Deck 1: Measurement and Problem Solving

Question 1

Why so much emphasis upon units? Why are units considered to be as important as the quantity, "magnitude", of something?

Answer 1

Just knowing the magnitude of something is not complete information (in fact it is ambiguous) unless one also knows the units. For example, learning that you will earn 150 for a certain task might mean 150 dollars, or perhaps 150 cents, or 150 pesos. The magnitude is almost worthless without the unit in which it is expressed.

Question 2

What distinguishes a derived unit from a base unit?

Answer 2

A derived unit can be expressed in terms of a combination of base units.

Question 3

List the seven base quantities in the SI system.

Answer 3

length, mass, time, electric current, temperature, amount of substance, luminous intensity

Question 4

List the seven base units in the SI system.

Question 5

What does the prefix mega- stand for?

Question 6

What does the prefix micro- stand for?

Question 7

What does the prefix kilo- stand for?

Question 8

What does the prefix milli- stand for?

Question 9

What does the prefix centi- stand for?

Question 10

Define and explain the meaning of DENSITY.

Question 11

Determine the number of significant figures in 24.0 seconds.

Question 12

Determine the number of significant figures in 0.055 cm.

Question 13

Express 0.23 × 10² meters to three significant figures.

Question 14

Determine the number of significant figures in 100.01 x 10³ meters.

Question 15

Express 0.0015671 kg to three significant figures.

Question 16

State the six general problem-solving steps given in the text.

Question 17

One metric ton is 2000 lb.

Question 18

A 2-L bottle of soda gives you more for your money than a 2-qt bottle would, at the same price.

Question 19

Zeros between non-zero numbers are significant.

Question 20

Zeros at the beginning of a number are significant.

Question 21

Zeros at the end of a number after the decimal point are not significant.

Question 22

Which of these base units is currently not defined by constants of nature?

A) time
B) length
C) mass
D) current

Question 23

The SI unit of length, the meter, is currently defined

A) as the length of the path traveled by light in a vacuum during 1/299792485 s.
B) as the distance between two marks on a metal bar make of a platinum-iridium alloy kept at the National Bureau of Standards.
C) by the President's foot.
D) as 10^-7 of the distance from the North Pole to the equator along a meridian running through Paris.
E) 1,553,164.1 wavelengths of red cadmium light in dry air at 25°C.

Question 24

The SI unit of mass, the kilogram, is currently defined

A) as 10^-22 the mass of the Earth's moon.
B) as 10^-24 the mass of the Earth.
C) by a prototype platinum-iridium cylinder kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Sevres, France.
D) the mass of 5.9786332 × 10²⁶ protons.
E) by the President's weight.

Question 25

The SI unit of time, the second, is currently defined by

A) the rotation period of the Earth.
B) the motion of the Earth in orbit.
C) a standard clock at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in France.
D) a duration of an atomic clock.
E) the time required for light to travel 1/299,792,458 of a meter.

Question 26

All of the following are base units of the SI system except the

A) candela
B) kilogram.
C) meter.
D) kelvin.
E) volt.

Question 27

The base SI unit of mass is

A) gram.
B) kilogram.
C) slug.
D) newton.
E) milligram.

Question 28

Which system of units is NOT metric?

A) cgs
B) mks
C) SI
D) fps
E) none of the given choices

Question 29

Substitute the correct prefix to the fun-word "10¹²-tory".

A) giga
B) pico
C) tera
D) kilo
E) milli

Question 30

Substitute the correct prefix to the fun-word "10^-1 and Lucy".

A) deci
B) giga
C) pico
D) tera
E) peta

Question 31

Substitute the correct prefix to the fun-word "10³-mockingbird".

A) pico
B) peta
C) tera
D) deci
E) kilo

Question 32

Substitute the correct prefix to the fun-word "10-cards".

A) pico
B) milli
C) deka
D) giga
E) tera

Question 33

Substitute the correct prefix to the fun-word "10^-3 mouse".

A) peta
B) milli
C) kilo
D) tera
E) pico

Question 34

Which of the following is a megawatt?

A) 10⁶ W
B) 10⁹ W
C) 10^-9 W
D) 1000 W
E) 10^-6 W

Question 35

Which of the following is a kilometer?

A) 10⁶ m
B) 10^-9 m
C) 109 m
D) 10^-6 m
E) 1000 m

Question 36

Which of the following is a microsecond?

A) 1000 s
B) 10^-9 s
C) 10⁶ s
D) 10⁹ s
E) 10^-6 s

Question 37

The SI prefix for 10^-9 is

A) pico-.
B) tera-.
C) centi-.
D) giga-.
E) nano-.

Question 38

If you are measuring the mass of an elephant, the most appropriate SI unit is the

A) milligram.
B) megagram.
C) kilogram.
D) gram.
E) microgram.

Question 39

Which of the following is a unit conversion?

A) 0.062 yd = 6.2 × 10^-2 yd
B) 1000 g
C) 1 in = 2.54 cm
D) 10⁶ W
E) 10^-9 s

Question 40

Which one of the following volumes is largest?

A) quart
B) cubic inch
C) liter
D) 500. cm³
E) cc

Question 41

What is the conversion factor between km/h and m/s?

A) 16.7 m/s
B) 36.0 m/s
C) 0.0278 m/s
D) 0.278 m/s
E) 3.60 m/s

Question 42

What is the conversion factor between km/h² and m/s²?

A) 7.72 × 10^-5 m/s²
B) 3.60 m/s²
C) 1.30 × 10⁴ m/s²
D) 36.0 m/s²
E) 2.78 × 10^-1 m/s²

Question 43

What is the conversion factor between cm² and m²?

A) 0.0001 m²/cm²
B) 0.000001 m²/cm²
C) 10000 m²/cm²
D) 100 m²/cm²
E) 0.01 m²/cm²

Question 44

Select the list which contains only SI basic units.

A) candela, kelvin, meter, second
B) joule, newton, second, watt
C) joule, kelvin, kilogram, watt
D) liter, meter, second, watt
E) kilogram, newton, second, candela

Question 45

Four students measure the mass of an object, each using a different scale. They record their results as follows:

Which student used the least precise scale?

A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) the precision of all scales were equal

Question 46

The number of significant figures a common ruler can measure is

A) zero.
B) one.
C) three.
D) five.
E) seven.

Question 47

When adding several quantities, the number of decimal places in the result must always be

A) larger than the number of decimal places in the most accurate of the quantities.
B) equal to the number of decimal places in the least accurate of the quantities.
C) equal to the average number of significant digits in the most and least accurate of the quantities.
D) equal to the number of decimal places in the most accurate of the quantities.
E) smaller than the number of decimal places in the least accurate of the quantities.

Question 48

Which of the following has the greatest number of significant figures?

A) 03.1400
B) 3.142
C) 0.003142
D) 314.1
E) 000.3140

Question 49

How many significant figures are in 0.0037010?

A) four
B) five
C) six
D) seven
E) eight

Question 50

The number of significant figures in 0.40 is

A) one.
B) two.
C) three.
D) four.
E) five.

Question 51

If we learn that F = G mM/d² where the units are F:Newtons, m:kg, M:kg, and d:meters; what are the units of G?

Question 52

The mass of Mars, 6.40 × 10²³ kg, is about one-tenth that of the Earth, and its radius, 3395 km, is about half that of Earth. What is the mean density of Mars?

Question 53

A 2-qt bottle of soda is on sale for $1.29. What should be the price of a 2-Liter bottle of the same soda to yield the same value?

Question 54

If kerosene costs 130. Passi per liter, and one dollar buys 227. Passi; what is its cost in DOLLARS per GALLON? [1.00 gallon = 3.79 liters]

Question 55

An astronomical unit (AU) is equal to the average distance from the Earth to the sun, about 92.9 x 10⁶ mi. A parsec (pc) is the distance at which 1 AU would subtend an angle of 1 second of arc. How many parsecs in an AU?

Question 56

An astronomical unit (AU) is equal to the average distance from the Earth to the sun, about 92.9 x 10⁶ mi. A parsec (pc) is the distance at which 1 AU would subtend an angle of 1 second of arc. How many miles are there in a parsec?

Question 57

If the tank of a car holds 16. gallons of gasoline
(a) this is equivalent to how many liters of gasoline?
(b) how many kilometers can it travel on one tank if it gets 25 miles/gal?

Question 58

Which of the following numbers has 4 significant figures? Which has 5 significant figures?

A) 003000.
B) 030.0
C) 4774.00
D) 29.290

Question 59

Express the following number to three significant figures: 21.25 m

Question 60

In adding the numbers 420.77, 13.821, and 2317.8
(a) the result should be rounded to how many significant figures?
(b) what is the sum?

Question 61

Express the result of the following calculation, to the proper number of significant figures: (0.02739) x (-240,000).

Question 62

Express the result of the following calculation, to the proper number of significant figures: 8.4 + 4240.

Question 63

The Earth is divided into 24 time zones, in each of which local time differs by 1 hour. At 45° N latitude, what is the width of a time zone? (The Earth's radius is 6370 km. 45° N latitude is about as far North as Portland, Oregon, and is halfway between the equator and the North pole.)

Question 64

A cubic box has sides of length 8.0 cm. What is the maximum number of pulverized spherical balls of diameter 1.5 cm that can fit inside the closed box (V_sphere = 4/3 $\pi$ r³)?

Question 65

A thick-walled metal pipe of length 20 cm has an inside diameter of 2.0 cm and an outside diameter of 2.4 cm. What is the total surface area of the pipe, counting the ends?

Question 66

Six pounds on Earth has what weight on the moon?

A) 1. lb
B) 1. kg
C) 1/6 lb
D) 6. lb
E) 36. lb

Question 67

Six kilograms on Earth has what mass on the moon?

A) 1/6 kg
B) 1. kg
C) 6. kg
D) 1. pound
E) 36. kg

Question 68

10. mL is equal to

A) 0.01 L
B) 0.001 ML
C) 10^-6 L
D) 1.0 kL
E) 0.10 L

Question 69

Given 1 angstrom unit = 10^-10 m and 1 fermi = 10^-15 m , what is the relationship between these units?

A) 1 angstrom = 10^-5 fermi
B) 1 angstrom = 10⁺²⁵ fermi
C) 1 angstrom = 10^-25 fermi
D) 1 angstrom = 10⁺⁵ fermi
E) none of the given answers

Question 70

A radian unit of angle (defined as arc length divided by radius) has what dimensions?

A) dimensionless
B) meters
C) grads
D) m^-1
E) degrees

Question 71

If we find v = A ?, where ? is a length and v is a speed, what are the mks units for the A?

A) m²/s
B) s
C) s^-1
D) kg-m/s
E) m/s²

Question 72

In Einstein's famous equation E = m . c², describing the relationship between matter and energy, the units for E are
(given that m kg, c 11eea3c8_3c6e_43c1_97f4_2b5c4d7bd7c7_TB9720_11m/s, N = kg . m/s^2s2)

A) m/N
B) N.m
C) M² / s²
D) N/m
E) kg m/ s²

Question 73

The ratio R at which paint can be sprayed from a spray gun may be expressed as R = a · t.
If R is measured in m³/s, and time is measured in seconds, what are the units of "a"?

A) m³ s
B) m³ s³
C) m3/s
D) m³
E) m³/ s²

Question 74

The distance d through which a beam of length L is deflected when it is subjected to a load may be described by the relationship d = RL². What are the dimensions of the constant R?

A) meters
B) (meters)²
C) (meters)^-1
D) (meters)³
E) R is dimensionless

Question 75

The position, x, of an object is given by the equation x = A + Bt +Ct², where t refers to time. What are the dimensions of A, B, and C?

A) time, time, time
B) distance, distance, distance
C) distance, time, time²
D) distance/time, distance/ time², distance/ time³
E) distance, distance/time, distance/ time²

Question 76

Using dimensional analysis, which one of the following equations is dimensionally correct?
( a m/s², v 11eea3c8_3c6e_43c1_97f4_2b5c4d7bd7c7_TB9720_11 m/s, x 11eea3c8_3c6e_43c1_97f4_2b5c4d7bd7c7_TB9720_11 m , t 11eea3c8_3c6e_43c1_97f4_2b5c4d7bd7c7_TB9720_11 s)

A) t² = x/a
B) x = a t
C) v = 2ax
D) x = v/t
E) x² = 2av

Question 77

The formula mg = kx describes a spring that is stretched by hanging an object on it. The constant k is called the spring constant. What are its units?

A) s/m kg
B) N m
C) m s²/kg
D) kg s²
E) kg/s²

Question 78

The average density of blood is 1.06 × 10³ kg/m³. If you donate a pint of blood to the Red Cross, what mass of blood have you donated, in grams? (1 pt = 1/2 L, 1 L = 1000 cm³)

A) 5.30 × 10³ g
B) 5.30 × 10⁵ g
C) 5.30 g
D) 0.530 g
E) 530 g

Question 79

Concrete is sold by the cubic yard. What is the mass, in kilograms, of one cubic yard of concrete that is five times as dense as water? (1 m = 1.094 yd, and 1 m³ of water has a mass of 1,000 kg.)

A) 764 kg
B) 3819 kg
C) 8733 kg
D) 6546 kg
E) 2420 kg

Question 80

A porch roof sloping at 45° accumulated snow to a depth of 30. cm. The roof measured 3.0 m × 5.0 m. If the density of snow was 15. kg/m², what was the weight of the snow, in pounds, on the roof?

A) 210 lb
B) 74 lb
C) 148 lb
D) 105 lb
E) 56 lb