1.64 \times 10^{-13}$ J
(2) $8.20 \times 10^{-14}$ J
(3) $5.47 \times 10^{-22}$ J
(4) $2.73 \times 10^{-22}$ J

31. Which statement correctly describes one characteristic of a sound wave?

(1) A sound wave can travel through a vacuum.
(2) A sound wave is a transverse wave.
(3) The amount of energy a sound wave transmits is directly related to the wave’s amplitude.
(4) The amount of energy a sound wave transmits is inversely related to the wave’s frequency.

32. A $256$ -hertz vibrating tuning fork is brought near a nonvibrating $256$ -hertz tuning fork. The second tuning fork begins to vibrate. Which phenomenon causes the nonvibrating tuning fork to begin to vibrate?

(1) resistance
(2) resonance
(3) refraction
(4) reflection

33. Astronauts traveling toward Earth in a fast-moving spacecraft receive a radio signal from an antenna on Earth. Compared to the frequency and wavelength of the radio signal emitted from the antenna, the radio signal received by the astronauts has a

(1) lower frequency and a shorter wavelength
(2) lower frequency and a longer wavelength
(3) higher frequency and a shorter wavelength
(4) higher frequency and a longer wavelength

34. On the atomic level, energy and matter exhibit the characteristics of

(1) particles, only
(2) waves, only
(3) neither particles nor waves
(4) both particles and waves

35. Which particles are not affected by the strong force?

(1) hadrons
(2) protons
(3) neutrons
(4) electrons

36. What is the approximate diameter of an inflated basketball?

(1) $2 \times 10^{-2}$ m
(2) $2 \times 10^{-1}$ m
(3) $2 \times 10^{0}$ m
(4) $1 \times 10^{1}$ m

37. The graph below shows the relationship between the speed and elapsed time for an object falling freely from rest near the surface of a planet.

What is the total distance the object falls during the first $3.0$ seconds?

(1) $12$ m
(2) $24$ m
(3) $44$ m
(4) $72$ m

38. A $75$ -kilogram hockey player is skating across the ice at a speed of $6.0$ meters per second. What is the magnitude of the average force required to stop the player in $0.65$ second?

(1) $120$ N
(2) $290$ N
(3) $690$ N
(4) $920$ N

39. A child pulls a wagon at a constant velocity along a level sidewalk. The child does this by applying a $22$ -newton force to the wagon handle, which is inclined at $35^{\circ}$ to the sidewalk as shown below.

What is the magnitude of the force of friction on the wagon?

(1) $11$ N
(2) $13$ N
(3) $18$ N
(4) $22$ N

40. The diagram below shows the arrangement of three small spheres, $A, B$ , and $C$ , having charges of $3q, q$ , and $q$ , respectively. Spheres $A$ and $C$ are located distance $r$ from sphere $B$ .

Compared to the magnitude of the electrostatic force exerted by sphere $B$ on sphere $C$ , the magnitude of the electrostatic force exerted by sphere $A$ on sphere $C$ is

(1) the same
(2) twice as great
(3) $\dfrac{3}{4}$ as great
(4) $\dfrac{3}{2}$ as great

41. A space probe is launched into space from Earth’s surface. Which graph represents the relationship between the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted on Earth by the space probe and the distance between the space probe and the center of Earth?

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

42. Which graph represents the relationship between the gravitational potential energy (GPE) of an object near the surface of Earth and its height above the surface of Earth?

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

43. Two parallel metal plates are connected to a variable source of potential difference. When the potential difference of the source is increased, the magnitude of the electric field strength between the plates increases. The diagram below shows an electron located between the plates.

Which graph represents the relationship between the magnitude of the electrostatic force on the electron and the magnitude of the electric field strength between the plates?

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

44. The diagram below represents a circuit consisting of two resistors connected to a source of potential difference.

What is the current through the $20$ -ohm resistor?

(1) $0.25$ A
(2) $6.0$ A
(3) $12$ A
(4) $4.0$ A

45. The diagram below shows the magnetic field lines between two magnetic poles, $A$ and $B$ .

Which statement describes the polarity of magnetic poles $A$ and $B$ ?

(1) $A$ is a north pole and $B$ is a south pole.
(2) $A$ is a south pole and $B$ is a north pole.
(3) Both $A$ and $B$ are north poles.
(4) Both $A$ and $B$ are south poles.

46. The diagram below represents a transverse water wave propagating toward the left. A cork is floating on the water’s surface at point $P$ .

In which direction will the cork move as the wave passes point $P$ ?

(1) up, then down, then up
(2) down, then up, then down
(3) left, then right, then left
(4) right, then left, then right

47. The diagram below shows a series of wavefronts approaching an opening in a barrier. Point $P$ is located on the opposite side of the barrier.

The wavefronts reach point $P$ as a result of

(1) resonance
(2) refraction
(3) reflection
(4) diffraction

48. The diagram below represents a standing wave.

The number of nodes and antinodes shown in the diagram is

(1) $4$ nodes and $5$ antinodes
(2) $5$ nodes and $6$ antinodes
(3) $6$ nodes and $5$ antinodes
(4) $6$ nodes and $10$ antinodes

49. A deuterium nucleus consists of one proton and one neutron. The quark composition of a deuterium nucleus is

(1) $2$ up quarks and $2$ down quarks
(2) $2$ up quarks and $4$ down quarks
(3) $3$ up quarks and $3$ down quarks
(4) $4$ up quarks and $2$ down quarks

50. The diagram below shows two waves traveling in the same medium. Points $A$ , $B$ , $C$ , and $D$ are located along the rest position of the medium. The waves interfere to produce a resultant wave.

The superposition of the waves produces the greatest positive displacement of the medium from its rest position at point

(1) $A$
(2) $B$
(3) $C$
(4) $D$