Science Bowl Sample Questions ›› Physics

Science Bowl Sample Questions : Physics

11. According to Coulomb's Law, if two charged particles are repelled with a given force at a distance d, by what multiple will the force decrease by if d is increased by 4 times?

    Answer: 16 times

12. The lowest frequency that determines the pitch of a musical note is most commonly called the:

    Answer: fundamental

13. Order the following from the WORST electrical conductor to the BEST electrical conductor: glass, rubber, iron, dry wood:

    Answer: rubber, glass, dry wood, iron

14. A bullet of mass m travelling at velocity v has a kinetic energy of ½mv² when it strikes a ballistic pendulum of mass 1000 grams. The kinetic energy of the two masses moving together just after the moment of impact is about a thousand times smaller than ½mv². What has most of the bullet's initial kinetic energy been converted to?

    Answer: heat

15. In the 19th century, this Scottish scientist showed that all magnetic and all electric phenomena could be described by four equations that often bear his name. What is his name?

    Answer: James Clerk Maxwell

16. When Thomas Edison was promoting the wide use of direct current, this personal enemy of Edison's was the chief proponent and expert in alternating current:

    Answer: Nikola Tesla

17. When a green colored object is illuminated by a green light it will appear as what color to the human eye?

    Answer: Green

18. How many more times louder is 70 decibels than 10 decibels?

    Answer: One Million

19. What is the general term for the kind of material usually placed between the conducting plates of a capacitor?

    Answer: Dielectric

20. While at Berkeley, Melvin Calvin used this radioisotope to decipher many of the complex processes of photosynthesis:

    Answer: Carbon 14